Chapter 2: The Devil Beside You (Part 2)

  The next morning, Lin teacher called Qiao Anyu out of the classroom.

  "Yu Liang, the teacher wants to put you and Zi Mo together. As a class cadre, you should help him with his studies."

  Shu Zimo?

  Qiao Anyu's eyebrows slightly furrowed.

  That boy who always argues with the teacher in class? The boy who colludes with his deskmate to bully girls, watches as they cry and then laughs loudly himself? The boy who usually copies homework, cheats on exams and is ranked at the bottom of his grade? The boy who always wears a menacing expression that looks like he's about to eat someone? The boy who can retort ten times for every one sentence you say to him? The boy who is late or leaves early with an air of confidence while wearing slippers in class? The boy who looks handsome and refined, has a elegant name but has a fiery temper like chili peppers?

  The more I think of this person, the more I feel that he is hideous, as if he were standing right in front of me, opening his bloody mouth wide, ready to swallow me whole into his equally detestable stomach.

  All that comes to Qiao An Yu's mind when thinking of him is the phrase "notorious". His numerous evil deeds are simply too heinous to be recorded.

  I'm actually being asked to sit at the same table as this person!

  Helpless, it's hard to disobey the teacher's order.

  Teacher Lin saw that she didn't respond, didn't nod or shake her head, and said: "Zi Mo is a bit difficult to get along with. In some things, you should give in to him more, don't argue with him. He can't do anything alone, at most he will just show off his eloquence for a while, you ignore him and he won't be able to do anything to you. Listen to the teacher, don't have a direct conflict with him. I'll talk to him properly on that side. If you've suffered any grievances, tell the teacher, don't keep it in your heart, understand? Help him more in his studies."

  Qiao An nodded reluctantly.

  Ms. Lin had taught her for five years and held herself in high esteem, while she also respected her very much. As for the matter of switching seats, even if she had a hundred unwillingnesses in her heart, she would not refuse the teacher to her face. Perhaps there was also a psychology of fear of losing favor at work.

  Back to her seat, the original deskmate Leng Bing had been driven away by Shu Zimo. She was also making a bitter face, sitting in Shu Zimo's original position, frowning and looking at the new deskmate Qin Hui who was jumping up and down.

  Qiao An Yulian's seat was by the window, Shu Zimo sat inside. As soon as she arrived, he said: "You're just in time." He then took out a small knife from his pencil case, revealing its sharp blade and reflecting white light. Qiao An Yulian was startled and wanted to turn around and run away, but he heavily carved a mark on the table, dividing it into three parts outside and seven parts inside.

  "Listen up, this is the 38th parallel. From now on, we won't interfere with each other's business, and neither of us will owe anything to the other. If you cross this line, you'll have to bear the consequences!" Shu Zimo warned Qiao Anyu coldly.

  Qiao Anyu looked at her small desktop and couldn't help but protest: "It's not fair! Why only give me a little space!"

  "There are two reasons: Firstly, you sit outside and your arms can stretch out of the desk, while I can only lean against the wall; Secondly, I am a boy, relatively tall and big, so I must occupy more space."

  Qiao Anyu compared the two men's heights in her heart, and he was a head shorter than herself. He said that he was tall and handsome without any shame, it seemed that she had to reevaluate this person's thickness of skin again.

  She suppressed her smile: "This won't do, I disagree, let's go halves!"

  Shu Zimo forcibly re-drew that "38th parallel line": "You can't help it. Love to sit or not, mind your own business!"

  Just as Qiao Anyu was about to lose her temper, she remembered Mr. Lin's words and muttered to herself: "Endure for a moment, the wind and waves will calm down; take a step back, the sea and sky will be vast. Forget it, I won't bother with this childish boy, so as not to lower my own status."

  It's okay, during the first class of the two sitting at the same table, Shu Zimo was still quite well-behaved, although he didn't listen attentively to the lesson, he quietly indulged in his own boredom without affecting the surrounding classmates' learning.

  Qiao Anyu was sulking today, the sun rose from the west, and Shu Zimo surprisingly became a good citizen who respected his teachers and followed the rules, stubbornly not causing any trouble in the first three classes. The fourth class was self-study, and the bell rang.