The Legendary Supernatural Student

As the first class ended, Shi Qing feigned a need to use the restroom and hurriedly fled the classroom. Despite having long accepted the beastly teacher in her heart, she couldn't tolerate his increasingly audacious words and actions. 

Bereft of a target for his teasing, Xiang Ri grew listless. Just as he was about to rest his head on the desk for a quick nap, a melodious female voice broke through his reverie. 

"Xiang Kui, hello!" 

Xiang Ri froze. To his knowledge, aside from his apprentice, no other students in this class should recognize him. So how had this unfamiliar yet oddly familiar voice suddenly appeared? 

He looked up and was greeted by a delicate and fair face right before his eyes. Startled, he blurted out, "What are you doing here?" 

"And why shouldn't I be here?" Ren Jun's face carried an air of rightful confidence. Then, with a meaningful glance, she added, "What surprises me, however, is why someone like you, Xiang Kui, is attending a class that isn't even your own." 

Xiang Ri's eyes widened. "You're telling me you're in this class too?" The world truly felt small. 

"Of course!" Ren Jun's tone brimmed with satisfaction as she observed his evident surprise. "Didn't you know that Shi Qing and I are classmates?" 

"Now I do," Xiang Ri muttered, scratching his nose, mentally berating himself for his dim-witted question. Since his apprentice was acquainted with this bamboo-stick girl, he should have deduced that they were classmates. What a foolish oversight! 

Unaware of his inner turmoil, Manager Ren continued, "By the way, I saw Shi Qing rushing out earlier. Is something urgent?" 

"Ah, just nature calling," Xiang Ri replied with a sheepish grin. 

Ren Jun's face turned slightly red as she awkwardly shifted the topic. "How's your hand doing?" 

"Better?" Xiang Ri glanced at his right hand, still wrapped in thick bandages, and sighed. "Not anytime soon. Maybe another month or two." 

"That long?" Manager Ren frowned, her delicate brows knitting with concern. She worried whether the school team members could endure until then. This was just the preliminary stage of the tournament, the so-called group matches. If they lost too many games and failed to accumulate enough points, it wouldn't just be a matter of winning the championship—they might not even make it to the top 16. 

"Impatient already?" Xiang Ri teased, his left hand mimicking a grabbing motion in midair with a suggestive smirk. 

"You..." Ren Jun flushed with anger, wishing she could punch him squarely. "You jerk!" 

Xiang Ri shrugged, his expression feigning innocence. "Hey, missy, let's get one thing straight. You were the one who agreed to let me touch you. I didn't force you." 

"Sure, you didn't force me," Ren Jun retorted through gritted teeth, barely containing the urge to flatten his smug face. Her voice dripped with sarcasm. "But your behavior was far worse than coercion!" 

Ren Jun couldn't help regretting her momentary lapse in judgment back then. Had she known he was such a scoundrel, she never would have agreed to such an absurd demand. Her purity had been sullied by this wretch. 

And then there was her mother, who constantly praised him—how outstanding he was, how remarkable in every aspect. Judging by her tone, it seemed she had already envisioned him as her future son-in-law. Poor Ren Jun, unable to voice her objections, could only watch as her mother continued to be deceived by this hypocrite's facade. The thought made her loathe him even more. 

"Am I really that terrible?" Xiang Ri, oblivious to the depth of her resentment, protested earnestly. "Let's be fair here. Back then, if you hadn't invited me to join the school basketball team, would I have made that request? And since I made the request and you agreed, it hardly counts as coercion, does it? At best, it was a fair trade—I play basketball for you, and you let me touch your backside..."

"Stop talking!" Despite Manager Ren's swift retort, she couldn't prevent someone from blurting out those two indecent words, igniting a surge of anger within her. 

Yet, as more and more eyes in the classroom turned their attention toward them, Ren Jun, fearing that this loudmouth's words might fuel the gossip mill, could only lower her voice and admonish, "Fine, I'll admit I misspoke, okay? But can't you at least watch your tongue and show a shred of decency?" 

