137 tuition fee
Li Wei's stiff expression was only for a moment, and her two roommates, who didn't know her well, didn't even notice it.
Quickly calming herself down, Li Wei cleared her throat and began to read aloud from the letter: "Good morning, teachers and students. I am Li Wei from Class 2, Grade 11. Today, my speech is titled 'Studying for the Rise of China.' In the summer of 1910, our great motherland's future..."
Gao Jin, who had been observing Li Wei closely, noticed a strange phenomenon: every three to five sentences, Li Wei would habitually pat the microphone's head, like patting a puppy. Every ten or eight sentences, a few words would become unclear and indistinct. If he weren't right across from Li Wei, he would have suspected the microphone was malfunctioning again.
As Li Wei's speech was about to end, Gao Jin slowly approached with his water glass, wanting to see how well Li Wei wrote her handwriting. He stood behind Li Wei, took a sip of water, and looked down at the speech manuscript.
puff!
Li Wei had just finished saying, "That concludes my speech for today, thank you..." when a light rain suddenly poured down, soaking the speech manuscript in her hand.
Li Wei turned around angrily: "Who! You...you want to live...?"
Gao Jin, who was always particular about his appearance, wiped his mouth with his sleeve while holding the water glass, and pointed at Li Wei with his other finger: "You..."
Cough cough... You... cough cough... Your face is red and your neck is thick, you're choking on water and can't speak a complete sentence.
The station manager turned off the switch and looked at Gao Jin with a strange expression. What was wrong? Was something amiss? He hadn't seen Gao Jin so out of sorts before. Curious, he walked over and patted Gao Jin's back while glancing at the speech draft in Li Wei's hand—the very thing Gao Jin had been pointing at, unable to speak.
As a result, he froze.
Li Wei, oblivious to everything, shook the manuscript paper in her hands. She was still complaining, "Look, look, look! How could I be so careless? I've gotten it all wet!"
Gao Jin had caught his breath. He leaned forward and snatched the manuscript paper. He checked once again to make sure his eyesight wasn't failing him. On it, neatly written, were the words:
This week's menu: Monday: Braised eggplant, pan-fried yellow croaker, vegetarian shredded vegetables, celery and peanut salad with pork ribs, winter melon soup; Tuesday: Steamed pork tendon...
At the very end of the recipe, there's a drawing of a chubby panda eating bamboo.
Two boys—
Li Wei rubbed her hands a little embarrassedly: "Hehe. Well, it's like this. I accidentally took the wrong form. You see, I was worried that your work would fall apart, so I had to grit my teeth and finish the speech. And look, everyone's reaction was negative, which means it was a success. Yes, a success!"
Seeing that they didn't react, Li Wei carefully took back the weekly menu she had given to Aunt Gao: "You two are busy, you two are busy, I won't bother you anymore, let's... bye-bye." She quickly turned and slipped away.
After Li Wei left with the recipe, Gao Jin and the station director sat facing each other listlessly for a while before suddenly realizing, "No wonder she kept tapping the microphone and making strange noises. So that's why..."
Before the two could exchange more than a few words, the school's head of general affairs entered. Adjusting his glasses, he said, "The principal just spoke to me. He said your radio equipment is indeed quite old and needs replacing. It's hard to hear the lectures clearly, and there's static. I wanted to ask what's wrong; it was working fine a few days ago. Perhaps the student giving the lecture today didn't understand it? Didn't I tell you not to let laymen handle it so casually…?"
Gao Jin and the station director exchanged a glance, especially the station director, whose face lit up with delight. They both shook their heads in unison. The station director said, "Director, the student who gave the speech was quite good, with clear and accurate pronunciation. It's just that the equipment is too old, which is why the effect isn't good. I told you this before, but you didn't believe me. Even if the principal and the others were on the playground, we two sitting so close inside the room couldn't hear him clearly. It was so loud, like mosquitoes were buzzing in our ears, right, Gao Jin?"
Gao Jin nodded solemnly: "Yes, the station director is right. My ears are still ringing. The student who gave the speech just now couldn't stand the noise and left early. Director, you should consider changing the equipment. This is not good for our health."
The two worked together, and the director, who had been criticized by the principal today, frowned and said, "If it's really not worth repairing, then replace it. I'll go back and study it some more."
After the director left, Gao Jin and the station manager sat back down in their chairs, stared at each other for a moment, and then burst into loud laughter while leaning on the table.
Actually, Li Wei was also helpless. She didn't know what had happened, but she had actually used the menu she had written during the morning self-study session as her speech. Luckily, she had written the speech herself and had carefully reviewed it in the morning, otherwise it would have been a real problem. Even so, she only remembered about 60 or 70 percent of it, and for the remaining 30 or 40 percent, she just patted the microphone and mumbled vaguely to get by.
She herself didn't think much of it; after all, there probably weren't many people who could listen attentively to a speech and understand it clearly—it was mostly just a formality. But she didn't expect to scare the young gambling god and the station manager.
Oh dear, the poor kids, I wonder how they are doing? Will the school leaders arrest them and hold them accountable for not maintaining the equipment properly?
