Chapter 45
......
The head of the vocational high school arrived half an hour later.
The two directors were classmates, and Lao Jiang scolded him without any politeness, without exchanging any pleasantries.
There was no mention of "stealing a girlfriend" or "teaching someone a lesson." The vocational high school hooligans just accepted it as a loss, but when they were about to leave, Yu Shu sidled up to them, put his arm around their shoulders, and said something to them.
The hooligans glanced back at Jiang Li with a hint of suspicion in their eyes, and finally patted Yu Shu on the shoulder.
"You guys think that fighting, especially group fights, is glorious and protects the interests of the class. You've used all your sense of class honor on this..." Old Jiang scolded them after seeing them off.
The group listened silently, nodding when asked, without uttering a sound.
After scolding them for a long time, Old Jiang finally let them go and allowed them to return to the classroom.
Chen Aimei, who was not present at the time, saw Jiang Li and the others return and immediately went up to ask about Jiang Li and Yu Shu's situation. She then recounted the whole story without missing a single detail.
It turns out that the hooligan had been pursuing Chen Aimei for a long time, but Chen Aimei refused to agree to date him and ran away, so he was harassed for a long time.
Last time, when I was really annoyed, I said that I had a boyfriend, Jiang Li from our class.
Jiang Li heard: "..."
"Aren't you just making trouble for Jiang Li?" Yu Shu was speechless.
Chen Aimei glanced at Jiang Li, "I didn't mean to."
So, the hooligan was unhappy. Taking advantage of the New Year's Day event, and knowing that Jiang Li would be there, he led his men to Jiang's door, threatening to beat him up.
Lin Rui didn't even glance at her, and asked Yu Shu, "What did you say to him?"
“I told him to talk to Xin Jia first if he had something to do, and to ask them before doing something so stupid.” Yu Shu mumbled, not telling the truth.
Upon hearing this, Lin Rui rolled his eyes: "Xin Jia is a good-for-nothing."
“Well said,” Yu Shu clapped. “Say that to his face next time, and I’ll respect you as a hero.”
After that incident, they studied in the classroom until the party ended.
The class teacher came to the classroom and handed out a stack of "Parent-Teacher Meeting Invitations," informing everyone that the school would be organizing a parent-teacher meeting in this class after the monthly exam next month.
Guan Nan opened the invitation, which read—
Dear Mr./Ms. Ran Mingju
At the end of the new semester, this term's parent-teacher meeting will be held on Sunday, January 3, 2016, at the main campus of Mingde Building. The meeting will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Please plan your time accordingly and arrive 10 minutes early.
Class 1401, Grade 12, Fuling High School
December 31, 2015
The invitation was long and complicated. Guan Nan glanced at the specific time and place, and quickly skimmed over the other official polite remarks and expressions of gratitude for cooperation.
Banban Tao was very sincere; he filled in all the blank spaces on the invitations with his name.
After reading it, she haphazardly stuffed the invitation into her schoolbag and continued listening to her classmate talk.
But she was still thinking about how to get through this parent-teacher conference, since Ran Mingju's current condition made it impossible for her to attend.
As for Guan Weimin, Guan Nan basically gave him no hope, because when Banban called him last year, he made an excuse about having a meeting and instead took Lin Zhaozhao out for a meal.
"Regarding this New Year's Eve party, although our class sang a chorus, which was just a formality, I still want to give you some encouragement. You all performed very well," the class monitor said with a smile, seemingly unaware of the fight that had just occurred. She continued, "Although we didn't win any awards, we were aiming for them anyway, so it didn't really matter whether we won or not. But your spirit was truly remarkable. Looking at the whole event, no other class was as... unrestrained as you."
The person who was waving the flag and laughing just a second ago suddenly fell silent, waiting to be criticized.
"I understand. At your age, it's okay to be a little crazy. The occasion doesn't matter either; it's just a performance, not a big deal." The teacher paused here, and seeing the class happily about to leave, she became more serious. "I'll let you fool around with everything else, big or small, but fighting is the one thing I don't support. Not only do I not support it, but I'll also criticize you for it."
As soon as she finished speaking, Guan Nan turned her head and glanced at Jiang Li.
Jiang Li kept his head down, his expression unreadable, as if he were obsessed with practicing calligraphy.
The class monitor glanced at him and continued, "You kids are prone to impulsiveness, and your passion and loyalty are commendable. But it's wrong to use that for fighting. The college entrance exam is just around the corner. If something goes wrong, who can take responsibility?"
The entire class of forty-odd students was completely silent.
In closing, the teacher gave them a few more words of advice, reminding them to be careful on their way home from school.
The whole class was freed and started making a ruckus, laughing and playing around.
After this experience, our class, united as one, regardless of gender, has achieved an unprecedented level of harmony and friendship, and has taken a significant step forward together.
"Jiang Li, wanna go to the internet cafe?" Lin Rui was the first to come downstairs and stand at the door of Class 1401.
