In the empty classroom, Shen Yuan leaned on his seat and switched his overlapping legs. His finger tapped on the desk in a steady rhythm, following the tempo of the pulse resonating into his senses.
When the clock struck 5, it finally moved.
The pulse intensified as Mu Chen climbed up to the fourth floor and turned towards the east wing, where his class was. But instead of entering, he kept walking straight ahead until he reached the rooftop stairway.
Shen Yuan stood up from his seat and headed to the rooftop without hurry. He saw the door was half ajar and stopped at the second last step, keeping himself hidden behind the corner.
"Say it." Mu Chen's voice faintly traveled. He didn't raise his voice, but like a calm before a storm, there was oppression in his every tone.
"It happened so fast. I only saw Jing Wan and Zhang Liu fell and I blacked out," Qin Dong answered. Although he tried to put a tough front, his voice nakedly shook.
"There was this upperclassman," Jing Wan tagged in. "He found us out before this. He definitely deliberately made trouble for us."
Zhang Liu immediately added, "That bastard must've known him. We'll force his name out of his mouth."
Shen Yuan was amused. They made it sound like he was the one who beat them unconscious. The only possible reason was they didn't want to admit it was Zhou Yi who did it, either from shame, fear, or denial. Maybe all three.
Three loud bangs ensued, pulling him out of his thoughts. He peeked a little to find all three delinquents had fallen to the ground, groaning and clutching their guts in pain. One of the HVACs had its side dented, Qin Dong curling right below it.
Mu Chen stomped on Qin Dong's head and ground his heel to his hair. Despite his actions, the curve of his smile stayed on his lips. "I only gave you one job. One brainless job. And you can't even do it right. Got found out? Why did I never hear of this?"
"I-It wasn't any different than usual. We didn't think it was important enough to disturb you for."
"You were found out by an upperclassman. A person from my grade. Do you know what that means?"
"I…I don't—"
Not needing him to finish his words, Mu Chen swung his foot to Qin Dong's face and hurled him straight back to the HVAC. Blood poured down his nose and trickled down the back of his head, rendering him immobile on the ground. His face swelled, making it difficult for him to open his eyes.
"It means my reputation is on the line." Mu Chen turned to Jing Wan who kept silent on the side. "Who made the first move?"
Jing Wan wanted to say it was the upperclassman but when his eyes met with Mu Chen's, fear choked his words, and he couldn't help but look at the state Qin Dong was in. He came clean in a hurry. "W-We didn't even get to make a move! I swear!"
Unfortunately, the answer wasn't satisfactory, and Mu Chen crushed his fingers with his foot. Jing Wan could only let out a short scream before biting his lips to force his voice down. His body broke in cold sweat and his breath heaved in pain, quick and shallow.
"What did I tell you about engaging with upperclassmen?" Mu Chen ground Jing Wan's fingers without mercy. "Treat them with respect and don't make trouble with them. If it means you have to be their punching bag, then you be their punching bag. Now I have to deal with your mess. Are you asking for your fathers' crimes to be made public?"
"No, please! We'll fix this!" Zhang Liu begged for all three of them.
"I'll find him and decide what to do with him myself." Mu Chen retrieved his foot, finally releasing Jing Wan from his torture. "You three fix your standing before that surname Zhou thinks of anything funny after seeing your pathetic loss. If he dares to do anything, you all will be the one paying for it."
The three people endured their pain to lower their heads in submission. "Yes, Young Master…"
Seeing the end of it, Shen Yuan turned and left. His steps glided down the stairs without making the slightest noise. His classroom was too far down the hallway, so he entered the washroom to wait for Mu Chen to pass first.
That was a waste of time. He didn't get much significant information except confirming his suspicion that Mu Chen was involved in Zhou Yi's bullying. The thing he was most curious about was still unanswered.
Finding out about their relationship would also answer Mu Chen's motive for doing this. Whether he moved as himself or as a vulture.
Footsteps approached closer to the washroom. When he heard it stop in front of the door, Shen Yuan turned towards the sink and turned on the water just in time when the door opened behind him.
Their eyes met through the mirror.
"Working overtime, President Mu?" Shen Yuan pumped out some soap and casually washed his hands.
"There were some mistakes that needed fixing. I didn't realize it was this late." Mu Chen went to the sink next to Shen Yuan and washed his hands as well.
"Working hard as always."
"What about you? I didn't expect there was still anyone in school at this hour."
"Not really in the mood to go home lately." Shen Yuan turned off the water and grabbed some tissues to dry his hands, followed by Mu Chen.
"Is that so? But you can't stay here forever."
Shen Yuan looked at the all-natural smile on Mu Chen's face, no different than when he was beating up people, almost as if the things he just witnessed were all his hallucinations. It was well known that high-level vultures were intelligent, but he didn't think they were intelligent enough to act.
"Don't worry, I'm not making trouble for you." He dumped the tissue into the trash bin. Thinking of something, he curled a smile and grabbed Mu Chen's shoulder. "You know, perhaps this is fate. The student council will definitely help a student in need, right?"
Mu Chen watched his action curiously, wondering where Shen Yuan was going with that sentence.
"Let me stay at your place, President~"
"Unfortunately, the student council does not provide assistance for a student's runaway." Mu Chen crossed his arms.
"Don't be like that." Shen Yuan closed their distance and clung his arms around Mu Chen's shoulder. "Please? Just for today. I've been told that I'm a sensible guest. I'll wash my own dishes."
Mu Chen stared at Shen Yuan shamelessly batting his eyelashes and chuckled. "I wouldn't want you to spread a rumor about how bad I am as a host. You don't need to wash your own dishes."
"Then…"
"You can stay." Mu Chen nodded. "But make sure no one's going to call school tomorrow to report a missing person."
"Definitely not." Shen Yuan grinned and patted Mu Chen's chest. "I knew I could count on you. You're the best, President."
"Are you going to keep calling me by my title?"
"Should I call you Chen da-ge?" Shen Yuan teased.
"Just Mu Chen, please," Mu Chen helplessly said.
Shen Yuan let out a small laugh and let Mu Chen go. They left the washroom together and went to their respective class to grab their things first.
Noticing something, Shen Yuan glanced out the window to find Zhou Yi leaving school. Ever since he told him that he would be the last person to leave, Zhou Yi had been staying at school even later, waiting for him to leave first.
This was the first time in this week that he saw him leaving school. Did he think he had left? He knew he kept watch on his classroom from somewhere, but he hadn't found the exact spot.
As if hearing his thoughts, Zhou Yi stopped before the gate and suddenly turned around. His eyes caught him with pinpoint accuracy, flinching his heart a bit.
That was…a bit creepy.
"Shen Yuan, are you ready?" Mu Chen stepped into the classroom.
"Yeah." Shen Yuan hauled his bag to his shoulders. "Your car is already here?"
"It's waiting outside. Let's go."
"Okay."
Shen Yuan took a glance outside to see Zhou Yi was gone. He hid his anticipation and followed behind Mu Chen. Would he be at home when he arrived? What face would he make when he saw him with Mu Chen?
No, no. Don't get distracted.
With how Mu Chen agreed so easily, he couldn't guess what he planned to do with Zhou Yi's presence. After talking with some students of his grade, although many of them knew there were delinquents among the underclassmen, they only knew they smoked and skipped class. They didn't really care what they did as long as it didn't affect them.
If Mu Chen thought he was the same as them, there was a chance he would just come clean about Zhou Yi. But with how careful he was, the most likely chance was that he wouldn't even see a shadow of Zhou Yi there later.
Either way, he would figure everything out before Mu Chen found him.