Chapter 76: It's Hard to Believe Two Toads Could Produce a Swan's Egg

"You saw wrong, that wasn't you."
She mumbled an explanation.
"Then tell me, who at school has a better back than mine?"
Tang Yu fell silent.
Seeing she had nothing to say, Bian Yang bent down to look at her, a wild grin on his face. "Tang Xiaoyu, I saw it all. I'm this handsome—what's wrong with taking my picture? There's nothing shameful about it. Taking my photo isn't a disgrace."
He pried open her fingers, one by one, took her phone, and with a hand on his chin, carefully examined the shot of his back.
Seemed like it was when he walked her back to her dorm before exams.
Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the girl, head lowered, cheeks flushed.
Bian Yang twitched his fingers, opened the camera, switched to the front lens, bent slightly, and leaned in close. "Hey, Tang Xiaoyu, look up."
She looked up in confusion.
With a click, Bian Yang snapped a photo.
By the time Tang Yu realized what had happened, he was already upright, grinning as he sent the photo to his own WeChat.
"If you want to take a picture, just do it openly. My face isn't something to hide!"
Once the photo was sent, Bian Yang handed the phone back to her, giving her head a quick pat at the same time.
"Tang Xiaoyu, you're really photogenic," he said, bending down to whisper in her ear. "You and I, we look good together."
Tang Yu almost choked on her own breath, her eyes shining with unshed tears as she glared at him, looking especially coy and bashful.
"What nonsense are you talking?"
Her voice was as faint as a mosquito's, barely audible, and she hurriedly hid her phone under the blanket.
Bian Yang found her unbearably cute, laughter crinkling the corners of his eyes. "What did I say?" he asked deliberately.
Tang Yu said nothing, simply flopping back, pulling the blanket over her head, refusing to respond.
Bian Yang stifled a laugh, reached out to lift the blanket, exposing her little head, worried she'd suffocate.
"Fine, I was just kidding. Now eat your lunch. I'm going out to fetch some hot water."
He loved to tease her, but never too much, afraid of scaring her off. Seeing her so flustered, he found an excuse to step out.
When the door closed, Tang Yu cautiously poked her head out from under the blanket.
Her cheeks were still red, perhaps from being under the covers.
She took out her phone and pulled up the photo just taken.
After three days of rest, the bruises on her face had faded, though a faint trace remained.
She was clearly caught off guard in the photo, not even looking at the camera, looking rather dazed.
Meanwhile, Bian Yang was close beside her, his face nearly touching hers, grinning wildly, radiating a reckless warmth.
She gently traced the photo with her fingertip, biting her lip, and tucked the image into her private album before exhaling softly, afraid her secret would be discovered.
If only she'd smiled at the camera—she looked so silly in the shot...
Bian Yang had brought a mountain of food, always treating her like a human rice bucket. She ate and ate, but could never finish it all.

She opened the school forum, browsing while eating slowly.
A post was pinned right at the top—
"Whoa! The school tyrant just threw Meng Shirui's and Liu Yaojie's desks out of Class Two!"
There was even an overhead photo attached.
Two desks had been tossed from the floor above, now lying shattered and pitiful on the ground, their contents strewn everywhere.
Books and cosmetics littered the ground, and Meng Shirui stood below, face twisted in rage.
There was another photo, this time taken from below.
Bian Yang stood with his arm draped over the corridor railing, sleeves rolled up, his arm pale under the harsh sunlight. He looked down indifferently, lips curled in a distinct arc, yet his expression held no warmth—just an unrestrained arrogance, untouchable.
[First reply: The old school tyrant has officially stepped down. Liu Yaojie had his desk thrown out and didn't even dare fart.]
[Second reply: Meng Shirui didn't dare say a word either—she ran to the principal in tears, but after some hemming and hawing, nothing happened to Bian Yang.]
[Third reply: Heard Meng Shirui moved to Class One—she doesn't dare stay in Class Two anymore.]
[Fourth reply: I've been in the same class as Meng Shirui for three years, never seen her suffer like this. Usually no one dares cross her. So what's Bian Yang's background? Meng Shirui's family even donated a building to the school!]
[Fifth reply: Could he be the principal's secret son? Hahaha.]
[Sixth reply: Don't be ridiculous. If he were the principal's son, he'd have started here freshman year, not transferred in now.]
The discussion went on for thousands of replies.
Tang Yu pursed her lips, chewing on her chopsticks, and opened WeChat to ask Wang Qing:
"Bian Yang threw Meng Shirui's and Liu Yaojie's desks out of class?"
It was lunchtime at school too, so Wang Qing replied right away:
"Xiaoyu, are you feeling better? I've been meaning to visit, but Bian Yang said you weren't well enough for guests!"
Before Tang Yu could respond, Wang Qing sent a voice message: "Yeah! He threw them both out—so satisfying! Meng Shirui was fuming, totally helpless. After seeing the principal, she even tried to get Zhou Xunwen to help, but he ignored her, hahaha! Oh, and Zhou Xunwen asked me which hospital you were in, but I didn't tell him, hmph!"
Tang Yu looked at the messages, lips pressed in a thin line, and typed: "That's good."
Wang Qing sent another voice message, her tone ambiguous: "Who do you mean is good—Bian Yang or Zhou Xunwen?"
Tang Yu frowned and quickly replied: "Of course Bian Yang."
Wang Qing sent another voice message, laughing for a full ten seconds.
Tang Yu ignored it and asked: "Has Bian Yang been paying attention in class lately?"
Wang Qing replied, "Girl, he's the school tyrant, not a model student. School tyrants don't go to class to study—your Bian Yang is still the same, sleeping through lessons."
Hearing this, Tang Yu's delicate brows knitted even tighter.
She was a little angry.
She chose to ignore Wang Qing's use of "your" Bian Yang.
Bian Yang really was a liar—he'd promised to pay attention in class, and now he was sleeping again.
Just then, there was a knock at the door. Tang Yu thought it was him back already, and called out irritably, "Come in!"
But in walked a pair of resentful-looking adults.
The moment she saw them, Tang Yu's face fell.

