3 Survival

She remained noncommittal toward Zheng Lanyu, not once lifting her head during the two Chinese lessons. Yet whenever she caught him out of the corner of her eye, he always sat with his back perfectly straight.

Li Shuangjie rarely commented on appearances, except when it came to boys. She had to admit, he looked like a Hollywood actor—blond hair, blue eyes, sharp brows, and striking features.

In this cramped classroom, he seemed like an anomaly, like a magic wand suddenly thrust into the asphalt.

In short, he was an incongruous presence.

Li Shuangjie examined the sharp contours of this mixed-race boy’s cheekbones, nose bridge, and pale, delicate cheeks.

Her youthful, sensitive heart pounded wildly.

She had never slapped a foreigner before.

She needed a reason to slap him.

But he had done nothing wrong.

He would make a mistake soon enough! Li Shuangjie thought. No boy could avoid irritating her. Many men annoyed her simply by breathing! So she waited patiently, but until the bell rang, Zheng Lanyu maintained his impeccably perfect elementary-school posture.

Zhou Li approached and asked, “Are you settling in okay?”

Zheng Lanyu replied, “Classical Chinese is a bit challenging.”

“That’s extra content. *Selections of Classical Prose* is supplementary; many articles aren’t required. Just remember the frequently tested function words.”

“Okay.” Zheng Lanyu seemed about to say something.

Zhou Li asked what was on his mind, and he glanced at his deskmate.

That expression was almost like he wanted to report her. The little foreign devil. Li Shuangjie licked her dry lips and smiled coolly, looking over with composed ease. She didn’t mean anything by it; she just wanted to see how he would tattletale. Unexpectedly, Zheng Lanyu showed a warm and sweet smile.

“My deskmate and I get along well. You can rest assured, teacher.”

Li Shuangjie was speechless.

She stared at him in shock.

Even after Zhou Li left the classroom satisfied, she kept gazing at Zheng Lanyu: she had called him a poser, yet he truly was one? He was a dignified man—even if banished by her, he would maintain his dignity.

Was he really pretending, or just naively foolish?

She asked, “Are you… mentally challenged or something?”

Zheng Lanyu replied tactfully, “My grades are fine.”

“I’m asking if you have intellectual disabilities!” Li Shuangjie’s face darkened as she slammed her palm onto his desk. “Just say yes or no!”

Zheng Lanyu flinched under her stern tone. “...No.”

“Good.” Li Shuangjie felt relieved.

Li Shuangjie had four exceptions for slapping.

She wouldn’t slap the old, weak, sick, or disabled.

Too old and a slap might kill them.

Too weak, a baby might be hurt by a slap.

The sick shouldn’t be slapped; death would come on its own.

Disabled people were off-limits; mental disabilities counted too.

She feared causing unintended harm, so she asked Zheng Lanyu if he had intellectual issues. He said no.

Good; now she could slap him.

Zheng Lanyu looked startled and turned his head away.

By now, the classroom had mostly emptied, but some students stayed behind, skipping lunch. They were a little surprised to see Zheng Lanyu slapped, but not overly so.

The boys in the class always prepared themselves to get slapped by Li Shuangjie; sometimes the girls had to brace themselves too.

But because Zheng Lanyu was handsome—or perhaps because he was new—someone curiously asked,

“What happened to him?”

“That foreigner insisted on talking to Zhou Li! Chattered on endlessly! Didn’t you see I wanted to leave? The cafeteria food is hard to get! It’s all his fault! If I don’t slap him, who else will?” Li Shuangjie casually withdrew her hand. She had arbitrarily blamed him.

Purely because she found him disagreeable, even though he was good-looking.

This way, she could slap his handsome face and also express her dissatisfaction, hoping he would move away soon. Two birds with one stone. Li Shuangjie admired her own cleverness, but didn’t expect Zheng Lanyu to touch the slapped side of his face and bow his head in grievance.

Why? Was he going to cry?

She had never made anyone cry with a slap.

Suspicious, she watched the little foreigner pull out a lunchbox from his bag, carefully and reverently pushing it across the desk toward her.

“I’m sorry,” Zheng Lanyu said nervously. “I didn’t know the school cafeteria was so competitive. My old school wasn’t like this. This lunchbox is from my mom. You can have it. Mom says not to make girls angry and to always be a gentleman.”

