eight

“Actually, I didn’t want to say it,” Zhang Zixu said to Ning Yi’en after he finished the call, “but you should still be careful.”

He walked up to Ning Yi'en and said, "You know your hairstyle was never up to par, it's too long. And what's that fringe and that little tuft behind your ear called again?"

"Oh, you young people call it earring dye. Has it faded recently? You know how noticeably dark blue it is in the sunlight. Ning Yi'en, you've violated school rules."

"It's probably faded, but I don't think it's too obvious." Ning Yi'en said calmly, her expression blank, as if she were chatting with a friend.

Lu Yunian, who was standing next to him, reacted strongly. What was this about dyed hair? How come he hadn't noticed at all?

Silently glancing at Ning Yi'en, who was chatting animatedly with the director, she noticed that although her hair wasn't very noticeable in the indoor light, it was still clear that the hair near her left ear wasn't pure black but rather a bluish color.

However, it seems that this better highlights Ning Yi'en's personality, Lu Yunian thought to himself.

If you were to ask Lu Yunian yesterday: What kind of person do you think Ning Yien is?

He might answer without hesitation: Although he brings his phone to school, he never plays with it during class, and he doesn't even turn it on at school; although he seems cold and unapproachable, he will take time to explain problems to his classmates when he is about to go home; he will help a stranger fix his bicycle with a broken chain and even give him a delicious sandwich...

So, he's practically the perfect senior—gentle, kind, handsome, and very helpful.

But until today, or more accurately, the moment Ning Yi'en swung her fist at Luo Yao, Lu Yunian suddenly overturned his perception of her. Although the previous adjectives still applied, Ning Yi'en seemed to be even more...cool than he had imagined.

The subtle blue-black highlights made him appear even more unrestrained and vibrant.

However, why didn't Lu Yunian notice Ning Yi'en's unique hair color after nearly half a month of getting along? Perhaps subconsciously he thought Ning Yi'en was a good student who strictly abided by school rules and regulations, but it's also possible that his attention was completely drawn to her authoritative appearance and he didn't look anywhere else.

But Lu Yunian is completely unaware, and even if he were, he wouldn't admit to being infatuated. So it's probably the former. (Although it's probably not much better.)

“I wasn’t a good student to begin with,” Ning Yi’en shifted her posture and crossed her legs. “Teacher Zhang, I don’t believe you didn’t realize that in your first year of high school.”

"You little rascal, you really are something," Zhang Zixu laughed, sounding more like a friendly banter.

"So arrogant," the teacher at the next table, who seemed to have just finished working on his lesson plan, stood up and did some stretching exercises in the open space, casually striking up a conversation with Zhang Zixu.

"You need to have the right to be arrogant. I think our grade, well... we can barely manage to be number one this time. But we need to keep it up."

"Did you hear that? Teacher Wang has already spoken. If you don't get first place next time, see if I don't make trouble for you." Zhang Zixu reached out and poked Ning Yi'en's forehead a few times. "No, if you don't always stay in first place, I'll look down on you."

"First? What first?" Lu Yunian was confused and couldn't figure it out as he listened to their conversation.

"You'll definitely be number one in the grade. Ning Yi'en, if you work a little harder, I won't have any objections if you keep being number one in the joint exam."

“I’ll take the exam, of course you have no objection,” Ning Yi’en said with a smile.

"But you didn't even look at the results. If you mistakenly think I'm number one, don't blame me. I never said I was the one who scored that many points higher than the second-place person."

"If you weren't so confident, would you have this attitude?" Zhang Zixu tried to slap Ning Yi'en on the forehead, but she dodged him. "Don't I know you? What's your estimated score this time?"

He then sat back down at the computer to open the document and check his grades.

"We usually don't estimate, but if I absolutely need a score..."

Ning Yi'en casually played with his hands, as if they weren't discussing his score. "Six hundred and seventy-eight, let's be conservative."

So tall

Lu Yunian, standing next to him, stared wide-eyed as if he had never seen anything like it before. It wasn't that the score was particularly high, but it was still a bit unusual for it to appear in their class.

"You're kidding me."

Zhang Zixu's document loading was a bit slow, but he clearly didn't believe the results either, saying, "How much does it fluctuate up or down?"

Ning Yi'en made a three-pointer gesture, and seeing that Zhang Zixu wanted to roll his eyes at him, he added, "It was just a rough estimate, but it's not far off, really, believe me."

His tone was very sincere, but his expression seemed to be teasing.

"So, what do you think," Zhang Zixu changed his question somewhat helplessly, "what score do you think the first place will get?"

"How would I know?"

"Isn't this asking you to guess?"

“708, I guess,” Ning Yi’en said casually.

"Can it really be that tall?" Lu Yunian, sitting next to him, really felt stupid and superfluous.

"So it was just a guess."

"Ning Yi'en!" Zhang Zixu suddenly shouted, startling Lu Yunian who was standing next to him. Ning Yi'en, however, remained calm and composed, as if she had expected this. "You just have to tease me like this to make me happy, don't you?"

"Both teacher and friend, right?" Ning Yi'en maintained a faint smile. "Is it accurate?"

"Can the term 'both teacher and friend' be used like this, Ning Yi'en?"

Zhang Zixu was about to pat Ning Yi'en's head again, but because Lu Yunian had been watching the two of them, he subconsciously blocked her with his hand.

It's a bit awkward.

