The Slacker Academic Always Gets Caught (SLACKER)
Plain water was tasteless, enough to wilt anyone's spirits.
Chi Ning twisted the mineral water bottle cap back and forth.
What to do...
He craved bayberry juice but refused to lower himself to seek out Qin Heng.
Maybe he could drop hints at Boss Xu's place tonight?
No. If Qin Heng really wanted to cut ties, he couldn't just throw money at him.
Fine. He'd go without.
"Knock knock."
"Chi Ning?" Ye Xinran rapped on the door and leaned against the frame.
"Yeah?" Chi Ning turned to him. "What's up?"
"There's a problem I don't understand." Ye Xinran approached with a red pen and blank paper, showing him the question. "This one."
Chi Ning skimmed it. "L'Hôpital's Rule? That's university-level. You're studying this already?"
"Yeah." Ye Xinran rested against the windowsill and watched as Chi Ning leaned against the frame and began solving the problem with his pen.
The young man lowered his eyelids with his thin lips pressed into a straight line as he focused intently on solving the problems, undisturbed by any distractions. Even his fingers holding the pen looked exceptionally elegant. Sunlight spilled onto his hair, making him glow like a gemstone radiating fire.
"Done." Chi Ning flipped the completed paper over. "I'll give you two more similar problems. Finish them when you get home, and you won't forget this solution."
Ye Xinran was puzzled. "Aren't you going to ask why I'm studying first-year university material?"
Chi Ning paused his pen. "After finishing high school coursework, isn't it natural to browse university material to pass time in class? Given your level, you shouldn't be stuck on L'Hôpital's Rule. Have you been spending too much time on computers lately?"
Ye Xinran: "..."
What kind of genius logic was this? Adorably weird.
He suppressed a retort and defended himself, "I wasn't just playing with computers."
"Mhm, 'Software Engineering and Development Technology'," Chi Ning continued writing while responding half-heartedly. "Or 'conducting vulnerability assessments for network security'?"
Ye Xinran chuckled quietly.
Chi Ning really had a way of making "hacking" sound so refined.
Chi Ning handed back the completed A4 sheet. "All set."
Ye Xinran thanked him and reached for it, only to notice Chi Ning staring blankly ahead.
Following his gaze, Ye Xinran saw a snack tricycle parked at the school gate, its side adorned with a bright red and yellow sign: "Fried Chicken, Egg Tarts, Bayberry Juice."
In a flurry, Chi Ning shoved the A4 sheet and red pen into Ye Xinran's arms—much like how he had once shoved money at him—and exclaimed, "Take this, I've got to go!"
He turned, grabbed his wallet, and dashed toward the classroom's back door. Thundering down the stairs, he weaved past classmates gathered around the bulletin board and sprinted toward the tricycle. "Uncle, one of each—fried chicken leg, egg tart, and bayberry juice, please!"
Thankfully, he had exercised over the summer. Otherwise, by the time he got there, the limited stock would have been snatched up by hungry students checking their grades.
Chi Ning returned to a secluded bamboo grove while cradling the paper box. Sitting at the edge, he listened to the wind rustling through bamboo leaves while biting into the crispy crust of the egg tart, savoring its deliciousness in a daze.
Meanwhile, Qin Heng returned to the classroom after checking his grades and instinctively glanced out the window. From his seat in the back row—the only spot with a view of the bamboo grove's corner—he saw Chi Ning tilting his head back to eat the creamy center of the egg tart.
After finishing the tart, Chi Ning popped open the bayberry juice bottle and took a sip, his brows furrowing at the sourness.
Why wasn't it sweet?
Qin Heng's version was sweet—and not the cheap, artificial kind either.
He took another sip, winced at the tartness, and resigned himself to nibbling on the chicken cutlet dusted with sour plum powder.
The chicken cutlet wasn't bad at all.
Qin Heng couldn't help but smile slightly as he watched.
Zhang Qiuwen leaned over, "Brother Qin, what are you looking at?"
Qin Heng closed the curtain, "Nothing."
Before Zhang Qiuwen could respond, three "biubiubiu!" sounds came from outside the window. No one but Chi Ning would use such a uniquely refreshing ringtone.
