When I returned to the dormitory, Li Luyou had already fallen asleep. He'd gotten back from the library earlier, and it was quite late by then. I lay on my bed, replaying the day's events in my mind, and before I knew it, I'd drifted off to sleep.
I must have been exhausted when I woke up the next morning, the dorm was empty. Li Luyou had his usual early-riser habit, so he was long gone. As for Luo Suohun and Bai Yishan? They'd probably spent the night at a hotel with their girlfriends and hadn't come back at all.
Luckily, I didn't have a first-period class. But if I missed the second-period English class, things would get tricky.
Back in high school, my grades in other subjects were solid, but English was only mediocre. It was still a far cry from the standards of top schools like Qingming College. I'd only gotten in because I'd aced the college entrance exam otherwise, I never would have made the cut.
Once in college, though, I'd failed English both semesters of my freshman year. So in my sophomore year, I dared not skip a single English class, fearing the teacher would give me a terrible grade.
There was another reason too: English classes were all large lectures, which meant Liu Feisheng and I would be in the same classroom.
After a quick wash, I rushed out of the dorm and strode toward the classroom.
"What are you doing? Watch out!" A clear girl's voice cut through the air.
I was almost at the classroom door when the first bell rang. I picked up my pace, planning to dash straight through the front door.
Just then, a girl holding a cup of soy milk was about to walk in too. I crashed right into her, her soy milk spilled all over the floor. Thankfully, I stopped in time, so I didn't knock her down.
"I'm so sorry. I'm really sorry," I apologized immediately.
I looked up, and recognized her. She was Lin Luoyan, a tall, beautiful girl from the next class, their class belle.
"Do you know this coat is Gucci?" she snapped, carefully checking if any soy milk had splattered on it. "My dad bought it for my birthday. It cost nearly ten thousand yuan!"
I glanced at her long-sleeved coat. It was autumn, but the weather was still hot and humid. Most girls were wearing light, cool clothes that showed off their fair skin, yet Lin Luoyan was in a hurry to flaunt her so-called Gucci coat.
"I didn't get any on your clothes," I said helplessly. "Let's go in, class is about to start."
My tone must have sounded impatient, because Lin Luoyan's face soured. "What's your problem? Even if it didn't get on my coat, what about my soy milk? It's all spilled now!"
I peeked into the classroom, everyone was already seated. No matter how I looked at it, I was in the wrong. I had no choice but to compromise. "I'll buy you another drink after class, okay?"
"You spilled my soy milk, and you think a drink is enough compensation?" She crossed her arms. "No, you have to treat me to a meal."
Being asked out to dinner by a pretty girl sounded like a dream, but the reality was far from it. We weren't classmates, but we'd sat in the same classroom for plenty of lectures, and I'd heard all about Lin Luoyan's personality.
Her father was a middle-level manager at Bai Yishan's Yunsi Group, with an annual salary of several hundred thousand yuan. It was a solid family background, and her parents doted on her. If she'd behaved herself at school, she could have had a great time. But Lin Luoyan wasn't born a princess yet she had a terrible case of "princess syndrome" and craved a lavish lifestyle.
When she was a freshman, her tall figure and sweet looks made her popular with boys. Some had asked her out to dinner, and she'd dragged them to fancy restaurants, one meal often cost those boys over a month's living expenses.
I thought about my empty wallet. There was no way I could afford that. I forced a laugh. "I don't dare take Miss Lin to dinner. What if your suitors beat me up?"
In truth, I was worried they'd laugh at me for being another one of her "suckers."
"What? You think dining with me is beneath you?" Lin Luoyan's voice sharpened. She planted her hands on her hips and blocked the door, refusing to move.
I cursed myself for provoking this princess syndrome-ridden beauty. But I understood why she was making a scene.
Our department had far more boys than girls, and attractive girls were even rarer. Any girl who was even slightly pretty had multiple suitors.
Lin Luoyan wasn't as stunning as the top campus belles in my class, but our department had never had anyone on par with Zhao Qingshi or An Zhishui before. Normally, Lin Luoyan would be the undisputed top beauty in our department.
Yet she was still single. Freshman year, boys had flocked to her, but by sophomore year, they'd all drifted away. For one thing, pursuing her cost a fortune scaring off most cash-strapped boys. For another, she was obsessed with looks. Ugly rich second-generations were willing to spoil her, but she looked down on them.
The rich, handsome boss? Either taken (like Li Luyou) or uninterested in coddling a princess like her (like Bai Yishan). So Lin Luoyan—once the "department beauty"—ended up with no suitors at all.
Watching her block the door, I grew anxious. If the English teacher showed up and found me still outside, I'd definitely get called to the office again.
"Okay, stop blocking the door," a voice said, putting an end to the standoff.
Thank goodness what a relief, I thought.
I followed the voice and saw a tall, long-legged girl standing up. She had her usual ponytail, and was wearing a dress with a ruffled hem. Her fair skin glowed even in the dim classroom, and she looked as pleasant as ever.
It was our class monitor, An Zhishui.
"An Zhishui, you saw it too—he spilled my soy milk!" Lin Luoyan insisted, refusing to back down. After all, An Zhishui wasn't her monitor, she had no authority over her.
"Chen Xiao, I saved you a seat here!" a boy in the classroom called out, waving at me. It was Bai Yishan, the king of skipping classes, and he'd actually arrived before me.
Bai Yishan raised an eyebrow, provoking Lin Luoyan. She parted her lips as if to argue, but thought better of it. She stormed into the classroom, clearly annoyed.
Bai Yishan's mother was the president of Yunsi Group—the boss who signed Lin Luoyan's father's paychecks. In front of Bai Yishan, Lin Luoyan could only back down, like a peacock with its feathers drooped.
