MCFEM C9

Chapter 9: He Was Exactly the Kind of Person He Looked Down On the Most…

The next day, Ying Jiayi did not come to class.

Nie Ying, the school bully who skipped classes all year round, surprisingly showed up early. Only, his face didn’t look too good—tape was stuck across his cheek, and he radiated a suffocating hostility that told everyone to keep away.

His seat was at the back, long legs stretched across the aisle. No one could get past him without either awkwardly stepping over or asking him to move his legs—neither of which anyone dared. Afraid of getting beaten for no reason, students chose to detour around the front instead.

“So unlucky this early in the morning.” Yu Bai muttered the words out through his throat the moment he walked into the classroom and saw the sight.

But unfortunately, his usual partner-in-complaints wasn’t here today. Gu Yang had come, but as always, he was slumped over his desk asleep. His seat was far from Nie Ying’s, the two of them keeping an almost “you stay out of my water, I stay out of yours” distance.

The math teacher entered carrying a stack of papers. Looking around at the sparse classroom, he already knew today wasn’t going to be any different.

The only consolation was that today’s attendance was better than on most days.

He had received the monthly exam results from the year leader that morning, and by routine, posted the paper on the small blackboard.

As he did this, many students had already lowered their heads to check their phones.

Guanguan High School had no restrictions against phone use. Backed by Wanhe Education, they had even developed a dedicated app, Wanyin, for students.

Its functions included—but weren’t limited to—meal card top-ups, classroom reservations, grade releases, timetable inquiries, activity notices, company contact searches, and basically anything a student might need during school. The attention to detail was almost neurotic.

So at Guanguan High, students basically carried more than one electronic device each.

“Shit, terrible.” Yu Bai glanced at his scores and covered his face in despair. “There goes my allowance this month.”

When he felt miserable, he couldn’t help but drag someone else in. He pushed at the motionless figure beside him and whispered the words that haunted every student’s dreams:

“Wake up, don’t sleep. Results are out.”

But clearly this trick didn’t work on Gu Yang. After being jostled several times, he finally raised his head reluctantly, glanced at his phone, and tossed out a breezy, “Maintained,” before going straight back to sleep.

Yu Bai: “…”

To someone who didn’t know better, it would sound like some low-key study god delivering a calm “still first place” statement.

But Yu Bai knew full well what Gu Yang’s level was.

“This time, first place is again Song Yinxing from Class Ten. He’s thirty points above the second.”

“Damn, that’s impressive.”

“Did you guys hear? During the math test, they caught two students cheating in his exam hall—both just happened to be seated next to him.” Ye Chen wore an innocent smile, but his words dripped with malice. “What a coincidence, huh?”

“What do you mean?” Yu Bai asked, unable to resist his curiosity, even though he hated dealing with Ye Chen.

“Paying to cheat, of course,” Ye Chen said, winking. “It happens every test. The exam halls are assigned randomly. You just need to bribe a broke special-admission student to play along.”

“Oh… really.” Yu Bai let out a couple of dry laughs, glancing sideways and cursing himself for asking.

“Hah. What won’t paupers do?” Nie Ying suddenly cut in.

The entire room fell into awkward silence. Several people exchanged looks. They’d been classmates for a while, but still couldn’t get used to Nie Ying’s habit of spitting out crude, low-class comments.

Who cared what he thought—did he have to say it out loud? It was so cheap.

Everyone knew Madame Nie disliked her son and hadn’t raised him personally.

Seeing him now, the rumors seemed very believable.

“Nie Ying.” The class monitor’s voice was warm but firm. “Our school’s special-admission students are selected based on middle school entrance exam scores. They receive tuition waivers. It has nothing to do with family background. If you’re so capable, why don’t you try for it?”

“He Ming’an.” Nie Ying sneered. Already full of anger, he was like a powder keg waiting to ignite. Now he had his spark. He stood abruptly, kicking away the desk in front of him.

The classmates nearby jumped in fright and scrambled away, not wanting to get caught in the mess.

“Was it you yesterday? Did you call my old man and snitch? I discipline some ungrateful special-admission kids, and you’ve gotta stick your nose in?”

“You just can’t stop meddling, can you? Do you think this whole school belongs to you, huh?”

But the monitor sat unmoved, still composed and genteel. “School rules prohibit violence. Every semester we have a themed class meeting about it. Why can’t you remember?”

Nie Ying glared coldly at him, then suddenly seemed to recall something. He exaggerated an expression of mock realization. “Oh, I forgot. Don’t you have a little brother? Didn’t your dad shove him in here under the title of ‘special admission’? No wonder you jumped when I mentioned it.”

For the first time, He Ming’an’s smile vanished. His hands folded calmly on the desk, betraying no emotion despite Nie Ying’s aggression.

Yu Bai’s face stiffened. He didn’t understand exactly what Nie Ying meant, but the classroom atmosphere was already unbearable.

He felt an elbow jab into his side. Glancing over, he saw Ye Chen snickering, silently mouthing three words: so despicable.

Gu Yang was no longer asleep. His pale eyes glanced up at He Ming’an’s now expressionless face, then shifted to Nie Ying.

