During finals week, the school bully threatened to beat me up if I didn't let him copy my answers. When the results came out, I was ranked first in the entire grade. The bully, however, clinched the title of Dead Last, achieving his worst score in history. On the first day of the new semester, he cornered me against a wall, tears streaming down my face. "I'm in ninth grade, you're a junior in high school... I honestly don't know why you insisted on copying my paper..." Chapter 1 Here's how it happened. Our school recently introduced a massive scholarship, which naturally led to rampant cheating. To combat this unethical trend, the administration decided to mix grades during finals. Every exam room was a mix of students from two different grades to prevent collaboration. My exam room happened to be mixed with the high school juniors. When the school bully, Jax Hunter, walked in, he looked like he just woke up. His hair was a spiky mess, and his jacket hung off one shoulder as he swaggered in like he owned the place. He held nothing but a black pen and a ruler. His towering figure loomed over the classroom before he finally found his seat. Right behind me. Before the papers were handed out, he slammed his hands on my desk from behind, enveloping me in an aura of pure intimidation. He was the school's number one fighter. I had personally witnessed him punch a 200-pound lineman five feet through the air. My brain started calculating frantically. With my physique, one punch from him would probably send me through the ceiling and into the exam room next door. Thinking about that, I felt like I could see the light. "W-what do you want? Grim Reaper?" My mouth slipped, and his brows furrowed tight. "What's your name?" "Zo-Zo-Zoe... Zoe Lane." "I don't care about Zoe Lane. I'm asking what you just called me." I was cracking. Did he hear me call him a hellhound in my head? Is he a mind reader? "No, no, nothing..." He stared straight into my soul: "What was your rank in the last monthly exam?" "Top... top ten." "Top ten? Good enough." He leaned down further, his face almost touching mine: "Let me copy your answers later. Or else, you're dead meat!" I wanted to cry but no tears came out: "B-but I..." "Refusing?" He looked even fiercer, his eyes like knives stabbing me. I didn't dare resist. I spent every exam shrinking my body so he could get a clear view of my answer sheet. When he couldn't see, I even whispered the answers to him. In the end, I ranked first. And Jax Hunter fell from the bottom hundred straight to dead last. On the first day of the new semester, he cornered me against the school wall. Chapter 2 "You get first place, and I get last?" His massive, powerful fist was right next to my face. I was shaking like a leaf, crying my eyes out before he even touched me. "Now you know fear? Where was this fear when you played me? How big are your balls to lie to me?" I heard that after the grades came out, he was mocked mercilessly. Dead last. Even his lackeys ranked higher than him. Including the guy who wasn't technically intellectually disabled but might as well be—the perennial last placer—who scored three points higher than him. And Jax was the only one of them who filled out the entire answer sheet. His enemies were having a field day. "Jax Hunter" became the punchline of the entire winter break. He looked furious, grabbing my collar. I cried: "Boohoo... I didn't lie to you... I'm in ninth grade, you're a junior... I don't know why you insisted on copying off me..." "What did you say?" He looked confused, then finally glanced at the school badge on my chest. We weren't even in the same grade. His face turned iron gray: "Why didn't you say so earlier?!" I cried harder: "Ugh... I thought you had your reasons." The school had announced the mixed seating arrangement ages ago. How was I supposed to know the school bully not only skipped class but also ignored exam notifications? He came to find me to regain his dignity, to prove he wasn't a joke. Instead of proving anything, he just added another layer to the comedy. Jax was so mad he started shadowboxing in front of me. I wasn't built for combat. terrified he'd use me as a punching bag, I tried to merge with the wall, my voice squeaking: "You... don't be mad. I'll give you half my scholarship money, okay?" Jax glared at me from the corner of his eye: "You think I'm not funny enough already?" "Enough, enough..." I spoke without thinking, seeing his glare intensify, I quickly corrected myself: "No, not enough..." No matter what I said, he wasn't happy, trying his best to kill me with his eyes. Feeling like his fist was about to drop any second, to save my life, I made a desperate move. I stepped forward and hugged his waist: "I'm sorry... I really didn't