“Aren’t they usually changed monthly? So August’s is continuing into September?”
Zhang Zhen finished brewing the tea and said, “Yes, he’s continuing.”
The assistants gasped. This was earth-shattering news. The old rules had been broken. Could it be that they were about to have a Chairman’s wife?
Zhang Zhen blew on his tea and took a sip. It would be nice if he had one. At least, when San-ge got angry, there would be someone to coax him, so the rest of them wouldn’t have to be on edge, constipated and breaking out in acne.
I’ll keep this year’s New Year’s wish the same.
I wish for a San-sao[1].
A few minutes later, Zhang Zhen received a friend request on WeChat.
The verification request message was: “J.”
Don’t know him.
Zhang Zhen pondered. His number wasn’t easily accessible to just anyone—so who could this “J” be? After a moment of reflection, he confirmed that he hadn’t given his contact information to anyone recently. He deduced that this person was likely a lover of someone in their social circle or a young master or miss from some prominent family. They had somehow obtained his contact details and was trying to use him to climb into San-ge’s bed. This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. He was going to ignore it but the next moment, his breath caught.
J’s profile picture...
Zhang Zhen stared at those vibrant blocks of colour. His previously sharp and reserved expression disappeared and was replaced by a stunned look. He unconsciously pressed the accept button.
【You have accepted J’s friend request. You can now start chatting with them.】
Zhang Zhen came to his senses. He was regretting his lapse in judgment and was about to remove the contact when he noticed that there was already a message in the chat box.
-Hi.
-Hello, Big Sister[2].
-I saw your small ad on the corridor wall. I’m a high school senior this year. I’m been stuck at home because of a biking injury. I’m really bored.
-I’ll pay you money. I don’t want your short videos. I just want you to chat with me, okay?
Zhang Zhen: “...”
He only needed to investigate, and he could find detailed information about this stranger, including where they lived and how many people were in their household.
But there was something wrong with his mind, leading to a significant decline in his efficiency, causing him to delay in asking his friends to investigate.
He wanted…
What did he want?
Zhang Zhen didn't know. He just stared at the stranger's profile picture without blinking. A trace of a memory unknowingly flickered in his eyes, which were partially obscured by his long, slightly curled eyelashes. He had lost his childhood memories and forgotten certain things.
These coloured blocks felt familiar to him, and he felt a strong urge to bring something home.
Zhang Zhen shook off these strange and uncomfortable emotions and stood up. He flexed his knuckles and pressed his fair yet strong hands against the edge of the table. Alright, this is what I’ll do. I won’t delete it just yet.
He would wait for this ‘J’ to show their true colours and then delete them.
Deep down, Zhang Zhen hoped for an exception—he wished that not everyone who added him was just trying to get close to San-ge. He was tired of that type of scheme.
This was also the reason why he didn't want to investigate.
He wanted to keep his hopes up for a bit.
The Heavens seemed to have heard Zhang Zhen’s thoughts. Every day, “J” only chatted about trivial matters, complaining about how boring his recovery was, occasionally daydreaming about what life would be like if he went to college. His WeChat Moments[3] were all about the pains and struggles of youth… He was truly just an ordinary high school student who had added the wrong person as a friend.
Zhang Zhen had grown accustomed to occasionally checking WeChat, feeling his youthful innocence and radiant brightness from the endless stream of chatter.
Unless something unexpected happened, he wasn’t going to investigate this person. He’d just treat him as a spice in his life, harmless and inconsequential.
For some reason, when Zhang Zhen made this decision, he had a peculiar feeling that someone had figured out his thought process. It unsettled him so much he had to hit the gym and throw a few sets of punches to calm down.
In mid-November, while Zhang Zhen was interrogating a mole, his phone made a “ding” sound from the pocket of his leather jacket. He pulled off his aknnc-rszhmdc leather gloves with his teeth and pulled out his phone to check WeChat.
J: Big Sister, I’m back to school now [hands on hips]
Zhang Zhen snorted. He had been called Big Sister for nearly three months but it still made him feel awkward. Noticing his comrades looking at him in horror, he immediately put on a stern expression and cleared his throat.
“I’m going out for a smoke.”
Zhang Zhen stepped outside, leaned against the wall, and typed a reply to the high school student: Study hard.
J: Of course ( ̄︶ ̄)
South City Third High School, Senior Year, Class 7.
The homeroom teacher led a strangely dressed, slender boy into the classroom. The students all cast curious looks at the new classmate.
The sun was covered by dark clouds. The new student removed the hood of his hoodie and pulled down his mask, revealing an unusually pale face.
Liang Dong, who was switching over his books in the back row, acted like he had seen a ghost. “Vgzs sgd etbj... Vgzs sgd etbj? Sgd etbj?!”
Shen Er’an was resting his head on the desk, his hands folding a dragonfly inside the desk cubby. Suddenly, his elbow was nudged, and he turned his head, a hint of displeasure flickering in his dark, somber eyes.
“An-ge, sorry, I didn’t mean to. I was just seriously too etbjhmf shocked," Liang Dong said in a gruff voice. “Look up and check out the new classmate. I guarantee you’ll be just as vgzs sgd etbj. Don’t believe me? Just—”
Shen Eran glanced at the podium, and his hunched back slowly straightened.
The boy at the podium had a delicate appearance, as if a gust of wind could knock him over. “Hello everyone, my last name is Jiao, with the ‘grass’ radical and the character for ‘interaction’ below it[4]. My given name is Bai. You can call me Jiao Bai.”
He smiled, his small canines becoming faintly visible as he spoke. His eyes seemed to hold a scene of lush grass and flying orioles: “Nice to meet you all. Please take care of me during our time at school.”
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The author has something to say:
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Some little cuties were confused about the character relationships in the synopsis, so I'll like to clarify it here.
In the comic, Broken Wings, the official main scum-cheap couple is Li Jue and Shen Er’an. Their story concludes with a bad ending.
Shen Ji is the father of the scumbag gong, Shen Er’an. Qi Yilao is Shen JI’s old friend, and Zhang Zhen is Qi Yilao’s right-hand man.
Wang Chuqiu, the original owner of Jiao Bai’s current body, was one of the potential wives selected by the old lady for Shen Ji. The other potential wife is Qi Shuang, whose older brother is Qi Zizhi.
Cheap shou Li Jue is Wang Chuqiu’s white moonlight.
Little Hot Pepper Jiang Yan is Qi Yilao's man. Shen Ji took a fancy on him so he played a puppy exchange game with Qi Yilao, swapping Wang Chuqiu for Jiang Yan. Jiao Bai transmigrated into the comic at this time.
Eight out of ten important characters have been introduced. We can officially get things underway. See you tomorrow!
[1] 三嫂 (sān sǎo) – Third Sister-in-law (三 means ‘3’, 嫂 means ‘sister in law.’) Zhang Zhen calls Qi Yilao San-ge (Third brother) so Third Sister-in-law (San-sao) means Qi Yilao’s wife (Third brother’s wife).
[2]He says 姐姐 (jiějiě). 姐 (jiě) means big sister. 姐姐 (jiějiě) is a more childish way of saying big sister.
[3] WeChat Moments – a feed where you can post text-based updates, upload images or share videos and articles like a Facebook Timeline or Instagram feed.
[4] 茭 (jiao): grass radical: 艹; character for ‘interaction’: 交
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