Chapter 9 P - Confrontation
Chu Beiling almost cursed, turning to glare at Xing Yu: "What are you doing?"
Xing Yu: "I chose this bed first."
Bullshit, he was clearly in front, he was just a little slow to throw his heavy luggage up.
How did it become his choice first?
With a red mouth and white teeth, he can speak fluently without hesitation.
“I was here first.” Chu Beiling pointed to the lower bunk opposite him, his face cold as he confronted him: “So you go over there.”
Xing Yu looked up, his tone cold and firm: "I put the luggage down first."
For a moment, Chu Beiling suspected that Xing Yu was deliberately making things difficult for him. The thought made him even angrier. He didn't want to give in to the first thing, and now he refused to give in no matter what.
"I want this spot, you decide what to do with it?" Chu Beiling reached out and pulled Xing Yu's luggage down, intending to throw it onto the lower bunk opposite.
Xing Yu frowned, pressed down on his hand to prevent him from moving, and said in a voice as irritating as he was: "You insist on arguing with me."
He's competing with him?!
Chu Beiling was already unhappy because Li Shuying had belittled him at home, saying he was not as good as Xing Yu, and he was already annoyed.
He insisted on trying to get attention from Ms. Li, constantly trying to please her.
Today was like Mercury retrograde again. All the way to school, Xing Yu's name followed her like a ghost. Chu Beiling's mood was already at its worst. Provoked by this tone, she couldn't control her explosive temper: "Who's messing with whom?"
Hearing the argument, the parents and students all turned to look at them.
Some concerned parents came forward to mediate.
Chu Beiling wasn't going to hold a grudge against Xing Yu, so she turned to the parent and gave her a polite, youthful smile: "Thank you, Auntie, we can handle it ourselves."
Xing Yu smiled at the parent and said, "Auntie, we can handle it ourselves."
Seeing this, the aunt had no choice but to say, "We're all classmates, and we'll be living together for the next three years. Let's be polite and give way to each other. If all else fails, we can play rock-paper-scissors."
Chu Beiling refused: "I can't stay in the lower bunk."
"Nonsense." Xing Yu's brows furrowed, revealing a hint of anger; he was clearly at his wit's end.
Chu Beiling chuckled lightly: "You're sick yourself, yet you blame others for being unreasonable."
The two faced off coldly, their tempers flaring, and the atmosphere grew increasingly tense.
The boy surrounded by parents stepped in to smooth things over, looking at Chu Beiling, who was slightly easier to get along with: "Friend, I'll switch with you, I'll sleep in the lower bunk."
After saying that, he rolled up the bedding he had just laid out on the bed and moved it to the lower bunk opposite.
Chu Beiling took her luggage down and placed it on the upper bunk next to her, saying thank you.
"You're welcome, you're welcome." The young man replied with a smile, and then happily introduced himself: "Xu Tunan, the one who carries the blue sky on his back and is not hindered by anything, and now he will go south, my friend, are you Xing Yu or Chu Beiling?"
As soon as he arrived, he learned the names of the other three people in the dormitory, leaving only the two of them.
"Chu Beiling." Chu Beiling smiled at him amicably and thanked him again, "Thank you so much for just now. I really couldn't stay in the lower bunk."
Xing Yu, who was packing his things, stopped, glanced at Chu Beiling, and then continued packing.
Xu Tunan voiced his doubts, looking at the two of them: "Did you know each other before?"
Chu Beiling: "We don't know each other."
Xing Yu: "I don't know him."
The sounds, one soft and one heavy, intertwined and blended together in perfect harmony.
Xu Tunan laughed: "We don't know each other, where did this tacit understanding come from?"
Seeing that the two of them looked increasingly gloomy, he quickly tried to lighten the mood: "We'll be roommates from now on, so please be understanding of each other when we live together."
"Then...please guide me!" Chu Beiling smiled broadly.
He eagerly anticipated the future communal living, finally not having to live alone in an empty house, but with many people living together, keeping each other company. Thinking of this—
The bad mood I had just experienced while choosing a bed has mostly dissipated.
He believed he could get along well with everyone in the dormitory.
Except for one person.
Today was the first day of school, and we were allowed to leave the school gates freely. My roommates got ready and went out with their parents to shop or eat.
Chu Beiling walked to the Xixi Times Commercial Center at the intersection of Liuxia Street and bought daily necessities at Century Lianhua Supermarket. He stopped abruptly as he passed Liuxia Bridge.
Sunlight filtered through the clouds, dappling the bluestone pavement. Willow trees swayed in the breeze, and a small boat emerged from the bridge arch, creating ripples on the water.
A small bridge, flowing water, and houses; the sunlight perfectly frames the scene.
