Chapter 17: Past Events "I'm not always number one."...

Yu Xiang’s trip took twenty minutes.

Although he had explained to the teacher that he was in poor condition due to a bad cold, he still did not get forgiveness.

"Having a cold is not an excuse. It wouldn't cause you to be so low. You should reflect on whether you listened carefully in class, completed your homework, and whether you used your brain to think about problems."

…

After returning to his seat, Yu Xiang kept recalling those words until he became numb.

He stared at Jiang Ci's profile unconsciously, and finally fell asleep without knowing when.

When I woke up again, Jiang Ci's coat was covering me again.

He rubbed his eyes and stood up, took off his coat and handed it back to him: "Why didn't you wake me up?"

"The teachers are busy grading papers and recording grades, no one will catch you." Jiang Ci took the coat and replied calmly.

"That's not what I meant... Never mind." Yu Xiang's mind was still confused, and he couldn't organize his words for a while, so he simply gave up.

"If you feel uncomfortable, go out for a walk." Jiang Ci said again.

"Where are you going? It's class time now." Yu Xiang asked curiously.

"I'll take you out of class." Jiang Ci said as he stood up.

"Hey?! You just..." Yu Xiang was shocked by the terrifying movement. He wanted to ask but was afraid of attracting the attention of the students around him.

It was normal to go to the bathroom during evening self-study, so Yu Xiang only thought for a second and chose to shut up.

As long as he doesn't say too much, no one will suspect him.

Curious about what Jiang Ci was up to, Yu Xiang followed him out from the back of the classroom.

Then I was led all the way to the playground.

The playground gate is supposed to be locked at night, but the lock broke recently and hasn't been replaced yet, so they were able to take advantage of the loophole.

The playground was empty at this time and there was no lighting. The only light sources were the light from the street lamps outside and the moon in the sky. From time to time, a cool breeze blew by.

"You said you were skipping class, and you really are skipping class? Are you going to give up your image as a good student?" Yu Xiang kept an eye on everything, afraid of being seen by a passing teacher. "I've already reformed, and you're actually asking me to skip class."

"I never said I was a good student." Jiang Ci replied calmly.

"You should have said that to my mom. She always likes to lecture me and tell me to learn from you."

"She's said it so many times, but you never listened once." Jiang Ci turned and looked at him, "Are you feeling better now?"

"Hmm." Yu Xiang took a deep breath.

In fact, he was no longer so depressed the moment he left the classroom, otherwise he would not have the leisure to chat with Jiang Ci so harmoniously.

"Are you sad about not doing well on the test?"

"Nonsense. Who can laugh when they didn't do well in the exam?" Yu Xiang glanced at Jiang Ci unhappily.

"But you didn't take grades so seriously before." Jiang Ci picked a spot on the lawn, wanting to sit but hesitating because of his mysophobia. "But this time, you care extra about it."

"Because I was always making progress, but this time I've regressed so much I don't know what to do when I get home..." Yu Xiang noticed Jiang Ci's hesitation and grabbed his hand while he wasn't paying attention, forcing him to sit down. He then plopped down beside him, "Forget it, you won't understand even if I tell you. Someone like you who always gets first place in the exams can't understand this feeling."

Yu Jinsheng still hasn't found a job, and life is not easy for his family now that Chen Xiaomie is the only one working. He has been brainwashed more than once about "what will happen to you in the future if you don't study hard."

He has passed his rebellious stage and started to understand things, so naturally he cares about such words.

"I'm not always first." Jiang Ci said slowly.

"When have you never..." Yu Xiang stopped talking midway.

Because he suddenly remembered that there was a time when Jiang Ci did not get first place in the exam, and even became the last in the class.

That was when I was in the third year of junior high school.

Their homeroom teacher, despite the protests of the rest of the class, insisted on assigning seats based on academic performance, changing them after every exam. However, Jiang Ci, already a very tall ninth-year student, was forcibly placed in the front row, while Yu Xiang, who either slept in class or skipped classes to play, was placed in the last row, sitting with another boy who had no intention of studying.

