Bully
"Jiajia, prepare yourself a little. There's an early admissions interview for Lanying Middle School next month. Try to go when you have some time." At the dinner table, Fu's mother ladled out a bowl of soup and handed it to Fu Jia.
Fu Jia's hand, which was taking the soup, froze instantly: "Lan Ying Middle School? Early admission? There's still more than half a year until the high school entrance exam!"
“Yes, we’ve already contacted Lan Ying for you. There’s really nothing to prepare; it’s just a formality,” Fu’s mother reassured him.
"No, I won't go to Lan Ying!" Fu Jia said firmly this time.
Mrs. Fu clearly hadn't expected her son to react so strongly. What child wouldn't want to get into a good high school without taking an exam? Especially since Lan Ying High School had the best facilities and top-notch teachers in the entire city. It was just that the tuition was incredibly expensive, and the school was full of children from wealthy and powerful families; some of them had even attended Lan Ying Elementary School all the way up to Lan Ying High School.
Mr. Fu put down his chopsticks and frowned: "Is this how you talk to your mother? Why don't you go to Lan Ying? Di Yue has been studying there since he was a child. He has excellent grades and is more polite than you."
"Just because Di Yue goes, I'll go too? Are you trying to mold me into another Di Yue? I'm going to take the high school entrance exam, and I can go to whichever school I want. You'd better not interfere!"
"You're rebelling again! Have you gotten too used to being a wild child at other schools?!" Mr. Fu's anger flared. Mrs. Fu quickly stepped in to mediate: "Alright, alright, you're arguing before anything's even decided. Jiajia, we're not necessarily sending you to Lanying, but aren't all the kids in the compound studying there? You'll have company with your friends, right? But we won't force you if you don't want to go, unless you get into the city's No. 1 High School. Only No. 1 High School's teachers can rival Lanying's, and the students there are all top-tier and outstanding. You'll have a better environment there, won't you? You choose between Lanying and No. 1 High School; we won't allow you to go to any other school."
"Okay, it'll be No. 1 Middle School in the city then." Fu Jia made the decision.
On the other hand, Xia Tong's family is also worried about Xia Tong's grades.
Xia Tong lowered her head, her voice low but firm: "I don't want to repeat a grade."
Looking at her limp appearance and then at the 70-point test paper in her hand, Xia's mother was filled with disappointment and anger: "With your grades, you didn't even get half of the 150-point math test. What kind of school are you going to get into? Do you think you can just keep going without repeating a grade?" Xia Tong could only lower her head even further.
Mr. Xia was also unhappy with Mrs. Xia yelling at their daughter: "What's the use of yelling like this? Do you want me to get you a megaphone? Tongtong's humanities subjects are not bad, her Chinese is excellent, her English is above average, and her politics and history are very good. It's just that her science subjects are too bad. Otherwise, I'll find a few teachers to tutor you and help you work harder in this area."
Xia Tong nodded repeatedly as she listened: she was really afraid of repeating a grade, afraid of the unfamiliar new students, afraid of being ridiculed by her old classmates, afraid of the strange looks from her teachers, and afraid of having to go back to the third year of junior high school.
Junior high students in grades 7 and 8 often find grade 9 terrifying, like grade 12 compared to grade 11, or senior year compared to junior year. It's really just a matter of not wanting to face the challenges ahead. Days pass one by one. Once you get used to the busier life and more frequent exams, it doesn't feel so scary. After all, no one's forcing you to go through hell and high water. You can chat after class, and at most, you can correct your test papers. Xia Tong usually spends her breaks either daydreaming or correcting her test papers. Firstly, her deskmate doesn't talk to her, and secondly—there are just too many questions on the test papers that need correcting!
Recently, the math teacher noticed that Fu Jia's papers had become very neat, and her problem-solving processes were no longer as jumpy as before, but very detailed. Such correct and standardized papers were a breath of fresh air for the teacher, who was already overwhelmed with grading papers, so Fu Jia's papers were displayed many times. Xia Tong also noticed that after each display, Fu Jia would throw her paper on her desk and command, "Look at the problem-solving steps on my paper, understand them, and then do it yourself!"
