Chapter 51 - Chen Yi was blackmailed

Class 1 of Grade 1.

“What's the count now?” Cao Tian entered from outside the classroom, saying as he walked, “I just saw someone confessing to Chen Ke again outside, from Monday to now, there have been at least eight if not ten.”

Do you think one day Chen might just agree without thinking?"

"No, I won't."

"No, I won't."

Two voices answered Cao Tian's question at the same time.

"Huh?" Cao Tian asked, "Why are you so sure?"

Zeng Shoufa glanced at Han Ke, then turned back and said nonchalantly, "Chen Ke doesn't think much of them."

"Yeah, that's right. Chen Ke must have high standards," Cao Tian said. "Even when Han Ke sits beside her, she's not interested, let alone the others."

“咳咳。”曾守法故意咳嗽了两声，试图提醒曹添。

但曹添似乎并没有意识到曾守法的意图。

“你怎么了？感冒了啊？”曹添伸手贴到曾守法脑门上，“还好，没发烧。”

曾守法：“……”

“By the way, Han Ke,” Cao Tian leaned back in his chair, facing Han Ke, “I've been hearing a lot lately about Chen Ke confessing to you. Is that true?”

"......" Han Ke's hand holding the pen paused.

"No way, is it true?" Cao Tian couldn't help but raise his voice, "I thought it was just a rumor spread by them."

When did this happen? You rejected her? Why? Chen Ke is really nice, you--"

"I'll give you a book." Han Ke looked up at Cao Tian and said lightly.

"I'm talking to you about Chen Ke, what book are you talking about," Cao Tian was first stunned, and then eagerly asked, "What book are you going to give me?"

曾守法：“……”这人全校第三抄来的吧？

“十万个为什么。”韩柯说。

“……”曹添终于反应过来了，“我也没问很多啊，那就问一个吧，你真的拒绝陈可了啊？”

Han Ke fell silent again, just when Cao Tian and Zeng Shoufa thought he would remain silent, he spoke, "It's not the right time."

"Huh?" Cao Tian didn't understand the meaning of these words, "Is this a refusal or not? What does 'it's not the right time' mean? Do we have to pick a time to refuse?"

……

“他真是这么说的？”陈可问吕灿灿。

“是啊，曹添是这么告诉我的，”吕灿灿说，“他说，他问韩柯真的拒绝你了吗，韩柯先是沉默了一段时间，然后没头没脑地说了句没到时候，曹添问他什么意思他也不说。”

Chen Ke bit his finger joints, pondering over these few words.

Is it not the right time?

What does that mean?

Do I need to pick a good day to refuse?

Do you think the previous refusals were not formal enough?

In that case, does she need to confess formally as well, since her confession wasn't formal enough?

"Hey, um, Chen Ke, " Lv Cancan looked at Chen Ke, who was leaning against the back of the chair and biting the knuckle of her left index finger, and said in a low voice, "Don't tell Cao Tian that I told you about this, okay?"

"Why? Can't I know my own business?"

"He asked me to keep it a secret," Lv CanCan said, feeling awkward. "He accidentally let it slip, and then he repeatedly urged me not to let a third person know."

"If he knew I told you the secret in just a few minutes, he would definitely never tell me a secret again in the future."

"It's okay," Chen Ke smiled, "I'm definitely not the third person."

"Huh?"

"Han Ke knows, Cao Tian knows, Zeng Shoufa definitely knows, and now there's you," Chen said with a laugh, "how come it's still not my turn to be the third person."

"Wow, this is unbelievable," Lv Cancan silently raised his thumb, "I'm impressed."

"But Cao Tian is really not thoughtful. He knew about this and didn't tell me. Not telling me is one thing, but not letting you tell me is really untrustworthy."

"......" Lv Cancan chuckled, "Right."

Class 1.

"Ah-choo!"

"Are you also having a cold?" Zeng Shoufa looked at Cao Tian in front of him and asked.

"No, I don't think so," Cao Tian touched his forehead, "It's fine, no fever."

"Why do I feel like someone is cursing at me?" Cao Tian raised his hand and rubbed under his nose, talking to himself.

……

Time always flies by at school, May quietly passed by, and June arrived as scheduled.