“So, you brothers are that close? You keep in touch privately too?” Nie Ying leaned closer, bracing a hand on He Ming’an’s desk, mocking him. “Does your mom know about this?”

[Nie Ying probably doesn’t know. The real reason Madame Nie doesn’t acknowledge him…]

The charged air between He Ming’an and Nie Ying snapped toward Gu Yang as Nie Ying’s bloodshot eyes locked onto him.

What?

The entire class atmosphere flipped instantly.

The students, who had been tensely watching, all perked up.

Gu Yang was about to start again.

[That’s because Nie Ying isn’t Madame Nie’s biological son at all. He was born to one of the Nie family’s maids.]

[If Nie Ying knew he was exactly the kind of person he despised most, what kind of face would he make?]

From Nie Ying’s view, the pale boy leaning on his desk curved his lips into a half-smile, half-smirk. Though he seemed to be looking at him, there was also an emptiness in those eyes, unreadable, infuriating.

Nie Ying hated that look most of all.

His mind went blank. He lunged to drag Gu Yang out of his seat.

But a nearby classmate acted faster, stepping in to block him despite the risk of retaliation.

They all wanted the same thing: Don’t interrupt. Let him finish spilling the tea first.

“Nie Ying, do you know?” Gu Yang pushed himself up from the desk. “You’re actually—”

Before he could finish, Yu Bai clamped a hand over his mouth, forcibly silencing him.

They had wanted to hear more gossip. But they hadn’t expected Gu Yang to think it one second and say it out loud the next. His execution was terrifyingly swift.

Outside, students were gathering at the door to watch the commotion. On the podium, the math teacher raised his hand, trembling like Erkang, but no one paid him any attention.

Yu Bai felt like a saint. He wasn’t even sure he could survive hearing this secret himself, and now he had to protect everyone else too.

Just then, the math teacher finally mustered the courage to speak, weakly: “Students, if you have something to say, talk it out. Don’t—don’t fight…”

But his plea had barely left his mouth when Nie Ying, unable to endure any longer, swung a fist into the face of the classmate blocking him. With a muffled groan, the boy struck back. The two of them wrestled to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

Ye Chen let out a whistle and pulled out his phone to start recording.

Yu Bai stretched out his hand helplessly, but it was useless. Meanwhile, Gu Yang simply let out a soft “wow,” leaning forward to observe the fight.

While Nie Ying still held the upper hand, Gu Yang decided to add fuel to the fire: “Nie Ying, actually—”

Yu Bai clamped his mouth shut again.

This time, Gu Yang grew annoyed. He slapped Yu Bai’s hand away and asked, expressionless, “What are you doing?”

Yu Bai’s face was etched with despair. “I’m begging you, Ancestor. Isn’t this chaos enough for you already?”

Seriously, stop. Everyone already knew what you were about to say, and the fight was literally because of it.

“What’s going on in here? Stop this at once!” The vice-principal’s furious shout echoed through the entire corridor.

The flames of conflict, stoked to boiling, finally cooled under the weight of authority.

This was a vicious public brawl. Without a doubt, Nie Ying had been the instigator. But given that he was the son of the Nie Group—a close partner of Wanhe Education—the school couldn’t simply punish him harshly.

Still, fighting in class was unacceptable, especially with so many witnesses. The vice-principal had no choice but to call his parents and arrange a suspension.

Nie Ying had several cuts across his face, a bruise at his lip. With hands stuffed in his pockets, he leaned against the podium.

When he heard the vice-principal dialing his mother, veins bulged at his forehead. His glare at Gu Yang was sharp enough to kill. He spat out a threat: “Just you wait.”

But Gu Yang only smirked, mocking, as though amused.

A moment later, the sharp click of high heels echoed from the corridor.

A cold-faced woman entered. Her expression remained utterly indifferent—even toward her son. She didn’t so much as glance at him. She simply nodded politely to the director. “Mr. He.”

“Thank you for coming in person, Madame Nie.” Despite Nie Ying being at fault, the vice-principal remained overly polite. As a He family collateral himself, and with ties to the school board, he knew well enough how to navigate these circles.

“It’s fine. I was passing by anyway.” The woman smiled politely. “This child is useless, causing trouble for you. I’ll take him back and let his father discipline him.”

Her words left no room for defense. Everyone present couldn’t help but click their tongues.

They had all heard rumors of the poor mother-son relationship. But to see it this starkly—like strangers—was shocking.

Gu Yang’s earlier words about Nie Ying being the maid’s son now seemed far more credible.

“Enough talk. If I’m suspended, I’m suspended. What’s the point of dragging this out?” Nie Ying snapped, impatience covering the panic gnawing at him. He just wanted to get away—somewhere alone, to confirm the truth.

The vice-principal shut his mouth, turning a troubled look toward Madame Nie.

She bowed slightly in apology and prepared to leave with him.

[On Nie Ying’s eighteenth birthday, Madame Nie gave him a DNA report as his coming-of-age gift.]

[And it was precisely this matter that would one day drag Song Yinxing into an inescapable hell.]