MDPWU Chapter 7

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Both the students inside the classroom and those outside had no idea what was happening.

Tong Tong’s breathing grew rapid. He was terrified that Zhou You would actually force a kiss on him.

Panicked, he stomped down hard.

Zhou You yelped in pain, stumbling back two or three steps. He stared at Tong Tong in disbelief, but miraculously, the bun in his hand remained intact.

"What was that?" Director Li frowned, stepping forward. "Tong Tong, are you not listening to me? I just said not to bully the new student, and the next second, you step on his toes? I haven’t even settled the score with you for that fight on the stage last semester!"

Tong Tong immediately went quiet upon hearing that incident being brought up again.

Director Li glared at him. "I’m giving you a chance to redeem yourself."

Tong Tong stood at attention. "I accept!"

"Good. You’ll sit next to Zhou You and help him get used to the school environment. Take care of him and look out for him!" Director Li announced as if he were making an oath.

Tong Tong: "…"

What the hell.

Director Li waved a hand. "Alright, everyone, sit down. I don’t want to see blood on the first day of school."

After being sorted into new classes, most students had picked random seats.

Zhou You chose a spot near the back and cheerfully waved at Tong Tong, showing no grudges from earlier.

Tong Tong hesitated, staying put. He had no idea what was going on. He didn’t believe in ghosts, nor was he superstitious.

But the contents of that dream kept replaying in his head. And now, oddly enough, it was coming true.

A transfer student had indeed arrived, and he was holding a bun, asking him if he wanted to eat it—just like in the dream.

"That guy knows you?" Zhuang Qian frowned.

"Neighbor," Tong Tong answered, frowning as well. He still refused to believe it was just a coincidence.

"He looks like he’s provoking you…" Zhuang Qian eyed his expression. "Do you two have beef?"

"What are you still standing there for? Can’t bear to leave me?" Director Li yelled. "How about each of you give me a kiss on the cheek before sitting down?"

At the word "kiss," Tong Tong’s stomach dropped. He immediately walked over and sat down.

Within seconds, the entire class sat up straight.

Director Li cleared his throat and began his usual speech.

Tong Tong sneaked a glance at Zhou You, who was sitting beside him.

At that moment, Zhou You was slightly tilting his head, listening attentively to Director Li’s lecture.

Zhou You had a straight and prominent nose, making his side profile look sharp and cold. Paired with his buzz cut, he actually looked pretty cool.

Tong Tong didn’t know why, but he always felt that Zhou You looked like a completely different person when he wasn’t smiling.

Just then, Zhou You suddenly turned to look at him and flashed a wide grin, revealing exactly eight white teeth. His cold demeanor instantly disappeared.

Tong Tong: “…”

Rolling his eyes, Tong Tong turned his head away.

After giving instructions, Director Li left, leaving the temporary class monitor to step up and start organizing the book distribution.

The previously silent classroom finally filled with chatter.

Zhou You didn’t mind that Tong Tong had stepped on him again just moments ago. Instead, he turned to him excitedly. “What are you doing here too?”

Tong Tong pulled a long face. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

Zhou You chuckled. “My mom told me to come. She said I still need to focus on studying.”

Tong Tong was speechless. “Last time, you told my mom that your dad made you work at the construction site and wouldn’t let you go to school. Now your mom suddenly wants you to study?”

“My mom and dad got divorced.” Zhou You blinked innocently. “My dad doesn’t care about me anymore. Now my mom is in charge.”

Tong Tong was stunned. Feeling a bit awkward, he turned his head away and, after a long pause, responded with a soft “Oh.”

“There’s no need to feel awkward. It’s not like it’s your fault,” Zhou You said, thinking he was being considerate.

“When did I feel awkward?” Tong Tong, caught off guard, felt embarrassed and turned away, refusing to acknowledge him.

Zhou You tried to keep the conversation going, but Tong Tong remained silent, clearly uninterested.

“Sis, your mood changes way too fast.” Seeing that Tong Tong didn’t want to talk, Zhou You sighed and stopped speaking as well.

The class monitor on the podium had just finished distributing the books when the bell rang for the next period.

Tong Tong immediately got up from his seat and joined his group of friends.

He told himself he was overthinking, but at the same time, he couldn’t shake the fear that the dream he had might actually come true. He wanted to avoid Zhou You as much as possible.

Zhou You sat alone at his desk, watching longingly in their direction.

“Wait, is that jerk targeting you?” Zhuang Qian narrowed his eyes and glared back fiercely.

Zhou You noticed the group looking at him and immediately flashed a bright smile in their direction, his teeth practically gleaming.

“What the hell?” Zhuang Qian was stunned. “That’s so cocky. Does he even know his place?”

Tong Tong was puzzled. “What place?”

“A poor, helpless transfer student who’s at the mercy of others,” Zhuang Qian bit down on his lollipop, breaking it in half, and glared at Zhou You in defiance.

Zhou You didn’t pick up on their hostility, but he clearly heard the hushed whispers of the girls behind him.

“He’s so tall and looks so fierce. He seems hard to mess with.”

“Did you see the bandage on his arm? So scary! He must be like those delinquents from No. 12 High who only know how to fight.”

“I bet he got transferred here for either beating up a teacher or a classmate.”

“I thought our school doesn’t accept transfer students?”

“Maybe they changed the policy this semester?”

“Either way, we shouldn’t get close to him. I don’t want to get beaten up.”

Zhou You suddenly stood up and turned around.

The group of gossiping girls immediately fell silent, too scared to even breathe.

