Chapter 17: Keep Playing Innocent
"Why break a perfectly good pair of chopsticks?" Lin Tian wasn’t frightened by Xiong Tianlei’s antics; instead, he clicked his tongue in regret.
"I’m not here to chat with you; I’m here to warn you!" Xiong Tianlei tossed the broken chopsticks onto the table. "Liou Qingcheng is the woman I like. Stay away from her, understand?"
This time, Lin Tian didn’t speak. He picked up the chopsticks that had been snapped in two on the table.
With a relaxed expression, Lin Tian snapped the two halves in his hand.
"Crack!" The two pieces turned into four.
Lin Tian tossed the four broken pieces onto the table. "I’m Lin Tian, and it’s not up to you to tell me what to do!"
"Don’t think breaking a pair of chopsticks can scare people. We can have a fight if you’re not convinced!"
Xiong Tianlei gasped, thinking Lin Tian was a coward who would back off with just a warning.
Unexpectedly, the other was also a tough nut.
"Fine, just you wait!" Xiong Tianlei threw down a sentence and got up to leave. "Don’t let me see you outside of school!"
"I have something to tell you too; hope you don’t run into me outside of school!" Lin Tian snorted and ignored Xiong Tianlei, continuing to eat.
"Lin Tian, you’re a real man. You’re probably the first in the whole school to talk to the big bear like that!" Wu Yong said in a low voice, watching Xiong Tianlei’s imposing back.
"Big bear?" Lin Tian chuckled, thinking the nickname was indeed quite fitting.
"Xiong Tianlei is on the track and field team and throws shot put. They say he can lift two people weighing fifty kilograms each with his arms. They call him the big bear and say he’s unbeatable in a solo fight!" Wu Yong spread all the information he knew about Xiong Tianlei.
"It’s said that a 200-pound guy once got into a conflict with the big bear and was knocked out by a punch, making the big bear’s fame resound throughout the school!"
Though Lin Tian listened, he continued eating, clearly not taking Xiong Tianlei seriously.
No matter how powerful you are, you’re no match for me. I don’t care!
"Hey~ Lin Tian, be careful. You’ve crossed Feng Biao and now Xiong Tianlei. The finals are in a few days; stay low-key for now!" Wu Yong kindly advised.
"Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing!"
After finishing their meal, Lin Tian and Wu Yong walked towards the classroom.
Back in the classroom, Wu Yong continued playing Honor of Kings, while Lin Tian prepared to take out the practice questions Liou Qingcheng had given him.
"Huh?!" Lin Tian rummaged through the desk and found that Liou Qingcheng’s notebook and the questions had disappeared.
"Wu Yong, have you seen Liou Qingcheng’s notebook?" Lin Tian checked even inside the desk pocket but couldn’t find it!
He clearly remembered cleaning up and placing everything on the desk before going to eat. How could it be gone?
"Nope!" engrossed in his game, Wu Yong replied absentmindedly.
"It’s strange, could it have been lost?" Lin Tian searched the desk again but couldn’t find it.
"Could someone have stolen it?" This thought suddenly popped into Lin Tian’s mind.
"Steal? Those notebooks aren’t money, who would steal them?" Wu Yong chuckled.
"Someone definitely stole it, or else how could it go missing!" Lin Tian furrowed his brows. His heated mind cooled suddenly and began to think carefully.
Who in the class knew he borrowed Liou Qingcheng’s notebook?
Wu Yong was one, but he would never steal.
Then...
Li Qiang!
A name suddenly popped into Lin Tian’s mind. He encountered Li Qiang when he borrowed Liou Qingcheng’s notebook.
Li Qiang seemed particularly interested in Liou Qingcheng’s notebook then. Could it have been him?
Lin Tian glanced over at Li Qiang’s seat, eyes narrowing.
Instantly, a peculiar scene appeared. The desk vanished, revealing books and exercises packed inside.
Lin Tian’s eyes quickly focused on the two notebooks stuffed inside the backpack.
In the notebook’s center were three elegant words: Liou Qingcheng.
"So you did steal it!" Upon discovering the notebooks in Li Qiang’s bag, Lin Tian smirked mischievously.
𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
"Since you’re using such underhanded methods, I won’t hold back!" Lin Tian devised a plan of ’an eye for an eye’ in his mind.
Because there was evening self-study later, everyone returned to class after dinner to prepare.
Li Qiang was nearly the last to enter the classroom, something Lin Tian found unusual. Model students usually return immediately to study after meals.
It’s an unshakable rule, but today Li Qiang was late.
Either some issue delayed his meal, or Li Qiang felt guilty and intentionally arrived late to create a false impression.
Lin Tian didn’t care which it was.
In the face of absolute evidence, any pretense is futile.
Li Qiang had just sat down and pulled out his math book to solve some problems when Lin Tian brought a chair to sit beside him.
"What are you doing?" Li Qiang pretended to be calm, glancing at Lin Tian with annoyance. "Can’t you see I’m studying?"
"Don’t worry, I won’t disturb your study. I just want to ask you something!" Lin Tian looked at Li Qiang with keen interest, curious how long he could act.
"What is it?" Li Qiang looked displeased. "Speak quickly; my time is valuable!"
"Sure, sure, your time is precious!" Lin Tian barely tolerated Li Qiang’s pretentious attitude.
Continuing any longer might make him explode with rage.
"The notebook and exercises I borrowed are missing!" Lin Tian stared at Li Qiang, watching his reaction.
Li Qiang calmly replied, "Missing is missing. Why tell me?"
"You didn’t take it?"
"Hahaha, that’s the funniest joke I’ve heard!" Li Qiang laughed. "Why would I take your notebook? I’m afraid reading the class’s last-place notebook will drop my grades as low as yours!"
"I’m not talking about my notebook; you should know whose I mean?" Lin Tian smiled instead of getting angry at Li Qiang’s insult.
Keep pretending. The bigger your act now, the harder you’ll fall later.
"I don’t understand what you’re saying!" Li Qiang slapped the table, suddenly standing and shouting to the class, "Come on, everyone, hear this!"
"Lin Tian’s notebook is missing, and he insists I took it. I’m first in class, why would I want a last-place notebook?"
"And then he had the nerve to sit next to me and say I took it. Tell me, how does his notebook help my studies?"
In an instant, the class began to chatter, and the sentiment turned fully in Li Qiang’s favor, targeting Lin Tian...