Chapter 37 The Battle to Defend Class Seven

Upon entering the wetland park, it was finally time for free time.

Peng Chengyi's stomach was already growling with hunger, and she couldn't wait to pull Zheng Xinyue and Chen Wei to a quiet lawn surrounded by cherry blossom trees in the park.

Just as she was about to sit down, she suddenly remembered that the picnic mat was still in Chen Yubai's schoolbag.

She had no choice but to pull out her phone and tap him on WeChat: "Where are you? I need a picnic mat."

The reply came almost instantly: "Ha, you only think of contacting me now?"

Peng Chengyi pursed her lips and tapped the screen rapidly with her fingers: "You should be glad that I'm magnanimous and still willing to contact you."

Chen Yubai: "I already said I didn't trip you on purpose."

Peng Chengyi: "Who would believe you, you dog?"

Chen Yubai: "Don't you want the picnic mat anymore?"

Successfully threatened, Peng Chengyi paused, then reluctantly typed: "Fine, I'll trust you this time."

Chen Yubai: "Share your location with me."

Peng Chengyi decisively initiated real-time location sharing.

On the map, his little white dog icon slowly moved, gradually approaching her little cat icon.

Just as the two avatars were about to overlap, a clear, crisp voice came from above her head: "You've got a good eye for finding places."

“Of course.” Peng Chengyi looked up and saw Chen Yubai standing against the light. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the petals, casting dappled shadows on his clean school uniform, like a scene from a comic book.

The moment she had that thought, Ling Baizhou peeked out from behind her and exclaimed, "Wow, this place has such a Japanese anime vibe!"

Peng Chengyi was taken aback, feeling as if she had found a kindred spirit: "Class monitor, do you watch anime usually?"

Ling Baizhou smiled and said, "Look, I've been watching 'The Burial of Frilian' lately."

"Ah! I'm watching this one too! Who do you like in it?" Peng Chengyi's eyes lit up instantly, and she immediately started talking.

She wasn't particularly close to Ling Baizhou before; she only spoke to him occasionally because he had a good relationship with Chen Yubai. She had no idea that he also liked watching anime.

Ling Baizhou: "Frilian, what about you?"

Peng Chengyi: "I love both Frillie and Simmel!"

The two were discussing the latest plot with great enthusiasm when they were interrupted by Chen Yubai's indifferent voice:

"The cushions are laid out, are you going to sit down or not?"

He had already unfolded the picnic mat at some point and was sitting on it with one long leg bent, patting the empty space next to him expressionlessly.

“…Sit down, sit down.” Peng Chengyi reluctantly ended the conversation and obediently sat down next to him.

She unzipped her backpack and pretended to pull out a bag of potato chips, tossing it into his arms: "Here, this is a reward for carrying my bag."

Chen Yubai glanced down at the bag of cucumber-flavored potato chips, then slowly lifted his eyelids: "I don't eat cucumber flavor, didn't you know?"

Of course she knew.

But every bag of snacks in that backpack was carefully selected and carried with great difficulty all the way; how could she bear to actually give it to him?

It's just a formality.

"Ahem..." Peng Chengyi cleared his throat as if to cover up his embarrassment, quickly reached out and grabbed the bag of cucumber-flavored potato chips back, and said with an awkward smile, "Since you're not going to eat them, I'll take them back. Anyway, my intentions have been conveyed."

Chen Yubai turned his face away and chuckled, clearly having seen through her little scheme.

But he seemed too lazy to argue with her anymore, and instead took out a sandwich from his bag, slowly tore open the packaging, and started eating.

"By the way," Zheng Xinyue took a bite of a spicy snack and casually brought it up, "the application forms for arts and science classes are due after the midterms next week. What are you all planning to choose?"

“I’ll definitely choose science,” Peng Chengyi said without hesitation as she tore open a potato chip. “I’m terrible at geography.”

Chen Yubai swallowed the sandwich in his mouth and said calmly, "Just like her."

"Science." Chen Wei said succinctly.

Ling Baizhou sighed: "Actually, I want to study humanities... but my parents disagree. They say that humanities majors have too few career options and it's hard to find a job."

"Oh right!" Zheng Xinyue suddenly remembered something, "Class monitor, don't you always rank among the top in the grade in history?"

"Yes." Ling Baizhou nodded with a wry smile. "I'm quite interested in history, and I was even thinking of majoring in history..."

His voice gradually faded.