Xia Tong loathed his condescending tone and his constant criticism of her test paper. What girl doesn't have self-respect? What girl wants her ugly test paper to be openly discussed? Just because Fu Jia didn't treat Xia Tong like a stranger didn't mean Xia Tong considered him a confidante. She angrily tossed Fu Jia's test paper aside, deliberately refusing to look at it, but Fu Jia wouldn't allow her to "degrade herself" like that, so he insisted on coming over and explaining the questions to her.
The first to erupt was Xia Tong's deskmate, Wu Mengmeng. At first, she made a few sarcastic remarks, then she started to mock and ridicule, and finally she went to the homeroom teacher to complain about the two of them, accusing them of being too close to each other!
The homeroom teacher promptly called Fu Jia, a student he was focusing on developing, to the office: "Fu Jia, I've heard from some classmates that you've been getting quite close to some girls lately!"
"You mean Xia Xiaotong?!"
The homeroom teacher was taken aback by his quick confession, having initially intended to take a more tactful approach. So she cleared her throat and said, "Well, it's good that you know. It's normal to have feelings for the opposite sex during puberty, but the final year of junior high is a special stage. If you let these youthful infatuations ruin your studies, then..."
"Teacher, do you think my grades will drop because of relationship issues?" Fu Jia asked before the homeroom teacher could finish his long speech.
"Well... I still have full faith in you on this point..." The homeroom teacher was speechless for a moment.
"Then, teacher, do you think Xia Xiaotong's grades can drop further?" Fu Jia asked again.
"You can't say that..." The homeroom teacher began to speak with some difficulty. Why was this child so difficult to deal with?
"Teacher, I have been helping Xia Xiaotong with her studies because with her current grades, she needs my supervision and help to get into the No. 1 Middle School in the city."
"The No. 1 High School of the City?! Xia Tong wants to get into the No. 1 High School of the City?" The homeroom teacher was very surprised. Indeed, with Xia Tong's current grades, setting such a goal was too unrealistic.
"No, it's because I'm taking the entrance exam for the No. 1 High School in the city, so Xia Xiaotong has to come with me."
The homeroom teacher sighed: "You're in a relationship, so what? And you act like it's perfectly normal! You're in a relationship, so what? And you're so chauvinistic!"
"So teacher, could you move Xia Tong to sit next to me? That way I can tutor her more easily."
"Well... let me think about it carefully before I say anything." Are kids this open about dating these days?
"Teacher, this concerns Xia Xiaotong's future and my future with her. You must consider this carefully, otherwise we will regret it for the rest of our lives!"
"Fine, they're even using my future to pressure me!" The homeroom teacher was exasperated: "Alright, alright, you can go back now."
"Teacher, please don't think about it for too long. The high school entrance exam is just around the corner!" Fu Jiazhan earnestly advised him.
"Alright, you're getting cocky, aren't you? Go back to the classroom and study!" The homeroom teacher stood up, pretended to be impatient, and pushed Fu Jia's shoulder, then herded Fu Jia back to the classroom like a duck.
Soon after, Fu Jia obtained guardianship of Xia Tong from both the teacher and Xia's mother. Fu Jia sat next to Xia Tong in class, explained problems to her after class, and even went to Xia Tong's house on weekends to tutor her. So, whether it was during school or holidays, Xia Tong lived under Fu Jia's constant fear.
Most parents wouldn't allow other boys to get too close to their daughters, but Xia's mother absolutely treated Fu Jia like an honored guest: where else could you find a boy who came from a good family, was good-looking, had good grades, and was willing to tutor her daughter? Even if the two children developed some kind of ambiguous feelings for each other, she would be happy to see it happen.
This Saturday, Fu Jia came to tutor Xia Tong. After inspecting Xia Tong's room, Fu Jia concluded, "Too childish." Then she sat down, picked up the orange juice that Xia's mother had just brought her, took a sip, frowned slightly, and then resumed her nonchalant, deadpan demeanor.
