The Price of Prominence

The sudden commotion drew everyone’s attention, their gazes fixed on the doorway.

The proctor froze for a few seconds. Once she realized what was happening, she immediately called the academic affairs office, requesting a patrol proctor be dispatched.

Within minutes, a patrol proctor arrived in a rush, quickly ascertained the situation, and then dashed towards the men’s restroom.

****

Inside the restroom, He Chuanrong was retching so violently that tears streamed from his eyes.

He crouched by the urinal, hands braced on his knees, continuously vomiting as if trying to expel his very organs.

The patrol proctor, hearing the sounds, found the stall door unlocked. Pushing it open, he saw He Chuanrong still vomiting profusely, clearly in distress. He promptly called He Yuan for instructions.

He Yuan instructed him to immediately take the student to the hospital.

“Student, can you stand up? I’ll take you to the hospital,” the patrol proctor asked, patting He Chuanrong’s back.

He Chuanrong waved a hand, then vomited again. It was several minutes before he managed to rise.

He stepped on the flush pedal, his body alternating between chills and fever, completely sapped of strength. It took him several attempts to flush away the vomit.

The patrol proctor helped him, his heart tightening at He Chuanrong’s pale complexion. Having taught for a year, he had never encountered such a situation, and a sense of panic inevitably set in. He called He Yuan once more.

“Teacher, I just need to rest a bit; there’s no need to go to the hospital,” He Chuanrong said weakly, overhearing their conversation. ‘He couldn’t go to the hospital.’

The patrol proctor looked at him, utterly bewildered. On the other end of the line, He Yuan heard the student’s reluctance and asked for their location. The proctor relayed the information.

Minutes later, He Yuan rushed over in a flurry.

He Chuanrong’s complexion had gradually improved. He refused to go to the hospital, assuring them he had simply eaten something bad and would be fine after a short rest. He Yuan then sent the patrol proctor back to their duties, taking He Chuanrong to the office.

This way, he could observe He Chuanrong’s condition and promptly send him to the hospital if any changes occurred.

After nearly an hour of rest, He Chuanrong’s complexion had completely returned to normal. He Yuan escorted him back to the exam hall.

Upon returning to his office, he specifically asked the proctor in He Chuanrong’s exam room to keep a close eye on him and call immediately if anything seemed amiss.

He Chuanrong settled back into his seat, oblivious to the curious glances around him. Time was clearly insufficient, forcing him to tackle the questions selectively.

The bell for submitting papers rang. He scanned his answer sheet, his eyes dimming, but still rose and exited the classroom.

Afterward, to prevent a recurrence of the earlier incident, he politely declined Ji Ye’s invitation for lunch and took a public bus home to eat alone.

The timing was tight, but for safety’s sake, this was his only option. Moreover, he had to go back.

****

With the monthly exam concluded, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, as if a great burden had been lifted. The hallways buzzed with renewed energy during breaks.

On the day results were posted, the bulletin board in the corridor was swarmed with students. Ye Huicheng, who had come to check his scores, turned right back around at the sight.

When he returned during the next break, he coincidentally ran into Zhu Hao from Class 3.

He nodded, greeted the other student, and then began searching for his name on the list.

The榜单 (bǎngdān) only displayed the top hundred students in both arts and sciences.

Zhu Hao and Ye Huicheng knew each other through their mutual friend, Cheng Meng. Cheng Meng was a notorious troublemaker at Xihe Vocational High, famously at odds with He Chuanrong.

“Don’t bother looking.”

Upon hearing this, Ye Huicheng’s eyes widened for a moment before he turned to ask, “What do you mean?” He didn’t notice his voice trembling. ‘Could it be that he hadn’t made the list?’

‘No, impossible.’ Ye Huicheng shook his head, an expression of disbelief on his face. Even if He Chuanrong had claimed first place, it shouldn’t have pushed him out of the top hundred.

Fear gripped his heart. His gaze had swept across the list earlier, yet he hadn’t seen his name. He was starting to panic.