Zhang Qiuwen chuckled to himself.
So this is what it feels like to watch someone fall in love? How novel.
He glanced at Qin Heng's expression, then reached out to open the window slightly, peeking through a small gap in the curtain.
Chi Ning wiped his hands with the complimentary alcohol wipes before answering the call, "Hello?"
Xu Jiahao's voice came through the receiver, "Why haven't you been coming to play billiards lately? Mo Yuanzhou was asking about you."
Chi Ning replied, "Exams at school. Haven't had much time."
Xu Jiahao sighed in relief, "I see."
He had been waiting for his godson to smooth things over, but three days had passed without any news. Qin Heng's face had been as long as a funeral procession every night when he came to the billiards hall—clear evidence that the two hadn't spoken at all during those three days.
Xu Jiahao couldn't just sit back and do nothing. "Is Qin Heng with you? I can't get through to his phone. Hand it to him, let me talk to him."
"Qin Heng's phone isn't working?"
Chi Ning glanced toward Class 18, noticing the slightly swaying curtain and the shadow behind it. "He's not next to me, but he's not far. I can go get him for you."
Xu Jiahao agreed, "Alright."
Inside Class 18, Zhang Qiuwen swiftly removed the battery from his Personal Handy-phone System and then reached for Qin Heng's. "Brother, let's not make Uncle Xu's job harder."
Heh, what a clever little devil he was.
If Brother Qin really managed to win over Second Young Master Chi, he'd definitely deserve a big red envelope for this.
No sooner had Zhang Qiuwen hidden the battery than Chi Ning appeared at the back door of Class 18.
Pursing his lips, he knocked twice and called out, "Qin Heng, come here."
Three words—short and to the point.
The few people in Class 18 discreetly turned their eyes to Qin Heng.
Though rumors about these two had been swirling wildly, everyone assumed at least half of it was made up.
Qin Heng had the kind of face that seemed incapable of earthly affection.
Steel wasn't as straight as him; iron wasn't as hard.
Yue Yaozong looked at Chi Ning with amusement. "Brother Qin has a big presence—you'll have to come to his desk to invite him properly. Standing at the door won't get our class's big shot to move."
Only now did Chi Ning truly grasp that Qin Heng was the school tyrant.
His thoughts wandered—what exactly did "school tyrant" mean? The overlord of the school?
Had Qin Heng been that childish as a kid?
Qin Heng quickly walked over while shooting Yue Yaozong a glance as he passed. He closed the classroom door behind him, shutting both himself and Chi Ning outside.
Feigning ignorance, he asked, "What's up?"
"Uncle Xu said he couldn't get through to you." Chi Ning handed over the phone. "He might have something to discuss."
Qin Heng knew full well his godfather had nothing important—this was just an excuse to get him and Chi Ning talking.
He took the phone, gave a few perfunctory responses, and quickly hung up. Then, pretending not to know, he asked, "Had dinner yet?"
"Yeah." Chi Ning stuffed the phone back into his pocket and turned to leave.
Qin Heng followed, keeping a leisurely pace behind Chi Ning.
The opportunity was right in front of him. If he didn't seize it now, he might as well have wasted his eighteen years of life.
What was the point of hesitating?
Chi Ning clearly preferred guys, and keeping him close was far more reassuring than entrusting him to anyone else.
If Chi Ning didn’t understand what two men being together entailed, then so be it. He’d grow into someone no one dared to point fingers at eventually.
Qin Heng stared intently at Chi Ning’s back, making him shiver all over.
Chi Ning wasn’t familiar with the campus. In his past life, he rarely left the classroom, and in this life, he bolted right after school. Now, he couldn’t even find a trash can.
This damn bayberry juice was unbearably sour—utterly undrinkable.
Disgusting. He wanted to toss it.
The moment the thought crossed his mind, he spotted a bright green trash can under the shade of trees near the running track.
Never before had Chi Ning found a trash can so appealing.
He strode over, ready to dump the barely touched bayberry juice inside.
Qin Heng raised an eyebrow, catching Chi Ning’s wrist and rescuing the glass bottle. “Why throw it away? Doesn't it taste good?”
Chi Ning: “Yeah.”
