Chapter 54: The Rise and Fall of Branches (11)

  It's been over ten days since Chen Haonan transferred to the liberal arts class. He slowly got used to the new environment and found that there was nothing special about it, just like when he first entered school. At least now there were still a few familiar or semi-familiar faces, unlike when he first started school and didn't know anyone - hadn't those days passed anyway?

  In these dozen or so days, Chen Haonan also paid special attention to two things besides adapting himself to the new environment as soon as possible:

  The first thing was that he knew the names of the two girls sitting in front of him on his first day in Class 214: one was called Ouyang Yiweng, and the other was called He Zhenzhen. And Ouyang Yiweng was the girl who seemed to see right through his eyes to the sadness hidden deep within — at least that's what Chen Haonan thought, he always felt a little intimidated by her;

  The second thing was that he found out who Hu Jing, the disciplinary committee member, really was.

  In addition, Chen Haonan and Xiao Qiuming's relationship gradually improved - a dramatic acquaintance, as if some stories were destined to happen...

  By this time, Chen Haonan's wound on his shoulder had already healed, but Xiao Qiuming still often felt uneasy about it. Due to his gratitude, he took good care of Chen Haonan and even pulled him into his dormitory.

  Despite this, Chen Haonan still didn't quite understand Xiao Qiuyue. Of course, he also didn't pay much attention to what Xiao Qiuyue was really like; he had always thought that true friends would share their stories with each other at the right time. Moreover, Chen Haonan himself had many things hidden in his heart as well!

  However, Chen Haonan never thought that in class, Xiao Qiuyue was a eccentric and somewhat unsociable weirdo, and it seemed that most people were somewhat afraid of him...

  Xiao Qiuming's home is in Linfeng Town, and his parents are engaged in long-distance transportation. Due to his parents' long-term absence, he has been following the street gangs since childhood and is now a "little big brother" who dominates alone. There is often a group of "little brothers" running after him, and it's natural for him to smoke, drink, and fight frequently.

  However, it's strange to say that although this kid is almost "five poisons all present", he has been clever and quick-witted since childhood, his brain is very smart and fast, and his academic performance is also surprisingly good. Especially after entering high school, his grades are often among the top in the whole grade, and he has represented the school in the city and county's "language, mathematics, and foreign language" competitions many times, and has even won good prizes. Because of this, the kid who often makes mistakes always receives lenient treatment from the head teacher and the school, although they are both angry and annoyed with him, but they don't want to painfully "cut off their love" - as long as he doesn't do anything too outrageous, they will all turn a blind eye.

  Of course, these are all hearsay, Chen Haonan has never verified them with Xiao Qiuming, and when others gossip about these things, he always just smiles and dismisses them...

  It happened to be Sunday that day. After the fourth class, Chen Haonan quickly finished his homework and was about to go to the cafeteria for lunch when Xiao Qiuming suddenly flashed into the classroom. Perhaps it was too fast, he knocked over a stool, "bang" sound, everyone in the classroom was frightened. Usually, people in the class were afraid of and revered Xiao Qiuming, so even if they had many complaints, they all closed their mouths and didn't dare to speak.

  However, Chen Haonan didn't know what hit them and was startled - after coming to his senses, he saw that it was Xiao Qiuying who was causing trouble. He opened his mouth and said: "Qiuying, you little devil! Are you in a hurry to be reincarnated?"

  "It's too early for me to die or be reborn! But I'm here looking for you!"

  "Looking for me? What's up?" Chen Haonan said with a glance at Xiao Qiuying, "Are you being surrounded again, you little rascal?"

  "Damn it, you little brat is deliberately cursing me!" Xiao Qiuyue laughed and threw a punch at Chen Haonan's chest. "Have you eaten? - Go eat?"

  "Are you watching me eat?" Chen Haonan said, shoving his book into his desk.

  "Look at you, you haven't eaten!" Xiao Qiuying pulled Chen Haonan and walked away, "Let's go, if we don't leave now the dishes will get cold..."

  Chen Haonan hadn't even had time to react when Xiao Qiuming pulled him out of the classroom, so he could only follow him.

  Without thinking, after leaving the school gate, Xiao Qiuyue directly arrived at "Fuyunlou" - the best wine house in Linfeng Town. Just as he was about to enter, Chen Haonan, who was suspicious, grabbed Xiao Qiuyue's hand and smiled foolishly: "Qiuyue, you're too exaggerated, it's just us two eating together, why did we have to come to such a good place?"

  Xiao Qiuying smiled and was about to respond when five people suddenly rushed out of "Fu Yun Ju". Chen Haonan thought something was off, and upon closer inspection, he saw that three of them were the same thugs who had beaten Xiao Qiuying last time: Little Yellow Hair, Little Flat Head, and Little Middle Part.

