Cannon Fodder And The Protagonist Are A Perfect Match [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 2

There was a secluded path between the Grade 12 teaching building and the infirmary.

Shaded by dense trees and rarely frequented by staff, this path was considered a sacred ground by local punks for teaching people a lesson. Today, the sacred ground welcomed a new client.

Yu Yan looked at the four approaching men with ill intent, his expression calm. “Can I help you with something?”

The leader, a man with a heavy side-swept fringe, said in a thuggish tone, “Nothing much. We just want to borrow some money.”

Yu Yan chuckled. “How much do you want to borrow?”

Side-fringe felt a bit uneasy at Yu Yan’s laugh. He secretly wondered why this kid seemed different today. Seeing his boss hesitate, a lackey behind him took the initiative to speak up: “The same as always, obviously. Give us everything you have.”

Yu Yan obediently pulled a black square leather wallet from his pocket. He made a motion to toss it to Side-fringe, but the wallet spun in the air and was snatched back into his own hand.

Under the fuming gazes of the four men, he tucked the wallet back into his pocket and said with feigned difficulty, “I am sorry. I am currently courting someone, so I do not have any spare money for you.”

Side-fringe roared in anger, “Damn it, you are asking for a beating!” He immediately signaled his lackeys to charge at Yu Yan.

Having heard that Xu Yansheng was injured, Zhang Yue had ditched his girlfriend and rushed toward the infirmary. When he saw the four men wailing on the ground and Xie Jin standing among them, his mouth fell open in shock.

Before Xie Jin could notice him, Zhang Yue quickly hid behind a thick tree trunk, peeping at this unknown side of Xie Jin.

Xie Jin was firmly stepping on the right hand of the side-fringed man. Faint snatches of conversation drifted over.

Side-fringe’s voice trembled, “I was wrong, I was really wrong! How about I pay back all the money I extorted from you? Please, just let us go.”

Xie Jin’s voice was flat. “There is no need to pay it back. Just consider it your medical fees.”

Following that, Zhang Yue watched as Xie Jin raised his foot high and stomped down hard. Side-fringe’s scream echoed through the sky.

As a show of force, Xie Jin kicked Side-fringe’s other hand with the tip of his shoe. His low voice carried a threat, “If you do not want your other hand ruined too, you should know what to say about today.”

Side-fringe pleaded hurriedly, “An accident! Everything today was an accident! We will never show our faces in front of you again!”

Xie Jin let out a satisfied hum, turned around, and walked toward the infirmary.

Once Xie Jin’s figure had completely disappeared, Zhang Yue emerged from behind the tree. He kicked Side-fringe, who was faking unconsciousness. “Who are you guys? Why did Xie Jin do this to you?”

Side-fringe continued to play dead. Zhang Yue mimicked Xie Jin’s earlier action and kicked his relatively intact hand. “Stop acting. Your lackey next to you is already winking at me.”

Side-fringe snapped his eyes open and cursed, “Who? Who betrayed me?” He realized his lackeys were acting even more professional than he was. Dammit! He had been tricked!

Zhang Yue ignored the outburst and repeated his question. “Who are you? Why did Xie Jin do this?”

Side-fringe was physically broken but his spirit remained stubborn. “Who is Xie Jin? We do not even know a Xie Jin!”

Zhang Yue stepped on his injured hand. “How about now?”

Side-fringe burst into tears, filled with regret. “If I had known Xie Jin was faking being a soft target, I would not have sneaked into his classroom to steal money while he was in PE. I would not have flipped through the notebook on his desk, and I definitely would not have handed that notebook to a woman named Wang Shan! I hate this!”

The other lackeys started wailing as well. The one who had spoken earlier wiped his eyes and comforted, “Boss, do not be sad. At worst, we will just walk the long way around whenever we see Xie Jin!”

Zhang Yue was speechless. These people were extorting others with brains like that? Then again, only people with bad brains would do something as stupid as extortion.

He silently pulled a few hundred-yuan bills from his pocket, tossed them on the ground, and warned them in Xie Jin’s style, “Do not tell anyone you saw me today. If you speak a word of this, consider these bills your medical fees.”

With that, he walked toward the infirmary. If he remembered correctly, Wang Shan was a girl from the next class who liked Xu Yansheng.

Inside the infirmary, Xu Yansheng lay on a single bed, his exposed left ankle severely swollen. A doctor in his fifties was skillfully massaging it through his reading glasses.

Yu Yan stood at the foot of the bed, his eyes fixed intently on the doctor’s hands. His gaze held a trace of jealousy and possessiveness he did not even realize he had.

Xu Yansheng noticed the look and shifted his leg uncomfortably, only to be sharply reprimanded by the doctor, “Stop moving! You youngsters only know how to ruin your bodies! When you get to my age and are riddled with ailments, you will regret it!”

Xu Yansheng argued weakly, “No, it is just that my knee is a bit itchy.”

In the doctor’s eyes, this was just an excuse. Conveniently, a new patient arrived at the door. He stood up, shoved a glass bottle of medicated oil into Yu Yan’s hands, and grumpily instructed, “His ankle is sprained with bad bruising. You massage it for him. Use a bit less force than kneading dough, but a bit more is fine too. He needs to feel the pain to learn his lesson!”

