Self-Defense Lessons

In a certain restroom in the Grade 11 teaching building.

Wang Cheng lit a cigarette. “Did Old Man Deng catch someone again? Look at these wall tiles—they’re actually reflecting.”

Ever since Old Man Deng became the Dean for Grade 11, the restrooms were no longer the cleaning responsibility of any specific class. Whoever got caught by him was sent to scrub the toilets. As a result, every restroom on every floor was polished so bright you could use the walls as a mirror.

Wang Cheng fixed his hair against the wall, then turned around to find Shi Sui looking absent-minded. “What’s wrong with you? You’ve been looking like a ghost since I came back from buying the lighter.”

When he had returned to the classroom, Shi Sui was in a staring contest with Lu Huaizhi. A perfectly smooth Physics exam paper had been crumpled into a mess by Shi Sui’s grip.

Usually, with that kind of tension, Shi Sui would have thrown a punch already. But Wang Cheng had watched for a long time and Shi Sui hadn’t moved. Instead, he just turned around and swept a cold glance over Wang Cheng. “What are you looking at!”

Fierce as hell. But the tips of his ears were red again.

“No, really, how did Lu Huaizhi annoy you this time?” Wang Cheng said, slightly amused. “I think he’s a pretty good guy. Don’t be so hard on him.”

“You don’t know sht.” Shi Sui took a drag of his cigarette. Who the fck says they’re going to write someone a love letter tonight with such a straight face!

He was starting to suspect Lu Huaizhi was some kind of veteran player in the field of romance. His methods were endless and impossible to guard against.

Wang Cheng raised both hands in a mock surrender. “Fine, fine. This is a little secret between you and the Top Student. I won’t get involved.”

Before Shi Sui could explode, Wang Cheng changed the subject. “Are you really not going to consider letting him tutor you? He’s actually good at explaining things.” He had never seen Shi Sui stay in the classroom to look at problems after school before. It seemed Shi Sui really did want to get a good grade on the next monthly exam to show his grandmother.

“Not considering it.” Shi Sui was expressionless. “He’s not the only one in class with good grades. Didn’t the Class Monitor get second place this time?”

“Huh?” Wang Cheng nearly choked on his smoke. “Shi Sui, don’t do this to yourself. The Class Monitor’s attitude…”

“Let me put it this way. I asked him about that Physics problem during the break today. He just scribbled an equation on a piece of scratch paper and walked away.”

Wang Cheng thought of the Class Monitor’s punchable face and felt annoyed. “He acts like he’s the king of the world.”

Lu Huaizhi had better grades but wasn’t arrogant at all. Comparing the two, Wang Cheng felt he must have been blind to even ask the other guy.

“In my opinion, Lu Huaizhi is definitely the best choice.” Wang Cheng stubbed out his cigarette and threw it in the trash. “Think about it yourself.”

“I’m not going back to the room. My brain hurts from studying. I’m slipping away first.”

Shi Sui returned to the classroom alone. He pushed open the door to find the room empty.

He instinctively glanced at Lu Huaizhi’s seat.

The exam papers and notebooks were still on the desk, and the backpack was untouched. He must have just stepped out for a moment.

However, unlike when Shi Sui had left, the love letter on Lu Huaizhi’s desk had been opened.

Shi Sui stared at the opened envelope for a few seconds before pulling out his chair and sitting down.

He had been so decisive when rejecting that girl, yet the moment she left, he couldn’t wait to open the letter? What a great act he put on.

As expected, the Top Student’s “like” was just as empty as the grand words in his essays—not worth a cent.

Shi Sui woodenly smoothed out the crumpled Physics paper on his desk, preparing to look at the next question. Three minutes passed. He hadn’t even finished reading the prompt.

The quality of this paper was too poor. He had only squeezed it a little, and it had wrinkled into this mess. He couldn’t even see the words clearly.

Shi Sui rubbed his brow in frustration and habitually reached into his pocket for a cigarette. Since the room was empty, one smoke wouldn’t hurt.

Just as he put the cigarette in his mouth and flicked the lighter, the front door creaked open.

Lu Huaizhi entered holding a plastic bag; he had likely gone to the commissary.

He saw Shi Sui’s smoking posture and his eyes darkened. Ultimately, he didn’t offer any words of discouragement. “Smoking in the classroom… the smell won’t clear out easily.”

The AC was on and the windows were closed, so the scent really would linger.

But as soon as the words left his mouth, a click sounded. A flame shot out from the lighter, lighting the cigarette.

Shi Sui exhaled a smoke ring and lifted his eyelids to look at him.

Lu Huaizhi’s gaze lingered on Shi Sui’s face, which was partially obscured by the thin smoke.

