He missed kicking him, but this only made Shen Duzhou quite angry, and he reached out to grab his ear.
This time, Jiang Xiangyang didn't dodge. Her ear was twisted, and he grinned with a sly, mischievous look.
But just then, his ears twitched, his expression changed slightly, and he quickly lowered his voice and said:
"Stop messing around! The teacher is really coming! If the headmaster sees you hitting me in the hallway, you'll definitely get punished!"
Shen Duzhou glanced in the direction he pointed, but the end of the corridor was empty, and he didn't hear a single footstep.
She figured this was definitely another trick by the kid, and coldly replied, "Don't worry about it."
Before he could finish speaking, a group of figures actually appeared around the corner.
Leading the group was the stern-faced head of the grade's academic affairs office, a newcomer who had just held a school-wide assembly yesterday.
Several teachers followed him, including two of them: Shen Duzhou and Jiang Xiangyang's homeroom teacher.
They were talking as they walked, but they were still far away and it was hard to hear clearly. However, Shen Duzhou could vaguely hear her homeroom teacher's urgent voice drifting over:
"...Director Guo, there must be some misunderstanding! I know Shen Duzhou, she's the most well-behaved and disciplined girl! There's absolutely no way she would cheat on the exam!"
Director Guo, who had been wearing a stern face, immediately relaxed his brows and even showed a hint of appreciation when he heard Teacher Li mention Shen Duzhou's name. He asked:
"Chen Duzhou? You mean that girl... who studied painting under the famous painter Master Wu, won the gold medal in the national 'Shuanglong Cup' art competition last year, and whose work was even sent abroad for exhibition?"
Teacher Li nodded quickly, her tone filled with pride: "Yes, yes, yes! Director Guo, it's her! It's this child!"
Director Guo nodded repeatedly, his expression completely softened, and said:
"Hmm, I remember, I remember! I recall, didn't she already pass the early admission entrance exams for several top art academies? I heard some schools even wanted to admit her without taking the exam?"
Teacher Li's face lit up, and she became more talkative:
"Yes! Shen Duzhou is a very decisive girl! Although she had already obtained the qualification for admission without examination, she insisted on taking the college entrance examination with everyone else and letting her academic performance speak for itself. She is always in the top ten in the whole school in every mock exam. Top universities like Tsinghua and Peking University are just her choice."
"Truly outstanding, rare indeed!"
Director Guo's tone was full of approval.
As they spoke, the group reached the end of the corridor and stood before Shen Duzhou and Jiang Xiangyang.
"So, Director, you must investigate thoroughly. Shen Duzhou would never cheat!"
As she spoke, Teacher Li quickly walked to Chen Duzhou's side, and tenderly took out her handkerchief.
"Duzhou, are you tired from standing? Wipe your sweat. I'm sorry the teacher is late and made you suffer."
Only then did she seem to notice Jiang Xiangyang beside her; her expression instantly changed from sunny to stormy, and she said somewhat impatiently:
"Jiang Xiangyang! It's you again! I knew Du Zhou wouldn't leave a note! You must have been pestering her for the answers, right? Why did you have to be assigned to the same exam room as her!"
Jiang Xiangyang, neck stiff and face full of indignation, shouted:
"Teacher Li! I swear to God! That note wasn't for answers at all! I saw Zhouzhou... I saw Shen Duzhou was about to hand in her paper, and I remembered a really funny joke, so I wrote it for her! The proctor didn't open it and didn't understand! Shen Duzhou and I were both wronged!"
Teacher Li was so angry at his explanation that she glared at him.
"Injustice? Instead of focusing on the exam, you wrote some jokes! Who are you trying to convince with this excuse?"
Jiang Xiangyang shrugged nonchalantly and said, "I've filled in all the questions I know, and I can't figure out the rest even if I stare at them. I might as well just sit here and do nothing!"
Seeing that Shen Duzhou had been looking gloomy and in a bad mood lately, he wrote jokes to cheer her up.
"You...you're absolutely unreasonable!"
Teacher Li was too lazy to waste any more words with him. She turned around, grabbed Chen Duzhou's arm, and her tone instantly softened.
"Duzhou, let's go. We're not going to waste time with him here. As for you, Jiang Xiangyang! Stay where you are! We'll talk when your parents arrive!"
With Teacher Li half-protecting and half-pulling her, Chen Duzhou walked quietly forward.
Teacher Li kept rambling on from the side:
"Duzhou, listen to your teacher's advice. Stay away from kids like Jiang Xiangyang. With his grades, he'll at best get into a sports college in our province. You're different. You're going to spread your wings and soar to the top university in the capital, B City! From now on, you'll be on completely different paths, and your life trajectories are unlikely to intersect again. This is the most crucial moment; you absolutely cannot let him affect your future..."
Shen Duzhou lowered his head and remained silent, his long eyelashes drooping down, concealing the emotions in his eyes.
"By the way, Duzhou, have you thought it through? Which school do you want to apply to? Beijing or Shanghai? Tell your teacher in advance, and your teacher will help you plan."
Upon hearing this question, an indescribable sense of irritation quietly welled up from the bottom of Duzhou's heart, and he said in a low voice.
"I haven't decided yet, Teacher Li, please stop asking."
After she finished speaking, she subconsciously stopped and looked back.
Jiang Xiangyang was still standing there all alone, idly playing with his own shadow.
He seemed to sense her gaze, immediately looked up, winked at her, and grinned with a carefree smile, revealing a set of white teeth. His eyes, even in the shadows, were still surprisingly bright.
Chen Duzhou silently turned his head, feeling inexplicably more choked up.
Why is this person always like this... heartless and shameless?
It's as if nothing could happen to him, and he never seems to have a single worry in his heart.
Is it possible that she's the only one secretly pondering the future, the path they'll take together, and anxiously waiting here all by herself?
Or is it that... he and she have completely different ideas?
Lost in thought, I found myself walking quite far away.
After Teacher Li led Chen Duzhou away, Jiang Xiangyang was left alone in the corridor.
The nonchalant smile on his face slowly faded. He put his hands in his pockets, fiddled with the marbles inside, and leaned against the wall, playing with them, lost in thought.
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