Chapter 2: Not About Love That Requires Looking Down on Others
The corridor outside the classroom is spacious and spotless.
Today, however, the place was packed with students, all eagerly watching the spectacle and cheering.
All eyes were drawn to a handsome young man, his white striped shirt clinging to his defined muscles. He braced himself against the wall, blocking a girl who was about to leave through the classroom door.
"Brother Zhao! What's wrong? Is it not working?"
"Hahaha, Brother Zhao, don't be a coward, just go for it!"
The students around them laughed and joked.
Jingyun International School is attended by students from affluent families.
Compared to other schools at the same high school level, Jingyun's teaching philosophy leans more towards allowing students to showcase themselves in different aspects, which means that most of them do not have the pressure of the upcoming college entrance examination or the self-discipline required.
But it's clear that this boy with the confident smile is being too unrestrained in expressing himself.
He ignored the jeers from those around him, simply reaching out to brush a strand of hair behind the girl's ear, and lowering his head slightly. "It's just about making friends, can you not be so cold? Just give me some face, okay?"
"You only transferred here when it was almost the end of the semester, so it's going to be hard for you to fit in."
"I've always been happy to help others, so Meng, how about I take you for a drive after school, hmm?"
Meng Er calmly turned his face to the other side, and strands of hair slipped from his hand.
"Sorry, I'm not interested."
The boy rubbed his fingertips together, missed the grab, and smiled nonchalantly, "But I'm very interested in you."
At this age, teenagers have boundless energy, so his feelings for the new transfer student weren't exactly love at first sight; it was more like lust at first sight.
Jingyun University admits many students through special programs, as it needs to ensure a high college entrance rate.
However, the special admissions students, who are only admitted near the end of the first semester of their senior year, are unique in recent years.
She kept a low profile; in the week since she transferred, she attended only a handful of classes. Although Jingyun is known as a prestigious academy, the student self-governance system, where the school delegates authority to the student council, actually makes the students more disciplined.
Unless there is a special reason, even he wouldn't dare to skip class casually.
The boy wasn't very interested in this special admission program at first. There were plenty of eccentric people in the school, and those who were capable but didn't violate principles couldn't make a ripple.
The problem is, this specially admitted student is fucking gorgeous.
After playing basketball in the afternoon, he was full of energy and his heart was pounding. He met her as soon as he walked in the door.
The girl with long, straight black hair had a cold and beautiful appearance. She looked at him with calm and indifferent eyes, as if she were looking at a dog. She had a calm and aloof temperament. When she saw him standing at the door for a long time without moving, she finally said, "Excuse me, may I pass?"
A man from a wealthy family, who has no worries about his future, naturally launches a pursuit.
But the other party's attitude towards him never changed in the slightest; they were neither angry nor annoyed, and they were not moved in the slightest.
Moreover, it's difficult to create opportunities for her, and she's often nowhere to be seen.
Helpless, the boy, who was so anxious about her, decided to block her at the classroom door before the start of the school-wide assembly that all students had to attend.
Meng Er coldly observed the boy's confident expression, her heart remaining perfectly calm.
In her eyes, such an outspoken teenager was incredibly naive, but when she agreed to transfer to this school because of the generous conditions offered by Jingyun School, she was prepared to deal with all the turmoil.
"What are you all doing gathered here? The school assembly is about to start, why aren't you all going to the auditorium?"
A teacher's voice came from not far down the spacious corridor, causing a slight commotion among the crowd.
"Where is Meng Er... What are you all crowding around here for?" another teacher's voice rang out.
"Teacher! Meng Er is chatting and making friends with other students!"
But these kinds of gossip events, which are not uncommon but always attract attention, are more important. The students, gathered in small groups, remained still, and one of them even chuckled and replied to the teacher.
Seeing that the boy was getting impatient waiting for a response, and was about to touch her face again and say something, Meng Er suddenly made a move.
She took the other person's hand, and in comparison, her own hand was much more slender and delicate.
After a slight pause, the boy's smile turned excited. Meng Er tightened her grip and pinned his hand between her thumb and forefinger.
“First of all, I’m not interested in your looks.” Her cold eyes swept over the boy, from his face to his chest, before a very slight smile curved her lips.
For a moment, the boy felt extremely uncomfortable; his smile became stiff and unnatural, and he subconsciously wanted to pull his hand back.
Meng Er also let go of his hand. "Secondly, I'm not interested in relationships that require you to constantly look down on others. You're not good enough yet. Just lying on your parents' shoulders makes you so smug. I think you're still a bit immature."
"Finally, here's a piece of sincere advice: don't use these tricks when pursuing girls next time, they're too cheesy."
Pushing the stunned boy aside, the girl stood tall and straight, her expression natural as she walked through the crowd to meet her teacher who had come looking for her, even under the undisguised gazes of those around her.
The other person knew what had happened, but seeing that the girl's expression was normal, he thought for a moment and simply nodded, letting her follow him.
After she walked away behind the teacher, the crowd seemed to realize what had happened and burst into laughter.
Compared to the mutual attraction and reciprocation, the dramatic outcome of such a slap in the face and rejection is certainly more welcome to them.
For these privileged teenagers, boys are their peers.