mean to, please don't hit me..." Jax didn't speak for a long time. I could only hear his heart pounding against my ear like a drum. Just when I thought I wouldn't leave with all my limbs intact, he suddenly patted my shoulder: "As long as you know you're wrong. I don't hit girls." "Still hugging? Is my waist free real estate? Keep hugging and you'll have to take responsibility, got it?" I quickly let go and shrank back into the wall. "The... the bell rang. Can I go back to class?" He suddenly snatched my school badge and pointed at a crack in the wall: "Put it here and wait for me." Chapter 3 I was doomed. I didn't know how he planned to torture me. During the awards assembly, I went up to receive my prize and saw him taking photos of me from below the stage. I racked my brain. How could I get the school bully to forgive me and let bygones be bygones? After thinking for ages, I decided to give him a gift as an apology. Seeing something suitable in the school flea market group chat, I bought it without hesitation, put it in a bubble tea bag, and went to wait by the wall. After a few minutes, he strolled over. Walking with a swagger, hair exploding in every direction, wearing sunglasses like a celebrity. My school badge was pinned to his lapel, flaunted for the world to see. Seeing me holding something, he seemed pleased. "Buying me a drink?" I got nervous as soon as I saw him, nodding uncontrollably, babbling: "I-I-I-I bought... bought you something." He took it, and I looked down to fish out the items. "These are spy glasses. Wear them next exam, adjust the focus, and you can see other people's papers without leaning over." "This is an invisible ink pen. Write cheat sheets with it, bring it into the exam, no one will see." "And a prophecy pencil. For multiple choice questions you don't know, just roll the dice on top, pick A, B, C, or D..." I took out these cheating artifacts one by one and introduced them to him. When I looked up, Jax's face was darker than charcoal. "Zoe Lane, in your eyes, am I only good for cheating?" He looked ferocious, like he wanted to bite me to death. I sniffled and took out the second bag of treasures. "Boohoo... I also bought you review materials and a wrong-answer notebook, plus an Ultraman pencil case and a box of Pokémon gel pens. Wishing you academic success and a bright future..." I opened the review book. Shh! I Know You Are Gay — A Mental Health Guide for Men Several rows of pink printed letters assaulted my eyes. Below the text was an illustration of a shirtless muscular man pinning a scrawny boy against a wall. They were staring into each other's eyes, pink blushes drawn on their cheeks, the tension palpable. Looking up again, Jax's expression had moved past wanting to bite me. He wanted to ball me up, slice me, shred me, deep fry me, stew me, and finally stir-fry me over high heat until I became recycled matter, disappearing from this world without even DNA left behind. I wailed. "I really... didn't mean to..." "Follow me." He used two fingers to pick up my bubble tea bag like it was toxic waste and flung it into the trash can. Then he grabbed me by the back of my collar, carrying me like a baby chick. I thought he was taking me to some dark alley without cameras to beat me up. Instead, he took me to the gym and made me write his apology letter. He changed into his jersey, spinning a basketball on his finger. "My grades tanked so hard the school wants a thousand-word self-reflection essay. But I have a game today, no time. You write it for me." I held the pen and paper, whispering: "I don't know how." Self-reflection letters were foreign to a good student like me. "Find a template online and fill in the blanks." He pressed down on my head, his voice dark: "If you don't finish before the game ends, you're coming to my house to write it. Don't think about leaving tonight until it's done." I wanted to cry again, wiping snot and tears as I started writing. Jax ran onto the court with the ball. The atmosphere heated up immediately, cheers erupting constantly. Jax might be bad at everything else, but he was good at basketball. I'd seen his games. Basically, any team he was on crushed the opposition. Even the school leaders and teachers watching had to pretend to be magnanimous while getting their teams destroyed. There were countless girls in school who ate up his style. Every game, the stands were full of girls screaming their throats raw for him. Amidst the noise, me burying my head writing an apology letter in the gym seemed so out of place. During halftime, a flock of girls screamed and offered Jax water. He ignored them all and sat directly next to me. "How much did you write?" Don't mention it. I went from admitting mistakes, reflecting on regression, to