Chapter 39
Shen Yan took the rice ball and took a bite. It had a salted duck egg yolk filling, his favorite flavor.
He couldn’t help but smile, thinking that his double standards were justified. Would that scumbag Duan Yang queue up to buy rice balls for him? Ha, even if he did, Shen Yan knew he wouldn’t eat them.
The school was a bit far from Su Yunzhe’s house, so it took them some time to drive over. It was during the drive that Shen Yan finally learned what had happened.
Tonight, it was Qin Mofeng’s turn to supervise the evening study session. Things had been calm until eight o’clock, when Ling Sicheng came to ask him if they could use the last hour to go over their monthly exam papers.
Their class’s English exam scores had been the lowest in the entire grade, so Ling Sicheng wanted to squeeze in some extra tutoring.
But then Qin Mofeng snapped, accusing Ling Sicheng of deliberately targeting him. Why hadn’t he asked to explain the papers earlier or later? Why only when Qin Mofeng was on duty? He claimed it was because Ling Sicheng disliked him and was trying to make trouble.
That was just unreasonable. Sometimes, other teachers also used that last hour for different subjects, and Qin Mofeng himself had done it before.
However, Ling Sicheng was good-natured and didn’t argue. He even apologized and was about to leave when Qin Mofeng wouldn’t let it go. He started dragging up old grievances, mentioning how Ling Sicheng had transferred him to the physics department and how he wasn’t allowed to smoke in the office. He went on and on, digging up all sorts of irrelevant issues. The commotion drew the attention of all the students and even the vice-principal, who came over.
“He…” Shen Yan was speechless. He thought that if he were Ling Sicheng, he’d probably feel like smashing Qin Mofeng’s face in. This was completely absurd.
How old was he? If there was a problem, why couldn’t they just talk it through properly?
And in front of so many people, especially students, making a scene like that was just too much.
Su Yunzhe was also helpless but couldn’t quite understand. “He…”
Before he could finish, Su Yingying sent a video followed by a brief voice message.
Shen Yan quickly opened the voice message: “Bro, come quickly, it’s a fight! Feng-ge has really lost it!”
Both of them were stunned. Shen Yan quickly opened the video.
In the video, Qin Mofeng and Ling Sicheng were standing in the hallway, surrounded by many people—some teachers were trying to mediate, while students watched the drama unfold.
Ling Sicheng still looked calm, his tone gentle as he tried to reason with Qin Mofeng: “Teacher Qin, if you have any grievances, we can go to the office and talk. Please don’t disturb the students during their study time.”
Qin Mofeng, veins bulging, gritted his teeth, “I won’t go! I don’t trust you. Who knows what kind of tricks you’ll pull? Stop pretending, I can’t stand it!”
“Teacher Qin, what are you talking about? You’re a teacher, you should mind your words and actions!” A middle-aged man scolded Qin Mofeng. He was probably the vice-principal on duty. After saying that, he turned to pull Ling Sicheng away, his tone much softer, “Teacher Ling, you should go rest too. There’s no need to overwork yourself. Don’t neglect your health just because you’re young. Come on, I’ll give you a ride home.”
But Qin Mofeng sneered, “Principal Zhang, you better watch out. Someone might take action against you.”
“What did you say?” Ling Sicheng turned around, his normally warm eyes now filled with disbelief.
Qin Mofeng paused for a moment and snorted, “Don’t you know exactly what I mean? You’re just that kind of person. You schemed against me last time, and now you’re probably planning to use the same method against Principal Zhang…”
“Qin Mofeng, you bastard!” Ling Sicheng rushed up and punched Qin Mofeng in the face.
There were shocked gasps from the crowd, and the camera shook violently, losing focus, showing nothing but chaos before cutting off.
The car was silent.
After a long time, Shen Yan finally spoke in a low voice, “Feng-ge…”
But once he started, he didn’t even know what to say.
It felt like Qin Mofeng had gone too far.
Even someone as mild-tempered as Ling Sicheng had been pushed to the point of throwing a punch. That just showed how hurtful Qin Mofeng’s words must have been.
But Qin Mofeng was still Su Yunzhe’s good brother, so Shen Yan couldn’t say much.
“Definitely a bastard!” Su Yunzhe picked up from where Shen Yan left off. “With the nonsense he said, a punch wasn’t enough. If he’d met someone with a bad temper, he’d be left unable to take care of himself. But…”
He paused. “He’s not supposed to be like this.”
