Chapter 4
September 1, 2016.
Class 23, Senior High School, Yanjiang No. 7 Middle School, Jiangzhou City.
"Holy crap, someone save me!"
"Oh my god, this is infuriating! Who finished their math homework? Why didn't anyone tell me there was a little workbook at the back?!"
Under the blazing sun, sunlight, carrying a thick wave of heat, swept into the classroom. The dappled light, broken by the leaves, fell on the students' desks and chairs, reflecting the chaotic atmosphere of the classroom.
Amid the noise and chaos, several students who hadn't finished their summer homework wandered back and forth between the two rows of seats, completely unaware of the two figures slowly approaching from outside the classroom.
As the two figures approached, someone from the back door shouted, "Quiet down, quiet down, the teacher's here!"
Information was transmitted from back to front, and the classroom seemed to be put on hold, falling silent in just a few seconds, with the sound of fans blowing and cicadas chirping outside the window.
"The teacher is here, what am I going to do about my homework? Damn it, when is Chen Zhoujing coming?"
"You don't know him? He went to play basketball on his very first day of work. In this 30-degree weather, he'll die of heatstroke."
Two students in the back row of the classroom, not wearing school uniforms and with their sleeves rolled up to their collarbones, covered their mouths and whispered to each other.
One of them, with a buzz cut and a tall, thin build, bent his knees and stood up, looking out the window: "Hey, hey, hey, there seems to be someone next to the teacher."
"Who is it? Who is it?" Another slightly stronger-looking man stood up abruptly, causing several people in the front row to turn around: "A transfer student?"
"Is it a man or a woman?" Someone nearby was drawn in and turned to ask.
"Male, short hair."
"These days, even No. 7 Middle School has transfer students. Dude, how bad are your grades...?"
Outside the window.
Jian Sheng, carrying her schoolbag, tucked her fingers into the side seam of her clothes, quietly listening to her new homeroom teacher introduce her.
Her face was pale, and despite the sweltering heat, she was wrapped in long sleeves. The stifling weather and heavy clothing caused her forehead to be covered in a dense layer of sweat, but Jian Sheng didn't seem to care. Her emotions were completely replaced by a sense of unfamiliarity and nervousness.
"That's right. The school has a limited number of dormitories, which are mainly reserved for students from other provinces or those whose homes are far away. Your place is not far away and is in a good school district. I'm very sorry, but you do not meet the requirements. So, you definitely cannot apply for a dormitory here for the time being."
"Then we looked at your overall grades and put you in this class. But Jeju's college entrance exam is subject-based, so you'll have to work hard on the academic exams you missed in your first year of high school. For subjects like politics and technology, once you finish those, I'll ask your teachers from last semester to give you some extra help. There shouldn't be any major problems, you should be able to pass."
This slightly plump middle-aged woman was wearing a cool floral long dress, with a pair of gold-rimmed glasses perched on her nose. The nasolabial folds on her cheeks and her somewhat deep eye sockets gave her the air of a serious headmistress. Her hands were behind her back, and although she appeared stern, her tone was very gentle.
In fact, this was the first time Jian Sheng had been properly looked at by someone since arriving in this foreign land.
She clenched her fists, lowered her head, and said somewhat awkwardly, "It's okay, thank you, Teacher Zhong."
"Wait a moment, I'll go in and say a few words." Teacher Zhong patted her on the shoulder and turned to walk into the classroom behind her.
Jian Sheng's body stiffened instinctively, and she only breathed a sigh of relief after Zhong Mei walked in.
It was ten o'clock in the morning, and the sun was shining brightly outside in the corridor. Jian Sheng was facing away from the sun, staring down at his old, peeling white shoes.
In front of her was her gentle homeroom teacher, who was warning the restless students in the class; behind her was a scorching heat.
The burning sensation gradually spread to her chest.
Until Teacher Zhong called out to her, "Jian Sheng, come in."
The heat in my chest instantly rushed through my veins and flowed to every part of my body that could reach it.
She walked into the classroom amidst the gazes of the crowd, her back bending silently as she took a few steps.
Everyone saw a slender figure slowly walk into the classroom. He slowly walked up to the podium, and amidst the surprised gasps of the crowd, he slightly raised his head, his movements equally slow, as if they had been sped up to 0.5x speed.
