Chapter 2 ："Crime Scene"
The students in the class were discussing their test papers with each other.
Henry returned to his seat after handing out the test papers, precisely following the position he had just captured.
Leonard.
"What are you looking at?" James, who was looking at his test paper next to him, followed his gaze, a bit curious.
What in this class could catch Henry''s attention?
Henry slowly retracted his gaze, deep in thought, "What do you think it means when someone acts all shifty when they see you..."
Was it him in the alley just now? But I didn''t do anything too outrageous in the alley, did I...
"Huh? Guilty conscience, maybe."
"Thief?" Henry asked with a smile, murmuring softly, "That hamster-like guy?"
If he had the guts to be a thief, would he still look like that?
Interesting.
The class bell rang, and the students gradually quieted down, waiting for the teacher to come.
William, curious about Leonard''s demeanor, pestered him with questions, wanting to gossip.
Leonard couldn''t tell him the truth, so he made up random excuses until the teacher arrived, and William finally stopped.
As the class president called for everyone to stand, Leonard''s thoughts drifted away.
It happened yesterday afternoon.
He was called by the homeroom teacher to the lab building to fetch the lab reports everyone had submitted after the biology experiment.
The school campus was vast, with the lab building nestled between two teaching buildings, surrounded by rows of Magnolia Grandiflora, shading the entire west side of the lab building.
It was Leonard''s first time being sent by a teacher to fetch something, and he felt a bit nervous walking along the path.
The biology labs were mostly on the third and fourth floors, and it was very quiet here, with only some noise coming from the chemistry labs below—a class had just ended.
Leonard found the classroom, used the key given by the homeroom teacher to open the door, and immediately saw the neatly stacked lab reports on the podium.
He carried the reports out of the classroom and walked down the stairs.
Just as he reached the second-floor stairwell, he heard a sharp sound of desks being dragged from not far away.
Leonard paused, turned his head to look, and blinked slowly.
Just as he was about to leave, he heard voices coming from the classroom.
The class president?
Leonard''s eyes lit up, and without thinking, he walked over. He quickly reached the back door, which was tightly closed, so he moved to the window to peek inside.
What was the class president doing here?
However, after seeing the scene inside the lab, Leonard''s eyes widened, and he shivered slightly.
The class president...
Henry, as the class president of the second-year third class, was a well-known figure throughout the school.
In his first year, he was already giving speeches at the opening ceremony, and his outstanding appearance and gentle demeanor made a lasting impression.
His grades remained consistently high, he was good at basketball, and he had won various competitions.
Whether it was classmates, students from other classes, or even seniors, he could get along well with everyone.
Leonard was in the same class as him in the first year, and Henry was also his class president then.
Since the first year, Leonard had admired Henry. He thought that after being placed in different classes, he wouldn''t have the chance to interact with him again, but unexpectedly, Henry didn''t do well in the exams and ended up in the third class.
When Leonard saw him in the new classroom, he felt a moment of excitement and joy. He rarely mustered the courage to greet him, only to receive a "Hello, classmate, you''re in the third class too, right? What''s your name?"
Leonard didn''t have the courage to say that he was his classmate from the first year.
Even so, Henry remained a perfect existence in his heart, dazzling and radiant, but not blinding.
At this moment, Henry had one hand gripping a neck, pressing someone firmly onto the lab table, his hand bulging with veins from the force, looking down at the person he had pinned.
There were a few others around, either sitting on the ground or lying down in disarray, all intimidated by his presence, trembling slightly.
The person pinned on the lab table struggled fiercely, cursing all the while.
Henry slightly curled his lips into a smile, but his demeanor changed from his usual gentle warmth to one of arrogance and pride, and the atmosphere around him seemed to become oppressive.
"I don''t like hearing people gossip about me, and I dislike even more when people like you, who can''t keep up with others, imagine how despicable they are. Actually..."
Henry leaned down slightly, forcefully moving the person''s face a few inches to make eye contact, and spat out a few words: "The despicable one is you."
"You son of a bitch! Henry!" The person struggled desperately, and in the intense movement, the lab table was pushed out and collided with other tables, making a series of crashing sounds.
A brawl ensued.
Or rather, it was Henry''s one-sided suppression.
Leonard watched Henry as if he were looking at a stranger. He had never thought the class president could be so good at fighting.
He didn''t know what had happened, nor did he know what to do.
Instinctively, he felt scared, and his eyes even started to redden. Leonard knew he was about to cry again.
He could never control his tears.
Leonard wanted to leave, but his feet seemed rooted to the spot.
Until he couldn''t help but sniffle, and then he saw the person inside suddenly shift their gaze to the window, locking eyes with him precisely.
Leonard''s mind went blank for a moment, and he immediately turned and ran.
Not daring to stop for even a second, he sprinted downstairs, through the Magnolia Grandiflora, and back to the junior year building, only feeling a bit safer once he was back in his seat.
Leonard''s back was drenched in sweat, and even his nose was beaded with sweat.
This puzzled William, who asked why he was sweating in the cold winter.
Leonard had no time to respond to him; his mind was filled with the image of those sharp eyes looking at him through the window.
Cold, ruthless, and highly aggressive.
He was no longer the sun.
Leonard was first scared, shocked that Henry would do such a thing, and deep down, he couldn''t believe that person was Henry.
How could the class president be fighting? And so... so fiercely. No, it wasn''t just fierce; it was ruthless.
Who was that person? What did their words mean? What was going on?
Leonard felt like something had shattered, pieces scattered everywhere.
That entire afternoon, Leonard was distracted, not even paying attention to the teacher''s lesson.
His mind kept replaying the scenes from the lab, that look in his eyes...
He even had nightmares that night.
He dreamt of being grabbed and beaten up, thrown into the bathroom like trash by the class president, who looked down at him from above.
He would get beaten up, he would get beaten up, he would get beaten up...
"Leonard! Leonard!"
William leaned over, whispering to him, "What are you thinking about? You haven''t even taken out your textbook!"
"The teacher is going to ask questions!"
Leonard snapped back to reality, his gaze falling on the test paper marked with red in front of him, the bright red crosses growing larger and larger, filling his entire vision.
"Hurry up, hurry up, page 67, question five. See if you know the answer. If the teacher calls on me, I won''t know it."
Leonard opened his textbook, glanced at the question. It was a basic one, something he had reviewed and knew the answer to.
Leonard told William the answer and then continued to daydream.
Did the class president recognize me? Did he see me at the corner of the alley? What should I do? Will the class president beat me up?
He looked so... fierce.
Leonard buried his head in his desk, internally wailing.
Can someone tell me what to do after discovering the class president''s secret?!
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Leonard''s inner thoughts: I''m done for, I''m going to die.
And Henry: Hmm, what an interesting little hamster, let''s observe.
