Junior and Mo Ping entered their class once they went to their locker and ate breakfast in the cafeteria. They walked to their desk—Junior sitting in front of Mo Ping while Mo Ping sat directly behind him.

Junior's deskmate, Fu Hua, was already sitting at his desk, staring hard at his phone while his fingers flew across the screen. Junior believed Fu Hua had a serious phone addiction; he was always on his cell phone.

"Are you coming after school?" Fu Hua asked lowly without glancing away from his phone, ensuring Mo Ping or anyone else couldn't hear them.

Knowing what Fu Hua meant, Junior declined, "Nope."

Fu Hua finally looked up, giving Junior a once over, "What's wrong? It's been almost two weeks. Did your parents find out? You didn't snitch on us, right?"

"Are you crazy?" Junior looked at Fu Hua like he lost his mind. "If my parents found out, I wouldn't be here. And if I sold all of you out, you would have been in the principal's office."

"True," Fu Hua agreed before returning to his phone, "you are ignoring the group chat. Yao Yin has been complaining non-stop since you've stopped coming." Fu Hua pulled open the group chat, showing Yao Yin complaining with each message.

Junior quickly read the messages while sighing—he felt a headache coming, "I muted the chat; I have been busy."

Fu Hua shrugged, turning his phone away, "You should still return; Yao Yin has been annoying and only wants to fight with you. Do you want his number?"

Junior shook his head; he already had Yao Yin's number—the thing is, he muted him on his phone, too. Ever since Yao Yin had brought Ye Zhou, about two weeks ago, to that particular club, he hasn't returned. Junior feared being in the same room with Ye Zhou. Luckily, they were in different classes, so he didn't have to see him much in school.

"You should still come, even if it is one time—anything to get Yao Yin off everyone's back."

"Does," Junior started, swallowing before asking, "Ye Zhou still appear there?"

Fu Hua glanced back at him with a raised eyebrow, "Dude, are you afraid of Ye Zhou? I know he has a powerful family, but people should stop putting him on a pedestal."

"That's not it. Never mind, I will come today after dropping Mo Ping off at home."

"Cool, Yao Yin will finally stop whining." Fu Hua commented before fully focusing on his phone.

Junior pulled out his phone and found Yao Yin's contact, unmuting him. He sent Yao Yin a message.

Junior: Do you want me to show up today?

Yao Yin: Baby, is that you? Am I unmuted? Are you coming to the club? I will do anything for you, baby, to have you show up.

Junior sighed, frowning as he read the pet name Yao Yin kept calling me. Yao Yin had a habit of calling everyone his baby; it was annoying at times.

Junior: Yao Yin, stop playing, please. And if you want me to come, can you please ensure that Ye Zhou does not appear there?

Yao Yin: Baby, I am a hundred percent serious. Are you serious? Are you fighting with Ye Zhou or something? I need him! His appearance at the club lets me raise rates with no problems; I am making money here.

Junior: Money? You have wealthy parents. You can go a day without Ye Zhou; before the days of his coming, you were fine without him. Come on, don't you want me in the ring?

Yao Yin: Now, you are playing at my heartstrings. Baby, you didn't answer my question—are you fighting with Ye Zhou?

Junior: I am not fighting with him, okay? I see no point in him being there; it is not like he is participating. Do you want me there or not?

Yao Yin: Fine, baby, I will see what I can do, but know, if he shows, it is not my fault, and I tried. So, please do not leave.

Junior: Thank you.

Yao Yin: Anything for you, baby.

Junior rolled his eyes at Yao Yin's final response. He hoped Ye Zhou would listen to Yao Yin and not appear at the place. Facing Ye Zhou scares him because Junior doesn't know what Ye Zhou will do. Luckily, Ye Zhou has only been intensely staring at him, but he doesn't know when they will change.

Please, don't appear. Junior begged in his mind.

When lunch rolled around, Junior turned to face Mo Ping instead of leaving his desk, "Did you bring a packed lunch today? I want to eat in the classroom today."

Mo Ping reached for her bag, pulling out two lunch boxes, "I did and made you something, too. You have been skipping lunch too much; you are getting skinny."

Junior grabbed the extra lunch box, pulling it towards him, "Okay, Grandma, I will improve my eating."

"Did you make anything for me?" Fu Hua interrupted—he was one of the few students that stayed in the classroom. Fu Hua rarely left to eat lunch; he stayed on his phone, doing whatever, 24/7.

"No," Mo Ping rolled her eyes, "I am not your cook, and I barely see you eat lunch anyway."

Fu Hua acted like he was hurt, "Wow, I see, only Junior matters, huh?"