Li Wei was unaware that she had indirectly done the school radio station a huge favor; the station director and his colleagues were more than grateful to her, and the problem of outdated equipment was solved—
Li Wei returned to the classroom in a good mood, took out a handkerchief from her schoolbag to wipe her hands and face, wondering if Gao Jin had any bird flu. She would wash her hands in the water room after class; she felt really uncomfortable.
After the morning classes ended, Luo Da went home for lunch as usual. Ding Anni didn't come today; she probably ate too much oily food yesterday and wanted something lighter from the cafeteria. Li Lianhui came back earlier because his fourth period was PE. Li Wei and Luo Da started eating as soon as they got back.
Because of Li Wei's prior notice, Aunt Gao prepared a generous amount of food. After Li Wei finished eating, she sat there eating fruit and looked at Luo Da, who hadn't finished eating. She thought to herself that this guy was really wasting food and not doing any work. He hadn't taught her a single move of kung fu, yet he had eaten a lot of food. So she said, "When can I go to the martial arts school for lessons? Don't tell me you're just trying to fool me again."
Luo Da looked up at her and said, "Wednesday." It's still uncertain whether she can keep up with her studies, so why the rush?
Li Wei continued eating fruit, when suddenly a question occurred to her: "Should I pay for this? Isn't it your business?" Consider it payment for your meal; you're worth the equivalent of three of my family's income.
Luo Da didn't even look up: "You decide what to pay." He just loves to take advantage of others. Why would he take your money when others won't? It's pointless.
"Huh?" Li Wei threw down the fruit in her hand and looked at Luo Da. "You're so heartless! You're asking for more than you're charging? This is way more shady than charging. This is my whole life savings. How can you give me less than you deserve?"
Seeing that Li Wei was a little unhappy, Luo Da, who had also finished eating, put down his chopsticks and found a comfortable spot to lean back: "I think you should pay the tuition, and try to pay as much as possible, to set an example for those who don't like to pay tuition, like my dad has some friends who do. Otherwise, in the long run, it will be difficult for the martial arts school to stay open, don't you think?"
Damn it, people really do get cunning when they grow up. Luo Da used to be such a simple and honest kid, never caring about food or clothes. Now look at him, all he knows is how to swindle money. And the power of example? Why doesn't he let others be his role models? And he's afraid of losing money? Who told your family to make such a big mess of a tutoring center!
Li Wei stared at Luo Da, and no matter how she looked at him, he didn't seem to be joking. She couldn't help but sneer inwardly, "This lady may not have much else, but she has plenty of money. I don't owe you any favors, humph! I'll pay!"
Luo Da, who was always decisive, immediately asked Li Wei to pay the money, saying it was for a reservation spot. There were many people wanting to learn, so there was a limit to the number of people. Li Wei didn't waste any more words with him and went back to her room to get her living expenses for Luo Da.
Luo Da accepted it very naturally, and even counted it, which annoyed Li Wei. "You little brat, would I lie about it? Look at your petty mind, I never knew you were like that before! You're so short, how can you even supply blood to your whole body?"
Wednesday arrived quickly, and Luo Da kept his promise. After school, he ate at her house again and then drove to pick up the three siblings and take them to the martial arts gym.
Li Lianhui had decided to learn it a long time ago, and Li Lin had also considered it before, but after these days, she had wavered a bit. Today, she just went along to see what was going on.
On the bus, Li Wei really wanted to ask if the tuition was for all three siblings or just for her. But then she thought, if it was for all three, there was no need to ask; if it was just for her, it wouldn't remind Luo Da, so she decided not to meddle.
When Li Wei and her group arrived, several other trainees were already there. They were all students, and some of them looked like elementary school students to Li Wei. They were quite young.
New students with no prior experience are all gathered in a training room. The room has a light wood floor, a glass mirror on one wall, bright lighting, and snow-white walls with several inspirational paintings and calligraphy hanging on them. The environment is clean and tidy.
Luo Da abandoned the two sisters and disappeared with Li Lianhui. The coach hadn't arrived yet, so Li Wei and Li Lin found a corner to sit and wait.
As new students arrived one after another, Li Wei was surprised to find several familiar faces: Song Xuejiao, the busty girl from Zhou Xiaoyan's class; Cai Lianhua from her own class; and even Cousin Zhong had come.
Especially when Cousin Zhong came in, Li Wei, who was talking to Song Xuejiao and Cai Lianhua, felt an uncomfortable gaze fall on her, as if she were an enemy.
Li Wei thought to herself, "I haven't even confronted you about the infringement of my portrait rights yet, and you still dare to complain about me? What kind of humanity is that!"
However, Li Wei soon became worried. Her cousin Zhong had also come to learn fighting techniques and was in the same class as her. Looking at her appearance, she was clearly on the same level as Li Lin and Zhou Xiaoyan. If the coach ever had a chance to conduct a real sparring session, it would be better if they didn't run into each other. But looking at Zhong's character, if they did run into each other, she would definitely suffer a bit!
Li Wei thought about it more and more and more likely. This woman looked like a femme fatale. She was not as good as her in terms of natural endowment. What should she do?
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