Groups of children are happily chatting and laughing as they leave school, the surrounding shops are bustling with business, and the pedestrians walking back and forth have joyful expressions, creating a peaceful scene.

However, in this society, things are not always as they seem to the naked eye. Even with the sun shining brightly, there are always dark areas.

On the evening of June 1st, Children's Day.

Chen Ke's bedroom.

"Sis, are you there?" Chen Yi stood at the door of Chen Ke's room and gently knocked on the door.

He pressed his ear against the door but didn't hear a response.

"Just go in, stop being so particular. She's your sister, what are you afraid of?" Chen Feng half-lying on the sofa, shouted at Chen Yi.

"But..." Chen Yi turned and looked at Chen Feng, "Okay."

"Sis, I'm coming in." Chen Yi said as he opened the door.

"You—" Chen Ke happened to come out of the bathroom at this moment, and when she saw Chen Yi coming in, she was about to get angry.

"I knocked on the door!" Chen Yi saw that her sister's face was not good, so she knew she was about to get angry, and quickly spoke up to defend herself, "You didn't answer me."

"I'm taking a shower with the shower head on, so I couldn't hear anything," Chen Ke said as he dried his hair with a towel and walked towards the desk. "Have a seat. If you stand there, my parents might think I'm making you stand as a punishment."

With permission, Chen Yi obediently moved a small chair and sat by Chen Ke's desk.

Chen Ke took out a hairdryer from the drawer, plugged it in, and turned it to medium speed.

"Spill it. Are you here to find me because you got into trouble and can't tell your parents?"

"No." Chen Yi answered, picking at his fingernails.

"Then what is it? It can't be that you can't solve the problem, right?" Chen Ke joked.

"I was robbed." Chen Yi's eyes slowly turned red and his voice trembled.

The sound of the hairdryer abruptly stopped.

"What's wrong?" Chen Ke put down the hairdryer, reached out to cup Chen Yi's face, and used her thumb to wipe the corner of his eye, asking him gently, "Xiao Yi, don't cry, sister is here, take your time and tell me, there's no rush."

The kid was really scared, usually very articulate, but now he can't speak fluently.

From Chen Yi's stuttering and intermittent sentences, Chen Ke pieced together the cause and effect of the matter.

After the performance of the Children's Day program today, Chen Yi and his classmates were given a day off from school.

Ms. Wang was present today, and she was supposed to take Chen Yi home after school was out.

But a few kids in Chen Yi's class made plans to play together, and Chen Yi also became eager to join them. He used his charm to persuade Mrs. Wang.

Mrs. Wang didn't want to ruin the kids' fun, so she agreed to let them play together. She was afraid that Chen Yi didn't have money to buy things, so she left him 50 yuan.

After Mrs. Wang left, a few boys and girls said they wanted to play a game of adventure.

The naughtiest little boy among them said, "Do you know, there is a haunted house behind our school."

“Wow!~~~” Several children were really scared.

“Really! I heard it from my brother, he used to study here too. He said that the school used to be a graveyard, and then it was filled in and the school was built on top of it.

He said, the previous senior students in the sixth grade dug a hole at school and found a skull.

The little girl was scared, "So scary."

"Don't be afraid, we have so many people here, we will protect you," said Chen Yi.

“挖到骷髅头之后呢？”陈逸问。

“之后，学长被吓到了，发烧了，回家躺了好几天，还是一个老婆婆帮他叫魂才醒过来的。”

"Is it true or not?" some children don't believe.

"Who cares if it's true or not, let's go see for ourselves," the most mischievous boy said, "Nobody lives in that old house, but my brother said when they were studying there, they could always hear someone crying."

"Oh, and by the way, did you guys know that on the third day of the third month, if you look from the residential building across from the school towards the school's flagpole, you can see will-o'-the-wisps?"

"Have you seen them?" Chen Yi asked him.

“Of course - I've never seen it before,” he said.

“Tsk~~~” the kids all exclaimed at once.

“Don't tske, I don't live here, if I did, I would definitely go see it, I'm not afraid.”

"Really? Aren't you afraid?" Chen Yi asked.

