Chapter 007: The Tiger Humbled, the Pack of Curs Rises

When Song Kai lashed out with his foot, Chen Haijun was left utterly stunned. The other boys in the class stared at Song Kai in shock. No one had expected that Song Kai, the down-and-out nobody, would dare to fight back—and against Chen Haijun, of all people!

Chen Haijun leapt up from the floor, his face burning with humiliation, and rushed at Song Kai, intent on kicking him to the ground.

"What are you two doing?!" came a woman's sharp rebuke from the doorway.

Zhou Ran strode in, her skin gleaming with sweat and a bottle of ice-cold Sprite in her hand. She wore a short skirt, exposing her long legs, and beads of perspiration still dotted her forehead. After exercise, she seemed even more like a goddess.

"If you want to fight, do it outside! Don't you dare make a mess in my classroom—get out, both of you!" Zhou Ran slammed the Sprite onto the desk.

Chen Haijun jabbed his finger furiously at Song Kai. "Idiot, just you wait! This isn't over between us!"

Song Kai didn't even spare him a glance. He sat at his desk, leafing through his textbook. Once, he could afford to be a slacker, but after boasting to Xu Ling, he couldn't keep coming in last in every exam.

With his current memory and comprehension, he reckoned half a month would be enough to get into Peking University.

Song Kai took out his biology textbook and flipped it open. The knowledge he'd read before surged into his mind, quickly sorting itself with perfect clarity, as if etched into his brain.

He relaxed. It seemed that, even after his soul had crossed over, his photographic memory remained intact.

Zhou Ran sat down, gave Song Kai a withering look, and muttered disdainfully, "You're so pathetic! That idiot insulted you just now and you did nothing? What are you afraid of? Ugh, you make me sick. My mother was right about you—you're hopeless. You only ever survived on your dad's money. Now that he's gone, you're nothing but a loser."

Clearly, Zhou Ran hadn't witnessed that kick from Song Kai earlier.

Song Kai offered no explanation. He just nodded. "That's enough. Mind your own business. You're a high schooler—dressing like that, aren't you worried people will talk?"

"Rubbish! I'll wear what I like—who dares to say anything? But you, don't keep staring at my legs," Zhou Ran said smugly.

Song Kai was speechless and said nothing more.

Next came the exam. The homeroom teacher, Ma Bo, entered and handed out the test papers.

Song Kai glanced at his paper—it was a math test. The problem was, he realized he barely understood any of it! No wonder he always came in last. What had this guy been doing in class before?

Feeling frustrated, Song Kai scribbled randomly on the answer sheet.

Ma Bo was invigilating the class. When he reached Song Kai's desk and saw his test paper, he smacked the back of Song Kai's head in anger.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Song Kai snapped his head up and glared at Ma Bo.

Ma Bo was startled by the fierce reaction. He sneered, "What kind of test is this? Why are you staring at me? I'm your teacher—can't I discipline you? If you don't like it, drop out right now! Get out! Is your brain made of garbage?"

Zhou Ran, witnessing the scene, slapped her desk. "What's all the shouting about? Are we taking an exam or not? Teacher, we're answering our papers—please keep it down."

"Oh—yes, yes, of course," Ma Bo replied, not daring to cross Zhou Ran. She was the top student in class, and her family was well-connected. Every month, her family sent him a generous red envelope, more than his own salary.

Song Kai didn't care. He shoved the test paper aside and picked up his book to read. Studying was important now, but soon he needed to find time to start cultivating the Nine Thunder Inner Energy.

The Nine Thunder technique was something Song Kai had discovered in an ancient cave on Quanzhen Mountain during the Yuan Dynasty. The scrolls described the Nine Thunder Inner Breath and Nine Thunder Martial Arts. Upon seeing them, he was awestruck.

The Nine Thunder Inner Breath could harness the power of heavenly thunder to forcibly open the meridians within the body. Its might was hundreds of times greater than the Quanzhen Inner Breath he had previously practiced.

It was well known that the Quanzhen Inner Breath, as the orthodox Daoist internal energy, was already incredibly powerful—a person could live a long, healthy life if they practiced it for thirty years.

But the Nine Thunder Inner Breath was vastly superior. However, the two types of inner energy conflicted with each other. When Song Kai switched to cultivating the Nine Thunder Inner Breath, he suffered a backlash, died physically, and his soul transmigrated here.

This time, though, there should be no such risk. After all, this body was just an ordinary person—there was no inner energy present to start with.

Song Kai read his book attentively, absorbing and comprehending every bit of knowledge, imprinting it clearly in his mind.

It was already April; only two months remained before the college entrance exam. For seniors, there were no breaks on Saturdays.

After lunch, Song Kai returned to the classroom to continue studying.

At that moment, Zhou Ran stormed over.

"Song Kai! Where are my stockings?!" she slammed her hand on the desk.

"Huh?" Song Kai stared blankly at his beautiful deskmate, clueless about what had happened. Zhou Ran did have beautiful legs—fair and delicate, blue veins faintly visible—but why was she accusing him of stealing her stockings?

He sighed, "Miss, I haven't seen your stockings."

"Nonsense! Someone saw you taking my stockings while I was at lunch!" Zhou Ran accused, yanking Song Kai's bag from under the desk. She rummaged through it and soon produced a white stocking.

Song Kai was even more bewildered. What on earth was going on?

Zhou Ran shoved his head, snapping, "Pervert!"

Song Kai tried to explain.

At that moment, a chorus of mockery and jeers rose from the boys in the back.

"Knew he was a perverted shut-in—stealing a girl's stockings."

"Probably wants to take them home for some private fun."

"Ha, his dad was a crooked businessman who made off with people's money—what good could the son be?"

"Such a pity for Zhou Ran, having to sit next to a freak like him. Who knows what worse things might happen."

Their voices were loud enough for the whole class to hear.

Song Kai understood immediately—this was Chen Haijun's doing, framing him through others. He hadn't expected Zhou Ran to get caught up in it.

He shrugged at Zhou Ran. "I didn’t steal them—someone else must have put them there. It’s your fault for being too pretty; as your deskmate, I just get caught in the crossfire."

Zhou Ran was angry at first, but hearing Song Kai's explanation—mixed with a compliment—she couldn't help but laugh before spitting at him in mock annoyance. "You don’t know how lucky you are! Other guys wanted to sit with me, but I refused. And you, Song Kai, you’re always getting pushed around. The teacher hits you, your classmates bully you—you really are pitiful."

Song Kai simply ignored her and continued reading.

Toward the end of the school day, Song Kai was deeply engrossed in his physics textbook when he heard a faint groan of pain from beside him.

He turned to see Zhou Ran clutching her stomach, cheeks flushed, sweat beading on her forehead, half-lying across her desk.

"Menstrual cramps," Song Kai concluded at a glance. The flushed cheeks meant she was on her period. Likely, after exercising and drinking cold Sprite at lunch, the pain had gotten much worse.

He leaned over and whispered, "Zhou Ran, are you alright?"

"None... of your business," Zhou Ran snapped, clearly in pain and embarrassed.

Song Kai could tell she was hurting so badly she could barely speak. "I can help," he said, and without thinking, pressed his fingers just below her navel.

He hadn’t thought much of it—sickness should be treated, after all. As a disciple of the Quanzhen Sect, his medical skills were not to be underestimated.

But through the knit sweater, the effect wasn’t obvious—cloth would just slip away.

With that thought, Song Kai’s hand slipped beneath Zhou Ran’s sweater...