Copy of Resentment - Chapter 4

School Rules

Bian Shengjian didn’t get much sleep that night. Aside from the shame of sleeping in somebody else’s bed that night for the very first time in his life,there was also this guy, Lu Shen.

What the hell is wrong with this person?

He tossed and turned on the bed for a long time, till his back hurt, and finally struggled to feel sleepy. But this half-dreaming state didn’t last long. Just as Bian Shengjian frowned and tried to rouse himself awake from the semi conscious state before getting up , the dormitory’s door was knocked by someone. “Shengjian! Get up!”

“Fuck,” Bian Shengjian tried opening his eyes, feeling as though his eyelids and entire body were weary from hauling 10 sacks of concrete at a construction site. His lack of sleep, along with his misadjustment to his surroundings, made him feel unpleasant all over. His angst reached a boiling point, and he yelled hoarsely. “Got it!”

“Let’s have breakfast together,” Lu Shen paused. His voice sounded rather pleasant, “I’ll wait for you downstairs.”

Bian Shengjian didn’t say anything, but irritably grabbed a fistful of his unkempt hair, which was hanging out of his head, and proceeded to the balcony. He was somewhat astonished by his grayish face when he glanced up at the little mirror placed above the sink. “Shit.”

He hastily switched on the faucet and splashed himself with two handfuls of water. When he peered closer, the dark bags beneath his eyes still were visible, and he felt that if he jumped twice, he’d fall to his chin. Bian Shengjian scrutinized his appearance, and couldn’t help but groan deeply whilst brushing his teeth, remembering how he and his other three band members didn’t appear as tired after rehearsing for a whole night. Terrific, his new life at the new school hasn’t even started yet, but he can’t help not miss the old days, or more specifically, the liveability which at least made him happy and comfortable.

Life is really full of surprises.

Even though he was still drowsy after washing up, he looked considerably better than when he first awoke. Bian Shengjian yawned, making his eyes moisten slightly as he walked downstairs. It made his eyesight fuzzy to the point that he could hardly see the road. He couldn’t help but be taken aback as he rounded the corner and witnessed a swarm of people going and heading downstairs.

“Here!” someone suddenly shouted to him.

Before Bian Shengjian could raise his head, Lu Shen ran up from one side and put his arm on his shoulder very naturally, “How was your sleep last night?”

“Hey!” Bian Shengjian was startled, and pulled his arm down with a cold face. “Don’t touch me.”

“Okay, I won’t touch.” Lu Shen smiled and shrugged, “Let’s go and have breakfast.”

Bian Shengjian glanced towards him and didn’t move. He was a little perplexed. It was only yesterday that he encountered this individual in an unusual manner and nearly had a one-sided fight. Furthermore, Lu Shen was acting extremely natural right now. Greeted him to have breakfast as if the two had been sworn brothers for ten years.

It’s difficult to tell if he’s an idiot or a callous man.

…or simply just a callous idiot.

“Your quilt,” Bian Shengjian reached out his hand and pressed his temple, “I’ll wash it in the washing machine and return it to you later.”

“It’s okay, I’m not a clean freak.” Lu Shen’s face was indifferent. “Besides, there is no washing machine in this school. If you want to wash it, you have to wash it by hand.”

“What…” Bian Shengjian was stunned, “Wash by hand?”

“Yeah, don’t you know how to do your own laundry?” Lu Shen scanned him up and down and smiled, “You indeed looked very rich. Why would a young master ever think of transferring here? “

“It’s none of your business.”Bian Shengjian fixed his gaze on him. Despite the fact that Lu Shen’s remarks made him oddly upset, he still offered him his own bed for the night. It is not proper to have an outburst of rage first thing in the morning. “Do you want to eat breakfast or not?”

“Eat. Let’s go.” Lu Shen snapped his fingers, went ahead of him and said, “Shall I show you around the school after class is over? I’m afraid you won’t be able to find your way again.”

“No, I’ll just walk around a few more times.” Bian Shengjian twitched the corners of his mouth expressionlessly.

I had to admit that the meal complemented the dilapidated state of the dormitory building. Breakfast at No. 4 Middle School was likewise quite simple: dumplings, steamed buns, fried rice porridge, and millet porridge. After a succession of glances, Bian Shengjian’s vision almost blurred. He paused in front of the screen for a long time, not thinking on what to eat until the people at the back persuaded him to. When he pulled out his phone to pay, the aunt by the window tapped on the plate with an iron spoon, signaling him to open his eyes and gaze at the card swiping machine next to him—

Meal card? Bian Shengjian felt a twinge of discomfort. He had forgotten that dining at school was normally done by depositing money onto a card and then swiping it. It would be a bit awkward for him to simply walk away at this point.