"Of course—"

"No wonder there's a ghost on your back." Chen Yi said softly.

"Ah, where, where is it? Did it leave?" The mischievous little boy jumped up in fright, raising his hand and patting his own back frantically.

"Hahaha." The kids burst into laughter.

"Zhou Tao, Chen Yi is teasing you." the little girl said.

That's right, the naughtiest one is Zhou Tao.

"Tong Jiaxin, you shouldn't have told him. Let's see how long he can keep laughing at himself." Chen Yi said with a smile.

"..." Zhou Tao said, "You're asking for trouble, Chen Yi. If we see a ghost later, it will eat you first."

"Come on, I'm not afraid," Chen Yi said, "There are no ghosts in this world. Don't scare yourself."

"You haven't seen it, so how do you know it doesn't exist?" the other children asked.

"Hey, that's funny. You haven't seen it either, so how do you know it does exist?"

“……”

That's true, but playing this adventure with the mindset of looking for ghosts is indeed quite scary.

Especially when a group of little brats walk to the deserted area behind the school, it's particularly scary.

They are like newborn calves not afraid of tigers, even if there's no ghost, these kids are lucky if they don't get caught by human traffickers going to such a place.

Fortunately, we were not targeted by human traffickers, but unfortunately, these little brats went and sent people to the gangsters.

As Zhou Tao walked with them towards the run-down house behind the school, five boys dressed like junior high school students were squatting on the side of the road, smoking cigarettes on the bricks.

When they saw a group of kids coming towards them, these five middle school students looked at each other like wolves seeing sheep, smirked, and then slowly stood up.

Chen Yi first realized the danger, protected Tong Jiaxin behind him, and reached out to tug at the back of Zhou Tao's clothes with his other hand.

Zhou Tao looked back at him and he said, "Let's go back first, this place is not safe."

Zhou Tao still remembers the time when Chen Yi scared him just now, teasing Chen Yi, "What, are you scared before we even get there? Adventure is about taking risks. It's natural to feel unsafe. If it's completely safe, then it's not an adventure at all."

Chen Yi couldn't stop Zhou Tao even if he wanted to.

Because, obviously those few people were walking towards them.

Chen Yi was just a 9-year-old kid, and no matter how rational he was, he was scared at the moment.

“Hey, kids, are you ready for an adventure?” They must have heard what Zhou Tao said, “Count us in, big brothers.”

Zhou Tao, the silly guy who is tall but not very smart, answered them with a smile, “Do the big brothers want to join us? Sure.”

Chen Yi bit his lower lip, and if possible, he wanted to punch Zhou Tao.

Does this person have no eyes?

Even if he can't see their malice without eyes, what about his brain?

Is there none either?

Maybe sell him to human traffickers, they probably think his brain doesn't work well!

A few young thugs heard Zhou Tao's answer and laughed at each other.

"Okay, brother is with you, do you have any expression?" the leader pinched Zhou Tao's cheek and asked.

"Ouch!" Zhou Tao took the boy's hand off her face.

Chen Yi looked back, there was no escape, two boys had quietly stood behind them, blocking their way.

Chen Yi was scared, but he endured it because there was Tong Jiaxin, the girl. He had promised to protect her.

Even though Zhou Tao was silly, he knew what these people were up to.

He swallowed hard and took a few steps back. Now, the few kids were surrounded by five hooligans like sitting ducks in a barrel.

"So you want to go on an adventure?" the leader of the hooligans said, "We brothers can accompany you. Just give us a little something to show your respect, and we'll be good."

Zhou Tao, this guy who bullies the weak and fears the strong, usually talks more than anyone else, but now he's as silent as a mute, not saying a word for a long time.

Several kids around him have been scared to tears, sobbing and choking.

Under Chen Ke's education, Chen Yi has always remembered a saying since he was a child—

In a situation where you can't win, you must run. If you can't escape, then see what he wants. If he wants money, then give money. If he wants sex, then delay. There will always be someone who can save you. If you really have to take a beating, then protect your head. It's no big deal to take a beating. A gentleman can take revenge even after ten years. You can always come back for revenge in the future.

So, Chen Yi, the little boy, gritted his teeth and took the 15 yuan he already had in his pocket and handed it to the ringleader of the gang.

