Chapter 4

Tianze sat cross-legged on the roof of the school building, a worn notebook resting on his knees. The cool afternoon breeze tugged at his hair as he flipped through the pages. Equations, notes, and scribbles filled every inch of paper — his personal chaos organized in a way that only made sense to him.

Below, the schoolyard was alive with the usual after-school chatter. A group of girls were huddled near the vending machine, giggling. A soccer match was happening on the far field, and from the sound of it, Jian was probably involved.

"You should take a break, you know."

Ren’s voice drifted over from behind him. Tianze glanced up as Ren climbed onto the roof, holding two juice boxes.

Tianze raised an eyebrow. "Did you steal those?"

"I borrowed them from the vending machine." Ren sat down beside him, tossing one of the juice boxes into Tianze’s lap.

"Borrowing implies you’re going to return them."

Ren shrugged. "Details."

Tianze sighed and opened the juice box. "What are you doing up here?"

"Looking for you," Ren said. "You’ve been acting weird since… you know."

Tianze’s eyes darkened. "Since Wu Lin?"

Ren nodded. "Yeah. You know he’s going to come back for revenge, right?"

"I know," Tianze said, taking a sip from his juice box. "But he’s not my problem right now."

Ren’s eyebrows lifted. "Really?"

"I have a math competition next week," Tianze said. "Need to prepare."

Ren stared at him like he’d grown a second head. "Wait, hold on — you’re worried about a math competition?"

"I’m not worried," Tianze replied. "I’m preparing."

"Same thing."

Tianze rolled his eyes. "Says the guy who barely passed the last test."

Ren smirked. "That's why we have you."

Just then, the metal door behind them creaked open, and Jian’s head popped through. His face was red and glistening with sweat.

"There you guys are," Jian said, climbing onto the roof. "We need to get going."

"Going where?" Tianze asked warily.

Jian’s grin widened. "A little celebration. I got us into the arcade."

"Arcade?" Tianze’s eyes narrowed. "How?"

"I have my ways," Jian said mysteriously. "Let’s just say the guy at the counter owed me a favor."

Tianze hesitated. "I have studying to do."

"Studying?" Jian scoffed. "Come on, genius. Live a little."

Ren stood up, stretching. "He's right, you know."

Tianze sighed. "Fine. But I’m not spending any money."

"Good thing I wasn’t planning on paying," Jian said, laughing.

---

The arcade was crowded and loud. Flashing neon lights mixed with the rapid sounds of buttons being smashed. Jian immediately ran toward the basketball machine, yelling over his shoulder, "I’m getting the high score!"

Tianze stood awkwardly near the entrance, arms crossed. Ren leaned casually against a nearby machine.

"Not your thing?" Ren asked.

Tianze shook his head. "Too noisy."

Ren nodded toward the claw machine. "Try that."

Tianze frowned. "I’m not wasting money on that."

"I’ll pay," Ren said.

Tianze narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

Ren smirked. "Because you’re a genius, right? Let’s see if that brain of yours can beat a stupid machine."

Tianze sighed and stepped up to the claw machine. He studied the layout — the angles, the claw strength, the position of the plushies. After a moment, he inserted the coin and moved the claw.

Click.

The claw dropped and clamped onto a small blue dragon plushie — and held.

"No way," Ren murmured.

Tianze pressed the button, and the plushie dropped into the bin. He reached down and pulled it out, holding it up.

"Beginner’s luck," Ren said.

Tianze smirked. "Or maybe I’m just better than you."

Ren shook his head. "You're impossible."

Just then, Jian came running up, holding a huge stack of tickets. "Guys! Look at this!"

Tianze raised an eyebrow. "How did you get that many?"

Jian grinned. "Let's just say the guy at the Skee-Ball machine was distracted."

Tianze sighed. "You cheated, didn’t you?"

Jian’s grin widened. "Define cheating."

Before Tianze could respond, a loud crash echoed through the arcade. He turned toward the source and froze.

Wu Lin was standing by the entrance, arms crossed, flanked by two other boys. His eyes locked onto Tianze.

"Seriously?" Tianze muttered.

"Looks like he found us," Ren said, his tone sharp.

Wu Lin stalked toward them. "Hey, nerd. Thought you could get away with embarrassing me?"

Tianze’s mouth went dry. "We're not looking for trouble."

"Yeah?" Wu Lin sneered. "Too bad."

He lunged — and Tianze barely ducked in time. Wu Lin's fist sailed over his head, crashing into the side of the claw machine.

Jian was already moving, landing a sharp punch to Wu Lin’s side. The other two boys jumped in, grabbing Jian and pulling him away.

Ren tackled one of the boys, driving him to the ground.

Tianze’s heart raced. His instincts screamed at him to run — but Jian was struggling. Ren was pinned under one of Wu Lin’s friends.

Move, his mind urged.

Tianze’s hand closed around the blue dragon plushie. His eyes narrowed.

"HEY!"

Wu Lin turned toward him.

Tianze hurled the plushie at Wu Lin’s face with surprising strength. Wu Lin staggered back — just enough time for Tianze to charge forward. He crashed into Wu Lin’s chest, knocking him to the ground.

Jian kicked one of the boys in the leg and freed himself. Ren elbowed the other in the gut.

Wu Lin growled, glaring at Tianze. "You—"

"I told you," Tianze said, breathing hard. "Don’t touch my friends."

Wu Lin hesitated — and then, for some reason, he backed away.

"This isn’t over," Wu Lin spat, before disappearing into the crowd.

Jian clapped Tianze on the shoulder. "Damn, that was wild!"

Ren stood, brushing himself off. "You okay?"

Tianze nodded, even though his hands were still shaking.

Jian grinned. "Who knew you had it in you?"

Tianze shrugged. "Not me."

Jian’s arm slung around his neck. "Genius and a badass? You’re becoming dangerous, Tianze."

Tianze snorted. "Shut up."