Chapter 21 Forgetting My Roots To punish me, Teacher Ning, are you going to play a trick on me? ...

Know.

What do you know?

Time seemed to stand still for a moment, and Ning Jiu and Qiao Bolin straightened their backs and looked at Lao Qin.

The latter paused deliberately for a few seconds, and when he spoke, his voice carried a hint of heartfelt relief.

"You all performed very well at the club culture festival, bringing honor to our class. That's great."

So that's what it was about.

Ning Jiu had just breathed a sigh of relief when he heard him continue asking.

"By the way, how have you two been getting along lately?"

She became wary again.

"fine...?"

"fine."

Receiving positive feedback, Lao Qin's brows finally relaxed, and a smile appeared on his face.

"That's good."

? ? ?

Things seem to be developing in a strange direction.

Ning Jiu looked at Lao Qin with a puzzled expression. The latter coughed lightly and, no longer keeping her in suspense, revealed the reason for his visit.

“Since the beginning of the semester exams, Professor Fan and I have been observing the fluctuations in your grades. Ning Jiu, you have adapted very well since you came here, and you have been able to maintain your strengths in the subjects you are good at, which is very rare,” said Lao Qin. “Should we work harder and try to get into Peking University or Shanghai University? Professor Tan and I have high hopes for you.”

Before Ning Jiu could say anything, Lao Qin continued.

“Don’t feel pressured. We’re just giving you a small suggestion. If you feel uncomfortable when I say it, just let me know. Don’t worry,” he continued after Ning Jiu nodded. “Teacher Tan and I both think you have great potential in Chinese and English.”

“For example, your Chinese composition is quite good. Ms. Yang, the teacher who grades compositions in the next class, just praised you. Your handwriting is also beautiful. It’s just that subjective questions, sometimes you still have to follow certain rules,” he patted Qiao Bolin’s shoulder familiarly. “Bolin does very well on subjective questions. You can ask him more questions.”

Qiao Bolin was suddenly called upon, met the gazes of the two men, and nodded a beat late.

Ning Jiu roughly guessed what Lao Qin meant.

Old Qin: "And your English, you need to listen more and immerse yourself in a language environment. You could buy an MP3 player or something, but I can't really say for sure. I'm not as professional in English as Teacher Tan is. That's the general idea. Xiao Jiu, that's my opinion..."

He observed Ning Jiu and Qiao Bolin's expressions for a while before slowly speaking.

"After observing you two, Mr. Fan, Mr. Tan, and I feel that your grades complement each other quite well," Mr. Qin said, explaining the reason for calling them over. "We've decided to rearrange the seating after this monthly exam. If you'd like, we'll try to put you and Qiao Bolin together so you can encourage each other in your studies."

To prevent early romantic relationships, Jianglan Experimental School stopped having deskmates starting from the second year of high school, and each row of seats is separated by a narrow aisle.

Ning Jiu did not answer immediately after hearing Lao Qin's words.

She raised an eyebrow slightly, her gaze shifting to Qiao Bolin, before naturally looking back when he looked at her.

"Are you only asking me?" she asked meaningfully.

“Yes, Berlin, I’m already very familiar with him,” Old Qin said matter-of-factly. “It doesn’t matter who sits next to him, his studies won’t be affected at all.”

He looked at Qiao Bailin with trust, and the latter smiled at him, which Qin took as an affirmation.

Satisfied, Old Qin turned his gaze back to the well-behaved and pretty girl in front of him.

"So, now it's up to you."

-

Half an hour later, in the classroom office, a few beams of the setting sun slanted across the desk. Old Qin leaned back slightly in his chair, tacitly agreeing to Ning Jiu's choice.

“Okay, that’s settled then,” he said gently, taking another sip of his teacup. “You can go back to the classroom first, Xiao Jiu. I need to talk to Qiao Bolin about something. He’ll be there later.”

As soon as Ning Jiu returned to the classroom, she keenly sensed that all the eyes around her wanted to surround her. However, since she couldn't tell anything from her face, there was nowhere to gossip. Everyone stared at Ning Jiu longingly for a while, then looked away with some regret.

She finished correcting and sorting out the mistakes on the last English practice paper. As soon as the bell rang for the end of the last class, Gao Hexin and Li Mingyuan, who had been eager to try, immediately surrounded Ning Jiu, winking and making faces at her.

