Cameron Yan looked at the place on his arm where the scratches were no longer visible, and fell into a daze again, recalling the scene of his first communication with Dominic Jiang.
Cameron Yan knew Dominic Jiang's name when he was in the first year of high school, but he didn't pay much attention to it. It was because Dominic Jiang's name was often listed in the top few grades in the grade on the bulletin board.
In the days when the competition in the grade was in full swing, Dominic Jiang's name was like a stabilizing force, hanging in the top few places, with the highest being first and the worst being fourth.
Even so, Dominic Jiang still failed to become a positive example in the eyes of the teacher. Compared to him, the teacher would rather use another student whose grades fluctuated greatly but who had a good temper and a positive attitude as a role model for everyone.
The reason is simple, Dominic Jiang has a strange personality. Judging from his appearance, Dominic Jiang does fit the stereotype of a student who studies so hard that he forgets to eat and sleep. He wears a pair of iconic black-framed glasses, and looks like a good student who is not good at anything except studying.
But Dominic Jiang was far from gentle and friendly in everything he said and did. His ability to deal with people was ridiculously poor, and just a few words could make people so uncomfortable that they didn't want to communicate with him anymore.
These shortcomings were not fabricated by Cameron Yan, but are the common voice of every student who has communicated with Dominic Jiang.
From the first year to the second year of high school, Cameron Yan had heard countless complaints about Dominic Jiang's bad temper, but he didn't take it to heart. First, he and Dominic Jiang had no common courses, and second, he had never spoken to Dominic Jiang.
The turning point came on the course selection day in the second year of high school. That day, Cameron Yan and a few friends arrived early at an e-sports hall with good internet speed, trying to be the first to grab courses taught by teachers with mild tempers and who lenient teaching.
Because of a wrong decision in his first year of high school, he was forced to work extremely hard and go through a painful year. For this reason, Cameron Yan was determined to create an easy life for himself in his second year of high school.
When the time came, he frantically clicked on the course selection page. After being popped up three times, he successfully got most of the teachers of his favorite courses. Except for not being able to grab the basketball in the physical education class, everything else went perfectly.
Several other friends were sighing, and Finn Lu was particularly angry: "Why did I get popped up eight times on the same device, and the page always ended up being 404?"
As the biggest beneficiary, Cameron Yan couldn't help but smile: "Don't be too envious, I got them all."
Finn Lu rolled his eyes and continued to enter and exit the course selection interface, trying to find any fish that had slipped through the net.
Cameron Yan understood his futile efforts, because a year ago he also visited the course selection page in the middle of the night hoping to get a free spot. However, reality was always cruel, and he stayed up until three in the morning but still couldn't get a vacant spot.
"What would you like to eat? I'll treat you." Cameron Yan looked at the few people who were still struggling to search the course selection page, and prepared to go to the nearby supermarket to buy something to soothe everyone's wounded hearts.
The other people were now envious and jealous of Cameron Yan, and they rudely mentioned the names of many snacks.
Cameron Yan asked them to send it to their mobile phones, stretched himself, and walked towards the entrance of the e-sports hall.
This e-sports hall is located in a newly developed commercial district. There are only a few newly built high-rise buildings nearby, and most of them are unfinished buildings with cement and dust flying everywhere. The nearest supermarket is a little far away, and Cameron Yan doesn't know where it is, so he can only open the map software and follow the navigation.
As a result, the first road after turning the corner was a long and narrow street. He looked at the empty buildings on both sides and seriously doubted the possibility of a supermarket at the end of this road.
However, despite his doubts, Cameron Yan still walked in.
But not long after he walked, he heard several people cursing angrily. Because the street was empty and the road was narrow, Cameron Yan easily told that the sound came from the street he turned left in front of.
He wanted to pretend he didn't hear anything and just walk past, but before he could pass by, a person was pushed down in front of him.
A pair of black-framed glasses rolled over and landed at his feet.
Cameron Yan subconsciously picked up the pair of glasses that had fallen on the ground and wanted to return them to its owner. When he looked up, he found that the person sitting on the ground looked familiar.
It was Dominic Jiang, who was known by his classmates as having a bad temper.
He was pushed to the ground with great force. His black trouser legs were stained with dust. His elbows rubbed against the ground, and the skin on his forearms was easily broken, leaving a bloodstain that was particularly noticeable on his fair arms.
The few people surrounding him exuded a ruffian air, looked to be in their twenties, with fierce eyes. One could tell at a glance that they were the type that it was best not to approach when walking on the street.
"Damn, this kid must be cheating, otherwise how could he have beaten us!" A boy in tight pants pointed at Dominic Jiang in a sharp voice.
After he finished speaking, he was still unsatisfied and wanted to hit Dominic Jiang on the head again, but before the slap landed, someone stood in front of the boy.
"Wait a minute." Cameron Yan stood in front of Dominic Jiang, frowning and accusing him seriously, "How can you hit someone casually?"
Cameron Yan is still at an age where he is growing taller, and his body is thin and slender. Compared with the several adult men in front of him, he seems to be overestimating his own abilities.
But the word "overestimating one's own abilities" does not exist in his dictionary, and being brave and righteous is one of his good qualities that he has been praised for since he was a child.
Although Dominic Jiang was not familiar with him, they were classmates in the same high school. Moreover, Dominic Jiang looked really weak and alone. A good nerd would definitely not be able to deal with these hooligans.
Cameron Yan stood in front of Dominic Jiang without thinking twice.