Not just “not good”—it was downright awful. Sour and astringent. Just thinking about the taste made his mouth water with acidity.
Qin Heng chuckled.
Though Chi Ning hadn’t outright praised him, he felt as rewarded as if he had. Wasn’t this an indirect compliment on his bayberry juice-making skills?
He pulled out the cork, sniffed it, and said, “Let me try.”
Chi Ning was stunned by the action.
Wait—he’d already drunk from that!
“That’s unhygienic.”
Before he could finish, Qin Heng had already taken a big gulp, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed.
Chi Ning gaped as Qin Heng took another sip, and this time swishing it in his mouth before commenting, “It really isn’t good. Too sour. The bayberries weren’t soaked in saltwater before processing, so they weren’t cleaned properly—leaves a bitter aftertaste. And they weren’t marinated in honey before boiling, making the juice even more acidic.”
All in all, nothing to worry about.
Qin Heng recorked the bottle before glancing at Chi Ning’s lips. “Did you have fried chicken for dinner?”
Chi Ning’s ears burned. In both lifetimes, he’d never been in a relationship—nor had he ever met someone so shameless. “You—”
“Don’t buy from that place again. The oil’s not clean.” Qin Heng tossed the bayberry juice, which should’ve been in the trash three minutes ago, into the bin.
Chi Ning couldn’t help but wipe his lips. There was no grease… No way it could’ve gotten on the bottle.
His brain short-circuited as his nose filled with Qin Heng’s scent.
Aggressive, like a summer sea breeze, with a faintly bitter note of mugwort—uniquely intoxicating.
He instinctively sniffed, but when he tried to catch it again, the scent was gone.
Qin Heng wouldn’t wear cologne. It was probably laundry detergent—but what detergent smelled this distinct and pleasant?
Qin Heng knew when to stop, dangling the bait in front of the little fish. “Still ordering bayberry juice? I’ve got enough frozen bayberries to make it for you for two more months.”
Chi Ning: “Yes.”
He reached for his wallet, about to pull out cash, when Qin Heng said, “No charge this time. I need a favor.”
Chi Ning: “What is it?”
Qin Heng paused, choosing his words carefully. “If I start studying now, what are my chances of getting into Hongnan University?”
The evening air wasn’t too dry. The autumn heat still lingered, but the cicadas had already fallen silent.
The school was nearly empty, the quiet almost jarring.
Chi Ning couldn’t fathom why Qin Heng would suddenly say such a thing.
Over the past few months, he had roughly pieced together Qin Heng's growth trajectory.
Growing up struggling all the way, supporting himself alongside his sworn brothers, stumbling into adulthood, seizing every opportunity that came his way, and eventually finding his benefactor.
It wasn't a complete transformation or meteoric rise. Every bit of Qin Heng's capital was earned through sheer effort.
At his core, he wasn't bad, but he was far from being a good person. Hence, he had mastered the art of packaging himself and able to put on a righteous facade as an adult. Well-traveled and knowledgeable, he could talk eloquently about anything.
He nearly fooled him into falling headfirst.
Such a person was utterly self-interested.
Qin Heng's best option now was to obtain his high school diploma, then leverage his godfather Xu Jiahao's overseas connections to attend a university that required almost no studying. After gilding himself abroad, he could return home to pursue his career with an air of respectability, rather than following the conventional path of domestic education.
Seeing Chi Ning's silence, Qin Heng's heart sank halfway. "Too late?"
Chi Ning replied, "There's still time."
"First High's faculty is strong. Even the teachers responsible for the Blue Sky Class are top graduates from prestigious education programs. If you're willing to learn, getting into university isn't a problem."
But whether he could get into Hongnan University was another matter.
Qin Heng caught the implication. He stepped forward and asked gravely, "I heard you often tutor Class One students, even providing them with free notes to photocopy. This time, Class One's students improved by at least 20 points on average."
"They all say it's thanks to you. Following the teachers might only get me into an ordinary university, but what if I follow you instead?"
Chi Ning thought to himself: Of course it's possible.
As long as Qin Heng wasn't stupid, he could get him into not just Hongnan University, but even S University. Standardized tests were simple enough.
