Chapter 9

Chen Mo went to the second grade teacher's office first. The head teacher of the experimental class was named Xiang, Xiang Shenglong, who taught physics to more than one-third of the classes in the grade. He was in his thirties, wore glasses, and looked quite gentle.

"Our class's dormitory quota was full at the beginning of the semester." He sat behind his desk, his eyes inquiring, and said, "There is still room for the mixed dormitory. Can you accept it?"

Chen Mo took the two forms and flipped through them. "I can do both."

"Chen Mo." The head teacher called his name. When Chen Mo looked up, he said carefully, "The mixed dormitory may be messy, and the study atmosphere is different from that of our class dormitory. You just arrived not long ago. Do you really want to live on campus?"

Chen Mo understood this tactful dissuasion.

Xiaoxiao: "Yeah, it really lives there."

"Okay." Xiang Shenglong compromised, "If you have no objection, fill out this application form and letter of commitment and give them to the class monitor. He will then give it to the dormitory management office for official stamping according to the procedures."

Chen Mo nodded and was about to leave when he heard a voice at the door: "Report."

When Xiang Shenglong saw the person coming, he immediately said to Chen Mo, "Fill it in here."

He turned around and waved at the person: "You've come just in time." His tone was casual and familiar, "Teach Chen Mo to fill out the form, and then run a trip to urge the management office to complete the process within today."

"Isn't this your job?" the visitor said.

As he spoke, he had already walked in and placed two stacks of papers on Xiang Shenglong's desk. He was not wearing a school uniform, and the rolled-up sleeves of his shirt accidentally brushed against Chen Mo's elbow, bringing up a not unfamiliar cool breath.

After putting the things away, he leaned on the table and glanced at Xiang Shenglong's computer desktop. "Academic report from the Institute of Physics? Wasn't it published in a journal last year? Why are you the only one who got the wool from it?"

Xiang Shenglong glanced at him and said, "This is the topic that my teacher is leading the research on. Do you think everyone is like you and don't know what it means to respect teachers?"

Xi Siyan stood up and sneered, "I didn't say anything. Aren't you the one who started making personal attacks right away?"

"Stop talking nonsense. Did you collect the cell phones from the class?"

Xi Siyan shook his head: "Does it make sense? Nowadays, everyone has two phones, one for school and one in their pocket. If you have nothing to do during self-study class, go to the back door and walk around. You will definitely gain more than collecting phones."

Xiang Shenglong took out a book and threw it at him, "Do I need you to teach me how to do things?"

Xi Siyan tilted his head to take it, smiled, and then turned his gaze to another person present.

He looked at the two pieces of paper in his hand, raised his eyebrows and asked, "Do you want to live on campus?"

"Yeah." Chen Mo responded.

I thought this was nonsense, he was asking even though he knew the answer.

The next second, Xi Siyan reached out to him.

Chen Mo paused for a second and handed over the two forms.

Xi Siyan shook his head and said, "That's not it. Come on, hand over your phone first."

Chen Mo's habit of paying special attention to privacy in recent years suddenly flared up. Instead of moving, he frowned and looked at the other person with dissatisfaction in his eyes.

"Heh." Xi Siyan chuckled, "Old Xiang, I saw that there is someone here who refuses to cooperate."

Chen Mo then realized that it was normal that high school students were not allowed to use mobile phones.

He convinced himself, 'You are just a high school student now, you have to go to class, take exams, and, yes, you have to take the college entrance examination again.' Before this overwhelming fact could make him speechless, he heard Xiang Shenglong say, "Chen Mo doesn't need to pay for the time being."

He said to Chen Mo warmly, "You should live in the school for two days to get used to it. If you are not used to it, call your family if you want to. Just don't bring your cell phone into the classroom and hand it in next week."

Xi Siyan immediately sneered: "You sound like you're trying to coax a child."

"Thank you, Mr. Xiang." Chen Mo said at the same time as he spoke, "There's no need to contact my family. I can't fall asleep without checking my phone at night. I'll need two days to get used to it."

Xiang Shenglong: "... electronic products are addictive, so you should play less."

Chen Mo found it funny, but also a little distracted. After two days at the Yang family, he really forgot that the reason why he felt so uncomfortable in his high school life was not only because of social scum like Li Rui, countless rumors, but also because of the omnipresent caution and care of teachers in various subjects.

Most people are not as straightforward as Director Lai, but that makes people feel even more uncomfortable.

Yuhuai Village is a poor and remote place, but it is not the kind of mountainous area where even dirt roads cannot pass. It is true that the school he attended since childhood was a Hope Primary School built with donations from rich people, but his junior high school and high school were at least in the county.

He has used a mobile phone, although it was a keypad one.

He knows which direction the door of the amusement park faces, and the security guard at the skating rink will open the door for you in the middle of the night as long as you give him ten yuan. He even knows the only two bars in the county, where part-time workers can earn hundreds of dollars a night.

Not to mention Chen Mo today.

How should he tell this head teacher, with whom he would be with for the next two years, that he could not be a three-good student? In his previous life, he barely lived up to these words because studying was his only way out for the first seventeen years. Later, he was so focused on improving his grades because he was angry and unwilling to give up that he could not even recognize all the people in the class. His impression of this head teacher was just that of a young teacher who was good at getting along with students.

But now he neither wants to compete with Yang Shule nor needs to prove anything with his achievements.

He even asked a question that sounded nonsensical to Xiang Shenglong: "Teacher Xiang, is the experimental class a flexible class system?"

"No." Although Xiang Shenglong felt that this was a fact known to everyone, he still said seriously: "It used to be, but it was cancelled since last year. You don't have to be too stressed, the class will not easily replace people."

Chen Mo: "...Well, thank you teacher, I don't feel any pressure."