"Yes." Mo Ping harshly answered.

Junior laughed, patting Fu Hua's arm, "It is okay. One day, you will have someone who will tolerate you."

Fu Hua pushed away Junior's hand, "Fuck you."

Mo Ping and Junior laughed harder at Fu Hua's reaction. Before any of them could say anything, the noise in the classroom started to pick up—which was odd since there were barely any classmates in the room.

They glanced over, seeing Ye Zhou and Yao Yin at the door. Junior silently cursed, ducking his head down, hoping they didn't see him. Mo Ping kept looking back and forth, not saying anything—and Fu Hua threw everything to the wind. He raised his hand, greeting Yao Yin, "Hey, Yao Yin, why are you here?"

Yao Yin smiled, coming over with Ye Zhou following him. The murmurs in the class did not lower while the few classmates inside started taking out their phones. They were probably telling their friends that Ye Zhou and Yao Yin appeared in their classroom.

"Fu Hua, are you coming after school?" Yao Yin started, standing near Junior's and Fu Hua's desks. Ye Zhou stood behind Yao Yin, not saying anything while staring intently at Junior. Junior shivered from the stare, trying to focus on his food and not Ye Zhou and Yao Yin being near him.

"Always." Fu Hua responded. Before Fu Hua could ask about his unanswered question, Yao Yin turned his attention to Junior. He looked around at the other classmates looking at him before slightly bending over and whispering to Junior, "Can we talk?"

Junior did not glance at Yao Yin, making it like he wasn't talking to him, and he shook his head.

"If you don't come out in five minutes, I will let everyone know you are part of The Four." Yao Yin threatened.

'The Four' applied to Ye Zhou, Yao Yin, Liang Cai, and Zeng Guo. They were the kings (well, Liang Cai is the queen) of the school due to their family. They ran the school for almost four years—always in the spotlight, and everyone wanted to know or be with them.

Junior glared at his food when he heard those words. He did not want that attention and pressure pushed onto him. He enjoys his school life of being a nobody. Junior slightly nodded with gritted teeth.

Yao Yin smiled, saying goodbye to Fu Hua before leaving the classroom with Ye Zhou quietly walking with him—the whole time, Ye Zhou did not say anything except stare at Junior.

"I wonder what that was about." Fu Hua questioned.

Mo Ping grabbed Junior's clenched fist and leaned forward to whisper, "Is everything all right?"

Junior loosened his fist and nodded, "Yeah, I will be back."

Standing from his seat, Junior left the classroom and walked towards an empty hallway near his class. Yao Yin and Ye Zhou were already standing in the area.

"What did you want to talk about?" Junior asked, glancing around and ensuring no one could see them together.

"So, don't get mad, but I talked to Ye Zhou—"

"We need to talk; I am not giving you the chance to run anymore." Ye Zhou interrupted. Then he turned towards Yao Yin, telling him with his eyes that he could leave. But Yao Yin stayed rooted due to Junior glaring at him with eyes that said, you better not go.

He raised his hands, sweating, "Babies, no need to fight. I am only a middleman."

"And the middleman can go." Ye Zhou added.

"No, he can stay," Junior commented.

Ye Zhou looked at Junior, causing Junior to stare at the wall near him, not making eye contact. The air grew heavy as Yao Yin wondered if he should walk away. But he did not need to decide because Ye Zhou grabbed Junior's hand and walked away.

Junior wanted to pull his hand away but didn't because he worried that causing a scene would cause people to come running out into the hallway. So, he let Ye Zhou drag him to an empty classroom.

Once they entered, Ye Zhou closed the door and let Junior go. He faced Junior, crossing his arms, "I am tired of you avoiding me."

"Who said I am avoiding you? You are overthinking." Junior nervously chuckled, glancing at the door a few times, wondering if he should make a break for it.

"Junior, you cannot run away anymore; we must clarify what happened that day."

"No, we don't!" Junior yelled, raising his hands as he felt his world crashing. "Nothing happened that day, okay? Can we drop it?"

"No, we can't. We slep—"

"Please, don't say it," Junior begged—standing in the room alone with Ye Zhou made his nerves crazy, and talking about that day only made it worse. "I am sorry, okay? I know what I did was wrong, so can we drop it?"

Junior turned around, opening the door to leave when a hand caught his wrist. He felt Ye Zhou pressed against his back, making his breath hitched as Ye Zhou whispered in his ear, "What if I don't want to drop it? What if I want to try again with a clear mind?"

Trembling, Junior couldn't believe what he heard.

What did he mean, 'let's try again?'