“There’s nothing we can do.” Zheng Xinyue sighed as well. “Our school has always prioritized science over humanities. As long as you’re not too bad at science, parents generally won’t let you choose humanities. Look at me, I’m barely passing physics, but my mom still wants me to continue my ‘advanced studies’ in the science class.”

Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit dull, Peng Chengyi changed the subject and said, "However, if we both study science, we won't be separated."

Chen Wei: "Not necessarily. No. 1 High School will not set up new liberal arts classes separately. Instead, it will directly break up several existing classes and convert them into liberal arts classes based on the number of students who choose liberal arts. The students in the broken classes will be randomly assigned to the remaining science classes."

"Huh?" Peng Chengyi was stunned, the potato chip in her mouth pausing. "Then how do we decide which class to split up?"

"We rank students according to their overall class scores," Chen Wei explained calmly. "We usually start by breaking down the classes that are ranked lower."

“Then our class is definitely safe! Not only do we have the top student in the grade, but even Chengcheng’s grades are now surpassing those of the experimental class.” Zheng Xinyue smiled and patted Peng Chengyi on the shoulder.

Ling Baizhou nodded in agreement: "That's right, the top ten students in our class are all ranked very high in the grade, so there's no need to worry about splitting up the classes."

Peng Chengyi breathed a sigh of relief and put the potato chips in her mouth with peace of mind.

However, the good times didn't last long. After the midterm exams, the news brought by Chen Peifu was like a bucket of cold water poured on him.

"According to the school's arrangements, our class will be divided into four liberal arts classes this year." He pushed up his glasses and said with a serious expression, "Currently, our class's overall grades are second to last in the grade. If we don't improve by at least two places in the final exam, our class will be disbanded."

As soon as he finished speaking, the classroom erupted in chaos—

"How is this possible?!"

"Don't we have the top student in the grade in our class?"

"There's something wrong with these statistics!"

Peng Chengyi's expression froze for a moment, and the pen in her hand fell to the table with a "clatter".

She was initially pleased with herself for improving by three places, but she never expected to face the crisis of her class being split up so soon.

Chen Peifu frowned and slammed the blackboard eraser on the podium: "Quiet! The academic performance in our class is too polarized, with a significant gap in the middle ranks, which has dragged down the overall score."

He sighed, his tone softening: "However, the splitting of classes is not a done deal yet. There are still more than two months until the final exams. As long as everyone works together and strives to improve our grades, our class still has a chance to stay together."

Even so, after Chen Peifu left, the classroom remained shrouded in an unprecedentedly low atmosphere.

The next period was supposed to be a free activity period, but no one left the classroom; everyone was discussing this very impactful event for them.

Peng Chengyi weakly exchanged a glance with Chen Wei, then turned to look at Zheng Xinyue behind her.

She was almost crying as she reached out and hugged their necks: "Chengcheng, Weiwei, I don't want to be separated from you two..."

"I don't want to be separated from you either!" Peng Chengyi pouted, her emotions making her feel like crying too.

Chen Wei patted their arm and comforted them, saying, "Didn't the teacher say that the final grades will be the deciding factor? We might not necessarily be separated."

"Then how easy is it to improve the group's overall performance? Besides, my ranking in the grade dropped again in the midterm exam, even though I went to tutoring classes during the winter break," Zheng Xinyue said sadly.

“Maybe the tutors at the cram school aren’t very good.” Chen Wei paused, then asked Peng Chengyi, “How did you improve your grades? Perhaps you could share some tips with us?”

"Actually, I rely on Chen Yubai to summarize the key points for me every day." Peng Chengyi pursed her lips shyly and took out all the little notes that Chen Yubai had given her.

Chen Wei randomly picked out a sheet and looked at it, saying incredulously, "Just based on this? This summary doesn't seem special at all; it's all basic stuff."

Zheng Xinyue peeked her head over the small note: "Indeed, there's nothing special about this on its own."

Peng Chengyi clutched the corner of the note, her voice unconsciously softening: "Maybe I'll need to cooperate with his explanations. Each time, he analyzes typical examples for me based on these knowledge points..."

"Then it's hopeless." Zheng Xinyue sat back down in her seat, looking dejected. She smiled bitterly. "Besides you, I've never seen Chen Yubai explain problems to anyone else. Last time, I heard the class monitor ask him how to do the last question on the physics test, and he just said that there were similar examples in the textbook and that he should study them himself."

