Chapter 5: Deskmate with the Bully's Son

Under the morning sunlight.

Shu Shu stood on the podium of Gao Er (12) Class with her schoolbag, and the homeroom teacher beside her said:

This is the new transfer student, Shu Shu. Everyone, welcome.

Shu Lingchen, sitting in the back row of the classroom, suddenly stood up, rubbing his eyes with both hands to confirm whether what he saw was real.

After saying that, she walked away. Shu Lingchen stared for a while before reacting; by the time he rushed out, Shu Shu's silhouette was already gone.

Afterwards he searched the streets for most of the night but couldn't find Shu Shu, leaving him unable to tell whether his mother had truly returned or if it was just an absurd dream—his mother had never come back at all.

Feeling her son's shocked gaze, Shu Shu gave him a shy, playful wink.

Shu Lingchen: "……" Not a dream.

"Shu Lingchen, what are you doing? Sit down!" the homeroom teacher shouted, then pushed up her black-rimmed glasses, turned to look at Shu Shu, and said politely, "Shu Shu, please find an empty seat to sit."

Shu Shu pretended to look around the classroom, then raised her slender white finger and pointed directly at the empty seat beside Shu Lingchen.

"Teacher, I want to choose that seat."

The moment her words fell, the classroom fell silent, and astonished gazes came from all directions.

The new student… actually dared to pick the class bully as a desk mate!

"Um, Shu Shu, maybe you should pick another one."

The homeroom teacher advised.

The pretty, well-behaved girl in front of him, if she became desk mates with Shu Lingchen, that little tyrant, would surely end up crying from bullying on the first day.

"No need, teacher, just that one."

Shu Shu stepped down from the podium, walked down the aisle, ignoring all gazes, put down her bag, and openly sat beside Shu Lingchen.

Two minutes later, morning reading ended, in a secluded spot behind the teaching building.

"You…"

Shu Lingchen looked at Shu Shu, wanting to speak but hesitating, wanting to reach out to confirm yet feeling a bit afraid.

Shu Shu: "Don't doubt it, I'm still your mom."

"……" Shu Lingchen: "Where did you go yesterday?"

"I went to find a place to live."

"Ah, do you have money, and…" Shu Lingchen said, glancing around warily; seeing no one paying attention, he lowered his voice: "Besides, you're basically an undocumented person now, with no ID—how could you find a place to live? Also, how did you become a transfer student? And end up in my class? What are you planning to do?"

Shu Shu closed her eyes.

Dead kid, you have so many questions.

Then she gave her all-purpose answer: "None of your business."

After answering, she remembered why she was here and changed it to: "It's not your concern."

Shu Lingchen: "……"

Shu Shu: "Finished asking? Then I'm going back to class; class is about to start."

Shu Lingchen: "……" He had asked all his questions, but the key was he hadn't gotten an answer.

Shu Lingchen followed behind Shu Shu in a daze back to the classroom.

A boy with a Marco Polo–style hairdo grabbed Shu Lingchen and asked excitedly, "Brother Chen, how did the lesson go?"

"Lesson about what?"

"Obviously the new student."

Everyone knows Shu Lingchen's crush is the class belle Chu Lian from Yi Ban; although girls have been desk mates with him before, none lasted two periods before he made them cry and beg the teacher to change seats that same day.

Because Shu Lingchen fears Chu Lian misunderstanding, he consciously keeps distance from all girls.

Everyone thought this transfer student would be the same; seeing the two leave just now, they assumed Shu Lingchen had gone to "warn" Shu Shu.

Bo Luo Zai said while looking toward Shu Shu, then wore a puzzled expression.

Huh, the new student didn't cry at all.

Bo Luo Zai chuckled: "Brother Chen, are you reluctant because the new student is so pretty? Otherwise, leave this to me—I'll make sure she cries today."

He hadn't finished speaking when he got a blow to the head.