Shi Sui’s face was beautiful and striking, with sharp lines. He looked naturally fierce when expressionless, but now, the light mist blurred that edge. With the corners of his eyes tilted upward, his defiance was mixed with an indescribable quality.

Actually, Shi Sui’s first instinct upon seeing him was to take the cigarette down, but because of what Lu Huaizhi said, his rebellious streak made him light it anyway. It was a bit cute.

Unexpectedly catching the slight curve at the corner of Lu Huaizhi’s mouth, Shi Sui choked on the smoke he had just inhaled and began to cough violently.

“Slow down.” Lu Huaizhi took a bottle of water from the plastic bag, unscrewed it, and handed it over. “Drink some water.”

This time, Shi Sui didn’t have the heart to care if the cap was already off. He took the water and gulped it down until he finally caught his breath.

While he recovered, Lu Huaizhi suddenly began to cough. Between coughs, he said: “It’s fine. You can keep smoking.”

Shi Sui looked at his pale face and muttered “delicate” under his breath. Frowning, he put out the cigarette.

He didn’t forget to use a book to fan the air, helping the smell dissipate faster.

Lu Huaizhi finally stopped coughing. After a moment of silence, he spoke: “Why were you unhappy just now?”

Shi Sui: “?” “Which eye of yours saw that I was unhappy?”

Lu Huaizhi replied: “Both.”

“Then you’re probably blind.” Shi Sui glanced at the Physics paper that had somehow become even more wrinkled. “I’m just annoyed with the problems.”

“Oh,” Lu Huaizhi said. “I thought you were unhappy because you saw me open someone else’s love letter.”

…

Shi Sui held it in for a long time before squeezing out a stiff: “F*ck you.” It had zero offensive power.

Feeling his lack of momentum, he took another gulp of the water. The cold water cleared his messy head. He countered coldly: “I suggest you stop being so sentimental.”

“Mhm, I won’t be sentimental.” After saying that, Lu Huaizhi threw that other person’s love letter into the trash right in front of Shi Sui. “I threw it away?”

Shi Sui couldn’t be bothered to look. “None of my business. Stop talking to me.” He then pretended to pick up the Physics paper.

Less than a minute later, he slammed the paper back down with a cold face. He couldn’t understand it.

Just as he was about to close his books and leave, a piece of scratch paper was slid toward him. It contained the step-by-step solutions for the last three multiple-choice questions on the Physics exam. It was much more detailed than the few simple equations on the answer key.

“I wrote this while you and Wang Cheng were out smoking.” Lu Huaizhi swapped Shi Sui’s crumpled paper for his own smooth one. “If you don’t want to hear me talk, looking at this should be a decent substitute.”

As promised, he stopped talking and lowered his head to continue his own work.

Shi Sui looked at the smooth paper and the provided analysis. He thought: No point in letting it go to waste.

However, written answers weren’t as thorough as Lu Huaizhi’s verbal explanations. Shi Sui found it a struggle even to find the specific knowledge points in the textbook. By the second question, his patience was almost gone.

What comforted him was that the Lu Huaizhi next to him also seemed to have run into a difficult problem. Several crumpled paper balls were near his hand, and he would hold his pen for a long time without writing a single word.

Shi Sui felt a bit better.

He stretched, leaning back against his chair with relaxed shoulders. He wanted to slack off for a bit while enjoying the sight of the top student getting stuck. But as his gaze drifted over, he saw Lu Huaizhi put down his pen and begin to fold the scratch paper underneath.

Yes, he didn’t crumple it into a waste ball like before. He folded it carefully and neatly.

Then, he placed it into a sky-blue envelope.

Shi Sui’s heart skipped a beat.

Why did that envelope look so much like the love letter someone had sent Lu Huaizhi earlier? Wasn’t that letter thrown in the trash?

Before Shi Sui could figure it out, Lu Huaizhi took the blue envelope and wrapped something long and thin around it. Under Shi Sui’s watchful gaze, he handed the envelope over with both hands.

Lu Huaizhi’s fingers were long and clean, with distinct joints. Against the blue envelope, they had a cold, reserved beauty.

“This is my love letter.” Lu Huaizhi held the edge of the envelope. “I wrote many versions. I hope you like it.”

His words were not reserved at all.

Shi Sui’s gaze lingered on the lollipop wrapped around the envelope for a moment. Then he looked up, staring into Lu Huaizhi’s eyes. “Do you really think I won’t hit you?”

Lu Huaizhi lowered his eyes and remained silent for a while before saying: “I was afraid you’d wait too long.”

So, he had opened the letter that girl left behind just to find her contact info—all so he could ask where she bought the envelope that Shi Sui had spared a glance for.