  "It looks like we're going to fight again!" Chen Haonan thought to himself and threw a punch. Xiao Qiuming, however, grabbed him and gave him a look, indicating that he shouldn't make a move. Just as Chen Haonan was about to ask why, the five men approached, nodding and bowing, speaking in hushed tones to Xiao Qiuming: "Brother Ming!"

  Xiao Qiuming simply nodded in response and then loudly asked: "Have all the wine tables been booked?"

  "It's settled then, Ming Ge. The elegant room is on the second floor!" Little Huang Mao said as he led Xiao Qiuying and Chen Haonan upstairs.

  Chen Haonan didn't know what kind of tricks Xiao Qiuying had up her sleeve, so he could only follow closely behind her, but his heart was racing with anxiety: last time two against three they all ended up getting hurt, let alone this time when the other side had two more big guys joining in - the situation wasn't looking good, it seemed like a fierce battle was unavoidable!

  Entering the second floor VIP room, Xiao Qiuyue gestured to close the door, and "Little Zhongfen" who was walking at the back quickly closed the door gently.

  He took off his jacket and threw it onto the sofa, then shouted: "You three come over here!" Xiaohuangmao, Xiaopingtou, and Xiaozhongfen hurriedly gathered around. With a cold laugh, Xiao Qiuyue spoke again: "You three bastards last time really made me suffer, but since you're new here and don't know the rules, I can let you off easy! However, you hurt my brother, whether or not he forgives you depends on your performance..." As he spoke, he glanced over at Chen Haonan standing to the side.

  "Qiu Ming, what's going on here?" Seeing the three little rascals trembling with fear, Chen Haonan couldn't help but feel some sympathy, and his words became somewhat hesitant.

  "Don't worry, Haonan!" Xiao Qiuying whispered into Chen Haonan's ear, "Those three kids are treating us to dinner as an apology!"

  "Oh, that's how it is!" Chen Haonan finally put his mind at ease. But he was still a bit tense and stuttered to the three little rascals: "I-I'm fine, whatever Autumn Bright does to you guys is up to him!"

  Since Haonan said so, you guys should respect him a few more cups later! Xiao Qiuying, with an air of being the big brother, chimed in and said, "In the movie 'Young and Dangerous', there's a character named 'Chen Haonan'. This guy is also called 'Chen Haonan', only one word different from that copper pot in Causeway Bay... If it wasn't for him lending a hand last time, I'd probably still be lying in the hospital now! You three stinky boys are quite ruthless too!" After finishing speaking, Xiao Qiuying introduced the two big guys to Chen Haonan again: the one with a small mustache was called "Gao Lei", nicknamed "Thunder Head"; the one without a mustache was called "Liu Hailin", nicknamed "Turtle".

  Chen Haonan was thinking about the nicknames of the two, "Leitou" and "Haitun" almost simultaneously stretched out their hands and almost said in unison: "Nan-ge, please take care of us from now on!"

  "Okay, okay......" Such a momentum, Chen Haonan had never seen it before. His ears were burning with anxiety, worried that he would lose face. He quickly shook hands with them symbolically. Who would have thought that as soon as he withdrew his hand, Little Yellow Hair introduced himself again: "I'm Liu Shi, this is Zhao Qiang (Little Flat Head), and that's Wang Xiaotao (Little Center Parting). We're all new students in Class 221. Brother Nang, if you need anything in the future, we'll definitely rush to help, no matter what!"

  "Liu Shi? Why does it sound like 'cow shit' to me!" Xiao Qiuming picked up his cup of tea from the coffee table, took a sip and spat it out. He laughed and said: "Your old man really has good taste, giving you such a great name?"

  Chen Haonan and several others also burst out laughing, but Xiao Huangmao himself was still smiling and said: "Ming Ge, my nickname is 'Niu Shi'!" As soon as he said this, the whole scene almost fainted.

  ……

  It was already three o'clock when he left "Fuyunju", and a meal had lasted for more than two hours, Chen Haonan thought it was a headache. However, what made him even more incredible was that he himself was dizzy, but he could still support the drunk Xiao Qiuming, and stumbled back to the dormitory. Fortunately, they were not caught by the school leaders, otherwise tomorrow's headline on the bulletin board would be "Chen Haonan and Xiao Qiuming get drunk".

  Xiao Qiuying was put on the bed, Chen Haonan went to the bathroom to wash his face, and when he came back, he fell onto the bed as well. Very quickly, he entered dreamland. In fact, compared to Xiao Qiuying's three bottles of beer and half a bottle of "Wuliangye", Chen Haonan was truly just a tiny bit tipsy, having only drunk less than two bottles of beer and not even touching the white liquor. But after all, it was his first time drinking so much alcohol, and he almost couldn't find his way north, yet he still managed to support Xiao Qiuying back to their dorm room, which was quite impressive...

  The others were all drunk and fell asleep on the sofa in the elegant room of "Fuyunju".