Chapter 72: You and I have a bright future

The second friend Zhu Yingning made in class was beyond her expectations. It was none other than Zou Hao.

After the ranking list was circulated, Hong Qingyang posted it on the bulletin board next to the blackboard. First place went to Tan Jingjing, second to the study committee member, third to Zhu Yingning, and Zou Hao in seventh. The top three students all received praise from the teacher, and Hong Qingyang even gave them each a notebook as encouragement.

Prizes like notebooks might still be novel for elementary school students, but most high school students are no longer interested in them. Zhu Yingning was the only one who fell outside the category of "most high school students". While others reacted indifferently, she was the only one with a red face from excitement. She took the notebook with shaking hands and spoke eloquently about thanking Hong Qingyang, which made Hong Qingyang feel restless and embarrassed.

After the class meeting, Zou Hao came to Zhu Yingning's seat and asked, "How do you study?"

She was surprised that Zou Hao would actually take the initiative to talk to her. Ever since she not only did not vote for him on the day of the class monitor election, but also went on stage to compete with him for the same class leader position, Zou Hao has been cold towards her and never greeted her when he met her on the street.

She was just about to share her learning experience when Zou Hao asked, "Can I borrow your notebooks? For chemistry and history?"

"Sure." Zhu Yingning never hides anything in this regard. Upon hearing this, he took out the notebook and handed it to him.

"Thanks." Zou Hao smiled at her for the first time since the start of the school year and raised the notebook in his hand. "I'll return it to you tomorrow morning after I finish reading it."

Only after he walked away did Shao Yanjun snort contemptuously: "Idiot."

Zhu Yingning looked at her and moved her lips, trying to maintain peace among the classmates: "He... isn't an idiot..."

"I'm talking about you." Shao Yanjun rolled his eyes at her.

“…”

As Shao Yanjun applied her false eyelashes in front of the makeup mirror, she said in a mocking tone, "That fat guy is just a snob. He only pays attention to people he thinks are useful. Do you think the academic god and the student council are willing to pay attention to him? You're just too stupid to see that."

The "student prodigy" Shao Yanjun was referring to was Tan Jingjing, who not only topped her class but also the entire grade, leading the second-place finisher by over 20 points. Zou Hao also tried to borrow notes from Tan Jingjing and the student council, but was rejected.

Zhu Yingning didn't say anything, just sighed softly.

**

After that day, Zou Hao became more and more enthusiastic towards Zhu Yingning, just as Shao Yanjun had said.

He often came to borrow her notes and discuss solutions to certain problems with her. In return, he would provide her with a lot of first-hand information about studies, such as who would be writing the questions for the upcoming exam, who at school had parents who were high-ranking officials in the Education Bureau, or which classmate was taking a competition class at an extracurricular institution...

Zhu Yingning had never met someone like Zou Hao before. He was very shrewd. This shrewdness was not a one-sided demand, but a carefully calculated exchange of interests.

In his eyes, people fall into only three categories: elite, trash, and NPCs. These three categories are defined by whether or not they follow the right path. The right path, of course, represents everything in his eyes: learning. Those who study well and are motivated earn his favor and are categorized as elite. Those who study average but still adhere to the right path are considered NPCs. As for those who stray from the right path, he denounces them as social scum, unhesitatingly dismissing them as trash without a second thought.

Although Zou Hao did not say it explicitly, Zhu Yingning knew that in his eyes, Shao Yanjun was just a piece of trash, and Wu Bo, whose grades were mediocre, was classified by him among the huge number of NPCs. As for her, she was originally a relatively rustic type among the NPCs, but after the monthly exam, she was promoted to a relatively rustic elite.

She didn't like Zou Hao's classification, nor did she like his attitude towards her friends.

After Zhu Yingning spoke out against his rude attitude towards Wu Bo several times, the three of them gradually developed a delicate balance in their relationship.

Often, when Wu Bo shared with her what new songs Xu Liang had released, Zou Hao would offer a lukewarm comment: "They're just packaged internet singers, embracing the shamatte culture. It's unclear whether they have real singing skills. It's better to listen to Symphony No. 40 to improve your taste." And when Zou Hao asked her about a difficult math problem, Wu Bo would act strangely, twisting her body and saying, "Why are you still talking about studying after class? Study, study, study! You'll ruin your brain!"

“The mind doesn’t become bad by learning, it only becomes bad by stopping thinking.”

"Oh? Really? I think being exposed to new things will keep your brain healthy. Squad leader, you should keep up with the latest trends and stop acting like an old man."

“Trends are ever-changing and will eventually be replaced by new trends, but classics are immortal.”

“Haha, classics were also a trend in the past.”

Zhu Yingning felt a headache listening to this.

**

Ever since the National Day holiday when he filmed a commercial with Feng Da, Guo Yingying and others, Xu Sirui has been going home less and less frequently, so little that he can only go home on one hand.

What made Zhu Yingning feel incredible was that Xu Zhengkang didn't discover this matter until half a month later.

After they finished breakfast that day, Zhu Yingning put away the dishes and folded them up, intending to take them to the kitchen sink to wash them. Suddenly, Xu Zhengkang suddenly asked, "Why isn't Xu Sirui home? Did he go to school? Didn't he leave with you?"

