Volume One: High School Days Chapter Seventeen: The Farce of New Year's Eve

More than three months had passed since the promotional film incident, and during this time, Xia Yao had demonstrated an exceptional business acumen, making the subsequent publicity remarkably successful. Even Liu Sheng’s classmates discussed “Shan Hai Lun” every day.

On the morning of Lunar New Year’s Eve, Liu Sheng rose unusually early. At midnight on New Year’s Day, “Shan Hai Lun” would premiere in theaters nationwide. He had arranged to see the first screening with Ren Xia Dong, Xiao Ya, and Liu Meng.

Because it was New Year’s Eve, his father’s hot pot restaurant was busier than ever, with his mother assisting and his younger brother accompanying their parents to the restaurant. With nothing to do, Liu Sheng accepted Xiao Ya’s invitation. After carefully dressing, he rode his electric scooter to her home for lunch.

On the way, Liu Sheng bought many things. Unlike his previous visit, which had been a performance, the extended time spent together had made him truly fall for Xiao Ya, and this time he wanted to impress her.

Upon arriving at her home, Liu Sheng found no sign of Xiao Ya’s family.

“Where is your family?” he asked.

While cooking, Xiao Ya replied, “They’ve gone to my grandmother’s house. They’re celebrating New Year’s there this year.”

“So all these things I bought are wasted then?” Liu Sheng entered the kitchen and suddenly embraced Xiao Ya from behind. She smiled happily and said, “Let go, I’m cooking.”

After their meal, Liu Sheng lay on the sofa with his head resting on Xiao Ya’s lap. The two sat in silence, gazing at each other. The quiet was profound, as if time itself had stopped, their feelings deepening. Their breathing grew more rapid. Liu Sheng suddenly sat up and pressed Xiao Ya down onto the sofa, his body covering hers.

Just as his lips were about to meet hers, Liu Sheng’s phone rang.

“Damn it! Who the hell is calling at this moment?” he grumbled, picking up his phone. Seeing Ren Xia Dong’s name, he was about to answer when Xiao Ya snatched the phone and flung it aside, quickly wrapping her arms around Liu Sheng’s neck and pulling him down, kissing him firmly—their first kiss.

Liu Sheng, lost in the moment, hurriedly began removing his clothes. Just then, the phone rang again. He picked it up once more—still Ren Xia Dong.

Liu Sheng thought, “My biggest regret isn’t meeting you. It’s giving you a damn phone!” Over the past three months, Ren Xia Dong had often accompanied Liu Sheng to Jing City. For convenience, Liu Sheng had gifted him a smartphone.

Xiao Ya pushed Liu Sheng away, slowly putting back on her half-removed clothes, saying, “Answer it. In case it’s something urgent.”

Liu Sheng, watching her dress, answered the phone with a harsh tone: “If this isn’t important, you’re dead!”

“I just saw Tao Nan. She was dragged under the bridge near the school by a few people. Li Dong is there too—he’s badly injured,” Ren Xia Dong said urgently.

Xiao Ya overheard. Liu Sheng hesitated because she was there, but Xiao Ya said, “I’ll go with you.”

Liu Sheng then took Xiao Ya to the bridge near the school. Ren Xia Dong saw them arrive and walked over, saying, “They’re under the bridge. All are students from our school—third-years.”

Liu Sheng told Xiao Ya to ride the scooter and keep her distance, then he and Ren Xia Dong headed under the bridge.

Beneath the bridge, four third-year male students were present. Three were beating Li Dong, while the fourth held onto Tao Nan, saying, “Look at him—useless. He won’t fight back or talk back. You won’t get anywhere with him. Be with me, I’ll protect you.”

Tao Nan cried, pleading, “Stop hitting him, please, I beg you!”

The student holding Tao Nan shouted, “Break up with him, and they’ll stop. If not, I’ll cripple him today!”

Tao Nan bit her lip, torn as she looked at the battered Li Dong—about to agree—when Liu Sheng suddenly flew in with a kick, sending the student holding Tao Nan crashing to the ground.

Liu Sheng mounted the fallen third-year and pummeled his face with fist after fist. The other three rushed to help, but Ren Xia Dong blocked them, leading to a scuffle.

Seeing the third-year student cowering, Liu Sheng stood up and rushed at the other three, landing blow after blow, shouting at Li Dong, “If you’re a man, get up and help!”

The student who had been holding Tao Nan got up, grabbed a brick, and tried to attack Liu Sheng. As he approached, Li Dong ran over and shoved him aside.

Liu Sheng smiled at Li Dong, saying nothing. For Liu Sheng and Ren Xia Dong, veterans of many fights, these four were no challenge. Within moments, all four third-years lay defeated.

One of them threatened, “When school starts, I’ll kill you! If you dare, don’t come back!”

Ren Xia Dong kicked him hard and retorted, “Save your boasting—I’ve never been afraid of anyone. School starts? I’ll be waiting for you in Class 1, Grade 1!”

