NOVEL NEXT Chapter 10: FIGHT.
The gym was eerily quiet, the overhead lights flickering slightly as Hua Rong followed Lin Zeyan inside. Two boys were already there, standing by the ring, their postures relaxed but expectant. One of them, dressed in the standard school uniform—white shirt and dark blue pants—looked particularly confident.
Lin Zeyan strode forward, his voice sharp. "We're going to have a match, and I need a witness!" He turned slightly, nodding toward Hua Rong. "I brought someone, so don't forget what you promised."
Hua Rong's brows furrowed. A fight? That wasn't allowed unless it was an official match. Her fingers shot out, gripping Lin Zeyan's wrist in an attempt to stop him. "What are you doing?"
Lin Zeyan smirked, his eyes gleaming with something reckless. "If I win, he gives me three thousand points."
Her grip tightened. "What?"
"Points can be transferred," he whispered, lowering his voice. "And there aren't any CCTV cameras in this part of the building."
That part was true. No cameras. No proof. A sinking feeling settled in Hua Rong's chest. Before she could argue, Lin Zeyan pulled his arm free and stepped toward the ring.
The other boy in uniform removed his jacket and climbed out, leaving behind a taller, more muscular opponent.
Bai Xinchen.
Hua Rong's gaze darted between them. Bai Xinchen had the build of someone who trained regularly—broad-shouldered and strong. In contrast, Lin Zeyan was lean, built for speed but lacking in raw power.
Her brows drew together. This wasn't going to end well.
A boy standing beside her chuckled. "Obviously, Bai Xinchen will win."
She ignored him, her attention locked on the ring.
"The first person to hit the ground loses," Lin Zeyan declared.
Bai Xinchen wasted no time. He lunged forward, his fist shooting toward Lin Zeyan's face.
Lin Zeyan barely managed to dodge, twisting his body to the side. He grabbed Bai Xinchen's extended arm, attempting to yank him off balance, but Bai Xinchen reacted instantly. His other fist came up—fast, brutal—and smashed into Lin Zeyan's cheek.
A sharp crack echoed through the gym.
Lin Zeyan staggered, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. But instead of backing away, he darted forward again, grabbing Bai Xinchen around the waist and shoving him with all his strength.
Bai Xinchen held his ground effortlessly. With a sharp exhale, he threw an uppercut straight into Lin Zeyan's ribs. The impact sent him stumbling. Another hit—harder this time—slammed into his jaw, snapping his head back.
Hua Rong's stomach twisted.
Lin Zeyan barely had time to react before Bai Xinchen grabbed him, lifted him off his feet, and hurled him onto the mat.
A thud reverberated through the gym.
Lin Zeyan didn't move.
Bai Xinchen exhaled, rolling his shoulders. "Hah. Too easy," he muttered, turning away.
Then, suddenly—
BEEP.
His wristwatch flickered. -4000 points.
Bai Xinchen stopped mid-step. His expression shifted from smug satisfaction to wide-eyed disbelief as he stared at the numbers flashing on his watch.
"What—?" His fingers tapped at the screen as if trying to correct some kind of error.
The realization hit, and his shock twisted into anger. He spun back toward Lin Zeyan, still sprawled on the mat. "Hey! Didn't you say there were no CCTV cameras here?! Then why the hell did I lose my points?!"
Lin Zeyan didn't respond. He couldn't.
Bai Xinchen's hands curled into fists, rage flaring in his eyes. His muscles tensed, and in the next second, he stormed toward Lin Zeyan, his arm lifting, ready to strike again—
Hua Rong moved.
Faster than she thought possible, she stepped between them and caught Bai Xinchen's wrist, stopping his fist just inches from Lin Zeyan's face.
His arm was solid, all tense muscle and restrained force, but her grip was unwavering. For a moment, neither of them spoke. The weight of her glare was heavy, filled with something sharp and unyielding.
Bai Xinchen hesitated.
That split second of uncertainty was all it took. Hua Rong's grip tightened slightly before she released him.
Tch. Bai Xinchen clicked his tongue, pulling back. His jaw clenched, but he didn't argue. Instead, he scoffed and turned away, stepping out of the ring without another word.
Hua Rong exhaled, shaking her head before crouching beside Lin Zeyan. His face was bruised, a thin trail of blood dripping from a cut above his brow. Stupid.