The door slammed shut, leaving only Yu Yan and Xu Yansheng in the large room. Yu Yan stood frozen, holding the glass bottle, completely at a loss.

Xu Yansheng, who was initially shy, could not help but smile when he saw that someone was even shyer than he was. The late February wind carried the scent of flowers through the half-open window, fluttering the beige curtains and the hair on the smiling youth’s forehead.

Yu Yan looked away a beat late, his ears turning blood-red beneath his black hair. For the first time, Xu Yansheng clearly perceived the boy’s earnest affection. He did not find it repulsive; he even took the initiative to prompt him, “If you do not come over, how are you going to massage me?”

Yu Yan nervously sat on the stool the doctor had occupied, still feeling the lingering warmth on the seat. Sitting closer, he realized Xu Yansheng’s knee was also badly scraped. He instinctively asked, “It hurts, does it not? How did it become like this?”

The heartache in the gloomy youth’s eyes was plain to see. Xu Yansheng’s heart skipped a beat, feeling both sweet and bittersweet. He tried to describe a violent conflict as a common accident. “It is just basketball. Physical contact is inevitable. I was jumping for a rebound and got knocked down. That is all.”

What he did not say was that the person’s target from the start was not the ball, but him. That was why the injury was so severe.

Seeing that Xie Jin remained silent, Xu Yansheng smiled casually. “Actually, it just looks bad. In my experience, in less than half a”

The youth’s voice suddenly twisted into a gasp. Xu Yansheng looked at Xie Jin’s hand, which had suddenly begun the massage, and grumbled, “Why did you start without saying anything? And why so hard?”

The hand on his ankle was fair and slender with distinct knuckles. The owner’s voice was deep: “The doctor said more force is fine to make you learn your lesson.” Despite his words, Yu Yan’s movements became increasingly gentle.

Feeling the heat on his ankle, Xu Yansheng’s face heated up as well. To cover his embarrassment, he began to scramble for topics.

Xu Yansheng: “Lunch break is almost over. Do you want to go back to class first?”

Yu Yan: “I want to go back with you.”

Xu Yansheng’s heart flared with an unnamed joy. Xie Jin is so clingy, he thought. He asked again, “Then what about the important lessons you will miss?”

Yu Yan: “Then let them be missed.”

Xu Yansheng’s cheeks turned crimson. A person who usually studied all day actually gave up important lessons for me! Xie Jin really does like me!

He asked again, “The hundred-day oath ceremony is in a few days. Everyone has to set a target university. Where do you want to go?”

Yu Yan: “I want to go to the same school as you.”

Xu Yansheng frowned slightly. Xie Jin’s grades were average, and his English constantly hovered around the passing mark. Getting into the same university as him would be difficult. He then asked a question he did not even know why he was asking, “Then, do you want me to help you with tutoring?”

Yu Yan’s hands paused. As if struggling with himself, he ignored the desire to agree and tried to refuse, “Maybe not.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, both of them were stunned. Yu Yan: I actually said it? Is the original host’s influence weakening? Xu Yansheng: Does he not like me? Am I just being sentimental?

An awkward atmosphere lingered until the doctor returned and shooed them away, “The bell rang! Why are you still here? Are you trying to use illness to skip class? Get back to the classroom!”

Xu Yansheng felt slighted. He hopped out of the room on one leg, leaning against the wall. Yu Yan followed closely and caught him from behind just before he could fall. The youth’s embrace was broad and his voice husky, “This is the final sprint phase. I do not want to hold you back. I want to catch up to you with my own strength.”

Smelling the fresh scent of laundry detergent, Xu Yansheng’s ears turned red. He accepted the support and whispered, “Then you better work hard.”

Yu Yan hummed in response. Studying had never been a difficult task for him.

Back in the classroom, the two walking closely together naturally became the focus of everyone’s attention. Xu Yansheng was thin-skinned and his face quickly reddened. In contrast, Yu Yan, who was being whispered about as the toad trying to eat swan meat, remained calm. He explained the situation to the teacher and helped Xu Yansheng to his seat.

The first period was English. Xu Yansheng, with the lesson going in one ear and out the other, was completely occupied by the boy next to him. Torn between looking and not looking, he pretended to watch the scenery but looked at the boy by the window. Under the overcast sky, the youth’s profile was sharp and distinct, his long, thick eyelashes like the wings of a butterfly, fluttering up and down.

Xu Yansheng followed his focused gaze to the math paper on the desk and his handsome face twisted. Is this how you catch up to me with your own strength?

Yu Yan was a very serious person. Once he focused on something, he blocked out the outside world, so he did not notice Xu Yansheng’s frustration. When school ended, he reached out to support Xu Yansheng, but Xu Yansheng stood up and moved away before he could touch him. He looked up in surprise.

Xu Yansheng avoided the youth’s hurt gaze and forced himself to stay calm. “Zhang Yue and I live in the same complex. He will help me get to and from school.”

Yu Yan watched as Xu Yansheng hopped over to Zhang Yue. The two left the classroom together intimately, leaving Yu Yan with a surge of baseless bitterness. A small voice in his heart told him it should not be like this.

But how should it be?