Chapter 14 Someone knocked on the door...
Someone knocked on the door, and before Wang Kan could answer, the door was pushed open. "Hey, watching a movie? Not playing games?"
"Hmm." Wang Kan was upright and not startled by her cousin's sudden attack.
Xu Jingxiao placed the fruit plate on the table and glanced at Wang Kan's computer screen. "When did you start watching art films? What about your American blockbusters?"
"Just browsing."
"Can you understand it?"
Wang Kan was speechless: "I don't understand."
Although he could understand it, he was getting sleepy while reading it. He didn't know what Fang Minzhou found interesting, and he even posted about it on social media. He was just bored and used it to kill time.
“Your mom said you’ve been staying in your room all day. I was wondering what you could possibly be doing…” Xu Jingxiao glanced around and saw a book on Wang Kan’s desk that he had borrowed from his school library. It was the kind of book that artsy young people read. “…You’re not dating, are you?”
Wang Kan remained unmoved, saying, "Don't spread rumors about me."
"real?"
"real."
Xu Jingxiao was skeptical, but then suddenly remembered something: "During the National Day holiday, your cousin got married, and Ranran said that an older sister invited her to eat, saying that she was your high school deskmate?"
Xu Ran, that little brat...
Wang Kan took a bite of the apple and looked at her cousin with a questioning gaze: Yeah, so what?
Xu Jingxiao was both amused and exasperated.
If you say Wang Kan is stupid, he's not so easily tricked into revealing information anymore; if you say he's smart, he's just trying to cover things up, as if he's afraid she won't notice something fishy.
He was still crawling when she was in a relationship.
Have you finished your homework?
"I'll write it later."
"Midterm exams are coming up soon, right?"
"Um."
"Seriously? If you get another bad grade, your mom will be furious."
Xu Jingxiao smacked him on the head without hesitation, "Take the plate out when you're done eating."
If it weren't for Wang Kan being such a troublemaker, she wouldn't have bothered to come and waste her breath. But Xu Jingxiao had already stepped out of the room when she turned back and said seriously, "I'm talking to you, Wang Kan."
Wang Kan said lazily, "Hmm?"
"Your task right now is to study. If you get good grades, we won't interfere with other things as long as you don't go too far. But if you don't get good grades and keep messing around, nobody will even look at you. Think about it carefully."
After saying that, Xu Jingxiao closed the door without waiting for Wang Kan's reply.
The world is finally quiet.
Wang Kan continued eating the apple.
Click, click.
The film's background music was cheerful and bright, and he watched the protagonists embrace and dance in the dazzling ballroom without any emotional fluctuation.
Think about it carefully?
Without even thinking about it, how could he not know?
He did want to study hard, but the midterm exams were right after the sports meet, and time was of the essence. Wang Kan felt a bit anxious for the first time in a long time, but he was carefree. He thought to himself, "Oh well, if I don't succeed this time, I can do it next time." At the same time, he didn't give up completely and tried his best to cram at the last minute.
Luckily, his ranking improved, and Zheng Yanhang immediately called him a traitor.
But Fang Min failed her exam.
Being ninth in the class was a disaster for her personally.
All the results came out early Wednesday morning, and during the class meeting, Teacher Zhan analyzed the midterm exam results. Overall, their class did well.
In the few glances Wang Kan stole, Fang Minzhou kept her eyes on the blackboard. She was focused and attentive in the afternoon classes as well, but during the last self-study period, while doing her homework, she suddenly propped her face up with her right hand, slightly turning her back to him and the entire classroom.
The sky was not yet dark, and there were green trees outside the window. Wang Kan could not see Fang Minzhou's face clearly. She seemed to be looking at the questions, but actually put her right hand down and continued writing after a while.
Although she acted normally throughout the day, Wang Kan felt that for good students like her, grades were their HP. A bad grade was like taking a major hit. Even if she didn't really care, she was still a low-health person among her peers.
For example, when he saw her and Jin Baihao discussing a problem, they disagreed on a certain answer. Jin Baihao felt that he was right. Normally, the two of them might have pulled Ouyang Qian or even others to discuss it and clarify it, but this time Fang Minzhou did not insist and said that they should wait for the teacher to explain.
Jin Baihao nodded, but then his expression became hesitant, as if he had suddenly remembered something. Wang Kan guessed that he was probably worried about Fang Minzhou's feelings and afraid that she would misunderstand him as being carried away.
Previously, Fang Minzhou had the best grades among them. She was more diligent than Ouyang Qian and more agile than Jin Baihao, so it was only natural that she got good grades. However, in this midterm exam, she only scored a few points higher than Jin Baihao.
Jin Baihao himself was very pleasantly surprised.
Fang Minzhou pretended to be stupid, thinking that Jin Baihao still had a problem. Jin Baihao hurriedly and confusedly said "nothing" and turned away.
Then, Fang Minzhou put away her expression and gave him a cold look. Wang Kan also pretended to be stupid and acted as if he knew nothing.
Everyone was acting together, but he was sitting too close as the classmate, which allowed him to glimpse the behind-the-scenes moment when the main character couldn't continue acting.
Perhaps it was just psychological, but Wang Kan felt that Fang Minzhou's ponytail didn't look as energetic as usual.
After getting her food, Wang Kan hesitated for a moment, then sat down opposite Fang Minzhou with her tray, asking knowingly, "Is anyone here?"
Fang Minzhou raised her eyelids, then lowered them again, ignoring Wang Kan's feigned familiarity.
She wanted to be alone and was annoyed by Wang Kan's disturbance, but she couldn't even be bothered to tell him not to sit there.
