MDPWU Chapter 14

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The two of them finished their act like a comedy duo, playing off each other seamlessly.

As Mr. Mao’s expression grew darker while he ate, the entire class fell silent, not daring to make a sound.

"Teacher, can I sit down now?" Zhou You asked lazily, grinning.

"…Sit," Mr. Mao said, suppressing his anger.

Zhou You sat down just like that, still holding onto Tong Tong. He even carefully propped Tong Tong’s injured leg onto the chair next to him.

The space between the desks wasn’t large—just enough for one person to sit comfortably.

But with the two of them sitting like this, Tong Tong was practically on Zhou You’s lap, their upper bodies pressed tightly together.

"Does your leg still hurt?" Zhou You lowered his head and asked in a soft voice.

The warmth of his breath brushed against Tong Tong’s ear, turning the tips of them red.

"Don’t get so close to me," Tong Tong pushed him away and tried his best to focus on his textbook.

Mr. Mao was teaching math. Zhou You listened for a while but quickly lost patience.

The lecture was decent, but way too easy.

Less than three minutes later…

Zhou You, feeling bored, rested his chin on Tong Tong’s shoulder, his arms slowly wrapping around his waist.

And just like that, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Tong Tong had just solved a problem when he felt the weight on his shoulder. He turned his head and nearly bumped noses with Zhou You.

He reached out and gave him a couple of pushes.

Zhou You frowned in irritation and tightened his embrace.

Hearing the noise, Mr. Mao glanced over.

Tong Tong immediately froze, not daring to move.

But the warmth of Zhou You’s breath against his neck made his entire neck and ears flush red.

It wasn’t until the class ended that Zhou You finally stirred—right as Tong Tong shoved him off.

Mr. Mao walked down from the podium and looked at them. "You two, come with me. After the flag-raising ceremony, once the principal finishes speaking, you’re going up."

"Alright," Zhou You said cheerfully, still holding onto Tong Tong as he stood up.

Mr. Mao frowned at him before turning away.

Zhou You followed, still carrying Tong Tong, who didn’t look too good.

His neck and ears were red, but his face was pale, and he was breathing in short, shallow gasps.

"What’s wrong?" Zhou You glanced at Mr. Mao ahead of them, then lowered his voice. "Having trouble breathing again?"

"You don’t think they’ll actually make me lift you up on stage, do you?" Tong Tong’s face turned even paler. "I’m not going."

"Idiot," Zhou You scolded.

"!? You’re calling me an idiot?" Tong Tong, feeling weak, suddenly sat up straight in indignation.

"Didn’t you say you hate this teacher? I was just messing with him to get back at him for you," Zhou You sighed. "Did you really think I’d carry you in front of the whole school to show off my weightlifting skills?"

"Huh?" Tong Tong was dumbfounded.

"Just watch," Zhou You grinned mischievously.

The bright red five-star flag was hoisted into the air as the national anthem concluded.

Tong Tong saluted properly, but he also reached out a hand to place on Zhou You’s head.

Once the flag-raising ceremony ended, the principal took the microphone, cleared his throat, and began his speech.

Zhou You suddenly walked forward, bringing Tong Tong with him, and stood beside Mr. Mao.

Mr. Mao frowned at him. "What are you doing? Regretting your decision?"

"Regret what? This is a golden opportunity to make a name for myself in front of the whole school," Zhou You looked eager. "Mr. Mao, I’ll go up and lift now."

"Wait… hold on." Mr. Mao glanced at the stage. The principal was only halfway through his speech.

"I can’t wait. I really want to lift right now! Let me do it, Mr. Mao, I can lift a hundred times!" Zhou You declared heroically.

"Yes! He can lift a hundred times!" Tong Tong echoed.

"No way! I said wait until later. Keep quiet!" Mr. Mao scolded them, anxiously glancing at the principal, who seemed to have noticed the commotion.

