Chapter 2
When Guan Nan entered the classroom, her familiar classmates had already become her deskmates. Because she had taken leave at the last minute in the morning, no one had helped her arrange a seat in advance.
Fortunately, a classmate from the first year of high school reminded her that there was an empty seat in the last row.
That spot is next to the trash can; everyone hates it.
"Thank you." Guan Nan thanked him and then walked towards that spot.
A girl in the first three rows turned around and said, "Guan Nan, why didn't you come this morning? The class teacher made everyone introduce themselves, and you were the only one missing."
Guan Nan recognized the girl who was speaking; she was Chen Aimei, a classmate from the first year of high school and also the class's academic representative.
Guan Nan stammered, "Something came up, I'm late."
"Next period is Class 1's class," Chen Aimei said, pointing to the blackboard with a gentle smile.
Banban is their first-year high school homeroom teacher. His surname is Ban and his given name is Zheng, but everyone calls him Banban. Given Banban's personality, it means that before the formal start of class, she will inevitably have to give a brief self-introduction.
Guan Nan accepted her kindness, nodded, and politely thanked her, saying, "Thank you."
As soon as I put my schoolbag into my desk, the coins on the side rolled off.
She bent down to pick up the coins that had fallen in the corridor, and when she looked up, she saw that Jiang Li had already walked to Yu Shu's table.
"Why are you late again?" Yu Shuyang said with a grin. "If I had known it was the she-devil's class, I would have texted you to tell you not to come."
Jiang Li casually closed the book, saying lazily, "Mind your own business."
"Why are you working this shift?" Yu Shu ignored his stubbornness and asked quietly with a serious expression, "You didn't get your aunt to pull some strings for you, did you?"
Jiang Li asked sullenly, "Am I you?"
"Wow! Sao Sao, how could you say that about me?" Yu Shu clutched his heart playfully, "Just because I left Class 3, does that mean I'm no longer your best buddy? You're heartless, you're indifferent, you're being unreasonable!"
Suddenly, the dull atmosphere in the class visibly shifted to a new tone.
Suddenly, someone started laughing, and then all forty-odd students in the class burst into laughter one after another.
"You, you, you, you," Yu Shu pointed at the laughing group, his fingertip stopping on the left side, "And you, what are you laughing at? Are you coveting our Jiang Li!"
Those whose fingers brushed against him subconsciously frowned; not everyone had the courage to covet Jiang Li. The atmosphere froze instantly, because the direction his finger was pointing to was...
——Guan Nan
Many people could guess when the joke started.
In a newly formed class like this, if someone takes the initiative to say something to liven things up, someone else will definitely be pushed forward to complete the task of integrating the classes.
No one could have predicted it.
Yu Shuhui cast this anchor of goodwill toward Guan Nan, who excelled in both looks and academics, yet was quiet, reserved, and shy, and had almost no presence in the class except on certain occasions.
"·····"
I was watching the fun when the drama suddenly turned on me.
Guan Nan's slightly curved lips froze instantly, and under everyone's gaze, she slowly shook her head.
“Right? I think you’re a bit silly too,” Yu Shu commented, then added proudly, “Jiang Li doesn’t like bookworms.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the look in her eyes, which had been wide open in anticipation of the spectacle, immediately turned into one of sympathy.
Class 1401 is not a traditional liberal arts class that relies solely on rote memorization, but rather a class that combines various competitions, special talents, and students with resources, making it arguably the first class in the history of Fuling Middle School.
This class is full of hidden talents; a mere top scorer in the high school entrance exam is nothing to worry about.
Guan Nan paused, clearly understanding the mystery behind it.
So, under the watchful eyes of the whole class, she quietly sat down.
Those words, simple and direct, were like an invisible hammer blow, striking hard and leaving tiny, shattered holes. They stung the ears.
"Are you kidding me? Our class monitor has a good personality, she's not stupid." Some classmates couldn't stand it and spoke up.
At this moment, Chen Aimei spoke up, shouting, "Don't flatter yourself! Guan Nan would never like Jiang Li!"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Li glanced towards the corner, his expression unreadable.
In an instant, the air grew heavy, and everyone was somewhat dissatisfied with his words.
"What?" Yu Shu reacted slowly, looking innocent. "Did I say something wrong?"
Jiang Li ignored him and slapped him across the face, sending his hair flying: "You're annoying."
The attempt to ease the tension failed, and the already distant relationship returned to its original state after this simple incident.
Although they were classmates for a whole year in the first year of high school, Guan Nan and Chen Aimei didn't get along well, and weren't even that close.
Today, Guan Nan didn't know why she suddenly stood up to speak for her.
She held a pen and rehearsed her self-introduction on the draft paper, but her mind was a mess, she couldn't think of anything, and it seemed as if she had lost even the most basic ability to organize her thoughts.
The school bell rang from the speakers, instantly waking most of the drowsy students.
Just then, as the bell rang, Banban entered the classroom, a thermos in his left hand, a textbook covered in annotations in his right, and a pair of glasses perched between them, dressed in the classic attire of a teacher.
As soon as the class monitor put down his book and everyone was about to stand up, he said, "You don't have to be so formal in my class."
Many students laughed when he said that.
The class monitor gestured for everyone to stop, his gaze sweeping across the classroom. Once everyone had stopped and the room was quiet, he put on his glasses, smiled kindly, and looked at the last row of the fourth group: "Guan Nan."
