I ignored him and just held Xia Xue's hand. Xia Xue made a sound of "huh," but I didn't give her time to refuse. I just pulled her and ran out of the classroom. Our departure was so abrupt that our desks were shifted quite a bit.

In this quiet classroom, there was an incredibly loud noise.

The whole class watched us run out hand in hand.

The sunlight was warm on our backs.

I held Xia Xue's hand and ran out of the classroom, out of the teaching building. I knew if Xia Xue struggled, she could easily free herself from my grasp. But she didn't, she let me pull her and run, run across this empty campus. We ran all the way to the school gate; it's not allowed to go out during class. The gatekeeper stopped us in our tracks, and I gasped, saying, "Sir, I need to go out, I have something urgent!"

The gatekeeper smiled at me, "Aren't you the one who was confessing to the girl with candles outside the teaching building? And this is that girl..."

I was speechless, never expected to become so famous.

"Originally, I wouldn't let you out," the gatekeeper opened the gate, turning his head aside.

The message was clear, I held Xia Xue's hand, and we walked out of the gate in a hurry.

We kept running, not feeling tired at all, running until we stopped by a quiet artificial lake.

This was the most beautiful place near the school, and I wanted to confess here again.

By the lakeside, Xia Xue and I stood face to face. Xia Xue's face turned red from running, and she said with a hint of annoyance, "What are you doing..."

"Xia Xue," I said heavily, "Be my girlfriend, I will treat you well."

"Wang Hao," Xia Xue said with a helpless tone, "Didn't I tell you already? I have a boyfriend..."

"Do you know what kind of person he is?" I said, "He changes girlfriends almost every day."

"He hasn't changed girlfriends," Xia Xue lowered her head, saying softly, "Including me, all those girls are his girlfriends."

"How could it be?!" I widened my eyes, "How can one person have so many girlfriends at the same time?!"

"It's true," Xia Xue said, somewhat helplessly, "There's nothing we can do. If you want to be Su Xiaobai's girlfriend, you have to tolerate the existence of other girls. He made it clear to us when we were with him."

"Did he force you?" I sounded really anxious. This doesn't make sense...

"No," Xia Xue said, "It's all voluntary."

This was just too illogical, Su Xiaobai seemed to be like an emperor, having so many beautiful girlfriends at the same time? In a situation where most men are still single, one person monopolizing so many girls, it's really unreasonable.

Seeing my puzzled expression, Xia Xue explained, "Su Xiaobai is the kind of guy that girls fall in love with at first sight. There are definitely a lot of girls who would do anything for him. I don't know why, but he just has this kind of charm that makes us girls love him unconditionally. Even if... even if he has other girlfriends..."

After hearing Xia Xue's words, I almost wanted to vomit blood. "My god, are you all crazy? Su Xiaobai is just a little handsome, is it really necessary to go to such lengths?" I used to think Su Xiaobai was just diligent in changing girlfriends, but I didn't expect him to be dating so many girls at the same time!

"It's prestigious to have Su Xiaobai by your side," Xia Xue lowered her head, "All the girls will envy you. Being with him makes you the center of attention."

I couldn't stand it anymore.

I grabbed Xia Xue's shoulders, shaking her head desperately, like shaking the head of the boss of a cybercafe.

"Wake up, that just satisfies your vanity, you may not actually love him!" From the perspective of an outsider, I could understand the psychology of these girls to some extent. It's like the "atmosphere-infecting" technique commonly used in pyramid schemes; seeing everyone around you crazily infatuated with this guy, you can't help but imitate their behavior. Most people have a herd mentality, Su Xiaobai's handsomeness and elegance can indeed conquer many girls' hearts, the more people like him, the more people will be attracted to him.

Xia Xue didn't speak, her eyes showing some confusion.

"Listen," I said, "Let me ask you, do you feel jealous when you see Su Xiaobai with other girls?"

"No," Xia Xue said, "Isn't that normal? Su Xiaobai is so handsome, of course everyone wants to be his girlfriend."

"That's it," I snapped my fingers, "When you love someone, you naturally want to possess all of them, how could you not feel jealous when you see him with other girls? This alone proves that you don't actually love him."

"I love him," Xia Xue said, "We were in the same school in junior high, I collected a lot of his photos and wrote him many love letters. I would even get angry when I see the girls around him aren't pretty enough, thinking how can those girls match Su Xiaobai."

