"If you really are a star... then prove it. I know you probably can... can't you, Fenix?~" Jay-Z said with a smirk—that same one he makes when cooking up something probably dangerous in his head.
Fenix looked at them like they were aliens, analyzing them before looking at the book again, almost like he was praying for the teacher to come early today.
The math question paper seemed to be mocking him just like them.
"Isn't it humiliating that a GENIUS like you—both beauty and brains—lost his plump girlfriend to that Kai?!" Kayel said, dramatically hitting the table like a judge. He looked too determined, then he is at the exam hall.
"Kai has failed the exam three times, is older than us... and your damn girlfriend went for that trash..." Sole said while drinking his milkshake, eyes on the book—the nerdiest one among them.
Fenix clenched his fist lightly...
Both in silent annoyance at his pride and the girl he was fooled by...
Before he could say anything, his best friend, the only female, Jimmy, said what he was thinking. "She literally said her mother was sick so she couldn't join us at the picnic, yet on the same day, I saw her roaming around with Kai at the water park..."
Fenix exhaled and leaned against the table, hands over his face. "Yeah... she did... now what can I do? What are you four telling me to do? Take drugs till I'm dead? I'm not that kind of foolish teenager... I've got more things in my life to deal with."
His friends blinked and looked at each other. They could feel their friend was frustrated.
"Prove that you're a star, as I said~" Jay-Z purred.
"And how, may I know, Mr. Jay?" Fenix asked dryly.
"Simple. The first girl who comes through this door, you'll propose to her... and she'll definitely agree because you're already popular..."
Fenix raised an eyebrow. The other friends nodded eagerly.
"Then I should come from that door!" Jimmy said, and the others giggled with her.
"Oh no! You're too tomboyish for our Fefe to date!" Kayel said after giving a big back-pat to Jimmy like a man.
"I'd rather be blind than watch you coming from there," Fenix said with a small smirk, his math book forgotten under his elbow.
Jimmy pouted dramatically. "Fine, fine... I don't need those broken-hearted boys either, which reminds me of the song 'Impossible'."
They laughed together, and then Jay-Z slapped his hand on the table to quiet them and said eagerly, "Alright, alright, three boys and one half-boy—"
"What did you just say?!" Jimmy pulled Jay-Z's hair.
"Nothing, nothing! I mean the young lady Jimmistar!" Jay-Z quickly said.
Jimmy finally let go of his hair.
"Well... I bet... if Fenix is able to make that girl his girlfriend... I'll treat everybody to cheeseburgers!!" he announced dramatically.
Jimmy: "OOOOHH NO! I want a hamburger then!"
Kayel: "Double cheese!"
Sole: "A smoothie too!"
Fenix blinked with a nervous smirk at how much expectation they were putting on him. Then came a loud pat on his back.
"You have to win this game, bro... or we have to die starving..." Kayel said dramatically.
Fenix sighed.
Everyone: "Yes!!"
Because they knew it was a silent agreement.
Now all the friends sat in their seats casually, trying not to act like something was going to happen. They waited. The class started filling up with students now—they mainly came too early compared to normal students.
One boy came. two
Five boys came while talking.
No girls yet.
"When will any ladybug come? I can't wait," Kayel said, getting bored. Jimmy shushed him, only to get an eye roll.
Then... someone extremely beautiful came in, making all of them sit up straight, breath caught in their throats.
Long brown hair.
Brown eyes which were too light, so the pupil was visible under the sunlight, yet dark as chocolate. Gentle looks... too polite and neat, wearing a white full-coverage dress shirt which showed no skin of the neck.
"Fenix, now!" Jay-Z whispered like telling him he was about to shoot a movie scene.
"For the sake of our burgers!" Kayel whispered, almost praying dramatically.
Fenix stood up.
He fixed his shirt and smoothed his hair with a light, confident smirk—the flirty one.
Then he suddenly pinned the person to the wall, which he had probably learned from romance series. The beautiful doe eyes looked at him.
His friends bit their fists in excitement.
Jay-Z: "Goddammit, he's doing it!" (whispered)
"Hey there, darling~ Never saw you here... looks like a newcomer, no?" Fenix flirted smoothly. His face was close enough to feel the other's breath and see the curves of their lips.
The other boys watched with interest.
But what he got was nothing less than a heart attack...
The voice was soft, gentle...
But not feminine...
"I... I'm a... boy..."
The person he was pinning was a boy!
He said it with a soft, nervous smile, cheeks tinted just a little like mochi.
All of his friends and the other boys face-palmed with wide eyes.
And Fenix was shocked...
How could a boy be this...
He didn't think too long and moved away like he'd been burned. Kayel quickly held him, but his cheeks puffed up—struggling not to laugh.
The whole class held their breath—or their principal would eat them up.
"A... a boy?!" he breathed. "I was pinning a boy!"
"I'm... actually new here... from China... I'm Liánlěi Tān... you all can call me Lei... nice to... meet you," Lei said gently with a soft smile. Despite his cute pinkish cheeks, he bowed lightly—Chinese manner.
Fenix, still shocked, just nodded once. That boy was too beautiful to be true... like those beautiful Danmei bottoms everyone daydreams about.
"I'm sorry... if I did something wrong... even by just... existing," Liánlěi added, a little worried if he had done anything wrong.
Fenix swallowed hard... mouth dry and parted.
He still hadn't blinked yet... he just shook his head 'no'...