Jiang Ci had told his class teacher several times that he should be placed in the last row like Yu Xiang, but was rejected every time. After realizing that negotiation was useless, Jiang Ci deliberately gave all the wrong answers in that monthly exam and wrote off-topic Chinese composition, and successfully got the last place.

This outrageous move made the class teacher very angry, and he called Jiang Ci to the office to give him a lecture. However, it was said that Jiang Ci not only did not listen, but also calmly said that if he insisted on arranging the seats like this, he would do the same for every exam in the future. After returning to the class, he moved his desk and sat in the last row with Yu Xiang.

Only then did the head teacher give in and agree to arrange seats according to height.

Most of the class were quite satisfied with the result. The only one who was dissatisfied was Yu Xiang - because he had to sit at the same table with Jiang Ci again.

"Did you remember?" Jiang Ci asked with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"I remember now..." Yu Xiang said with a frown, as if a bad memory had been brought back. "Speaking of which, why did you have to move next to me when you wanted to? You even pushed my former deskmate out. Do you know how angry he was that he almost sent someone to block you on your way home from school?"

"Because I've been annoyed with him for a long time." Jiang Ci answered frankly, "It's no use blocking me. His so-called brothers are all idiots who are just bullies."

"Huh?" This answer was so unexpected that Yu Xiang was stunned. "So you're carrying some illicit goods? Why do you dislike him? And how do you know they're all idiots?"

"It was so long ago, I forgot."

"How long ago is it? It's only been two years, right?!" Yu Xiang complained discontentedly, like a cat with its fur standing on end. "You clearly just don't want to tell me! You must be hiding something!"

"You already know I don't want to say it anymore, but you still think I will tell you?" Jiang Ci asked him with a faint smile in his eyes.

Yu Xiang tried hard to act nonchalant: "Forget it, I don't really want to know." At worst, I can ask someone myself later.

"But your expression seems to betray you."

"...Can you please shut up?" Yu Xiang's eyebrows twitched, and then he suddenly remembered something more important and threatened him, "Alright, stop talking about this nonsense. First think about what to do if you get caught when you go back. I just finished writing my last self-criticism not long ago. If you let me write another one, then—"

"So what?" Jiang Ci was not afraid at all.

"Just you help me write it." Yu Xiang snorted coldly and continued the second half of the sentence.

"no problem."

But the result was that when they returned, no teacher had ever come to the classroom.

"Where have you two been for so long?" The fat boy sitting in the next group - his name is Wang Ming, he is Yu Xiang's classmate since the first year of high school. When he saw them come back, he curiously leaned over.

"He fell into a pit while going to the toilet, and I went to rescue him." Yu Xiang calmly passed the blame.

"Don't believe him, he's talking nonsense." Jiang Ci replied softly, "Did a teacher come here just now?"

"No."

"No." Yu Xiang supported his face with one hand, and his tone was deeper than Wang Ming's.

"You look a little disappointed?" Jiang Ci looked at him with interest.

Yu Xiang did not deny it: "Yes."

Why was Jiang Ci so lucky not to be caught when he finally did something “bad”?

"You guys..." Wang Ming was confused as he listened to their conversation, with a conflicted expression.

In his previous understanding, these two had always been a pair of enemies. Last time, there was a rumor that one of them "formed a gang to bully the other", but things seemed to have gotten better in recent times.

Now it seems like there is a sense of tit-for-tat, or is he just overthinking it and this is just part of their play?

"What's wrong, Fatty?"

Wang Ming was forcibly pulled back to his thoughts by this question. He looked carefully and found that Yu Xiang was looking at him with doubt. His heart was inexplicably empty: "No, nothing, I, I wanted to say..."

He was so anxious that he was sweating. His brain was working so fast that he finally came up with an excuse: "I want to ask if you can lend me a red pen. I'm out of ink."

