Two classes quickly passed, but I didn’t feel well during them. Listening to Chao cry for nearly an hour left me feeling spiritually exhausted.
I never imagined that Chao had been troubled by girlfriends since he was two years old, planning for years and still single. According to him, in kindergarten, finding a girlfriend was easy with just a packet of spicy strips. But these girlfriends didn’t last long. They would break up over a sniffle and quickly move on to someone else.
By elementary school, Chao realized spicy strips were no longer effective. He needed to be able to talk sweetly or write a heartfelt love letter to move a girl. Chao didn’t like literature and his writing wasn’t good, so every time a girl rejected him, he would cry loudly. As for sweet talk, teachers didn’t teach it, classmates wouldn’t share, and parents were afraid to ask, so by middle school, he was really troubled by this.
Chao’s catchphrase was: ‘A student without a girlfriend is no good.’
After the exam, I rushed out of the classroom and washed my face at the sink. I was very grateful to the class monitor for lending me a chair; otherwise, I would have had to stand during class. I patted my pocket and found five yuan, so I ran to the convenience store and bought a large packet of spicy strips for Shahu Wu.
Besides the classroom, the only other place with chairs was the duty room. I quickly ran there because borrowing a chair for a day shouldn’t be difficult.
As I pushed through the crowd and nearly reached the duty room, I saw Shahu Wu coming out with a chair in her hand. Clearly, she had the same idea. At that moment, Shahu Wu saw me, but unlike Yamashita Izumi or Yinuo, who smiled gently, Shahu Wu looked down at me with an air of superiority, somewhat like a teacher but not quite.
As she approached, the distance between us grew closer. I had prepared a speech of thanks, but when I opened my mouth, no sound came out. It was a strange feeling, as if her presence was oppressing me.
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and squinted. I held out the spicy strips behind me and finally managed to say two words: ‘Yours.’
Shahu Wu only glanced at the spicy strips, her gaze falling on my face without a hint of emotion. She said coldly, ‘Trash!’
Hearing this unfiltered disdain, I looked down, unsure of myself. Was I being rejected? Just as I was lost in thought, I felt a tug on my hand, and the spicy strips were gone. When I looked up, she was walking towards the classroom with my spicy strips.
Her tone didn’t seem good, and I didn’t dare follow. Was she calling me trash? Did I really exist as such in the class monitor’s heart?
I felt wronged, not knowing what I had done wrong to be called trash. Tears streamed down my face. My grades weren’t as good as hers, my personality wasn’t as outgoing, and my family background wasn’t as good. But I wouldn’t let anyone call me trash without reason. I wiped away my tears and followed her, determined to ask why. If she really had an issue with me, I would return the chair.
Just as I reached the classroom door, I saw Shahu Wu wearing earphones, reading a book, and eating… spicy strips?
Shahu Wu was enjoying my snack, and I was filled with questions. The words I had prepared vanished. Accepting my snack meant she wasn’t angry with me. Or maybe she meant the spicy strips were trash, since they are classified as junk food.
With this in mind, my mood improved. I rubbed my eyes, acting as if nothing had happened. I walked past the lectern and the aisle between the first and second rows, heading towards the back of the class. I glanced quickly at Shahu Wu; she was still looking down, seemingly reading a comic book, and hadn’t noticed me. Just as I was about to pass her, she suddenly looked up, her long legs, encased in black pants, stretched out and blocked my path.
Ouch!
Her legs moved unexpectedly, and even though I saw them, my body’s momentum carried me forward, and I bumped into her leg. I was pushed backward, and my ears were filled with the chatter of classmates and the sound of running feet. Someone pushed me from behind.
I leaned forward, and to maintain my balance, I instinctively hugged her leg. Looking at the round thigh between my arms, I felt an incredibly soft touch.
Her legs were different from other girls’ skinny ones. Perhaps from regular exercise, her legs were muscular but not fat, looking very proportional, with a surprising feel.
In my impression, girls who exercise regularly or practice martial arts have very hard bodies. It seemed I was wrong. I quickly let go and stood up, hiding my hands behind my back and not daring to look at the class monitor. I shouted to the back, ‘Who, which one of you pushed me!’
Although I was asking, my voice was weak, sounding more like a question. I was actually explaining to the class monitor that it was another student who pushed me, not that I intentionally hugged her leg.
What I didn’t expect was that her leg didn’t move back; it remained on the aisle, and her mouth kept making slurping noises as she ate the spicy strips. At that moment, her mouth was full of spicy strip oil and pepper.
This cold and tough look, reminiscent of a gangster girl, made my head buzz. Was this blackmail? Bullying the weak me for a long-term supply of free spicy strips?
Ding ding ding!
The bell for class suddenly rang, and many students rushed into the classroom from outside. The leg blocking my path was timely withdrawn, and I ran to my seat like I was escaping something, my mind filled with the class monitor’s words.
Did the class monitor mean I had to give her a packet of spicy strips every week? Was this like protection money?
I was sweating all over, knowing I couldn’t afford to offend Shahu Wu. If she wanted to trouble me, I wouldn’t be able to fight back.
