Transfer controversy
In September, the sun in Nangang City was still scorching hot.
Xu Ying stood at the entrance of Nangang No. 1 Middle School, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the strap of her schoolbag. She looked up at the gray-white school building before her, her mother's nagging words echoing in her ears: "Adapt well to the new school, and get along well with your classmates..."
"Okay, Mom," she replied softly, her voice like a feather, drifting lightly into the sweltering air.
Her mother stroked her hair, hesitating to speak. Xu Ying knew what she was worried about—this was her third time transferring schools. Her father's frequent job transfers made her school years feel like an endless migration. Each time, she had to adapt to a new city, a new school, and new people.
"Go on, I'll pick you up after school." Her mother squeezed her hand one last time.
Xu Ying nodded and turned to walk towards the teaching building. Her back was very straight, like a young poplar tree that refused to bend.
The teaching buildings at Nangang No.1 Middle School all have names: Mingde Building, Gewu Building, Wenyuan Building, etc. Class 7 of Grade 11 is in Zhixing Building.
Xu Ying went up to the second floor and found the sign for Class 7 of Grade 11 hanging at the end of the corridor.
Xu Ying stopped at the door and took a deep breath. She could hear the noisy laughter and chatter from the classroom, the screeching of chalk on the blackboard, and the scraping of chair legs on the floor. These sounds were both familiar and strange to her—classrooms in every school sounded pretty much the same, but behind every door awaited her a completely new battlefield.
She raised her hand and knocked on the door.
The noise in the classroom abruptly ceased. More than forty pairs of eyes turned to her, scanning her from head to toe like searchlights. Xu Ying felt a familiar sting creep up her spine—it was that same gaze again, filled with curiosity, judgment, and a hint of rejection.
Class teacher Ms. Li looked up from the podium: "You are...?"
"Xu Ying transferred here today," she said softly, her voice even lower than usual.
"Oh, right!" Teacher Li patted her forehead. "Everyone, quiet down. This is our new student, Xu Ying, who transferred from Nancheng No. 1 Middle School."
Sparse applause filled the classroom. Xu Ying looked down and saw the hem of her light blue skirt swaying slightly in the breeze. She had specially chosen this dress today—not too flashy, not too tacky, the safest choice.
"Please introduce yourself," Teacher Li encouraged her.
Xu Ying pursed her lips.
“My name is Xu Ying, Ying as in cherry blossom.” She paused for a moment, then added, “I like reading and drawing.”
A snicker suddenly came from the last row.
"Cherry blossoms? How girly."
The sound was just loud enough for the whole class to hear. A burst of laughter erupted in the classroom, with some students even dramatically banging on their desks. Xu Ying's ears burned instantly, but she didn't look up, her gaze fixed on a chalk mark on the teacher's desk.
Teacher Li slammed her hand on the podium: "Zong Heng! Mind your manners!"
Xu Ying then raised her eyes.
In the last row by the window, a boy leaned lazily against the back of his chair. The September sunlight streamed through the window, casting a fuzzy golden glow on him. His school uniform jacket was casually draped over his shoulders, revealing a wrinkled white T-shirt underneath, with a suspicious red stain at the collar—it looked like ketchup, or perhaps dried blood.
He was twirling a black pen, his fingers long and slender with distinct knuckles. Noticing Xu Ying's gaze, he suddenly curled his lips into a smile that was clearly malicious.
Zong Heng.
The name automatically popped into Xu Ying's mind. Yesterday, while organizing the class materials, she made a special note of a few names that needed attention—the academic representative, the class monitor, and this "problem student" circled in red.
"Xu Ying, please sit in the empty seat in the third row." Teacher Li pointed to the seat in the middle of the classroom.
Xu Ying nodded, picked up her schoolbag, and walked to her seat. She could feel everyone's eyes glued to her back, like a layer of wet syrup. When she reached the middle of the aisle, she noticed Zong Heng suddenly stick out his leg—
"Splash!"
Her schoolbag was caught on his foot and fell heavily to the ground. Textbooks, pencil cases, and thermos cups scattered all over the floor, making a crisp sound.
The classroom fell eerily quiet instantly.
Everyone held their breath, their gazes darting back and forth between Xu Ying and Zong Heng. Several boys in the back row grinned, waiting to see the new transfer student either cry or flee in a panic.
Xu Ying didn't move.
She simply looked down at the math notebook lying open on the floor—it was the one she had stayed up all night organizing, every problem written neatly. Now, the paper lay crumpled on the floor, like a piece of waste paper carelessly discarded by someone.
Her fingertips curled slightly, but quickly relaxed again.
Then, she squatted down and picked them up one by one.