“What do you mean?” Shen Yan asked.
“He occasionally does things that are hard to understand, but he wouldn’t intentionally hurt anyone. This time, every word he said was meant to provoke Ling Sicheng. He was deliberately trying to anger him,” Su Yunzhe said.
Shen Yan didn’t respond. He felt that Su Yunzhe was giving Qin Mofeng special treatment because of their personal relationship. But that was understandable—there was nothing to say about it.
By the time they arrived at the school, it was almost eleven o’clock.
The students had already left, and the campus was quiet.
Only Su Yingying was waiting at the entrance for Su Yunzhe.
When she saw Shen Yan get out of the car with Su Yunzhe, her expression clearly soured. However, she ignored Shen Yan and immediately went on to explain what had happened later.
“Feng-ge got beaten pretty badly. Who would have thought that Teacher Ling, who has such a good temper, would be so decisive when it came to fighting. But honestly, Feng-ge went too far. Teacher Ling is such a good person, why is he always so hostile toward him? Now they’re probably in the principal’s office being lectured.”
Su Yunzhe nodded, “I’ll go check on them. It’s late, you should head home now. Aren’t you getting picked up?”
Su Yingying hesitated for a moment before softly responding, “My mom is coming soon.”
“Alright, then. Be careful on the way home,” Su Yunzhe said as he led Shen Yan into the school.
Su Yingying stood there, watching them walk away through the school gate, before finally pulling her gaze away. She tried to smile, but it didn’t come out right—her expression only seemed more painful.
When Su Yunzhe and Shen Yan reached the office building, Qin Mofeng was already outside, leaning against the hallway wall with his head down, smoking a cigarette.
His hair and shirt were both a bit messy, and his face bore several bruises. He looked a mess.
Su Yunzhe didn’t waste words. He walked over and kicked him, “Let’s go!”
He knew Qin Mofeng well. At this point, trying to reason with him would be useless. It was better to just take him back, get him drunk, and let him sleep it off. They could deal with everything else later when he was sober.
Qin Mofeng glanced up at him, “Why are you here?”
“Didn’t I hear you got beat up? I’m here to clean up your mess. I was having a nice date and you ruined it,” Su Yunzhe said, clearly irritated.
Qin Mofeng looked at Shen Yan, gave a crooked smile, and winced as it pulled at the cut on his mouth. He sucked in a breath but didn’t forget to apologize to Shen Yan. “Yan-meizi, sorry about that.”
Shen Yan smiled faintly but didn’t respond. Seeing Qin Mofeng like this, he realized how hard it was to imagine that just moments ago, those vicious words had come from his mouth.
After finishing his cigarette, Qin Mofeng tossed it into a trash bin and straightened up. “Let’s go.”
At that moment, footsteps echoed from the stairwell, and Ling Sicheng appeared.
He looked just like the last time Shen Yan had seen him—wearing a simple white T-shirt, looking like a college student, with no sign of a fight on him at all.
When he saw Shen Yan, he smiled and nodded, walking past Qin Mofeng and Su Yunzhe without sparing them a glance.
“Hey!” Qin Mofeng called out.
Shen Yan couldn’t help but glance at Su Yunzhe, his heart tightening. He wondered if Qin Mofeng was going to start trouble again.
Su Yunzhe shook his head, signaling for Shen Yan not to worry.
Ling Sicheng paid no attention and continued walking forward, clearly ignoring him.
Shen Yan saw a flash of impatience cross Qin Mofeng’s face as he lifted his foot, seemingly about to chase after him.
But then, Ling Sicheng suddenly stopped. “Oh, right…” He turned back to look at Qin Mofeng. “I should tell you. I’m resigning. Starting tomorrow, Teacher Wang will take over my position. Any work-related matters should be directed to him from now on.”
After saying that, Ling Sicheng turned and continued walking out.
Qin Mofeng was stunned for a moment, before suddenly shouting, “Ling Sicheng, what do you mean by that?”
Ling Sicheng ignored him.
“Stop right there! What the hell do you mean? Are you trying to set me up, saying I forced you to resign? Stand still and explain yourself. Didn’t you hear me? Stand still!”
He was still shouting, but Ling Sicheng had already walked too far away, completely tuning out everything behind him.
