The Outlaw

Zhao Lei squatted by the flowerbed on the side of the teaching building, clutching Skinny Monkey's phone in his hand, his expression somewhat ferocious.

Just now in the restroom, his Fruit X phone had died a glorious death. Eight thousand yuan—that was a whole year's worth of red envelope money plus half a month of begging his parents just to buy it.

"Brother Lei, are we really going to do this?" Skinny Monkey shrank his neck, having second thoughts. They had almost been caught by Director Xie in the restroom earlier, and now they were going to provoke the principal. His eyelids were twitching like crazy, giving him a bad premonition.

"What the hell are you afraid of?" Zhao Lei gritted his teeth. "Those idiot students on the confession wall are brainless and easily swayed by that pretty boy Chen Zhi. But the principal is different! What does the principal value most? The college admission rate! School rules and discipline!"

He stood up abruptly, patted the dirt off his pants, and put on a look of righteous indignation. "Chen Zhi's behavior is challenging the school's bottom line. We are doing the school a favor by getting rid of this menace, understand?"

Skinny Monkey nodded, half-understanding. "Then, what about my phone..."

"Don't worry, as long as Chen Zhi goes down, your phone will be counted as a meritorious contribution."

The two of them sneaked around, dodging the surveillance cameras in the hallway, and made their way to a blind spot by the administration building. The principal's suggestion box hung right there.

With trembling hands, Zhao Lei stuffed the pre-printed photos and a lengthy, tear-jerking letter of complaint into the box. As the envelope slipped to the bottom, a twisted look of pleasure appeared on Zhao Lei's face.

Chen Zhi, your good days are over.

...

In the late afternoon, as school let out, the setting sun dyed the gates of Jiangcheng First High School a golden hue.

It was the peak of the after-school rush, and the school gate was bustling with people.

Principal Wang of Jiangcheng First High School stood by the retractable gate, his hands clasped behind his back. His piercing gaze scanned every student walking out.

As the head of the school, he had been in a great mood lately. The freshman weekly exams had revealed a true genius. Chen Zhi, the top scorer in the high school entrance exam, hadn't peaked early; instead, he had become even more monstrously talented, still scoring perfect marks in comprehensive science. As long as this prodigy didn't cause any major trouble, he was a guaranteed candidate for Tsinghua or Peking University in three years, serving as a living billboard for Jiangcheng First High School.

But soon, he spotted two familiar figures.

Zhao Lei and Skinny Monkey blended into the crowd, their steps light. They had deliberately lingered at the school gate for a while, hoping to catch a glimpse of Chen Zhi being called in for a miserable scolding.

However, before they could even see Chen Zhi, a figure blocked their path.

"Halt."

Zhao Lei and Skinny Monkey stiffened and turned their heads mechanically. A middle-aged man in a dark jacket stood at the door of the security guard room, staring daggers at them.

It was none other than the principal of Jiangcheng First High School.

Zhao Lei felt a surge of wild joy in his heart. Had the report letter already worked?

He quickly put on an expression of righteous awe and was just about to claim credit. "Principal, is it about that letter..."

"You two are absolutely lawless!"

Principal Wang roared, his spit almost flying into Zhao Lei's face.

This shout drew the attention of passing students, who automatically formed an empty circle around the three of them.

Zhao Lei was dumbfounded. This wasn't how the script was supposed to go.

Principal Wang kept his hands behind his back, his face livid. "Not only did you bring a phone to school, but you also dared to secretly photograph your classmates? Who gave you the nerve!"

"Huh?" Zhao Lei's mouth dropped open, his mind going completely blank.

"Huh what!" Principal Wang pointed at the surveillance monitors in the security room. "What were you doing sneaking around the administration building just now? Did you think I wouldn't see you just because it's a blind spot? To catch black sheep like you, I specifically had a high-definition camera installed there!"

"But Principal, Chen Zhi..." Skinny Monkey panicked, instinctively trying to shift the blame.

"Shut up!" Principal Wang didn't even give him a chance to speak. "You still dare to argue! At First High, bringing a phone is crossing a red line, and secretly photographing classmates is a sign of moral corruption! Take out the phone immediately and delete the photos!"

Zhao Lei was completely stunned. He just couldn't understand it—he was clearly the one reporting a violation, so how did he end up being the prime example of a rule-breaker?

"Hand it over!" Principal Wang held out his hand, palm up, right in front of them.

Under the oppressive weight of Principal Wang's powerful aura, Skinny Monkey didn't dare resist. Trembling, he pulled the phone out of his pocket and obediently handed it over.

Principal Wang took the phone and expertly tapped the screen a few times. "Unlock it."

Skinny Monkey unlocked the screen with shaking fingers.

Principal Wang opened the photo gallery and immediately saw the secretly taken photo. In the picture, Chen Zhi was smiling as he talked to Pei Ningxue, the sunlight spilling over them, exuding a vibrant youthful energy.

"This is your so-called evidence?" Principal Wang sneered. "Chasing shadows and taking things out of context! You took a normal conversation between classmates and made it look like this. How can your minds be so filthy!"

With that, he tapped his finger and directly hit the delete button, conveniently emptying the recently deleted folder as well.

"But Principal..." Zhao Lei's heart bled as he watched the evidence turn to dust. "Chen Zhi really is dating! And there's also Lin Wanwan..."

"Beep—!"

Just then, the crisp, sudden honk of an electric scooter's horn interrupted Zhao Lei's complaint.

Everyone instinctively looked toward the sound.

They saw the crowded sea of people automatically part to make way, as a small electric scooter drove toward them in an incredibly arrogant manner.

The teenage boy riding it steered with one hand, his school uniform jacket unzipped to reveal a white T-shirt underneath.

And what made everyone's jaws drop even further was that behind him, a stunningly beautiful teenage girl was riding sidesaddle on the back seat.

Lin Wanwan had her arms wrapped tightly around Chen Zhi's waist, her cheek pressed against his back, completely ignoring the hundreds of pairs of eyes staring at them.

Because the after-school crowd was so dense, the little scooter had to constantly stop and go. Every time he braked, the girl's body would press even tighter against the boy due to momentum. The level of intimacy between the two was practically a blatant provocation of Jiangcheng First High School's entire rulebook.

At that moment, the air seemed to freeze.

The surrounding students were all dumbfounded. Holy crap, wasn't this guy an absolute outlaw?