Recently, Chen Mo’s popularity had noticeably risen. People would glance at him when he walked by, and most of his classmates would call him “Mo-ge” whenever they saw him outside the classroom. Some even sneaked over to the experimental class just to catch a glimpse of the new "school tyrant." But most of the time, all they could see was the back of his head.

This school tyrant didn’t seem all that intimidating.

Besides being constantly lazy, Chen Mo spent every break doing just one thing—sleeping.

And it wasn’t just dozing off; he was fully asleep.

“I sometimes wonder if he didn’t sleep in his past life,” Qi Lin whispered from his seat near the back of the class, pointing at Chen Mo and glancing at Xie Siyan’s usual calm expression. “He’s been sleeping for at least half an hour since morning study hall started, right?”

Xie Siyan cast a quick glance to the side.

All he could see was the messy hair on the boy’s head under the sunlight, along with the tips of his ears, reddened from being pressed against his arm.

Xie Siyan withdrew his gaze and looked at Qi Lin. “Why do you care?”

“I’m not the only one who cares,” Qi Lin grinned mischievously. “Speaking of which, the girls who used to peek into our classroom were always sneaking glances at you. Now, at least a third of them are here to see Chen Mo. Honestly, how come no one noticed before that he’s actually quite good-looking? He’s starting to threaten your title as the ‘most handsome guy’ at Sui City No. 1 High. Don’t you feel any sense of crisis?”

Xie Siyan looked at him expressionlessly.

Qi Lin immediately shut his mouth.

He mentally conceded—some people were just out of his league. Nowadays, the back corner of the classroom, where the two "gods" sat, was like a no-man’s-land. No one dared approach.

Just then, two clumsy big guys crashed through the back door, causing it to slam into the wall with a loud bang, startling the sleeping "god."

Qi Lin watched as Chen Mo rubbed his arm and lifted his head, looking drowsy and slightly irritated. It was exactly the kind of "sleepy grumpiness" that made girls swoon.

Out of nowhere, Xie Siyan asked, “Is there a rat in the dorm?”

“Huh?” Chen Mo blinked, confused. It took him two seconds to realize Xie Siyan was talking to him.

“What rat?” Chen Mo asked.

“No rat. Just wondering why you never sleep at night and can’t wake up during the day?”

Qi Lin chimed in, seizing the chance to tease Chen Mo. “Hey, Sleep God, I’ve always been curious—where did you learn this divine skill of being able to fall asleep on any desk? Can I be your disciple?”

Chen Mo yawned, covering the weariness in his eyes, and said, “Just give up on everything.”

“Huh? What?” Qi Lin didn’t catch that.

Chen Mo glanced at Xie Siyan, who had his arms crossed, and explained to Qi Lin, “Take your Yan-ge for example. He works hard every day to be the top student, carrying the expectations of all his teachers. He’s the future of his family and the pillar of the nation. Just give up on all of that.”

A quiet chuckle escaped from somewhere nearby.

Qi Lin, barely resisting the urge to be brainwashed, kept his cool. “Yan-ge isn’t normal. He’s got an insanely good sleep schedule. Like, he’s in bed by 8:00 PM every weekend, up by 6:00 AM, and runs for an hour. What a beast.”

“So amazing,” Chen Mo responded lazily, giving a half-hearted clap before lying back down. “Not me. If I don’t get enough sleep, my brain shuts down.”

Qi Lin began to envy Chen Mo’s relaxed attitude, barely stopping himself from shaking him awake.

He persisted, “The competition in the experimental class is fierce. Don’t you ever get anxious?”

“Nope,” Chen Mo muttered, resting his head on his arms and closing his eyes again.

“What about the college entrance exams? Doesn’t thinking about them make your scalp tingle?”

“The thought of having two more years before graduation makes my scalp tingle even more.”

“Alright then,” Qi Lin decided to use his trump card. “Aren’t you at least interested in competing with Yang Shule? I’ve seen him working extra hard for the upcoming monthly exam, and he’s barely been hanging out with Yan-ge lately. Don’t you want to redeem yourself, make your family take notice, and prove all those people who think you got in through connections wrong?”

Chen Mo opened one eye and looked at Qi Lin.

Then, he turned to Xie Siyan and said, “Your buddy is insulting me. Can you do something about it?”

Xie Siyan raised an eyebrow. “Am I his dad?”

“He could be your son.”

“Thanks,” Xie Siyan replied. “But I don’t have a son like him.”

Chen Mo turned back to Qi Lin and taunted, “Did you hear that, rebellious son? Think about the questions you just asked. Are you trying to humiliate me? Now, stand up, and you can choose to either walk out or crawl.”

