The Slacker Academic Always Gets Caught (SLACKER)
Chi Ning held the heavy gold medal in his hands.
The relief on the medal seemed to be hand-carved, crafted with 3D hard gold techniques. Beautiful strands of wheat coiled around a small blue gemstone at the center, so exquisite it almost looked fake.
Chi Ning brought it to his lips and gently bit it with his canine tooth.
Soft—it was real gold.
The one from the national competition wasn't. He'd bitten it in his past life—it was an alloy.
Chi Ning cradled the medal, slightly dazed. "You're really giving this to me?"
Qin Heng: "Mm."
Chi Ning let out an "oh," his gaze shifting between the medal and Qin Heng.
Though Qin Heng's expression was as steady as iron, that iron seemed to be burning hot.
Hot enough to make him sizzle like a medium-rare steak.
Shen Minyi cursed under his breath and his breathing grew ragged.
He had liked Chi Ning for over two years. They were rivals who had always been neck and neck, evenly matched in every competition.
He lost more often, but that didn't matter.
Losing to someone he liked wasn't shameful—Chi Ning was too brilliant; it was only natural he couldn't win.
But this time, Chi Ning hadn't gone to the national competition.
He had gone behind his father's back to investigate and finally learned that not only had Chi Ning skipped it, but he had also taken a ten-day break afterward. He even stopped attending evening self-study and kept spending every night playing at the billiards hall, wallowing in degradation just like Chi Yang!
At first, he hadn't believed the tabloids' claims—that Chi Ning was dating some dropout delinquent who couldn't even handle school. But seeing it with his own eyes left no room for doubt.
Shen Minyi thought: If only the Chi family would go bankrupt.
Once they were bankrupt, he could beg his father to keep Chi Ning. After all, Chi Ning was simple and guileless—just lock him in a lab, and he wouldn't be able to cause any trouble. The Chi family was already teetering on the edge. If something really happened, Chi Ning, with nowhere to turn, might come to him with red-rimmed eyes and tears welling up as he pleaded.
How adorable.
Shen Minyi sneered. "You'd rather have this sham of a gold medal? Things like this—if you're willing to pay, plenty of people would sell them to you."
Chi Ning frowned. "Pay for it?"
He looked up at the TV in the billiards hall that was still broadcasting the match.
On the screen, the commentator analyzing the game suddenly exclaimed, "Brilliant! Player Qin must have practiced Snooker before. Realizing he couldn't clear the table in one shot, he used shot strength and angles to create a snooker, using the object ball to block the cue ball's path and completely seal off his opponent's shot options. If his opponent attempts to hit now, it'll definitely be a foul! We can see his opponent seems stunned, completely unable to find an angle to strike from!"
Chi Ning's expression turned peculiar. "You're really underestimating competitive sports."
Shen Minyi looked momentarily confused.
Of course he wasn't questioning the legitimacy of this Gold medal—he was saying billiards competitions themselves lacked prestige.
Besides, American Pool competitions had only emerged in recent years and weren't even recognized by the Olympic Committee.
Had Chi Ning misunderstood?
Shen Minyi glanced at Qin Heng before indifferently looking away.
Whatever. Just some country bumpkin. With the Chi family's impending collapse, there was no need to compete with someone so lacking in money and influence.
It would be beneath his dignity.
He stood up. "There are international competitions during senior year. Your teachers should approach you—it's a rare opportunity, so don't miss it this time. Don't gamble with your future."
Chi Ning mentally cursed him out.
Attending would be gambling not just with his future, but his entire family's.
This hypocrite was utterly detestable—he shouldn't appear in my sight for even a second.
When Shen Minyi left, he didn't take the Gold medal. Chi Ning picked it up to examine.
Qin Heng tensed internally.
With a flick of his wrist, Chi Ning threw the medal into the trash with a loud "clang," the impact making the bin wobble violently.
Qin Heng broke into a smile, feeling as triumphant as if he'd won a battle.
Xu Jiahao also sighed in relief. Not that he was biased—he simply knew he'd never raise a son like this in his lifetime. Chi Baichuan guarded his son like the apple of his eye—no way to steal him away.
If he wanted to hear Chi Ning call him "Dad," he'd have to rely on his cheap godson Qin Heng to trick the boy into coming home first. Then he could give a red envelope and properly hear that title.
If this were Macau, he'd openly post "Shen Family and dogs prohibited" at the billiards hall entrance right now.
Goddammit, how irritating.
Eager to assist, Xu Jiahao told Qin Heng, "Alright, you finally got the Gold medal—take the day off, do whatever you want."
Qin Heng: "Mm, thanks Dad."
After some thought, he asked Chi Ning, "I bought everything on your list. Want to check them now?"
Chi Ning checked the time—still early.
Shen Minyi's appearance had sounded an alarm.
The business world's battles wouldn't end just because Jiang Shijie was gone. Toppling a behemoth like the Shen Family would be extremely difficult.
He needed to hurry with the patent data. Once he reclaimed his family's shares, he'd publicly release it. And once published, the Chi family could immediately begin mass production, surely seizing market share from the Shen Family.
Chi Ning thought about it and stood up, saying, "Let's go. There's a lot to do, and it probably won't be finished anytime soon."
Most lab equipment couldn’t be used right after unpacking—it needed to be calibrated. Some instruments were so delicate that improper handling could damage them, so they had to be handled with extreme care.