I noticed a photo album on the table by chance. The cover showed Xia Tong as a child wearing a ballet outfit, but she didn't have the aloof and ethereal air of a ballet dancer. Instead, she smiled sweetly and adorably.
"Don't touch that!" Xia Tong, who had been standing to the side, suddenly lunged forward, shielding the photo album with her body to block Fu Jia's outstretched hand. Fu Jia twisted her arm, grabbed Xia Tong's waist, pulled her onto her lap, and pinched her ear: "Why can't I look at it? Do you have secrets from me, little girl?"
Xia Tong was utterly astonished that Fu Jia would act so intimately in such a blatant manner. This was her home! How dare he?! She struggled to get up, but the height difference between Fu Jia and Xia Tong was now apparent. Fu Jia easily restrained her writhing body, pulling her into his arms and kissing her. His moist, warm lips kissed her slightly flushed cheek, and Xia Tong instantly quieted down, afraid to move again.
Fu Jia rested her chin on Xia Tong's shoulder, hugged her from behind, and flipped through the photo album. The first picture was of Xia Tong wearing a princess dress, holding up the hem with both hands, smiling sweetly and adorably at the camera. Fu Jia turned to look at Xia Tong, who was nestled in her arms, then looked at the photo again: "Hmm, she was cuter when she was little. She doesn't smile as much now that she's grown up." Then, Fu Jia, still not satisfied, pinched Xia Tong's chin and turned her to face her, teasingly saying, "Come on, smile."
Xia Tong slapped Fu Jia's hand away and turned away, ignoring him. Fu Jia wrinkled his nose, not caring, and continued flipping through the photo album in his hand, muttering to himself as he flipped through it, "See? She's definitely not as cute as she was when she was little."
Suddenly Xia Tong struggled again and said anxiously in Fu Jia's ear, "Let me go! My mother is going upstairs!" She usually pretended to read a book while listening to the sounds at the bottom of the stairs, and now she was quite adept at it.
Fu Jia then took advantage of the situation, saying, "Give me a kiss and I'll let you go."
Xia Tong felt like dying at that moment. If her mother saw her sitting in a boy's lap... she dared not and could not think any further. She quickly gave Fu Jia a light, fleeting kiss.
"Mouth." Fu Jia smiled and pointed at his lips with his finger, his shameless manner making him look incredibly irritating.
Faced with this kind of person, Xia Tong had no choice but to accept her fate. She quickly kissed him on the lips, then immediately sat on the stool next to him, pretending to do her homework while her heart pounded. Fu Jia finally got what he wanted and stopped, satisfied.
Sure enough, the next second Xia's mother brought in a few peaches: "Here, have some peaches, they're freshly washed."
Fu Jia readily agreed, took a peach, and smiled, saying, "Thank you, Auntie."
At this moment, Xia's mother asked suspiciously, "Tongtong, why are your ears so red? What happened?"
"I'm sorry, Auntie. I think I put too much pressure on her, and she's having some trouble adjusting," Fu Jia said apologetically.
"It's alright, it's alright. How can we not feel some pressure at a time like this? Pressure makes us more motivated! Are you free next Sunday? Why don't you come earlier? Auntie will cook something delicious for you."
"Sure, of course."
Xia Tong, who was lying on the side, suddenly felt like crying.
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I haven't been able to log into my Jinjiang account for three or four days in a row, and I feel like crying. The first four chapters were updated by my editor and friends. I've been on Jinjiang for ten days, and I haven't been able to log in for four of them ┭┮ ﹏ ┭┮ Is my luck really that bad?! Fellow readers, please come out and chat! A few words of criticism would be nice, but praise would be even better, lol. I'm afraid JJ will malfunction again tomorrow, so I'll only put the drafts in my archive tonight when I can log in... Finally, thank you to Qianqian Illustration Shop for making the cover! Hehe, isn't it cute~~~~~~
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