"Where did you come from?" A taller boy put his hand on Cameron Yan's shoulder and pushed him back. He glanced at the man who stood up from the ground and laughed sarcastically, "An accomplice, huh?"
This man's attitude really deserves a beating, Cameron Yan slapped his hand away and said righteously: "Why, no?"
He looked back at Dominic Jiang's situation. Because his glasses had fallen off, Dominic Jiang's eyes looked a little vague, but there was no fear on his face. Instead, he spoke slowly: "If you are not as skilled as others, don't come out and embarrass yourself."
He spoke in a calm tone, looking at them expressionlessly. This sentence, coupled with his expression and tone, undoubtedly added fuel to the fire. Several people immediately became angry and surrounded the two of them, swinging their fists without saying a word.
Cameron Yan had good motor skills and dodged several obvious punches without being hit in the face. In contrast, Dominic Jiang took several solid punches, and the wound on his forearm was still oozing tiny beads of blood, making him look miserable.
How could Cameron Yan just watch Dominic Jiang get beaten? Although he claimed that he could fight two men at once, it looked like Dominic Jiang couldn't even fight half as well. He could only take the beating. It was better for him to run away first.
Thinking of this, he punched the opponent in the abdomen, delaying his movements for a moment, and took the opportunity to grab Dominic Jiang's hand. When he tried to grab Dominic Jiang, he was hit by a few more punches, and he almost cried out in pain.
Dominic Jiang is quite patient and hasn't cried out in pain since the beginning. Cameron Yan thought so in panic, then grabbed Dominic Jiang's hand, kicked the shortest man in the lower body, creating a gap, and then pulled the man and ran forward desperately.
He looked back while running. Except for the man who was kicked in the lower body by him and was standing there in pain, the other three were chasing him aggressively, shouting at him to stop running.
Only a fool wouldn't run.
Cameron Yan grabbed Dominic Jiang and shuttled between the unfinished construction roads and empty buildings.
The temperature in summer was high, and even the hot wind blowing on one's body was hot. In the commercial district where the density of greenery far exceeded that of buildings, the chirping of cicadas and the rapid breathing were the few sounds Cameron Yan could perceive.
He took Dominic Jiang past one building after another, and finally turned left to a green belt and hid behind a pile of abandoned construction materials.
He breathed heavily, his back pressed tightly against the wall. He felt like his heart was about to jump out of his throat, and he didn't even feel the rough wall hitting his back.
Dominic Jiang's condition was worse than his. His skin was originally fair, and now it seemed to have turned pale, making Cameron Yan feel that he would faint if he continued running.
Cameron Yan pulled him against the wall and gestured to him to be quiet as a warning, telling him not to breathe too loudly.
Fortunately, Dominic Jiang was not really blind and had no intention of going back to provoke those people. Instead, he stayed in this triangular space with Cameron Yan to calm his breath.
Cameron Yan felt that the most tense moment in his life was at this moment. He did not dare to make any big movements and just listened to the noises nearby. Any slightly louder sound would arouse his vigilance.
They may have stayed here for more than ten minutes, maybe longer. If Dominic Jiang didn't speak, it would not be surprising for Cameron Yan to hide there for another half an hour.
"How long are you going to hold on?" Dominic Jiang's voice rang out in the narrow space. His tone was not friendly, but it was not impatient either.
Cameron Yan just realized that he was still holding his wrist, and immediately let go of it embarrassedly. As soon as he let go, his fingerprints were imprinted on that piece of skin, which combined with Dominic Jiang's bruised arm made him look somewhat pitiful.
"Sorry, I didn't notice." Cameron Yan smiled apologetically and met Dominic Jiang's eyes.
He had never observed Dominic Jiang's appearance before, and when he heard the name, he could only form a rough outline in his mind.
The two were very close to each other, and Cameron Yan realized that Dominic Jiang's appearance was quite different from what he had imagined.
Dominic Jiang's eyes are big and bright, his double eyelids are narrow in front and wide in the back, his eyelashes are long and thick, his skin is fair, and there is not a single ugly line on his face; they are connected just right.
If the grade ranking is based on appearance, Dominic Jiang will definitely be among the top.
Cameron Yan admitted that he later deliberately distorted Dominic Jiang's appearance in his memory. He was not just fair-skinned and delicate before, but also exquisite and handsome.
Cameron Yan remembered that he had picked up his glasses, and immediately took them out of his pocket and gave them to him. When he took them out, he found that a part of the frame had disappeared in the fight just now, leaving only one complete frame.
Dominic Jiang took the glasses, looked at the missing temple for two seconds, said nothing, and turned to walk out.
Cameron Yan looked around and after making sure that there was no sign of those people, he followed them.
"Why are they looking for trouble with you?" If Cameron Yan hadn't witnessed it with his own eyes, it would be hard for him to imagine that a good student like Dominic Jiang would have anything to do with those people.
Dominic Jiang walked slowly and answered briefly: "They lost the game."
"Are you still playing games?" Cameron Yan was even more surprised that Dominic Jiang would be in trouble because of games.
"No?" His tone was still very indifferent. If it were someone with a bad temper, he would probably accuse him of being impolite on the spot, asking why he treated the person who had just helped him in this way.
However, Cameron Yan obviously didn't think of this step, and honestly said what he thought: "Of course, I'm just wondering how powerful you have to be for those people to be angry enough to beat you up."
After all, it is quite difficult to find fault with the opponent offline after defeating him in the game.
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