Zhou You figured he needed to redefine his image. He cleared his throat and flashed another big grin. “I’ve never hit a teacher or a classmate. I strongly oppose violence—especially school violence.”

Then, his face turned serious. “I don’t like nor believe in using violence to assert dominance. I also despise the bloody, bone-breaking, limb-snapping scenes that come with it. You’ve probably never seen it before, but trust me—you don’t want to. Because once you do, you’ll hate it just as much as I do.”

The girls sensed danger in his words, interpreting it as a veiled threat. They immediately went dead silent.

One girl even gasped, nearly bursting into tears.

Zhou You: “…”

He decided to stop talking.

He had heard somewhere that southern girls cried at the slightest breeze.

“I swear! I’m gonna take him down!” Zhuang Qian couldn’t stand it anymore. He had chosen the humanities track specifically because there were more girls.

As soon as he moved, the group of friends around him held him back.

Zhou You finally noticed what was happening on the other side of the room and frowned at Zhuang Qian.

He knew transferring schools would step on some invisible boundaries, like intruding on someone else’s territory.

But his mom had chosen this school for him, and he didn’t want to cause trouble that would make her worry.

After thinking for a moment, he opened his mouth. “You—”

“Good morning, students!”

A cheerful voice interrupted him as an elderly woman with a head full of fluffy, popcorn-like curls walked into the classroom, beaming.

Zhuang Qian froze in place.

The bell rang.

Tong Tong returned to his seat with a complicated expression.

Just as he sat down—

“Are you mad at me for lying this morning and saying I was going to the construction site?” Zhou You cautiously leaned in.

Looking at him, Tong Tong felt a pang of guilt.

Zhou You was new here and only knew him in this class. Yet, during the break, he had deliberately distanced himself, leaving Zhou You alone at his desk.

And now, Zhou You was worried that he had upset him.

Feeling guilty, Tong Tong softened a little and muttered, “No.”

Zhou You saw his changing expressions and quickly figured out what was going on in his head. He smiled quietly. “I wasn’t lying this morning. My mom called me later and told me to come here.”

Tong Tong coughed awkwardly. “Got it.”

Zhou You noticed that his ears had turned red but didn’t say anything else.

He settled in and started listening to the lesson with a happy grin.

However, when the popcorn-haired teacher started reciting ancient poetry, Zhou You suddenly had a realization.

There was one very important problem—

The school had already divided students into humanities and science tracks in the second semester of tenth grade.

He had chosen the science track back then, simply because his Chinese and history were a complete disaster.

"This... is this a liberal arts class or a science class?" Zhou You's hands were shaking.

Tong Tong glanced at him. "Liberal arts."

Zhou You: "..."

He knew his mom wouldn't let him off that easily. So this was the trap she had set for him.

"You're bad at math?" Zhou You lowered his voice, hunched over, and raised his textbook as a shield.

"I'm good at math," Tong Tong said, unconsciously lowering his voice as well.

"Then why did you choose liberal arts?"

Tong Tong was getting impatient. "You don't know the first rule of subject selection? If you're good at Chinese, choose science. If you're good at math, choose liberal arts."

Zhou You: "............"

"...Is that true?" Zhou You started to doubt everything he'd learned over the years.

Tong Tong really didn't want to make eye contact with him, didn't want to talk, and didn't want to do anything that might hurt him either.

So he simply pretended to sleep, turning his head and resting it on his arm.

The old lady proctor, who everyone called "Popcorn Granny," was highly nearsighted and often forgot to wear her glasses.

Last time, a student had danced half a period of cha-cha in the back of the classroom, and it wasn't until the principal came by on his rounds that they got caught.

Tong Tong let his mind wander for a while, and the breeze seeping in through the window slit lulled him to sleep.

And then, that dream again.

Like a movie, but the part where he was fed buns was sped up. This time, he could suddenly see some people's faces clearly.

The scene was playing out where Zhou You was smiling, holding his hand while they worked on homework together.

Tong Tong stared in shock for a long moment, then cursed.

"Baby, what's wrong? Do you not want to do homework anymore?" Zhou You frowned slightly. "Do you want ice cream? I'll go get some."

Tong Tong was almost nauseated to death by that sickeningly sweet "baby."

Just as he was about to snap, the scene around him blurred again, as if time had been fast-forwarded countless times.

"We should break up." Zhou You stood with his back to him. "I was just messing with you the whole time."

Tong Tong was absolutely furious at the dream, but there was nothing he could do.

The Zhou You in front of him was like a broken record, repeating "We should break up" over and over.

Tong Tong grabbed his own thigh hard, just wanting to wake up from this stupid dream.

And then, suddenly, the Zhou You in front of him started laughing.

A weird, creepy laugh. Giggling and chuckling, voice shifting from male to female.

Tong Tong was scared stiff. His whole body shuddered, and he shot upright.

It was break time, so no one paid him any attention.

Zhou You saw him wake up and reassured him, "It's fine, it's just break time now."

Tong Tong stared at him, still dazed.

Zhou You, seeing he was finally awake, blushed a little and leaned in. "Good, you're up. Just now in class, I totally didn't—"

The bell rang.

Only then did Tong Tong snap out of the lingering fear from his dream.

As the teacher walked in, Zhou You lowered his voice and leaned closer to his ear. "Can you help me with this question—"

Tong Tong had just opened his eyes, only to see Zhou You getting closer and closer.

For some reason, the more he thought about it, the angrier he got. He slammed his palm on the desk. "Scu... scumbag!"

Zhou You: "???"

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