Chapter 3 – The smart kid

Tianze sat at the corner desk near the window, the afternoon sun cutting sharp patterns across the wooden floor. His hands gripped the edges of his math textbook as he stared at the board. The problem the teacher had written out was simple enough — for him, anyway. Most of the class was struggling, murmuring and scribbling furiously in their notebooks.

"Alright, who can solve this?" the teacher asked, arms crossed.

Tianze sighed. The answer had formed in his mind almost the moment the problem was written. He looked to his left and saw Ren chewing on the end of his pen, eyes narrowed. Jian, meanwhile, was resting his chin on his desk, eyes half-lidded.

"Tianze," the teacher called, noticing his silence. "Do you have an answer?"

Tianze hesitated. Answering would mean more attention, and more attention usually meant more trouble. But… he hated seeing Ren and Jian struggle.

"Yeah," Tianze said, standing up. "It's 312."

"Explain your steps."

Tianze sighed and walked to the board. His hand moved almost on its own, marking out the process with quick, neat strokes. In less than a minute, the problem was solved. He turned back to the class.

"Like that," he said flatly.

"Excellent," the teacher said, adjusting his glasses. "You really are gifted at this."

Jian clapped lazily. "Genius Tianze strikes again."

Tianze sat back down, but Ren was still frowning at his notebook. "I don't get it," Ren muttered.

"Come on, it's not that hard," Tianze said, leaning over to look at his paper. "You just need to shift the equation by factoring out the—"

"It's hard for us mortals," Jian interrupted, grinning. "Not all of us are walking calculators."

Tianze rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Just then, the classroom door slid open with a loud bang. A boy from Class 3 — big, built like a wall — stalked in. His name was Wu Lin, and he had a reputation for shaking down younger students.

"Jian!" Wu Lin barked. "Where's my money?"

Jian’s smirk faded. "I told you, I don’t have it."

"That’s not my problem." Wu Lin’s eyes narrowed. "Either you pay up or—"

"Or what?" Jian’s grin sharpened.

Wu Lin's hand shot out and grabbed Jian by the collar. "Or you learn why crossing me is a mistake."

Before anyone could react, Ren stood up. "Let him go."

Wu Lin barely spared him a glance. "What are you gonna do about it?"

Ren’s jaw tightened, but he hesitated. Tianze, however, was already moving. His feet carried him across the room before he could think. He grabbed Wu Lin’s wrist and squeezed — hard.

Wu Lin's eyes widened. "What the hell—"

"Let him go," Tianze said quietly.

Wu Lin yanked his hand back. "Oh? Looks like the nerd grew a spine."

Tianze’s heart was hammering, his palms sweating. He was scared, but at the same time… something inside him had clicked.

"I don’t care who you are," Tianze said. "You don’t touch my friends."

Wu Lin's gaze darkened. "You’re gonna regret this."

"Maybe," Tianze said. "But not today."

Wu Lin's fist flew toward his face — and suddenly, Ren was there, shoving Tianze aside. The punch caught Ren in the shoulder, but he barely flinched.

Jian shot up and drove his fist into Wu Lin’s gut. Wu Lin stumbled back, coughing.

"Looks like you’re outnumbered," Jian said, shaking out his hand.

Wu Lin glared at them, but backed away toward the door. "This isn’t over."

When he was gone, Jian slumped back into his seat. "That was fun."

Ren rubbed his shoulder. "Idiot. You didn’t have to punch him."

"I wasn’t going to let him mess up your pretty face," Jian teased.

Tianze sank back into his chair. His hands were shaking. He was a coward — he knew that — but somehow, when it came to Ren and Jian, he couldn’t help himself.

"You okay?" Ren asked.

"Yeah," Tianze muttered. "Guess we’ll need to avoid Wu Lin for a while."

Jian grinned. "Or we could just fight him again."

"Or you could not," Ren said, deadpan.

Tianze chuckled despite himself. His heart was still racing, but he felt… good. For once, he had done something that mattered. Even if his knees were still weak.

Jian clapped him on the back. "Not bad, genius. Maybe you’re not so hopeless after all."

Tianze rolled his eyes. "Shut up."

But as they laughed together, he realized that for the first time in a while, he didn’t mind standing out. Not if it meant protecting them.

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