Chapter 11
At the same time, Jian Sheng was also looking at that tall, straight back.
He was indeed dazzling, whether it was the little girls who came to the classroom door every day, his unrestrained figure on the basketball court, or his confidence in answering questions in class, he was as attractive as the bright morning sun.
In Jeju, student groups often form cliques and engage in illegal activities. There are always those who want to dominate and control other vulnerable groups. Moreover, most of these children are left-behind children, whose parents work away from home and only return during the Lunar New Year.
The people who take care of them are either elderly relatives, grandparents, or maternal grandparents. Their values are easily influenced by their surroundings, and the schools only teach them some basic knowledge and do not provide much guidance.
Here, their parents pick them up and drop them off at school, their social circles are fixed within a certain range, and the school also strictly cracks down on bad behavior.
Jian Sheng realized the significance of education for the first time; a good education can indeed discipline a person to live a stable life within a certain circle.
Is it because of this meaning that everyone here seems like a living person, with their only worries being which celebrity they like today, which boy they like tomorrow, who is dating whom today, and whether they will play ball during the long break tomorrow?
In her small town, physical education classes were never offered.
Only when Xu Shu called her name did Jian Sheng turn away from his excited figure, her thoughts automatically returning to normal.
She walked to the gymnastics mat, slowly sat down, and imitated the preparatory posture of the previous Class 7 test.
Xu Shu put the whistle to her lips, ready to blow it, when she looked up and saw Jian Sheng sitting silently in the corner. There were ten cushions in a row, and all the other girls had found their partners to help them stretch their legs, but she was the only one sitting there blankly.
He glanced around the room, his face flushed from the sun: "Um...you there, Jian Sheng?"
Jian Sheng sat up abruptly upon hearing the sound. Xu Shu was a rough old man with a deep voice. He had served in the army before, and his voice was powerful and loud. When he spoke, his voice echoed throughout the entire basketball court.
She stood up apologetically, her voice soft: "Teacher, what is it?"
Xu Shu pointed at her and looked at the others: "One of you who are enjoying the cool air over there, come here."
Jian Sheng lowered his head and twisted the hem of his clothes with both hands.
However, no one came towards her.
A few people chatted with the students from Class 7, pushing and shoving each other for a long time.
Xu Shu hissed, "Sit down for a while, I'll find someone to stretch your legs later."
"Everyone, get ready." After saying that, he blew his whistle at the nine groups on the ground.
Jian Sheng stood by and watched them finish the test in a minute. He waited for a while until there were five minutes left before class ended. By then, there were hardly any people left on the court. Apart from those playing ball, most of the people who had finished the test had returned to the classroom.
Xu Shu shouted to the people who had finished their tests, "Who can press her down? It'll be over in a minute."
Several girls outside waved hurriedly.
“She’s so strange…” someone in the group who was huddled to the side said.
“I’m here, teacher.” A gentle voice sounded from the right side of Jian Sheng.
Lin You was sitting on the cushion, using a hair tie to tie up her loose hair.
"Then you're not going to the convenience store?" Xu Xiaxia said softly.
"You three go ahead," Lin You said, patting himself and standing up. "I need to get my pop quiz paper for history class later."
"Oh." Xu Xiaxia took Qi Jing's hand. "Then we'll be going now."
"Everyone else, take the mats back to the equipment room," Xu Shu said, whistling.
"Let's begin."
The test registration was completed just as the bell rang for the end of get out of class.
Jian Sheng stood up and picked up the mat from the floor.
"Let me do it." Lin You reached out to her and took the mat. "You don't know where the equipment room is."
“Let’s go together,” Jian said.
Lin You turned her head and looked at her expressionless but serious expression. She smiled and said, "Let's go."
Jian Sheng walked quietly beside her, still not trying to start a conversation.
"Were you also very aloof at your previous school?" Lin You suddenly asked.
aloof?
Jian Sheng was stunned. She had never imagined that her lack of eloquence would be seen as aloofness by others.
Seeing her blank expression, Lin You slowly said, "I rarely see someone who can't be talked to by Chen Zhoujing, unless he doesn't want to be around him."
Jian Sheng lowered his head, unsure of what to say.
It seems I've caused trouble for others again.
"Some people want to get close to you because they want to be your friend. Your indifference might cause you to lose some people who genuinely like you."
"However, we don't understand your situation either."
Lin You paused after speaking.
Jian Sheng's mind went blank. She felt a surge of suppressed emotions in her chest, but true to her nature, she kept these emotions, including these delicate relationships, buried deep inside.
"School is also a place for learning. Just do things at your own pace. There will always be a way you like," Lin You's voice gently whispered in her ear.
The more tactful and gentle her words were, the more pronounced the aching sensation in Jian Sheng's chest became.
She never imagined that others would perceive her as aloof or distant; she simply wanted to remain invisible...
The two slowly walked to the equipment room. At this moment, a group of male voices rang out from inside. Jian Sheng stood at the door and stopped in her tracks. She subconsciously wanted to avoid crowded places.
Lin You glanced at her and slowly pushed open the half-open door.
Inside, a group of people were standing, with several boys standing next to the basketball hoop with their sleeves rolled up, talking in a language that was hard to understand, mixed with a few swear words, chatting happily. The sound quickly disappeared from Jian Sheng's ears when Lin You pushed open the door and entered the room.
She stood by the door frame and listened to a few words exchanged inside. Soon after, Lin You came out, followed by four or five boys: three from Class 13 and two from Class 7.
Jian Sheng immediately spotted Chen Zhoujing, who was standing with his hands in his pockets.
Like the other boys, he rolled up his sleeves to his shoulders, a smile playing on his lips, looking completely relaxed.
Jian Sheng felt a gaze on her, and she slowly moved to stand behind Lin You.