When her name was called, she obediently stood up.
Banban: "Did you take the morning off?"
Guan Nan nodded.
"Okay." After Banban said that, Guan Nan thought he was just asking him to go up and introduce himself, but he turned his head and looked to the other side: "Who else didn't introduce themselves this morning?"
One after another, people raised their hands.
Banban recognized them; they were the ones the grade head had assigned to clean the playground that morning.
"Is there anything else?" Banban asked.
His response was the silence of forty-odd people staring at him expectantly.
"Who was it that gave their introduction halfway through get out of class this morning?" Class monitor looked down at the roster and, seeing no reaction from the students, said gently, "I had a meeting then, so I didn't tell you to continue. How about you introduce them to everyone again now?"
Inside the classroom, everyone looked at each other in silence.
After waiting for a while, no one responded, and Guan Nan was still wondering what was going on.
Banban looked at Jiang Li: "Jiang Li, what do you think?"
"·····"
I heard the name.
Guan Nan thought to herself, "No wonder."
The next second, Jiang Li stood up, still with that carefree and nonchalant attitude.
He replied listlessly, without any emotion: "Okay."
Banban nodded in satisfaction and pointed to the back row.
Just when Guan Nan had given up thinking and was ready to be the last one to go on stage, she was unexpectedly called out.
"Guan Nan, you go first and set an example for everyone."
Upon hearing this, Guan Nan silently put down her pen and closed the English newspaper she was writing.
She walked along the corridor to the podium, said to everyone, "Hello everyone, my name is Guan Nan," picked up the chalk on the podium, and wrote the two characters "Guan Nan" neatly on the blackboard.
"I'm very happy to be classmates with everyone. I... don't have any hobbies. If you have any questions about your studies, we can exchange ideas. I hope we can get along well in the coming year. Thank you."
The instructor didn't make things difficult for Guan Nan's demonstration; he nodded and let her leave.
Those who came on stage afterward all copied each other's styles, and they were all pretty much the same.
Finally, Jiang Li took the stage, without any fancy prefixes or descriptions, simply saying, "Hello everyone, I am Jiang Li."
After speaking, he stopped in his tracks as he was about to leave the stage, picked up a piece of chalk, and wrote his name on the blackboard.
The names are arranged side by side, one on the left and one on the right.
However, one handwriting was neat and the other was messy and illegible.
Although they are two different fonts, sitting side by side, they do not look out of place at all.
The chalk fell, and someone in the classroom whistled, instantly stirring up the otherwise uneventful atmosphere.
Guan Nan was oblivious to what was happening outside. On the table was an open political book with messy notes on it.
When class ended, Banban, who was halfway through walking, seemed to suddenly remember something, stopped and turned around, saying, "Oh right, we were electing class officers this morning, but the class monitor hasn't been elected yet."
He paused for a moment, then continued, "Then it's still Guan Nan, nothing will change."
No one in the class objected. Guan Nan was the class monitor chosen by every class in the first year of high school, so the students naturally didn't think anything of it.
The afternoon classes went by quickly, and after the second evening self-study session, day students could go home.
As Guan Nan packed her schoolbag and got up to leave, she glanced at the direction of the dark podium.
The activity board used for extracurricular activities in the evening, and now the blackboard that was casually pushed open, has "Guan Nan" and "Jiang Li" written at noon that haven't been erased yet.
The two names were drawn together in a heart shape with red chalk by an unknown person.
Unsure if she was just imagining things, Guan Nan hesitated for a moment. She slowly walked around the podium with her backpack on, her fingers gripping the strap of her backpack tightly.
As she passed the names on the blackboard, she swallowed hard, quickly erased the names, and hurried out of the classroom.
Sitting on the bus home.
In the dim light, Guan Nan looked down at her palm and guiltily wiped away the red and white chalk dust.
Guan Nan turned to look out the window. The bus was stopped at the intersection waiting for the red light. Several boys wearing Fuling Middle School uniforms rode past her on bicycles.
Two of them were from her class, and she recognized them at a glance.
One of them is Jiang Li.
The wisps of hair on his forehead fluttered in the wind, and the young man, with his shoulders hunched, laughed wildly and unrestrainedly in the wind.
The school uniform was oversized, catching the wind, and its slender, strong waistline flashed by in an instant.
Guan Nan blinked slowly, then thought of the names circled on the blackboard, the chalk writing that had been secretly erased, and the chalk dust that had covered her hands.
My cheeks and earlobes unconsciously warmed up.
Guan Nan suddenly dared not look at him anymore.
Looking away, Yu Shu was tearing at the bread with his teeth, his face contorted in a ferocious expression.
The light turned green, and the bus made a turn.
As if by some strange twist of fate, the boy on the bicycle suddenly turned his head to the side.
Just then, a bus passed by on the street, allowing the two to easily miss each other.
Bus route 813 was heading towards the city museum. Guan Nan got off at Tangzi Lane Station. Across from the station was a long and steep slope that seemed to stretch endlessly.
There is a junior high school up there, so the milk tea shops, internet cafes, and supermarkets on both sides of the road are frequented by locals.
As night fell, the road became completely quiet.
Guan Nan followed the path, easily opening the iron gate behind the school, then turning a corner and walking straight for a while until she entered the school district. She rang the doorbell and waited at the door for a while before someone came to open it.
Why are you so late coming back?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