"Mr. Mao, I’ll be honest—I need to go to the bathroom," Zhou You sighed dramatically. "If I don’t go up now, I won’t be able to lift later. I don’t want to miss this chance!"

Mr. Mao, caught up in Zhou You’s ridiculous urgency, nervously watched the principal, hoping he’d finish speaking soon.

"If I’m going, it has to be now," Zhou You said, stepping forward.

"No way!" Mr. Mao grabbed him. "Get back here!"

"Then are you letting me lift or not?" Zhou You glared at him.

"No lifting, no lifting! Just stand still!" Mr. Mao snapped.

If Zhou You charged onto the stage now and the principal asked about it, the truth would come out, and Mr. Mao would be the one getting scolded.

"I refuse," Zhou You insisted stubbornly. "I have to lift today."

"That’s not—"

"I feel itchy if I don’t lift!" Zhou You added loudly.

"Yeah! He’s itching!" Tong Tong chimed in.

"Hey! Keep your voices down! No lifting! I forbid it!" Mr. Mao hissed, his voice strained with frustration.

"Okay, teacher," Zhou You agreed immediately.

"Go back, go back to your class," Mr. Mao waved them off, his patience exhausted.

Still holding onto Tong Tong, Zhou You quickly turned away, but he kept glancing back as if reluctant to leave.

Tong Tong managed to hold it in for about ten steps before finally bursting into laughter.

Zhou You laughed too.

Instead of returning to their class seats, they snuck off to a place where the teachers wouldn’t see them.

"So, how do you feel? Happy now?" Zhou You asked, still carrying Tong Tong as they made their way back to the classroom.

"He’s the homeroom teacher of Class 1 next door," Tong Tong said, still grinning. "Apparently, the school poached him from the top high school in the city. He’s ridiculously strict and has a terrible temper.

"Last semester, after the final exams, when the top ten students in the grade went on stage to receive their awards, a guy from his class accused me of copying his answers and ripped up my certificate.

"I was so pissed off that I beat him up right there in front of the principal, vice principal, academic director, and all the teachers on stage."

"Yo, impressive." Zhou You clicked his tongue in amazement. "With the strength you used to hit me, you still have the energy to beat up others?"

"…………"

Tong Tong was just about to refute, saying that he wasn’t in the best condition when he met Zhou You, but before he could open his mouth—

"Hey! What are you two doing?" A mocking voice suddenly appeared.

Both of them looked forward at the same time.

A group of six or seven people was approaching, led by Xiao Kai.

Tong Tong frowned slightly when he saw them. He hadn’t seen this guy since the time he spoke sarcastically to him in the restroom.

To this day, he still didn’t understand when or how he had offended this person.

"What’s going on with you two?" Xiao Kai walked closer and asked again, a mocking smile on his face.

"Can’t figure it out?" Zhou You suddenly lifted Tong Tong up and put him down again. "We’re practicing weightlifting."

"…………"

"Are you insane?!" Tong Tong yelled in fright.

Xiao Kai was startled by his loud voice and instinctively took a step back.

It took him a while to realize that Tong Tong wasn’t actually yelling at him.

But stepping back like that felt embarrassing, so Xiao Kai cleared his throat and said, "Anyway, I came to remind you—don’t forget about our plan on Saturday. 7 AM sharp. If you don’t show up, you’re admitting that you’re nothing but a pile of crap."

Zhou You frowned deeply. He hadn’t expected Xiao Kai to be this annoying. Why did he have to repeat something he’d already said before?

"What pile of crap?" Tong Tong stared at Xiao Kai, then turned his head to look at Zhou You.

"Our fight, obviously! Tong Tong, don’t pretend like you don’t know," Xiao Kai glared at him. "If you’re scared, just admit it. Stop acting."

Tong Tong finally understood. Even if he hadn’t gotten the full story, it wasn’t hard to figure out from the conversation.

Zhou You awkwardly rubbed his nose and coughed. "I forgot to tell you. That day, when I went to buy water, they stopped me and threatened me."

