UNEDITED

The crowd of onlookers dispersed in a hurry as if the farce just now had never happened. A Student Committee member entered the cla.s.sroom holding a stack of test papers and began to distribute them. The director of Moral Education Office stood on the dais and watched the students, his expression imposing. Lin Jingzhe felt the man's eyes stopped on his face for a long moment.

He didn't raise his head. He accepted the test papers that were handed to him and scanned the somewhat immature handwriting: the full score in Language and Mathematics was 120 marks, he got 86 and 90 respectively. The full score for each of the rest of the subjects was 100 marks, and he hovered at the pa.s.sing line in nearly all of them. English was the most tragic and the only one he failed—he got a pitiful 47 marks.

Lin Jingzhe did remember he had been in a daze for a period of time after his grandfather's death, but he didn't understand exactly how out of it he was until just now.

Jiang Run's results were quite good—the nearby students whispered that he entered the top five in the cla.s.s. Still, if Lin Jingzhe's memory didn't fail him, his cousin was able to get into Qunnan University only because he obtained the school's official admission spot.

This wasn't surprising. Although Public High School No. 1 was called the best high school in Liyun Town, the town itself was but a hard-to-notice dot on Qunnan Province's map, with a poor allocation of educational resources. What's more, Lin Jingzhe remembered that this year, the college entrance examination had been unified for the whole country. It was later regarded as the most difficult one in history. Due to the relatively backward curriculum, the students of Public High School No. 1 were no compet.i.tion for their outstanding rivals from bigger cities.

There were many people who failed the college entrance examination and chose to retake it next year—that was the deepest impression Lin Jingzhe had of it.

He picked up the English test and read it leisurely. He was proficient in that language as he used to often travel abroad for job training in his previous life. Lamentably, even some of the test questions were wrong.

As for the science subjects—Lin Jingzhe said goodbye to high school many years ago and to tell the truth, he'd long forgotten most of what he'd learned. However, he had strong foundations and did finish his studies, so getting better exam results wouldn't be difficult.

Judging from the mock exam questions, no one in Public High School No. 1 suspected how nightmarish this year's college entrance examination would be.

Lin Jingzhe pondered all the underhanded means and little tricks the Cla.s.s 1 teacher, Li Yurong, employed to get more teaching achievements in her name, and really wanted to tell her to stop messing around.

He bowed his head and concentrated on reading the exam questions, then wrote the new answers on the test paper, in accordance with his current knowledge. It made him look earnest and eager to learn. The director opened his mouth, meaning to call him out first, but seeing reviewing so seriously, he couldn't bear to. The boy's only family member pa.s.sed away recently, and he was looking a lot thinner—the director's heart wasn't that hard.

As such, when the director spoke, the name he called changed. “Gao Sheng, come with me. Where is Zhou Haitang? Is he absent?”

Oh, that's right. Lin Jingzhe suddenly remembered that not long before the college entrance exam, Zhou Haitang came into contact with the so-called “mafia” of Liyun Town. Then, he started to skip cla.s.ses more and more often.

There were so many things he needed to remember and pay attention to. He put down his pen, clasped his hands, and leaned back in his seat. With no expression on his face, he watched Gao Sheng, who didn't know what's was going to happen, follow the director out of the cla.s.sroom.

Behind him, some of the girls that finished reviewing started a whispered conversation. First, they mocked Jiang Run, who was lying on the desk crying. Then, their gazes s.h.i.+fted to Lin Jingzhe, whose aura was somewhat different from the rest of the students.

Lin Jingzhe was originally an introvert. Jiang Run also spread a rumor that he was abandoned by his parents, alienating him further. Still, his grades were good and he was good-looking, with fair skin and delicate features, so he continued to attract the girls' attention.

“Hey.” The girls were nudging each other. “Don't you think Lin Jingzhe looks unusually handsome today?”

Amidst their giggling, Gao Sheng returned to the cla.s.sroom holding the cla.s.s transfer notice. He dropped in his seat, looking dazed.

The director and Li Yurong stood before the door and argued in low voices. Li Yurong faced the cla.s.sroom and occasionally, her gaze paused on Lin Jingzhe, stabbing him like a knife.