“…”

She couldn't describe how she felt after hearing this. She was silent for a long time before she replied in a muffled voice, "Uncle Xu, Xu Sirui hasn't been home for a week. Besides, today is Saturday, so there are no classes."

Xu Zhengkang was shocked: "Didn't go home? Then where did he go?"

She had no choice but to tell him that Xu Sirui was working as a model for an advertisement.

"Nonsense!" Xu Zhengkang slammed the table, pulled out a cigarette from his trouser pocket, smoked it angrily, and repeated it again for emphasis, "Nonsense!"

But until the end, he did not take any substantial action to bring the "reckless" Xu Sirui back on track.

Zhu Yingning gradually discovered that once she didn't deliberately look for Xu Sirui in school, it would be basically difficult for her to meet him.

Physical education classes didn't overlap, lab classes didn't overlap, and even the cafeteria lunch times didn't overlap. Wu Bo and Zou Hao both loved to fight over the cafeteria, and at lunchtime, she was like a kite, being pulled by their strings. Xu Sirui, on the other hand, was more laid-back, preferring to wait until the first group of people had finished eating before slowly strolling over with her friends.

It's a rare occasion when we meet outside of school.

That day, Zou Hao said he wanted to buy some new exercise books and asked Zhu Yingning if she had any recommendations. Coincidentally, Wu Bo said she wanted to buy the latest copy of "Zhiyin Manke", so the three of them went to a small bookstore near the school.

The bookstore is located in the alley behind the school. In addition to the bookstore, there are also many fly-infested restaurants in that alley. Boarding students who don’t want to eat in the cafeteria often come here to eat together. Every evening after school, the alley is crowded.

They squeezed through the crowd and finally made it to the door of the bookstore.

Just as she was about to go in, Zhu Yingning noticed Xu Sirui sitting in front of the audio-visual store next to the bookstore.

Strictly speaking, he was sitting on a motorcycle in front of the video store.

The Haojue Suzuki EN150 motorcycle, with a red and black body, split headlights, and heavy-duty design, stands across the entrance of the audio-visual store like a ferocious bumblebee.

He supported himself on one leg, his eyes lowered as he played with the Nintendo 3DS in his hand. There were traces of liquid foundation on his face, which had been blended with his soft, fair, and delicate skin due to sweat. His whole body was filled with the fragrance of fat, which was both cheap and pungent.

The crowd around him was noisy, but he seemed to be completely oblivious to the noise around him. He was so engrossed in the game that the sound effects of Mario jumping kept popping up in the game console. The ding-dong sounds should have seemed lively and bustling, but his tall and thin figure was like a wisp of smoke imprinted in the dusk, so faint that it would disappear with a blow.

She looked at him silently for an unknown amount of time. Zou Hao behind her followed her gaze and sneered, "You haven't learned your lesson yet."

She turned around, confused.

Zou Hao crossed his arms, pointed his chin in Xu Sirui's direction with disdain, and said, "I'm talking to him, Xu Sirui. He was stopped by the police a few days ago for driving a motorcycle while underage, and now he's still driving. People like him don't care about their own lives. They'd better find a lake to jump into and stop harming innocent passersby."

Her heart felt like it was being violently grasped by a hand, her blood flow clogged, and a heat rushed to her head. She couldn't tell if this heat was anger or some other emotion. Her fingers trembled, and she wanted to scold Zou Hao, to argue loudly with him, to defend Xu Sirui, saying that he was just sitting on a motorcycle. How could he be arbitrarily convicted based on this action and cursed with such harsh words?

But before she could open her mouth, Guo Yingying came out of the music store holding a Jay Chou tape, beaming, "I actually found it. Let's go, Si Rui, and report to the boss."

She sat astride the back seat of the motorcycle, and Xu Sirui, who had been playing the game console for a long time, seemed to finally wake up from a dream. He rubbed his neck, stuffed the game console into his coat pocket, sat astride the front seat, put the helmet on his head casually, and threw another helmet to Guo Yingying.

The helmet covered his eyebrows and eyes, leaving only his pointed chin exposed.

The motorcycle started, and amid the humming sound and the surrounding students hurriedly avoiding it, he drove away with Guo Yingying.

“…”

Zhu Yingning's words, which were intended to defend Xu Sirui, just hung on the tip of her tongue.

Zou Hao sneered and said, "As expected."

She slowly closed her mouth. After a few seconds, as if feeling unwilling, she asked feebly, "Why do you know he was..."

"I have a relative who works at the police station, and I heard it from him." Zou Hao seemed a little proud when he mentioned this. "Nothing that happens at school can escape my network of connections."

"Did you know him before?"

"No, I didn't know him before, but he was very famous in school and he was handsome." Zou Hao shrugged and said, "How boring. So what if he's handsome? If he doesn't follow the right path, he's still the scum of society."

After saying this, he looked at Zhu Yingning, his eyes penetrating through his glasses. He showed a standard eight-toothed smile and said with certainty, "But you're definitely not that boring. People like him and we are not from the same world. Zhu Yingning, you and I have a bright future together."