Chapter 29 Chapter 29
Ren Li stared at the glass curtain wall light strip in the distance for a long time before turning her gaze back.
"How did you know this place?" she asked with a hint of surprise.
"It's nothing. The No. 4 Middle School campus is so small. You'll know after a while." Wen Shuo said calmly.
"Oh right." Ren Li seemed to have remembered something. "Although I shouldn't be the one to say this to you, I still want to say 'thank you' on behalf of Zhang Xintong."
"No need to thank me. Zhang Xintong passed the interview entirely due to her ability," Wen Shuo said. "I just went to see Lu Rendong and chatted for a while."
So that's how it is. Now Ren Li finally has no worries.
"But Zhang Xintong is at the radio station. Next time you want to listen to a song, just ask her to play it for you," said Wen Shuo.
"I can't be like you and abuse my power for personal gain." Ren Li shook her head.
Wen Shuo: "Oh, you can even use idioms now."
Ren Li was not to be outdone: "Of course, I listen to Chinese class much more seriously than you do."
…
The two chatted for a while, and then evening self-study was about to begin.
No matter how beautiful the scenery, it's fleeting. Even Cinderella must return to reality at the stroke of midnight. Once you get off the rooftop, you're still that high school senior who needs to study hard and strive for progress every day.
Ren Li checked her phone several times before saying, "Let's go back. Class is almost starting."
The wind picked up on the rooftop, but Wen Shuo didn't seem to have the slightest intention of returning. Gazing at the flashing neon lights in the distance, he said, "Perhaps you could choose to rebel for once."
"Huh?" Ren Li looked up, her face full of question marks.
Wen Shuo: "Perhaps you don't need to worry about so many school rules and regulations. Some things aren't necessarily dangerous things to avoid. You won't know unless you try. It won't affect your studies."
Ren Li had no idea what Wen Shuo was referring to: "But if I don't go back for evening study, Teacher He will catch me. Of course, it doesn't matter to you, but I can't."
"It's really getting late." She added, but before she finished speaking, she suddenly sneezed loudly without any warning, "Ah-chu——"
Wen Shuo's thoughts were interrupted. Ren Li, standing before him, covered her mouth with one hand while frantically searching her school uniform pockets for a tissue with the other, trying to make up for it. "I'm fine."
She finally found a tissue, sniffed her nose, and seemed to shiver again, "It's so cold here."
Wen Shuo forgot what he had just said. It was dark and windy, and he began to regret bringing her here.
He sighed silently and buried the thoughts in his heart: "Forget it, let's go back to the classroom."
"Okay, but let's hurry up, otherwise we'll be really late," said Ren Li.
On the way to the classroom, she wanted to chat with Wen Shuo again, but Wen Shuo seemed to have returned to his cold and aloof look, not wanting to chat.
Ren Li swallowed all her words. Fortunately, she wasn't late for evening study. Wen Shuo had simply returned with her. After a moment, he picked up his backpack and walked out of the classroom as usual.
Zhang Xintong missed most of the classes. Before the end of the first evening self-study get out of class, she finally slipped in through the back door. As soon as she sat down, she couldn't wait to share her joy with her good friends.
"Lili, I passed the interview!" she said in a low voice.
Ren Li's eyes curved up, and she replied in the same low voice, "Congratulations! I knew you'd be fine!"
The two of them held hands under the table and shook them happily. Although they couldn't say much, they could read each other's joy from their expressions.
Ren Li was truly happy for Zhang Xintong.
But besides her joy, she inexplicably thought of Zhou Qi and couldn't help feeling a little worried.
Sure enough, after class, after getting his phone back, the first thing Zhang Xintong did was to compose a short message and send it to Zhou Qi:
Xiao Wutong [Hey, I passed the interview]
Xiao Wutong [To show your sincerity for not being here today, you have to treat me to a meal?]
She put down her phone and waited for a long time, but there was no reply from the other party. Seeing that class was about to start again, Zhang Xintong was a little anxious. In boredom, she clicked on Zhou Qi's avatar and saw Zhou Qi's latest circle of friends.
An hour ago, Zhou Qi updated a status.
In the dark sky, fireworks bloomed lonely. Above this picture, Zhou Qi added a text:
"She refused. Failed again, brothers, it doesn't matter, my life motto is to try again next time~"
That status seemed to have a hidden meaning, no matter how obscure it was, but girls' sixth sense was always accurate.
It’s not that Zhang Xintong hasn’t thought about the fact that “Zhou Qi has a girl he likes”. She is not stupid. Having been friends with Zhou Qi for so long, she would not have failed to notice any clues.
She once thought she could face anything related to Zhou Qi, but when that day finally arrived, she suddenly realized that she was also a person with self-esteem. She could still be caught off guard by the sound of heartbreak.
Ren Li felt that her side suddenly became quiet for a second. She turned her head and saw Zhang Xintong holding up her cell phone with red eyes.
-
This autumn is finally over.
As a cold front passed, the temperature dropped sharply and heavy rain fell one after another.