The two took a taxi to the rented villa, which hadn’t been discovered by the paparazzi yet, making it perfectly safe.
Qin Heng turned on the lights and pointed at the various cardboard boxes scattered across the first floor. "Most of the stuff is here. There’s more on the second floor. I took the master bedroom upstairs, and the rest is yours."
Chi Ning walked over and saw the steel frame of the lab table propped against the wall. The entire living room was so cluttered there was hardly any space to stand.
With so much to unpack, he had no idea how long it would take.
Tiptoeing around the mess, he made his way to the center and immediately started assembling the lab table.
The steel frame was incredibly heavy. Chi Ning struggled to hold it steady while tightening the screws, using his shoulder to prop it up. Soon, sweat beaded on his forehead.
Suddenly, the weight on his shoulder lightened.
Qin Heng steadied the frame and crouched beside Chi Ning, who was kneeling on the floor. "Let me help." He picked up a screwdriver and tightened the screws on the other side.
Young men ran hot.
Even though they weren’t touching, Chi Ning could feel the warmth radiating off Qin Heng.
He nudged Qin Heng’s arm with his elbow. "Turn on the AC. It’s too hot."
Chi Ning’s face was slick with sweat, and the gold medal still hung around his neck. The dark green ribbon had darkened where it absorbed his perspiration.
Qin Heng smirked. "Want me to put the medal away for you?"
Chi Ning blinked. "Oh."
He took off the medal and handed it over before asking casually, "Where are you planning to put it?"
It was pure gold, after all—it needed to be stored properly.
"In the study. I left two desks in there, one for you. How about placing it on the shelf?"
Chi Ning nodded. "Sounds good."
Qin Heng took the medal to the study, closed the door, and—on impulse—lifted the ribbon to his nose and inhaled lightly.
It smelled sweet.
That Gu Zhe kid wasn’t too bright, but his nose was sharp.
Chi Ning really did smell nice.
Qin Heng froze, then silently cursed himself as his ears burned red.
What the hell is wrong with me? Sneaking a sniff of something he wore...
He neatly folded the ribbon, placed the gold medal in a transparent display case, and set it upright before heading downstairs to turn on the AC.
Chi Ning was so hot that he could imagine his head swimming.
Assembling furniture was exhausting work, and tightening screws had him drenched in sweat.
But he couldn’t just leave the table half-finished, so he gritted his teeth and kept going.
Qin Heng had also shed his suit vest and dress shirt, revealing a black tank top underneath.
Chi Ning stole a glance, feeling a pang of envy. The well-defined chest, back muscles, and the faint outline of an eight-pack through the fabric were the most direct manifestations of raw strength.
Envious... Coach Han had said his genetics made muscle gain difficult, and that achieving defined abs was already an accomplishment.
Shaking off the thought, Chi Ning worked with Qin Heng to finish assembling the table. By the end, he was so exhausted he didn’t even want to lift a finger. Putting this thing together felt more draining than combat training.
He checked the time—12:30 AM. Taking a taxi now wouldn’t be safe. His phone showed over a dozen missed calls from his brother and father. He’d set it to silent and hadn’t noticed.
Sitting on the floor, Chi Ning quickly texted his dad:
[I’m at a classmate’s place celebrating his gold medal. He treated us to dinner, so I’m staying over tonight.]
Ding.
Message sent successfully.
Chi Ning smiled at the icon.
In his past life, he was always the one being fooled. Now, in this life, he had finally learned how to deceive others.
And he was getting better at it too.
How wonderful.
"How should we arrange the tables?" Qin Heng asked.
"Parallel. I'll help."
Together, they moved three lab tables into the hall. The moment Chi Ning let go, he collapsed onto the floor, panting. His clothes were drenched, sticking uncomfortably to his skin. There were still so many pieces of equipment to set up in the hall—tonight, he probably wouldn’t even get more than a few minutes of sleep.
Had he known it would be this exhausting, he wouldn’t have let Qin Heng throw out the sofa. At least then, there would have been a temporary place to rest.
Chi Ning turned his head. "Did you move any furniture into the bedroom? What’s in there?"
Qin Heng: "Nothing. I asked the agent, and the owner said I could sell all the furniture and keep the money. So I sold everything."
Chi Ning: ?
How did you even manage to profit from that?
"Not even a single sofa?"
Qin Heng smiled. "Nope."
The reason he had asked in the first place was because, after seeing the amount of equipment, he had anticipated this exact situation.
Chi Ning was meticulous and disliked interruptions. Once he got busy, he would lose track of time and might end up having to stay overnight.
If the sofa hadn’t been sold, Chi Ning would have slept on it.
Qin Heng had his own selfish reasons—big and small—so he hadn’t left a single piece behind.
Feigning nonchalance, he asked, "Why? Is something wrong?"
Chi Ning said, "I was thinking of tidying up a bit more. I might not go home tonight, but since there’s nowhere to rest here, I’ll just take a taxi back after we finish..."
"It’s too late. Not safe." Qin Heng wiped the sweat dripping from his temple. "I have new bedding, though. You can use that. There’s also new pajamas—I bought them a while ago but haven’t worn them yet. New towels and toothbrushes too."
Chi Ning: "Oh..."
Why did it feel like...
Something was a little off?
Wasn’t there only one bed in the bedroom?
"Qin Heng..." Chi Ning hesitated. "Where am I supposed to sleep?"
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