You Like The Smart Ones? You Should Have Said So Sooner! - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Sorry Great Handsome Qin

A steel pipe swung down, followed by a muffled groan of pain.

Qin Mian’s gaze darkened. He recognized the student being surrounded: it was Song Ying. It was obvious that with Song Ying’s lack of combat training, he was no match for five thugs. If Qin Mian didn’t step in now, there was a 99% chance his “dear” front-desk mate would have to take another leave of absence—and who knew for how many days this time.

“Tsk, where else are you going to find such a great back-desk mate?”

Qin Mian sighed softly to himself. A second later, his eyes sharpened, and he shot forward like an arrow.

Qin Mian’s combat prowess was significantly higher than Song Ying’s. Taking advantage of the group’s distraction, he launched a flying kick that sent one thug sprawling. In the next heartbeat, he turned fluidly, snatched a steel pipe from another man’s hand, dropped his center of gravity, and struck out left and right, sending two more flying.

The sound of breaking wind whistled past his ear. Qin Mian tilted his head to dodge a flying fist, grabbed the attacker’s wrist, twisted it outward with force, and then performed a 180-degree pivot. Dragging the man with him, he delivered a kick square to the guy’s chest. Qin Mian let go, and the thug flew two meters back, screaming in pain.

In his peripheral vision, a cold metallic glint flashed. Alarms went off in Qin Mian’s head. He shot a glance at Song Ying, who was still standing there in a daze, and a flash of exasperated disbelief crossed his eyes.

Suddenly, Song Ying felt a warm hand grab him, followed immediately by a force dragging him away.

Through the dim, labyrinthine alleys, the two boys ran at top speed, twisting and turning. As Qin Mian pulled him along, he kicked over roadside trash cans to block the path behind them. Simultaneously, he didn’t forget to yell at the top of his lungs:

“Catch the thief!” “Someone’s stealing! There’s a thief!” “Everyone, come out and look!”

One by one, the dark alleys were lit up by the faint yellow glow of household lights. Song Ying allowed himself to be dragged along. The flickering lights illuminated the profile of the boy in front of him; Qin Mian’s eyes were incredibly bright, showing no trace of fear. And the grip on his wrist was so tight that he didn’t have to worry about being let go.

In his mind, Qin Mian’s decisive movements were playing on a loop. Unconsciously, Song Ying started shouting along: “Catch the thief!”

The five thugs hadn’t expected them to pull a stunt like this. Lacking the courage to cause a major scene, they gave up the chase halfway and fled.

Seeing that they weren’t being followed, Qin Mian stopped, gasping for air. He released Song Ying’s wrist and gave him a cold, head-to-toe scan. “You okay?”

Song Ying stared at his released wrist for a moment, his eyes dimming slightly before he shook his head. “I’m fine.”

It was summer, and even at night, the temperature was high. Both were exhausted and drenched in sweat. Qin Mian leaned against a wall and squatted down; Song Ying followed suit, squatting beside him. Being 12th graders, their physical stamina was fragile at best.

The brief exchange ended, and both sat panting in silence. A quiet atmosphere spread between them, with only the faint chirping of cicadas and the sound of their breathing marking their presence.

After a long while, Song Ying suddenly broke the silence. “Qin Mian, thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.” Qin Mian turned to look at the bowed head of Song Ying and rolled his eyes. “Instead of thanks, how about an apology? Seriously, this is the first time I’ve had to clarify myself so many times to one person.”

Still brooding over that 8,000-word statement at the police station, Qin Mian filed his appeal once again.

Song Ying remained silent. Just as Qin Mian thought he wouldn’t get an apology and began to feel frustrated that Song Ying still didn’t believe him, he suddenly heard a soft chuckle from beside him.

“I’m sorry, Great Handsome Qin. I was blind before and wrongly accused the heroic Great Handsome Qin. I beg for your mercy and hope you can find it in your heart to forgive this…”

Song Ying’s voice carried a hint of amusement and the raspiness that follows a hard run. When he looked over, his eyes were full of laughter.

Qin Mian was momentarily stunned by Song Ying’s eyes. The surroundings were dark, but the moonlight was bright, reflecting in Song Ying’s eyes and making them look clear and luminous.

Qin Mian’s subconscious reaction was: When he laughs, his eyes are actually pretty. His second reaction was: So this guy can actually speak like a human being. Only then did he realize Song Ying was reciting his own earlier demands. For some reason, hearing those words now felt incredibly embarrassing.

Qin Mian awkwardly rubbed his slightly burning ears and gestured for him to stop. “That’s enough. ‘Great Handsome Qin’ forgives you.”

“Thank you, Great Handsome Qin,” Song Ying replied, his eyes curving into crescents.