"Don't be mad, sweetheart!" Xiang Ri drawled, his tone a thinly veiled translation of "taking advantage and playing innocent." "But since you've admitted your mistake, I suppose I shouldn't press the issue further. That said, mistakes do come with a price, don't they? I mean, you don't seem to have much else to offer, so how about this? Out of the kindness of my heart, let's settle it by letting me touch you ten more times later." 

"You're shameless!" Ren Jun's trembling finger pointed at him, her voice quaking with indignation. This scoundrel must have the thickest skin on earth. 

"Hey, now, you're misusing words again! Calling someone shameless is my trademark, you know. If you keep this up, I might have to add ten more touches to the tally!" Xiang Ri quipped with mock solemnity, though his eyes had already caught sight of his apprentice at the doorway. Instantly, he wiped the sly grin off his face, replacing it with a façade of seriousness. 

Ren Jun, oblivious to what was happening behind her, assumed his mention of "someone" referred to herself. It was clear to her that he was insulting her as "shameless." And now, his sudden change in expression? Clearly, he was putting on an act just to spite her! This was unbearable. Her eyes widened with rage. "Let me tell you something, Xiang Kui! As of this moment, our agreement is null and void. I'll never let you touch me again!" 

"Suit yourself," Xiang Ri sneered, his tone brimming with disdain as if the matter had never mattered to him in the first place. His words were venomous: "Anyway, your backside is so bony it looks like there's barely any flesh on it. I'd probably hurt my hand touching it." 

That remark hit Ren Jun like a slap to the face. Overwhelmed with fury, she grabbed the nearest book from the desk and smashed it down on his head with all her might. 

Xiang Ri hadn't anticipated that the bamboo-stick girl would lose her composure so completely. From their previous encounters, he had pegged her as someone who wouldn't act rashly. But her sudden act of violence was utterly unexpected. Just as he was about to dodge, the book landed squarely on his head. 

Having transformed from a "bamboo-stick girl" to a "violent maiden," Ren Jun nonchalantly tossed the book aside after landing her blow. Without a second glance, she turned on her heel and strode away with an air of unruffled composure. 

On her way out, she passed Shi Qing and greeted her with a casual smile, showing no trace of anything amiss. 

This left the gossip-hungry students utterly deflated. They had been eagerly anticipating a dramatic showdown, only for it to fizzle out like a storm that never quite arrived. Disappointment hung heavy in the air. 

Before class, these students had seen the man with his right hand bandaged brought into the room by Shi Qing. It was the first time they'd witnessed such a close interaction between her and a man, which led them to assume he was her boyfriend. This assumption sparked both envy and schadenfreude among them. 

Yet, the entire class period passed uneventfully, dousing their excitement and leaving them disillusioned. Some even lost interest in the supposed couple. 

Then, just as the lesson ended, the official "leading lady" left, only for a new female lead to step onto the stage. This rekindled the boys' jealousy and resentment. How had this guy managed to win the favor of not one but two beauties? However, their elation was short-lived when they realized the new arrival wasn't there for romance but to issue a stern reprimand. By the end, she even delivered a heavy-handed blow to the scoundrel. 

Witnessing this spectacle, the gossip-prone students let their imaginations run wild. The term "relationship fallout" firmly planted itself in their minds. Some even maliciously speculated that this man had tried to juggle two relationships but misjudged his capacity, causing one "ship" to capsize and bringing about the ensuing "drowning" consequences. 

Xiang Ri rubbed the spot where the book had struck him. It didn't hurt much, but the repercussions were significant. If he didn't explain things quickly, there could be trouble. Spotting his apprentice approaching, inspiration struck. Feigning a tone of complaint, he raised his voice deliberately. 

"Was it really necessary to hit so hard? All I wanted was to know which hurts more—getting hit with a book or a hand. Well, now I know. Turns out it's my head that hurts the most!"