Lu Yunian looked at Zhang Zixu awkwardly and smiled, then withdrew his hand.

“You should change this habit. How can someone take the college entrance exam if you beat them senseless?” Ning Yi’en said, trying to smooth things over. “So, is it accurate or not?”

"708 is quite accurate, but how dare you say 678?"

“Error,” Ning Yi’en said, holding up three fingers.

"A 30% margin of error, I already told you that when you asked. But this time it's really quite simple."

"I think you deserve a beating."

"Who? Who wants to get beaten up?" The office door was pushed open without knocking.

“Teacher Ning…” Zhang Zixu stood up again as if he had been doing squats. “I didn’t mean to beat anyone up. Please sit down.”

"Are you two fighting?" Ning Sui glanced at Ning Yi'en, then at Lu Yunian next to him. "It doesn't seem like it. It looks quite harmonious."

"No, no, this student is trying to break up the fight." Zhang Zixu was Ning Sui's student in high school, and now he's the head of his grade. He doesn't know why he still feels a little intimidated when he sees a teacher.

"Hello, Teacher Ning."

"Hey, hello, hello," she smiled at Lu Yunian, then glared at Zhang Zixu (of course, jokingly).

"Why are you making him stay in the office when he's trying to break up a fight? Do you have to call the parents to help with breaking up a fight?"

"Hey, no. Look at my memory, I'm getting old and I've forgotten everything," he tapped his head. "Excuse me, what's your name, classmate...?"

"Lu Yunian".

"Okay, Lu Yunian, your act of mediating the fight is commendable. However, next time, no matter who has the upper hand, please just break it up decisively. That way, everyone will be more willing to help. Don't end up getting hurt yourself and having your parents called in as well. It's not worth it."

"Yes, teacher."

"Okay, let's go back to class."

"I brought you sweet and sour pork ribs. I saw the message when I was eating out and ordered them specially. They shouldn't be cold yet." As they were talking, Ning Sui stuffed a cloth bag into Ning Yi'en's arms.

"You didn't suffer any injustice today, did you?"

"It hurts." Ning Yi'en looked around and saw that no one was watching her. She leaned on her grandmother's shoulder with a pitiful expression. She was actually much taller than her grandmother, but she would lean on her shoulder no matter how much she hunched over.

"She's so old and still acting like a spoiled child."

Ning Sui affectionately rubbed Ning Yi'en's head, "Where does it hurt? Grandma will blow on it for you."

"It hurts." He looked up at Ning Sui, then looked down again.

"But I definitely didn't lose the fight."

"Then let's have a little stick."

The homeroom teacher was looking at the grades when she received the message from the grade director. She was still immersed in the joy and shock that our class was first in the grade and had scored several points higher than the second place in the unified exam.

I was hit hard by the news that "there's a fight in your class, come to my office." As I walked down the stairs, I felt a mix of emotions, unsure whether to laugh or frown.

Of course, when she saw that the first person was also involved in the fight, she couldn't laugh at all.

"Why is it you two again?!" Zheng stood angrily at the office door. "Why is it you again, Luo Yao?!"

Luo Yao shrugged at her nonchalant expression, "Let them call my parents. It's not like it's my first time."

"What kind of behavior is this?"

“I’ve always been like this.” He said nonchalantly, “Anyway, my family has connections and money, so maybe I can even get into Class 1. I don’t care about your class.”

While speaking, he kept flipping his hair and playing with his hands, barely glancing at the angry homeroom teacher in front of him; it was a clear provocation.

Xu Qi cast a pleading look at him from the side, as if asking, "What should I do?" But Luo Yao completely ignored him and responded with a look that said, "None of my business."

“Xu Qi, you…” Zheng looked at the other person with a helpless expression.

She was truly at a loss as to how to deal with the troublemaker who had been brought in through connections; she didn't know how to break through his thick skin and discipline him.

"Teacher, I...I...I'm sorry, I shouldn't have...I didn't think it would..."

Xu Qi spoke haltingly, his voice choked with emotion, but he was interrupted after only a few words.

"Teacher," a middle-aged woman dressed in a flamboyant manner approached, "what did my son, Ayao, do to deserve this? He has to stand in the corridor in the middle of the day. What if he gets heatstroke? Are you teachers responsible for that?"

"Oh, you must be Luo Yao's mother,"

The homeroom teacher took a deep breath to calm herself down, then put on a smile and said, "Let's go into the office first. Our director is waiting inside."

"Oh, then open the door."

Luo Yao's mother held her neck ramrod straight, as if imagining herself as a noble swan, waving at the homeroom teacher, the bracelets and bangles on her hands jingling and clanging.

Open the door? For me?

However, Zheng still smiled and pushed the door open, "Luo Yao, you come in too."

They had barely stepped inside when Xu Qi's parents arrived.

"Teacher Zheng,"

Xu Qi's mother must have rushed over in a hurry. She hadn't even had time to change out of her work clothes. Her hair and clothes were soaked from walking quickly in the midday sun, and she was clearly panting as she spoke.

"I'm so sorry, my Xu Qi has caused you trouble." Then she reached out to pull Xu Qi's ear, but Zheng stopped her.

"It's alright, Ms. Xu. Let's go inside first. The director is waiting inside."

"Okay, teacher."

She smiled awkwardly, then interrupted Teacher Zheng as she reached for the door. She rubbed her hands on her clothes for a moment, then said, "Let me open it, teacher. Don't bother."