‘Chirp, why are you sweating so much? It’s not that hot today!’ Chenxi saw that my front and back were soaked with sweat, including my arms, forehead, and nose, all covered in sweat droplets, which seemed unusual.
‘It’s nothing, I’ll be fine soon.’ I wasn’t close with Chenxi and didn’t dare tell her about being asked for spicy strips. I didn’t want others to know I was afraid of Shahu Wu.
‘Oh, okay. Then, after class, you can go with me to throw away the trash. On one hand, it will increase our desk-mate friendship, and on the other hand, exercise will bring warmth to your body and boost your immunity, so you don’t get sick.’ Chenxi agreed to Teacher Cang’s request to throw away the trash, naturally having her own plans.
I nodded without speaking and took out my history book, placing it on the desk. I couldn’t focus on English, math, or history. The history teacher was an old man with white hair, wearing a pair of old glasses.
‘Students, today we will talk about the late Eastern Han period, the era of warlords…’
‘Ma Chao, Ma Chao, hey, are you deaf!’ I was flipping through the section the teacher was lecturing on when I heard my desk-mate’s voice.
‘Chenxi sister, hello!’ Ma Chao saw this beautiful girl calling him and was overjoyed, his eyes sparkling with excitement as he waved his right hand at her.
‘I said, after class, you come with us to throw away the trash, throw away the trash!’ Chenxi covered her mouth with her slender hand and whispered loudly.
‘What? Speak up!’ Ma Chao didn’t hear clearly, and his voice suddenly got much louder.
The history teacher’s voice suddenly stopped, and I nervously looked towards the lectern, his fierce eyes staring in our direction.
I thought, ‘Oh no, you guys passed notes!’ This old man’s eyes weren’t good, but his ears were sharp. I pretended not to know and kept my head down, looking at my book.
‘Ma Chao, your historical knowledge is quite extensive! Let me test you.’
The history teacher adjusted his glasses, his calloused hands flipping through the textbook, seemingly looking for a tricky question.
‘Teacher Huang, I don’t know! You, you won’t ask, I won’t answer!’ Ma Chao stood up in a panic, his survival instincts kicking in.
‘Tsk tsk tsk, Ma Chao seems very confident. He’s already starting to gesticulate and challenge me, not bad, not bad. All students should learn from Ma Chao. Listen up, just one question, where did the Three Heroes Fight Liu Bei?’
‘Ah, just this question, Teacher, you’re really underestimating me.’ Ma Chao suddenly gained confidence, his back straight, and he shouted loudly, ‘Upper route!’
The students in the classroom didn’t expect Ma Chao, who didn’t study, to be able to answer, but this answer seemed a bit off.
Bang! Teacher Huang slammed the book on the desk and glared at Ma Chao: ‘I give you three seconds to find a classmate to help you answer, or you’ll stand for my class.’
‘Chirp, Chirp, quick, help me!’ Ma Chao kept beckoning to me, his eyes full of hope, and I could see he was treating me as his last straw.
At that moment, my forehead was sweating, and after Teacher Huang asked the question, I immediately flipped through the book, but it was a long chapter without a title, so where was the Three Heroes Fight Liu Bei?
It seemed I had to guess. If Chao chose one, then the answer would be in the other two routes, with a 50% chance of being correct. I stood up quickly and answered, ‘The Three Heroes Fight Liu Bei was on the middle route.’
Teacher Huang was stunned, staring at me for a long time without speaking. Did I, did I guess right? No, it seemed… I noticed Teacher Huang starting to frown and glare.
Bang!
Another loud noise, Teacher Huang slammed the chalk eraser on the desk, and it bounced high, almost making me lose my balance. I looked at Chao, and if there weren’t so many students in the classroom, we would have hugged tightly together, like two girls facing a group of hooligans, hugging each other in fear.
Teacher Huang picked up the chalk eraser and pointed at us, shouting, ‘Why isn’t it the lower route?’
‘Teacher, I’m telling the truth. If you don’t believe me, ask Yamashita Izumi. I played Guan Yu, Chirp played Liu Bei, and Datian played Zhang Fei. We fought Liu Bei on the upper route. Datian, say something!’ Ma Chao looked to Yamashita Izumi for help.
Yamashita Izumi didn’t expect Ma Chao to reveal that she played Zhang Fei, a secret she wanted to keep. She blushed, glaring at Ma Chao for his big mouth, and stood up, raising her hand weakly, ‘Old, Teacher, it was on the upper route.’
??? Teacher Huang’s forehead veins bulged, and he was furious: ‘I asked about the historical Three Heroes Fight Liu Bei, not your game. Datian, sit down. You two, come to the office during lunch and explain. If you can’t, you’ll stand for the rest of the class.’
‘Students, let’s continue with today’s lesson, the eighteen warlords. Once upon a time…’
As soon as I sat down, I heard Chenxi’s winning laugh.
Giggle…
I didn’t respond to her, searching for the answer in the textbook. I was really amazed by the teacher who wrote this book, as there was no chapter title for nearly twenty pages.