For the next few days, Linda and I remained in a cold war. Every time she saw me, her face was stern, giving me no friendly looks. I, too, barely spoke to her, and our relationship hit rock bottom.
On Thursday evening, just as the self-study bell rang, Linda walked in. Surprisingly, she was followed by a beautiful girl with wine-red long hair, a pretty face, a white fitted T-shirt, blue skinny jeans, and white canvas shoes. It was none other than Ni Ba's younger sister, Ni Anqi.
Both Whistle and I were stunned, exchanging glances: "Huh? Why is she here?"
Linda quieted the class and introduced, "This is a new transfer student from No. 3 High School. Her name is Ni Anqi, and from now on, she'll be part of our class. I hope everyone gets along well with her."
Ni Anqi bowed gracefully to the class and introduced herself, "I'm Ni Anqi. Please take care of me in the future."
She was undeniably beautiful, even comparable to our class belle, Harper. Harper's style was simple and pure, while Ni Anqi had dyed hair, a row of earrings on her left ear, and a silver bracelet on her wrist—edgy and rebellious. Their styles were completely different.
Ni Anqi was also tall for a girl, standing over 160 cm. Linda seated her not far from me. As she passed by, she smiled and said, "Hey, Andrew, we meet again."
"Hey, nice to see you."
I greeted her with both surprise and joy. After all, the last time Linda and I were cornered by vocational school thugs in an alley, if Ni Anqi hadn't asked her brother to help, the consequences would have been unthinkable. I didn't owe Ni Ba any favors, but I was deeply grateful to Ni Anqi.
Harper, who noticed that I knew this new beautiful classmate, froze. Her eyes flicked between me and Ni Anqi, suspicion written all over her face. What was she thinking?
After introducing the new student, Linda left Harper in charge of discipline and exited the classroom.
As soon as self-study ended, Chen Yong and a few other boys rushed to fawn over Ni Anqi. Not only was she pretty, but she was also their boss Ba's sister, so of course they wanted to curry favor.
Ni Anqi, however, brushed them off impatiently, "I've got things to do. Don't bother me."
She then walked straight to me, smiling brightly. "Andrew, you helped me last time, but I left in such a hurry that I didn't get to thank you properly."
I chuckled, "Actually, you saved me later too. Let's call it even."
With a strong delinquent vibe, Ni Anqi snapped her fingers cheerfully. "Alright, but since I'm new here today, I'm treating you to supper. Let's invite Mia, Luo Cheng, and Luo Wei too."
"Sounds great."
I agreed without hesitation, but then Harper, who had been coldly observing nearby, suddenly spoke up. "Andrew, didn't you say I'd tutor you after school today?"
Everyone around us froze. Ni Anqi looked at me, waiting for my decision. Harper also stared at me haughtily, expecting my choice. Caught in a dilemma, I hesitated before turning to Harper. "How about we skip tutoring today and all go for supper together?"
Harper's face darkened with anger. "Hmph, as if I wanted to tutor you in the first place. Plenty of others are begging for my help… Mia, you stay. I'll tutor you instead!"
Whistle, caught off guard, stammered, "Miss Harper, I also wanted to go for supper—"
Harper glared at him, and he immediately shut up, reluctantly staying behind. He shot me a resentful look, probably blaming me for his misfortune.
Near the school was a snack street. Big Luo suggested "Feng's," saying their porridge was excellent, so we headed there on foot. Big Luo and Little Luo walked ahead, while Ni Anqi and I followed side by side. Noticing my discomfort, she asked, "That Harper seems hostile toward me. Is she your girlfriend?"
I rubbed my nose awkwardly. "Don't jump to conclusions. She's the class monitor and a good friend."
The four of us entered "Feng's" and ordered their famous duck porridge along with a few side dishes. Ni Anqi even asked for half a dozen beers. I frowned. "Ni Anqi, it's not a holiday. Drinking might not be a good idea. What if we get caught when we return to school?"
She smirked. "Didn't peg you as a goody-two-shoes. Tutoring after class, scared of drinking."