Shi Sui didn’t want to hear his nonsense. He suddenly grabbed Lu Huaizhi’s collar, slammed him against the wall with a bang, and said viciously: “You can’t understand human speech, can you?”

The score sheet on the wall tore at the corner from the impact. Shi Sui and Lu Huaizhi’s names were at opposite ends of the list.

“I told you a long time ago. I’m straight, not gay.” Shi Sui’s voice turned completely cold. “If you say that crap again or hand me any more d*mn love letters, I won’t hold back even if Tian Hongjun is protecting you.”

Lu Huaizhi’s collar was pulled high. The hand holding the love letter was pinned unceremoniously to the desk by Shi Sui. The lollipop on the letter was nearly torn off, dangling precariously at the edge of the desk.

Shi Sui used his physical actions to show his stance.

Lu Huaizhi tilted his head slightly, trying to escape the stifling pressure.

Noticing the movement, Shi Sui instinctively applied force with his palm, grasping Lu Huaizhi’s neck and forcing his head back around. “Speak!”

Lu Huaizhi turned back obediently. Because his throat was being pressed, his voice was slightly deep: “Say what?”

Shi Sui: “…” Why was communicating with this person so difficult?

Just as he was about to say something, he felt the person under his palm swallow slowly.

Because his palm was pressed against Lu Huaizhi’s neck, he could feel every vibration of his windpipe when he spoke and the rolling of his Adam’s apple as he swallowed.

The prominent Adam’s apple slid against his palm. It was a very strange sensation.

Lu Huaizhi swallowed again.

“Shi Sui.” Lu Huaizhi used his other hand to gently grasp Shi Sui’s wrist. “It’s hard to breathe.”

Lu Huaizhi’s eyelashes were very long. When he lowered his eyes, a shadow fell over them, hiding his expression. His faint, weak breath brushed against the back of Shi Sui’s hand. His face was pale and fragile, looking as if he might suffocate the next second.

Shi Sui instinctively loosened his grip.

Lu Huaizhi immediately took a deep breath and exhaled. The warm breath hit Shi Sui’s hand directly, flowing through the gaps of his fingers.

Shi Sui: “You f*cking…”

Before he could finish, Lu Huaizhi turned his face away and coughed.

“Don’t try to frame me. I wasn’t squeezing.”

“No… there’s the smell of smoke on your hand.” Lu Huaizhi paused. “It doesn’t smell good.”

Shi Sui heard a hint of disdain in his tone.

The hand he had just loosened tightened again, pinching Lu Huaizhi’s jaw. “I give you an inch and you take a mile?”

Just as he was debating whether to punch him in the face or the stomach first, the front door was pushed open again.

“Who isn’t leaving after school and keeping the AC on? If I catch you—” Tian Hongjun’s voice cut off as he saw the scene.

His precious student, who had just placed first in the grade, was being held by the neck and pinned against the wall by Shi Sui. His hand was resting weakly on the arm of his assailant, clearly having fought back but failed.

Even his face was being pinched out of shape.

“Shi—Sui—!” Tian Hongjun’s roar was deafening. “Let him go!”

Before Shi Sui could move, Lu Huaizhi’s wrist flicked. He easily broke free of the restraint and swiftly stuffed the love letter into his drawer.

Tian Hongjun only caught a glimpse of a blue blur before it disappeared.

However, he couldn’t care about that right now and rushed forward to pull them apart.

“Shi Sui! Are you really trying to flip the world upside down? Your grandmother called me today to ask about your studies, saying you were going to work hard, and this is what you show me?”

Tian Hongjun’s hand was shaking as he pointed, showing how angry he was. He took out his phone. “I’m calling your grandmother right now…”

“Teacher, you’ve misunderstood.” Lu Huaizhi adjusted his loosened collar. “We were just fooling around.”

“Fooling around?” Tian Hongjun looked at the faint finger marks on his neck, not believing a word of it.

“Really,” Lu Huaizhi said in a steady tone. “He said that to thank me for tutoring him in Physics, he wanted to teach me some self-defense moves.”

Tian Hongjun froze. “What?” His attention was caught by the first half of the sentence. “Tutoring?”

Only then did he notice the scratch paper on Shi Sui’s desk, filled with Physics formulas and explanations. It was beautiful and neat—clearly Lu Huaizhi’s handwriting.

And on some of the formulas, there were a few crooked symbols written like chicken scratches that only Shi Sui could produce.

Tian Hongjun barely believed him, but he still frowned. “Of all the things to learn, why learn how to fight?”

“It’s not that…” Lu Huaizhi paused and looked at Shi Sui, as if weighing his words. “He said fighting is the only thing he knows.”

Tian Hongjun suddenly understood.

Shi Sui ground his teeth. Fine. You’re the first one I’m hitting next time.