Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Senior year was the purest year of sleepiness.

Lu Jiayu grew sleepy the moment class began, and in math class he would collapse straight onto the desk.

So I fed him Midnight Storm, then poured a bottle of ice water down him. “Hiss…”

I dripped cooling oil on his temples. When he rubbed it, it got into his eyes and refreshed his mind. “Ow!”

Zhou Jiahui trembled as she watched. I comforted her, “Don’t be scared. He likes this.”

Why did she look even more scared?

The second class in the afternoon was when sleepiness hit hardest.

I pinched Lu Jiayu’s arm.

It was already bruised blue and purple.

He begged for mercy. “There is no space left to pinch on this arm.”

I nodded and switched seats with him. “Next class, we pinch the other one.”

Lu Jiayu: “You living king of hell!”

He dozed off, nodding like a chicken pecking rice.

So I suddenly grabbed his blond hair and lifted his head.

His hair was short, and when I let go, golden strands flew in the sunlight.

Pain-sharing activated instantly; the students around us were all scared awake.

In math class, when the teacher reached an important point, Lu Jiayu would not wake up no matter how much he slapped his own face.

I slapped him once. It was so loud the math teacher snapped his chalk.

Startled, I quickly patched things over. “Do you understand respecting class? Do you understand respecting the teacher?”

The students secretly sleeping in the back row all looked ashamed and sat straight as pine trees through the entire lesson.

The math teacher was moved to tears. “Student Yuan Ying, listen to me say thank you.”

The weather cooled down, and the rich girl said she would treat me to hotpot.

I immediately called out, “Lu Jiayu!”

With a “woof,” he wagged his tail and came over. “What is it?”

“Hotpot after school. You are paying.”

He was flattered. “Am I worthy?”

“All right, you may go now.”

He obediently rolled away.

His older female cousin was stunned. “Girl, are you… a dog-training master?”

At the hotpot restaurant, the three of us sat down.

Zhou Jiahui ordered a split spicy-and-clear broth pot.

She even took the initiative to blanch food and put it in Lu Jiayu’s bowl.

I told the rich girl not to bother. “I will do it.”

Then I picked up a chopstickful of tripe, dipped it seven times up and eight times down, covered it in red chili oil,

and placed it in Lu Jiayu’s bowl.

Zhou Jiahui was terrified. “Yuan Ying, he doesn’t eat spicy food!”

“Who said that?” I smiled at Lu Jiayu. “You will finish it, won’t you? Hm?”

Lu Jiayu’s pupils quaked. “!!!”

With trembling hands, he picked up the tripe, embraced death, and stuffed it into his mouth. “Hiss… ha… so spicy!”

He scrambled to grab yogurt to soothe the heat, but I pressed his hand down. “Not well-behaved.”

Zhou Jiahui: “!!!”

With tears in his eyes and a tragic expression, Lu Jiayu put down the yogurt.

Then he picked up hot tea and gulped down a mouthful.

It was so spicy that he clutched his head with both hands, veins bulging on his arms.

Excited, I asked, “How is it? Does it feel good?”

He sucked in air while moaning. “Hiss… ha… it feels so good! So good!”

I looked proud. “Did you say thank you?”

“Th-thank you…”

Zhou Jiahui shook her head like a rattle drum. “Zenzen wakannai? Zenzen wakannai!”

Me: ??