This girl had a strong delinquent streak. Annoyed, I retorted, "Stop mocking me. Fine, let's drink. To welcome you to No. 2 High, we'll toast you."
Big Luo and Little Luo chimed in, raising their glasses to Ni Anqi. Without hesitation, she downed her beer in one go, not even blushing. Her tolerance was impressive—no wonder those vocational school thugs couldn't outdrink her that night.
After a few drinks, the conversation flowed. I asked Ni Anqi, "Weren't you doing fine at No. 3 High? Why transfer here?"
She replied, "My mom made me. The environment at No. 3 High is bad—fights break out all the time. She was afraid I'd turn rotten and insisted I transfer here."
I glanced at her wine-red hair and earrings, thinking, *You're already plenty rebellious.* With her brother Ni Ba backing her at No. 2 High, this little troublemaker was bound to stir up even more chaos.
As we chatted and laughed, a cocky voice interrupted us. "Well, well, if it isn't Andrew?"
I turned to see a group of rowdy students. The leader, with a buzz cut, was Song Dongyang, nicknamed Rooster, a lackey of Zheng Zhantao. He had some notoriety at school and had appeared when I negotiated peace with Chen Yong.
I wasn't fond of Rooster, but I still greeted him politely. "Hey, Rooster. What a coincidence."
"My boys and I came for a bite. Since we're here, mind if we join?" Without waiting for an answer, he pulled up a chair and sat down, eyeing Ni Anqi. "This chick's hot. Also from No. 2 High? Never seen her before!"
I hadn't expected our peaceful supper to be interrupted. Rooster had clearly noticed Ni Anqi's beauty and decided to intrude.
If he knew she was Ni Ba's sister, he wouldn't dare mess with her. Keeping a smile, I thought, *She's not some girl you can hit on. Tread carefully, or you'll regret it.*
Ni Anqi was already annoyed by these uninvited guests, and Rooster's casual "chick" made her scowl. Coldly, she said, "Yeah, I just transferred from No. 3 High today."
Rooster's eyes lit up. "A new transfer, huh? Let me introduce myself—I'm Rooster. As you heard, even Andrew calls me 'Brother Rooster.' If you ever need help at No. 2 High, I've got your back!" He reached out to sling an arm around her shoulders.
I knew this would end badly. Before I could react, Ni Anqi smacked his hand away and sneered, "Found a cockroach in my melon seeds—what trash is this?"
I almost laughed. Ni Anqi truly feared nothing.
Rooster's face darkened. He'd expected her to be impressed, but instead, she'd insulted him.
Furious but unwilling to lash out at her, he turned to me. "The hell you laughing at, dumbass? Think it's funny?"
My expression hardened. Lately, my temper had been short. If not for his ties to Zheng Zhantao, I'd have smashed a bottle over his head for insulting my family.
Rooster, humiliated, took his anger out on me to show off. He glared and said arrogantly, "What, got a problem? Listen, I'm into this chick tonight. Scram if you know what's good for you, or you'll regret it."
Furious, I glanced at Ni Anqi, who was still eating calmly, and relaxed. Smirking, I said, "She's right there. If you can woo her, more power to you."
Rooster mistook my words for surrender. Snorting, he turned to Ni Anqi. "See, your boyfriend's a coward. What's the point of sticking with him? Come with me—I'll make sure no one dares mess with you at No. 2 High."
Given Ni Anqi's rebellious style, Rooster probably thought she was the type to chase clout.
Ni Anqi looked up and said flatly, "You sound impressive."
Rooster bragged, "Pretty much. At No. 2 High, no one dares disrespect me."
Ni Anqi pointed at me with her chopsticks. "So you're even tougher than Brother Chen?"
I frowned. *Since when did I become 'Brother Chen'?*
Rooster glanced at me and smirked. "Of course. Didn't you see him call me 'Brother Rooster'? And he didn't even talk back when I cursed at him." His lackeys chimed in, praising him and claiming he was a better bet than me.
I remained calm, but Big Luo and Little Luo looked furious, clearly thinking Rooster had gone too far.