Unfortunately, the next second she seemed to hear some terrible news. Lin You said, "You guys can go back together on the way. I have to go to Building B to get the history teacher's test paper. Class is about to start. Jian Sheng, I'll go first."
Jian Sheng could only watch her back and silently resist in her heart. She didn't know whether to stand there or not, and was thinking about going back by herself.
Suddenly, she heard a series of farewells. She looked up and saw that all the boys, except for Chen Zhoujing, had left.
Suddenly, he turned his face towards her and smiled: "Let's go, new classmate?"
Jian Sheng's heart skipped a beat. He glanced away and walked towards the teaching building.
The two strolled slowly along the asphalt road between the dormitory building and the basketball court.
Chen Zhoujing was very tall; Jian Sheng was probably only up to his chin. She stared at her toes, moving slowly, her mind still preoccupied with what Lin You had said.
She was completely unaware of the faint gaze above her head.
In Chen Zhoujing's sight, Jian Sheng was always hunched over and had her head down. She had been there for almost two weeks, and apart from the one time she made Chen Zhoujing angry, she had never laughed. Her fair face was always hidden by her thick hair, making it impossible for anyone to see any other emotions in her.
However, some emotions don't need to be expressed verbally; they will still be revealed through words and actions.
He suddenly remembered what Teacher Zhong had said when he picked up the test paper that morning.
He raised his hand and touched his neck, saying, "You can ask me any questions you don't understand later, and I'll prepare a workbook for you."
"No need," Jian Sheng said softly, straightening his back.
"This is a task that Teacher Zhong assigned to me," Chen Zhou exclaimed in surprise.
"?" Jian Sheng turned her head and looked at his smiling eyes.
"You don't believe me?" Chen Zhou exclaimed in surprise. "Teacher Zhong said that after two months of summer vacation, everyone had too much fun and their grades dropped too much. The monthly exam is coming up soon, so she wanted to form a study group. I went up to listen to what she was saying, and coincidentally, our names were listed together on the list."
Jian Sheng suddenly remembered that when she had asked Zhong Mei to help her with math before, Zhong Mei had also been discussing study groups with other teachers. She nodded and said, "Oh."
"You just said 'oh'?" Chen Zhoujing suddenly leaned down and put his head next to Jian Sheng.
Jian Sheng was startled and moved to the side: "Thank you."
"So, is there something I can get in return?" He glanced at the distance between the two of them and slowly straightened up.
"?" Jian Sheng asked, puzzled. "Do you want me to give you money?"
"Huh?" Chen Zhou was stunned.
“I don’t have any money.” Jian Sheng hesitated for a moment. “It’s okay if you don’t want to teach me. My foundation isn’t very good either. I’ll just work on the basics first.”
"If you're too embarrassed to tell Teacher Zhong, I'll go and tell her."
Chen Zhou's expression of shock didn't immediately return: "How could you think that?"
He looked at her flushed cheeks beneath her black hair and chuckled, "You really don't like causing trouble for others, do you?"
Jian Sheng remained silent.
Just then, the school bell rang, and some people started running in the aisle.
Chen Zhou glanced at his watch: "There's also an eye exercise routine, so walk slowly."
Jian Sheng slowed down her pace, which she had been trying to quicken, and shook her head: "Teaching me is not your obligation."
Chen Zhou chuckled and said, "I was just kidding. I don't know about the other classes, but all the teachers on this third floor share an office, and we often have study exchanges. The study groups started in the first year of high school. It's just that Teacher Zhong felt that it would be boring for some people to study with the same members all year round, and there would also be some conflicts. So every year it's different. Also, in the second year of high school, the classes were divided. There were a few students who weren't taught by her before, so she had to rearrange them. She usually divides them based on the initial exam scores, everyone's usual scores and study performance, and then gets everyone's consent. If anyone is not satisfied, they can talk to her about it."
He explained, and Jian Sheng listened to him and his words with a slight surprise: "Okay."
The two walked slowly back to their classroom along the long road.
*
Jian Sheng had no idea that the annoying Chen Zhoujing was so popular; the incident during PE class had become known to several classes downstairs.
During several breaks, there was a constant stream of figures outside the window of Class 23, Grade 11. At first, she thought they were looking for someone they knew, but after Qi Jing mentioned it, she realized that they were all there to see the person behind her.
Because of their hairstyles, some people even spread rumors that the two of them were dating. Jian Sheng, who was usually oblivious to worldly affairs and focused solely on her studies, heard this rumor and felt a chill run down her spine.
At noon, she walked through the corridor as usual, heading to the building across the street to find Zhong Mei. Along the way, everyone's eyes were fixed on her, and she tried her best to shrink to the edge of the corridor and minimize her presence.
But what people fear most always comes to pass.
Jian Sheng looked up helplessly at Chen Zhoujing, who was standing a meter and a half away. He had just finished playing ball and grinned at her, "What a coincidence, are you going to see Teacher Zhong?"
"Don't ask questions you already know the answer to." Jian Sheng had run into him in the corridor between the second-year high school building and the third-year high school building across the street for several days. Every time he came back from playing basketball, he would lead a group of students who were drenched in sweat as if they had just taken a shower to stand in front of her.
She was once again forced to stand in the spotlight of a crowd.
"Then go ahead, and please say hello to Teacher Zhong for me." Chen Zhou smiled and automatically made way for her. The not-so-wide road suddenly opened up enough for several people to walk on. Jian Sheng looked at the boys lined up in a row like they were being punished, her mind went blank, and she lowered her head and walked past them, her heart pounding.
After walking a few steps, she heard someone behind her say, "Why are you always teasing her?"
"I wasn't teasing her, I was trying to make her feel good..."
Jian Sheng straightened up instantly. Although the latter half was blurred, the first half was still quite frightening.
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