Chapter 106

106 No, I don’t want us to be friends

Yi Chen who was tucking in his shirt didn’t immediately respond. If he said the real reason this might be the last time he could casually chat with Zi Han like this so he took a moment to come up with a plausible reason. With his back turned to Zi Han he straightened his jacket thoughts unknown.

Zi Han tilted his head to the side trying to get a good look at Yi Chen’s face. “You know that our families are barely amicable plus my mother keeps warning me to stay away from you yet here you are being nice to me. Isn’t it good to just stay out of each other’s lives and treat each other as unfamiliar classmates?”

The words unfamiliar classmates didn’t settle well with Yi Chen. He didn’t want that at all. Since Zi Han had strolled into his heart he wouldn’t let him go. Thus he turned around and said, “Conflicts of the previous generation have nothing to do with us...”

“So you want us to be friends?” asked Zi Han not even certain what he was trying to achieve. This was one of his grandfather’s rules when he permitted him to enroll but he had already broken both rules several times. The porcelain was already cracked so why not smash the rest of it?

Yi Chen sat next to Zi Han and looked into his eyes before resolutely saying, “No, I don’t want us to be friends.”

Hearing this Zi Han’s brow twitched feeling a little complicated. If they had met under different circumstances he most certainly wouldn’t mind being friends with Yi Chen.

He had a strong affiliation to powerful people. Why? It was because they would motivate him to improve himself but apparently, Yi Chen wasn’t interested in being his friend.

“Then what?” he asked with slight irritation.

Yi Chen rested his elbows near his knees and slightly turned his body in Zi Han’s direction before responding,

.....

“I recognize your potential and I want you to be a part of my team in the future.”

Zi Han’s body froze for a moment before he suddenly chuckled. Yes, it was his goal to enlist and join the military but he didn’t have any aspirations after that except being the best at everything. Now he was being directly offered the high table in the federation by the future Marshal.

Wasn’t his career progressing a little too smoothly? “You must be fuckin with me, right?”

Yi Chen stared at him for a while and the two locked eyes before he said, “Do I look like that kind of person?”

Zi Han licked his lower lip causing Yi Chen’s intense gaze to glance over at them in a trance. He subconsciously pressed his lips in a thin line while averting his gaze.

“But my mental power is ranked B,” said Zi Han but Yi Chen didn’t care.

“It doesn’t matter plus I can help you with training so you can progress faster and get a breakthrough.....,” said Yi Chen his tone serious like he really meant it.

Zi Han rubbed the back of his neck while saying, “But my mother won’t approve.”

Yi Chen chuckled while sitting up straight. “Are you a mama’s boy?”

Zi Han didn’t deny it. He said it loud and proud, “Yeah, I am. But that also means I can coax her.”

“Then what do you say?” asked Yi Chen in a charming voice while leaning closer as though luring a pure-hearted soul to the dark side.

Zi Han’s alluring eyes narrowed as he pressed the tip of his tongue on his cheek. “I am on board as long as there are benefits,” he said agreeing without a second thought.

A mesmerized Yi Chen couldn’t take his eyes off Zi Han. He couldn’t believe that he successfully lured the bunny into the trap with ease. Now that he had managed to tie Zi Han to his side the rest would naturally fall in place.

He was so happy that he couldn’t contain himself. The tips of his ears felt hot. He compressed his lips trying to conceal the shy smile threatening to show. All those nights of staying up late were indeed worth it.

***

“Argh... what the fuck am I supposed to do,” complained Zi Han as he lay flat on his desk seeming defeated.

Shorty leaned in to take a look and said, “At least you have improved.”

“Yeah by two percent. Prof Quinn is seriously gunning for you,” said Shannon while flipping a stylus pen in her hand.

Zi Han couldn’t understand why he was so bad at mech repair. No matter how hard he tried to follow the notes he couldn’t get it. That two percent only happened because of Yi Chen’s advice last time.

Now that professor Quinn was asking for his head if he doesn’t get at least fifty percent in the next class Zi Han was even more desperate. If he doesn’t achieve this then he would be forced to move into class two.

“Any ideas?” he asked as he turned his head that was lying flat on the desk to face Shorty.

Shorty lay down as well and looked at him while saying, “I can tutor you though I can’t guarantee the results. I got an average of fifty-six percent.” If Shorty tutored him it was like being led by the blind so...

“And he is the best among us,” said Shaun while minimizing his results on the floating screen.

“I got seventy-nine so how about I tutor you?” said a familiar raspy voice as a shadow cast over Zi Han’s head.

Zi Han raised his body that was lying flat on the desk and looked at Evan with his arms folded across his chest.

“What do you want in return?” asked Zi Han seriously considering it.

Evan smiled slyly as he placed his hands at both corners of Zi Han’s desk and said, “We can discuss remunerations later.”

Zi Han was skeptical but what choice did he have? He was about to agree when Hela took out a lollipop from her mouth and said,

“I have an average of eighty-five. That means I am better qualified,” she said as she walked over to his desk and pushed away Evan.

Shorty narrowed his eyes and pointed at the both of them while saying, “Why are the two of you so enthusiastic, huh?... A third of the class is struggling with mech repair but I don’t see you rushing to help them....”

“Or me,” interjected Shannon also curious to know.

“It’s very suspicious,” said Shaun also sensing the biasness.

“Based on your criteria in choosing a tutor for big brother Han then wouldn’t the most suitable person be the class president?” asked Shorty and everyone turned to look in Yi Chen’s direction.

The man had his head lowered while checking the parts in the supply box with Li Ran chattering incessantly in his ears. Zi Han’s eyes beamed looking like he had seen a savior.