Chapter 159

Chapter 159

Beside her, Wang Qian winked at me and teased with a smile.

“Classmate Wu, our Nannan has been waiting forever. Ever since I came to stay at her house the day before yesterday, she’s been going on and on in my ear about what present you might give her.”

“Wang Qian! You have such a big mouth.”

Yao Nan shot her cousin a fierce glare.

Liu Yilong’s frown deepened when he heard that.

I shook my head helplessly.

With a smile, I took a small wooden plaque the size of my thumb from my pocket and handed it to Yao Nan.

“This is the first time I’ve ever given someone a birthday present, so I truly had no idea what would be appropriate. After thinking it over, I made you a Protective Talisman myself. Wear it, and it will keep you safe.”

This little object had taken me a great deal of effort!

Before going home, I had asked Old Cao for a few scraps of huanghuali rosewood. Then, the day before yesterday, I carefully carved four talismans into the wood.

The front bore a Mind-Calming Talisman and a Spirit-Soothing Talisman–their purpose was to calm and soothe the wearer, preventing restless agitation and preserving stable, positive emotions and peace of mind.

The back bore an Evil-Warding Talisman and a Corpse-Suppressing Talisman–their purpose was to protect the wearer against attacks from certain ghosts and corpse-fiends.

Engraving four different talismans on a single Protective Talisman was the current limit of my talisman arts!

And since I had prioritized fitting all four onto it, their quality was slightly lower… The effects of these talismans were less than half as powerful as when I normally cast them using talisman paper.

Of course, they were already more than sufficient for Yao Nan!

After all, ordinary people rarely encountered all kinds of sinister supernatural forces.

Once I finished engraving the four talismans, I slowly channeled qi into the plaque and carried it on my body to nourish it for an entire day.

Only then was it complete!

Beside us, Wang Dachun immediately let out an exaggerated cry and covered his mouth with one hand.

“Boss, you made this Protective Talisman yourself? My God! Then it’s incredibly precious. When my birthday comes around, could you give me one too?”

I rolled my eyes at the fool and replied irritably, “That will depend on how well you behave!”

Wang Dachun stared at the Protective Talisman with shining eyes.

“Yao Nan, I’m jealous of you.”

Yao Nan smilingly accepted the small wooden plaque from my hand. After turning it over and examining both sides, she said happily, “It’s beautiful! Thank you, Deskmate. This is the best present I’ve received this year.”

Uh…

She wasn’t wrong. I thought so myself!

But wasn’t saying it so openly in front of her other friends slightly inappropriate?

Wang Qian and several of the other girls gave me meaningful looks, then put their heads together and whispered among themselves. From time to time, they showed mischievous smiles.

They didn’t seem angry, but they gave me a strange feeling.

As for Wang Dachun and Zeng Jin, they were too busy envying Yao Nan and sighing emotionally over her good fortune.

That left a little boy only seven or eight years old, and Liu Yilong…

Sure enough!

The guy started trouble.

He sneered and looked at me sidelong.

“What era do you think this is? You actually made something by hand as a classmate’s birthday present. How backward can you be? And it’s just a piece of wood with a bunch of random scribbles carved into it. No one would pick it up if you threw it on the ground. It’s garbage!”

Then he looked at me with an expression of sudden realization.

“Oh, Classmate Wu, I’m not targeting you. I’m simply discussing the object itself, not attacking the person. Don’t misunderstand me or get angry.”

His tone was insufferably snide.

Oh, screw you, you bastard!

My eyes narrowed slightly as my irritation mounted.

I had no idea how I had offended this idiot… but I wasn’t some harmless saint he could casually provoke!

Anyone who dared start trouble with me had better be prepared to pay the price.

When school first started, I had only recently begun learning the arts. Wang Dachun provoked me, and I retaliated immediately without delaying the debt.

A gentleman could wait ten years for revenge? I believed only in never letting revenge wait overnight!

But this was Yao Nan’s birthday party. I couldn’t make the situation too ugly–if anything could restrain my anger, it was my emotional ties to the people around me.

So I didn’t respond. I merely smiled and ignored him.

But inside, I thought silently…

“Three strikes and you’re out! He’s already provoked me twice. If he does it once more, I’ll definitely punish him.”

I hadn’t shown any reaction yet, but Yao Nan’s expression had already darkened.

She looked at Liu Yilong and enunciated every word.

“Brother Yilong, you’re my friend, and Wu Zhong is my friend too–more than that, he’s a guest I invited. If you keep targeting him this way, you and I won’t be friends anymore.”

“Nannan, you… You’re actually scolding me over some poor boy you’ve known for only half a year?”

Liu Yilong looked utterly stunned and unable to believe what he was hearing.

He had never imagined that before I even became angry, Yao Nan would lose her temper first!

I naturally disliked this inexplicably hostile person, but outwardly, I still tried to smooth things over.

“All right, Yao Nan. We’re all friends. It’s fine. But Brother Liu, my family may be a little poor, and I may come from the countryside, but I still put my heart into the present I gave Yao Nan. It definitely isn’t garbage.”

Beside us, Wang Qian also hurried to ease the atmosphere.

“Exactly. This little wooden plaque is so exquisite. It’s even prettier than the ones sold in accessory shops. Classmate Wu Zhong is so skillful with his hands. I heard you’re also a top student? That you rank first in the entire grade on every monthly exam?”
She had cleverly changed the subject. It seemed her emotional intelligence was very high.