"What are you doing here?"
It was none other than Tang Yu's absentee parents.
After their divorce, both had remarried and started new families.
When it came to Tang Yu's custody, they both shirked responsibility, passing her back and forth, eventually abandoning her altogether.
Her father glanced around the single room, then looked at her and said, "Xiaoyu, how could you not tell me when something so serious happened? I only heard about it from your classmates when I visited your school!"
Her mother pushed past her father, looking remarkably youthful for forty, barely a wrinkle on her face.
"Honestly, the principal said all you wanted was for Meng Shirui to write a letter of repentance? You were beaten so badly, and you think a letter is enough? This can't just be brushed off—you must demand compensation!"
"Exactly, compensation! We can't just let you get beaten for nothing!"
For once, her father and mother agreed on something.
They were here for money, of course.
Though Tang Yu had long given up on them, she couldn't help but feel a surge of anger.
Her eyes reddened with tiny veins, and she pointed at the door. "Get out. I don't want to see you. I don't need you meddling in my affairs!"
"Watch your tone with your parents!" her father barked. "If your parents don't stand up for you, who will? I'll call the principal right now and get the parents of the one who hit you in here. We'll sit down and renegotiate this."
Tang Yu sneered, "I've already settled with the other side. There's nothing you can do."
Her mother insisted, "You're not of age yet. We're your legal guardians! What you say doesn't count!"
"My grandparents are my guardians, not you."
Tang Yu raised her voice, gripping the blanket tightly, knuckles white.
Her parents were about to retort when the door opened.
Bian Yang came in carrying hot water, having overheard enough from outside to be thoroughly disgusted.
Seeing the pair, he didn't bother to hide his contempt. "Anyone who knows would say you're Tang Yu's parents. Anyone who doesn't would think a couple of human traffickers just broke in."
Tang Yu looked nothing like them—hard to believe two toads gave birth to a swan's egg.
Their ancestors must have burned some serious incense for that miracle.
He opened the thermos, poured a cup of hot water, carefully fitted it with a heat sleeve, and handed it to Tang Yu.
Then he flopped lazily onto the sofa, completely disregarding the two adults.
"If you insist on being Tang Yu's guardians, then by law you owe her child support for all these years. Based on the current average wage in Liangcheng—three thousand a month—you each owe her six hundred a month, which is seventy-two hundred a year, and by the time she's of age, that's at least one hundred and twenty-nine thousand six hundred per person."
As he rattled off the numbers, the color drained from their faces.
Bian Yang's tone was nonchalant, chin lifted in mocking challenge. "Since you're so eager to play guardian, why don't you pay up first?"
Tang Yu sipped her water in small gulps, stealing a glance at their speechless faces, then ducked her head, the corners of her mouth curving up.
Her father had come for money—how could he possibly give any away? He glared at Bian Yang.
"And who are you? Do you have any right to speak here?"
"I'm your worst nightmare," Bian Yang shot back, brows raised, wildness in every line. "Specializing in dealing with shameless fools like you—either get out before I lose my patience, or you'll be crawling out the way you came in."