Amid waves of cigarette smoke, Yan Gao was so furious that he raised the keyboard in his hands.
But after a few deep breaths, he gradually calmed down.
This student named Lu Yang was hateful to the extreme—but what he said wasn't without merit.
First of all, Lu Yang really was an orphan. There were no parents to summon.
Second, his tendency toward 'jumping off buildings' was also technically true. After all, he had just come down from the rooftop.
If Yan Gao truly expelled Lu Yang, then whether it was the topic of 'an orphan being expelled' fermenting online, or Lu Yang actually pulling another rooftop stunt, Yan Gao wouldn't be able to bear the consequences.
Although everyone called him Old Devil Yan, Yan Gao had been a homeroom teacher for many years and was extremely sensitive when it came to anything that might affect him personally.
After thinking it through, Yan Gao sat back down and placed the keyboard back on the desk.
"Then what exactly do you want?" Old Devil Yan grinding his teeth as he spoke.
"If you ask me, why don't we just make a big issue small, and a small issue disappear?" Lu Yang said lazily.
"Going up to the rooftop to pick up trash isn't exactly headline news, right, Teacher Yan?"
Lu Yang took a hard drag, exhaled a cloud of smoke, and stubbed out the cigarette in the ashtray.
Lu Yang walked out of Yan Gao's office with his hands in his pockets, heading back toward his classroom.
Not only was he not dejected—his head was held high, like a general returning victorious from the battlefield.
On the other side, Jiang Hai and Yuan Huihong rushed over the moment they saw him come out.
"Yangzi, are you okay? Did that Old Demon Yan make things hard for you? Is he expelling you?" Jiang Hai's eyes were full of worry.
No one knew how many students at Congao High had been expelled by Yan Gao.
With what Lu Yang had done today, expulsion should have been a certainty.
"Yangzi, don't be scared. I'll call my dad and have him think of something," Yuan Huihong said, trying to comfort Jiang Hai.
His father had some influence in Wulin City.
"Relax. No need to panic. I'm fine," Lu Yang said, pulling both brothers into a hug.
A flicker of warmth passed through his heart.
Having brothers like these was truly one of life's greatest blessings.
"Seriously?"
"You're not joking, right?"
Jiang Hai and Yuan Huihong didn't believe him at all.
It wasn't that they didn't trust Lu Yang—it was that they couldn't believe Old Devil Yan would be this lenient.
"If you don't believe me, just listen," Lu Yang laughed and pointed toward the school loudspeaker.
Right on cue, the broadcast rang out—Yan Gao's voice echoed across the campus.
The announcement was simple: the rooftop incident had merely been an accident, and students were told not to spread rumors.
There was no mention of punishment at all.
Lu Yang's name wasn't even brought up.
"Holy crap, Yangzi," Yuan Huihong said, eyes wide with awe.
"Did you marry Old Devil Yan's grandma or something? How did this even happen?"
"Didn't see that coming," Jiang Hai muttered, still stunned.
"How the hell did you pull this off?"
"Some things are better left unsaid," Lu Yang replied with a calm smile.
Although the broadcast didn't mention his name, it effectively boosted Lu Yang's reputation at Congao High to absurd levels.
With so many witnesses and no punishment announced, the incident only made his story more mysterious.
As the person involved, Lu Yang himself didn't care much. He was focused on studying his mission rewards.
The railing-walking physical mission had given him 0.4 points of Constitution. Combined with his original 0.5, he now had 0.9 Constitution.
In other words, even though he still looked skinny, his physical condition was already approaching that of a full-grown adult.
Naturally, Lu Yang wanted to test it.
After school, instead of heading home, he went alone to the basketball court.
Congao High had a decent sports atmosphere, and the court was already packed at this hour.
Lu Yang found a hoop where a few students were practicing shots but not playing a full game.
When the system explained the Constitution stat, it had said it included strength, speed, endurance, agility, and explosiveness.
Which meant—he should be able to jump higher than before.
His build was tall and lean. Before this, his vertical leap was decent—he could touch the backboard, but not the rim.
Lu Yang walked to the free-throw line, jogged two quick steps, bent his knees, and jumped with full force.
His body rose higher and higher in the air.
At the peak, his outstretched hand brushed against the cold metal rim.
He touched it.
Even though it was just barely, the improvement was obvious.
His rim-touch immediately drew attention from nearby students going for layups.
Being able to touch the rim already put him above over 90% of the people on the court.
Lu Yang flexed his fingers and smiled.
This physical mission was seriously worth it.
He picked up his backpack, which he'd tossed aside, preparing to leave—
When suddenly, a sharp gust of wind came from behind.
Bang!
A basketball was slapped away midair.
As it dropped to the ground, it revealed Lu Yang's slightly irritated face.
If his reaction had been a split second slower, the ball would've smashed straight into his face.
This wasn't a normal missed shot.
Someone had thrown it at him on purpose.
Following the direction it came from, Lu Yang saw a tall, skinny boy standing at the edge of the court, staring at him provocatively.
The guy looked close to 1.9 meters tall—towering over most of the students around him. That alone made him impossible to miss.
Who the hell is this idiot?
Lu Yang searched his memory but couldn't recall having any connection with him.
That was, until his gaze shifted to the girl standing beside the tall boy.
She was Ye Kener—the girl he'd seen on the rooftop earlier that day.
Lu Yang didn't even remember her face clearly. He'd only learned who she was after asking Jiang Hai and Yuan Huihong later.
Jiang Hai had assumed Lu Yang was driven to jump because of love troubles and had gone to find Ye Kener.
Which meant—
This tall guy had to be her simp.
Lu Yang picked up the basketball, narrowed his eyes, and walked toward the edge of the court, calmly staring at the tall boy.
"I advise you not to play these pathetic life-and-death tricks," the tall boy said coldly, openly threatening him in front of Ye Kener.
"Who are you pretending for?"
"Sun Cheng, don't talk like that," Ye Kener tried to stop him, but it clearly had no effect.
"Am I wrong?" Sun Cheng sneered.
"Who cares whether this guy lives or dies? If you're so brave, why didn't you jump?"
Sun Cheng looked Lu Yang up and down, his face full of mockery.
Lu Yang kept smiling, shrugged casually, and said:
"Here. Your ball."
With that, he suddenly hurled the basketball straight at Sun Cheng.
Sun Cheng instinctively started to dodge—but immediately remembered those viral clips where people got smacked in the face because they overreacted.
Would Lu Yang really dare to hit him?
This was obviously just a scare tactic—to embarrass him in front of Ye Kener.
There was no way he'd fall for it.
Sun Cheng stopped moving, standing still and pretending nothing was wrong as he watched the ball fly closer.
Closer.
Closer—
Wait.
This ball… it's really coming straight for my face!