TWSITAOCP Chapter 22.1

When the disciplinary committee was absent, Class 3’s monkey business ran wild.

After Yang Feiwen pulled some strings to borrow the first volume of fanfiction Eagle Catching Chick, it vanished from the scene for quite some time. Now, it had resurfaced—and it came from the hands of the disciplinary committee.

Several key figures crowded around Yi Tian’s desk, each taking a turn to flip through the bound book.

Yi Tian suppressed her shock and glared fiercely: “Alright! Who’s the one who dared to perform right in front of the idol?!¹“

Yang Feiwen shook his head frantically: “No, class monitor. You got it all wrong. It’s definitely not what you’re thinking.”

His reaction alone made it clear he was involved. Everyone turned their heads to stare at him, gazes so intense they almost bore a hole through him.

But Yang Feiwen didn’t know how to explain the situation. After all, the book was borrowed by Yu Sui, and it fell from Yu Sui’s bed and hit Yan Xiu square in the forehead.

The young master was currently holed up in his dorm brooding in self-imposed isolation. There was no way Yang Feiwen could throw Yu Sui under the bus now—otherwise, Yu Sui wouldn’t just be taking a leave of absence; he’d probably have to transfer schools.

“Fine.” Yang Feiwen said, stretching his neck and closing his eyes. “I really can’t tell you how this happened. Come on, let’s get it over with. Whether I face it head-on or hide, it’s all the same. I just hope you guys make it quick—spare me the pain—”

Everyone cursed in unison.

Yang Feiwen, nicknamed the “newspaper-selling expert”,was a well-connected gossipmonger with no principles to speak of. Sometimes, a single pack of spicy strips was enough to loosen his lips.

But now, under the collective pressure, Yang Feiwen kept his mouth shut. Everyone looked at each other, thinking that this matter was most likely related to Yu Sui.

“If he knows, then he knows.” Liang Wen said to Yi Tian, “It’s not like many people in the school are unaware of this anyway. Besides, unless Yan Xiu never checks the school forum, there’s no way to keep it from him.”

As the class monitor, Yi Tian infiltrated their group despite her rule-abiding nature. At her core, she was still the teacher’s most trusted assistant, handling many tasks and being exposed to more insider information than the rest.

She saw things rare more clearly: “It’s not that simple.”

Yi Tian used to be an ordinary girl full of admiration for the student union, even joining it for a while.

“Our school’s forum represents the face of No. 26 High School,” Yi Tian explained. “And it’s an important channel for teachers to understand students. That’s why the forum is monitored. Do you think the moderators just appeared out of thin air?”

“Normally, minor mischief is overlooked. But if someone starts stirring up trouble or discussing troublesome topics, those posts won’t last five minutes.”

“The head moderator is from the Communications Club. The remaining moderators are taken by the IT teacher, President Chen Zhanni, and the Minister,” Yi Tian said, pointing at the book. “He has the authority. If the department head doesn’t check the forum, fine. But if he gets angry and decides to lock the thread with one click, or even ban the ship name… then our Sui’er and the Minister would become a forbidden pairing.”

Her analysis was logical and intimidating, leaving everyone stunned into silence.

Yi Tian concluded, “So we might need to lay low for a while.”

Meanwhile, the esteemed Minister was busy chatting with the dorm supervisor.

To elaborate the scene in detail, it should be Yan Xiu listening while the dormitory manager was talking.

The dormitory manager of the male dorm was an old man with stories to tell. He was a relative of a vice-principal of No. 26 High School. After retiring, he had nothing to do, so he came over to watch the dorm, claiming that seeing young lives busting around every day brought him vitality.

The vice principal simply let him be.

The old man also kept a cat, which had grown up eating from many households—a bold chubby cat. While the old man was talking, the cat suddenly jumped out from behind the guard table and curiously pawed the plastic bag Yan Xiu was holding.

“Hey,” the old man said quickly. “Don’t let the cat get the medicine.”

Yan Xiu switched the bag to his other hand.

“If his forehead isn’t hot, take the cold medicine, take a nap, he’ll be fine. You don’t even need to spend a day.” The old man pointed upstairs with a finger. “I knocked on that kid’s door earlier today. He looked really sick—pale as a ghost. Usually, he’s such a well-behaved kid, but today he had a bit of a temper and wouldn’t let me near him.”

Yan Xiu hesitated for a moment, then asked, “Around what time did you knock on his door?”

The old man said, “Right after the fourth bell rings.”

That would be after the second class ended.

Someone hadn’t dried their hair properly yesterday, climbing into bed with it still damp. Later, that towel had been thrown to Yang Feiwen.

Yan Xiu pondered the young master’s temper, thinking it was entirely possible he’d caught a cold from not drying his hair and then sitting directly in front of the air conditioner.

Just as Yan Xiu was about to leave, the old man suddenly called him again.

He turned around and heard the old man ask, “Are you in the same class with that kid?”

“…Mm.”

The old man asked again: “How’s your relationship with him?”

Yan Xiu froze. He didn’t know if he was overthinking it, or if he was influenced by the books he had read in the past two days, but he felt that the old man’s words carried some hidden meaning.