A special admission student from an ordinary background is like a beautiful sports car or a limited edition bag—an item. It may have features that attract them, but ultimately it's something that can be obtained by spending money, whether through bribery or coercion.
Such a cold rejection only adds a lot of fun.
"Brother Zhao, can you tolerate this?"
He was just a transfer student admitted through special admissions; at worst, he was just academically outstanding.
He snapped out of his daze, took a breath, and then smiled nonchalantly. "A week? Or three days? Just wait and see, I'll still win her over."
His nonchalant yet confident attitude drew laughter from the audience.
Some girls exchanged glances silently, thinking that what the special admission student said was... absolutely right!
The crowd that had gathered to watch the spectacle quickly dispersed in twos and threes, and as they walked down the three stairwells from the teaching building, their discussion shifted from the farce to the school-wide assembly to come.
"I wonder who will be the student representative for the senior class this year."
"Chu Sijun, right? He won the gold medal in the math competition and was interviewed as a model student last month. Shouldn't we let him speak on stage this time?"
"I think it's Deng Ruyue. If it's not my goddess speaking, I'll directly accuse her of rigging the scandal."
"There are too many big shots in our graduating class. My dad told me that they even held a board meeting, which is hilarious. In the end, the principal made the final decision on the candidates."
"Do you know who it is?"
"I know, he must be a really awesome person!"
"What you said makes sense, but it's as if you didn't say anything at all."
Despite its renowned reputation and the presence of children from prominent and wealthy families, Jingyun School is not the spoiled, unruly place that outsiders perceive it to be.
The school insists that students' excellence is not only reflected in their exam scores, but also in their special talents in sports, arts, and other fields.
Even students who are confident enough and eager to express themselves are equally excellent.
Therefore, Jingyun's students not only study academic subjects, but also receive various extracurricular education.
These courses, which the specially admitted students only learned about after arriving at Jingyun, were hobbies and pastimes that the wealthy students had already been exposed to and understood.
Their English scores may not be as outstanding as those of the specially admitted students, but while the specially admitted students are still worrying about the cost of a training camp, they are already sitting in first class on airplanes, flying abroad to travel, making foreign friends, and speaking the language of the country they may not be fluent in.
For them, grades don't mean anything; only those who are both excellent and fun-loving are worthy of their admiration.
Jingyun International School has more than one auditorium, but only one can be called the Great Hall. The main auditorium can accommodate 5,000 people and is located on the south side of the campus, far from other teaching buildings. Students need to take a school bus to get there.
Upon entering the auditorium, even the most arrogant and unruly students became more restrained.
The student council members responsible for maintaining order at the scene were all outstanding individuals, and their influence on restraint was far greater than that of teachers and elders.
After the routine speeches by teachers and staff, it was time for student representatives to speak.
Student representatives from grades 10 and 11 took turns walking onto the stage to give speeches as the host introduced their resumes.
Although they look somewhat young and inexperienced, one can already glimpse their confidence and composure in the face of thousands of people.
"Next, please welcome a representative from the senior high school class to the stage—"
The host spoke clearly and skillfully recounted the student representative's shining achievements.
Gold medals in chemistry and mathematics competitions; qualified for the national training team with first place; guaranteed admission to a top-tier university; represented the national team in an international competition in July; gold medal in the junior group of the International Debate Competition…
As the host recounted each achievement, the previously quiet auditorium, which held thousands of people, was suddenly filled with whispers and murmurs.
The student representatives who had initially confidently declared that they would be people they knew were now looking at each other suspiciously, disregarding the bets and arguments they had just made.
The words "Who is it?" kept popping up from the seats, becoming clearer and clearer.
Then, a slender figure, unfamiliar to most people, appeared in the audience and walked slowly onto the stage under the gaze of thousands of people, instantly amplifying the buzz of astonished discussions.
The girl stood in front of the podium, her face showing no excitement, her expression neither humble nor arrogant. Her gaze seemed to fall on the faces of everyone in the audience, yet it also seemed like an illusion.
Meng Er was already very familiar with this kind of scene, and began to speak in a steady voice.
I slightly modified the speech I gave when I graduated from junior high school, which the principal asked me to use to motivate the younger students. I also modified the part in my speech at another school when I was in my first year of high school, in which I expressed my gratitude to the school.
The girl's voice was clear and melodious, like a babbling brook flowing over bluestone in the mountains, completely unaffected by the restless atmosphere in the auditorium.
"...Finally, I would like to conclude with a line from the Book of Songs."
"High mountains are to be admired, and virtuous conduct is to be followed."
"May every student, while looking up at the mountains in their hearts, walk smoothly on their own broad road."
Among the thousands of seats, someone suddenly nudged the boy next to him and whispered, "Wow, Brother Zhao, how about this, you got our student representative in three days?"
The boy who was called Brother Zhao gritted his teeth and muttered a curse, "Get lost."
Looking at the girl on the stage who remained calm despite being watched by thousands of eyes, he finally understood where her composure came from.
'Not good enough'
'childish'
I'm not interested in relationships where I need to look down on my partner.
The girl's voice in my mind overlapped with the voice coming from the speakers.
He opened his mouth, then slapped the classmate next to him with a smug grin, saying nonchalantly, "This kind of girl is all she thinks about is books, dull and boring. I'm not interested, understand?"
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