*Smack*
Someone deliberately stepped on her English textbook.
Xu Ying's fingers paused, her gaze following the sneaker upwards—the school uniform trousers were loosely rolled up, revealing a section of well-defined ankles, and further up was Zong Heng's face with a playful smile.
He looked down at her, raising an eyebrow as if to say: Beg me.
Xu Ying withdrew her gaze, reached out, grabbed the corner of the textbook, and pulled it out forcefully—
Sizzle!
The textbook cover was torn open.
Zong Heng was stunned for a moment, clearly not expecting her to be so tough.
Several gasps of surprise rippled through the classroom.
Xu Ying ignored them and continued picking up her things. Her movements were steady, even composed, as if the pitying or mocking glances around her had nothing to do with her.
Until she reached for the pen that had rolled to Zong Heng's feet—
Zong Heng twitched his toes slightly, pushing the pen towards himself.
Xu Ying's finger hovered in mid-air, then stopped.
It was a very old fountain pen, the dark blue paint was already somewhat mottled, and there was a line of small characters engraved on the cap, which was not very clear.
Zong Heng glanced down and suddenly felt that the face looked somewhat familiar.
But he didn't think much of it, he just curled his lips into a wicked smile, and shuffled his toes forward another half inch, almost stepping on the pen.
"Could you move aside?" Xu Ying asked.
Her voice wasn't loud, but it was very clear, like a drop of water falling into a pot of boiling oil, instantly silencing the entire class.
She asked Zong Heng to "move aside"?
The boys in the back row stared wide-eyed, looking like they thought, "Is this transfer student crazy?"
Zong Heng was also stunned for a moment, then narrowed his eyes and slowly bent down.
He leaned in so close that Xu Ying could smell a faint scent of mint on him, mixed with a hint of tobacco. His eyelashes were long, casting a small shadow under his eyes, but his gaze was like that of some dangerous beast, with an undisguised aggressiveness.
“New guy,” he lowered his voice, emphasizing each word, “you’ve got guts, huh?”
Xu Ying didn't dodge; she simply looked back at him calmly.
Her eyes were clear and bright, like a clear lake reflecting Zong Heng's fierce face.
"Thank you for the compliment," she said.
Zong Heng's pupils contracted slightly.
He suddenly felt a little irritated—this transfer student wasn't quite what he had imagined. He thought she would run out with tears in her eyes, or, like the other good students, meekly lower her head and admit defeat.
But she just wouldn't.
She even dared to look him straight in the eye and speak to him in such a nonchalant tone.
Zong Heng touched his back teeth with the tip of his tongue and suddenly laughed.
“Fine,” he straightened up and kicked the pen back in front of her. “Pick it up.”
The pen rolled twice on the floor, the cap came loose, and ink splattered out, spreading a small patch of dark blue on the light-colored floor.
Xu Ying's fingertips trembled slightly.
The classroom became even quieter.
Everyone could see that Zong Heng was doing it on purpose.
Xu Ying stared at the ink stain for two seconds, then reached out, picked up the pen, and gently tightened the cap. Her movements were slow, as if she were suppressing something.
Zong Heng crossed his arms and waited patiently for her reaction.
Angry? Feeling wronged? Or is it that I'm finally about to cry?
But Xu Ying simply stood up, dusted off her skirt, and then—
Snap!
In front of the whole class, she threw the pen into the trash can.
The metal pen struck the metal barrel, producing a crisp sound.
Zong Heng's smile froze on his face.
Xu Ying turned and walked to her seat, her back straight, like a small white poplar in the wind and snow.
The entire class fell silent.
Zong Heng stared at the trash can, suddenly feeling a tightness in his chest. Frustrated, he scratched his hair and kicked the table leg—
"Clang!"
The table tilted, and textbooks fell down with a clatter, hitting his feet.
The whole class: "..."
Xu Ying glanced back, and the corners of her mouth curled up almost imperceptibly.
Serves them right.
When the bell rang, Zong Heng was the first to rush out of the classroom, his back view exuding a murderous aura.
Several boys surrounded Xu Ying, offering their own words of "comfort":
"Don't mind him, that's just Heng-ge's temper..."
"Yeah, he even threw the math teacher's thermos out the window before!"
Xu Ying didn't say anything, but just lowered her head to organize her books.
Suddenly, someone nudged her shoulder.
She looked up and met a pair of round, bright eyes—it was Lin Xiaoyu, the class's academic representative.
"Here you go." Lin Xiaoyu handed over a brand new fountain pen and said softly, "I bought an extra one, it's for you."
Xu Ying paused for a moment, then shook her head: "No need, thank you."