Qin Mofeng’s anger seemed to deflate, and his voice died down. He just stood there, staring at the retreating white figure, watching it disappear into the night.
For a moment, Shen Yan thought he looked like a lost child, his eyes filled with confusion and even fear.
Su Yunzhe patted his shoulder as he walked by, “Let’s go. You need to clean the mess in your head first.”
On the way back to the car, the atmosphere was heavy.
Every now and then, Qin Mofeng muttered random things.
“Resign, then resign, what’s it to me?”
“Insidious, he’s just trying to slander me.”
“I never asked him to resign.”
“Let him go. Can’t we still get by without him at Seventeen High?”
“Dammit, stop the car! Su Yunzhe, I damn well told you to stop!”
Qin Mofeng’s constant muttering was irritating enough that Su Yunzhe had stopped paying attention, but suddenly he roared.
Both Su Yunzhe and Shen Yan were startled and turned back to look at him in confusion. They saw his eyes fixed on the right front, red-rimmed with fury.
Shen Yan followed his gaze and was shocked to see Ling Sicheng surrounded by several people by the roadside.
“It’s Ling… Oh my god!”
Shen Yan was speechless. It seemed a fight had already broken out.
Ling Sicheng, usually so gentle, moved with fluid precision, taking down the group around him with ease.
Shen Yan’s jaw dropped. He looked back at Qin Mofeng, wondering just how much restraint Ling Sicheng had to have shown, waiting until today to act against him. Looking at how easily he dispatched those people, it was clear Ling Sicheng had been holding back, especially considering the way he fought—he was obviously sparing Qin Mofeng’s people.
Qin Mofeng clearly noticed this too, his anger ebbing away and replaced by frustration. “Let’s go… damn it!”
Suddenly, he swore under his breath, threw open the car door, and charged out. It turned out one of the people Ling Sicheng had knocked down had grabbed a steel pipe and struck him in the back.
Qin Mofeng, eyes blazing, rushed to intervene as if ready to fight to the death. Shen Yan instinctively moved to get out of the car as well, but Su Yunzhe grabbed his wrist and held him back.
“Are we not going to help?” Shen Yan asked, confused.
Su Yunzhe gestured for him to look. Shen Yan followed his gaze and saw two figures emerging from the shadows—Duan Yang and Yu Lin.
“Duan Yang? What is he…?” Before Shen Yan could finish his sentence, he noticed that Duan Yang was followed by three or four others, each holding weapons.
Shit!
The troublemakers were Duan Yang’s people?
Was Duan Yang familiar with Ling Sicheng? Was there some kind of past between them?
Shen Yan was completely baffled. Meanwhile, on the other side, Ling Sicheng had taken a painful hit to his back. When he saw Duan Yang show up, he knew the situation wasn’t going to end well. His mind raced with concern, but then he saw Qin Mofeng emerge from somewhere, crazed, and start attacking the young thug who had ambushed him earlier.
Clearly, Duan Yang didn’t expect anyone else to be around at this time and place. He was startled and immediately scanned the area, his eyes landing on a car across the street. His expression faltered.
As a public figure, being seen with these thugs would ruin him.
When Shen Yan saw Duan Yang look his way, he instinctively shrank back into his seat. Su Yunzhe, however, remained calm, “It’s unclear who’s in the car. I’ve never driven it, so he won’t recognize it. And…” He glanced at Shen Yan, “The one who should be worried is him.”
Shen Yan gave a sheepish smile. “True.”
In truth, he wasn’t so much afraid as just instinctively trying to hide when he saw Duan Yang, hoping Su Yunzhe hadn’t noticed anything odd.
Duan Yang, clearly feeling guilty, wasn’t about to investigate who was in the car. He quickly signaled to Yu Lin and turned to leave.
With the tension defused, Ling Sicheng stood at ease, calling after Duan Yang. “Hey, that’s enough. I came back here for my mom, and I’m leaving in a few days. Can you stop causing trouble?”
“Are you playing hard to get?” Duan Yang stood in the shadows, his back to Ling Sicheng, his voice cold.
Ling Sicheng sneered, “Ever heard the saying, ‘The way you view others reflects your own heart’? Do you really think everyone is like your family?”
Duan Yang was livid but didn’t dare act impulsively. He gritted his teeth and stormed off with his men.