She was in a bad mood, which led to her unpleasant expression. If it were anyone else, she definitely wouldn't look like she had obviously failed the exam; she would at least pretend to be fine. But Wang Kan... well, he saw her outburst during self-study class anyway.
She ranked ninth in her class and eighty-sixth in the grade. This was her worst exam result ever, and what was even more frightening was that Fang Minzhou had no idea about it.
Although she felt the exam was quite difficult, everyone was complaining after the exam. She felt that she had written everything she could, so it shouldn't be too bad. When the physics exam, which she was least confident about, came out first and she did reasonably well, she felt even more at ease.
As a result, she fell out of the top five in the class, and it's even possible that what Teacher Zhan said in the class meeting was specifically for her.
The top five and top ten in a class, and the top fifty and top one hundred in a grade, form two distinct tiers.
Fang Minzhou felt immense fear and self-doubt.
She didn't even do particularly badly in any subject, but she was just a few points short in every subject.
Every stage has its dark horses; some surpass others, and some are surpassed. The sense of disappointment she felt when she entered high school struck her again. Fang Minzhou feared this was the beginning of her falling behind, and she didn't know if she would ever have another chance to "prove herself."
These conflicting emotions hung over Fang Minzhou like a dark cloud. She reflected on the reasons for her regression, and upon closer examination, she could also blame the person in front of her.
Seeing Fang Minzhou eating half-heartedly, Wang Kan found it hard to eat. After much consideration, he decided to say something encouraging, "...Actually, you did quite well on the test."
Fang Minzhou looked at him, her eyebrows furrowing.
Based on Wang Kan's understanding of her, she probably thinks he's being sarcastic and kicking her when she's down, but he isn't. "I'm serious, I don't think you need to be so hard on yourself."
Fang Minzhou put down her chopsticks, having completely lost her appetite.
And calling it comforting is so rude, like tearing open a wound, sighing, and then putting on a band-aid. This is different from the regret of the sports meet, which was practice in her spare time, an experience focused on participation. She accepted both the good and the bad. But she spent most of her time, almost all of it, studying, so why did she regress?
If it weren't for him...
Fang Minzhou stood up. Seeing her about to leave, Wang Kan grew anxious, wondering why Fang Minzhou had still misunderstood his good intentions. Hadn't he been sincere enough? "Ninth isn't nineteenth. No one in my class even comes close to twenty-ninth..."
"Are you sick?" Fang Minzhou blurted out.
Wang Kan was stunned by this harsh rebuke.
He knew they often bickered, and he knew Fang Minzhou had many opinions about him, but after spending time together, he vaguely felt that their relationship wasn't so bad. Even if they weren't friends, at least he could show concern.
But it turns out I still wasn't qualified.
"What business is it of yours how I do on the exam?" Fang Minzhou said angrily.
Wang Kan, who thought Fang Minzhou couldn't distinguish right from wrong, was really annoyed. "No, it's just one midterm exam, is it really that big of a deal? You..."
"Why would it be necessary? Why not?" Fang Minzhou wanted to curse.
When she was little, if she didn't get good grades, she would bring up other classmates to defend herself. Her parents would tell her, "Don't compare the good ones with the bad ones."
She felt wronged then, but she felt even more wronged now. She had done poorly on the test, but it wasn't to the point where she had to compete with Wang Kan in misery. However, considering the occasion, she lowered her voice and said, "If you don't study, do you think others can study better?"
"Why wouldn't I study?" Wang Kan asked anxiously. "Didn't you see that I improved my ranking by several places this time?"
Fang Minzhou barely ate anything, completely consumed by anger at Wang Kan. So, in the end, he was perfectly fine, and her decline was entirely her fault! He knew absolutely nothing!
She picked up her tray, and Wang Kan called to her from behind, but she ignored him, threw away the leftovers, and walked out of the cafeteria with a belly full of anger.
Suddenly, someone grabbed her arm from behind. Startled, Fang Minzhou quickly shook it off. After seeing who it was, she became even more furious: "Wang Kan, what do you want?!"
"I..." Wang Kan choked up, but she couldn't swallow her anger and was determined to explain to Fang Minzhou, "What did I do? I just wanted to comfort you a little..."
"Who needs your comfort?"
Fang Minzhou's disdain was more humiliating to Wang Kan than a slap in the face. "Fang Minzhou, do you think you're so great?"
Fang Minzhou's eyes welled up with tears. "Yes! I am amazing!"
Wang Kan was shocked.
The days are getting shorter and shorter. Before six o'clock, the sun has already set. The streetlights on the tree-lined path in front of the cafeteria cast a stark and indifferent light. As the autumn wind rustles through the treetops, Wang Kan suddenly calms down a bit.
Both of them showed their emotions on their faces. Although he had often angered Fang Minzhou before, and she had glared at him and rolled her eyes at him, the intensity was nothing compared to his current coldness, as if he had done something disgusting.
But he didn't.
Wang Kan suddenly felt an inexplicable sadness in her heart, "I..."
Fang Minzhou didn't want to listen.
He tried to stop her, but was interrupted before he could speak, "...What are you two doing?"
The streetlights lengthened people's shadows.
A momentary, stiff silence replaced the obvious conflict. Zheng Yanhang looked at Fang Minzhou, then at Wang Kan, and asked, "Is there any food left in the cafeteria?"
He had just come back from playing ball. Everyone else had gone to the convenience store, but he still wanted to have a hot meal.
Fang Minzhou took the opportunity to get rid of Wang Kan.
This time, Wang Kan did not pursue them.
"What's wrong? Did you two have another fight?" Zheng Yanhang asked, unsurprised.
Watching Fang Minzhou's departing figure, Wang Kan refused to admit it.
A note from the author:
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