The Timid Young Master And The Cold Assassin 7

After the conversation they had that night, Li Jiang's attitude towards Li Zhang took 360 turns. He became a little closer to Li Zhang and would accompany him a few hours a day. He also tried getting Li Zhang to speak up more and voice his opinion. He was now trying to get Li Zhang to open up more to him. After observing his brother's behavior towards himself and the words Li Zhang said that night, Li Jiang was wise enough to know that Li Zhang is the only son he can depend on to save his position.

Three days later, Li Zhang went back to school. After that traumatic event, Li Zhang was told to rest at home for a few days. Today just happens to be Friday.

When he got out of the car, he felt someone grab him by his arm as if they were about to pull him in. Li Zhang looked back and saw a boy who is slightly shorter than him wearing a blue polo shirt with his hair tied up in a ponytail. He wore glasses, which made him look slightly older, yet not really mature yet. The stranger let go of his arm before taking his hand and introducing himself. "Hi! I am Lee Dongming, nice to meet you!" He said brightly with a smile.

Li Zhang didn't know what to think. This boy was very friendly towards him, despite being taller than him, even though Dongming is a couple of centimeters taller than him. Li Zhang thought he could be one of those overly polite people so he decided to reply with a small smile. 

"Nice to meet you too, I guess?" Li Zhang replied shyly.

After that Dongming started talking about how much fun it is to attend high school. He talked about all his experiences, even though he had been at this school for only two years.  The last thing he said was that there are many different types of clubs in his school because he wants to be a part of them but isn't sure where to start.

"Hey, I heard from some others that you might join my club! What do you think? If your interest lies in soccer or basketball then please say something!"

Li Zhang didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Do I look like a sport person to you?" He asked

Unexpectedly, Lee Dongming was honest, "Not really, but you're cute and girls like cute boys like you." He winked

Li Zhang couldn't help but feel embarrassed, he wasn't used to getting compliments like these. He didn't know why but after hearing those words from Dongming, the butterflies inside his stomach started flying around again and a soft pink dusted over his cheeks. Before he could respond, Dongming continued. "You don't have to respond now, think about it first. Let's exchange name cards, then I'll text you later."

Li Zhang didn't have a problem with that, so they gave each other their name cards. With that, Dongming started walking away while waving goodbye. 

He remembers an important side character named Lee Dongming. He was the son of a business executive. Although he was not the same as the other rich kids, he is very talented in his studies and he managed to get into one of the most prestigious schools in the city. Li Zhang never thought they'd met face to face so soon.

But this is also good. He doesn't have to put in all the special work.

Li Zhang stood where he was for a moment before entering his classroom. Everyone was already seated,  their heads turned toward the newcomer. When they saw who came, they all looked back down again while whispering among themselves.

Li Zhang walked past everyone's seats and sat down.  He put his bag next to him and leaned back against his seat. As soon as he closed his eyes, a sudden vibration shook his leg, and opened them up right away. He saw that he received a text message from somebody named Lee. 

'You should join my soccer club :) We have practice every week.' 

'...I can't.' Li Zhang wrote back.

'Why?' Lee Dongming texted back after reading the message.

'It is a soccer club. Why should I go?'

Lee Dongming sent a sad emoji and immediately replied 'Oh!'

'If it's the music club, I might consider joining.'

'

......

The bell rang, indicating that class is over. 

Liu Cheng was just about ready to leave, but stopped short as he heard Li Zhang calling up to him, "Hey, wait up." 

He turned back around in surprise and saw the boy standing there looking a little embarrassed. He didn't seem to know where else to look except at Liu Cheng, who looked at him questioningly.

Since their last encounter, he had been having strange possessive feelings about Li Zhang. He wants the boy to only look at him and no one else. He had no idea where exactly his obsession came from.  He was so used to not wanting to think about how much he craved the attention of another person. Yet somehow, here he was. He didn't even really know why but the thought that he has a desire for someone like that made him slightly angry.

What is with this sudden attraction? It can't be because of what happened last time. His heart felt like it was being squeezed by two giant hands when the boy was looking at him with those tearful eyes.  That image was burned into his memory. And now, the fact that the person that was making those images and sensations was sitting right next to him wasn't helping to erase it at all.

He shook his head as if doing so would make those thoughts disappear.

"I'm sorry for stopping you," said Li Zhang, "It's just..." He sighed deeply before continuing. "I wanted to thank you for helping me out the other day."

Liu Cheng only looked at him silently and said nothing. His glance was enough for Li Zhang to get nervous.

He fidgeted slightly and took a deep breath, "Look, if you don't want to talk then fine," Li Zhang finally managed to say, "But I wanted to tell you thanks anyway."

With that said, he handed out the paper bag, which contained the two bottles of mango juice and other snacks. "At least you should accept this, right?"

Liu Cheng just stared at the paper bag, not knowing what to make of this sudden turn in events. He took the paper bag hesitantly and looked back at Li Zhang with an unsure expression on his face. Just when he was about to reach out, someone else grabbed the bag and opened it.

Both men turn around to see familiar black hair and piercing eyes standing there, with a smirk plastered all over her face.

Li Zhang immediately turns away with a slight pout. 

"What do you think you're doing, Li Zhang? Shamelessly seducing your fellow man, you should be ashamed of yourself!" Ye Yang shouted loudly. 

"Th...that's not what happened, how could you say that?"  asked Li Zhang. He had no choice but to stand there and take the hit from Ye Yang's accusations.

"You know damn well why Li Zhang. Otherwise, Why would you wait till everyone leaves the classroom before giving your so-called appreciation?!" said Ye Yang in between breaths. She grabbed and opened one of the juices then spilled Li Zhang's hair with no warning. The entire class went quiet.

Li Zhang tried to keep calm, but the embarrassment was starting to settle in. And now that Ye Yang has started it, how would he escape it? He stood there and watched as the juice dripped from his hair and dropped on his shirt.

It soaked his shirt slowly, slowly dripping to his legs. Li Zhang's eyes were as if he would cry any moment. But he held his tears back in fear. He wouldn't give these people satisfaction.

 "How dare you?! Just because your Ye family has a powerful backup makes you think you can do anything you want. If not for the Liu family that took pity on you, your head wouldn't stand so high. You have no right to despise me. Noble blood? What a joke! Sooner or later, your family's underhand method would be revealed to the public and you'll go back to the gutter, where you belong. If you think Liu Cheng is your future husband, then get married. Gold digger, people like you hurt the eyes of the public! You've done nothing but hurt others since you've stepped out of your house, and you are nothing but an idiot!"Said Li Zhang, his voice raised as he spoke more and more. People around them gasped as they heard the truth coming out of his mouth.

Ye Yang didn't respond after hearing that last comment; she just stood there speechless. Even Liu Cheng was surprised at the turn of events. Li Zhang just glared harshly at them before grabbing his bag and running out of the classroom.

"Wow, It's really bad when this guy is provoked into anger."

Another person nodded in agreement.

Liu Cheng watched Li Zhang leave and then turned to Ye Yang, "You went too far this time." 

She shook her head, "No, I just did what needed to be done. He deserved it anyways," Ye Yang replied while walking out without another word.

Liu Cheng just shakes his head and follows her out. He only felt sorry for the mango juice. That mango drink is a new product that just came out. Even he didn't manage to get more before it was sold out.