But why should he?
Because Qin Heng lied through his teeth in their past life? Or because Qin Heng said "we're not brothers" and "that's not what I meant" in this life?
Qin Heng studied Chi Ning's expression and carefully proposed, "If you're willing to help me, I'll make you bayberry juice for free—every year until graduation."
Money wouldn't sway Chi Ning. But bayberry juice, especially a five-year supply, was worth considering.
After drinking it for two lifetimes, only Qin Heng's version tasted the best. If he refused now and Qin Heng took offense, never making it again—what then?
What if he couldn't even buy it anymore?
Seeing Chi Ning's expression soften, Qin Heng pressed his advantage immediately.
He gripped Chi Ning's wrist tightly, his thumb brushing over the small mole below the prominent wrist bone while also lowering his eyes in a show of vulnerability.
Chi Ning recalled the first time he saw Qin Heng lying in that alley—there was a wild edge to him, but more than that, there was an unwillingness hidden beneath his deliberate show of weakness.
Forget it. For the sake of bayberry juice.
Chi Ning brushed Qin Heng’s hand away.
Qin Heng pressed his lips together, thinking his pitiful act had failed.
Unexpectedly, the usually rule-abiding Chi Ning let out a soft laugh. “I’m strict. If you dare waste my time, I’ll beat you up.”
His heart thudded against his chest. Qin Heng remembered the light slap Chi Ning had given him months ago. Suddenly, the idea of being hit once or twice didn’t seem so bad.
Lowering his voice, he murmured, “Teacher Chi.”
Chi Ning sucked in a sharp breath. “Don’t call me that randomly.”
Qin Heng obediently switched to his nickname. “Ning-zi?”
Chi Ning’s footsteps faltered.
That was even worse than “Teacher Chi”!
Anger surged in his chest, and a wicked thought crossed his mind. “Tomorrow night, bring your diagnostic test papers. We’ll find a place to tutor you.”
It wasn’t like they couldn’t do it at school, but he was afraid Qin Heng would boldly march into Class 1 and “make himself at home,” which would be too much for Wang Quan to handle.
Caring for empty-nest homeroom teachers starts with you, me, and him.
Still, skipping evening self-study to tutor someone was a first for him.
Although he had already applied to skip evening self-study, he hadn’t missed a single session since the start of the semester. Everyone had assumed Chi Ning would stay until dismissal at 10:30.
So when Li Qiuhe, armed with the day’s key problem sets compiled by their classmates, went to ask Chi Ning for help, all he saw was the empty seat where the academic god should have been.
Vice Class President Li Qiuhe was baffled. “Where’s God Chi?”
The study committee member was equally confused. “No idea.”
“Let’s wait, then. There are still three hours left in self-study.”
The top students of Class 1 waited for an hour before realizing something was off.
The study committee member said, “This isn’t right. Quick, check if Chi Ning’s bag is still here.”
“Isn’t it bad to go through someone’s bag? Fine, I won’t rummage—just take a look.” Li Qiuhe leaned back and craned his neck for a peek.
Inside Chi Ning’s desk, two neat rows of textbooks sat untouched. Forget his bag—even his pens were gone.
God Chi had fled!
Li Qiuhe looked at the problems in his hand, then at Chi Ning’s empty seat, and let out a frustrated sigh. “Comrades, I have a bad feeling. Could someone from another class be poaching God Chi?”
Had the secret to Class 1’s soaring average scores been discovered?
With their class president already admitted to University A, Li Qiuhe felt the heavy responsibility of guarding God Chi now rested on his shoulders.
Tomorrow after school, he would stick to God Chi like glue and use every trick in the book to keep him there!
—
“Achoo!”
Inside the private room at Tea River Parlor in Gangnan, Chi Ning suddenly sneezed and reflexively muttered, “Who’s plotting against me?”
Qin Heng guiltily rubbed the back of his neck and pushed the vanilla ice cream Chi Ning had ordered toward him.
Chi Ning pushed it away. “Not eating.”
He pulled out a comprehensive middle school workbook from his bag and spread it open in front of Qin Heng. “Do the first chapter of math.”