"So thin, so fair-skinned!" someone exclaimed, successfully piquing the class's curiosity.
"Holy crap, why is he wearing such thick clothes in this heat?"
"His face is so white and small, another pretty boy."
"Be careful, Chen Zhoujing will beat you up when he gets back." The slightly muscular guy who sat next to the guy with the buzz cut nudged him.
"Quiet down, everyone." Teacher Zhong slapped the podium hard, then said to Jian, "Introduce yourself so everyone can get to know you."
The classroom finally quieted down.
Jian Sheng then raised her head, fully revealing her face that had been hidden under her hair.
Another gasp rippled through the classroom.
As everyone looked at the new transfer student, she slowly raised her head, revealing a beautiful, perfect face with well-defined features and lovely eyes that seemed to be filled with tears, making them appear affectionate and gentle. Even though her expressionless face appeared cold, those beautiful eyes were enough to bridge the distance between them.
This subtle sense of detachment and indifference made her overall demeanor appear even more aloof and melancholic.
Her hair was very short, a length that was unheard of among the boys in the school—just right, a neutral beauty.
"Holy crap..."
"That man is so handsome," someone remarked. "Chen Zhoujing's position is in jeopardy."
The person on the stage slowly began to speak: "My name is Jian Sheng."
"Please take care of me." Jian Sheng's voice wasn't loud; his naturally low tone, combined with his habit of speaking softly, made him sound quite similar to those refined and reserved male voices if you didn't look closely.
After she finished speaking, no one in the classroom spoke. Teacher Zhong glanced at the girl next to her who had lowered her head again, coughed, and then led the applause, saying, "Everyone, please welcome Jian Sheng. Welcome to our Class 23 of Senior High School. Please be patient with us if you don't understand anything since you're new here."
As soon as Zhong Mei finished speaking, the classroom erupted in a clamor, followed by thunderous applause that filled the entire second-floor corridor.
"Welcome, welcome, welcome to the new student." The guy with the buzz cut in the back row, who always liked to join in the fun, spoke up enthusiastically. "Hey buddy, why don't you sit here? There's a seat behind me."
Jian Sheng was slightly taken aback, but then, as if it were a common occurrence, she turned to look at Zhong Mei.
Zhong Mei glared at the man with the buzz cut and said in a deep voice, "You and your deskmate, you play ball with Chen Zhoujing every day, they've ruined your brains."
“Jian Sheng is a girl.” After she finished speaking, she pointed to a seat, which was the empty seat on the left side of the second to last row of the third group, looking down from the podium. “You can sit there. I cleaned it when I came this morning, so it’s clean. You can sit there without worry.”
Jian Sheng gratefully thanked her, his voice very soft.
She slowly walked to her seat amidst everyone's curious gazes. She was very tall for a girl, and with her slim figure and good proportions, plus her neat short hair, she was often mistaken for a man. However, this might not be a bad thing for her current situation.
It did save her a lot of trouble.
Her deskmate was a girl who wore glasses and was quiet and reserved. She greeted her and quietly introduced her to the other students in the class.
Jian Sheng nodded silently, remembering all her words.
"We are a science-oriented class, so most of us stayed. A few of us came from other classes to choose our subjects, so we are practically new to the class. However, many of us are from the same junior high school, so we all know each other."
"Yes, don't be shy, everyone's very nice, and there's also..."
"You don't need to introduce the one behind you. You'll automatically... oh, I mean you'll be forced to get to know him when he comes back." My deskmate smiled awkwardly, as if he had thought of something.
Jian Sheng didn't understand, but she didn't say much, only nodding repeatedly to show that she wasn't just giving her a perfunctory answer.
"Everyone, go home early if there's nothing else. Tomorrow's Monday, so remember to go to school. I've already set my alarms for the morning, so don't oversleep," Zhong Mei said as she wrote on the podium. "Exams are next Thursday and Friday!"
She wrote the words "Thursday" and "Friday" heavily on the blackboard with chalk and drew a horizontal line below them to indicate their importance.
The students below let out a wail.
"No way, we're taking an exam right after we arrived."
"Keep your last words to yourselves and discuss them on the way home," Zhong Mei said, trying to calm everyone down. "Lin You, take Jian Sheng to the administration office next door to get your school uniforms, and then find Teacher Xu to get your campus cards."
