Chapter 52 – Conflict (2/2)
“And…” Cao Ning scanned the room to make sure nobody was eavesdropping as he pulled Ye Wei close to him then continued in a whisper, “You have to avoid Du Ming Ze at all costs. He came looking for you with a gang of friends from his senior class. I don’t think they had good intentions. When they couldn’t find you in our classroom, he went to your room!” The worry on Cao Ning’s face looked sincere.
In Cao Ning’s mind, he thought that for Ye Wei neither how well he did in the assessment or minimizing his punishment was an urgent matter compared to his dispute with Du Ming Ze. Because this dispute could potentially destroy his social life at South Star and get him severely hurt.
“If you can’t stand it, just head home. You can train with your family instead where you will be safe!” Cao Ning bit his lips as he suggested. He didn’t want anything bad to happen to Ye Wei. The two were each other’s only real friends in South Star Academy, and Cau Ning could not help solve this problem, therefore, he wanted to at least try to persuade him.
“Du Ming Ze?” Ye Wei asked with a cold glare. Having to think about the Du’s, Ye Wei started to get fired up. ‘A Du would have the guts…’
“But Xiao Qi volunteered to help; he led them to your room!” Cao Ning continued whispering.
“Xiao Qi and Du Ming Ze… I see!” All the puzzle pieces suddenly started to come together. ‘The coward found a bully to help him!’
Right as Cao Ning was going to tell Ye Wei not to cause any trouble, the classroom door was kicked open. Xiao Qi stomped in with a swagger and the gossip instantly died down while the brown-nosers greeted him. Being the number one student of the class gained him some respect from both teachers and students. He was often assigned to help discipline the class during breaks and therefore every student feared and obeyed him.
Since Ye Wei’s show of talent, the atmosphere in junior three had changed slightly. The class feared his strength more than they respected him as a person. They would not side with Xiao Qi if he decided to say or do anything to Ye Wei.
“Ye Wei!” Xiao Qi scanned the whole classroom with his eyes, feeling superior as his classmates nodded at him and avoiding eye contact out of fear. He was going to start bullying again thinking Du Ming Ze was on his side.
“Only you are dumb enough to provoke Du Ming Ze. How do you like the new decor?” Xiao Qi said in a sadistic tone as he walked towards Ye Wei’s seat. “And, you are also the only person dumb enough to skip school three days in a row! How dare you disrespect our teachers and the school rules!”
“As the prefect, I will make sure our tutor hears about this!” Xiao Qi stood next to Ye Wei, looked down at him and chuckling.
Ye Wei frowned, he was finding it hard to control the anger within as he darted his angry eyes on Xiao Qi. The moment before Ye Wei was going to stand up, Cao Ning pulled his sleeve and tried to convey to him the message, ‘Without Miss Zi Yan in the classroom, you are in no position to challenge Xiao Qi! He is a five star Student! Ye Wei you rascal!”
“It will be fine!” Said Ye Wei as he shook Cao Ning’s hand off his sleeve. He patted Cao Ning’s shoulder and slowly stood up to stare Xiao Qi straight in the eyes.
“Xiao Qi, did you lead Du Ming Ze and his dogs to trash my room?” Ye Wei asked calmly in an interrogative tone.
“As I said, you deserved it. You shouldn’t have offended Du Ming Ze!” Xiao Qi grunted coldly and answered by not denying it.
The tension built up as the pair refused to stop staring at each other. The whole class was nervous, and they didn’t know who to root for. They didn’t know if they should notify the teachers either. The class prefect nor the potential Runemaster wanted to back down.
“Ye Wei has changed a lot… Nobody talks to Xiao Qi like that! It would be foolish if he started a fight though, his runic knowledge won’t do him any good in a fist fight!”
“Xiao Qi wouldn’t start a fight, right? In the case, Ye Wei does become a Runemaster in the future… And Miss Zi Yan might have something to say about it too!”
“Have you forgotten about Du Ming Ze? He is from one of the Big Three and seemed to be pretty close to Xiao Qi from the last time he came to our classroom.”
The gossip started again as the room was becoming too quiet and the atmosphere got heavier.