After hearing a guy in the queue behind him say something, Bian Shengjian snorted angrily. The annoyance he had restrained earlier that morning was racing up to his head, and he nearly clinched his knuckles from where he stood—

“Swipe mine.” A hand reached out from his side and casually swiped the card machine. The transaction was successful after a beep.

“…Thank you.” Bian Shengjian took a deep breath and picked up his plate. The fact that he had to ask others for help even in purchasing breakfast made his mood extremely complicated. His appetite also lost all of a sudden, “I’ll transfer the money to you later.”

“It’s okay, my treat.” Lu Shen smiled, “The meal card thing can be done next to the cafeteria, which is very convenient.”

“Yeah.” Bian Shengjian absently ate a few mouthfuls of porridge from the bowl, watching the constant influx of people in the dining hall with gradually enthusiastic noise, his mood became more and more disturbed. “Wasn’t there anyone yesterday? Where the hell did these people come from early in the morning?”

“School starts today,” Lu Shen chewed a steamed bun with relish, “They all like to come in the morning and go back to the dormitory to pack up at noon.”

“Oh,” Bian Shengjian couldn’t help but ask again, “Can’t there be any normal person in your school?”

“A normal person? Am I not?” Lu Shen set down his spoon and looked at him seriously, “Was I unkind to you? I lent you my bed yesterday.”

“I…” Bian Shengjian was at a loss for words, “Did I even inquire about how you were treating me?”

“Then what do you think of me?” Lu Shen looked at him.

“Good.” Bian Shengjian sighed.

Bian Shengjian ultimately opted to shut up since Lu Shen’s method of speaking and acting made him feel awkward and unintelligible. Regardless of whatever Lu Shen spoke to him about, he just uttered two perfunctory ‘uhms,’ and even a meal that should’ve been delicious was bland.

“Are you full? You still have a lot left.” Lu Shen glanced down at his plate.

“Well, eat it all if you’re not full.” Bian Shengjian wiped the corners of his mouth with a piece of paper (table napkin).

“Okay.” Lu Shen stretched out his hand as he spoke, and Bian Shengjian was so shocked that he quickly intercepted his chopsticks in mid-air, “Fuck, what are you doing?”

“Don’t waste food,” Lu Shen looked at him, “It’s okay. I am not averse to eating your leftovers.”

“Why are you…” Bian Shengjian didn’t know how to react for a while, and looked at him for a few seconds before he slapped his chopsticks angrily.  “Don’t eat it, I’ll buy you whatever else you want to eat. ”

“But it’s my card.” Lu Shen said.

“Scram!” Bian Shengjian pointed at him, “Get out.”

Lu Shen laughed for a while before stopping, wiped his mouth and stood up, “Okay, stop talking. I’ll take you to class.”

The two of them were pretty quiet on their walk to class. For starters, Bian Shengjian was preoccupied with acquainting himself with the route conditions. Second, he really didn’t know how to communicate with Lu Shen again. He was terrified that if he (LS) opened his lips, some strange words might come out and startled him to the ground.

Thankfully, after Shengjian approached somewhere at the rear of the teaching facility, he noticed that the No. 4 middle school’s teaching building was rather well constructed. At the very least, it wasn’t the type of damaged building that would fall to the ground just by standing upstairs and stomping his feet. Even though the architectural style was not as beautiful as his former school, the bougainvillea (triangle plum) dangling from the edge of each story, weaving together in a charming pattern, appeared like a flowing crimson ocean from a distance.

“Our classroom is on the fourth floor. The middle building is for the second years, the front and back are for the first and third years respectively.” Lu Shen pointed with his finger, “The school has regulations, and it is best not to stray between classes at ordinary times.”

“I don’t have that interest.” Bian Shengjian said, turned his head and glanced, followed Lu Shen into the building in the middle, and asked casually while climbing the stairs, “By the way, the adviser of this class…   .”

“Bian Shengjian?” A sudden shout came from behind. Bian Shengjian spun around and saw a middle-aged guy with a briefcase at the bottom of the stairs, clutching his spectacles and smiling at him. “Am I right? Such a big handsome guy.”

Just as Bian Shengjian turned his head back, he found that Lu Shen had disappeared by his side at some point. He had to retrace his steps down the stairs alone to stand in front of the man, “Hello, teacher. I just transferred from another school.”