"Who are you trying to make cry?"

Shu Lingchen's voice was a bit cold.

Bo Luo Zai covered his head: "?"

"Her—no one is allowed to touch her."

Shu Lingchen gave a gloomy sweep over the restless lackeys, finished his warning, and returned to his seat.

Bo Luo Zai and all the lackeys: "???"

Shu Shu adapted to her student identity very quickly.

The first period was Chinese class; she took out her textbook and placed her hands neatly on the desk.

Not long after.

A young female teacher walked into the classroom.

Shu Lingchen had barely slept last night; now he slumped over the desk and fell asleep.

After the female teacher had everyone open their textbooks, she spotted the sleeping Shu Lingchen, furrowed her brows, and sternly shouted: "Which student, why are you still sleeping?"

Shu Lingchen didn't move, sleeping deeply.

"The female student next to him, wake him up."

The female teacher called out to Shu Shu.

As soon as she spoke, everyone instantly turned to look, as if watching a spectacle.

Shu Lingchen has a terrible morning grumpiness; sleeping in class is routine for him, and the teachers know he's a troublemaker they don't want to provoke, so they usually just turn a blind eye.

This Chinese teacher had just been transferred to the school not long ago, and didn't understand.

Shu Lingchen was the universally acknowledged school bully; although many people criticized him on the forum yesterday, they were all hiding behind pseudonyms, and no one dared reveal their real names.

Because, he really knows how to fight.

In his first year of high school, a male teacher who woke Shu Lingchen up was directly beaten to the point of a broken arm.

If this transfer student, who also doesn't understand the situation, were to wake Shu Lingchen up, the consequences…

The female teacher had just finished speaking when she regretted it; she suddenly recalled a colleague's warning not to provoke a delinquent student named Shu Lingchen from Class 12, and she was about to tell Shu Shu to forget it.

All that could be seen was a slender white hand already placed on Shu Lingchen's head, then grabbing his rooster‑like hair, pulling his arm back hard, after which the fingers loosened.

Bang—

Shu Lingchen's forehead slammed onto the hard desk.

Everyone gasped in shock.

"Damn!"

Shu Lingchen was jolted awake by the pain, he rose with a vexed expression and roared, "Which bastard?! Living is so annoying!"

"Shu Lingchen, class is starting, don't sleep."

Shu Shu smiled faintly on her face, while in her heart a blade had already been drawn.

This little punk, no wonder he's illiterate—turns out he sleeps all day at school!

"……"

Just as everyone was preparing to watch Shu Shu face Shu Lingchen's wrath, they saw that a moment ago his head was still smoking with fire, and the next second that fire—went out.

Then they heard the invincible school bully say in a listless tone: "Oh."

Then he sat down and even opened his textbook.

The crowd: "???"

No way, just that? Just "oh"? It's over??

Shu Shu obediently reported: "Teacher, he's awake."

The female teacher also hadn't quite snapped out of this turn of events: "... Oh oh okay, then let's continue the class."

During that Chinese lesson, everyone almost spent it in a fantasy.

The snack shop.

"Chen Ge, why don't you discipline that transfer student?"

"Yeah, she's practically challenging your authority!"

The lackeys surrounded Shu Lingchen, eating spicy princess snacks while asking in confusion.

Beside them, Bo Luo Zai suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "Hold on, Chen Ge, I just remembered—this transfer student isn't the girl who chased you yesterday cursing, is she?!"

"What?!"

"Holy crap, then we really need to give her a lesson, otherwise at our San Zhong she won't even know the difference between the big and small jokers!"

"All of you, shut up!"

Shu Lingchen let out a huff: "I said, don't mess with her—this is for your own good."

The lackeys: "???"

"Chen Ge, are you joking? She's just a defenseless weak girl—what are we afraid she'll do?"

"You all know jack shit!"

Shu Lingchen paused, his face turning serious, and said: "She fights, she's really good."