Qi Lin felt like he’d been slapped in the face by the back-and-forth exchange.

It wasn’t news to him that Xie Siyan wasn’t one to go easy on anyone, but was he humiliating Chen Mo? He was only trying to motivate him to do better. How was that an insult?

Who’s humiliating whom here?

Feeling embarrassed, Qi Lin left—only to quickly return.

“Wanna go cycling at Nanshan this weekend, Mo-shao?”

Chen Mo was caught off guard. “You’re inviting me?”

“Yep.”

Chen Mo was just about to recall the rumors about people dying in cycling races at Nanshan when Qi Lin boldly teased, “Compared to racing, I figured cycling is a more suitable retirement sport for you. Come on, let’s go this weekend and I’ll show you what real humiliation looks like.”

Chen Mo raised a skeptical eyebrow.

Is this really the same Qi Lin who later became infamous in the Sui City gay scene for supposedly sleeping with countless partners? This guy reeks of straight-guy energy. I thought he got by on his emotional intelligence, but maybe it’s… something else?

Chen Mo’s gaze unintentionally drifted downward, just as Xie Siyan interrupted again, “It’s a cycling club event. If you don’t want to go, don’t.”

“Cycling club?” Chen Mo tilted his head.

Xie Siyan glanced at him. “It’s a club affiliated with the school. Most of the members are students.”

Chen Mo hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Then… I’ll go.”

“You will?” Xie Siyan questioned. “I thought you’d prefer to sleep all weekend.”

Qi Lin, catching on, smirked and teased, “Oh, right, I forgot. We meet at 6:00 AM. Can you even wake up that early?”

Chen Mo ran a hand through his hair and looked up. “Yeah, I’ll skip sleep. After all, I’ll be spending my weekend teaching you how to be a man.”

“Screw you!” Qi Lin lunged forward, seemingly ready to grab Chen Mo’s neck.

Xie Siyan kicked the desk, pushing it forward just enough to block Qi Lin’s legs and prevent the impending scuffle between the two, who were already acting like old friends.

“Class is starting,” Xie Siyan said, tossing the textbook for the next lesson onto the desk. He glanced at Qi Lin and added, “Still standing here? Waiting for me to see you off?”

Grumbling, Qi Lin left.

Chen Mo chuckled softly.

But before his laughter died down, he noticed that Xie Siyan was still watching him.

Chen Mo met his gaze.

“Is it fun?” Xie Siyan asked.

“What can I say? The guy’s reactions are hilarious. He’s this big dude who can’t take the slightest teasing.”

Chen Mo was quick with his words, but to him, the idea of going to Nanshan meant scenic views, fresh air, and leisurely cycling—a perfect weekend in his book.

Xie Siyan seemed to understand Chen Mo’s true intentions and kindly offered a word of caution, “People who can’t take teasing won’t give up until they get what they want.”

After all, Qi Lin had a reputation for being impulsive and hot-headed on the basketball court.

Meanwhile, Chen Mo casually opened his thermos. A faint smell of chrysanthemum tea wafted through the air…

Xie Siyan pressed his fingers to his temple.

He could hardly recall the first time he met Chen Mo.

It must have been that time, surrounded by a human wall of onlookers, in the middle of a downpour, when the police had pinned Chen Mo to the ground. His eyes were like those of a trapped beast.

The scene was a dilapidated village with livestock pens.

The rain-soaked air was thick with an indescribable stench.

The tears shed by the Yang couple were not entirely fake.

Chen Mo’s foster mother had been hysterically tugging at the police, while his foster father, Chen Jianli, lay on the ground, beaten black and blue, barely recognizable.

It was like a bizarre, tragicomedy.

Inside the car, Yang Shule’s face had turned pale.

He had asked, “Yan-ge, that’s Chen Mo, right?”

Xie Siyan looked away and stared at the roof of the car.

He had been thinking, This will be the last time I get involved in this mess. Grandma insisted I come, and here’s the result—exactly what I expected.

Whether Chen Mo had been ruined by his upbringing was unclear, but anyone could see the abyss lurking in his eyes. If the Yang family wanted to maintain the façade of peace, they might buy themselves temporary harmony. But if they couldn’t, this son they had reclaimed was clearly not someone who would allow himself to be manipulated. The outcome was impossible to predict.

Yang Shule’s voice, trembling and unsure, had sounded like he was talking to himself as much as he was asking, “Why? Why does it have to be me? I’ll never accept them as my real parents.”