I sighed deeply, "Hopeless."

Xia Xue, at this age, is in the idol-worshipping stage. Su Xiaobai is the idol of many girls, but not necessarily the person they want to spend their lives with. In their hearts, Su Xiaobai is flawless, like a star in a movie.

I think I've found the answer.

"What did you say? Who's hopeless?!" Xia Xue glared at me angrily.

"It's nothing, it's nothing," I ruffled Xia Xue's hair again, really getting addicted to it, and she didn't dodge either. Then I confidently said, "I will make you understand, you don't love Su Xiaobai at all."

"Then who do I love?" Xia Xue asked in confusion.

"Me," I pointed to my nose.

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"I, love you?" Xia Xue giggled, "Wang Hao, I admit you're a very good friend. I do enjoy being with you, but saying that I love you, that's just not possible. I've liked Su Xiaobai for many years."

"So what?" I said smugly, "I've liked Andy Lau for many years too, doesn't mean I want to be gay with him."

"It's not the same," Xia Xue shook her head, apparently not realizing the issue.

"Just wait and see," I said, feeling confident. I already had a plan, now it was just about executing it. But time was running short, I had to speed up. Changing the subject, I and Xia Xue took a walk along the lakeside. Along the way, I held her hand, and she hesitated for a moment but didn't pull away.

"If you don't like me, why let me hold your hand?" I asked.

"I'm afraid you'll get angry," Xia Xue said, "I'm especially afraid of seeing you angry. Earlier in the classroom, when you looked at me expressionlessly, it really scared me. When you punched Zou Yang, it was that same look."

"I'm sorry," I sincerely apologized, realizing I had frightened Xia Xue.

"It's okay," Xia Xue smiled, "Wang Hao, when you were confessing under the teaching building before, and I was about to impulsively accept, but thinking about Su Xiaobai, I had to reject you firmly. I was so afraid of losing you as a friend!"

Xia Xue kept saying we were just friends, but here we were, holding hands and walking along the lake. To outsiders, it would be hard to believe we weren't a couple. Even I was getting a little confused; what exactly defines a couple?

After walking for a while, we slowly returned to school. The gatekeeper saw us coming back, smiling so much his eyebrows almost arched. I knew he must have thought I had succeeded, but only I knew the pain involved. Back in the classroom, it was already time for dismissal. The class, which was previously noisy, quieted down when they saw us. I knew they must think Xia Xue and I were together now, but only I knew the pain involved.

Back at my desk, Liu Zihong mysteriously said, "Brother Hao, you're awesome, we guys are all proud of you. You're the first one at Chenggao to defeat Su Xiaobai, truly irresistible charm, when are you treating us to a meal?"

"I don't have money," I teased him, "Zou Yang has money, go ask him."

Liu Zihong blushed and didn't say anything more.

I seemed to have become a celebrity at school.

The reason I became famous was for fighting Hong Li. Although Hong Li wasn't one of the bigwigs at Chenggao, he was the top fighter under Mai Zi's command. The news of me fighting Hong Li spread throughout the school slowly, and many students from the same grade looked at me with wary eyes. I felt like I was on the same level as Ye Zhan and Li Jie, or maybe even worse. No, I'm not a thug, I genuinely hated that term. But that's how others saw me, so I had a few more followers around me now, probably hoping I'd cover for them if something happened.

Among these followers, besides Liu Zihong who was in the same class as me, the others were boys from different classes. There were boys from my class who wanted to follow me too, but I couldn't be bothered with them. Just the thought of them once joining Zou Yang to exclude me made me angry, so I didn't bother with them. Liu Zihong was different; at least he didn't try to kick me when I was down, and he always helped me at critical moments by passing on information. As for my dormitory mates, we were just occasionally together.

But my dormitory mates were very proud of me, boasting about how I beat Zou Yang, how I beat Hong Li, how I handled Xia Xue, as if they had seen it all firsthand. One night, as I was lying on my bed in the dormitory, about to sleep, a dorm mate suddenly burst in, looking mournful and said, "Brother Hao, I got beaten up, you gotta help me."

"What happened? Take your time," I leisurely hung my washed socks on the railing and yawned, pretending to be sleepy.

"Tonight, at the cafeteria, I accidentally stepped on someone's foot while lining up for food. I didn't apologize at the time, so he cursed at me a few times, and I cursed back. Then we all dispersed. I thought nothing of it, but after evening self-study, he dragged me into the bathroom and beat me up." This classmate of mine had a swollen face and looked seriously injured, the grievance in his heart was evident.