Some questions, if asked abruptly, might touch upon a person’s sensitivities or painful past. So, Song Ying didn’t offer an explanation, and Qin Mian didn’t ask how he had provoked those thugs.

However, Song Ying was clearly in a good mood now. He asked jokingly, “Didn’t you say before that if it were you, you’d make them call you ‘Grandpa’?”

Qin Mian choked, giving the speaker a chilly look. “Well, I can’t exactly go one-on-five when they’re all packing steel pipes, can I? A wise man knows when to retreat. You don’t know jack.”

He clearly heard Song Ying chuckle again, a sound that made his heart skip a tiny beat.

“Then why did you jump out? Weren’t you afraid of getting beaten up?” Song Ying stared into his eyes and asked softly.

Qin Mian froze for a moment, recalling a time long ago when he had been cornered in an alley alone… His expression shifted slightly, and he waved it off nonchalantly. “Who knows. Maybe because I didn’t want to fail at collecting everyone’s homework tomorrow.”

Since Class 18 was newly formed and subject representatives hadn’t been chosen yet, Qin Mian, the “unlucky” class monitor, was temporarily in charge of collecting homework. During the days Song Ying was absent, the homework was never complete. Qin Mian had to explain the same situation to different teachers multiple times a day.

Suddenly, the angry voice of an old lady echoed from behind them: “Who’s out there screaming?! Where’s the thief?!”

Qin Mian and Song Ying looked at each other and burst into laughter.

After calming down, Song Ying asked, “It’s so late, why are you out?”

Just as Qin Mian was about to speak, his stomach let out a timely growl. He paused, then shrugged. “Hungry. Came out to forage for food, but couldn’t find a single ‘living’ restaurant.”

Song Ying smiled understandingly and stood up. “Let’s go.”

Hungry and unwilling to move, Qin Mian barely lifted his eyelids. “For what?”

“Taking you to eat.” Song Ying pulled a set of keys from his pocket and gestured for Qin Mian to follow.

Qin Mian’s eyes lit up, and he jumped up from the ground. “Eat where?” He didn’t know where else he could eat at this hour besides his own home.

Song Ying: “A restaurant.”

Hearing this, Qin Mian remembered the restaurant Song Ying had gone to after school. Sure enough, Song Ying led him through various turns back to that same restaurant and unlocked the door.

Seeing Qin Mian’s questioning gaze, Song Ying explained, “I work part-time here after school. The restaurant usually closes around 10:00 PM.”

Qin Mian nodded in realization.

“What do you want to eat? I’ll make it for you,” Song Ying offered.

“Hiss—” Qin Mian sucked in a breath.

Song Ying was confused. “…What’s wrong?”

Qin Mian had a look of pure admiration. “Do you know how much weight those words carry? ‘What do you want to eat, I’ll make it for you.’ For someone who lives on instant noodles every day, that is pure temptation.”

Song Ying found it hard to imagine. “Do you eat instant noodles at home every day?”

“Occasionally I have self-heating meals too,” Qin Mian added tearfully. If he ate at restaurants every day, he wouldn’t have enough money.

Song Ying: “……”

“Order whatever you want. My treat.” Song Ying handed him the menu.

“Sweet and sour pork ribs, Kung Pao chicken, and chives with eggs!” Qin Mian fell on the menu like a starving tiger, showing zero politeness.

Song Ying: “Got it. Fifteen minutes.”

Qin Mian rested his head on his hand, watching Song Ying in the kitchen. He suddenly felt that a man who could cook was on a whole different level of cool. Looked at this way, this guy actually had some redeeming qualities.

When Song Ying brought the dishes out, the aroma nearly made Qin Mian faint with joy. As he ate, Qin Mian began wondering how he could kidnap Song Ying so he could eat his cooking every day.

Across from him, seeing that Qin Mian wouldn’t be finished anytime soon, Song Ying pulled out his bag to work on some homework. Qin Mian’s sharp eyes immediately caught a test paper tucked inside Song Ying’s notebook.

The paper was covered in red ‘X’s. There were more wrong answers than right ones—it was a disaster.

Qin Mian raised an eyebrow. “Song Ying, can I take a look at that paper?”

Song Ying followed Qin Mian’s finger, picked up the paper, and handed it over. “This one?”

“Yeah.”

There was no name on the paper; it was a 12th-grade mock math exam. Out of the eight multiple-choice questions at the beginning, everything from the second question to the last was wrong.

Qin Mian clicked his tongue. He felt that even if he closed his eyes and scribbled randomly, he’d get more right than this.

In an instant, Qin Mian had already concocted a backstory for his front-desk mate: a boy living a difficult life, harassed by villains, yet persistently working hard and trying to improve, only to be held back by chronically poor grades.