Chu Beiling put down her personal belongings, took out her sketchbook from her bag, stood on the bridge, and began sketching.
After he finished drawing and was satisfied, he put away his sketchbook, picked up his personal belongings, and hummed a song as he walked back to school along Liuxia Street.
The dormitory was empty. Chu Beiling quickly packed her belongings, slung her drawing tube over her shoulder, took her toolbox, and went to the classroom for evening self-study.
Xigao is located at the foot of the mountain, with an elegant environment. Unlike other schools, it is not modern. It is said that this place was originally a temple, so many places still retain traces of the past. There is a lot of greenery and many Bodhi trees planted here, which is quite Zen.
On her way back, Chu Beiling took a stroll and was pleasantly surprised to find an artificial lake on campus.
Nestled against the mountains and beside the water, it's perfect for sketching and also a great place for couples on secret dates within the school.
He wasn't interested in dating, but sketching in a tranquil and beautiful setting was simply unparalleled.
The classrooms and dormitories were close together, so Chu Beiling lingered for a while admiring the place before quickly walking to the legendary and distinctive art building.
The art department doesn't have classes with the academic classes. Their academic and art classes are all in the art building, which is like a secluded paradise. He wanted to paint every part of it.
Chu Beiling resisted the urge to take out her art supplies and sketch, and walked into the art building.
When he arrived at the classroom, all the seats were already filled, with only one empty seat for Xing Yu and Li Dong.
Without a second thought, Chu Beiling sat down next to Li Dong and became her deskmate.
Xing Yu, sitting in the last row of the classroom, paused for a moment with his 2B pencil, glanced at Chu Beiling indifferently, and then quickly lowered his head again to sketch on his sketchbook.
As soon as he sat down, Li Dong said gloatingly, "You two are really sworn enemies, you even ended up in the same class."
He grabbed a paintbrush and used it as a microphone: "Let's do an interview. What are your thoughts?"
Li Dong was in the same art studio as them. Chu Beiling already knew that she had also been admitted to Xigao High School, and she even witnessed Xing Yu tear up one of his paintings.
Chu Beiling took the paintbrush and expressed his feelings: "Not only were we assigned to the same class, but we also lived together, head to head. Now I regret it, I really regret it. If God gave me another chance, I would go to Hangzhou No. 7 High School."
Li Dong laughed even harder, letting out a silvery laugh: "Hurry up and start fighting. Oh, and remember to tell me when the fight starts, I want to watch the show."
Chu Beiling sneered: "Li Dong, you're just gloating! If a real fight breaks out, you'll be the first one pushed out to take the bullets."
Xu Tunan, who was in the front row, turned around and said, "You all know each other! We were studying art together before?"
Li Dong: "Yes."
Xu Tunan: "Oh no, I just asked around, and most of the students in this class have been learning to draw since elementary school."
Li Dong chuckled: "Otherwise, this is an art class."
In addition to their academic performance, they also participated in the school's art exam, and they had to meet the standards in both arts and literature subjects.
Chu Beiling: "You're not?"
"No, I crammed at the last minute and was lucky to pass the exam because I had practiced the same questions all along." Xu Tunan, like most other students, has a stereotype about art students: "Are art students less academically stressed? I wanted a happy and free high school life, so I chose the art class."
Li Dong was speechless: "Just because of that?"
Xu Tunan leaned closer and said mysteriously, "I've also heard that the food at the Xigao cafeteria is delicious."
Art students face just as much pressure as academic students, as they must balance their academic and artistic studies.
Which art student doesn't want to pursue advanced studies at one of the top eight art academies? The chances of getting into one of those academies are extremely slim, and the pressure on them is even greater.
How could he possibly think that art students have an easy academic workload?
Chu Beiling and Li Dong stared at him with unspoken words in their eyes.
Xu Tunan asked, puzzled, "What's with those expressions on your faces?"
Li Dong always thinks more and considers more than his peers.
She advised, "While there's still time, put aside your prejudices and immediately transfer to the academic class. Three years later, when you take the regular college entrance examination, you'll have more options. Otherwise, you'll regret saying this today."
Xu Tunan didn't take it to heart: "As long as it's easier than the college entrance exam, drawing is something anyone can do."
Chu Beiling didn't think as much as Li Dong. His thoughts were very simple: he just wanted to keep painting until he died, unlike Xu Tunan who looked down on painting.
The path of art is never easy; it requires endless passion and perseverance to keep going, even if it means crying.
If you choose art simply because it's easy and simple to study, you might as well take the regular college entrance exam; at least you'll have more options in the future.
Instead of going down a dead end.
I was just about to speak.
