Chapter 4: Returning to School Hell
"So, as I said, the assignment for this semester will be to make a homemade short film. You can team up or hire outside help, but this will carry the most weight in your final grade, so none of that nonsense about corrupted files or missing formats."
Professor Xiao adjusted his glasses with forced patience and smacked the blackboard with his ruler as if he wanted to carve his words into the air.
"I'm talking to you, Lu Cheng!" he shouted, pointing at me with an accusatory finger.
His face tensed so hard anyone could swear he was about to transform into a blond, muscle-bound warrior glowing with golden aura. A vein on his temple throbbed so violently it deserved its own spotlight.
And there, at the center of all that fury, sat Lu Cheng.Fast asleep.
Face buried in his arm, breathing so peacefully it looked like he was dreaming of vacations instead of a semester project.
"Bro—Lu Cheng, Teacher Wang is here!" yelled a classmate from the back row, finally jolting me awake.
Though, of course, the only reason I woke up was because my kind classmates told me Xiao was calling my name. It had absolutely nothing to do with the gorgeous Teacher Wang.
I blinked open my eyes sluggishly, and the first thing I saw wasn't Professor Xiao, nor the classroom full of mocking stares.No.It was Wei Jinchao's smiling face.
That cursed sparkle in his eyes, that grin carved solely to irritate me.
My reaction was immediate."What the hell is your problem, bastard, why did you hit me?!"
I bolted upright, still half-asleep, my heart pounding as if I'd been kicked awake from the best nap of my life.
"Sorry, you know you shouldn't wake a sleeping person," I blurted.
The excuse tumbled out without a filter—sounded faker than a one-dollar bill bought on the black market. But with half the class laughing, I honestly didn't care.
"You idiot, that rule only applies to sleepwalkers!"
Wei Jinchao rubbed his cheek with theatrical drama. The slap had left a red mark, and with his puffed-up face he looked like a piglet forced into a school uniform. Although… now that I thought about it, maybe that actually made him look better.
The laughter grew louder. Some students covered their mouths, others pounded their desks. Even the guy who usually slept in the back row was watching, amused.
Professor Xiao pinched the bridge of his nose, as though each second with us aged him another year."Lu Cheng, I expect you to complete the project I just explained."
His tone was dry, not even sparing a glance at Wei Jinchao. He was far too used to our "theatrical performances" to take them seriously anymore.
I blinked, confused, as if I'd just heard some alien language."Project? … What project?"
I could've sworn I'd finished my studies—unless this was one of those nightmares where you're forced to relive high school forever, redeeming your worst years again and again.
Xiao banged the board with his ruler, each strike like a gunshot."The short film, Lu Cheng! That will be this semester's project! Or do you plan to sleep through the entire shoot as well?!"
My face froze. A short film? Seriously? I could barely afford to survive, and now they wanted me to fund a short film in this economy?
I swallowed hard while Wei Jinchao, with that damn smile, leaned toward me."Looks like I'll see you again next year," he sneered, puffing his swollen cheek like a carnival balloon.
"You want me to rearrange your face to test that theory?" I hissed, raising my hand threateningly.
"Silence!" Professor Xiao thundered, smacking the board with the wooden ruler. The sound cracked like a whip."This assignment is not optional. You can form groups, but I expect results. And Lu Cheng…" he pointed at me with a finger glowing with X-ray judgment, "if you tell me one more time you don't know what I'm talking about, you're repeating the year on the spot."
"…"
Classes eventually ended. The echo of footsteps faded down the halls, but I was still there, glued to my seat like a prisoner. Even then, I couldn't piece together what was happening.
It was as if last night had been another drunken blur with the other teachers. Had I died of alcohol poisoning?Unlikely… though with my luck, not impossible. And if I really was dead, then this place had to be hell itself. A hell where instead of fire and brimstone, they forced you to make low-budget student films.
A personalized hell for a bitter film critic like me.Irony was slapping me across the face.
"Great," I muttered, gripping my hair so hard I nearly yanked out a clump. "If I go bald from stress, I'll turn into the discount version of Professor Xiao. That would be a fate worse than death."
I took a deep breath, trying to sort my thoughts."Wait… from what I remember, none of this happened in school.""I don't recall ever having an assignment to make a short film. If I had, there's no way I'd have survived on my part-time fast-food salary."
As I wrestled with the existential question of whether I was dead, drunk, or condemned to eternal schoolwork, an unwelcome voice slithered into my ears.
"Lu Cheng."
That honeyed tone—like someone asking for a loan while already having mortgaged your house—could only belong to one person: Wei Jinchao.
I turned with all the enthusiasm of a man opening his bathroom door only to find cockroaches salsa dancing inside.
There he was. The fakest smile on the planet. Those calculating eyes hidden behind false kindness.
"Let's form a group."
I almost choked on my own saliva."What did you just say?" I asked, my voice calm but my soul already preparing to hurl the desk at him.
"Come on, you know it's better if we work together. You've got good ideas, and I… well, I've got charisma."
That last word rolled off his tongue like gold—but to me, it sounded like recycled garbage.
I raised my hand, pointing at him as if he were some dangerous insect."No. Not in your dreams. Not even if this school hell freezes over."
Wei Jinchao lifted a brow, surprised at my blunt rejection."Why so hostile? We made a good team last time."
My lips twisted into a bitter smirk."Good team? You call that a good team?"
The truth was simple: in my past life, I was always the one staying up late, carrying the entire workload, while he polished a few sentences, added some flowery words, and smiled during the presentation as if it had all sprung from his divine inspiration.
And the grades?Higher than mine.
"Now that I think about it…" I muttered through clenched teeth, "…in my past life, I was a complete idiot."
Wei Jinchao, standing right in front of me, had heard every word.
He stared at Lu Cheng, trying to figure out what the hell had happened to him.That guy had always been his only friend, and precisely because of that, he had helped him with everything.
He'd ask for a script—Lu Cheng would write it.He'd ask a favor—Lu Cheng would stay up all night to deliver.
Though, of course… the biggest reason why Lu Cheng always caved wasn't really Wei Jinchao.
It was Wei Lianhua—his older sister.One of the undisputed beauties of the campus.