Ling Sicheng stood still for a moment, then turned to walk away.
Qin Mofeng grabbed his arm. “Hey, what’s going on? Why is Duan Yang after you?”
Ling Sicheng winced at the pain in his back as Qin Mofeng pulled on him, but he endured it. He turned and looked at Qin Mofeng, “None of your damn business!”
He shrugged off his grip and walked away without looking back.
From a distance, Shen Yan and Su Yunzhe had no idea what had happened, only seeing Ling Sicheng walk off, leaving Qin Mofeng standing there, looking dazed.
“Uh… Feng-ge doesn’t look too good,” Shen Yan said, poking Su Yunzhe.
Su Yunzhe sighed, opened the car door, and went over to drag him back.
On the drive back, Qin Mofeng didn’t speak again, not even his usual random complaints. He just slouched in the backseat, staring blankly at the roof of the car, as if searching for something there.
Not trusting to leave him alone at his place, Su Yunzhe decided to bring him to his own home.
Qin Mofeng, probably not fully aware of what was going on, went along with whatever Su Yunzhe said. Once they got inside, he flopped onto the couch, staring up at the ceiling, still in a daze.
His expression was a far cry from someone who’d just heard their least favorite person resigned. He looked more like someone who’d been dumped, utterly dejected and heartbroken.
“You should sleep,” Su Yunzhe said, glancing at the time. It was already past one. He didn’t want Shen Yan to get too tired, so he told him to head upstairs.
“And you? Are you going to stay with him?” Shen Yan asked.
Su Yunzhe shrugged, “What can I do? I’ve never seen him like this before. If he really decides to jump off a building or something, this place will be a murder scene.”
He entered the kitchen, opened the fridge, and grabbed a beer, planning to get Qin Mofeng drunk and put him to bed without further thought.
Shen Yan followed him in. “You’re just saying that, but you’re really worried, aren’t you? By the way, do you think Feng-ge… has he ever been in a relationship? The way he expresses his feelings is kind of special.”
If Shen Yan had been uncertain about Qin Mofeng’s feelings earlier that evening, he now understood completely. Qin Mofeng didn’t dislike Ling Sicheng at all.
It was obvious—he liked him but didn’t know how to express it.
“He probably can’t believe he likes a man. After all, he’s had this ‘Snow White’ in his heart since he was a kid,” Su Yunzhe said.
Shen Yan’s heart sank, but he quickly ignored the first part of the sentence and propped his chin up on the bar, smiling. “What Snow White?”
Su Yunzhe glanced back at him and, seeing his interest, responded indirectly. “Are you hungry? Do you want me to make something for you?”
Shen Yan hadn’t been thinking about food, but hearing that question, he suddenly wanted to eat. He eagerly nodded. “Sure, cold noodles, please! I think Feng-ge must be hungry too.”
Su Yunzhe grabbed the ingredients from the fridge and muttered, “I’m not making food for him.”
Shen Yan tilted his head, chuckling. “You’re just pretending. Come on, tell me—what’s this about Feng-ge’s Snow White?”
“According to him, when he was little, he met a very cute girl, just like Snow White. She was the daughter of his elementary school Chinese teacher. Then the teacher got transferred, and the little girl left.”
“And then?”
“Then… he couldn’t forget her. He’s been fantasizing about meeting her again ever since. So, he probably didn’t expect to get bent so easily. I think he was kind of shocked,” Su Yunzhe explained.
Shen Yan’s hand that had been resting on his chin went limp, and he ended up lying down on the bar, lost in thought. The words “bent” kept echoing in his mind, stirring up a few wicked thoughts. He couldn’t help but keep his eyes on Su Yunzhe’s back, the thoughts growing more intense.
When Su Yunzhe turned around and saw him lying there, he assumed he was tired and placed the cold noodles in front of him. Gently patting Shen Yan’s head, his voice was soft. “Tired? Eat and then go to bed.”
He then picked up another bowl, ready to take it to Qin Mofeng.
Shen Yan watched him and blurted out, “Su Yunzhe, you…”
You think you’d ever get bent?
That’s what he wanted to ask, but he swallowed the words and instead said, “You’re the type of person who’s perfect as a friend!”
Su Yunzhe froze, then leaned down and whispered in his ear, laughing softly. “Isn’t being a husband even better?”
