Chapter 928: Childhood Sweethearts 22

Then came the scene Jin Chen saw when he returned.

After Mu Henian made several phone calls, his patience ran out; he came to the hallway and was about to call Jin Shu when Cheng Huai hurriedly stopped him.

"Jin Chen is back! And… and he's with the Director?!"

Cheng Huai stared in shock at the downstairs.

Oh no, Jin Chen won't have been caught red‑handed, will he!

The truth was much better than he imagined.

Jin Chen had just stepped onto the stairs when he collided with the Director of Discipline coming down. Unfortunately, thanks to Xiao Yu'er, whose family's grades are exceptionally outstanding, the teachers at school also all knew him.

So, Jin Chen wanted to escape, but couldn't.

"Jin Chen, why are you wandering around instead of studying in the classroom?"

The Director of Discipline asked with his hands behind his back.

"I… I'm helping Song Xu get his medicine."

Jin Chen took out the packaged medicine he carried with him from his pocket, saying, "You know, Song Xu can't go without his medicine even for a moment."

"Is Song Xu feeling unwell again?"

Hearing it was Song Xu, the Director thought something had happened to him; he had just been about to talk about his recent academic progress, but now he didn't feel like saying anything.

"Hurry up! Come on, come on, I'll go with you, teacher."

"Ah… ah? Hahaha…"

Jin Chen was forced onto the spot, only able to be pushed upstairs by the Director, feeling a bit doubtful about life.

... Why use this excuse.

He hoped Xiao Yu'er would cooperate with his act later.

A crowd gathered in the hallway; Old Cao was still basking in the relief that his classmates finally wanted to make progress, while Liu Xiao couldn't tell that these people were deliberately stalling.

He couldn't understand why these people were all willing to help Jin Chen; if it was just because they were classmates, why was he… often isolated instead.

Liu Xiao's gaze was really obvious; Song Xu locked eyes with him and said, "Why are you always targeting Jin Chen?"

"I'm not targeting him."

Liu Xiao clung to his book, turned his head away but felt a little guilty: "I haven't done anything wrong, so why can't I complain? If Jin Chen gets into trouble, it'll drag the whole class down."

"We're a class; we share honor and disgrace. How could I watch him harm us?"

Song Xu couldn't even be bothered to roll his eyes.

"You think too highly of yourself."

Just then, Jin Chen and the Director of Discipline came up from the stairwell turn, one after the other.

Liu Xiao saw this and thought Jin Chen had been caught red‑handed by the Director while climbing over the wall or doing something bad.

He felt a surge of joy and, using a voice that could drown out these discussion topics, said, "You really did climb the wall to do bad things! Claiming you were helping Song Xu get medicine—how could you find so many people to cover for you?"

The hallway fell silent; Jin Chen found this person utterly baffling and also felt a sharp, piercing gaze on his back.

He hurriedly exchanged glances with Song Xu, repeatedly jerking his chin backward.

Song Xu, in perfect sync, clutched his chest and leaned back, grimacing in discomfort, "Brother…

"Xiao Yu'er!"

Jin Chen rushed over, supported him, pretended to feed him a pill, and Song Xu chewed—it was a chocolate bean.

Cheng Huai came out to play along, "Oh, good thing you came back in time; the dorm is far, so a little extra time is fine."

Mu Henian delivered the final blow, glancing at Liu Xiao: "You're framing Jin Chen."

Liu Xiao's face went white: "I…"

How could it be… how could it really just be to get medicine.

Jin Chen: "What did you just say about me? Climbing the wall to do bad things? Fellow student, you can't slander someone without evidence."

The Director of Discipline rebuked, "You kid, how can you think that way about your classmates?"

Old Cao hurried to smooth things over; the Director of Discipline casually praised the class's learning atmosphere a couple of times, then, with his hands behind his back, went on to inspect other classes.

"Liu Xiao, come with me inside."

Old Cao defended his students in front of the Director; behind closed doors, this matter would have to be properly dealt with.

"Hey, serves him right."

Cheng Huai rolled his eyes at Liu Xiao's back.

"I've found this person unpleasant for a long time! If he were really a good student, I'd let it slide."

"I even saw him before, using his frequent access to the office to take others' money and steal answers, putting on an act of being high‑minded."

Song Xu leaned quietly in Jin Chen's embrace, yet he smelled many strange odors.

He lowered his eyes, brushing off the dust that had rubbed onto Jin Chen's uniform.

—

Evening self‑study ended, and the students all rushed to the dorms in a swarm, but Song Xu wasn't in a hurry to go back; he took Jin Chen's hand and took another distant route.

"Brother, what exactly did you go out to do tonight?"

The night breeze was gentle, blowing away the day's restlessness and vexation; Song Xu stopped his steps and locked eyes with Jin Chen.

"Don't lie to me."

Jin Chen could only confess fully, pinching his earlobes with both hands as he squatted down, "I went to teach Zhong Yin and his brother a lesson."

Indeed, that was the case.

Song Xu found his action funny again, also squatting down to watch and saying, "Tomorrow's Friday; you promised me you'd go look for them on the weekend, right?"

"To avenge a grudge, I can't tolerate even a moment."

Jin Chen's eyes were firm.

Song Xu: "……"

"But how could big brother hide it from me?"

He hid beside Jin Chen, hugging his knees and began to mutter discontentedly, "Liu Xiao came to tattle, and at that time I already guessed."

"I'm really worried about you; Zhong Yin's older brother is mixed up in some gang, definitely fierce."

Even though it was just muttering, Jin Chen listening was extremely happy.

He lunged over and hugged Song Xu, rubbing his head to soothe, "Don't worry, Zhong Yin and his brother won't come to hurt you anymore."

"I'm fine, be good."

Song Xu felt these words had a deeper meaning: "What do you mean by 'won't ever...'? What did you do to them?"

"I sent them to the police station."

Only then did Song Xu relax, opening his arms toward his brother: "I want a hug, I'm tired from squatting."

"Hug hug hug!"

Jin Chen scooped up his little Xiao Yu'er in one go and hurried back to the dormitory.

This behavior was really ambiguous and intimate, yet nobody at the school felt anything was off.

Song Xu leaned in Jin Chen's embrace, borrowing this silvery-white dim moonlight, the fondness between his eyes overflowed a little, flowing into a stream, turning into the breath now within reach.

"Big brother…"

He buried his face in Jin Chen's neck and softly called out.

Jin Chen lowered his gaze to look at him, "Tired?"

"……Mm."

Song Xu merely nodded, wrapped his arms around the neck, closed his eyes, and secretly sensed his inner feelings.

As a result, he really fell asleep in a daze.

Jin Chen carried the person back to the dormitory; just as he pushed the door open, he saw Cheng Huai acting like he'd seen a ghost, stuffing his notebook into the bed crack.

Cheng Huai laughed embarrassedly, his gaze darting between the two; Chu Han was still in the bathroom showering and hadn't come out, Song Xu had fallen asleep again, and it was just the right moment to ask.

"Jin Chen, do you like Ah Xu?"

Cheng Huai lowered his voice and asked mysteriously.

Jin Chen nodded, without any hesitation, "Yes."

"Sure enough!"

Cheng Huai let out a huge sigh of relief, his eyes brighter: "Then you go for it and catch up to him! I also… I also need to work hard to catch up to He Nian."