OCY - Chapter 2

Ji Linxue was led by Teacher Chen into the classroom of Grade 2 Class 1. Class had just begun, and the classroom was still a bit noisy, but the sound immediately died down after he entered.

Ji Linxue looked around, frowning. His sixth sense told him that the person he was looking for wasn't here.

"Students, quiet down. This is our new classmate, Ji Linxue." Teacher Chen smiled at him kindly, "Please introduce yourself."

Ji Linxue bowed to everyone, "Hello everyone, my name is Ji Linxue, I'm from A City..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was suddenly interrupted by a voice from the doorway, "Report!"

Ji Linxue turned his head. Three boys stood at the classroom door. They were all very handsome, the kind who stood out from the crowd. But Ji Linxue's gaze didn't linger, he looked directly at the boy standing at the end of the line.

The boy had deep features, sword-like eyebrows extending towards his temples, starry eyes, a tall nose bridge, and was estimated to be over 1.8 meters tall. His figure was slender and well-proportioned, revealing perfection in every aspect.

Noticing Ji Linxue's gaze, the boy raised an eyebrow and looked back without any hesitation.

Ji Linxue snapped out of it, immediately retracting his gaze, but his heart couldn't help but beat wildly.

Although it was only a glance, he could already confirm that this was the male lead of the book – Gu Hengzhi.

The domineering, autocratic, ruthless Gu Hengzhi who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals, regardless of anyone's life or death.

"Why are you late again?" Teacher Chen furrowed his brow, but remembering the identities of these three, he didn't bother to scold them, "Go in and sit down."

With that interruption, the self-introduction didn't need to continue. Teacher Chen told Ji Linxue to choose a seat and prepare to start class.

There were not many empty seats in the classroom, only one. Ji Linxue went and sat down. Within seconds, a head popped out from beside him, it was one of the boys who had just been late.

"Hello there, my name is Shen Shaoyan. We're deskmates from now on. What's your name?" The boy was handsome, and his harmless smile was enough to lower anyone's guard.

Shen Shaoyan, the third male lead in "The Tycoon Prince's Pampered Darling," was the male lead's best friend since childhood. As a seasoned ladies' man who had a constant string of girlfriends since junior high, he gave many bad ideas to the male lead on his path to chasing the female lead. 

Before the female lead appeared, he was even responsible for finding "clean bedmates" for the male lead, practically a modern-day pimp.

Ji Linxue looked at his smiling face, expressionless, "Ji Linxue."

This was the third male lead, Shen Shaoyan. The other was the male lead, Gu Hengzhi. So the last one should be the fifth male lead, Lu Yu.

Shen Shaoyan didn't mind his coldness at all, "Are you a transfer student? Which school were you from before? Why did you transfer to Deyin?"

Ji Linxue, "Not a transfer, I skipped a grade."

"Oh, I see..." Shen Shaoyan wanted to ask more questions but found that his new deskmate had taken out a notebook and was taking notes at some point. He had to swallow all his questions.

After class, Ji Linxue was called by Teacher Chen to pick up books and a school uniform. Shen Shaoyan turned around, shrugging dejectedly, "Another boring stick-in-the-mud."

"But I'm also curious, why didn't Old Man Li arrange him in Class 6?" Shen Shaoyan nudged Lu Yu's arm with his elbow, "Do you know what's going on?"

Lu Yu held up his math book, "No idea."

Shen Shaoyan turned to look at Gu Hengzhi, who was looking out the window, showing no intention of responding to him.

He shrugged uninterestingly. It seemed the other two were not interested in this new classmate.

One minute before class began, Ji Linxue returned, carrying his belongings. Several girls were gathered around him, helping him carry things, chirping like newly released sparrows, very lively.

They had many questions, and Ji Linxue, with a faint smile on his lips, answered them patiently one by one.

His appearance leaned towards cool and detached, he seemed somewhat aloof when expressionless, but when he suddenly smiled, it was as if ice and snow melted, like a broken tangyuan (sweet glutinous rice ball), allowing one to glimpse the sweetness within.

His already superior features, coupled with this captivating aura, made him even more eye-catching.

Shen Shaoyan's mouth twitched, and the pen in his hand was almost broken, "Damn it! He just gave me the cold shoulder, and now he's so gentle and patient with girls, what a pervert!"

Lu Yu scoffed and laughed, "Then you two get along very well, birds of a feather."

Gu Hengzhi, "..."

He finally showed some interest, turning his head slightly to look at the new transfer student. The other person noticed his gaze, and his beautiful light gray eyes moved, a slight frown appearing as he avoided Gu Hengzhi's eyes.

His movements made his dislike for Gu Hengzhi completely undisguised.

Gu Hengzhi froze for a moment, then let out a light scoff. He didn't know what he had done to offend this new classmate, who was giving him attitude right from the start.

Since the other person hadn't bothered him, he wouldn't go looking for trouble either. He simply treated him as air, out of sight, out of mind.

After the last class ended, Ji Linxue took his suitcase to the dormitory.

The dormitory was a quad room, very spacious, with its own private bathroom and balcony. The interior was bright and roomy, and the facilities were complete. 

The other three roommates hadn't returned yet. He tidied up his things, then went downstairs to buy some daily necessities, and then sat in the dorm quietly reading.

When the hour hand pointed to ten, noisy sounds came from outside. Soon after, the dorm room door was pushed open. 

Shen Shaoyan's laughter was very loud, but it stopped abruptly when he saw Ji Linxue, his voice filled with undeniable surprise, "Why are you in our dorm?"

"The teacher assigned me."

Shen Shaoyan scratched his head, annoyed, "Why did Old Chen put you in our dorm!"