She slung his arm over her shoulder and pulled him to his feet.
"Come on," she muttered, half-dragging him toward the school's medical room.
He better wake up soon because there were a lot of things she needed to ask.
...
"Hey, wake up!"
Hua Rong splashed cold water onto Lin Zeyan's face, watching as his breathing hitched. His lashes fluttered slightly before his eyes finally cracked open, hazy with exhaustion.
A deep exhale left his lips as he leaned back against the bed's headboard, blinking as if trying to steady himself.
Hua Rong, arms crossed, tapped her fingers against her elbow impatiently. "You did that on purpose!"
Lin Zeyan averted his gaze.
"Why?" she demanded, stepping closer. "You knew exactly what would happen—so why?"
Still, he didn't answer.
Frustration surged inside her. Before she could stop herself, her fingers curled around his shirt, pulling him forward.
"Why did you deceive him?!" Her voice trembled with restrained anger.
Lin Zeyan's eyes darkened, his expression unreadable. For a moment, she thought he wouldn't answer. But then—
"Because I don't want to go back to my school!" he snapped, his voice sharp, raw, like something had ripped him apart.
Hua Rong's grip loosened slightly, her brows furrowing.
"If our section gets the lowest points, we'll have to go to one of the twenty-two schools to represent Blackthorn," Lin Zeyan muttered, his voice quieter now. "And my school… will be the first to go."
Hua Rong frowned. "How do you know for sure that your school will be first?"
A hollow chuckle escaped his lips, void of any amusement. "Because they follow alphabetical order. And my school—Anhua High School—is at the top of the list."
His jaw clenched, and for the first time since waking up, his mask cracked.
"I can't go back there." His voice wavered. "I refuse to face them again."
Hua Rong studied him, her frustration ebbing into something heavier. He looked trapped, like someone desperately clawing at the walls of a cage, knowing there was no escape.
"Why?" she asked, softer this time.
Lin Zeyan's knuckles tightened on the sheets. "Because I hate that place."
A long silence stretched between them. The air in the room felt heavier, pressing down on them like an unseen weight.
"Then why did you keep getting into trouble if you were so afraid of going back?" she asked, not accusingly, but genuinely trying to understand.
Lin Zeyan let out a bitter scoff, shaking his head. "Trouble?" He exhaled sharply, then looked at her—really looked at her. "Do you really think I was the bad one?"
His voice dropped lower, almost a whisper. "Hua Rong… do you think I deserved to be sent here?"
She didn't answer.
"They used to make fun of me," he continued, voice tightening. "Treated me like dirt. Like I didn't deserve to breathe the same air as them." His fists trembled. "And when I finally fought back—when I finally stood up for myself—they hated me even more. They put my name forward for the reform school, not because I was the worst, but because they wanted me gone."
His dark eyes flickered with something heavy, something painful.
"Now tell me," he whispered, "should I have just let them walk all over me?"
Hua Rong stared at him, his chest tightening.
She sat down beside him, resting a hand lightly on his arm. "No," she murmured.
Lin Zeyan let out a shaky breath, as if those words allowed him to breathe for the first time in a long while.
She let the silence sit between them for a moment before speaking again. "But Bai Xinchen… how did his points drop? There were no cameras in that building."
Lin Zeyan exhaled, rubbing his temples. "There aren't many cameras in the school, only in a few places. But we have motion detectors."
Hua Rong blinked. "Motion detectors?"
"They're connected to our watches," he explained, voice steady but low. "They monitor our heart rate, blood pressure, and other vitals."
Hua Rong's brows furrowed. "So even without cameras, the system could tell someone was getting hit?"
"Yeah."
"But how does it know who's hitting who?"
Lin Zeyan hesitated before shaking his head. "I don't know. I just knew that if I got hit, the monitoring team would detect it. If they asked me who attacked me, I'd say Bai Xinchen's name. And I also brought you as a witness.''
Hua Rong exhaled slowly, her mind processing everything.
She reached out and ruffled Lin Zeyan's hair lightly. "Don't do something like this again," she said firmly. "We'll find another way to earn points."
Lin Zeyan let out a dry chuckle, the corner of his lips tilting up in a humorless smirk. "There's not much time left."
She knew he was right. But even so—
"We will," she said.
Even if she didn't know how yet.