"Oh. Take it." Yu Xiang handed over the red pen on his desk with a confused look on his face. After thinking for a moment, he couldn't help but ask another question: "But why didn't you borrow it from your deskmate?"

"Yes, why didn't you ask me?" Wang Ming's deskmate also asked a soul-searching question at this time.

"Wake up! You even want to borrow a black pen from me! What can you come up with?"

"That's not a reason for you not to ask me!"

What followed was a pointless debate.

Yu Xiang was not keen on joining in the fun, so he just let the two of them quarrel slowly. Anyway, if things got too extreme, the squad leader would intervene.

Let’s revise the test paper first.

He turned around and picked up the math test paper that had dealt him a heavy blow. He calmed down and decided to continue working on it.

He habitually reached out to look for the red pen on the table, and then belatedly remembered that the red pen had just been borrowed: "..."

"Use mine." Jiang Ci seemed to see through his thoughts and took the initiative to hand over his red pen.

Yu Xiang was about to refuse, "No, I'll use a black..." pen will also work.

But this time, just like the previous times, before he could even finish his words, Jiang Ci had already finished the forced sale and turned around to do his own thing.

Forget it, it’s a waste if you don’t use it.

The next day.

Yu Xiang spent an entire night carefully redoing the math test. He felt much better after realizing that he had failed to answer many questions simply because he was not thinking clearly at the time.

All in all, I estimate I can score 40+.

Although it was still very low, it was at least close to his original level, which was enough for him to accept.

"Brother Yu! A spy from the next class reported in! Their class just had a one-kilometer measurement during the physical education class!" Zhang Miao, who had just returned from the toilet after class, started screaming as soon as he entered the door.

"Fuck it!"

"Tonic medicine, I don't want to run—"

"Sanshui, is your information reliable? Is it true?"

Before Yu Xiang could react, the other people in the class were already in an uproar.

"Of course it's reliable. They have the same PE teacher as us." Zhang Miao strode into the classroom. "Based on past experience, we do the same thing as they do. You all know that."

"It's not that we don't know, we just don't want to accept the reality—" a girl responded to him.

"Lu Ziyang! Lao Qi! Haozi! You three will take me with you and run away later. You must not abandon me!"

"Get out. Last time, five people couldn't even carry you. You're on your own." The disgust on Lu Ziyang's face was almost overflowing.

"Damn you, you unfilial son! I'm your adoptive father!"

"roll!!!"

Lu Ziyang's powerful "Get lost" made many people in the class burst into laughter, but Yu Xiang was unmoved. He lay on the table motionless and pretended to be dead.

"Brother Yu! Brother Yu!" Zhang Miao rushed forward hastily. "Don't die, Brother Yu! Cheer up!"

Yu Xiang didn't want to look up, and said tremblingly: "I have died on the spot, and my work can only be handed over to you and Lao Fang..."

Fang Chengyu was right next to Zhang Miao. Upon hearing this, he said cooperatively, "Let Sanshui inherit everything. I can't even write if you ask me to, but I'm willing to inherit your gaming account and Taobao account..."

Yu Xiang opened his eyes abruptly when he heard this: "Get out! Don't push your luck."

"That's great, Brother Yu, you're finally alive. Let's go to physical education class together!" Zhang Miao said in surprise.

Yu Xiang immediately closed his eyes again: "You are seeing things."

"Brother Yu, stop messing around. We'll run the countdown with you this time. Seriously, we'll help you get to the bottom."

Yu Xiang was completely unmoved: "Get lost! You said the same thing last time, but you ran away faster than a rabbit."

"Last time, it was all Lao Fang's fault. He suddenly accelerated on the last lap, and I couldn't help myself..."

"Puchi." At this time, a light laugh came from a place very close to the residual sound.

The effect was immediate. Yu Xiang sat up straight and looked at Jiang Ci, the source of the laughter, with resentment: "What are you laughing at?"

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