“You’re at the very bottom,” Zhu Hao stated bluntly. Having his top spot snatched by a newcomer left him visibly displeased. He crossed his arms, chin lifted, and pointed towards the bottom of the list.

Ye Huicheng gasped, incredulous. He scanned the list from the bottom up and, sure enough, found his name slightly above the very end.

His hands, hanging at his sides, clenched into fists. His gaze traveled upwards until He Chuanrong’s name starkly leaped into view at the very top.

“This He Chuanrong is truly an obnoxious fellow. No wonder Cheng Meng detests him so much. Now I’m on the same side as Cheng Meng; want to join us?” Zhu Hao took a few steps, leaned forward against the wall, and gazed at the distant, continuous mountain range.

The withered yellow mountains, devoid of any embellishment, appeared lifeless.

He sighed deeply. He hadn’t expected He Chuanrong’s total score to exceed his by thirty points, pushing him down to second place.

Since middle school, whether it was final exams or monthly tests, he had always been the top student in the grade at No. 1 High. Yet now, he was trampled underfoot by someone who transferred from a vocational high school.

To him, this felt like an insurmountable chasm. A thousand grievances seethed within him, his eyes dark and sinister.

Ye Huicheng remained in a daze, absent-minded for the entire day.

****

Before evening self-study, the names of the top hundred students had already circulated through every class. He Chuanrong, the dark horse, stood out particularly.

It was widely known that Xihe Vocational High’s college entrance rate was the second lowest in the entire Xihe City. Thus, when rumors spread that He Chuanrong had transferred from a vocational high school, people’s favorable impressions of him instantly shattered.

They looked at him with disdain, believing him to be nothing more than a handsome mediocrity. As for the rumor that he was also the top student in his grade at the vocational high school, most people merely offered a scornful laugh.

But no one had ever expected him to not only break into the top hundred but also claim the first-place spot.

Zhang Qian was equally astonished. The moment he saw the ranking, he froze. He rubbed his eyes several times before confirming it wasn’t a hallucination.

Upon entering the classroom, he didn’t even put down his backpack, instead slumping onto his chair and staring intently at He Chuanrong. After a few minutes, Ji Ye, sitting nearby, couldn’t bear it and tried to turn him around.

However, Zhang Qian raised a hand to stop him, exclaiming dramatically, “This is a rare treasure! The top student in the grade!”

His eyes were glazed over as he repeated the words ‘top student in the grade.’ Although he had heard through unofficial channels that He Chuanrong’s test scores before entering No. 1 High were decent, he had estimated them to be only slightly better than the bottom-feeders, given the vocational high school’s reputation.

He had never imagined that He Chuanrong’s scores would be so excellent, even pushing Zhu Hao, who had dominated the rankings for four years, out of first place.

“Aren’t you shocked? The person sitting next to you is the top student in the grade!”

When he first learned the news, Ji Ye was as surprised as everyone else. However, he quickly felt it was only natural.

After all, judging by He Chuanrong’s attentiveness in class and his daily practice problems, he deserved such a result.

During evening self-study, curious and admiring glances occasionally drifted towards He Chuanrong from all directions. Yet, the person in question remained calm and composed, as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.

He was accustomed to gracefully handling all sorts of scrutiny.

He continued to listen attentively, though intermittent, dull cramping in his abdomen forced him to press his thin lips together.

****

Initially, He Chuanrong believed that day’s sudden episode was caused by chronic gastroenteritis. However, that night, he developed a high fever.

In a daze, the rich, medicinal scent of cedar, mixed with a hint of milk, filled his cramped bedroom. He instantly jolted awake.

Rushing out of bed, his head swam, causing him to misstep and fall. His left shoulder slammed hard against the corner of his desk, the pain instantly clearing his mind and bringing a cold sweat to his brow.

One moment he felt as if plunged into an icy abyss, the next like he was roasted over a fire. He Chuanrong trembled uncontrollably, pain coursing through every cell.

Tears streamed down his face. To distract himself, he could only bite his right wrist helplessly. A coppery taste soon filled his mouth.