But he was clearly overthinking it. The old man bent down and picked up the chubby cat, smiling: “I’m just asking casually. When people get older, they like to see the younger ones getting along. You see, it’s nice of you to come visit your classmate. A while ago, I saw two brothers arguing—it was truly heartbreaking. They even fought over a yellow pillow.”

In fact, most students in No. 26 High School would not want a visit in the dormitory from the head of the disciplinary committee.

Among them, Yu Sui would definitely rank at the top of that list.

The door to this dorm room was tightly shut, and a Siberian-like chill seeped under the door, creeping towards Yan Xiu’s ankles. Yan Xiu unlocked the door, and the rush of cold air that greeted him felt eerily similar to an ice cellar door swinging open.

The empty dorm room was barren, with the curtain drawn tightly, casting the room in dim light. The only sign of life was the lump under the covers on Yu Sui’s bed, suggesting some living presence.

The young man was sleeping soundly in a thick quilt, with the air conditioner at 17 degrees in the early autumn.

Yan Xiu walked over to his bed and found that the young master was still sleeping on his stomach. He clutched the corner of the quilt tightly with both hands and pressed it against his chest, with a pillow under his neck and his head hanging down. His hair, which had not been cut for a month, had grown so long that it covered the sides of his face like a dazed furball.

Yan Xiu reached out his hand to touch Yu Sui’s forehead, but felt no temperature.

He had no choice but to take out the thermometer and looked at Yu Sui helplessly. He just pressed it lightly against his forehead and it was minus five degrees.

Yan Xiu: “…”

He had to measure himself several times and was surprised to find that the thermometer was broken and only gave the temperature according to his own mood.

Yan Xiu threw away the thermometer and calmly took out the air conditioner remote control for their room. He pressed the button several times to adjust the temperature to set it to acceptable temperature, but he was still not satisfied.

Then he remembered that Lao Gu said the weather had turned cooler recently, so he simply turned off the air conditioner and pulled open the balcony door, barely creating a cross-ventilation setup.

But even though Yandu was trying hard to keep up with the seasonal shifts of other major provinces, it was still dragging its feet, indecisive as ever.

The most popular outfit these days was to wear two short-sleeved shirts layered together—the inner shirt was slightly larger, leaving a visible edge peeking out.

In the eyes of the older generation, this kind of attire is neither warm nor cold—trapping heat in some areas while leaving others exposed to the cold. In other words, the weather these days was unpredictable, sometimes chilly, sometimes warm.

So within ten minutes, Yu Sui was awakened by the heat.

He actually hadn’t slept for long. The lingering embarrassment from yesterday was like a stimulant injected into his veins, making him stay awake all night.

After Yu Sui woke up, he still felt sleepy but couldn’t fall asleep for a long time, mind buzzing with activity.

Early morning, he mentally resigned from society, opening and closing WeChat repeatedly, almost accidentally blocking Yan Xiu in the process.

Later, probably because Yang Feiwen asked for leave from Lao Gu, who then messaged Ms. Yuan Yu about this matter. Yu Sui immediately received a call from his mother.

“Son, do you have a cold or a fever?”

“Does the school just let you stay in the dormitory while you’re sick?”

Hearing her aggressive tone, Yu Sui guessed that his mother was probably free. Terrified that she might actually show up at the school, he forced a dry laugh and said, “I’m not sick. Just tired, and skipped the class.”

Yuan Yu didn’t press further. After a long pause, she muttered, “If your dad finds out, he’ll scold you again.”

But Yu Sui knew Yuan Yu would not complain to Yu Jingyuan, so he remained completely unbothered.

Not long after, a group chat of “a loving family” popped up. Yu Zhen called Yu Sui in it, asking him to go home for dinner on the weekend, because Yan Ying’s family, along with that “family friend brother” who attended the same school as Yu Sui, were coming over for a meal.

This person most likely learned from Yuan Yu that Yu Sui did not attend class, which is why he sent this message during class time.

The young master, dragging his weary head, waited for a long time and finally managed to summon a bit of drowsiness. He had only just fallen asleep when Yan Xiu entered the room.

Annoyed, Yu Sui kicked off the blanket. The early autumn breeze drifted in through the window. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he let out a loud sneeze and felt like he might actually be getting sick.

Yan Xiu moved Yang Feiwen’s chair and waited for the water to boil at the table.

Bottled up with sleep-induced irritation, Yu Sui forgot his embarrassment for a moment.

With the window wide open and the air conditioner off, aside from the breeze coming up from the winder, the room felt unbearably stuffy.

“Why are you here?” Yu Sui said in a muffled voice, pursing his lips uncomfortably.

Yan Xiu didn’t even turn his head: “What do you think?”

The boy’s sleeves were noticeably loose, and his collar was folded down to his collarbone. The sweltering temperature that bothered Yu Sui didn’t seem to affect him in the slightest.

Yan Xiu took out a green pack from the plastic bag next to him and tore it open.

Yu Sui, who had been stretching his leg out, suddenly froze. He glanced over hesitantly, and in an instant, everything came rushing back to him.

It was a bag of medicine—Yan Xiu took out something like cold medicine.

The young master silently retracted his leg and touched his forehead, wondering if he could get sick on the spot or something.