Delinquent High

Chapter 24

"Good morning," Wei Wuxian greeted happily the whole class with a huge grin. He hoped that he could get a clear and fresh start like this and could make a few friends to help him transform his life at the Delinquent High into something more bearable.

However, he was disappointed the next second. His classmates all turned towards him, that much was within his expectations. What he had not imagined would happen though was that their eyes were not welcoming and friendly, or even curious. He would take any of those options instead of what he was seeing.

There were sneers on his classmates' faces, just like the day before, perhaps only more malicious and mocking. Some of the students had at least some decency and they were simply trying to look as if they had never seen him. Some glanced at him with a hint of pity and turned their head away or down to stare at their desks.

The atmosphere in the room changed drastically from one second to another. Before Wei Wuxian had opened the door and said his greeting, everything seemed normal, friendly and open. But now, the air felt full of tension and anticipation, and he was the only one to stand here, exposed to everyone's attention and he found it unnerving. If only there was at least one person who would greet back and dissolve the awkwardness.

Wei Wuxian hurried to shake off his shock. In his experience, a smile always worked wonders and made people open up. It worked like that in the orphanage he had been in after his parents had died, and it had also worked with his siblings and Uncle Jiang, and his classmates and friends at his former school. Not with Madame Yu or at the Delinquent High though, it would seem.

There was open unfriendliness in the air, animosity even. The students who were staring at him were doing so with not good intentions, that much was clear to Wei Wuxian now. He desperately looked around, searching for even a single person who would help him out of this awkward and uncomfortable situation. But those who could have potentially wanted to stand up and go talk to him were apparently too shy to do so. Or were they scared of the consequences of associating themselves with him? Was his assigned number with 999 really so strong of a deterrent for everybody?

That was what Wei Wuxian concluded after his eyes found Mo Xuanyu's hunched over figure in one seat. The friend who had saved him from surely several punishments yesterday was now looking at his hands and pretending like he did not know him at all. Wei Wuxian could not understand what was happening here.

His classmates did not leave him in doubts for long. Those who had still been looking at him were now watching three boys who stood up and slowly walked towards him. This time, Wei Wuxian was not so foolish to think they wanted to be friends with him. On the contrary really, once again, he felt like he was a prey and they were hunters. Their hungry and mocking eyes were not leaving their intentions to imagination.

They stopped in front of him, a barrage of three corpses which were cornering him just between the door and not allowing him fully come into the classroom. And not letting him run out of the danger either as it would seem. They were so close now that he could read their name and number tags without any difficulty:

Wen Chao; 111003

Jin Zixun; 111015

Xue Yang; 111019

They were apparently the elite of the school and did not hesitate to show it. Wei Wuxian was pretty sure that their triple 1 status was not due to their good behaviour and compliance with the school rules. It was rather because of their families pulling the strings behind the scenes.

He had heard enough of the Wen family to believe that they were unscrupulous enough to even take pride in going to the Facility for Challenged Youth in Need of Special Attention of the Could Recesses High School. The Jin family instead was filthy rich so they could buy a better number for their members. He did not recognize the last family name, but of course, Wen Chao's and Jin Zixun's friends should be treated the same way by the school.

The boy on his right, Xue Yang, the one with a high ponytail kept in place by a black rubber band and his uniform's buttons left half open, closed the door behind him while looking him into the eyes and daring him to act against him. He was smiling, and it was the most dangerous one Wei Wuxian had ever seen, it made his skin crawl. This boy was trouble.

He was not the ringleader though. It was Wen Chao, the one standing in the middle, right in front of him. This one was also smiling, and once again, it was not a pleasant or friendly kind. It looked sleazy and calculating. Wei Wuxian was not with him in the room for even five seconds and he already hated him. He was not as dangerous as the other boy, but he was definitely going to be trouble as well. Wei Wuxian knew this kind of people well, wealthy, arrogant and cruel. They were a perfect example of a bully. And he was the target.

Wei Wuxian's muscles tensed and he prepared for a fight. He had already been in this kind of situation many times before, not as a target but protecting one of his friends or acquaintances from bullying. He knew what was most likely to happen. He now realized why his other classmates had not greeted him back and why the atmosphere in the classroom was so tense. Apparently, the class bullies decided that they needed to confront the new transfer student right away and assume supremacy.

Wei Wuxian straightened his spine, ready to defend himself. A thought flashed through his mind that this would only lead him into trouble, especially with the way that the teachers were already on a lookout for any mistakes he made or rules he broke. But he could simply not let himself become these bullies' victim. Hopefully, if he showed them that he was not afraid of them, they would conclude he was not an easy target and leave him alone.

That could bring with itself a very new set of problems – if a classmate became their target instead of Wei Wuxian, he would feel very bad and would be clearly at fault – but he was determined not to lose to them. He could deal with them and protect any other potential victim if it came to that. He was hoping this would not happen, both because he would not wish being a target of bullying to anyone and because even if he talked to the teachers at this school, he was not sure they would listen to him and do something about the bullies.

He could of course try to completely ignore them and pass under their radars. It worked well enough with Madame Yu. It would in truth probably be the best choice right now. However, it had been him who had announced his presence so blatantly and attracted their attention. Now, he had to face the consequences of his actions whether he liked it or not. It was too late to back down; his escape routes were efficiently blocked by the bullies and getting through them would mean to start a fight of three against one. The odds were not in his favour.

Considering all of his options, Wei Wuxian could only stand there and brace himself for whatever the bullies had prepared for him. It could for sure not be anything too elaborate or too physical, there was not enough time before the arrival of a teacher and the start of the classes. Best would be to wait the situation out and not be found as the guilty party for causing a ruckus. For he was sure that his status as student with 999 would make him automatically the culprit in every teacher's eyes.

And it would be him who would get punished. Or that was what he was starting to understand about this school and the system installed in it. No matter how unfair it looked, he was certain that he was not exaggerating with his assumptions. It was just as Madame Yu had warned him before transferring to the Delinquent High, she had made sure that he would learn his lesson and that chairman Lan Qiren would keep an eye on him. Before even starting his first day, he had probably already been labelled as a troublemaker in need of strict discipline and monitoring in his teachers' eyes.

Was it perhaps his own fault? The question was supplied by a usually well hidden and suppressed part of his mind, one which Madame Yu always managed to scrape out into the light of the day. Was he really so much of a troublemaker that he should be sent to the Delinquent High for discipline? He did not know anymore. Though, evidences were clearly here. He had just managed to rile up half of his classmates with just a greeting and to attract the attention of the class bullies. Perhaps it was really him the problem.

He shook his head internally and did his best to bury these kinds of thoughts back from where they had emerged. Although Madame Yu definitely believed he was the source of all the evil in the world, he would not succumb to her suggestions. It was the bullies' fault for targeting him, they would have done it regardless of how he had greeted the class, right?