Chen Yi looks really handsome, and today is Children's Day, so Mrs. Wang dressed him up nicely. Now Chen Yi looks delicate, like a little prince among the crowd.

Plus, because of fear, her eye sockets were slightly red, adding a few more touches of charm to her beautiful peach blossom eyes.

Although it's not very appropriate to describe a boy like this, Chen Yi's current state really has a kind of sickly beauty.

So, the bully couldn't resist and touched Chen Yi's face.

Chen Yi was scared and took a few steps back, dropping three coins.

He quickly squatted down to pick them up from the ground and put them into the bully's hand.

The little rascal looked at Chen Yi's reaction and thought it was fun, so he wanted to tease him.

"Is that all? That's too little, isn't it? You're the only one giving money? What about your friends, don't they have money?"

Several other children also took out a few coins from their pockets and handed them to the bully.

"Tsk tsk tsk, just this little? Can't even buy a pack of decent cigarettes."

“才这么点钱，怎么办呢？哥哥们不满意啊，你们说，该怎么做呢？”

“呜呜呜~~~~”有好几个小朋友忍不住，大声哭了出来。

"Don't cry! I'll beat anyone who cries! Got it? Especially you, stop crying!"

The children pouted and whimpered, the sound of their sobs tugging at the heartstrings.

But the bullies felt no sympathy.

Oh.

They may not be human.

Chen Yi felt that this stalemate was not a solution, so he took the initiative to say, "We really don't have any money, but there is money at home. If you let us go, we will give you the money tomorrow. Is that okay?"

“You are quite sensible and on the right track.”

Just when Chen Yi thought they agreed with his idea, one of the thugs spoke, "Little brother, do you think we are idiots? If we let you go, you will just run back to your parents and report us. Forget about the money, we might not even see you again.”

“……”

"Right, that's what you think, right? Too bad, even if you sue us, we won't get in trouble. Your parents can't find us, and even if they do, we're minors, they can't do anything to us. On the other hand, as long as you're in school, we can catch you every day."

So, get rid of your foolish thoughts."

趁着那几个人将注意力放到了陈逸身上的时候，周涛想趁机冲出去。

但是他一跑，其他几个小孩子也想跑，于是，场面就有些乱了。

那几个混混去抓他们的时候，陈逸也拽上了佟佳欣跑向了另一边。

周涛这脑子该好使的时候不好使，不该使的时候，比谁的脑子都灵光。

他嚷着：“陈逸有钱，你们后面那小子有钱，他身上还有50块呢。”

正偷跑着的陈逸听到周涛这一嗓子，心猛地一跳。

猪队友！

五个混混分头行动，三个去追那一群孩子，另外两个返回来追陈逸和佟佳欣。

陈逸使出了吃奶的力气拉着佟佳欣跑。

佟佳欣毕竟是小女孩，体力有限，没一会儿就喘的不行，她的速度一慢，就让拽着她的陈逸很吃力了。

陈逸顾及不上额角淌下来的汗，他紧张地朝后面张望着，那两个人马上就追到他们了。

“周涛说的那屋子应该就在这边了，你再努力一下，我们躲那里面去。”陈逸牵着佟佳欣的手，鼓励着她。

佟佳欣也不想拖陈逸后腿，她重重地点了下头，咬着牙跑着。

幸好，破房子离得不远。

陈逸和佟佳欣停在这间黑瓦片黑墙壁，连门都只是松松垮垮的木板的门口，陈逸握紧了佟佳欣的手，给了她一个“相信他，别怕”的眼神。

佟佳欣“嗯”了声。

两个小孩就这样进入了那间据说会听到有人在哭的破房子里面。

这间房子里面很黑，有一些破旧的家具在地上乱七八糟地摆放着，墙上还有去世的人的黑白照，还有几个牌位在桌上放着。

陈逸双手合十，对着他们鞠了好几个躬，“对不起啊，你们别怪我们，我们只是进来躲一下，不会偷你们东西的。”

佟佳欣早早地就闭上了眼睛在地上蹲着。

陈逸拉着她挪到了墙边，那里有一点点光亮。