Xie Siyan’s reply had been calm, almost mocking: “You’re not the only one wondering why.”

That was the most he’d reacted to the situation. The connection between the Xie and Yang families had gone as far as helping to find the missing son. Beyond that, he didn’t care.

Sure enough, within a month, the Yang family had made a move.

Dropping the lawsuit was exactly the kind of thing that couple would do. Yang Zhi might have been more suited to run the Yang family, but families like theirs always favored the well-behaved younger son.

Perhaps one day, at some event or gathering, the final act of this drama would play out.

He hadn’t expected to come across a feverish Chen Mo in an alley behind an internet cafe.

Chen Mo’s words back then had been sharp and unkind.

Xie Siyan wondered when exactly he had offended him.

Then he realized, anyone even remotely connected to the Yang family was unforgivable in Chen Mo’s eyes.

And after that…

Things started to go differently.

The next time Xie Siyan saw Chen Mo, he seemed both the same and yet entirely different.

You’d think he didn’t care about anything, but he never let himself be taken advantage of. If you thought he still harbored ambitions, there was no sign of it left.

The change was subtle but impossible to ignore.

Like now.

Today’s high temperature was 35°C.

The guy who couldn’t seem to wake up early this morning, who had spent the first part of the day verbally sparring with Qi Lin, was now sitting with a plain-looking, low-key blue-gray thermos, blowing on his drink.

He took a sip.

It burned him.

“Damn!” he muttered.

Then he took another sip.

This time he grimaced. “Ugh, so bitter. The instructions must be wrong.”

Xie Siyan, having held back for long enough, finally asked, “Do you have to drink that hot water?”

Chen Mo looked up at him.

“You want me to drink ice water like you guys, sweating like pigs and downing bottles?”

Xie Siyan’s lips curled into a smirk. “There’s something called room-temperature water, you know.”

“You can’t brew chrysanthemum tea with room-temperature water. Want some?”

“No, thanks.”

Chen Mo and Xie Siyan had been desk mates for almost a week now.

Setting aside any potential ties to a certain someone with the surname Yang, Chen Mo didn’t seem to have any issues with Xie Siyan as a seatmate.

He was quiet, didn’t cause trouble, and even let Chen Mo copy his homework.

After all, high school assignments were plenty, and even if Chen Mo could do them, he couldn’t be bothered to waste the brainpower.

Still, what was his problem today?

Why did it bother him that Chen Mo drank hot water?

Chen Mo clutched his thermos, suspicion in his eyes. “Jealous of my healthy lifestyle?”

Xie Siyan looked like he’d just heard the most absurd joke.

He chuckled, shaking his head.

“Jealous of your cigarettes and tea?”

“Your ice pack for your swollen lip?”

“Your late nights and hot water?”

Chen Mo: “…Shut up.”

Two seconds later, the math teacher, wearing her usual black mid-heeled shoes, walked up to the podium with serious steps.

She held a stack of quizzes in her hand, which she slammed onto the desk with a heavy thud.

“This test…”

“The results were satisfactory overall.”

The female teacher in her thirties wore her hair in a tight bun, and her light gray business suit looked like a rigid shell encasing her. She seemed stern and serious, a presence that did little to lift anyone’s spirits.

“However, there are some students I must criticize today.”

As soon as she spoke, the classroom buzzed with whispers.

Chen Mo, as if expecting it, met her sharp gaze just as she said, “Chen Mo, 125 points. In our experimental class, this score is barely passable. But tell me, how did you solve the last problem?”

“Is there a problem with how I solved it, Ms. Bai?” Chen Mo stood up slowly, his voice calm, though a dark cloud seemed to hang behind his eyes.

Bai Susu—Chen Mo’s math teacher in his previous life as well.

Chen Mo still remembered what she had said back then.

"Yang Shule has always been an excellent student. He’s won numerous competition trophies, and he didn’t even accuse you of cheating. He defended you! And what about you?"

That time, it hadn’t been a regular quiz—it had been Chen Mo’s first monthly exam after transferring to Sui City No. 1 High.

Back then, he hadn’t lived in the dorms.

Yang Shule, as the math class representative, had accidentally taken home the quiz answers from the teacher’s office the day before. He had apologized to Bai Susu, saying, “Ms. Bai, it was an accident.”

In the teacher’s office, Bai Susu had accused Chen Mo in an almost righteous tone: “Chen Mo, the difficulty at our school is not the same as your previous high school. You and the class representative scored the exact same 149 points, and you both got the same question wrong. Are you telling me that’s a coincidence? If you apologize now, I’ll pretend this never happened.”