Everyone broke into a silent laugh which sounded like glass being cleaned. They were trying hard not to laugh since Liánlěi was new here and might feel bad for this... while he was already looking like he had broken some governmental rule of the school.
Jay-Z: "Bro, you got a boyfriend this time!" (grinning)
Jimmy: "He's cuter than any girl Fefe has had in his whole life. And most importantly... he's like a real-life crown prince from the Danmeis! I'm gonna take an autograph from him once the teachers are gone!" (said almost dreamily and excitedly)
Sole: "All I'm sad about is I'm not getting a smoothie since Fenix didn't get a girl." (sighed softly but dramatically)
Jay-Z: "Don't worry guys... I've changed my mind~"
All friends looked at him, and Fenix hoped it was not something stupid.
Jay-Z: "This time... if our Fefe manages to be this Mr. China's personal guide here... I'll give a KFC bucket to every. Single. One of you! And a reminder: this is just level one!"
All the friends gasped in surprise. Fenix looked dumbfounded—his earlier rizz gone. Before he could deny it while flushing, everyone had already landed on the battlefield to make this crime come true.
Everyone: "Already on it!"
Fenix's eyes widened dramatically. "No..." He whispered and gave a light side-eye to Liánlěi, who seemed still embarrassed for even 'accidentally' making such a scene. "Are you all now on a mission of making me gay?!"
Everyone: "Your choice~"
Later, the teacher came in right at that moment, cutting off the laughter. A new teacher and Principal Loid came in. Their expressions were serious but not scary. But it's not every day you see both the class teacher and principal come together.
Everyone got back to their seats, while poor Ling didn't know where to sit, so he stood in the middle space of the room and then went forward towards the teachers.
The weird thing all of them noticed was that Liánlěi and the new teacher looked the same—older, more adult, and more... handsome. His own brown hair was like Liánlěi's too, which was tied up with a clip, wearing a full-coverage white shirt, wearing glasses, a handful of papers.
"Attention class... I know my sudden arrival seems unusual to you... but I'm here to speak of something important to you all," the principal said after clapping twice lightly.
Everyone looked at them. Liánlěi's eyes met Fenix's once before Fenix looked away outside the window. Somehow... that level one didn't sound bad... since it was all his choice...
His choice... they weren't forcing him...
That's a relief... if he doesn't choose or try anything, the story will really not head somewhere embarrassing...
And he'll not...
He's straight... he's just surprised by Liánlěi's appearance...
Right?
"This is our new teacher of Global History—Lěi Yúnxiāo... and his son, Liánlěi..." the principal continued.
Liánlěi smiled softly at them and his father smiled too, hand on his shoulder, before both of them bowed together in Chinese style.
The class filled with gossip around those two 'straight out of Danmei' males right in front of them, which felt like a dream. Especially long hair for males, at least in these modern times, which actually looked this great.
"I hope we, father and son, will get along well with all of you... don't mind if we... say English a bit wrong... it's not our mother tongue after all..." Yùnxiāo said.
Everyone clapped.
Then Yùnxiāo patted his son on the back before saying something into his ear. Liánlěi nodded.
Nobody paid any weird attention to their talk since it was normal. But Fenix was a little curious—always had been since childhood. He wondered what they might be talking about...
two mysterious men...
"Alright class... could you manage a seat for my boy?" Yùnxiāo said with a gentle smile and looked around—no seat empty.
"Two boys... get up and bring a seat from the storeroom... don't forget to clean it too..." Principal Loid ordered gently.
Jay-Z, who was sitting beside Fenix, grinned and hit Fenix's ass playfully, making him gasp and stand up. Jay-Z stood up too and smoothly said, "Allow us to bring the benches for our new friend, sir." He said it politely but confidently.
Fenix gave him a side look. Jay-Z just raised his shoulders with a wink.
Fenix: "You—" (hissed)
Jay-Z: "No you or I... just focus on the mission China~" (said lightly)
Liánlěi couldn't help but smile a little wider at their banter.
Then his smile went back to the earlier composed one when his father gave a little squeeze at his shoulder, which nobody seemed to notice.
"Yes boys... go and bring it quickly..." Yùnxiāo said.
Fenix and Jay-Z quickly got up and went to bring the benches from the storeroom. They took a bench out of it and carefully cleaned it.
"You know you could have not hit me there in class..." Fenix said while cleaning it.
"You wouldn't have stood up if I didn't... and our mission will not complete if you DON'T get up," Jay-Z said with a smirk, then added, "The Danmei just started in urban Bangkok!" He elbowed Fenix.
When Fenix was about to say anything, Jay-Z quickly cut him off again. "Quick! Quick! Quick! Our real-life Xie Lian must be hurting his feet while standing! And Hua Cheng can never stand for this!!"
Fenix bit back a playful groan while taking the bench and then couldn't help but ask half curious and half joke , "And who might be his Hua Cheng?"
"Simple answer... you!~"
Fenix almost stumbled at the answer, his heart skipping a beat at the unexpected response. He thought he'd say... something else...
"Hah! See? That's the Hua Cheng energy! The ripple really danced into your chest~" Jay-Z teased, then added, "Even his name has the Lian part~"
"Shut up... shameless... it's nothing... I'm not what you're implying..." Fenix mumbled. Then said, "And it's just a name..."
"Time will speak..." Jay-Z said while they disappeared into the hallway...