"Old Qin asked you to go to the office with Berlin?" Li Mingyuan's tone was full of disbelief. "This is the first time I've encountered this. In the past, he always asked Berlin to come alone."

“Sweet wine,” Gao Hexin nudged Ning Jiu’s arm with his elbow, “What did he say to you? Tell me secretly, I will never tell anyone else.”

This sounds so familiar.

Just then, Qiao Bolin also came out of the office. Ning Jiu packed her bag and met the two gossipy eyes.

Why don't you ask him?

"How could I dare..."

"Then forget it..."

They're quite neat and uniform.

It's just a matter of whether or not to change seats, there's nothing wrong with talking about it, but recalling what just happened, Ning Jiu glanced at the boy's seat and beckoned to Li Mingyuan and Gao Hexin.

"Let's go outside and talk."

Outside the classroom, dusk settled heavily, the shadows of the trees were stretched long by the setting sun, and the light on the horizon was like a thin orange veil blown by the wind.

Li Mingyuan bought a mung bean popsicle for Ning Jiu and Gao Hexin on his own initiative. After hearing what Ning Jiu said, he was so surprised that he almost choked on the popsicle.

"Huh? So you refused Lao Qin's request to change seats?" He couldn't understand Ning Jiu's thought process. "Nine out of ten people in our class, if not all of them, would want to sit next to him. He's willing to share his notes, and he can answer any questions he knows. He's practically the ideal deskmate."

“Our sweet wine is quite popular, you know,” Gao Hexin’s voice cut between the two, “but Old Qin probably didn’t expect the sweet wine to refuse, he even specially called Qiao Bolin over, now, rounding up, isn’t that—”

Did Ning Jiu reject Qiao Bolin in front of Lao Qin?

At this point, Gao Hexin suddenly became interested and turned to Ning Jiu with a smile.

"So what was Jobelin's reaction after he found out you rejected him?"

She was genuinely curious.

The air was filled with the scent of sycamore trees carried by the evening breeze, and Ning Jiu squinted slightly.

Joe Berlin's reaction.

“What other reaction could there be? It doesn’t matter where he sits,” Li Mingyuan said first, with an ice cream in his mouth. “The way you’re saying this is like Qiao Bolin being rejected after confessing his love.”

"Is that what I meant?" Gao Hexin pointed to his nose, puzzled, wanting to argue back, but then changed the subject when he saw two familiar figures around the corner. "Hey, isn't this the girl Julie brought today?"

"Heh, what a clumsy little trick," Li Mingyuan said with an expression that said, "I saw right through you." He followed Gao Hexin's gaze and couldn't help but exclaim, "Sister Jiu, isn't that the guy who was next to you in the stairwell at noon?"

Gao Hexin seemed to have caught another juicy scoop: "Hmm?"

Li Mingyuan looked completely innocent: "Huh?"

Ning Jiu was texting Yuan Liangjing. When she realized what they were saying, she looked up and only managed to see the boy's tall figure disappear around the corner at the end of the street.

-

The monthly exam results came out quickly. As expected, Qiao Bolin was far ahead of the top student in the grade. Qi Ruiheng was still the perennial runner-up. Chen Poyao made significant progress this time and ranked third in the grade.

Ning Jiu waited until the crowd dispersed a bit before looking at her name, which was printed next to number eight. It was clear that she was still in the top ten of her class in all subjects except Chinese and English.

Hmm... that's a bit of progress?

She encouraged herself.

Even moving up one rank is progress.

Making steady progress should be a happy thing. Ning Jiu didn't go to lunch. Her practice of solving problems became more and more proficient. The results of staying up late to practice problems these past few days were significant. After getting a feel for the Jiangcheng problems, her accuracy and speed improved a lot.

After lunch break, it was Lao Yang's chemistry class. Gao Hexin couldn't muster any enthusiasm for it, but unexpectedly, there was a pleasant surprise. Two minutes before class, the chemistry class representative, Lü Zhinan, announced at the classroom door that today's chemistry class would be conducted in the laboratory.

The moment the words were spoken, the classroom erupted in a frenzy, as if hot water had been poured over it.

High school students, upon hearing that they could go to the lab, or even just attend class, would feel like they were going out for some fresh air.

The chairs creaked as they were pushed back, and a row of students subconsciously began packing their pencil cases and textbooks to leave the classroom. Groups of students rushed toward the science building, and laughter echoed through the corridors.