Apologizing was never an option.

That time, they had called in Zhou Yaoying.

She had appeared, dressed impeccably, apologizing profusely. “I’m so sorry, Ms. Bai. I didn’t raise the children well.”

Bai Susu softened her tone. “I know Shule, and I’m sure he’s not involved. As for Chen Mo, it’s good to want to improve, but you have to do it the right way.”

“Yes, yes.”

On the drive home that day, Zhou Yaoying had tried to avoid hurting his feelings, saying, “Xiao Mo, I didn’t tell your father or your brother. They would’ve been furious.”

Chen Mo had sneered, “You can tell them if you want.”

That remark had convinced Zhou Yaoying that he was guilty and immature.

After that, Chen Mo’s grades steadily improved, but math was the one subject he could never take seriously again, no matter how hard he tried.

The final points he lost in the college entrance exam had been because of this.

And now, as if history was repeating itself.

But with some differences.

Chen Mo still remembered the final question on the quiz.

It had been an additional question, and for someone like him, who had studied advanced math in university, it wasn’t difficult. He hadn’t thought much of it at the time and had simply written out the solution.

Chen Mo had expected to be accused of cheating.

But this time, the teacher said, “You all put your papers on the podium yourselves. The class representative’s paper was there, too. Someone saw you writing on the podium, and your solution and steps are exactly the same as his. This content hasn’t even been covered in high school yet.”

She had practically accused him of copying.

“Who saw it?” Chen Mo asked.

The classroom fell silent.

Chen Mo glanced around. “I said, who saw me copying from the podium?”

This was the first time Chen Mo had shown such a clear emotion in class.

Everyone had almost forgotten that this quiet transfer student, who spent most of his time sleeping, had recently sent a group of students to the school hospital.

Bai Susu’s voice was sharp. “Chen Mo, who are you trying to intimidate? If you weren’t copying, then what were you writing?”

Chen Mo sneered, “The question was so simple that I was afraid of scaring you. So, I made some extra mistakes on purpose. Any problem with that?”

“You’re being completely unreasonable!”

Just as Chen Mo’s shoulders tensed, a hand rested on them.

The hand was large, with long, well-shaped fingers.

The index finger pressed down gently on his shoulder twice, and Chen Mo was surprised to feel it urging him to calm down.

Then the person beside him stood up.

“I watched him solve the last question, Ms. Bai,” Xie Siyan said, his tone casual. “The answer was one-half, and he revised it once. He spent the rest of the time drawing a… turtle next to the question.”

Someone in the class couldn’t hold back a giggle.

Bai Susu picked up the top quiz paper and flipped through it.

Her expression darkened.

Chen Mo glanced at Xie Siyan, wondering if this guy had perfect vision or something.

Xie Siyan spoke again, this time with a slight smile. “So, Ms. Bai, after this sudden and baseless accusation, don’t you think you owe the student an apology?”

In that instant, the class fell silent.

Only Yang Shule, seated in the front row, clenched his pen tightly at Xie Siyan’s words.

In truth, this math teacher wasn’t very well-liked.

Most of the students didn’t care for her rigid teaching style, but Chen Mo knew that she would remain the math teacher for the experimental class until graduation.

Chen Mo also knew that Bai Susu’s assumption that he had copied was influenced by her preconceived notions about his relationship with Yang Shule. She couldn’t believe that a student from a backward county high school could solve such a problem.

The atmosphere grew tense. Chen Mo knew she wouldn’t apologize.

He tugged on Xie Siyan’s sleeve.

Xie Siyan looked at him curiously.

Chen Mo let go of his sleeve and turned to the teacher.

“For the next monthly exam, if I make it into the top ten of the grade, I’ll stay. If I don’t, you stay.”

Chen Mo didn’t care to keep locking horns with a main subject teacher he had to face every day. His frustration with her had been simmering for a long time—it had been there for years, ever since the day he lost to her in a previous life. Originally, he had planned to just let it go, but now it felt like he had eaten something bitter, and it was making him sick to his stomach.

Either she would leave, or he would.

One of them had to go.

Of course, it was almost certain he would be the one to leave.

Bai Susu’s face turned ashen. She hadn’t expected Chen Mo to be so brazen.

The class collectively held its breath.

“Do you need a written report for that?” Xie Siyan interjected, his tone laced with mockery. “You realize what you just said doesn’t hold any weight, right?”

That remark could be interpreted as him calling Chen Mo reckless.

But anyone who had been in class with Xie Siyan for a while knew one thing—he intended to protect Chen Mo through this, no matter what.