Lin Jingzhe stared back at her, revealing a mocking smile.

Li Yurong became stunned for a moment, then exploded like a balloon poked with a needle: “Lin Jingzhe! Come out here right now!”

The cla.s.sroom fell completely silent because of her sudden outburst. Lin Jingzhe, who instantly became the center of attention, pushed the test papers away and unhurriedly walked outside.

Li Yurong was trembling from fury because of his dismissive att.i.tude towards her. “You, what are you looking at with that expression!”

The director, who hadn't caught sight of Lin Jingzhe's provocative smile, though Li Yurong was just throwing a fit without reason. “Teacher Li, what on earth are you doing?”

Lin Jingzhe, appearing for all the world like a humble, well-mannered student, asked, “Teacher Li, is something the matter?”

Li Yurong watched the director unconsciously stand closer to Lin Jingzhe. She had to choke back what she truly wanted to say, so her reply was cross: “You ask me if something is the matter? Just look at how your grades have fallen! I can't keep you in this cla.s.s. Gather your things and report to Cla.s.s 5 with Gao Sheng.”

Cla.s.s transfer?! The students on duty in the corridor, who overheard that part, abandoned their brooms and ran back to the cla.s.sroom to announce the shocking news. Gao Sheng looked resigned after receiving his own transfer notice, but hearing his friend was going to share his fate, he jumped up and rushed outside. “Teacher Li, me aside, why does Jingzhe have to change cla.s.ses too?”

Li Yurong ignored the question, her expression cool. Fl.u.s.tered, Gao Sheng tugged the director's sleeve. “Teacher, Jingzhe's grades are very good, he used to be in the top ten of the cla.s.s. His results today are… It's because of a family matter, something happened recently…”

“Teacher Li!” An angry female voice echoed in the corridor. “Don't you think you're going too far?!”

Upon hearing it, Lin Jingzhe turned his head, stunned. From the other end of the utilitarian school corridor, a thin, middle-aged woman in a worn, grey padded jacket rushed towards them.

She looked older than she really was. She was dressed plainly, wore no make-up, and had the same regulation haircut as the female students. The oversleeves on her arms were clearly remade from old clothes. Her face, which in Lin Jingzhe's memory was always kind and gentle, was full of anger. She approached them quickly and stopped right in front of Li Yurong, nearly ramming into her. “Have you ever thought about your students?! The college entrance examination is right around the corner. Didn't you consider how much strain the cla.s.s transfer at this moment would put on them?! You're too selfis.h.!.+”

Li Yurong had always looked down on the other woman. Now, she frowned and pushed her away, giving her a disdainful glance. “Teacher Hu, take greater care with your speech. Where am I selfish? I'm thinking of other students. Everyone in Cla.s.s 1 is an excellent student; getting rid of the bad apples will improve their studying conditions and learning progress. My actions are for the sake of the others in Cla.s.s 1.”

Hearing her vicious words, Hu Yu glanced worriedly at Lin Jingzhe. Swallowing her anger, she said in a low voice, “Gao Sheng, take Jingzhe and wait in the cla.s.sroom until we finish talking.”

“Don't bother,” Li Yurong said impatiently. It was just transferring a few students between cla.s.ses—did she have to spend half a day on such a simple thing? “You two, hurry up and pack. The cla.s.s began a long time ago, and you delayed it for so long already because of your unnecessary fuss.”

Hu Yu gritted her teeth. She turned to the director: “Director w.a.n.g, Gao Sheng is my son and I'm aware of his grades, but you have to reconsider Lin Jingzhe's transfer. He's a very smart boy, such a thing is impeding his future development. You're the head of Moral Education Office. Shouldn't you have a say in this?”

The director was equally irate, but he wasn't able to respond to Hu Yu's plea. He didn't know how Li Yurong did it, but the cla.s.s transfer notice was issued by the princ.i.p.al himself. Although he, as the vice-princ.i.p.al, had the same authority among students, he had much less decision-making power.

