Chapter 14
Climbing walls and trees was second nature to Jiang Jian.
When he was a kid, he’d been a little monkey — mischievous and restless. He’d toned down over the years, but the basics never left him.
He quickly found a good spot along the wall where they could sneak into the campus, tossed his backpack over first, then turned to look at Luo Shuxin.
Luo Shuxin was still examining the height of the wall, sizing it up like it was a math problem.
Somehow, Jiang Jian suddenly felt an impish thrill — the bad kind of satisfaction that comes from corrupting a model student. He teased,
“Never seen this kind of operation before, huh, Mr. Straight-A Student?”
There was a bit of mischief in his voice, a hint of pride, and a flash of “look at me” flair — like a peacock shaking its feathers, ready to show off: See? I’m cooler than you.
Jiang Jian grabbed Luo Shuxin’s backpack and started lecturing him in the tone of an experienced senior.
“It’s fine, don’t be nervous. There’s a first time for everything. Think of it as learning a life skill! Even if your jump isn’t great, you’ve still got me, right? You can step on my shoulder — I’ll make sure you don’t miss your precious speech under the national flag!”
He enthusiastically tossed Luo Shuxin’s bag over the wall, then demonstrated how to take a running start, how to grab the edge, how to use momentum.
Luo Shuxin watched the display quietly, eyes fixed on Jiang Jian’s feet.
“Your foot… is it already healed, or was it never really injured?”
Jiang Jian: “……”
Why did I open my big mouth?
He glared. “Did you get it? Good, now try it yourself! It’s fine if you don’t make it the first time — if you can’t get up, I’ll lend you my shoulder!”
But Luo Shuxin’s gaze was still fixed on his injured foot.
Jiang Jian waved his hand in front of his face. “Hey! What are you staring at? Hurry up, you’re gonna be late!”
Luo Shuxin finally withdrew his gaze, took a few steps back, ran, jumped, used the wall for leverage — and in the blink of an eye, he was up there.
Clean, precise, effortless.
Jiang Jian: “……”
Luo Shuxin crouched on top of the wall, looking down at him, and stretched out a hand.
“Need help? I can lend you a hand.”
For some reason, Jiang Jian felt like he was being mocked. Furious, he flipped him the middle finger.
Luo Shuxin might’ve smiled — just faintly — Jiang Jian couldn’t be sure.
“If you don’t need help, I’ll drop down first,” Luo Shuxin said calmly. “You follow.”
Jiang Jian: “Get lost! Don’t ruin my performance!”
Luo Shuxin jumped down neatly on the other side. Jiang Jian took a deep breath, ran up for his big moment — and just as he was about to leap, a thunderous voice exploded from afar:
“Jiang Jian!!! I knew it was you!!”
The voice boomed like it came with its own loudspeaker, shocking Jiang Jian so hard his heart nearly stopped. He had just taken off when it hit, and right at that moment, he knew something was wrong — but there was no turning back.
Sure enough, his fingertips barely brushed the top of the wall before he lost his grip and slid down.
Worse yet, his landing went crooked. His foot came down on a rock, twisting sideways with a sharp crack.
Jiang Jian: “……”
He clenched his teeth through the pain, thinking bitterly, Great. That’s karma for lying about my injury — now I’m really crippled.
As he leaned against the wall, hissing through his teeth, the school’s disciplinary director came storming over.
His name was Fei Zhiguo, though everyone called him Old Fei behind his back. Some students — the crueler ones — called him Fat Fei instead, because he was short, heavyset, and always mean-looking.
Jiang Jian actually suspected that “Old Fei” originally came from “Fat Fei,” since he got mad whenever someone called him that to his face.
Years ago, Fei Zhiguo had started going bald on top, so he tried to hide it by combing the hair from one side across the other — until a cheeky student mocked him about it. After that, he gave up and shaved his head entirely.
Now, the man came jogging over, panting heavily, and jabbed a finger at Jiang Jian’s nose.
“I saw you from halfway across the road, dragging someone and running full speed! Late again — and now you’re trying to climb the wall? You’ve really outdone yourself this time! Where’s the other one? Who was that — boy or girl?”
He’d seen Jiang Jian running with someone, and naturally jumped straight to early romance.
Jiang Jian was sweating bullets from the pain, trying to force out a pitiful smile that somehow looked both miserable and obedient.
Old Fei immediately sensed something was wrong. He grabbed Jiang Jian’s arm to steady him, still scolding but with a slight change in tone.
“What happened to your foot? …Wait, that’s right — you broke your ankle before, didn’t you? No wonder the school’s been unusually peaceful these last few weeks!”
Jiang Jian grinned weakly. “Looks like it’s about to get peaceful again.”
“Wipe that grin off your face!” Old Fei barked, though he’d already turned around, clearly intending to carry him.
Jiang Jian hurriedly waved him off. “No, no, sir — I’m already in disgrace, I wouldn’t dare trouble you like that. Just lend me a hand — I can hop!”
Old Fei: “……”
Before helping him move, Fei Zhiguo called the guards, reporting that a student had just climbed in from the east wall — probably a tall girl — and ordered them to stop and detain her for a joint self-criticism session.
Jiang Jian: “……”
Whether Luo Shuxin got caught or not would depend entirely on fate.
After hanging up, Old Fei used one hand to help Jiang Jian along, muttering nonstop as they limped forward.
“Don’t think you’re off the hook just because of your foot! You’re still marked late, and climbing the wall adds an extra offense. But— if you’re willing to tell me who that girl was, I might consider being lenient!”
Jiang Jian answered solemnly,
“Sir, isn’t that basically encouraging treason? Betraying one’s comrade-in-arms? I can’t do that.”