"And He Shang, make a call or send a message and call Chen Zhoujing back for me."
He Shang, the tall, thin man with a buzz cut who was mentioned, suddenly stood up: "Ah, teacher, what are you saying?"
"I didn't bring my phone," he said, raising his voice.
"If you keep pretending, don't force me to take your phone away," Zhong Mei chuckled.
"No, teacher, you're wronging me." He Shang scratched his head.
"I'm accusing you?" Zhong Mei laughed. "Your iPhone, which is glowing in your pocket, has already seen me, but you haven't seen it?"
"If you don't bring it up, I'll keep it for you. Just pretend it doesn't exist."
As soon as Zhong Mei finished speaking, everyone's gaze automatically turned to He Shang's pocket, where the bright square phone was hanging there. Through the black fabric, the screen was clearly visible.
"Hehehe." He Shang had nothing to say, so he quickly sat down, took out his phone, and called Chen Zhoujing.
He sat to the right of Jian Sheng, across from the somewhat muscular boy. Jian Sheng looked away, clutching his schoolbag, waiting for school to end. Fortunately, Zhong Mei simply reminded everyone to be careful on their way home before returning to her office.
The bell rang, signaling the end of get out of class.
Jian Sheng followed Lin You to the teaching office to pick up their school uniforms. They walked through the corridor connecting the water dispensers on the second floor and into the dimly lit room.
"My name is Lin You, and I'm the class monitor of Class 13. Feel free to ask me anything you don't understand in the future." Lin You looked up at Jian Sheng, who was standing next to him with his head down. "We can exchange contact information."
She said it very seriously.
Jian Sheng straightened up instantly: "I..."
Her voice was very soft, and Lin You couldn't hear it. He frowned when he saw her looking down and ignoring him.
Jian Sheng turned around and saw her head turn back. He felt a little awkward, but then thought better of it. She didn't have a cell phone or any other way to contact anyone. The only way she could contact the outside world was through the landline at home. She couldn't possibly give anyone a number starting with 05.
The two walked to the corner of the stairwell.
“It’s okay if you don’t want to give it to me…” Lin You was saying when someone suddenly rushed upstairs, startling her. “Oh my god!”
This person was reckless and barged in, bumping directly into Jian Sheng's arm and throwing her against the door frame. The pain almost brought tears to her eyes.
"Oh my god." He used the same catchphrase as Lin You, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, sorry, sorry."
"Are you alright, classmate?" Chen Zhoujing dropped the basketball in his hand, grabbed Jian Sheng's shoulder tightly, and said anxiously, "Are you alright, classmate? I'm sorry I bumped into you and hurt you."
His left hand was still holding the phone, and a shout came from the phone, "Chen Zhoujing, hurry up! The teacher is going to be furious!"
Jian Sheng heard it clearly right next to her ear, and she frowned: "Let me go."
She was pinched hard; this person was too strong.
"Chen Zhoujing, what are you doing?" Lin You pushed him away.
"Hey, class monitor, you two know each other? That makes things easier. I'll come find you to apologize later." After saying that, he picked up the basketball he had just dropped. "Sorry, buddy, I have something urgent to do right now. I'll come find you later."
After saying that, he ran off without stopping.
"Hey, she's a girl, what kind of buddy are you?" Lin You said to his back, but the man seemed deaf and didn't hear him.
Jian Sheng was pale, still feeling the shock in her chest, and the pain in her arm made her forehead sweat even more.
"Are you alright?" Lin You asked, seeing that she was frightened.
"It's nothing, it's nothing," Jian said in a low voice.
She doesn't like physical contact with others, and that touch just now made her stomach feel terrible, so bad that she wanted to rush to the toilet to wash her arm again.
"You don't look well, are you really alright?" Lin You asked doubtfully.
"I'm really fine." Jian Sheng shook his head.
Lin You didn't say anything. After helping her get her school uniform and card, the two parted ways at the school gate.
The man named Chen Zhoujing did not appear to apologize to her.
However, Jian Sheng did not expect that what bothered her more than the apology was that this person seemed to have a grudge against her, always haunting her. Whenever he appeared, something was bound to happen to her.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