Ning Jiu had originally planned to sit with Gao Hexin, but upon arriving at the lab, she was told that Lao Yang had already arranged seats and groups in advance, so the two reluctantly went to look at the seating chart.

Gao Hexin was grouped with Qi Ruiheng, Li Mingyuan, and Dong Yi. Ning Jiu moved closer and found her name in the third row.

Ning Jiu, Chen Poyao, Cai Liming, Qiao Bolin.

Carrying her pencil case, she walked around the front row and found the experimental group's location. The three people in front of the experimental table had already arrived. Chen Poyao was the first to see her, her eyes lit up, and she waved to her with a smile.

"Hi, sweet wine, we're in the same group, what a coincidence!"

Ning Jiu raised her eyebrows, about to respond, when Cai Liming gave a lukewarm snort from the side.

“Sweet wine, huh? Tsk.”

...idiot.

Today's chemistry experiment was the combustion of organic matter. The lab equipment was neatly arranged on the lab table. In this group, Qiao Bolin was in charge of the main operation, Chen Poyao was the assistant, Ning Jiu recorded the experiment, and Cai Liming was in charge of—

"Hey Qiu Xu, how's your group doing?"

Before he could finish speaking, he had already swayed to the next table.

The next second, a short "bang" sound suddenly came from the laboratory.

"Who farted and exploded!" Cai Liming exclaimed in surprise.

"It's benzene, damn it!" Li Mingyuan waved his hand while pressing down on the flame. "Cai Liming, what are you? Can you stop scaring people like this?"

The air was filled with a burnt smell and a faint, sweet odor. Qi Ruiheng quickly opened the laboratory window, and the remaining smoke was gently blown away by the wind, taking away some of the scorching heat from the mixture of glass and flames.

Ning Jiu sat in her seat, holding the record sheet given to her by Lao Yang, watching Qiao Bolin lower his head and arrange the utensils on the table.

He flipped the matchbox between his long, slender fingers, revealing a fair hand with prominent veins on the back.

The lighting was swift and clean, the flame leaping up quietly and swaying around the wick, illuminating the boy's handsome and clear features.

He was wearing glasses today, not very strong ones. The lenses reflected light subtly, softening the sharpness of his eyes and making his nose appear even straighter, giving him an unapproachable air.

Chen Poyao went to get filter paper to collect water vapor, and her eyes caught something inadvertently.

"Hey, Joe Bolin, what happened to your eye?"

Ning Jiu was still recording her experimental data when she heard this. She only glanced at it briefly, her gaze sweeping over the tiny scratch visible on the edge of his glasses.

Qiao Bolin kept his head down, adjusting the flames and checking the temperature changes: "I got scratched by a puppy."

"Yours?"

"Um."

The evaporating dish was placed over the flame, and a thin layer of white mist gradually appeared on the edge under the high temperature. The flame under the glass was a clean blue, like a small ball of trapped light.

Chen Poyao was clearly interested in the topic and asked a few more common questions about raising dogs, such as what breed they were, how old they were, and whether they were picky eaters. Qiao Bolin answered all of them, but only briefly. Then, as if thinking of something, Chen Poyao looked at him tentatively.

"An 18-month-old Border Collie, just thinking about it is adorable," she asked. "By the way, what's its name?"

Qiao Bolin had just finished the last experimental step. His hand, which was putting away the dropper, was still in mid-air when he turned his head and saw Ning Jiu slightly turn her body to the other side of the experimental table, as if she was about to pick up something. The metal support she was about to touch still had the heat from when the fire was turned off.

He instinctively reached out and grabbed her wrist.

"Be careful."

As their skin textures touched, his fingertips, imbued with the heat of blue flames, penetrated the epidermis and reached deep into the nerves.

Chen Poyao's words were drowned out by a sudden burst of laughter. Cai Liming next door had done something again, almost knocking over the alcohol lamp, which prompted Lao Yang to yell at him to go back to his own group.

Cai Liming returned to his group dejectedly, only to find that all the experiments in his group had been completed, and the experimental phenomena had been clearly recorded on paper.

Qiao Bolin had already withdrawn his hand, but his gaze was still fixed on Ning Jiu.

"What do you need? I'll get it for you."

"Need not."

Ning Jiu walked past him, took a tissue to wipe the ink stains from her palm, and nodded to the other two.

"I've finished writing all the lab records, I can hand them in now."