The bloodthirsty instinct within him awoke, and an uncontrollable surge of irritability exploded in his heart, spreading through his limbs and bones.

He Chuanrong’s consciousness gradually blurred, and violent thoughts grew ever stronger in his mind, as if intent on taking root in his brain. He knew. His susceptibility period had returned.

Due to prolonged use of inferior inhibitors, his susceptibility period had long been erratic.

Minutes later, He Chuanrong, kneeling on the floor, was drenched in sweat, his wrists covered in bite marks. He was slightly more lucid.

Seizing this window, he pushed himself up using the desk and painstakingly shuffled to his wardrobe. He then pulled open the bottom drawer, retrieving a light blue packaged inhibitor from deep within.

With trembling hands, he plunged the needle into his arm. After completing this series of actions, he was utterly drained, leaning against the wardrobe, breathing heavily.

It took him a long time to laboriously push himself up and go wash his face. The person in the mirror had scattered red rashes on their neck, a sight he was all too familiar with.

Every time he injected an inhibitor, he broke out in a rash, which would take at least two or three days to disappear.

Because he couldn’t afford the exorbitant specialized inhibitors, he rarely used them, opting instead for inferior, unregulated products. Consequently, he suffered from severe side effects.

A high fever could trigger his susceptibility period, and the susceptibility period would inevitably induce a high fever. Fortunately, however, these inferior inhibitors were enough to get him through the susceptibility period.

****

After class, He Chuanrong felt his mind was muddled, so he decided to go to the rooftop for some fresh air.

The iron door leading to the rooftop was secured with a large lock. However, some students had secretly opened it, treating the area as a secret base.

Consequently, everyone who went up tacitly re-locked the door after entering the rooftop. The entire rooftop was covered with numerous pipes.

The moon hid behind thick clouds, and the surrounding lights were very dim. He Chuanrong found this quite satisfactory.

He found a secluded corner and was about to sit down when his gaze was drawn by a flickering orange-red light.

Using the faint orange-red glow to discern the person, he was somewhat surprised. Tian Jingwen, who also recognized the newcomer, looked startled and hastily extinguished her cigarette underfoot.

“I…”

Tian Jingwen’s heart pounded, afraid of being discovered.

“Is it because of the scores?” He Chuanrong hesitated for a moment before asking.

He Chuanrong was highly sensitive to emotions but lacked the ability to comfort others.

Tian Jingwen pondered, then slowly nodded. She envied He Chuanrong immensely, having claimed first place as soon as he arrived.

In contrast, despite studying tirelessly day and night, she could barely squeeze into the top hundred, even dropping from ninety to ninety-five.

When she saw this score, it felt like a bolt from the blue. This meant she wouldn’t have enough confidence to argue with her parents for the right to choose her university major.

If things continued this way, she would have no choice but to follow her parents’ wishes, selecting a major in which she had no interest whatsoever.

She could already foresee how agonizing and suffocating it would be to spend four years in such a tedious and uninspiring field.

“This is just… one test,” He Chuanrong carefully chose his words, desperately sifting through his memory for images of comforting others.

But such instances were pitifully few. In the fifteen years since he came into this world, hardly anyone had ever comforted him.

And such scenes were extremely rare around him, so he had no material to imitate, even if he wanted to. As if hearing something outrageous, Tian Jingwen’s expression was peculiar.

Yet, on second thought, the other person indeed possessed the capital to be arrogant. For a moment, both fell silent.

“There’s a broadcaster who left the club. The thing I mentioned last time, are you still considering it? If you agree, let me know a time, and you can go straight for the interview.”

Tian Jingwen remembered something and was the first to break the silence. He Chuanrong had no interest in school clubs, but after a moment of thought, he nodded and said, “Okay.”

The moon broke free from the clouds, illuminating the rooftop.

They fell into silence once more. Passing students, seeing them standing opposite each other, couldn’t help but cast curious glances.

He Chuanrong took a step sideways, crushing all the cigarette butts at Tian Jingwen’s feet.