Jiang Li tidied his desk, swept Guan Nan's sorted items into his schoolbag, placed the snacks he had cleared out on the podium, and said indifferently, "I'm not going."
“If you’re not going, then the two of us will go.” Yu Shu finished packing and slung his schoolbag over his shoulder.
There was no evening self-study session today. Everyone was making plans to hide away somewhere and while away the night, eating and drinking and having a good time.
Some internet-addicted teenagers, like them, make plans to go somewhere to play games.
Guan Nan's mind was currently preoccupied with how to handle the parent-teacher conference.
Completely unaware that Jiang Li was lazily following behind her as she went out with her backpack, she was still in a daze even after leaving the school gate and standing in front of the bus stop.
"Hey." Jiang Li tugged at her, gesturing for her to look, "Are you getting in this car?"
Guan Nan was still a little slow to react. Looking at the numbers on the side with the red light on, she saw that the 813 bus route's final stop was the City Museum.
After a moment of stunned silence, he realized that he was supposed to meet up with Cangyuan, not go to Tangzi Lane.
She had been back at Cangyuan for so long, and she almost got on the wrong bus.
"Oh." Guan Nan turned her head, tilted her face up to look at him, and her gaze fell precisely on the sharp and smooth jawline of his jaw, and below that was his slightly protruding Adam's apple.
She lowered her head somewhat awkwardly and rubbed the pebbles under her feet.
Jiang Li lowered his head, a soft chuckle in his voice: "You've got guts today."
"..." Her cheeks were itchy again. Guan Nan frowned and muttered under her breath, "I've always been very courageous."
Jiang Li had always known that she wasn't as weak as she appeared. No matter how weak a girl in this situation tried to appear or how much she tried to hide her weaknesses and make herself transparent, there were still some things she couldn't conceal.
It can be hurtful, and it can also make the other person think that they are overthinking things.
They can fool people and make them seem very sincere and honest.
They can get into fights, yet feign innocence to clear themselves of any wrongdoing.
Having worked part-time for so long, experiencing both glory and hardship, and enduring years of hardship in a terrible family, how could he possibly be as refined and weak as he appears?
Despite this, they still manage to treat others sincerely, forgive past grievances, and put themselves in others' shoes time and time again.
Just like in front of the office, she took the initiative to tell everyone to identify her as the one who started the fight, and not to mention Chen Aimei, because that would be bad for Chen Aimei and would make things difficult for her.
But no one mentioned Chen Aimei, nor did they push her out.
But this is also good; being able to both restrain and unleash one's sharpness is a good thing for protecting oneself.
Hearing this, Jiang Li found it unusually novel. He smiled slightly and said slowly, "Then, be braver."
The air was silent for a few seconds.
Guan Nan looked at him, somewhat bewildered: "Be braver?"
“Hmm,” Jiang Li said, no longer looking at her, his gaze shifting to the distance. “Be braver.”
Guan Nan pondered for a long time, but didn't understand what he meant by "be braver." She wanted to ask but was too embarrassed to, so she pretended to understand and nodded, replying with "okay."
Not far away, bus number 625 was approaching, at a considerable distance.
Seeing through her half-understanding, Jiang Li didn't expose her, but simply walked a few steps in the direction she was looking.
Immediately afterwards, he called out "Guan Nan," and the two looked at each other across the distance.
Guan Nan was confused.
"Come here." The two were a step apart, Jiang Li casually beckoned with his thumb crossed over the strap of his bag.
Guan Nan lowered her eyes and looked at the distance between them. She had a feeling that he was telling her to take another step closer to him, as if that would bring them closer together.
I don't know what I was thinking for those two seconds.
Jiang Li looked at her.
Guan Nan lowered her head, slowed her movements, and moved closer to him.
Instantly, Jiang Li's lips relaxed, and she smiled so brightly that her eyes sparkled, and she gently tugged at her ponytail.
He looked cheerful and relaxed, and then said, "The car is here."
"Okay." Guan Nan stood an arm's length away from him, her expression hesitant and somewhat annoyed. She turned around, took out her student card, swiped it, and boarded the bus to her seat.
Jiang Li sat beside her, his posture casual and relaxed, seemingly in a very good mood.
He took out his phone, plugged in his earphones, and handed one to her.
Guan Nan naturally took the headphones.
For nearly half a month, the two of them had been going to and from school together for a long time, which gave Guan Nan the illusion that "they seemed to have known each other for a long time" and "they were as tacit as old friends."
But at this moment, she seemed to wake up from a long dream and realize that the two of them had been deskmates for a semester.
What was most difficult to conceal between the two of them was her almost overflowing girlish feelings.
Just like the sentence she tucked inside the cold compress film.
A young girl's heart flutters silently, but if she were to respond one day, it would be as powerful as piercing through clouds and breaking through rocks.
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