Chapter Ten: Bringing Humiliation Upon Oneself

After resting for another afternoon, Chen Feng felt his body had recovered considerably. Though his muscles still ached terribly, it no longer seriously affected his movements. After the evening self-study session, Fang Yue once again waited quietly to leave with Chen Feng. But this time, instead of trailing behind him in secret, she walked by his side, chatting and laughing together.

Fang Yue noticed that Chen Feng had changed; he was becoming more optimistic and cheerful. Though he still didn’t say much, he was no longer the indifferent, silent boy she once knew.

The next morning, upon entering the classroom, Chen Feng immediately noticed that the other students were looking at him differently. He frowned slightly and went to his seat.

“Chen Feng!” Suddenly, Zheng Qiang came over.

“Zheng Qiang? What’s up?” Chen Feng looked at him curiously.

“I heard you’re going to have a one-on-one match with Lin Hang?” Zheng Qiang blurted out.

“That’s right! How did you find out?” Chen Feng put on a puzzled look.

“Probably the whole school knows by now!” Zheng Qiang shrugged. “Lin Hang is narrow-minded. After you beat him on the basketball court, of course he wasn’t willing to accept it and wanted to redeem himself at your expense. It’s only natural, and I bet he’s the one who spread the news. He wants to beat you in front of as many people as possible to rebuild his pride!”

Chen Feng was momentarily taken aback, thinking to himself that having Fang Yue spread the word had been unnecessary.

“Chen Feng, you’d better be careful!” Zheng Qiang said earnestly. “Lin Hang is actually very strong. Last time, he lost to our Class Two largely because he was exhausted. Your basketball skills are great, but stamina is your weak point. In a one-on-one, facing Lin Hang at his peak, you might not be able to beat him!”

“Thank you.” Chen Feng was genuinely moved. To be honest, after years of insecurity, he never had many friends, nor had anyone ever proactively spoken to him. Zheng Qiang’s gesture left Chen Feng feeling unexpectedly grateful.

“No need to thank me! Yesterday you really taught Lin Hang a lesson. Ha! That guy even boasted he’d beat us by fifty points, but in the end he lost miserably! You really brought honor to our Class Six!” Zheng Qiang laughed heartily.

Chen Feng simply smiled. After a few more words between them, the bell rang, and Zheng Qiang returned to his seat.

Looking up at the teacher on the podium, Chen Feng let out a quiet breath and began to listen attentively.

Very soon, Chen Feng realized there was no need to listen at all—the teacher was covering material he already understood, sometimes even better than the teacher himself.

After a while, he gave up on listening and picked up a set of exercises to work on.

Once he started, Chen Feng realized that although he had absorbed knowledge at a professorial level, when it came time to actually tackle problems, a new issue emerged: possessing knowledge was one thing, but applying it flexibly was another.

Take mathematics, for example—using various formulas required careful analysis and numerous calculations. Just knowing the theory didn’t mean you could apply it skillfully.

Still, even if he wasn’t completely fluent yet, the knowledge in his mind allowed Chen Feng to judge accurately. It just took him a bit longer to analyze the problems.

“It seems all I need now is more practice with exercises to master the practical application of what I know!” Chen Feng thought to himself.

With that, while the teacher lectured at the front, Chen Feng worked through problems at his desk. The lesson itself no longer mattered; what he needed was to train his brain to use the knowledge he’d acquired.

“Are you that Fatty Chen?” During the break, while Chen Feng was still immersed in his exercises, a fair hand suddenly appeared in front of him.

Standing before him was a girl, her face twisted in disgust as if she’d just seen something revolting.

Chen Feng frowned slightly. This girl was undeniably pretty, but he had never seen her before; she certainly wasn’t from his class.

“And you are?” Chen Feng asked, still frowning.

“You think a piece of trash like you can play basketball against our prince?” she sneered, her voice haughty. “Let me tell you, fatso, don’t even dream—you’ll never win!”

Chen Feng put down his pen, looked her in the eye, and replied seriously, “Whether I win or not isn’t for you to decide. In fact, Lin Hang has already lost to me once, and that’s an unchangeable fact.”

“If it hadn’t been for his lack of stamina, he’d never have lost to you!” the girl retorted loudly. “Listen up, you fat pig—don’t think you can win a second time just because you got lucky once!”

“‘Lack of stamina’? Ha, that’s a funny way to put it!” Zheng Qiang, who had been listening nearby, started to laugh. “How do you know he ran out of energy? Did he do something with you before the match?”

The boys from Class Six burst out laughing. The phrase “lack of stamina” could mean so many things—especially when it came to certain activities that left one thoroughly spent.

The girl’s face turned bright red.

“You…!” she glared at Zheng Qiang, furious.

Zheng Qiang stared back coldly. “Let me tell you, if you’re upset that Lin Hang lost to Chen Feng, that’s his problem. If he doesn’t have the stamina, that’s on him. Stop giving Chen Feng trouble. You think you’re something special, coming onto our Class Six turf and bullying people? Pretty face or not, you’re still an airhead.”

“What did you say?” Enraged, the girl jabbed a finger at Chen Feng. “So what if Lin Hang lacked stamina? This fatso is ugly, fat, disgusting—what’s so great about him? How could he ever compare to Lin Hang? And he dares challenge Lin Hang again? As if he’s worthy!”

Chen Feng looked at her, unbothered. Years of insecurity had granted him a calm temperament; he wouldn’t lose his temper over trivial insults. Smiling faintly, he said, “Yes, I’m just a useless loser. But it was this loser who defeated your ‘prince’. So what does that make your prince?”

The girl was left speechless, momentarily stunned. The students nearby were surprised too; they’d never heard Chen Feng talk back like that before.

He ignored her, picked up his textbook, and said coolly, “Enough. Don’t waste your time bothering me. Instead of trying to rattle me, maybe you should focus on helping Lin Hang recover before the match, or at least, try not to wear him out yourself. Picking on me won’t make him look any better; it’ll only make you look immature. Please, don’t disturb my studies.”

The girl opened her mouth to argue, but Zheng Qiang cut in coldly, “You can leave now. Class Six doesn’t welcome you.”

“Hurry up and go!” Fang Yue joined in, standing up. “What’s the point of bullying our classmates?”

“That’s right!” The whole class glared at the girl. Fang Yue spoke sharply, “You’re Gu Shasha, aren’t you? Gu Shasha, please leave our classroom right now. If you don’t, don’t blame us for being unfriendly!”

“You… you…” Gu Shasha wanted to retort, but in the end she said nothing and stormed out in a huff.

Not until she’d left the classroom did it dawn on her—what had Chen Feng said? Something about not wearing Lin Hang out? Wasn’t that implying she and Lin Hang had some improper relationship?

Gu Shasha turned pale with anger. As much as she idolized Lin Hang and didn’t mind the idea of him being her boyfriend, if such rumors spread, her reputation would be ruined.

She regretted ever confronting Chen Feng.

What she never expected was that within a single day, gossip spread throughout the campus. The story went that the real reason Lin Hang lost to Chen Feng was because Gu Shasha had drained his energy the night before.

The rumors grew more outrageous, describing her relationship with Lin Hang in vivid detail. Some even said that before the match, Gu Shasha became pregnant, and Lin Hang had to take her to the hospital; others claimed Gu Shasha went to the hospital alone while Lin Hang found another girl…

Once rumors start, they’re impossible to contain. Students had little else for entertainment, and a handful of habitual gossips soon had the story spreading like wildfire.

Gu Shasha had truly brought humiliation upon herself.