Read Novel Full Chapter 20
Chapter 20
Sheng Yuan tasted defeat for the first time.
As a conscientious system, Truly Ambitious helped to play a comforting tune in his mind on loop.
At that moment, joy overwhelmed it.
This kind of thing didn’t happen every day.
[System: In theory, bicycle thieves would steal the whole bike, so why did he only take your back seat?]
Before Sheng Yuan could reply, he heard a startled exclamation from the system.
[System: Ah! I understand now.]
Sheng Yuan knew it was nothing good.
[System: Sheng Yuan, it’s pure retribution!]
Sheng Yuan: “…”
With the comforting tune playing, Sheng Yuan got on his bike and left through the school gate.
He arrived at the alley behind the barbecue restaurant, a few minutes before Yu Zuojin finished work.
He and Truly Ambitious analyzed the situation seriously.
[System: Who do you think did it?]
Sheng Yuan looked up at the sparse stars in the night sky and replied in a relaxed tone, “I don’t know.”
[System: Don’t you care?]
“Whether I care or not, it’s already dismantled.”
[System: What if the thief steals the whole bicycle next time?]
“It would be a good reason to get a new one.”
The young man had a sense of elegance, and showed no signs of anger.
He was remarkably open-minded.
The system didn’t expect Sheng Yuan to be so accepting of the situation.
[System: What if you knew who the thief was?]
Sheng Yuan replied without hesitation, “I would twist his head off.”
[System:…]
‘Oh, so he wasn’t that accepting.’
A glance at the bicycle’s back seat revealed that it had been forcibly dismantled, with a section of the supporting frame twisted and deformed.
It seemed that Yu Zuojin would have to walk back home today.
Soon, the old man and Aunt Chen emerged from the alley, with their gas tank-like Corgi trotting behind them.
Not long after they left, Yu Zuojin also walked out of the alley, carrying a black plastic bag.
Sheng Yuan explained, “Your gege’s back seat was dismantled today. You should walk back.”
In the next moment, Sheng Yuan heard a few clinking sounds.
Yu Zuojin took out the back seat and a few iron clasps from the black plastic bag, quickly securing the back seat in just a few moves.
After finishing, he looked at Sheng Yuan and said in a mocking tone.
“No need to walk.”
Sheng Yuan: “…”
[System:…]
With this set of actions, both of their CPUs seemed to overheat.
Sheng Yuan looked at the back seat that was lost and now regained.
“You took it?”
Yu Zuojin still wore that cold expression and remained silent.
“Why did you take my back seat?”
Still no response.
Even if it was the old man collecting scrap metal, the situation wouldn’t be so explosive as this.
Yu Zuojin dismantled his back seat, but didn’t sell it. Keeping it was utterly useless.
[System: Why did he take your back seat in the first place?]
Sheng Yuan pondered, “Maybe he just wanted to be the only one using it.”
[System: Is it that absurd?]
“The truth is often the most absurd.”
Ignoring the system’s comment, Sheng Yuan looked at Yu Zuojin standing beside him and asked, “So, only you are allowed to sit on this back seat?”
Yu Zuojin blinked his eyes.
[System:…]
‘It was really the truth, and it was indeed quite absurd.’
Sheng Yuan stepped forward, pointed his finger at Yu Zuojin’s shoulder. He felt a mix of anger and amusement, “You’re quite domineering, young man.”
“So no one can sit on my back seat except you?”
Yu Zuojin stood there with a stern expression, and after a while, he uttered a word.
“No.”
Sheng Yuan’s tone became serious, “Apologize.”
The latter stood frozen.
Sheng Yuan continued, “Requiring an apology is just the beginning. When you make a mistake, there is always a price to pay. But I am kind, so if you apologize to me, we can let this matter go.”
Truly Ambitious: ‘Kind…?’
[System: How can you say such words…]
Sheng Yuan: “I have a clear understanding of myself.”
[System:…]
Yu Zuojin looked at the back seat, but remained silent.
Sheng Yuan didn’t know what obsession the other person had with his bicycle’s back seat.
But he had selfish motives when it came to Yu Zuojin. He couldn’t let go of the life points he got each day.
Sheng Yuan took a step forward.
“Do you think I don’t care about you if I carry others?”
Yu Zuojin, standing there at nearly 1.9 meters tall, kept his head down and remained silent.
Sheng Yuan said, “I do care about you, that’s why I’ll let it go with an apology. If it were someone else, I would have taken them straight to the police station.”
“I am being tolerant towards you, but you don’t appreciate it. Forget it. It seems you don’t care much about my feelings. Tomorrow, you can go back by yourself…”
“Sorry.”
A hoarse voice echoed in Sheng Yuan’s ears.
He turned to look at him. Atleast the other person still had some conscience.
“You should have said that earlier, it would have been fine.”
He pointed at the forcefully reattached back seat, “Such things shouldn’t be done in the future. Between you and me, it may be seen as a joke, but the boundary of this joke is when I’m not angry. The essence of this matter is theft, regardless of the reasons. Facts are facts.”
Some truths didn’t need much explanation. Say the straightforward things and keep the rest of the preaching inside. It’s often better than long-winded lectures.
Sheng Yuan gripped the handlebars. “Get on.”
Yu Zuojin took a step and walked behind him.
Sheng Yuan headed toward the tree-lined avenue with his passenger in tow. The evening temperature had dropped again, and he remembered that before going out one morning, his beautiful mother, Feng Juan, told him to add more clothes.
The autumn wind blew against his face, chilling to the bone.
It was time to add another layer of clothing.
When they reached the gate of the school, Sheng Yuan stopped the bike.
“Go back, don’t be late.”
Yu Zuojin got off the bike.
