Peer Pressure

"Hah…" Lin Chen stretched both his hands backwards as he yawned. The first class break had started, and all the students in the classroom were now up on their feet and moving around.

'Well, this is nice..' A faint smile had formed on Lin Chen's face as he leaned back on his chair and scanned the entire classroom. Even after everything in his life went to shit, he still couldn't help but feel nostalgic about his school life.

"Hey Lin Chen!" Fang Meng waved his arms at him as he sat down next to Lin Chen and patted him on the back. "Since you're playing the bad boy today, want to ditch class and head to the rooftop?"

"Sure, why not?" Lin Chen shrugged his shoulders. He didn't care about the classes nor the attendance anymore. After all, only the entrance exams mattered to get into universities, and he already had enough attendance to pass the academic year. There was no need for perfection when it's not necessary.

"Wow! What am I hearing? The perfect student Lin Chen is planning on ditching class?" A snarky voice made Lin Chen turn around with a look of annoyance on his face. Behind him stood a youth wearing glasses, with braces on his teeth and neatly combed black hair. The boy was looking at him with disdain in his eyes, and Lin Chen couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Ahhh! It's a troll!" Fang Meng screamed as soon as he turned around, after which his fearful expression turned to that of relief, and he continued, "Ah, scratch that. It's just Bai Ailun. Phew, that scared me for a second there!"

"Shut up fat-ass!" Bai Ailun yelled angrily at Fang Meng for making fun of him.

"Fuck off cunt!" Fang Meng sneered in response to Bai Ailun, happy that his jokes made him angry.

"What the fuck do you want, Bai Ailun?" Lin Chen asked as he showed an expression of disinterest, which made Bai Ailun grit his teeth.

"Oh, I'm just worried that you've given up on ranking first on this month's internal exams again." Bai Ailun spoke with a tone full of concern, but Lin Chen knew that he was just mocking him. "You know, ever since I stopped you from topping the list three years ago. Are you sure that you won't try again? Or perhaps you've lost all hope?"

Ah, the monthly internal exams list. Lin suddenly remembered. He had completely forgotten about that. Although he had good reason to, as it was just a meaningless list that was graded by combining the attendance along with written exams. Although it didn't involve any practical tests involving cultivation, Lin Chen remembered the students and their parents taking these monthly lists very seriously.

'Why was it given such importance?' Lin Chen had no clue. No that he thought about it, there were many subjects and exams he took in school that had no significance in the future. Why was that?

Lin Chen didn't know. But it didn't matter anymore. It might've frustrated him in the past, but not today.

"That's right." Lin Chen nodded his head as he walked towards Bai Ailun, stopping only when he was standing right in front of him. "I'm giving up." He spoke with an indifferent tone.

"Wha- What?" Bai Ailun was caught off guard for a second. He didn't seem to believe what he was hearing. "Are you serious? You're lying, aren't you?"

"Oh, but I'm not. I really am telling the truth." Lin Chen spoke with a gentle smile as he sat down in his chair once again and shrugged. "You've won, Bai Ailun. Congratulations on.. well, attaining first place on a meaningless list, I guess."

"You- You! Damn you, Lin Chen!" Bai Ailun was angry, but since he was caught so off guard, he couldn't think of anything to say in response. In the end, he simply returned to his seat, and Lin Chen and Fang Meng looked at each other and laughed out loud.

"LIN CHEN!" But their laughter was short-lived as another loud voice that was calling him interrupted them. The voice was so loud that the entire classroom turned to look at the person who shouted.

"I was wondering what was taking her so long…" Lin Chen had a sneer on his face as he stared at the doorway. "I guess she was waiting for her entourage to arrive."

Standing on the doorway was a beautiful young lady with blonde hair and green eyes. She seemed angry, and was scanning the classroom until her gaze landed on Lin Chen, who waved his arms at her, making her click her tongue.

She began walking towards Lin Chen, and following close behind her were a group of girls, all of whom had the looks to be models. The girls swarmed Lin Chen, surrounding him, and the whole classroom turned their attention towards them.

"Hi Jia." Lin Chen calmly waved his hand at his girlfriend, who was standing right in front of him with a pouting look on her face.

"Hmph!" She turned her head away, acting as though she had been wronged.

"She doesn't want to talk to you, Mr. Boyfriend." Ginny, a short girl with red curly hair, spoke on her behalf. "Do you know why?"

"Do enlighten me," Although Lin Chen wanted to roll his eyes, he resisted the urge to do so, and decided to play along with whatever they were scheming.

"It's because you didn't listen to her request like a good boyfriend and simply ignored her!" Ginny spoke with a serious expression on her face. The other girls nodded their heads in agreement and Lin Chen could hear the whispering of their classmates in the background.

"And you even hung up the call without listening to her?! How can someone do that to their girlfriend?" Ginny shook her head as though she was disappointed in him, and the other girls copied her. "And not to mention how she wasn't able to get hold of you afterwards." Ginny glared at Lin Chen, who resisted the urge to form a mocking smile on his face and instead chose to remain silent.

"I've also heard from her that you've been taking her to the second rare Blue Waves Restaurant for dates?" Fiona, a girl with dark blue hair, spoke this time, and Lin Chen shifted his gaze to her. "Lin Chen. I suggest you step your game and care for your girlfriend a bit more if you wish to keep her. After all, it's not everyday that someone like you can land someone like her."

Oh? Insulting me right to my face? Lin Chen almost wanted to punch the woman, but opted not to do so.

Instead, he stared at the girls surrounding him one by one, until his gaze landed on Jia, and he said, "If you're done speaking, I have something to say to you."

Jia turned back to face Lin Chen, who simply said, "I want to break up with you."