"Mm," I said, "Go find Li Jie then, he's the boss of our class."

"Now you're the boss of our class," the classmate said, lowering his head submissively. "And Li Jie only cares about money. Without money, he won't do anything."

"Heh, do you think I'm definitely going to help you?" I coldly looked at the classmate, remembering how he had sided with Zou Yang against me in the past.

"Brother Hao, everyone says you're a good person, they say you have a kind heart," the classmate said tearfully, "You must help me. That guy said he'll beat me every time he sees me, I don't know what to do!"

I ignored him, picked up a book, and started reading.

"Brother Hao..." the classmate was on the verge of tears, shaking my leg incessantly.

I looked at him again, tears welling in his miserable face. It was quite pitiful.

Oh well.

I tossed the book aside, got off the bed, and put on my slippers.

"Let's go."

Following that classmate, we entered another dormitory, also from our first year. The atmosphere in the dormitory was originally good, but as soon as I entered and they saw my face, the atmosphere froze.

I sat down on a bed nearby and asked my classmate, "Who beat you?"

The classmate pointed at a student inside washing his feet, "It's him!"

"Mm," I carefully looked at the person, indeed burly and strong, probably on par with Zou Yang, I definitely couldn't beat him.

So I said, "You know what to do."

Hearing this, the classmate immediately kicked the student, directly knocking him off the bed and spilling the foot-washing water all over the floor.

"Aren't you badass? You're so badass!" the classmate kicked the student fiercely, "Brother Hao's here, you think you're tough?!"

The student lay on the ground, being punched and kicked by the classmate, not daring to fight back, constantly saying, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

I watched them dumbfounded. Originally, after determining that I couldn't beat the student, I intended to let my classmate apologize to him, shake hands, and let bygones be bygones. That's why I said, "You know what to do." But my classmate obviously misunderstood, thinking I was backing him up and letting him do whatever he wanted, so he kicked out boldly.

Damn, this could get someone killed. That burly student could definitely handle both of us, and this was his dormitory. Once he closed the door, we'd be lambs to the slaughter! But the student didn't fight back, and the other students in the dormitory stood quietly, nobody coming forward to stop the fight. My classmate beat up the student fiercely, then arrogantly said, "Remember, Brother Hao is the boss of our class, watch where you're going in the future! Damn, don't act blind."

The spilled foot-washing water spread all over the floor, and everyone in the dormitory looked at us with fearful eyes. My classmate and I left the dormitory inexplicably.

Back in my dormitory, the classmate said excitedly, "Brother Hao, thank you. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't know what to do..."

"It's okay, it's okay..." I waved my hand, that's all I could say.

Other people in the dormitory crowded around, asking about what happened with the classmate just now.

"After all, Brother Hao is truly impressive. Just sitting there, not a single person dared to breathe, it was like entering a morgue!" The classmate went on and on, "Brother Hao gave me endless confidence and courage, allowing me to avenge this great grievance. What Zou Yang, Li Jie, they're all nothing compared to Brother Hao. He's the most reliable, I'll be Brother Hao's most loyal little brother from now on!"

The other people in the dormitory all cast respectful glances at me, making me feel a bit uncomfortable.

After this incident, several other classmates in our class gradually approached me, mostly having been bullied by students from other classes. Every time, it was the same; as soon as I sat there, no one dared to make a sound. Suddenly, I felt that being a thug wasn't so difficult after all. Just need to make a name for yourself in one battle, and the rest of the time, just maintain a stern expression, an icy demeanor, and you're good.

At the very least, my reputation quickly spread throughout the first year, and wherever I went, I had a few little brothers following me. I was almost on par with Ye Zhan and Li Jie, one of the small bosses.

The second reason for my rise to fame was naturally the confession in front of the teaching building. It truly caused a sensation throughout the campus. For a moment, from teachers to students, from the gatekeeper to the janitors, everyone knew about me. Wherever I went, people were pointing and talking.

"Look, that's the student who set up candles and roses in front of the teaching building to confess. They say he didn't succeed, the girl didn't pay attention to him." "It's him, too bad there were too many people last time, couldn't see his face clearly, but this time, finally saw him in person." "Our school also has such a romantic guy, why wouldn't the girl like him? If it were me, I would have pounced on him long ago!"