Tong Tong looked at Zhou You, then at Xiao Kai, who had an arrogant expression, and believed him.

Immediately, anger started bubbling up inside him.

Anger at Xiao Kai for picking fights for no reason. And anger at Zhou You for not telling him about being threatened.

"Xiao Kai, right? Which senior year class are you in?" Tong Tong's expression darkened, his gaze icy cold.

"Huh?" Xiao Kai was caught off guard. "I’m in Class 5."

"And where’s your shame?" Tong Tong glared at him, his tone sharp. "A senior student, gathering people to threaten a transfer student? If you’re so tough, why don’t you come to our class and try?"

"What the hell? I didn’t even do anything!" Xiao Kai was stunned for a moment before shouting back indignantly, "He threatened me too!"

"I did not." Zhou You interjected at the perfect moment. "That day, he found two people and dragged me over. I didn’t know anyone, I was terrified."

"What the hell are you scared of?!" Xiao Kai roared, furious. "Liar!"

Zhou You let out a pitiful "wah" sound and stopped talking.

"Stop pretending." Tong Tong glared at Zhou You. "Let’s go."

Zhou You realized he might have overacted, so he coughed and strutted off, acting all high and mighty while dragging Tong Tong along.

As they passed by Xiao Kai, Zhou You paused and turned his head to smile at him. "Seriously, I’m not lying. I was so scared."

Xiao Kai: "…………"

By the time they got back to the classroom, the activities on the sports field were still ongoing.

The classroom was completely empty.

"Alright, spill." Tong Tong sat on a desk, looking down at Zhou You, who was seated on a chair. "Where did he tell you to meet?"

"Somewhere behind Wild Lake, near Yanshan Park. They say the fish in the lake are pretty big." Zhou You confessed honestly.

"Are you stupid?" Tong Tong suddenly asked.

Zhou You froze.

"You don’t know anyone here. He’s bringing a group of people—who are you bringing?" Tong Tong stared at him. "Even if you can take on five, what about ten?"

"Ten would be a problem." Zhou You pondered for a moment, then sighed. "Wouldn’t even be fun anymore."

"………………"

Why is he so full of himself?

Tong Tong couldn’t understand it.

He also couldn’t understand why, even though this whole thing was because of him, Zhou You had been threatened and still hadn’t told him.

But this situation only made one thing clearer—Zhou You definitely liked him. A lot.

Zhou You tilted his head, looking at Tong Tong, who was frowning deeply.

No one had ever worried about him fighting before.

His dad didn’t care. His mom wasn’t interested. His friends only worried about the other guy.

Being cared about so suddenly, Zhou You’s heart started beating faster again.

Twice in one day.

Zhou You thought to himself—could he be developing a heart condition?

But there was no time to dwell on that now. Seeing that Tong Tong was clearly angry, he scooted closer, trying to act cute.

"Come on, I didn’t deliberately keep it from you. I just genuinely forgot." Zhou You blurted out nonsense, then pointed at Tong Tong’s foot. "Look at your foot. Even if I had told you, what would you do? Just sit on the sidelines and cheer for me?"

"Shut up." Tong Tong didn’t want to talk to him.

Fine, no talking. Tong Tong stayed silent all the way until school was over.

"Still mad?" Zhou You asked, tilting his head towards him.

"Who told you to pick me up earlier?" Tong Tong kept his gaze fixed outside the car window.

"You finally spoke!" Zhou You sighed in relief. "Man, you’re such a handful. I swear, I’ve never coaxed anyone this much in my life."

He said it casually, but to the listener, it meant something else.

Tong Tong’s ears turned red, embarrassed yet frustrated, thinking he had to speed things up.

Zhou You had already fallen for him this much.

If he didn’t start liking Zhou You back soon, it’d be too late.

"There were so many people at the school gate just now. If I hadn’t picked you up, who knows where you would’ve gotten pushed around to?" Zhou You huffed proudly.

Tong Tong glanced at him and was about to say something—

But the car had already stopped.

They were home.

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