I hurried in and sat down next to Bai Yishan.
"Dude, I owe you one," I said gratefully. "If it weren't for you, I'd be heading to the office right now."
"No need," he said indifferently. "It's nothing."
I scanned the classroom. Zhao Qingshi hadn't been around since her birthday party, I had no idea where she was. An Zhishui was sitting in the front row, next to a tall, handsome boy, Li Luyou, of course.
"Luo Suohun skipped class again?" I asked.
"Beats me," Bai Yishan said, not caring. "I've barely seen him in class since freshman year."
"Why'd you show up so early today?" I pressed. "It's not like you."
Bai Yishan grinned proudly, but didn't answer. Instead, he pulled out his phone and held it up to me. "Check this out. What do you think?"
On the screen was a photo of a gorgeous, tall, with fair skin girl. She had a cold, distant aura that made her seem untouchable.
"She's beautiful. Did you hook up with another beauty?" I asked, turning my head away. If I looked any longer, I might have gotten infatuated.
"That's the transfer student who slapped me at Zhao Qingshi's place last time," Bai Yishan said, putting his phone away. "I went on a date with Qiao Xier yesterday and asked her to come along. Took a lot of work to win her over. She told me to study harder from now on, she's just a kid, so I'll play along for a few days to keep her happy."
"I'm gonna take a nap," he added, putting his phone away and resting his head on the desk. "Help me watch for the teacher. I overdid it with the threesome yesterday."
I looked at Bai Yishan, feeling a twinge of envy. He was a natural with girls. Zhang Yiyu was as beautiful as a fairy, and her family background though unknown was probably no worse than his. Yet she was willing to be just one of his girlfriends.
And the girl in his phone? A few days ago, she'd slapped him for being a player. She was clearly an ice-cold, proud beauty. In front of a guy like me, she'd act like an untouchable goddess. But in just a few days, Bai Yishan had tamed her even convincing her to join a threesome with Qiao Xier.
The boy sitting in front of me was He Fei. In a class full of tall, rich, handsome guys, there were bound to be short, unattractive ones too.
He Fei was weird, short, ugly, and incredibly crude. Right now, his right hand was stuffed down his crotch. It was hidden, but I could see clearly from behind: he was jerking off under the desk.
This wasn't the first time I'd caught him doing this in class. He seemed to get aroused easily with any little stimulation, and he'd slip his hand down his pants. I followed his gaze, and saw what was turning him on: two other students in the classroom.
One was Liu Feisheng, the same guy I'd seen in the girls' dorm last night. Ever since he'd become that spineless wimp, he'd taken to sitting alone in the classroom corner during lectures. Today was no different, he was in the corner of the large classroom. But unlike usual, there was a girl sitting next to him: Ma Li.
Ma Li was in Liu Feisheng's class. She was somewhat pretty, but nowhere near Lin Luoyan's level let alone stunning beauties like Liu Xiaoyao and Huang Qiaoyu, who were on par with the campus belles. She had a few freckles on her face, but her full breasts were hard to ignore.
Right now, Liu Feisheng and Ma Li were huddled close together. Liu Feisheng's hand was clearly fumbling with Ma Li's miniskirt. There was no need to guess what he was doing under there.
I was surprised. Logically, the magical artifact Liu Feisheng had obtained should have limited power. Otherwise, he would have gone after Zhang Yiyu directly, no games needed.
Even if he could still use the artifact, why waste it on an ordinary girl like Ma Li? She wasn't that beautiful. And looking at Ma Li's face she wasn't as docile as Liu Xiaoyao or Huang Qiaoyu. Instead, she looked pained, like she was holding back, and a few tears were rolling down the corners of her eyes.
I reached out and tapped He Fei on the shoulder. He turned around, his right hand still down his pants. After a moment of confusion, he pulled it out.
"Dude, you're jerking off just looking at Ma Li?" I said, dumbfounded.
He Fei smiled sheepishly. We were on decent terms, but getting caught jerking off in class embarrassed him. He tried to play it cool. "Xiao Ge, let me show you something cool."
He pulled out his phone, placed it on my desk, and opened a video. It was a explicit clip of Liu Feisheng and Ma Li. In the video, Liu Feisheng grabbed Ma Li's fair thighs, stroked them, and slipped his hand up her skirt, groping her all over.
"Whoa, your filming skills are almost as good as Teacher Chen's," I said. He Fei actually had a knack for this. The short clip, shot on a phone, had the vibe of a Japanese adult film.
"Cool, right?" He grinned. "My dream is to work for a tall, rich, handsome guy use my camera to record every moment of him with girls in bed."
"Get out of here!" I laughed. "You just want to jerk off to videos of rich guys having sex."
He Fei winked, like I'd read his mind. "That's just a side benefit. My real goal is to be a great photographer."
"He Fei, why do you think Ma Li's letting Liu Feisheng do this to her?" I asked, curious to hear his take.
He Fei rolled his eyes. "Obviously, Ma Li must have something on Liu Feisheng. I heard she's been going to the hospital a lot lately. Probably someone in her family's seriously ill and needs money, so she's forced to beg Liu Feisheng for help."
I nodded, pretending to agree. But deep down, I didn't buy it.
Liu Feisheng was just a loser now. His family was in debt, he had no money. Even if Ma Li wanted to trade her body for cash, there were plenty of other guys in school. She could pick any of them there's no need to let Liu Feisheng treat her like this in class.
This had to be related to the artifact. But Ma Li's face was streaked with tears, and she looked utterly wronged. Her situation was clearly different from Liu Xiaoyao and Huang Qiaoyu's.