When Lin Ziyang heard the teacher call on Wu Fangyi, he guessed that it was probably based on the ranking of grades.
But he didn't expect Wu Fangyi to dare to refuse outright.
Sure enough, they chose him next.
In the first and second grades, boys and girls were indeed seated together, but in the third grade, the teachers did not allow boys and girls to sit together. Boys sat with boys and girls sat with girls.
But this year, an unexpected incident occurred with Shen Qingqing, who is a little kid three years younger than them!
"Lin Ziyang, the teacher wants you to sit with Shen Qingqing. Do you have any objections?" Lin Biquan asked softly.
Lin Ziyang remained silent, shook his head, and dared not voice his opinion.
"Okay, then you'll be sitting next to Qingqing." Lin Biquan was satisfied. "Alright, now let's rearrange the seating order. Everyone whose name is called, please sit in the seats I've told you to sit in."
What followed was a chaotic period of adjusting the seating arrangements.
Because of her short stature, Shen Qingqing was specially arranged to sit in the first row.
However, after arranging the seats, Lin Biquan said, "These positions are temporary. From now on, on the first of each month, the students in the last row will move to the first row, and the students in the first row will move back one row. The students in the back will also move back one row. Do you understand?"
"Understood!" the students answered in unison.
"Okay, now a few boys come with me to the auditorium to move the books." Lin Biquan called out a few names and led them to the auditorium.
As soon as the teacher left, the classroom erupted in excitement.
The most discussed topic was undoubtedly Wu Fangyi's refusal to sit with Shen Qingqing when Lin Biquan called her name.
Shen Qingqing lay on the table, listening listlessly to the chattering around her about Wu Fangyi and her, and sighed helplessly.
Don't resort to conspiracy theories!
They probably just don't want to sit with me because they think I'm just a little kid who doesn't have anything to say!
Unexpectedly, her new deskmate suddenly nudged her.
"Little sister, do you know why Wu Fangyi doesn't want to sit with you?" Lin Ziyang looked at her with a grin.
Shen Qingqing replied blankly, "I don't know."
"She's petty and competitive. She used to be the only one in the class who always won. The teachers flattered her and made her arrogant. You suddenly snatched first place from her. The homeroom teacher even asked her to come and accompany you today. She must hate you to death now..." Lin Ziyang rambled on to Shen Qingqing.
Shen Qingqing was even more confused and couldn't help but ask, "You're not her, how do you know that's what she's thinking? Maybe she just doesn't want to sit with a child like me who's too young?"
Lin Ziyang scoffed, "Little sister, you underestimate the people in our class. You've been classmates with Wu Fangyi for three years, do you think we don't know what kind of person she is?"
Shen Qingqing was helpless.
Lin Ziyang patted her arm again: "Just you wait, she's definitely going to cause you trouble next."
His words piqued Shen Qingqing's interest. "What kind of trouble will she cause me?"
Lin Ziyang shrugged: "Then I don't know, I'm not like her."
Shen Qingqing couldn't help but lift her body and glance at Wu Fangyi.
The class was discussing the two of them, and it was fine as neither of them made a move. But unexpectedly, Shen Qingqing suddenly glanced at Wu Fangyi.
The students, who were watching closely, immediately fell silent.
Even Wu Fangyi noticed something was wrong. When she looked up, she saw Shen Qingqing looking in her direction.
Wu Fangyi saw it but looked away as if she hadn't, and continued chatting with her deskmate.
The other students all leaned back slightly in unison. Wow, what a disdainful attitude!
Shen Qingqing, however, did not sense this subtle feeling. She turned to Lin Ziyang and said, "Look, she didn't even look at me. What could she possibly want from me?"
Lin Ziyang: "..."
"It's okay, you're still young, you don't understand, I'll keep an eye on things for you!"
Shen Qingqing remained silent, not bothering to argue with Lin Ziyang calling himself "brother" in front of her. She simply waved her hand and said, "It's alright, it's alright. Who would bother arguing with a child?"
Lin Ziyang said quietly, "You mean those kids who skipped directly from first grade to fourth grade, who haven't studied English for a year, yet still outperform us kids who have studied it for a year?"
Shen Qingqing opened her mouth, then closed it again.
"But I support you. As long as Wu Fangyi isn't comfortable, I'll be comfortable." Lin Ziyang clenched his fist and pounded his chest twice, as if they were good buddies.
Sensing there was juicy gossip to be had, Shen Qingqing immediately perked up again: "Why? Do you dislike her?"
"Tch, didn't I already say that? Wu Fangyi is petty and competitive. Now let me tell you something else: she also loves to tattle and is very self-righteous!" Lin Ziyang said through gritted teeth.
Shen Qingqing looked at him suspiciously: "What did you do that made her tattle on you?"
Lin Ziyang was taken aback by Shen Qingqing's sudden question. "Well, she saw me smoking outside the school, and she told the teacher the next day. The teacher then told my parents, and they gave me a beating with a belt!"
"Why should she tell the teacher what happened outside of school? It's none of her business!"
Shen Qingqing looked at Lin Ziyang speechlessly: "But it's wrong for a minor to smoke. Even adults smoke, which is harmful to their health."
"I was just trying it out that day! I didn't smoke it afterward, and I even explained it to Wu Fangyi. She nodded to me on the surface, but then she told the teacher. Ugh!" Lin Ziyang was very angry, and he still looked furious when he talked about it.
Shen Qingqing seemed to understand a little. Lin Ziyang had a personal grudge against Wu Fangyi. He saw that Wu Fangyi was now the teacher's darling and the top student in the class. Everyone thought she was a "little genius" and would try to emulate her. So Lin Ziyang wanted to win her over to ostracize Wu Fangyi. Under her influence, other students might also ostracize Wu Fangyi.
"If she hadn't told your parents that time, and you hadn't gotten that beating, you might have secretly started smoking afterwards. But after that beating, taking out a cigarette reminded you of that beating, so you stopped smoking."
Shen Qingqing still felt that Wu Fangyi did the right thing; smoking is harmful to both oneself and others.
"Hey you—" Lin Ziyang was speechless when he saw that Shen Qingqing had actually sided with Wu Fangyi.
“But you’ve stopped smoking now, and Wu hasn’t tattled on you anymore, right?” Shen Qingqing didn’t like playing the role of a confidante, but she didn’t want to have to listen to Lin Ziyang talking badly about Wu Fangyi every day just because she had him as her deskmate.
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