Old Fei: “……”
He clearly wanted to dump the kid right there and leave him.
“Shut your mouth!” Old Fei snapped. “You slick little brat — always mouthing off! Do you even realize how many violations you’ve racked up since joining this school? The vice principal’s been saying for ages that he can’t stand your troublemaking. One more strike and he’ll have enough written down to expel you!”
As they hobbled into the schoolyard, Jiang Jian could already hear Luo Shuxin’s voice — steady and clear — giving the speech under the national flag.
His voice was clean and clear — even through the cheap school speakers, it still sounded that way.
There was hardly any emotional fluctuation in his tone, yet somehow Jiang Jian found it extremely pleasant to listen to — like a cool summer breeze brushing over your skin.
“Youth is like the wind, accompanied by flowers and the glow of dawn.
Youth is like poetry, drunk on spring and tenderness.
Youth is the best time of life — now is the moment to set sail, while the scenery is at its finest.”
.
And then that very “finest scenery” of a boy, right after finishing his speech under the national flag, voluntarily went to Old Fei to admit his mistake — saying that he was the one who’d climbed the wall together with Jiang Jian.
Old Fei knew who Luo Shuxin was. The kid’s entrance-exam scores had been the talk of the sophomore-year teachers’ office for a whole week.
Now, looking at Luo Shuxin, Old Fei’s expression was especially pained — as if to say, You too? Even you, with those thick brows and righteous eyes, had to betray the school rules?
Jiang Jian, standing off to the side, wanted to laugh — and made no effort whatsoever to hide it.
He had barely managed to suppress the grin tugging at the corners of his mouth when Old Fei’s finger suddenly jabbed in his direction.
“Did he bother you on the way here this morning? Or did he drag you into one of his so-called nightlife activities last night and make you oversleep? If you’ve been wronged, say the word — the school will stand up for you!”
Jiang Jian: “?”
Unbelievable.
Same tardiness, same wall-climbing — but somehow I’m the chronic troublemaker and he’s the innocent kid I corrupted?
Luo Shuxin, to his credit, admitted fault readily, though he still spoke little. He explained succinctly that he’d just woken up late and happened to run into Jiang Jian by coincidence.
“I was just being kind, letting him run with me!” Jiang Jian protested.
“You shut it!” Old Fei barked, shooting him a glare before turning back to inspect Luo Shuxin from head to toe.
“You’re telling me you didn’t take part in Jiang Jian’s organized nightlife?”
At that, Jiang Jian suddenly felt that Old Fei’s earlier gentle tone toward Luo Shuxin had been bait all along.
He raised his hand carefully. “Old Fei— sir, I’ve got a question.”
Old Fei clicked his tongue. “Why is it always you talking? Out with it.”
“What exactly do you mean by nightlife?”
The way he said it made it sound like he’d been running some kind of illegal underground operation.
Old Fei gave a cold snort, opened his WeChat Moments, and scrolled a few times until he found a repost from Class 9’s homeroom teacher.
It was a chaotic KTV video, captioned: ‘Whoever’s in this video, report to my office tomorrow.’
The moment the clip played, you could hear Shao Xing shouting drunkenly into a microphone:
“Yin-jie! I wish you happiness as vast as the Eastern Sea and a life as long as the Southern Mountains! Come on— give us a toast for Sister Yin!!”
Jiang Jian’s expression twisted. He wanted to swear he didn’t even know those people.
Unfortunately, there he was — sitting in the corner of the video, a playing card in his hand, face taut with a forced seriousness.
In the dim lighting, his pale complexion made him stand out starkly from the crowd; you could pick him out instantly.
Old Fei slammed his verdict down unilaterally:
“Look at you all! Look at you! If that isn’t nightlife, what is?!”
Jiang Jian muttered, “…It was a classmate’s birthday.”
Old Fei shot back, “You had to celebrate it in that kind of place?!”
There was really no way to keep this conversation going.
Jiang Jian glanced at the phone again, memorizing the name of the person who had originally posted the video without blocking the teacher.
[ID: I’m-Not-a-Whiny-Baby]
Right — that’d be Yin Ying. She’d always been gifted at making a mess of things.
Old Fei shut off his phone. “You’ve both seen the evidence. Your homeroom teacher, Mr. Dai, is probably waiting for you to go beg forgiveness right now.”
Jiang Jian: …Your humble student trembles in fear.
At first, the morning tardy inspection had caught a whole row of students, but once Jiang Jian and Luo Shuxin showed up, the rest became background extras. Old Fei focused all his wrath on these two from Class 1.
After ten minutes of scolding, still unsatisfied, he marched the entire group to the sports field to “stand there and reflect.” They were made to stand through the entire morning-reading period.
In the classroom building nearest the field, the girls by the windows were noticeably glancing outside far more often than usual.
Because Jiang Jian had sprained his ankle, he got special treatment — he was sitting for his public humiliation. Everyone else stood like cranes among chickens; he was a chicken sitting among cranes.
At first, the punished students were whispering complaints about their bad luck, but after Old Fei’s surprise inspections a few times, no one dared talk anymore — except Jiang Jian, who had nerves of steel.
The September sun was already hot even in the morning, and sweat was dripping down his forehead. He nudged Luo Shuxin’s leg with the back of his hand.
“Hey, you got tissues?”
Luo Shuxin: “……”
He silently pulled a pack of strawberry-bear tissues from his pocket and tossed it over.
Same cutesy packaging as before, but somehow today, it didn’t look so irritating.
Even while baking in the sun, Jiang Jian’s mood was oddly good. He chatted idly with Luo Shuxin.
“Why’d you come back to turn yourself in?”