promising to study hard, listen carefully, then to hoping for college entrance exams, a three-step goal for grades... I used every fancy word, made stuff up, talked in circles, and still only managed six hundred words. "I really can't fluff it anymore..." I looked at him with teary eyes. He looked at the letter. "Simple. Expand the first three hundred words, repeat the last three hundred words a few times, done." He was a pro at this. I had to do as he said and started copy-pasting. He watched from the side, then suddenly snatched the water bottle I had in my backpack's side pocket. Before I could stop him, he downed it. "No..." His eyebrows shot up: "What's wrong with drinking your water?" Before he finished speaking, he clutched his stomach and sprinted to the bathroom at 60 mph. Chapter 4 Jax missed the second half of the game. He practically lived in the toilet. His bros got beaten black and blue. I meekly met him outside the bathroom and took him to the hospital. "Zoe Lane, are you my curse?" Jax was on an IV drip, his face darker than a ghost. I explained weakly: "I tried to stop you, you didn't listen..." "Are you sick? Putting laxatives in your own water?" I lowered my head: "I didn't put it there." His stomach rumbled loudly again. Jax curled up in pain, veins popping on his neck. He looked like he was about to hit someone. I trembled in fear and hurriedly offered my last peace offering. "Senior, have some bubble tea." I handed it over too fast, squeezed too hard, and sprayed the bully in the face. A pearl playfully stuck to his nostril, instantly giving him a comical look. ... I didn't dare breathe. I felt like he was going to slap my head off my neck any second. He wiped his face: "Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, three times I'll count as carelessness, four times... Zoe Lane, even if my brain was squeezed by a door, I don't know how to defend you anymore." I apologized, tears streaming down my face: "My brain was squeezed..." "A brain-squeezed person ranks first in the grade? Are you mocking me again?" The muscles in his handsome face twitched. He ground his teeth so loud it sounded like construction work. Once they were sharp, he'd bite my jugular, spraying blood everywhere, and suck me dry like a vampire. No... Snot and tears flying, I rolled up my sleeves, revealing arms full of bruises: "Senior, I can't take a beating. One punch will kill me. Sometimes people think these bruises are from you too. I don't want you to be framed, so please don't hit me, okay?" "Zoe Lane! What the hell goes on in your head all day!" He was so mad he ripped out the IV needle, flailing his limbs like an exploding octopus. "Am I fierce? Am I violent? Are you a basketball? Why would I hit you? In your heart, do I only know how to cheat and fight? Even though I sleep in class, cheat, fail exams, and have a bad temper, can't you see that under my handsome exterior lies a soft and sensitive heart? Just like this morning, a hug could have soothed me, but you had to piss me off again and again! Do you want to anger me to death so you can inherit my title of School Bully?" My brain throbbed from his yelling. Then I saw him fling his hand, turn his head away, pout his lips to the sky, but open his arms towards me. "Here. Giving you a chance. Comfort me." I didn't know if he needed a psychiatrist, but I had to comply. I sniffled, put down the bubble tea, and hugged him. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were so... gentle." I violated my conscience to use a word completely unrelated to Jax Hunter. He didn't speak. I thought he was annoyed again, but when I looked up, his grin reached his ears. He hugged me back: "Right? I am very gentle. I have fought, but that's because others provoked me first. They were jealous that I'm handsome and good at basketball, deliberately looking for trouble. I did nothing wrong..." I nodded with my eyes closed: "I know, I know. Appearance reflects the heart. You're so handsome, it means you're good, you're right. They're just jealous." The bully wiggled his massive frame. "Exactly!" "You only became a bully because they targeted you. You don't start trouble, but you don't fear it. You're the most capable." "Exactly!" "Your grades are bad because of them too. Otherwise, you'd definitely be third in the grade. Why not first? Because the first has to give a speech. Why not second? Because you wanted to let the poor student have the $1500 scholarship." "Exactly!" ... God help me. Who knew? The bully who could break a podium with his bare hands was a narcissistic airhead. Seeing him trapped in pink bubbles, I knew I had smoothed his feathers enough. I coaxed him into putting the IV back in.
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