It’s a pity that being kicked out of the experimental class ended up in vain.

Coming out of the office together with Xi Siyan, Chen Mo returned to the classroom, while Xi Siyan went to another office building.

When they separated, Chen Mo called him.

Xi Siyan was puzzled: "What's the matter?"

Chen Mo asked: "Which floor is Class 1, Grade 2, on?"

"Playing tricks on me?"

Chen Mo raised his hands, "I swear to God, I'm asking this seriously."

"Do you still have a conscience?" Xi Siyan stared at him for two seconds, as if to confirm something, and finally: "Turn left on the second floor."

Chen Mo nodded to show that he understood, "Thank you, squad leader. You are a good person."

Xi Siyan turned around and said, "When you say I'm a good person, you can smile even more fakely."

When Chen Mo found the classroom of Class 1, Grade 2, the bell for the end of morning self-study had just rung and the class was noisy.

Some people went to fetch water, some were playing around, but after all, it was an elite class, so most people were still concentrating on studying and doing exercises.

When Chen Mo walked in, the class suddenly became much quieter.

Qi Li's deskmate looked at the swelling on his forehead, which was purple and scary.

"Why didn't I see you talking to Yang Shule today?" My deskmate was really surprised.

Yang Shule sat in the third row in the middle, a standard position for a good student. He had been absent from school for a full half month. Even though he had heard about what happened over the weekend, as soon as he entered the school, he was still surrounded by many students who asked about his well-being.

But today, Qi Li, who was usually the best friend of Yang Shule, just sat there with no intention of going over.

Hearing this, Qi Li pulled out a book and said coldly: "I just don't want to go, why should I go?"

My deskmate murmured, "I'm just asking, why are you being so fierce?"

"What does it have to do with you?" His deskmate didn't expect him to suddenly attack, and his voice was so loud that everyone looked over.

Including Yang Shule.

"Shu Le, what's wrong with Qi Li today?"

"Yeah, it's weird."

Someone looked at the person who just came in from the door and said, "What could have happened? He was beaten like that by Chen Mo, it would be strange if he was in a good mood."

Yang Shule sat in his seat without moving.

Looking at Chen Mo who came in from the door, he looked around the classroom as if looking for something. Finally, after being reminded by the students in the front row, he walked towards his seat.

That seat is next to the podium, alone, the only one.

Others didn't know, but Yang Shule knew that the teacher considered that position as a special favor, and it also made him the easiest person to be noticed. He had been prominent enough at home these past two days, so how could he still be so indifferent when he sat in this position?

Unfortunately, Chen Mo neither sat down calmly nor seemed uneasy.

He moved the table away.

Chen Mo knew that many people were looking at him, but what did it matter? Thinking back to the two months in his previous life when he felt uneasy, he was not crazy, and he was still sitting here.

He moved the table to the end of the row near the window and put it down with a bang.

A flurry of discussions immediately broke out around them.

"What is he doing? Did the teacher ask him to change?"

"Who knows? It just makes him look special. He can beat people without batting an eyelid. It's easy for him to buy money to get into our class. What's the big deal about changing his position?"

"Well, apart from anything else, I heard that his grades are actually not bad."

"It's not bad, the monthly exam is coming up soon, it will be funny if the results are bad then."

Just then, Gou Yiyang and the two boys that Chen Mo had met on Friday came in from the back door.

Gou Yiyang saw him and said, "Mr. Mo, what's up? How did you become my dream lover?"

The boy who had his arm around his shoulder was called Jiang Xu. He laughed and said, "Shame on you. Isn't your dream lover the bathroom corner at the back? Playing games in the garbage room, even a dog can't find you."

People in the back rows started laughing.

The front and back of the classroom seemed to be separated into two different areas.

Chen Mo ignored the subtle atmosphere and just responded to Gou Yiyang and the others, "I have no objection. We are holding hands in the garbage dump. Whoever crawls away first is a dog."

"Who wants to hold your hand? Besides, this seat is so far from the garbage room." Several people squeezed to the seat in front of Chen Mo and sat down. Gou Yiyang turned his head and said, "But buddy, Lao Xiang said that people are not allowed to sit in this seat. How did you convince him?"

Chen Mo tidied up the messy things on the table.

I can’t get back any of the familiar feeling of using pens and rulers.

Casual: “I didn’t say that.”

"…Are you so brave?"

Chen Mo glanced at the person sitting alone near the door, who was symmetrical to him, and raised his eyebrows: "Why can't I sit here?"

Jiang Xu pushed Gou Yiyang aside, imitated Xiang Shenglong's tone, grabbed Chen Mo's ruler and slammed it on the table: "You all think you are the second Xi Siyan? There are only so many people in the experimental class, and there is no room for you to sit in the front, right?"

So that single seat belongs to the monitor of the experimental class.

Chen Mo didn't remember.

I only remember that I was studying very hard at that time and I changed seats every time there was a monthly exam. Except for the first two months, people sitting at my desk came and went, but I can't remember many of their faces.

The first class is Chinese.

The Chinese teacher was an old man. He was not curious about why the seat next to the podium had disappeared, nor did he ask where the person who occupied the empty seat behind had gone. He just shook his head and recited, "Have you not seen the Yellow River coming from the sky, rushing to the sea and never coming back? Have you not seen the bright mirror in the hall..."

Later in the reading, "Student at the back of the row, please stand up and translate."

No response.

The old man repeated: "The student behind."

The whole class looked back.

The person who was said to be special and paid to get in before the class truly interpreted what it meant to pay to get in.

The morning sunlight shines through the glass window and onto the young man's slightly messy hair. He has one hand on the back of his head and has been sleeping so soundly that he doesn't know what day it is.