The monthly exams had unknowingly arrived. After the baptism of the last one, Ren Li felt less anxious. Meanwhile, the study group's weekend cram school hadn't gone on as planned. Ren Li still hadn't fully understood the reason, but one week, Zhang Xintong and Zhou Qi simultaneously withdrew.
Only Ren Li and Wen Shuo were present that day. Zhang Xintong sent a message saying that he would not need tutoring in the future, and then he left the group chat. Shortly afterwards, Zhou Qi also left the group.
Ren Li held the phone, looked up at Wen Shuo and asked, "What should I do?"
And Wen Shuo just replied, "Don't worry about it."
Ren Li had a vague feeling that Zhang Xintong and Zhou Qi might have had a quarrel, to the point that they didn't even want to see each other and had even left their shared group. She didn't ask any further questions, but what happened next seemed to confirm this idea.
At school, Zhang Xintong no longer spoke to Zhou Qi; no longer walked around in circles just to pass by his desk; no longer mentioned Zhou Qi during class conversations; and no longer even went to the basketball court after class.
Later, because the original intention of the study group was also for Zhang Xintong, and Ren Li felt it was strange to be alone with Wen Shuo all day, the group study plan was abandoned. The following week was the monthly exam, and everything was in chaos, so Ren Li didn't have the extra energy to think about Zhang Xintong and Zhou Qi.
For this monthly exam, Ren Li finally had her own real exam room. Although it wasn't as prestigious as Class 1, at least she didn't have to be in Class 20 this time.
When browsing the seating chart of the examination room the day before the exam, looking at the unshakable first place, Ren Li couldn't help but sigh silently again, what kind of creature is Wen Shuo, and how on earth does he manage to appear in the most conspicuous position every time.
That position represents honor, it is unattainable, and it is a height that Ren Li cannot reach no matter how hard she tries.
But even so, Ren Li secretly made up her mind: she would work hard. Although she could not be as dazzling as Wen Shuo, at least one day, she would have her own place in the classroom of Grade 3 (1).
That night after the monthly exam, the atmosphere in the classroom finally relaxed considerably. The evening self-study session began with the papers being handed out, and Ren Li was still the same, her red annotations standing out.
Wen Shuo's test paper was circulated throughout the class as usual. He wasn't in the evening study session today, but Ren Li knew he was in school right now because she had always run into him on the school bus after school.
After the monthly exam, the seating chart was rearranged as usual. This time, Ren Li and Wen Shuo were placed a significant distance apart.
The two went from seeing each other every day to meeting each other twice a day on the school bus.
Wen Shuo was still the same as before, aloof and unapproachable on one hand, but on the other hand, he still chatted with Ren Li during the ten minutes on the school bus.
But the topic always ended up being about studying. Sometimes Ren Li would wonder if it was because she always brought up the topic of studying, but she really didn't know what to talk about with Wen Shuo, because every time they talked about daily life, the atmosphere always had a subtle illusion.
The days passed uneventfully. Page after page of the calendar turned, and although her academic performance improved somewhat, at No. 4 Middle School, Ren Li encountered a difficult obstacle: her weekly physical education class.
Although she has no athletic talent, she is good at running and other things, but she always "stumbles" in basketball class.
In Friday's physical education class, she was once again caught by the physical education teacher. This time, although it wasn't a spot-up shot, it was a more difficult three-step layup.
The PE teacher gave the lesson as usual, then divided everyone into groups for practice and continued to check on their learning. Perhaps because her movements were too conspicuous in the crowd, the PE teacher remembered the fair-skinned girl with a ponytail and called her name again.
In the end, Ren Li's indescribable layup successfully made everyone laugh. Even Zhang Xintong, who was standing next to her, couldn't help but burst out laughing.
This incident upset Ren Li for a long time, so on the school bus in the evening, Ren Li unconsciously mentioned the morning physical education class again. She even felt that she might need to go out and sign up for a separate basketball class.
"Is this the one?" After hearing this, Wen Shuo even took out his cell phone and showed Ren Li the photo she "casually" took during the physical education class.
Ren Li leaned over to take a look, and her vision went dark in an instant: "You..."
It was the first time she saw herself shooting in front of others, and she was so embarrassed that her toes were about to dig into the ground.
Wen Shuo put away his phone. "Really? I think this is almost the limit of human ability. I've never seen anyone shoot a basketball like this before."
Ren Li was so angry.
To be honest, Wen Shuo can be really annoying sometimes.
"Then I'll definitely sign up for basketball class," Ren Li said. "Just wait, I'll definitely get straight A's on the final exam."
"You have more reliable options," Wen Shuo said. "For example, consider treating me to a meal. I can teach you."
At this time, the school bus was about to arrive at the station, and Ren Li suddenly had an idea. Since Wen Shuo offered to teach her, he must be confident in his basketball skills.
The more he wanted to "show off" his ball skills, but Ren Li just wanted to make Wen Shuo anxious again today.
So she didn't respond to his words, and quickly replied "Goodbye" before getting off the car, and ran away like a flash.
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