“I know, he seems to be Qin Tian from Class Ten.”
A boy on the left whispered to his two companions.
The two boys froze upon hearing this, their expressions changing slightly.
After the last mock exam, the name Qin Tian had become legendary throughout the school. Almost every class teacher mentioned him frequently, using him as a benchmark.
“That’s another person’s child,” or “that’s another class’s child,” carried similar implications.
Consequently, many students from other classes in the third year, even if they hadn’t seen Qin Tian, knew of him without exception.
It wasn’t that they were afraid of the name.
It was just that in the school’s overall environment, it was undeniably more advantageous for students with good academic performance.
For example, if a struggling student and a well-behaved good student got into a fight, even teachers who advocated for teaching without discrimination would, to some extent, lean towards the well-behaved student.
This was human nature, unless the teachers were devoid of emotion.
And a student whose grades were as good as Qin Tian’s had gone beyond mere advantage; it had escalated to a level of privilege.
If they dared to lay hands on Qin Tian, coupled with the fact that they were in the wrong to begin with, they would likely have their parents summoned the very next day.
“How do you know it’s him? Have you seen him?”
The boy in the middle frowned and confirmed.
“Yeah, I have a buddy in Class Nine. I was looking for him once and passed by Class Ten, and I heard someone call out Qin Tian. It was him.”
The boy nodded seriously in response.
“Damn it!”
The boy with the Korean-style hairstyle couldn’t help but curse. He tried to appear calm, saying, “So what if it’s him? We didn’t do anything. What’s there to be afraid of?”
The two flanking him nodded in agreement, but their expressions clearly showed a hint of panic.
At this moment, Qin Tian had walked up to the trio.
He was already one meter eighty-two, and he was still slowly growing. Compared to the tallest of the three boys, he was almost half a head taller.
Many students around noticed the situation, stopped in their tracks, and watched the unfolding drama with curiosity.
“If you think someone is pretty, you can be friends with them? Then I think you’re all very ugly. Does that mean you should disappear from my sight immediately?”
Qin Tian’s gaze was playful as he sized up the three, speaking without politeness.
“Pfft!”
Someone nearby couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Xia Nuannuan also covered her mouth, suppressing her laughter. Su Yan, standing beside her, did not laugh, and a flicker of surprise crossed her beautiful eyes as she looked at Qin Tian.
She clearly hadn't expected Qin Tian to be so adept at insulting people, almost on par with her best friend Tian Jiajia.
If Qin Tian knew what she was thinking, he would definitely be shocked.
After all, her friend was the formidable one who had first stumped Grandpa Zhang in verbal sparring.
The three boys, hearing the laughter and whispers from the surrounding crowd, looked extremely displeased.
Undoubtedly, the atmosphere around them was very unfriendly to them.
For instance, the girls around them clearly cast glances of contempt and mockery, as if they were looking at three petty hooligans.
They couldn’t win the argument with words, and resorting to violence was out of the question, at least not here.
Leaving now would be too humiliating, especially with classmates who recognized them around. Once the news spread, they would become a laughingstock.
For a moment, the three found themselves in a difficult predicament, filled with regret.
Especially the two flanking ‘guardians’ who were internally cursing their ‘good buddy’ in the middle to the high heavens.
Without this buddy, who fancied himself “Sizhong’s Daniel Wu,” they certainly wouldn’t have had the courage to approach.
Now, by merely joining in the fun, they were being treated like monkeys for others to laugh at.
“What are you all loitering around here for?”
A middle-aged teacher, who was proctoring this exam, emerged from the classroom. Seeing the tense atmosphere, he immediately shouted.
The surrounding students were startled and quickly scattered like birds startled by a sudden noise.
The boy in the middle shot Qin Tian a fierce glare, exuding an expression of “we’ll meet again.”
“Let’s go!”
The boy beckoned, bypassed Xia Nuannuan and Su Yan, and the three of them fled downstairs as if escaping.
“Qin Tian, I’m sorry, I caused you trouble again.”
Xia Nuannuan looked at Qin Tian with an apologetic gaze.
Qin Tian shrugged helplessly, a grin on his face. “This kind of thing won’t be uncommon in the future. Don’t worry, I’m prepared.”
Xia Nuannuan naturally understood his words, her pretty face quickly flushing. She gave him a shy, sidelong glance.
“Then I’ll be going too.”
Su Yan felt a bit out of place and bid farewell to Xia Nuannuan.
If she stayed any longer, she felt like a blindingly bright two-kilowatt light bulb.
“Okay, bye-bye!”
Xia Nuannuan smiled radiantly and waved goodbye to her.
Su Yan speaking up for her earlier had earned her a lot of goodwill. She thought this campus beauty seemed quite nice.
“Goodbye!”
Su Yan nodded slightly and turned to leave without another word.
Qin Tian walked forward, walking alongside Xia Nuannuan, descending the stairs at a leisurely pace.
“When did you two get so close?”
“You mean Su Yan?”
“Yeah!”
“Didn’t I tell you at noon? She just happened to be sitting right behind me.”
“There’s no cause-and-effect relationship there, is there? And then what?”
“Then, before the math exam, I was looking at the review outline you made, she saw it, and then we chatted for a bit. I also promised to ask the class monitor for a copy for her.”
“Oh, I see!”
Qin Tian nodded, as if suddenly understanding.
“What? Are you interested in the campus beauty? Too bad she doesn’t seem to care much for you!”
Xia Nuannuan teased with a smile.
Up until that point, Su Yan hadn’t greeted Qin Tian at all, and she was happy about that.
“What are you talking about!”
Qin Tian was somewhat amused and exasperated. “I’m not a universally loved sweet bun. It’s normal for someone not to favor me!”
“Oh? That’s not like you. You’re not being narcissistic today?”
Xia Nuannuan feigned an expression of surprise.
Qin Tian rolled his eyes speechlessly. Seeing her cute expression, he couldn’t help but reach out and pinch her small cheek.
Although her face had become smaller after losing weight, it was still very pleasant to pinch.
Xia Nuannuan was startled by his action. After coming to her senses, her face flushed red, and she glanced around nervously.
Seeing that no one was watching them, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“What are you doing!”
Xia Nuannuan said bashfully and with a hint of anger.
“Nothing!”
Qin Tian tried to maintain his composure, blinking innocently.
Xia Nuannuan puffed out her cheeks in annoyance, glaring at him with her big eyes.
“Alright, alright, I was wrong. I couldn’t help myself for a moment, my hand was itchy.”
Qin Tian couldn’t quite handle the girl’s pouty, cute anger and apologized sincerely.
“Hmph, don’t do that again!”
Xia Nuannuan huffed a warning. After a two-second pause, she added, “It’s embarrassing if someone sees!”
“Then can you do it when no one is around?”
“No!”
“I understand, girls always say the opposite, so it means it’s okay.”
“…”