"Don't block the door." Lu Yu walked out from behind him, as if treating Ji Linxue as invisible, not even sparing him a glance. "Wash off that smell of alcohol, it stinks."

Deyin did not have evening study sessions. For these wealthy students, the night was their own time, they just had to return before the 11 PM curfew.

Shen Shaoyan pulled his collar up and sniffed, "Is there..." He leaned closer to Gu Hengzhi, grinning mischievously, "Heng Ge, you smell it."

Gu Hengzhi immediately kicked him.

Shen Shaoyan ran off, covering his backside, and rushed into the bathroom for a shower.

There were no taboos in the male dorm, and since the weather was hot, everyone wore little clothing. After Shen Shaoyan finished showering, he walked around the dorm in just his boxers.

Ji Linxue had already showered and was sitting on a stool in his pajamas.

Shen Shaoyan soon sauntered over to his desk. He was a lively character who couldn't sit still. He was about to see what book Ji Linxue was holding when his nose suddenly caught a scent, "What's that smell on you? It's so fragrant."

Ji Linxue subtly distanced himself, his face cold, "Shower gel."

Shen Shaoyan mumbled, "Is shower gel that fragrant?"

Just then, the bathroom door was pulled open, and hazy steam escaped. Gu Hengzhi wiped his wet forehead hair with one hand, his eyes slightly narrowed under long lashes.

Compared to some who seemed eager to strip naked, his pajamas were neat and tidy, every button properly fastened, exuding an aura of restraint and abstinence.

"What are you looking at?" Shen Shaoyan's large face approached him again, completely exceeding normal social distance.

Ji Linxue put down his book and frowned, "I don't like people getting too close to me."

The smile on Shen Shaoyan's face froze for a moment, then he honestly retreated, "You're a clean freak, haha, just like Heng Ge."

Gu Hengzhi ignored him, and Ji Linxue didn't respond. Shen Shaoyan's expression was awkward, and he silently shrank back.

Then he typed furiously, sending a message to Lu Yu, "I'm really angry!!!"

Lu Yu, Oh.

Shen Shaoyan, Even angrier!

Lu Yu rolled his eyes. Shen Shaoyan was born with a cheap bone, others would grovel to him, but he'd disdain them. If others gave him the cold shoulder, he'd have endless enthusiasm.

The next morning, Ji Linxue woke up very early. He had a habit of morning exercise. After washing up, he went straight to the sports field. After running one lap, he saw a familiar back in the distance.

Gu Hengzhi ran faster than him, and the distance between them gradually closed. The other person ran past him like a gust of wind, as if he didn't recognize him.

About half an hour later, Gu Hengzhi stopped and walked off the sports field.

Ji Linxue checked the time and decided to end his morning exercise as well.

The rising sun cast golden light across the land. The camphor trees by the road were lush and green, and a gentle breeze brought a rustling sound.

The person ahead suddenly stopped. Ji Linxue didn't have time to dodge and bumped straight into those sharp eyes. The boy's lips pressed together, and his deep voice slowly enunciated, "Why are you following me?"

Ji Linxue tried his best to stay calm, "I'm also going back to the dorm."

"You clearly dislike me very much." He said with certainty, walking closer step by step, his eyes sharp, "Since you dislike me, stay away from me. Stop pretending. I'm not Shen Shaoyan, your little tricks can only fool a single-minded idiot like him. If you want to get close to me, you'd better look in a mirror."

After saying that, he didn't wait for Ji Linxue's reply and turned towards the cafeteria.

The boy walked very fast and disappeared from sight within moments.

Because of the morning incident, Ji Linxue was a bit distracted all morning. He originally thought this path would be easy, but reality slapped him hard in the face. Gu Hengzhi was not someone easy to approach at all.

He was holding his pencil, lost in thought, when a fair, slender hand waved in front of his eyes.

Ji Linxue looked up. In front of him was a sweet-looking girl. He had some impression of her but couldn't remember who she was.

The girl curved her lips, her palm open, revealing a few colorful candies, "I brought too many candies, so I'm giving them to you."

Ji Linxue politely refused, "Thank you, I don't eat candy."

After the girl left, Shen Shaoyan leaned over, "Your romantic luck is quite strong."

Ji Linxue ignored him and focused on his practice problems.

Deyin's teaching pace was quite fast. If it weren't for him having just finished his sophomore year of university when he died in his previous life, and still having an impression of high school knowledge, he probably would have found it difficult to keep up.

Over the next few days, Ji Linxue dedicated his time to studying. Shen Shaoyan, seeing that he wouldn't respond to him no matter what, finally gave up harassing him and settled down.

In a blink of an eye, it was the weekend. Most of the students at school were locals and went home for the holiday. Those like Ji Linxue, who came from out of town, almost always chose to stay at the school to save time and travel expenses.

Ji Linxue was no exception. He was the only one left in the dorm. Shen Shaoyan and the others had gone home, and the room felt a bit deserted.

After dinner, he went to the rooftop.

Ji Linxue had heard about the rooftop from Shen Shaoyan, who said it was a rare quiet spot at school where one could see stars on a clear night.

The school did not allow students on the rooftop, and the door had a lock, but it was merely for show, many students would secretly sneak up. 

Few people stayed at school on weekends, and the rooftop was even more deserted, with only a single light illuminating it faintly.

Ji Linxue found a spot and quietly looked at the dark night sky.

The weather wasn't good today, he couldn't find a single star.

He didn't know how long he had been looking, but just as his eyes began to ache, a rustling sound suddenly came from behind him, followed by the click of a lighter.

A faint smell of tobacco drifted on the night wind, and Ji Linxue frowned uncomfortably.

Someone was smoking.