"How about I teach you?" Peng Chengyi hesitated before speaking, "Although I might not be able to explain it as thoroughly as he did..."

Zheng Xinyue's eyes lit up and she said, "Then we can form a study group! We can use activity classes and lunch breaks to improve!"

Peng Chengyi nodded: "Good idea."

As soon as she finished speaking, Ling Baizhou suddenly stood up from the back row and strode towards the podium.

"Classmates!" He slapped the blackboard, his voice booming, "Since none of us want to be separated, let's form some study groups! Those who are doing well can help those who are lagging behind, and let's all work together to keep Class 7 together!"

"Hey!" Zheng Xinyue tugged at Peng Chengyi's sleeve with delight and raised her hand high. "The class monitor and I thought the same thing!"

After she raised her hand in approval, many others followed suit and raised their hands in response to Ling Baizhou's call.

But they were mostly people who wanted to improve, and none of them were capable of leading a study group.

Peng Chengyi was not surprised by this result.

The competition in top high schools is really fierce; those who rank at the top are all studying with their heads on edge every day.

Maintaining one's own ranking is already exhausting; how can one have the energy to help others?

If she weren't a little socially anxious, unwilling to adapt to a new class, and reluctant to part with the friends she had finally made, she probably wouldn't have been so selfless in stepping forward to tutor others.

Ling Baizhou was clearly aware of this thorny problem. He frowned and tapped the podium unconsciously with his fingers.

Currently, only he and Peng Chengyi, who have good grades, are willing to lead the group. This not only makes it difficult for them to be in two places at once, but also may cause them to be distracted and drag down their own grades.

Not only will it not help others, but it may also backfire, making the class's overall ranking even more precarious.

An awkward silence gradually fell over the classroom, and the newly ignited flame of hope seemed about to be extinguished again.

Ling Baizhou glanced at Zhang Ming, the class monitor sitting in the first row. He originally wanted to persuade Zhang Ming to join by saying that leading classmates to make progress was Zhang Ming's duty.

However, the moment his gaze fell on Zhang Ming, the other man abruptly lowered his head as if he had been electrocuted, clearly indicating that he did not want to take on this difficult task.

Ling Baizhou reluctantly withdrew his gaze, and was just about to try someone easier to talk to.

Suddenly, someone in the last row raised their hand again.

Ling Baizhou was stunned and looked over in disbelief—

Chen Yubai leaned casually against the back of his chair, his expression as indifferent as ever.

Meeting his shocked gaze, he casually raised an eyebrow: "What? Am I not allowed to participate?"

"...Yes, yes, yes!" Ling Baizhou, regaining his senses, hurriedly nodded.

The others in the classroom then realized what had happened and turned around in surprise.

Peng Chengyi even thought she was hallucinating until she saw the boy lazily raising his hand, and then she realized that there was nothing wrong with her ears.

But is he still the Chen Yubai she knows?!

It was already surprising enough that he had previously sung along with Ling Baizhou.

Now they've actually taken on something a hundred times more troublesome than that?

Seeing her stunned expression, Chen Yubai slightly curled the corners of his lips and casually lowered his hand.

The classroom erupted in excitement again. Girls who usually didn't have a chance to ask Chen Yubai questions all raised their hands during this opportunity.

For the first time ever, several of the worst-performing boys who often played basketball with Chen Yubai raised their hands.

They claimed it was to support Brother Yu's work.

In the end, almost the entire class joined the study group.

Ling Baizhou stepped down from the podium with satisfaction and patted Chen Yubai on the shoulder heavily: "Brother, thanks to you this time. I really didn't expect you to stand up. Before, when I asked you a question, you were too lazy to answer."

Chen Yubai smiled noncommittally: "But my group doesn't include girls, so please adjust the schedule later."

"..." Ling Baizhou paused, unable to help but ask him, "Why are you so averse to interacting with girls?"

Chen Yubai said lazily, "Troublesome."

"But aren't the girls your closest friends?" Ling Baizhou glanced meaningfully at Peng Chengyi in the front row. "Isn't she a nuisance?"

“It’s troublesome, but I’ve gotten used to it.” Chen Yubai paused slightly, then smiled faintly, “So my patience is only enough to deal with her alone.”

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Author's Note: [Eating popcorn][Eating popcorn][Eating popcorn]

Thank you to 73403844, 818411, Lingxin, Xiaolvjiang my precious treasure, uoow, colorwind915, Sunshine and 75981039 for feeding me the nutrient solution!