Chapter 13: The Bullied Boy
Although Qin Yue had already given him a heads-up, when Qin Min actually saw the friend request, he still couldn’t help but let out a sigh.
He had just finished reading Qin Yue’s message when a friend request notification popped up at the top of his screen—Gu Qinghuan’s efficiency was truly impressive.
The note was straightforward: I’m Qin Yue’s classmate, Gu Qinghuan.
Qin Min tapped “accept,” and the moment the chat window opened, the words “The other party is typing…” appeared.
Gu Qinghuan: [Hello, Senior Qin Min. I’m Gu Qinghuan. I’m reaching out to ask for advice about joining the student council.]
Qin Min: [Hello. Do you know the basic process?]
Gu Qinghuan: [Qin Yue has already told me.]
Gu Qinghuan: [I want to ask—what are the requirements for joining the council?]
Qin Min tapped his fingers on the desk. He could tell that what she was really asking was whether the council cared about family background.
Qin Yue had told him about her situation. Honestly, the fact she’d even gotten into Mingde was already a small miracle.
Instead of answering directly, he asked:
Qin Min: [Why do you want to join the student council?]
Gu Qinghuan: [Because for the next three years I’ll be stirring up trouble at Mingde, so I need to find myself a backer.]
Qin Min was briefly stunned, then laughed silently. He recalled how Qin Yue had told him she’d recommended Jiang Chuchu as discipline committee member without hesitation—she really did speak her mind.
He typed:
Qin Min: [What exactly do you mean by “stirring up trouble”?]
Gu Qinghuan: [Like making Yan Zhengqing lose face in public, speaking to him with sarcasm… and maybe beating him up in the future.]
Qin Min had some impression of Yan Zhengqing—after all, the Yan family only had this one pampered son.
With how detailed she was being, this wasn’t a “for example” situation—she’d already done it, hadn’t she?
So, between late morning and noon today, she’d gotten herself into more trouble again… Tsk, Qin Yue really isn’t giving me timely updates, Qin Min thought regretfully.
Qin Min: [Even if you’re a council officer, doing that will still get you retaliated against.]
Gu Qinghuan: [I know. I just want to sneak into the council so that, once I’m in, I can get close to someone who can completely crush guys like Yan Zhengqing.]
Strangely, though she spoke in such a transactional tone, Qin Min didn’t find it off-putting at all. He figured it came down to her intent.
Her thinking was naive, pure—so much so that it didn’t feel calculating.
She said she wanted a backer because she’d offended Yan Zhengqing. But why did she offend him? From what he knew, Gu Qinghuan wasn’t the reckless type.
Qin Min sent a message to his brother:
Qin Min: [Go check what your class monitor has gotten herself into again.]
Qin Yue: [?!]
Qin Yue: [Damn! I should’ve guessed!]
She knew she didn’t meet the qualifications, yet she was charging headfirst into a nest of elites like the student council. She wasn’t stupid—so why this sudden idea?
What had she gotten up to during just one lunch break?!
Qin Yue immediately went to ask Jiang Chuchu—they’d gone to check out the clubs together at noon, so she should know what happened.
Meanwhile, Qin Min ignored his increasingly frazzled younger brother and continued chatting with Gu Qinghuan:
Qin Min: [In that case, you should go straight for the strongest backer.]
Gu Qinghuan: [Like who?]
Qin Min: [The student council president.]
Gu Qinghuan: […Uh, I heard he’s moody.]
Qin Min: [Mm.]
Gu Qinghuan: [And I heard he hates sycophants and bullies.]
Qin Min: [Mm.]
Gu Qinghuan: [Senior, don’t you think approaching him would be suicide?]
Qin Min: [Haha.]
Gu Qinghuan nearly tore her hair out—What’s so funny?! Of course she knew the president was the most powerful, but from what her classmates had said, trying to cling to him would just get her kicked out of school!
Qin Min: [Go give it a try. I think you can do it.]
She buried her face in her hands. Where on earth is Qin Yue’s brother getting this confidence in me?!
Qin Min: [After school, go to the council’s exclusive office building. If they haven’t changed the door code, it should still be 5555. Go to the sixth floor and find the president’s office—he’s usually inside.]
She stared at her phone—did that mean he’d put in a word for her?
Gu Qinghuan: [Alright, I’ll try… but if something bad happens, senior, you have to help me—at least make sure I’m not expelled!]
Qin Min: [It won’t be that serious.]
Qin Min could practically picture her on the other end, anxious and fidgety. Funny thing was, hadn’t she been acting so calm before?
It made him even more curious—what exactly was she willing to fight so hard for?
Just then, Qin Yue’s messages started bombarding him:
Qin Yue: [Bro! Listen—Gu Qinghuan! And Chuchu! They’re seriously gutsy!]
Qin Yue: [No, actually, Chuchu was pretty normal. Gu Qinghuan’s the one who’s insane!]
The corner of Qin Min’s lips curled. Looked like there’d be a good show today.
Nervous or not, class still had to be attended. Mingde’s teachers were top-tier—she couldn’t waste the tuition money. So Gu Qinghuan shoved her jitters aside and focused entirely on her lessons.
But when the afternoon classes ended and she remembered she had to go see the president, the nerves came rushing back.
Jiang Chuchu patted her shoulder. “Heading home together today?”
“No, I’ve got something to do.” Gu put on a look of heroic sacrifice. “Wish me luck!”
Jiang Chuchu blinked in confusion as she watched her leave, then turned to Qin Yue. “What’s she up to now?”
Remembering Qin Min’s words—“Just sit back and enjoy the show”—Qin Yue’s mouth twitched. “Let her be.”
All he wanted now was to go home and talk to their mom. Being vice class monitor was exhausting—he needed some advice in the art of dealing with people.
The student council office building was right next to the administration building. Only six stories tall, it wasn’t high, but it was surrounded by lush greenery—evergreen trees shielding the entire structure.
As Gu Qinghuan headed there, she noticed a boy walking ahead of her, about ten meters away, in the same direction—probably a council member.
She slowed her steps, widening the gap, and when he went inside, she hid behind a wall, debating whether to wait.
“If I go in now, they might still be cleaning up their offices… maybe I should wait…” she muttered.
“Are you in the student council, sis?” a sudden male voice behind her made her jump. She spun around so quickly she almost fell, catching herself on the wall just in time.
Behind her stood a boy with slightly messy black hair, just a few centimeters shorter than her, hands clasped behind his back, smiling like a proud little cat.
“Uh, I’m a first-year,” Gu Qinghuan said, noting his uniform. “We should be the same grade.” So why call me ‘sis’? That’s kind of cheesy.
“Oh,” the boy said. “Anyone taller than me is a sis.”
Playing cute, huh? Gu Qinghuan’s mouth twitched. She crouched down until she was shorter than him and said righteously, “Now I’m shorter than you.”
Her move clearly caught him off guard—he froze for a few seconds, then laughed. “Sis, you’re funny.”
She didn’t banter further, instead glancing at the office building’s entrance. “You here to see someone from the council?”
If he were a member, he wouldn’t have asked her if she was—so clearly he wasn’t.
“Mm. I heard the Mingde council has a lot of power. I have something I want to ask of them,” the boy said.
A fellow traveler, then. “What’s your problem?” Gu asked.
“Oh, I’ve been bullied,” he said lightly.
Gu Qinghuan snapped her head toward him, looking him up and down—just in time to see him bring his hands from behind his back.
Where there should have been smooth, unmarked skin on his inner forearms, there were instead several bloody scratches. They had scabbed over, but the dark-red crust made them look all the more vicious.
