Chapter 43: Brothers in Arms

Xu Chen, Li Rui, and Fang Tao sprinted back toward the school.

Reaching the school gate, they spotted Zhao Feng and two underlings crouched by the flower bed, smoking.

Seeing Xu Chen and the others approach, Zhao Feng’s group jumped up and hurried over.

Anxious, Zhao Feng stammered, his lips trembling as he tried to speak:

“H-How did it go?”

Li Rui took a calm breath and smiled:

“With you around, bro, it’s all settled.”

Zhao Feng asked, “It’s paid off?”

Li Rui grinned, “Paid off.”

Zhao Feng glared at Xu Chen, flicking his cigarette butt to the ground before declaring:

“Bro Chen, I might not be good with words, but from now on, your business is mine too!”

At his words, Li Rui, Fang Tao, and the others all looked equally sincere.

Xu Chen smiled, unsure how to respond.

Zhao Feng added, “Bing Ge is back, but I haven’t told her anything yet.”

“Oh?”

Xu Chen asked, “Is she okay?”

Zhao Feng replied, “She seems fine.

She came back at noon and went straight to class without a word.”

Relieved that Xie Bingran had returned safely, Xu Chen exhaled deeply.

He turned to Li Rui and said,

“Follow our plan—say we all chipped in the money together.”

He pulled out the loan contract bearing Xie Bingran’s name from his pocket and handed it to Li Rui.

“Just give this to her.”

Li Rui hesitated, “Bro Chen… maybe you should give it yourself.”

Xu Chen insisted, “You take it.”

Li Rui blinked but obediently accepted it:

“Alright… I’ll do as you say.”

Xu Chen looked at the group and suddenly asked,

“What brand of cigarettes do you guys usually smoke?”

Li Rui and Zhao Feng exchanged puzzled glances, wondering why he asked.

Li Rui answered, “Whatever’s there. We don’t care.”

He fished half a pack from his pocket.

Xu Chen saw it was a red Bāxǐ brand—the local cheap favorite.

“Come with me for a moment.”

Saying that, Xu Chen headed toward the small convenience store across from the school.

Li Rui, Zhao Feng, and the others looked at each other, confused, but followed quickly.

…

Inside the store, Xu Chen bought four large boxes of instant noodles, two boxes of sausages, and six packs of Red Double Happiness cigarettes.

The chubby shop owner was thrilled—he hadn’t expected these high schoolers to be such big customers.

Smiling broadly, he heaved the boxes in front of Xu Chen and grabbed six more packs of Red Double Happiness from the shelf.

After paying, Xu Chen turned to Li Rui and the others:

“Carry these to the dorm. Split them among you.

If it runs out in a couple days, come back to me.”

Li Rui and Zhao Feng exchanged looks, still baffled.

Li Rui paused, “Bro Chen, what’s this about?”

Xu Chen said:

“You pooled your living money, meal money, and smoke money to help Bing Ge with her debt.

Since you insisted it came from all of you, I can’t return the cash to you.

We’re not even halfway through the month—don’t you guys eat and smoke?”

Li Rui, Zhao Feng, and the others were touched, their expressions softening.

After a moment, Li Rui spoke up:

“Bro Chen…

We called you ‘Bro Chen’ because of Bing Ge.

From now on, calling you that means we truly see you as our brother!”

Xu Chen smiled, “There are so many of you—spread out and carry them. I’ve got class!”

With that, he didn’t linger and strode toward the school gate.

Li Rui and the others watched his retreating back, their faces a mix of admiration and emotion.

Zhao Feng winked and whispered:

“So righteous!

When Bing Ge said she liked him, I didn’t get it.

Now I see it—if Bing Ge has such loyalty, Bro Chen has it even more…”

…

As the class bell rang, Xu Chen dashed back to the classroom.

It was Chinese class.

Headteacher Zhang Liqun stood at the podium, adjusting his oversized brown glasses—behind them, his cold, displeased gaze looked at Xu Chen.

Xu Chen forced a sheepish grin and hurried to his seat.

“Thursday and Friday are the mock exams for the college entrance test.

Treat them seriously—think of them as the real thing!…”

Zhang Liqun launched into another impassioned pep talk about the mock exams.

Bored, Xu Chen opened his Chinese exam booklet and began reading.

He had already gathered several strong examples for the upcoming essay topic.

He planned to adapt them during this week’s mock test as practice.

…

During break, Xu Chen headed to the restroom but was stopped by Zhang Liqun in the hallway.

“You almost missed this afternoon’s class—were you hanging out with those street ruffians again?!”

“Xu Chen, how many times have I told you—I believe in you. Don’t let your teachers down!”

“With less than three months until the exam, stay away from those troublemakers, especially Xie Bingran…”

The same old lecture began as Zhang Liqun crossed his arms behind his back.

Xu Chen listened silently, irritation brewing.

Fortunately, break lasted only ten minutes—limiting the teacher’s monologue.

After scolding him, Zhang Liqun adjusted his glasses, coughed softly, and asked:

“The submission website you gave me—is it correct?”

Xu Chen blinked, smirking inwardly—so that was why he was lectured.

He thought, why not just ask directly?

Silently exasperated…

“It’s correct. I used those two email addresses to submit.”

“Oh? Why do you ask?”

“I have a friend…”

“Got it…”

“After you submit, how long until you get a reply?”

Xu Chen scratched his head:

“Not everyone replies—it depends on how many submissions they receive.”

Zhang Liqun said, “I see…”

Behind his brown glasses, his small eyes flickered with a hint of disappointment.

“But you should wait at least a week—leaders need time to review.”

Zhang Liqun: “Right?”

Xu Chen: “My teacher always says, ‘Gold will shine—hard work pays off.’ We just do our best and leave the rest to fate!”

Zhang Liqun: “Exactly! Well said!”

Xu Chen: “I think sending multiple submissions increases our chances!”

Zhang Liqun: “You can do that?”

Xu Chen: “Yeah, I sent over ten manuscripts myself!”

Zhang Liqun smiled, hope lighting up his small eyes.

The class bell rang abruptly as students flooded back into the corridor.

Zhang Liqun waved them in, and Xu Chen grinned before returning to class.

Back at his desk, Chen Dahai looked curious and asked:

“What did the bald guy say to you this time?”

Xu Chen replied:

“He probably won’t supervise evening study for the next few days.”

Chen Dahai: “??”