Qin Heng: “Got it, Ning—”
“What should you be calling me now?” Chi Ning narrowed his eyes, his expression not yet fully cold, but Qin Heng quickly corrected himself. “Got it, Teacher Chi.”
Chi Ning: That’s more like it.
For a moment, Qin Heng’s mind was flooded with four words: He’s so cute.
Chi Ning's appearance was far from cute—when his face was cold, he even carried a certain imposing air, clearly the look of a top student. Yet the young man was undeniably handsome, blessed with naturally good looks. If he were to don a basketball jersey and stand on the court, he could still easily win the affection of the opposite sex.
But Chi Ning never left room for misunderstandings. Upon reflection, everyone at No. 1 High School had tacitly accepted that Chi Ning must like boys.
His personality wasn’t exactly soft either—gentle yet prickly, with a bit of a temper and a long memory for grudges.
Yet Qin Heng still found him adorable.
Adorable when he was calm, adorable when he held a grudge, and adorable when he subtly acted out in displeasure.
Qin Heng finished the problems Chi Ning had assigned and turned around to find him killing time with The Mystery of the DNA Double Helix: Human Genetic Programming.
Qin Heng: "..."
Great. Any thought of taking a break was now completely gone.
He checked his answers on his own, marked the mistakes in red, and circled the questions he didn’t understand before sliding the workbook in front of Chi Ning. Leaning in close until their thighs nearly touched, he asked, "Teacher, care to explain?"
Chi Ning set the book facedown on the table and had just pulled the workbook toward him when a woman’s shrill scream erupted from the next room: "Everything I’ve done is for you!"
Chi Ning raised a hand to close the window.
Tea River Parlor was Xu Jiahao’s business—a membership-based, self-service teahouse that was charged by the private room. Each room had an outward-facing, upward-opening vent window that could block most noise when shut.
His hand was already on the window latch when he heard a familiar voice from next door.
"Mom, I know my limits. You shouldn’t have had that article published."
Shen Minyi?
Then the woman who had just spoken must be Madam Shen?
Chi Ning immediately let go of the window, abandoning the idea of closing it. He moved to the other side of the room, signaled Qin Heng to stay quiet with a finger to his lips, and pressed his ear discreetly against the wall.
Madam Shen’s voice was harsh but hollow, and loud enough to hear clearly even without pressing against the wall. "Your limits involve giving your national competition medal to Chi Ning? Fighting over him with some lowlife?"
Shen Minyi’s tone remained steady. "You should understand—my feelings for Chi Ning aren’t new. Sexual orientation is innate. I’ll marry a woman from a good family and have children as you wish, but after all these years of working hard for you, keeping a young master from a fallen family by my side isn’t too much to ask."
"Father has five wives—you’re just one of them."
Madam Shen let out a sharp cry, followed by the sudden shattering of a glass hitting the floor.
Chi Ning flinched.
Then, as if he’d swallowed a whole toad, he felt a wave of nausea.
"You monster!" Madam Shen’s voice trembled. "How could I have given birth to something like you?"
Shen Minyi let out a haughty scoff.
"Then you should ask yourself why you married Dad in the first place! Inferior genes are more easily inherited than superior ones—blame yourself for marrying a man who..."
He couldn’t finish, only adding, "You can’t possibly be unaware of how much President Shen enjoys playing with little boys, can you?"
He couldn’t even be bothered to say the word father. "Mom, you’re not smart. Just stay at home and enjoy being a wealthy wife. Don’t worry about inheritance matters."
"Who I like, what I do with them—none of that is your concern. Did you really think President Shen would find my actions outrageous? He’d only regret that I didn’t succeed."
Chi Ning felt a chill run through his body. He had suspected that the photos and reports were related to the Shen Family, and while he thought Madam Shen had taken action, he never expected Shen Minyi to have tacitly allowed it—even going so far as to fan the flames behind the scenes.
Shen Minyi was only seventeen!
Shen Minyi paused, then said through gritted teeth, "Mom, you've alerted the enemy!"
If Madam Shen weren't Shen Minyi's mother, Chi Ning almost believed he would have outright called her "useless."