After the fight, seeing Li Dong still bleeding, Liu Sheng said, “Let’s go to the hospital for treatment.”

Li Dong protested, “I’m fine, I won’t go!”

“There’s no one else here, stop pretending and hurry up!” Ren Xia Dong scolded.

Li Dong insisted, “I appreciate it, really. I owe you both. I’ll repay you someday. But I don’t want my family to know. My mom forbids early relationships. If she finds out, she’ll force us apart! No way!”

Liu Sheng understood and said, “I can cover the medical expenses.”

Only then did Ren Xia Dong realize that a hospital visit wouldn’t cost less than a few hundred—no student goes out carrying that much money, not even for a cold.

Hearing Liu Sheng would pay, Li Dong stopped hesitating. Xiao Ya took Li Dong and Tao Nan by taxi to the nearest hospital, while Liu Sheng rode his scooter with Ren Xia Dong in pursuit.

On the way, Liu Sheng asked, “How did you happen to catch this?”

Ren Xia Dong, shivering from the cold, replied, “It wasn’t coincidence. I knew ahead of time—a cousin from my uncle’s side visited. He’s their classmate. When Li Dong was beaten, someone filmed it and posted it in their WeChat group. I saw it, but I couldn’t take them alone, so I called you.”

Though Liu Sheng and Ren Xia Dong were notorious troublemakers, their attitude was clear: classmates could be bullied by them, but if anyone else tried, they’d fight back.

Liu Sheng asked, “Do you know what happened?”

Ren Xia Dong replied, “Yes. One of them likes Tao Nan. The four met Li Dong on his way home from the internet café, beat him up, then forced him to call Tao Nan to lure her out. When she arrived, they dragged her under the bridge—what you saw happened next!”

Liu Sheng commented, “They deserved the beating today. Matters of the heart are about sincerity, not fists.”

Ren Xia Dong burst out laughing and after a moment said, “Tao Nan just transferred here. Don’t forget who punched Li Dong in the garden for Tao Nan.”

Liu Sheng said nothing, pushing his scooter to the hospital as fast as possible.

At the hospital, Xiao Ya paid the fees. Li Dong was being treated and examined. Waiting outside, Xiao Ya said to Tao Nan, “Hello, Tao Nan, I’m Liu Sheng’s girlfriend.”

Tao Nan looked at her in surprise. “He’s never mentioned that.”

“But he’s often talked about you,” Xiao Ya replied.

Though their relationship was deepening, Liu Sheng hadn’t officially announced it, so Tao Nan’s ignorance was natural. Yet Liu Sheng had been troubled over Tao Nan for some time—her name had come up at least a hundred times in Xiao Ya’s hearing.

While they talked, Liu Sheng and Ren Xia Dong arrived. Seeing the two chatting, Ren Xia Dong remarked, “These two sitting together, chatting like old friends—miraculous! At least they’re not fighting!”

It’s said rivals fight when they meet, but Tao Nan had never liked Liu Sheng, so there was no rivalry—unlike with Xiao Ya and Liu Meng, whose rivalry was overt and covert. If they met alone, one wouldn’t leave alive.

To ease his own awkwardness, Liu Sheng sat to the side, pretending to look at his phone, though he had nothing to look at—just to seem occupied.

Xiao Ya then said to Tao Nan, “Let’s watch the movie together tonight—‘Shan Hai Lun’.”

Except for Ren Xia Dong, none knew “Shan Hai Lun” was Liu Sheng’s work. Liu Sheng once craved wealth, but after gaining it, he longed for a normal life. Everyone saw him as just another high school student, unaware that he was vice editor-in-chief of Senhai Animation, the nation’s largest anime company.

Tao Nan, hearing the mention of “Shan Hai Lun,” exclaimed, “I saw the trailer—it’s an epic anime film. I really, really want to watch it!”

But then she looked crestfallen. “That’s why tickets are so hard to get—and so expensive.”

“Liu Sheng has tickets—lots of them!” Xiao Ya said again.

Indeed, the creator of “Shan Hai Lun” wouldn’t lack tickets. Senhai Animation had its own cinemas in every major city. Liu Sheng only needed to make a call to reserve the whole theater for the premiere.

Liu Sheng said, “Tickets aren’t a problem. If you want to watch, the premiere is at midnight. Let’s find somewhere to have dinner, sing some songs, and near midnight, we’ll head to Senhai International Cinema.”

Ren Xia Dong chimed in, “Let’s go to Nightshade KTV. I hear there are hostesses pouring drinks—each one more beautiful than the last!”

Liu Sheng knew exactly what he meant—women who sang and drank with guests.

But Xiao Ya quickly objected, “No! I don’t like singing. Let’s have dinner at my place tonight. No one’s home, we can drink, and it’s much more comfortable!”

Ren Xia Dong, upon hearing “drink,” said eagerly, “Ah, drinks! Anywhere’s fine, let’s go with Sister Xiao Ya’s plan!”

As long as Ren Xia Dong could drink, nothing else mattered to him.