“Wow! You’re that impressive?”

“I always thought Yao Nan was amazing enough, but Classmate Wu is even more impressive.”

“Two top students sitting at the same desk? Hee-hee.”

The other girls laughed as well and chattered excitedly at me.

I smiled and nodded to each of them in turn.

It was clear that their impressions of me were all fairly favorable.

To tell the truth… People like Yao Nan’s parents, who had worked hard to enter college and then been assigned formal government jobs, were considered intellectuals in that era.

Overall, the people in their social circles were fairly well-mannered.

There truly weren’t many brainless people who openly displayed contempt for the poor for no reason.

This Liu Yilong had to have some other reason for targeting me…

Sure enough, the moment everyone had settled onto the couches to watch a cartoon on the VCD player while eating fruit and snacks, Wang Dachun moved close and whispered to me.

“Boss, this Liu Yilong guy has liked Yao Nan since they were little… He used to live in the same work-unit residential compound as her. Later, his parents were transferred to jobs in the county seat, so he transferred to Fubei Secondary School.”

“Now Yao Nan likes you, Boss. He must be terribly unhappy. That’s why he keeps mocking and challenging you.”

So that was it!

Wang Dachun’s explanation made everything clear.

Liu Yilong had taken me for a romantic rival and become jealous!

What a completely undeserved disaster!

I had no such intentions toward Yao Nan. I genuinely regarded her only as my deskmate and a good friend.

So after hearing Wang Dachun’s explanation, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Shaking my head, I said, “Children these days really… He’s only in ninth grade, yet he’s already thinking about that stuff.”

Wang Dachun gave me a strange look.

“Boss, we’re only in seventh grade! You’re two years younger than him, aren’t you? Why do you sound like an old man?”

I laughed. “Sometimes maturity isn’t about age, but experience.”

Wang Dachun nodded vigorously.

“That’s true, that’s true… Given your status and everything you’ve been through, Liu Yilong really is like a little brat compared with you. Want to mess with him?”

I shook my head. “The guy is irritating, but all he’s done is make a few spiteful, sarcastic remarks. In terms of severity, that isn’t even as bad as how you behaved the first time we met. This young master is magnanimous. For now, I won’t stoop to his level.”

Wang Dachun looked aggrieved.

He pouted and muttered, “Boss, don’t keep bringing that up. I already feel terribly guilty about it.”

Zeng Jin snickered beside him.

I glared at him.

“What are you laughing at? When Wang Dachun tried to bully me at the school gate on our first day, you were standing beside him and cheering him on.”

Zeng Jin: “…”

“Boss, I was wrong!”

I had to admit that the atmosphere at this kind of birthday party was very pleasant.

Yao Nan took me to the adults’ side of the gathering so I could greet her parents.

Then all of us watched the cartoon, chatted, became acquainted, and made friends.

It was wonderfully relaxing and comfortable.

I thought with a sigh, “No wonder families with privileged backgrounds, adults and children alike, enjoy holding these gatherings at home.”

Of course, that excluded a certain someone who kept sitting to one side and secretly shooting irritated looks at me.

At twelve thirty in the afternoon, it was time to eat.

The dining room held an enormous round table large enough for more than a dozen people.

Adults and children gathered around it together.

An exquisite cake sat on the table with thirteen candles inserted into it–Yao Nan had turned thirteen and was about to blow them out.

“Nannan, blow out the candles.”

Her mother wore a kindly smile.

Whoosh!

Yao Nan blew out the candles with all her strength, and everyone applauded together.

Then she closed her eyes and clasped her hands, silently making a wish.

Meanwhile, I thought…

“Not bad. A birthday really should have a little ceremony to it. In the future, when I or my parents have a birthday, we could hold a birthday party at home too. Just our family… Oh, and invite Bai Su, Huihui, and Master. If Old Cao, Yuan Fei, and Li Miao are willing to make the long trip, they could come as well.”

Yao Nan opened her eyes and began cutting the cake.

The younger children cheered.

Yao Nan’s mother and several other women went into the kitchen to carry out the dishes.

Liu Yilong apparently wanted to demonstrate how obedient and considerate he was in front of Yao Nan. He hurriedly put down his half-eaten slice of cake and stood.

“Auntie, I’ll help you.”

With that, he followed them into the kitchen to carry out some dishes.

Wang Dachun pouted.

“What a hypocrite! All he knows is how to put on a show. But don’t worry, Boss. Yao Nan definitely likes you.”

Smack!

I slapped the fool on the head and said sternly, “Stop talking nonsense! Eat your cake. Yao Nan and I are good friends, exactly like the two of us. Don’t say ridiculous things like that again.”

Wang Dachun waggled his brows and grinned. “I know, I know. I won’t say it at Yao Nan’s house anymore… Her parents seem to forbid dating at our age. Heh-heh-heh.”

“Get lost! You’re still saying it!”

If other people hadn’t been present, I would have kicked him in the butt.

Just then, without warning!

From inside the kitchen…

Bang! Whoosh!

A strange, thunderous noise rang out.

It was immediately followed by a piercing scream.

“Ah! My hands! My hands!”

It was Liu Yilong’s voice!