A woman entered the classroom. She was the homeroom teacher, Wang Caiyan. She was very thin and tall, with black-rimmed glasses perched on her nose. Her eyes were narrow and long, her cheekbones were high, and her cheeks were slightly sunken. She looked quite harsh and had a strong sense of oppression.
The classroom fell silent instantly.
Wang Caiyan sharply scanned the entire room and immediately spotted Chu Beiling sitting next to Li Dong: "Chu Beiling, what kind of behavior is it for a boy to sit next to a girl? Go sit next to Xing Yu."
Chu Beiling's carefree smile shone in the sunlight, his two little tiger teeth gleaming white: "Teacher, that spot has bad feng shui, I don't want to go, can I not go?"
As soon as he finished speaking, all forty-one pairs of eyes in the class turned to look at him. He had already confronted the homeroom teacher on the very first day of school.
He's a talented person.
Wang Caiyan was most annoyed by disobedient students with poor grades, and her face grew increasingly ugly: "Chu Beiling, you were the second to last student to enter our class. I even put you on the second-to-last seat, and I was worried that you would affect his studies, so he didn't want to sit here and moved to the side of the podium."
Already the center of attention, these words—
Gossipy, curious, and casual glances all swept towards Chu Beiling.
Failing the high school entrance exam and barely making it into Xi'an High School was already a knot in Chu Beiling's heart. As a young man, he was concerned about his reputation, and today he was once again scolded to his face because of Xing Yu.
Being criticized in front of so many people, Chu Beiling was both angry and ashamed, her face instantly turning red, and her stubborn temper flared up.
He remained seated, without moving.
He then refused to leave.
Li Dong nudged him with her elbow and said in a low voice, "Hurry up and go over there. I heard from a senior from Xigao that this homeroom teacher, well... Nanping, if you offend her, you're likely to be bullied for the next three years."
Chu Beiling refused, and he wasn't afraid: "Teacher, you're right. I know my place and I'm afraid of affecting the studies of good students."
Wang Caiyan's face immediately darkened: "You sitting next to Li Dong will only affect her studies more."
Chu Beiling still didn't want to move.
Li Dong knew that this person was stubborn, so she reminded her, "Chu Fanfan, many of the major competitions and painting activities, both inside and outside the school, all require the homeroom teacher's signature of approval."
The life and death of teenagers are entirely in the hands of adults. Just as he could not suppress Ms. Li's power, he could not suppress the homeroom teacher who wanted to establish his authority on the first day.
Chu Beiling took a deep breath and reluctantly walked over and sat down next to Xing Yu.
The beds in the dormitory are fixed to the floor, but the desks are not.
As soon as she sat down, the quiet classroom erupted with the piercing noise of metal scraping against the floor. Chu Beiling moved her desk a distance away from Xing Yu's.
The homeroom teacher frowned slightly: "Chu Beiling, don't make noise."
Chu Beiling reluctantly replied, "I understand."
Xing Yu, who was holding a pencil to the side, paused for a moment, glanced at him, and his eyes seemed to say, 'You think I want to be with you?'
Before Chu Beiling could retort, he lowered his eyes to look at the screen again.
The 2B pencil made a "swish swish swish" sound as it rubbed against the paper. The originally quiet and pleasant sound of the ribbing turned into noise, which annoyed him.
But then—
Xing Yu, standing to the side, spoke up quietly: "If you don't work hard when you're young, you'll end up studying design later. Your second-to-last grade is truly terrible."
His tone and demeanor revealed an instinctive arrogance and disdain.
Chu Beiling's teeth chattered: "That was...that was..."
He had no way to refute it. Every time it came to a crucial exam, he would always underperform and barely make it past the school he wanted to go to. If he deviated even slightly, he would not be able to go.
Xing Yu put down his 2B pencil and switched to a charcoal pencil. He then adopted a more comfortable posture and looked up at Chu Beiling. "You're quite skilled. You couldn't have gotten past that mark if you had hit it any harder."
Chu Beiling stared directly at him and chuckled twice: "I regret it so much now. If I had known you were here, I should have spent a little more and just packed myself up and went to another school."
"You have no mental fortitude and you keep making excuses." Xing Yu's voice was low and deep: "If you don't work hard when you're young, you'll regret it when you're old and have to study design later. You'd better work hard!"
"What did design ever do to you?" Chu Beiling's temper flared up, and she raised her chin at the 2B pencil on the table: "You might as well use 2B all the way, that's more in line with your second-place status."
Xing Yu narrowed his eyes slightly, his dark pupils even more so than the shadows of the figures in his paintings. Just as Chu Beiling thought he was about to retort with a sarcastic retort.
Xing Yu stared at him, then reached out and switched to 2B.
Chu Beiling was furious: "..."
Sure enough, there's something wrong with him; he's annoying in every way.
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