When Hu Yu saw his clenched jaw, her heart dropped. Li Yurong sneered, “Teacher Hu, should I show you how many marks your ‘smart boy' got? Don't say you don't know. You're talking about his future, but the college entrance exam is less than two months away. With grades like that at this point in time, what future can he have? Instead of playing goody two shoes, you should improve your quality of teaching. Just look at that garbage in Cla.s.s 5…”

“Teacher Li!” Lin Jingzhe, who had been quiet until now, interrupted her words. His tone was rough enough that Li Yurong unconsciously paused.

As she closed her mouth, she was surprised at the momentary nervousness she'd felt. She looked at Lin Jingzhe warily. Confronted with his emotionless eyes, inexplicably, she felt a hint of fear.

As he had already gone through this whole incident in his previous life, Lin Jingzhe was fed up with Li Yurong's arrogance and self-important manner. He didn't want to bother with her anymore, so he cut to the point: “I agree to change cla.s.ses so you don't need to say such nasty things. It's true my recent exam performance was bad and I do understand your mood but frankly, what you just said was a pack of lies. You can calculate the average score of each subject—the highest is mathematics, Teacher Hu's subject. And to tell the truth, the quality of your English cla.s.s is nothing to write home about. The second sentence of the cloze test and the fifth question in Reading Comprehension are incorrect. So, I don't think you're qualified to criticize Teacher Hu's teaching ability.”

Li Yurong was so shocked that she couldn't find his voice for a minute. She hadn't heard such direct criticism in her long teaching career. What was even harder for her to believe was that she'd always a.s.sumed the person who said it to be a quiet, timid teenager.

Lin Jingzhe's voice wasn't low. Everyone inside the Cla.s.s 1 cla.s.sroom, in the corridor, and even those in the nearby cla.s.srooms hear his words loud and clear. Not a few people started snickering. This caused Li Yurong to wake up, her face like thunder. She nearly fainted from anger, and her hands shook so much she couldn't lift them.

Hearing Lin Jingzhe agree to change cla.s.ses, Hu Yu grabbed his arm, anxious. “Jingzhe, don't be impulsive…”

Lin Jingzhe took her dry, rough hand and patted it soothingly. “Teacher Hu, Director w.a.n.g, I'm going to get my things.”

Seeing that the teenager could react so calmly to this distressing situation, the director's heart filled with pity for him. Not caring about his fairly politely worded counterattack on Li Yurong, he patted him on the shoulder and said, “Go ahead.”

When Lin Jingzhe and Gao Sheng, whose eyes were red from rage, returned to the cla.s.sroom, they were greeted by perfect silence.

Lin Jingzhe didn't interact with his cla.s.smates, who cared about nothing but their grades, much. He didn't even remember names or faces of most of them. Therefore, there was no emotion in his heart while he quickly gathered his textbooks and writing utensils.

Gao Sheng was bigger and stronger than him, and when he finished his own packing, he came over and helped him carry his things. Teary-eyed, Hu Yu also took a stack of books from his hands.

His hands empty, and looking as if he had no care in the world, Lin Jingzhe walked through the cla.s.sroom. He stooped at the door and glanced back.

Like a dense ma.s.s of darkness, the pressure of dozens of gazes fell upon him.

He smiled an indifferent smile, raised his hand in a careless farewell gesture, and said, “Goodbye.”

Some of the students hadn't recovered from the impact of that smile and were staring at the door. Li Yurong finally got a hold of herself and mounted the dais. She was so furious her legs were trembling. Seeing the absent-minded expressions, she couldn't restrain herself and slammed her fist on the desk.

“The cla.s.s has begun! Where are you looking!” She yelled. Then, pretending to be relaxed, she said, “All right, now that we've gotten rid of the laggards, we need to tighten up our learning schedule. You shouldn't treat it lightly, I'm doing this for your good.”

The students looked on the tall woman standing on the dais, who had just been acting arrogant and domineering outside the cla.s.sroom door. They recalled Lin Jingzhe leaving in a carefree way, and the English test they themselves could hardly understand. They all were both companions and rivals; now, many felt gloomy because of the loss of one of their kind.

Though no one dared to stand up for Lin Jingzhe, they also felt no respect for Li Yurong in their hearts.

Chapter 3 >>