Oh.

Damn.

Damn it.

Zheng Lanyu’s words hit like an earthquake, sending shockwaves in every direction with dazzling brilliance! Was he really a high school boy? The girls could only think: how could anyone be so upright?!

Only Li Shuangjie remained unmoved.

Hmph. Sweet talk wrapped in sugar-coated artillery.

Doing some fake kindness in front of everyone to maintain a good image? What a joke. Who could be so gentle and kind after being disliked and slapped? He must hate her deeply now!

Li Shuangjie always assumed the worst in people.

Because she was certain others judged her harshly too.

This thought was sound. Any goodness mixed with a hint of hatred becomes false. A person pretending to be kind is easy to unmask.

But if someone always attracts hatred, then a single kind act will be praised.

It seemed unfair, but it was true.

So Li Shuangjie resolutely chose pure hatred.

She harshly slapped his lunchbox away.

“You poser! Keep it for yourself!”

Zheng Lanyu was caught off guard; the lunchbox fell to the floor. It was a lunch his mom had prepared—teriyaki rice balls, octopus sausage, some fresh fruit. The lunchbox had a complicated latch, so he’d already opened it for her.

Now, the open lunchbox was easily overturned.

The little octopus’s legs stuck to the floor and slowly slid to a stop.

Li Shuangjie hadn’t realized the box was open. She instinctively looked at the little foreigner, who was staring at the scattered octopus and tomatoes, his gaze seeming to gather specks of dust like stars. His green eyes were like the hem of Keira Knightley’s dress in *Atonement.*

Yet, he silently knelt down.

Without a word, he began cleaning up the mess.

If Li Shuangjie had a conscience, she would have felt guilty.

Fortunately, she didn’t.

Zheng Lanyu couldn’t keep pretending this time.

Thinking so, she started to walk out of the classroom.

Just as she reached the door, she heard gasps behind her.

Turning back, she saw Zheng Lanyu picking up a rice ball from the floor.

Then he put it into his mouth.

What was wrong with this guy?

Disgust made Li Shuangjie squint. The floor was filthy; in this classroom, no one knew what might have been dropped. He was overacting again! Now playing the martyr to gain sympathy? Disgusting. She gritted her teeth and strode over, slapping the dirty rice ball from his hand.

“I’m done with you, you advanced poser! It’s just your lunchbox that got knocked over. Why play the victim?”

Zheng Lanyu shook his head. “Food can’t be wasted.”

These were made by his mom early this morning.

His cheeks still chewing half a rice ball, his words were muffled. Seeing Li Shuangjie’s disgusted look, he added, “It’s okay. This was inside the lunchbox, it didn’t fall out or get dirty. I won’t eat anything off the floor—that’s not clean.”

Li Shuangjie’s right eye twitched briefly.

She turned and left, as if avoiding something.

This person was too good at pretending.

She really couldn’t find words to insult him.

But when she reached the school canteen’s snack shop and found a group of nearly two-meter-tall basketball players in jerseys, with sweat towels tucked at their backs, she immediately cursed:

“Spent ages choosing water, and you still want sugar-free cola? Haven’t seen your body fat percentages drop one bit!”

The boys instantly stepped aside at her voice.

Their captain, Song Encheng, opened the fridge door for her.

The school had liberal arts, science, and sports-art classes. Most athletes didn’t pick fights with Li Shuangjie because her mother, Li Xi, was a nationally renowned basketball player. Yes, Li Shuangjie’s father was a writer, but her mother was a famous national athlete.

Hence, Li Shuangjie bore her mother’s surname.

Her strong physique came from her mother.

Mom gave birth to her this way—Li Shuangjie had excellent reflexes and perfect arm strength, able to deliver the crispest, most resonant slaps from any angle or direction. Thanks to her mother’s womb, she was immune to illnesses and had hardly ever been sick.

While she grabbed water, Song Encheng asked, “Shuangjie, when will you bring Auntie here for special training again? Last time we forgot to get her autograph.”

Li Shuangjie replied, “Annoying! How would I know? Li Xi’s been busy lately; she’s taking the Level One referee exam.”

Song Encheng opened his mouth again, but Li Shuangjie raised her palm.

Knowing her well, he wisely kept silent.

Seeing her pick up a beef rice ball, Song Encheng asked, “Don’t you usually avoid instant foods?”