Other groups around us have also completed the experiment intermittently. Once Lao Yang has checked and found no problems, we can leave get out of class early.

Ning Jiu didn't want to stay there any longer. As soon as Lao Yang confirmed, she said goodbye to Gao Hexin and went back to the classroom first.

The laboratory was separated from the teaching building by one floor, and the floor was high up. Students who finished early all tacitly chose to take the elevator down. Ning Jiu felt an inexplicable sense of irritation and pushed open the door leading to the stairwell by herself.

When my foot landed, the stairwell was empty, and the soles of my shoes made a short, crisp sound as they stepped on the stone steps.

She lowered her head slightly, her snow-white neck curving into a soft arc, appearing clean and delicate in the dim light.

Her gaze fell on her toes, and she silently counted something in her mind. When she reached the ninth step, another set of footsteps suddenly sounded behind her.

Ning Jiu still didn't turn around, but before her next step landed, she heard that clear and undeniable voice coming from behind her.

"Ning wine".

The way he called her name always sounded so nice.

What's annoying is that he seems to call everyone's name quite nice.

"Ning wine".

Qiao Bolin called again, but Ning Jiu seemed not to hear him and walked faster and faster.

He frowned slightly, took a few long strides to catch up, and at the turn of the stairs, without hesitation, reached out and grabbed her wrist.

Why are you walking so fast?

It's always like this.

Clear and restrained, so annoying that you almost want to shut your ears.

Ning Jiu bit her lip, met his gaze, and cursed.

"none of your business."

His round eyes were wide open, looking fierce, but his eyebrows and eyes were completely soft, without any intimidation.

Qiao Bolin stared at her for a few seconds without making a move.

Just when Ning Jiu thought he was going to let go, he suddenly used a bit of force, and Ning Jiu was indeed hurt so much that her eyes instantly filled with tears, and the corners of her upturned eyes turned red, making her look extremely pitiful.

“Joe Bolin,” she scolded him, feeling wronged, “how could you be so wicked?”

I really misjudged him before!

Ning Jiu had to admire Qiao Bolin's thick skin. He could still look at her calmly without changing his expression even after being scolded so thoroughly. His thick eyebrows and eyes were simply unfair when looked at up close.

It was probably just her imagination, but the moment she was being scolded, the corners of his mouth seemed to turn up slightly. When she tried to confirm it, he had already returned to his usual calm demeanor.

Qiao Bolin: "Me, bad?"

"Otherwise what? Could it be that I'm the bad one?" Ning Jiu bit her lip and looked at him indignantly. "Did you never intend to tell me about adopting Xiao Bai? I'm not the last person in the whole world to find out, am I!"

Damn it, heaven knows how much willpower she used to resist the urge to fight him when she heard that in the lab.

“I was planning to visit it at the shelter a few days ago when I finished my exams, but now it seems so ridiculous,” Ning Jiu said. “We brought Xiao Bai here together. Did you consider my right to know when you made that decision?”

It would have been better if he hadn't mentioned it, because Ning Jiu got angrier and angrier as soon as he started talking about it. He tried to break free again, and he was already unsteady on his feet. But Qiao Bolin didn't loosen his grip, and suddenly took a step back.

He pulled her so suddenly that she lost her balance and leaned forward, her lower lip, still bearing the bite mark, pressing against his neck without warning.

A soft yet burning sensation spread from his lips, and Ning Jiu suddenly tried to get up, frantically patting his back with her hands.

The hand that was holding her wrist had somehow slipped down to her waist. His strong forearm tightened very slowly, but very tightly, completely blocking any space for her to retreat.

He said sincerely, "I didn't mean to hide it from you."

"Xiao Bai likes you very much and misses you very much, but the trial period needs to be two weeks. I need to make sure that I am capable of taking responsibility for it before I am qualified to tell you."

Ning Jiu's struggling movements slowed down, and Qiao Bolin blinked his thick eyelashes, lowering his voice.

“I was going to tell you a few days ago, Ning Jiu,” he said, “but I’ve been very angry these past few days.”

"......"

Ning Jiu's voice, muffled on his shoulder, said indistinctly, "What do you have to be angry about?"

"Don't I have anything to be angry about?" His voice sounded incomprehensible. "Old Qin's suggestion is only beneficial to you and good for your own development, so why refuse it?"

He was talking about how she refused to change seats during evening self-study that day.

