Chapter 16

Tao Ran didn't say anything. He absent-mindedly drank the soy milk while looking out the window. His throat was still a little sore, with a hint of a bloody smell. Li Zekun glanced at him and didn't say anything else. "Take the steamed buns with you and eat them in class if you get hungry."

Tao Ran shook his head quickly and said, "Please don't joke around, do you think I am someone who has no sense of propriety?"

Li Zekun smiled and took a wad of new money from the middle hand buckle of his seat with one hand. "Put it in your backpack. Don't try to save money for wherever you want to eat at noon. If I'm not going out tonight, Old Wang will still pick you up. Don't go out with others at night." Towards the end, Li Zekun's tone became serious. He could overlook the past of his people, but if they humiliate him from the outside, Li Zekun is not the type to go easy on them.

"No need, older brother Yang gave me a meal card.", Tao Ran whispered.

Li Zekun threw the money in his arms and said, "It's okay, consider it as pocket money."

Tao Ran remained silent and placed the money neatly from his backpack. He held his backpack close to his chest and did not look up. His expression was not as good as before. The atmosphere fell into silence like this.

Half an hour later, they arrived at the school gate. After Li Zekun parked the car, he reached out to touch Tao Ran's hair and said, "Goodbye."

Tao Ran lightly responded and only said "Young master Li, goodbye" after putting on his backpack and getting off the car.

Li Zekun furrowed his brows and watched Tao Ran's thin back disappear, feeling inexplicably uneasy in his heart.

He tightened his grip and didn't think much about it. He was busy today and just happened to be passing by to drop off Tao Ran.

When Tao Ran entered the classroom, it was already quite late. Most of the classmates had arrived and some were doing their homework while others were noisily having their breakfast. Tao Ran let out a soft sigh and went straight to his seat.

Qiao Ye hasn't arrived yet. It's probably abnormal if that old man isn't late. The little girl in front of me just arrived, holding a cup of pearl milk tea with her big eyes flickering: "Taoran, I saw you just outside the school gate a moment ago. The 600 car you were driving looked super cool!"

Tao Ran was momentarily stunned, looking a bit unhappy: "Um, my brother came to give me a ride."

"Your brother is definitely a handsome and wealthy younger brother lover. I envy you so much!" The girl took a big sip of her milk tea and said, "Does your brother need a girlfriend? I'm particularly good at eating many kinds of food."

Tao Ran smiled and said, "...he doesn't need it, but his temper is particularly bad. He doesn't feel any compassion towards others."

The young lady sighed as she looked up, her cute face making her look like a dumpling. Out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly caught sight of the classroom door and quickly turned back to sit down, as if she had just seen a group of invaders entering the village.

Tao Ran looked up just in time to see Qiao Ye striding toward him.

"Good morning.", Tao Ran greeted him.

"Hm." Qiao Ye yawned for a long time, squeezed past Tao Ran from behind, and threw himself onto the seat.

"It's too late to go out and play, it's not good for your health." Tao Ran turned her head to look at Qiao Ye, feeling that he looked a bit dull due to exhaustion.

"I'm alright..." Qiao Ye yawned again, her heart very sensitive to detail: "What's wrong with your voice? You lost it overnight."

Tao Ran's face turned red and white in turns, stammering out an excuse: "I stayed up too late doing homework and it made me feel irritable."

Qiao Ye laughed heartily and said, "Are you telling me to stop staying up late? But our jobs require us to work late nights, don't they?"

Tao Ran's face was about to be stuck to the table.

Qiao Ye ignored it and grabbed Tao Ran's school bag without any hesitation, as if he was not an outsider at all. "Academic overachiever, can I copy your English homework? That old woman is too strict, I can't handle it."

Tao Ran didn't have a chance to stop him before Qiao Ye had already opened his backpack and reached in to search through it. His expression froze instantly as he dug around. Tao Ran was also dumbfounded as he watched Qiao Ye pull out a wad of cash.

"...It was given by my older brother, allowance..." Tao Ran explained dryly.

Qiao Ye looked up and down at Tao Ran, "You're quite low-key... but having a good brother is really great. Before I caused such a big incident, my brother gave me a lot of pocket money." But usually, it's just on a card. Who carries around a thick stack of cash to give as a tip when going out to play?

Tao Ran chuckled cautiously toward Qiao Ye.

Qiao Ye instinctively felt that something was off. Tao Ran's temperament was indeed good, simple, and clear. However, there was no feeling of a wealthy, low-key gentleman. Why would such a well-behaved student not go to a private high school and instead be squeezed into a public high school with someone like him, an exiled delinquent? Although Qiao Ye thought this way, it was only a momentary thought. After all, he was just a teenager who played more than others. There were people who kept him in check, so he didn't think too much about the dark side.

"English homework.", said Qiao Ye as he tossed the money into Tao Ran's backpack without asking any questions.

Tao Ran couldn't even lift his head up and said, "I haven't written it..."

"Damn, what were you doing staying up late last night?!" Qiao Ye looked speechless, kicking the front seat girl's chair a few times. "Hey bro, let us copy the English homework."

Very soon, several exam papers were handed over, and Qiao Ye grabbed Tao Ran's shoulder and said, "Quick, copy it down. If you get caught, don't blame me for not warning you."

English homework is particularly easy to copy. Besides multiple-choice questions, it's just a matter of filling in a few blanks for vocabulary. The teacher usually doesn't assign essays. Qiao Ye is used to copying and can finish one in 15 seconds. His typing speed is so fast that it leaves afterimages.

When he finished copying, Tao Ran continued writing there. Qiao Ye propped up his chin and looked at Tao Ran and said, "You're so useless. You're taking so long to copy homework. The homeroom teacher will come and check on us during self-study."

Tao Ran's nose was starting to sweat, he was so anxious that his heart was racing. He even thought of killing Li Zekun. He knew that he was capable of doing his English homework last night despite being short on time.

"What should we eat for lunch? Do you want to eat together?" Qiao Ye was at a loss for words and had no intention of taking a nap.

Tao Ran is extremely annoyed. Is this person a PIG? It's not even 7 a.m., what are we going to eat for lunch?

"Can you stop bothering me?!" Tao Ran realized too late that his attitude was asking for trouble.

Several people around looked terrified, as if they were anticipating a violent and bloody incident. However, contrary to his usual behavior, Qiao Ye did not get angry. Instead, he grinned mischievously and said, "Oh, you have a bit of a temper, huh? Who asked you not to finish your homework? Give me a sheet, I'll help you make up for it."

Tao Ran watched as Qiao Ye took away his test paper and quickly began to fill in the answers for ABCD. Feeling embarrassed, Tao Ran thanked him softly.

Qiao Ye glanced at him and said, "It's okay. Just tidy up the desk for me before evening self-study."

Before the class teacher arrived, he was able to finish his homework thanks to Qiao Ye. When the teacher walked in, Qiao Ye lowered his voice and asked Tao Ran, "What's for lunch?" His laughter revealed his snow-white little tiger teeth.