“Is that for someone else?”

“My deskmate.”

“When did you get a new deskmate?”

“This morning, after second period.”

Li Shuangjie paid with a blank expression, then added, “He feels like a garbage bag.”

“What do you mean?”

“Too good at pretending.”

Song Encheng laughed, “Then why do you bring him food?”

“Because I slapped his lunchbox off the desk.”

Alright.

Li Shuangjie wasn’t exactly a nice person.

“Why did you slap his lunchbox?”

“Because he insisted I eat from his lunchbox.”

“Why insist? Does he like you?”

“You really have no understanding of relationships, dude.”

Song Encheng wasn’t angry either. “Then why?”

“Annoying!” She bopped him with the rice ball wrapper.

“Because I slapped him! Okay?”

Song Encheng raised a playful brow.

“Oh, I thought he liked you.”

Li Shuangjie said, “You’re horny, aren’t you? Always chasing after someone, like a sprinter collapsing on the field, imagining a pretty junior bringing water, but no one cares. Just thirsty fantasies! No one likes you!”

That wasn’t really true.

Song Encheng was quite popular with the ladies.

But Li Shuangjie’s tongue was a lethal weapon.

She could poison herself with her own words.

Song Encheng couldn’t help but laugh heartily.

He felt uneasy if he didn’t get scolded by his childhood friend at least once a day.

“Don’t force me to slap you,” Li Shuangjie said, turning to leave.

At the other checkout, someone overheard the conversation.

Pei Chuyuan clenched his hand into a fist.

He pressed his lips together, suppressing the thoughts stirring deep inside.

---

Li Shuangjie returned to class and tossed the rice ball to Zheng Lanyu.

He was surprised. “Thank you. Have you eaten?”

“Yes.” Li Shuangjie shoved her hands in her pockets and slouched on her desk, turning her back to him, resting her head on her hand. “Don’t think I’ve fallen for you, you poser! You can pretend for a while, but not forever! Move away from my side in a week!”

Zheng Lanyu said nothing.

He just lowered his long golden eyelashes.

Her words were icy cold.

But the rice ball she gave him was warm.

Before coming to Jing High, Zheng Lanyu attended a key city school in the lower district. At first, his classmates were warm toward him—his looks were hard not to like. But over time, no one spoke to him anymore.

Zheng Lanyu didn’t know why, attributing it to his failure to fit in. What he didn’t know was that fitting in often required many sacrifices.

He didn’t really like to talk much.

Nor did he often smile.

He didn’t want to tell his parents, but the teachers did.

After his mother learned, she transferred him to Jing High. She told him not to apologize to anyone: “Your personality is like a special radio station; you always attract listeners who like you.”

“What should I do then?”

“Just be yourself.”

So this time, Zheng Lanyu didn’t want to be reserved and shy like at his old school. He desperately hoped to make a new friend. Upon arriving at school, he heard someone gossiping about Li Shuangjie:

“She got sent to the office again for slapping someone!”

That was the first time he heard her name.

Entering the new class, he heard it again:

“What! A transfer student? There’s no extra seat for him! The homeroom teacher made him sit next to Li Shuangjie? No way! Li Shuangjie’s favorite pastime is slapping every guy with a pair of hands!”

He heard her name a third time.

The classmates called her, Li Shuangjie.

She stood at the classroom door.

Unruly, scrutinizing him.

Everyone knew how popular she was. Zheng Lanyu immediately made a decision deep in his heart:

He would befriend Li Shuangjie, no matter what. He would use his sincerity to win her over!

So even if Li Shuangjie slapped him and only cursed and picked on him, even if she knocked over the lunchbox his mom prepared, he would listen to her.

She even bought him rice balls, specially warmed.

Actually, Li Shuangjie was a good person.

Zheng Lanyu mustered courage.

He lightly tapped her shoulder.

Li Shuangjie impatiently said, “Spit it out!”

He said, “Could you be my…”

Friend.

Before he could finish, Li Shuangjie’s face drained of color. She quickly raised her hand and grabbed his mouth. Zheng Lanyu couldn’t speak, mumbling quietly. With his handsome, innocent face, the scene was comical.

When he fell silent,

Li Shuangjie finally released him.

“I don’t like hearing that. This time, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it. Consider it retracted. Don’t say it again!”