“Jiu, you’ve been arriving at school earlier and earlier lately! Look, none of your classmates are here yet. Why don’t you go home and get some more sleep?” Teacher Cang teased.
“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry, I missed the bus.” I fabricated an excuse as I stepped into the classroom.
Though our homeroom teacher wore a beaming smile, he was already seething underneath. He often spoke in sarcasm.
The class monitor stared at me with an indifferent gaze, as if silently asking if I had brought the food.
In front of the entire class, there was no way I could speak to her directly.
As I passed her desk, I swiftly placed the spicy strips and water on it, then hurried towards my own seat.
To my relief, most of the students hadn’t noticed. When I finally reached my spot, I discovered Chenxi was sitting at the adjacent desk.
My male deskmate on the right had always been taciturn, rarely speaking in class. He would only respond if someone addressed him, and his presence in the classroom was incredibly low.
Come to think of it, I didn’t even know his name. Why was he suddenly gone?
“Jiu, I want spicy strips too! And I want to drink the water you’ve already drunk!” The childish voice of Chenxi reached my ears the moment I sat down.
It wasn’t that Chenxi liked me; I wasn’t that narcissistic. Her reaction stemmed more from jealousy, specifically that I had bought food for another girl. That was likely the gist of it.
She possessed a strong competitive spirit, especially when comparing herself to other girls in the class.
“Another time,” I replied dismissively, pulling out my textbook from the drawer and preparing my notebook for annotations. Teacher Cang’s lesson today was on Zhuang Zhou’s *Free and Easy Wandering*, specifically the part about the fish in the Northern Darkness.
“Jiu, Jiu, I want the same things as Shahu Wu, Jiu!”
I was deep in concentration, diligently writing my annotations.
Chenxi’s finger poked my waist, making it impossible for me to focus on writing.
I glared at her. “Can’t you wait until after class to say something?!”
“Hahahaha…”
Suddenly, Chao’s boisterous laughter erupted from my left, instantly drawing the attention of the entire class.
I straightened my back and tensed my legs, adopting a perfect study posture as I stared at the podium. I wanted to avoid any association with Ma Chao.
Chao was truly… This was the homeroom teacher’s class! What on earth was he doing? If I wasn’t mistaken, he must have been too engrossed in some ‘adult’ content, laughing out loud in a moment of inappropriate excitement.
“Ma Chao, were you just laughing hysterically? Are you mocking me? Are you ignoring my presence?” Teacher Cang’s hawk-like eyes made those of us in the back row tremble.
“You’ve got it all wrong, Teacher! I truly wasn’t! I’ve been diligently listening to your lecture; you’re my idol! How could I possibly laugh? Teacher Cang, I’m being wrongly accused!” Ma Chao stood up, tears streaming down his face like a broken dam, weeping so mournfully he was practically pounding his chest and stamping his feet.
I didn’t look at Chao, but simply hearing his cries, I knew he absolutely had the potential to win an Oscar for Best Actor.
It seemed to have worked. Teacher Cang’s bulging eyes receded, and his expression softened considerably. It appeared that men and women alike harbored sympathy when faced with someone playing the victim.
“Excellent!” Teacher Cang declared, a habitual phrase of his, as his gaze swept across the entire classroom.
After a three-second silence, he continued, “Since you say you didn’t, I’ll ask some other students.”
Teacher Cang’s gaze, however, landed squarely on me. I immediately lowered my head, wishing I could shrink and hide inside Chenxi’s little skirt, perhaps finding a sliver of safety there.
“Jiu, you’re the closest to this troublemaker. Did you hear any laughter or other noises?” Teacher Cang proudly craned his neck, looking as if he already held the winning hand.
I hadn’t expected Teacher Cang to drag me into this again. Whenever Chao got into trouble, I was invariably implicated. No matter how hard I tried, how diligently I studied, in Teacher Cang’s eyes, I remained utterly worthless.
