Where Did the Ink Come From?

At half past nine, the high school's opening ceremony concluded, and students returned to their classrooms one after another.
When he went up to the podium, Xie Zhi Lan felt a discomfort in his throat. Not long after returning to class, he touched his forehead and, sure enough, began to run a fever.
He was a little worried, not about the illness affecting his studies, but about infecting Xie Qi Zhi.
Xie Qi Zhi had a special constitution, more susceptible to illness than ordinary people. A minor cold, which others might not even take medicine for, would require antibiotics for Xie Qi Zhi and a long stay in the hospital. His accumulated health foundation would be completely destroyed, turning him back into a frail, pale child.
Xie Zhi Lan bent down to search for a mask in his desk drawer. Outside, there was some commotion. The chair of the front desk scraped back with a "clack," and the corner of the desk hit his head.
Xie Zhi Lan stood up straight, clutching his forehead, feeling annoyed and about to lose his temper, when he realized the other person's attention wasn't on him.
After a week of continuous rain, the classroom always had a gloomy, dull, and heavy atmosphere that wouldn't dissipate. Yet, outside, the sky had just cleared, and sunlight streamed through the leaves, scattering across the corridor. It wasn't time for class yet, and the air was filled with noisy chatter.
That mixed sound seemed to be paused the moment he turned his head and saw Ying Huai and Lin Jian Shan walking side by side.
Xie Zhi Lan was no stranger to Lin Jian Shan. In fact, all the male students at Yi Zhong School were familiar with Lin Jian Shan.
She was this year's student council president, a consistent top scorer in the liberal arts stream. At last year's cultural festival, she wore a chiffon dress, her long hair flowing, and performed the guzheng without a stand, her jade beads clinking with every movement, the music resonating deeply and astonishing the entire school. Afterward, for a whole week, all the male students in the school dreamt of her figure.
Her appearance was no less impressive than her demeanor: elegant, beautiful, gentle, and generous. She was also very good at baking cookies. Some male students were so infatuated with her that they forgot everything else. Her reputation even spread outside the school; every day, people lined up to write love letters and give gifts. There were even a few senseless brawls because of her. It could be said that she was the undeniable school goddess.
They stopped at the stairs. Lin Jian Shan saw Xie Zhi Lan leaning on his chair, poking his head out the back door, and smiled, waving at him, then said goodbye to Ying Huai and went upstairs.
Ying Huai entered the classroom. Xie Zhi Lan observed him, and the first thing he said was, "Why do you always look like a younger brother next to everyone?"
Ying Huai retorted, "You're the one who looks like a younger brother."
Ying Huai's acquaintance with Lin Jian Shan caused quite a stir in the class. Wu Xiao Long ran over to ask about the situation. Ying Huai was too lazy to answer and pushed Xie Zhi Lan towards him: "Brother Lan knows her too, you ask him."
Xie Zhi Lan's throat was uncomfortable, so he said concisely, "His childhood sweetheart."
Wu Xiao Long exclaimed, "Wow."
Hearing him utter that word, Ying Huai felt the term was too ambiguous and immediately clarified, "Just a normal kindergarten classmate."
Xie Zhi Lan looked at him confusedly: "We wouldn't keep in touch for over ten years with a normal kindergarten classmate."
The classroom was a bit stuffier than outside. Ying Huai took off his uniform jacket and hung it over the back of his chair. Hearing Xie Zhi Lan, he instinctively replied, "Who says not? Aren't you and I like that?"
Xie Zhi Lan "tsk"-ed, replied, "How sad," then turned back to prepare for class.
During Physics class, Wu Xiao Long, while the bald teacher was writing on the board, threw a piece of paper over. It read: Sister Miao told me to ask you, what's wrong with Brother Lan?
Only then did Ying Huai realize something was off with Xie Zhi Lan.
He rested his left hand on his forehead, his eyelids half-closed, the book open to the first page and unread.
Ying Huai watched him for a while. Before he could ask, Xie Zhi Lan noticed his gaze and tilted his head to look back.
His beautiful amber eyes seemed to be veiled in mist. Without a smile, they held an unapproachable aloofness.
He spoke before Ying Huai could: "Can you go eat with Qi Qi for me at noon today?"
Ying Huai asked, "Why?"
"I caught a cold," Xie Zhi Lan explained, "I'm afraid of infecting him."
Midway through the class, the teacher posed a few questions and called someone to the board to answer. The difficulty of the problems was very high, and the class below was completely silent.
The teacher's gaze swept past a few quail-like students with their heads bowed in the front row, then stopped at Xie Zhi Lan and Ying Huai in the back row. Before he could speak, Xie Zhi Lan's phone, tucked in his desk drawer, vibrated.
He took it out and turned it off without changing his expression. But when he saw the name on the screen, he suddenly paused.
The teacher stood on the podium, calling his name unhappily: "Xie Zhi Lan, come up here."
Xu Si Miao and Wu Xiao Long both turned to look, but Xie Zhi Lan didn't move.
"Xie Zhi Lan." Ying Huai nudged his arm.