Sheng Yuan didn’t forget to remind him, “Remember, if you make a mistake in the future, you should apologize, okay?”
The other person remained silent as always.
Sheng Yuan wasn’t annoyed either. “What? Don’t like hearing me speak?”
Yu Zuojin looked at the back seat, gazing for a long time before reluctantly saying, “Understood.”
His tone and timbre were somewhat outrageous, making it impossible to discern his emotions.
Sheng Yuan waved at him, “Go. It’s getting colder recently, remember to wear more clothes.”
With that, Sheng Yuan turned the bicycle around and headed home with the autumn wind, while the latter continued to stand in the midst of the autumn breeze.
Before half past ten, Yu Zuojin returned to the dormitory building.
And Zheng Zilu, who happened to meet him again at the dormitory entrance while carrying a book, was instantly dumbfounded.
The dark moments of his life that occurred after he didn’t pay attention to the road yesterday seemed to be etched into his DNA. Bumping into Yu Zuojin was no small matter. The other person might just snap one day when he wasn’t happy.
So, he decided to protect himself for the time being and not appear in Yu Zuojin’s line of sight.
To avoid encountering him when he returned to the dormitory at night, he deliberately timed his return, coming back only when there were five minutes left until curfew.
Who knew..!
Zheng Zilu: ‘Heaven wants to ruin me!
God! Look at what you’ve done?’
Zheng Zilu hesitated while holding the book.
Just walk past!
But if he walked past directly, would the other person think that he didn’t take him seriously?
The result would be equally terrible.
He forced a smile and greeted, “Fellow student Yu, what a coincidence to meet again.”
Yu Zuojin lowered his head and looked at him. He remembered Sheng Yuan’s words.
—When you make a mistake, you should apologize.
Just as Zheng Zilu was immersed in thoughts about his farewell letter, a distorted voice reached his ears.
“Sorry.”
Zheng Zilu: “…Huh?”
He immediately covered his mouth with both hands.
Did he hear it correctly?
Yu Zuojin was apologizing to him!
He quickly looked around, but there were no students near the entrance gate or in front of the building to witness it.
But the delinquent leader was apologizing to him!
Zheng Zilu snorted.
Finally!
He didn’t dare to be too insolent on the surface, but he couldn’t suppress his emotions. He puffed up his chest and touched the back of his head in a self-satisfied manner. “Is Student Yu referring to yesterday’s incident? Actually, I haven’t taken it to heart at all. As long as you acknowledge your mistake…”
Yu Zuojin’s pitch-black eyes stared at him.
Before Zheng Zilu could finish his sentence, he heard a loud “slap,” and the book he had been holding in his hands was swatted away by Yu Zuojin.
The book landed on the ground with a sad thud, rustling in the autumn wind.
Wrong is wrong, but it was impossible to change.
Zheng Zilu: “…”
‘A new form of school violence!’
Zheng Zilu clenched his teeth.
‘My dark life!
My world will never be bright again!’
The dormitory supervisor came out. “Hey, you! Hurry up and go inside, it’s curfew!”
“Teacher, he… he…”
Zheng Zilu stretched out his hand to point, but Yu Zuojin had already disappeared.
The next day, the subject grades were announced, and the school rankings were posted on the bulletin board.
On his way to check the results, Zheng Zilu happened to meet Sheng Yuan and his group.
Sheng Yuan: “Checking the results? Let’s go together.”
Zheng Zilu didn’t refuse but stubbornly said to Sheng Yuan, “I absolutely won’t lose.”
“Is that so?”
“Of course!”
“I don’t believe you.”
Zheng Zilu: “…”
Sheng Yuan patted his shoulder. “You won’t lose too badly.”
Zheng Zilu: ?
Sheng Yuan said, “I left thirty points of the physics exam empty for you.”
[System: You’re so caring.]
Zheng Zilu: “We’ll see who wins!”
The group arrived at the bulletin board together and found quite a crowd.
Zheng Zilu took a step ahead of Sheng Yuan and approached the section for the top fifty rankings. The first place was still Guo Gang, the second was Ji Minglai, and the third…
In the name column that had always displayed his name, there were now two words.
—Sheng Yuan.
And he had dropped from the third place to fourth.
Zheng Zilu was dumbfounded.
He rubbed his eyes.
Sheng Yuan had actually surpassed him.
When Xia Zhiqi saw the rankings, his eyes widened, and he was about to shout, but Xiao Pang covered his mouth with a palm.
He gestured with his eyes.
“Have you forgotten? Big Brother Sheng said you should learn how to behave!”
Xia Zhiqi looked at Xiao Pang’s excited eyes.
“Are your eyes twitching?”
Xiao Pang: “…”
Xiao Pang pulled him away from the crowd, and Sheng Yuan patted Zheng Zilu’s shoulder. “Work harder next time.”
With that, he walked away with his brothers.
[System: Host, you’re truly amazing!]
Sheng Yuan: “Just average, the third in the whole school.”
[System: Are you showing off?]
Sheng Yuan didn’t deny it. “It is pointless to win and not show off.”
[System: Then why didn’t you show off to Zheng Zilu?]
“That would make me look like I don’t know how to behave.”
[System: And what about me?]
“You…” Sheng Yuan smiled. “You don’t matter~”
[System: Hey!!!]
When they reached the classroom door, Xia Zhiqi dashed in with a single stride.
Now that he was in class, it was his territory, and no one could stop him.
“Brothers! Brother Sheng! The third place in the whole school!!!”
After a brief silence in the classroom, an astonishing cheer erupted.
“Wow wow wow!!!”
“Roar!!!”
The entire corridor was filled with the voices of Class 6’s apes.
Author’s note:
Xia Zhiqi: From that day on, I told everyone I met that my Brother Sheng ranked third in the whole school!