"President Shen and I have been eyeing the Chi Family's shares for a long time. Now, with the stocks plummeting prematurely, major shareholders dumping large quantities, and retail investors jumping in, we found out too late. It's already difficult to buy them back now. Mom, look at Chen Mingxian, President Chi's wife—she would never make such a foolish mistake. In business, she's even more decisive than President Chi."
Shen Minyi's tone was filled with unconcealed disappointment. "Yet all you care about is whether your future daughter-in-law is a man or if they can produce an heir."
Madam Shen overturned the table in front of her. "How dare you speak to me like this! A child doesn't scorn their mother's ugliness, and a dog doesn't despise its home's poverty! What difference is there between you and a dog? Get out!"
Chi Ning heard the door of the neighboring private room slam shut.
He waited a while, confirming Shen Minyi wouldn’t return, then immediately rushed into the bathroom inside the room before dry heaving over the sink.
Shen Minyi—how utterly revolting!
How could someone like that have feelings for him? If Shen Minyi liked him, then what did all the suffering in his past life amount to? What did his parents and brother mean in this person’s eyes?
Shen Minyi drugged him, stole his data, snatched his patents, and treated him like an object to be toyed with at will—could that even be called affection?
Chi Ning suppressed the nausea, scooping water to splash on his face before rinsing his mouth.
But the disgust he had barely managed to suppress surged up again.
That idiot Shen Minyi was truly as deranged as President Shen!
In comparison, Qin Heng from his past life seemed downright adorable.
A "tyrant CEO" who lied to embellish his image, bringing him lunchboxes for ten years—fake meals, no less—and finding new ways every day to make him happy. Far more likable than that idiot enemy!
Chi Ning gripped the edges of the sink tightly while coughing dryly twice before wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.
Qin Heng took in his damp eyes, and in an instant, overwhelming fury intertwined with a bitter, aching worry surged through him.
Silently, he walked over and patted Chi Ning’s back.
Xu Jiahao had taught him a lot recently. Given their close partnership with Chongning Group, it was impossible not to know about the company’s current situation.
It was far from being on the decline instead, it was thriving more than ever.
The stock fluctuations were just surface-level. In reality, the true decision-making power had already fallen into the hands of Chi Baichuan and Chen Mingxian.
Considering Shen Minyi’s words and the hints Xu Jiahao had dropped recently, Chi Ning’s reluctance to have the report deleted now made sense.
It had nothing to do with liking him or wanting to spread rumors—it was all to help his family.
Once Chi Ning caught his breath, Qin Heng said softly, "Before school started, you asked me if I didn’t want to be associated with you, pretending to be pitiful—was it just to stop me from asking my godfather to delete that report?"
Chi Ning stiffened.
Qin Heng grew even more certain. Brushing away the water droplets on Chi Ning’s cheek with his fingertips, he murmured, "You didn’t get photographed on purpose, but you went along with it, using the report to seize the opportunity when Madam Shen tipped her hand. You worked with your parents and brother to turn the tables for the Chi Family."
He chuckled. "You little liar, learning to act now?"
Chi Ning’s mind went blank, even forgetting his hatred for Shen Minyi.
Damn it. How did Qin Heng manage to patch up the logical loophole!
He opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Qin Heng wrapped an arm around him, reached past his ear, and covered his mouth with the back of his hand.
Qin Heng's fingers were long and his knuckles broad. With just one hand, half of Chi Ning's face was covered by his palm.
The two locked eyes through the dressing mirror in front of them.
Chi Ning widened his eyes, watching as Qin Heng, standing behind him, muffled a laugh.
He spoke leisurely, "I get it now. Gu Zhe saying you have someone you like—that was a lie too, wasn’t it? You used that to brush him off, to play him. Right?"
The scent from Qin Heng’s body invaded Chi Ning’s nose again. His heart pounded so violently he almost thought it would leap out of his throat.
But Qin Heng continued, "Look at that expression. You’ve used the ‘I have someone I like’ excuse on more than just Gu Zhe, haven’t you?"
"That day you secretly moved out with me, you got photographed. How did you explain it to your parents afterward?"
He paused, then, without pressing further, abruptly changed the subject. "A single report was enough to ruin Shen Minyi’s schemes, making him swallow such a bitter defeat... How are you this sharp?"
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