Xie Zhi Lan clutched the still-vibrating phone and softly said, "It's Qi Qi's homeroom teacher."
Ying Huai frowned: "Why is he calling you?"
"My parents' phones are unreachable. I left my number."
The teacher's expression was very displeased: "Xie Zhi Lan, what are you two talking about? Don't you know it's class time now?"
Xie Zhi Lan sighed, pushed Ying Huai, "You explain for me," then turned and walked out the back door.
The class suddenly became noisy.
Ying Huai retracted his gaze, which had been following Xie Zhi Lan's retreating figure, stood up, walked through the aisle to the podium, and tapped the blackboard with a piece of chalk: "This question?"
The teacher was livid:
"I called Xie Zhi Lan! Where is he? Where did he go?!"
"He's not feeling well, he went to throw up," Ying Huai asked, "Which question? I'll do it for him."
Yi Zhong School didn't strictly require students to hand in their phones, but they also didn't allow them to be used openly, always maintaining a blind eye attitude.
Most students would voluntarily hand them in, a few others would turn them off or put them on silent during class. Only Xie Zhi Lan always kept his phone on, and because of this lack of seriousness, he had been called to the office for criticism several times.
He was actually very afraid of receiving calls from the hospital or Xie Qi Zhi's teachers, but he also dared not not answer, fearing that missing any call could mean missing Xie Qi Zhi's emergency treatment time, leading to lifelong regret.
Fortunately, this time it was nothing serious, just a conflict between Xie Qi Zhi and his deskmate.
The dark-skinned boy named Chen Min, for some unknown prank, had ink poured into his water cup. By the time he discovered it, it was too late. He clutched his throat and vomited black ink.
The emotionless Xie Qi Zhi stood by and sarcastically asked him, "Have you ever eaten a squid? The one that sprays ink and runs away, it looks really ugly, more like a sea monster."
Chen Min was furious, insisting it was definitely Xie Qi Zhi and demanding Teacher Huang check the camera.
The camera footage showed many people coming and going in the classroom, with several lingering near their seats. It was impossible to see clearly who it was, so there was no evidence to prove it was Xie Qi Zhi.
However, Chen Min still wouldn't let it go. Teacher Huang was still mediating when Xie Qi Zhi suddenly blurted out, "Could it be that you did it yourself? Teacher, Chen Min usually likes to make a scene to attract attention, like a clown."
As soon as this was said, Teacher Huang had no choice but to give up on mediating.
Xie Qi Zhi had completely enraged Chen Min. He lunged to hit him, but Teacher Huang held him back, which was why the teacher called Xie Zhi Lan.
Xie Zhi Lan's head was buzzing from this childish conflict. He looked at Xie Qi Zhi, who was standing silently to the side, and gently squeezed his shoulder: "Qi Qi, you're not hurt, are you?"
Xie Qi Zhi shook his head.
Xie Zhi Lan asked again, "You weren't bullied, were you?"
Xie Qi Zhi still shook his head. Xie Zhi Lan felt relieved and said to the homeroom teacher, "Teacher, it's fine, I'll handle it."
Chen Min snorted. Before he could say anything arrogant, he was met with Xie Zhi Lan's almost gentle smile.
He lowered his eyes to look at Chen Min, and said to him with a condescending air, "Your conflicts with others have nothing to do with me, but don't touch my younger brother. Remember, it only takes me ten minutes at most to get to your class, certainly faster than your parents."
Teacher Huang: "..."
When he returned to class, it was already after school. Ying Huai turned to look at him and relayed, "The teacher said you need to go to the office during lunch break to explain the situation, otherwise they'll call your parents."
Xie Zhi Lan leaned back in his chair, covering his eyes with the back of his hand: "I'm so dizzy. What's the harm in telling me a little later?"
"What's the difference between sooner or later?" Ying Huai asked, "What's wrong with your brother?"
"He had a conflict with his deskmate. They insist he poured ink into the other person's water cup," Xie Zhi Lan said, closing his eyes helplessly, "What does that have to do with Qi Qi? Don't I know what's in his backpack? Where would he get ink from?"
Ying Huai paused at that, uncharacteristically silent for a moment, then said, "Mine."
Xie Zhi Lan lowered his hand, turned his head, and asked him, "What?"
"He asked me for it this morning," Ying Huai said, "When you weren't here."
Xie Zhi Lan said in surprise, "...Why didn't you say so earlier?"
Ying Huai: "You didn't ask."
Xie Zhi Lan: "..."
So, the wicked act of pouring ink into someone's water cup was definitely done by the boy.
Not only did he tease his classmate, but he also knew how to take advantage of people coming and going to avoid the camera and leave no evidence. During confrontation, he bit back at the victim, saying they made it up and were a clown seeking attention. When he angered others and was about to be hit, he feigned grievance to get the teacher to call his brother for backup.
Truly impressive.
Ying Huai asked him, "Why are you so surprised? You're his brother, don't you know what kind of person he is?"
"I'm not surprised about that," Xie Zhi Lan thought for a moment, still unable to understand, "Looking at him, Qi Qi is quite smart, so why were his entrance exam scores so low?"