Chapter 6: The Boy Humiliated and Isolated

The appearance of Yao Sakura at Nebula High School caused quite a stir. Simply put, everyone was captivated by the girl's beauty. Yet, they only admired her from afar, quietly bestowing upon her the title of "Campus Belle." Beyond that, she did nothing to trouble anyone.

Strangely enough, the aloof academic prodigy, Ji Shichu, seemed to have a close relationship with the campus belle, which piqued everyone's curiosity even more.

Since enrolling, Ji Shichu had consistently held the top spot, nearly perfect scores in every subject—a recognized genius. Despite this, many disliked him. His family was poor; his mother was a legless disabled woman, and rumors circulated that he was a fatherless orphan. Some had even seen him scavenging for recyclables to sell, subsisting on steamed buns and pickles, exuding an aura of poverty.

Moreover, Ji Shichu was cold and taciturn, so no one wanted to get close to him. They even thought he was dirty because of his scavenging, assuming he must smell bad. Being around him, they feared, would taint them as well. Of course, some were simply jealous that a poor scavenger could achieve such outstanding grades.

In the small town of Pingzhen, news traveled fast. These half-grown kids, though not malicious, were still immature in their thoughts. Thus, Ji Shichu became an outcast.

But Ji Shichu felt nothing about this. Others’ opinions were irrelevant; all he cared about was studying hard and living well with his mother.

In the school cafeteria, Ji Shichu opened his lunchbox to find the usual—steamed buns and pickles, all brought from home. Recently, he had tried to keep his distance from Yao Sakura, not wanting her to be dragged into gossip because of him. But it was useless.

Yao Sakura seemed to see through his thoughts at once and became even clingier than before. Besides him, she didn’t associate with anyone else. When he wasn’t around, she sat in the classroom either sleeping or daydreaming. This always left him worried, torn inside.

Just then, a chicken drumstick was roughly thrown into Ji Shichu’s lunchbox. The sauce splattered onto his school uniform, quickly spreading into a conspicuous stain.

“Here, poor boy, this is for you. You eat pickles every day. I’m worried about your nutrition. No need to thank me,” sneered Lin Hao from Class Ten, who, relying on his family’s factory in town, liked to bully others. His companions laughed along, disliking Ji Shichu as well. Everyone in the cafeteria turned to look.

Lin Hao sized Ji Shichu up with disdain. “Ji Shichu, stay away from Yao Sakura. Someone like you isn’t even worthy to be her dog. Hahaha! What—”

Suddenly, someone pushed Lin Hao from behind with a force as light as a cat’s paw. Still, unprepared, Lin Hao staggered slightly.

He was about to curse but stopped the moment he saw who had pushed him, a suspicious flush creeping onto his face. He awkwardly scratched his head. “Uh, Yao Sakura, is that you?”

Yao Sakura had just returned from the restroom and witnessed Lin Hao humiliating Ji Shichu. Especially seeing his dirty uniform, she was furious. She shoved Lin Hao hard and pointed at him with her little finger. “Dirty mouth!”

Ji Shichu, who had been tense, burst out laughing at those two words. The girl was so well-behaved that she never swore; this was probably the one “naughty” phrase she considered fierce. She was adorably excessive.

Ji Shichu knew his classmates looked down on him, but none openly provoked him—after all, they mostly minded their own business.

He narrowed his eyes at Lin Hao, a dangerous gleam flashing within. So Lin Hao was picking a fight because of Yao Sakura. Hah! That mutt was not worthy to bear her name.

Lin Hao’s face darkened at the unexpected scolding from his goddess and he hurried to explain, “Yao Sakura, you’re the campus belle. You shouldn’t be with someone like Ji Shichu, who’s garbage from the bottom of the heap. Sure, he’s kind of handsome, but don’t be fooled by his looks!”

The girl shook her head solemnly, correcting him. “Shichu isn’t just kinda handsome, he’s super handsome.”

Some other girls nearby, who only cared about looks, nodded in agreement.

Ji Shichu’s appearance was indeed undeniable. Across Nebula High, even among the art class, no one was handsomer than him. In fact, in all of Pingzhen, no boy was more handsome.

Lin Hao gave a smug sigh. “Yao Sakura, my dad owns a factory and has plenty of money. Come hang out with me, I’ll treat you to everything.”

Girls, after all, liked generous boys.

As Lin Hao looked down on Ji Shichu with contempt—thinking the poor boy wouldn’t even spare a candy—something inside Ji Shichu suddenly turned icy. He stood and faced Lin Hao.

At 1.88 meters tall, he towered over Lin Hao, who was only 1.7 meters.

Ji Shichu looked down at the smaller boy. To think he dared to covet Yao Sakura.

Ji Shichu could tolerate a lot, but if someone provoked him, no one was safe. Especially since Lin Hao’s words disgusted him; he worried about sullying Yao Sakura’s ears.

“Remember this: you threw the first punch, you started it. I’m just defending myself.” With that, Ji Shichu landed a solid punch to Lin Hao’s stomach.

In an instant, Lin Hao’s body curled like a shrimp, and he vomited the food he had just swallowed. He trembled violently and collapsed, clutching himself in pain.

Lin Hao’s companions were dumbfounded; none dared to step forward. No one helped either—Lin Hao had just vomited and smelled awful. More importantly, they were secretly pleased.

How laughable—Lin Hao, who usually bullied others just because his family had some money, got what he deserved!

No one expected the one who taught Lin Hao a lesson would be the academic genius.

Rumors had said Ji Shichu was fierce in fights. Seeing it today, it was true—one punch knocked Lin Hao out cold.

Everyone was secretly thrilled.

Thus, the aloof genius earned a new label: tough to mess with.

The matter was eventually brought before the school authorities by Lin Hao. The surveillance footage was reviewed, and with solid evidence, even those who wanted to frame JiI'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.