He didn't ask why she refused to sit with him.

He simply doesn't understand why he should refuse something that would benefit his own development.

The anger that had been building up inside Ning Jiu suddenly eased upon hearing those words. Her long eyelashes brushed against the boy's broad shoulders, sending a tingling, itchy sensation through her.

“Joe Bolin,” she poked the small mole on his neck, “so someone like you can get angry too.”

And it's funny how they keep their anger to themselves.

“I refuse to change seats because I want to ensure the effectiveness of my learning,” Ning Jiu said. “If I sit next to you, I will be affected by you in class, after class, on the way to school, and after school. Wouldn’t I be doomed?”

Upon hearing the last two words, Qiao Bolin visibly frowned.

"I won't affect you."

“You will,” Ning Jiu said decisively. “Just like now, I’m so close to you, and I only have one thought in my mind.”

I want to kiss you. I want to kiss you. I want to kiss you.

She looked up, her round eyes gazing innocently at Qiao Bolin, but after a few seconds, her gaze unconsciously lingered on his handsome lips.

Do you understand what I mean?

Qiao Bolin had never met a girl who expressed her thoughts to him so frankly.

Yet he was so easily coaxed by her. Feeling the curve of her waist, he subtly tightened his grip, wanting to hold her even tighter, but he felt her push against his chest with her hand.

Ning Jiu: "Qiao Bolin, loosen your grip a little, you're making me feel suffocated."

But when he actually let go, her pitiful expression changed completely.

Ning Jiu took two steps back, deliberately creating distance, and sighed dramatically, her drooping eyelids concealing the cunning light in her light-colored eyes.

“I’ve noticed that you sometimes say one thing and do another,” she said slowly.

Today, the bad student, who had already been criticized several times, was once again singled out for criticism by Teacher Ning.

Ning Jiu: "Who was it that kept saying we were friends before, huh?"

What a load of bullshit friends.

Are there friends who hug each other so tightly they feel like they could meld into each other's bodies?

Qiao Bolin's gaze fell on Ning Jiu's constantly changing expression.

His eyes shimmered, revealing unpredictable emotional fluctuations.

The gentleness lasts only a moment; the sharpness hidden in the bones is revealed, a vibrant sense of life that needs no embellishment, like the rampant growth of grass and trees.

Paradoxical, scorching white, like a flame burning in ice.

Just thinking about it made his fingertips feel a burning sensation, and his fingertips trembled slightly as if they had been scalded.

"I'm sorry, Teacher Ning," the student said. Although he was a troublesome student, he was good at admitting his mistakes, but whether he could correct them was still questionable. "It was my definition of the word 'friend' that was inaccurate."

Qiao Bolin lowered his head slightly, letting the girl ruffle his hair into a mess.

His gaze inadvertently drifted to the faint redness on Ning Jiu's wrist. Upon closer inspection, one could discern the shape of his fingers pinching her wrist—evidence that would be difficult to erase in a short time.

He cleared his throat, his attitude of admitting his mistake seemed very sincere.

"It's my problem."

"......"

Ning Jiu discovered that Qiao Bolin had a very difficult point to grasp: he admitted his mistakes too quickly and with too good an attitude, making it impossible to find anything to criticize.

She had finally managed to catch him in a compromising situation, only to have him casually blurt it out, rendering it almost harmless. Caught off guard, she choked, thinking she must be crazy to bring it up again. She turned to leave, but felt Qiao Bolin's fingertips lightly pressing against the inside of her wrist.

His skin was gently caressed, as if a spark had landed beneath it. A tingling sensation shot up her nerves. Ning Jiu didn't turn her head, but she could clearly sense his approach. It was as if she had been quietly pulled into his aura.

Light streamed through the window cracks in the stairwell, causing the boy's fair hair to sway slightly, the ends of his hair bathed in light.

"So, as punishment for me, Teacher Ning—"

His tone remained as calm, gentle, and matter-of-fact as ever.

Are you trying to mess with me?

-----------------------

The author's note: "Hopefully this is the last time we discuss this unpleasant topic."

"Teacher Ning, are you going to play a trick on me?"

Xiao Qiao has forgotten her roots [doge emoji]

The game has officially begun. [Heart]

-

P.S.: Little Bai, such a well-behaved dog, just "coincidentally" scratched the corner of your eye, Hajoo Berlin. This man is quite cunning; he's only showing the tip of the iceberg now.