“I know, your father has told me again and again.” The man smiled and led him aside, his tone was quite soft, “Have you put away your luggage and the likes? Remember to tell me if you need anything. I’m still pondering about your situation today.”

“Really?” Bian Shengjian twitched the corners of his mouth.

“By the way, I almost forgot to introduce myself.” He said and patted Bian Shengjian’s shoulder, “My name is Tan Dafa, and I’m the class adviser of class four. You can also call me Cai Zong or Lao Tan just like your classmates.”

(t/n Cai Zong- Chief Financial Officer; Cai-wealth; Zong-always; Lao-old)

“Wealth…is always good.” Bian Shengjian was stunned for a few seconds after realizing the connection between the two names, and he couldn’t help but laugh. “I wish you a great fortune every day.”

“That’s not true. What we do as teachers is to hold an iron rice bowl,” Lao Tan also laughed a few times. “Those kids like to scream. Anyhow, I can’t control them.”

(t/n Iron rice bowl-is a Chinese term used to refer to an occupation with guaranteed job security, as well as steady income and benefits)

Bian Shengjian found that he liked Lao Tan’s temperament quite a bit. Seeing that he was much more talkative than the resolute female class adviser back at his old class . Not to mention that Lao Tan stood here and chatted with him for a long time, but didn’t even mention his past and the things he did at his old school. Just this attitude alone made him feel completely at ease.

“Come on, I’ll take you to class. It starts today.” Lao Tan took him upstairs with him, and his tone suddenly became solemn as he walked. “By the way, Shengjian, I want to explain to you the school rules of our No. 4 middle school. You must listen carefully.”

“Okay Mr. Cai. Tell me.” Bian Shengjian looked at him.

“First, our No. 4 middle school does not carry out evening self-study except for those in third year.” Lao Tan said slowly, almost word by word, “Second, after seven o’clock in the evening, all non-boarding students must all leave the school premises. Those who live in the dormitory must return to the dormitory for self-study. During this period, they aren’t allowed to leave the dormitory building.”

“Why?” Bian Shengjian frowned. He instantly remembered the access control and alarm that Lu Shen had mentioned to him last night.

“Third,” Lao Tan didn’t answer him right away, but slowly finished reciting the remaining school rules, “It is strictly forbidden for students to approach the back mountain and the pond (lake) of the school. You must have also seen the warning sign?”

“I saw.” Bian Shengjian nodded, “But why…”

“Alas,” Lao Tan patted him on the shoulder, “In short, these are the rules of the school. Since you are here, you have to abide by them. You don’t need to bother about the rest.”

“Okay.” Although Bian Shengjian wanted to say something more, Lao Tan had already brought him to the door of the classroom at some point, and many eyes immediately glanced over.

“Come on, this is our class four.” Lao Tan escorted him to the podium’s edge. When Bian Shengjian entered the classroom, his initial thought was not at the stares aimed at him, but of the unusually small number of students present. The back was almost empty with two rows of vacant tables and chairs.

“Are all here?” He couldn’t help but ask sideways.

“Yes, there are only 32 people in our class.” Lao Tan said and clapped his hands, “Classmates! Let’s put aside the things on our hands first, and let’s welcome the new student!”

The entire class erupted in applause. Bian Shengjian felt a lot of eyes stuck to his face even without raising his head, as well as the bouts of tension caused by discussions under the podium. He stood there for at least 30 seconds before turning to face Lao Tan, “I’ll now introduce myself?”

“Okay, go ahead.” Lao Tan froze for a moment then nodded.

“My name is Bian Shengjian. I transferred from another school and nothing else.” Bian Shengjian said.

Bian Shengjian was irritated when he heard a little whistle from the audience, but as he lifted his head, he saw Lu Shen’s beaming eyes seated at the rear of the classroom.

“Shit.” He immediately looked away.

“Come on, Shengjian. You can now step down and find a seat for yourself.” Lao Tan said kindly.

“Okay.” Bian Shengjian walked off from the podium, deliberately avoiding the group of girls who were staring at him with the most intense gaze just now, and instinctively went straight to the back as per usual habit. He accidentally looked at Lu Shen again–

“Come and sit with me!” Lu Shen mouthed at him exaggeratedly.

Bian Shengjian glanced at him and saw that there was indeed a vacant seat next to him, but there were also many other unoccupied chairs. He didn’t want to deal with Lu Shen up close. He hesitated and found a seat further away from him.

Lu Shen remained staring at him with interest, and his expression upon witnessing him take a seat was not one of disappointment. He simply grinned at him and remarked, “We met again.”

“Right. We met again.” Bian Shengjian also said while looking at him.

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See you tomorrow.