"Take it!" Lin Xiaoyu shoved it into her hand, leaned close to her ear, and said mysteriously, "Actually... Zong Heng isn't that scary."
Xu Ying looked at her with a puzzled expression.
Lin Xiaoyu blinked: "He just went to the convenience store."
"?"
"—I went to buy a fountain pen."
Xu Ying: "..."
She looked down at the new fountain pen in her hand, then at the old one in the trash can, and suddenly found it a little funny.
Is this person... sick?
The classroom was stuffy and hot, like a steamer, during the last class meeting in the afternoon.
Xu Ying sat by the window, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the fountain pen—a birthday gift from her grandfather, with a small cherry blossom engraved on the cap. The shadows of the sycamore trees outside the window were cast on her notebook, dappled light swaying gently in the breeze.
Class teacher Li Guoqiang walked in carrying lesson plans, his glasses reflecting a cold light. He slammed a stack of papers on the podium: "Now, I'm announcing something: the seating chart will be changed next week!"
The classroom was instantly filled with groans and cries of anguish.
"Changed again? It was just changed last week!"
"Old Li, are you going through menopause?!"
Li Guoqiang sneered, "Your class average was third from the bottom in the grade last monthly exam, and you still have the nerve to protest?" He unfurled the list, "Ranked by scores! First place Xu Ying and second place Zong Heng are at the same table, third place..."
Xu Ying's fountain pen fell onto the table with a "clatter".
The classroom suddenly fell into an eerie silence. Three seconds later, an even more exaggerated commotion erupted.
"Holy crap! Has Li the Devil gone mad?!"
"Putting the new student next to the school bully? That's going to kill someone!"
A loud crash came from the last row. Zong Heng kicked over a chair and stood up, his shoulders taut beneath his black T-shirt: "I request to sit alone."
Li Guoqiang pushed up his glasses: "Reason?"
"I snore when I sleep," Zong Heng said without changing his expression.
"Then why wasn't your former deskmate Wang Hao driven crazy by the noise?"
"He's deaf."
The whole class burst into laughter. Wang Hao blushed and wanted to retort, but Zong Heng's glare froze him in place.
Li Guoqiang waved his hand, and the class immediately quieted down. "Alright, alright, that's the arrangement. Behave yourselves next week. get out of class dismissed!"
Xu Ying quietly turned around and met Zong Heng's gloomy gaze.
He narrowed his eyes and mouthed three words to her: "You're dead."
The school bell rang, and Xu Ying slowly packed her bag. Several girls gathered around, hesitant to speak, but finally, class monitor Lin Yan whispered a reminder: "Why don't you ask Teacher Li to give you a fake medical record? Last year, a girl who sat next to Zong Heng for only three days transferred schools..."
Xu Ying stuffed her math notes into her bag: "Why?"
"It's said that he covered people's textbooks with skulls and even put dead rats in their drawers!"
Xu Ying paused for a moment as she zipped up her backpack.
The corridor was almost deserted. The setting sun bathed the tiled floor in an orange-red hue, casting a long shadow of Xu Ying. Just as she reached the corner of the stairs, someone suddenly grabbed her wrist and slammed her against the wall—
Zong Heng rested one hand on her ear, while holding her school uniform jacket in the other. He leaned closer, his body carrying a faint scent of tobacco and mints.
"Go find Old Li yourself tomorrow." His voice was very low, like the howl of some wild beast. "Just tell him you're afraid of me, understand?"
Xu Ying's back was pressed against the cold tiles. She noticed that Zong Heng's eyelashes were very long, casting a small shadow under his eyes, and there was a faint scar on his right brow bone.
"Why?" she asked.
Zong Heng seemed speechless at the simple question. His Adam's apple bobbed, and he suddenly let out a wicked laugh: "Because I only bully good students like you. I just scared my former deskmate so badly he ended up in the hospital last week, want to try?"
Xu Ying suddenly smiled.
This was the first time Zong Heng had seen her genuine smile—her eyes curved into crescent moons, and a faint dimple appeared on her left cheek.
“What a coincidence,” she said softly, “I specialize in dealing with bad students like you.”
Zong Heng froze.
Taking advantage of his momentary daze, Xu Ying bent down and slipped under his arm. After taking a few steps, she turned back and waved the class log in her hand: "I forgot to mention, Teacher Li said that since I'm your new deskmate, from now on, any missing homework records—" she mimicked Zong Heng's tone, "are all under my jurisdiction."
Zong Heng laughed, "Whatever, I'm not handing it in anyway."
He turned and left, leaving Xu Ying standing there.
Zong Heng's lips curled up almost imperceptibly.
The new guy is quite interesting.
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