Since Teacher Cang consistently refused to let me off the hook, I decided to resist to the very end.
I stood up, an unusual calm settling over me, and met Teacher Cang’s receding hairline with a direct gaze. This gave me a surprising sense of confidence.
“Uh… that… Teacher, I was entirely absorbed in the fish, busy writing annotations. Besides your magnificent and solemn voice, I heard no other sounds. If you don’t believe me, you can check my notes.”
Teacher Cang’s brows furrowed. Had Jiu truly turned over a new leaf after his memory loss? Based on his past behavior, he wouldn’t even listen attentively, let alone take notes. It seemed Jiu had changed a great deal, but Teacher Cang remained skeptical.
“Chenxi, take a look at Jiu’s notes.” Teacher Cang crossed his arms, adopting the air of someone strategizing from a thousand miles away.
Indeed, I had written many annotations in my book. As long as the mixed-race girl wasn’t blind, she shouldn’t spout nonsense.
Ma Chao, on the other hand, wore a crestfallen expression. He knew Jiu was loyal. This time, he feared he might drag his best friend down again. He knew perfectly well what his best friend’s attitude towards studying was; writing notes was simply a fantasy.
Chenxi glanced at her deskmate’s textbook and said sweetly, “Tea—cher, Jiu really did write. A whole page is full of…”
Chenxi leaned closer to my ear and gently blew a breath. “…love.”
The word startled me. I pressed my legs together, straightened my neck, and frantically looked towards Teacher Cang. This little imp Chenxi was always ready to stab me in the back; I truly feared her.
Judging by the teacher’s expression, he likely hadn’t heard the last word.
I nervously glanced at Chenxi. “Hey, don’t just make things up!”
Chenxi, in response, playfully stuck out her tongue at me.
“Excellent!” Teacher Cang’s thundering voice echoed through the classroom, making my eardrums ache.
“The one by the trash can in the fourth row, what’s your name again? Tell me, did you hear Ma Chao’s laughter?”
Teacher Cang had placed his bet on Zhou Yu this time. I didn’t think there would be a reversal, because although Zhou Yu and Chao often had verbal clashes in private, it was just talk; they still had a friendship.
“Teacher, I was sleeping just now. I didn’t hear anyone else’s voice besides yours,” Zhou Yu replied, rubbing his eyes.
Cough, cough…
Pfft!
As soon as Zhou Yu answered, a chorus of coughs and sputtering laughter erupted one after another throughout the classroom. His answer was far too honest; Zhou Yu might as well not have answered at all. I hadn’t paid attention to what was happening with Zhou Yu, so I didn’t know if he was truly asleep.
“Zhou Yu, oh, Zhou Yu, I might as well change your name to Lu Su. Honest, far too honest. Are you implying that I ruined your beautiful dream?” Teacher Cang was furious, practically bristling with indignation.
Only then did Zhou Yu seem to awaken from a daze. He scratched his hair and whispered, “I… I wasn’t sleeping, was I?”
“Class Monitor, tell me, during my lecture, did you hear any other sounds?”
Teacher Cang was on the verge of exploding. The students were playing dumb, each more skilled than the last; they were clearly in cahoots. Shahu Wu, the class monitor, was upright, incorruptible, and an excellent student, a world apart from the underachievers in the back.
To punish Ma Chao, he would have to play his trump card.
“No, I did not!” Shahu Wu replied decisively, without the slightest hesitation.
Ma Chao’s heart, which had been in his throat, instantly relaxed. As expected of his best friend! Bribing the class monitor the moment she entered, planning ahead, thinking far into the future—truly worthy of being the future president of the Bachelor’s Association.
If it hadn’t been for Jiu winning over the class monitor, he would have been bending over to sweep floors for those rough men in the academic affairs office today.
Teacher Cang shot Ma Chao a resentful glance, then waved his hand, instructing the students to sit down and resumed his lecture.