First Prize

“I often come here with my friends for dinner. Everything is good here, except for one thing: you need to make a reservation in advance,” Chen Yitong said as she sat down.

“Yes, it looks good. It’s very quiet, suitable for discussing things,” Zhou Yining also said, sitting down in her seat.

“Oh right, I forgot to ask you about the provincial composition competition. The results should be out in the next few days. How did you do?” Chen Yitong asked.

“It should be okay. I think I should at least be able to win a prize,” Zhou Yining said confidently.

Otherwise, her previous life would have been wasted.

“That’s good.” Chen Yitong observed Zhou Yining’s expression as she spoke, and breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that Zhou Yining’s expression was normal.

“Teacher, I’m going to the restroom,” Zhou Yining said, getting up.

“Okay, go straight ahead, turn left.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back,” Zhou Yining said, getting up and walking out.

As she came out of the restroom, she happened to bump into Jiang Xizhi.

“Xizhi? Are you here to eat too?” Zhou Yining didn’t expect to meet Jiang Xizhi here.

Jiang Xizhi nodded. “Yes, my sister just happened to reserve a table, so she brought me here. What about you? Who did you come with?”

“With my homeroom teacher. She’s probably afraid that I’ll get depressed because of Tian Xue’s matter, so she brought me out to relax,” Zhou Yining explained with a smile, but her face still showed exhaustion.

“What happened to your eyes?” Jiang Xizhi was distressed to see that she even had dark circles under her eyes.

Zhou Yining smiled and explained, “It’s nothing. I was doing my holiday homework until three in the morning yesterday, so I’m a little tired, but I’ll be fine after a sleep, don’t worry.”

“Okay, but I feel like you’ve lost a lot of weight.”

After Zhou Yining left Jiang Xizhi’s house during the holiday, she had been busy rushing to write, busy doing homework, and taking time to tutor Jiang Xizhi and Zhong Yumeng.

In short, this vacation was more tiring than going to school, with a million things waiting for her to do every day.

“It’s okay, I’ll eat more these few days and make it all up. I should go back, Teacher Chen is still waiting for me,” Zhou Yining said, and casually ruffled Jiang Xizhi’s hair.

Jiang Xizhi pursed her lips, and after a while, nodded lightly. “Okay, go ahead.”

Jiang Xizhi went to the restroom to wash her hands, and when she returned to the private room and sat down, she kept spacing out.

She remembered Zhou Yining’s homeroom teacher, a young and beautiful female teacher, who was very protective of Zhou Yining.

Although she knew that the teacher bringing Zhou Yining out for dinner was well-intentioned, Jiang Xizhi still felt jealous.

Her Zhouzhou was indeed liked by girls.

Jiang Yueyi saw her spacing out and waved her hand in front of Jiang Xizhi’s face.

“What are you thinking about? You’re almost meditating.”

Jiang Xizhi pouted.

“Nothing, I just ran into Zhouzhou outside. She looks much more haggard than during the vacation, and she seems to have lost a lot of weight.”

“Really? She shouldn’t be here alone, right? Is she with Zhong Yumeng?

The two-person meal here costs three thousand yuan, which isn’t expensive, but it’s not cheap for someone like Zhou Yining with that family background, right?”

Jiang Xizhi glared at her sister, mentioning the unmentionable. “Her homeroom teacher brought her here.”

“When did the teachers at your school become so good? Even bringing students to private restaurants for dinner,” Jiang Yueyi asked with a smile.

“I also want to know, maybe she’s just more attractive to girls,” Jiang Xizhi said, tightening her lips again.

The more Jiang Yueyi looked at Jiang Xizhi, the more she felt that something was wrong. Moreover, why did her sister sound so jealous?

Jiang Yueyi jokingly probed, “You’re not jealous of the teacher too, are you?”

“I’m not,” Jiang Xizhi denied, but her heart was almost sour.

Jiang Yueyi couldn’t help but laugh at her sister’s insincere appearance.

“Hey sis, I’m feeling really annoyed, you’re not allowed to laugh.”

“Okay, okay, I won’t laugh, I won’t laugh, let’s eat.” Jiang Yueyi took a sip of tea to calm down, and then took out her phone to play.

Zhou Yining also returned to the private room. When she went back, the food had already been served on the table.

Chen Yitong casually asked, “Why did you take so long?”

“I ran into a classmate from Class 1 on the way and chatted for a few words,” Zhou Yining explained, sitting down.

“Was it the one who went to the police station with you during the holiday? Let’s eat, eat more.”

“Yes, it was her,” Zhou Yining said, picking up a dish with her chopsticks and eating.

She wasn’t picky about food, but the food here was indeed delicious, and the ingredients were very fresh.

The fish balls in the fish ball soup melted in her mouth and were very delicious.

Chen Yitong felt relieved to see her eating so well. “Children your age should be happy and carefree, don’t think too much.”

“Yes, it’s delicious,” Zhou Yining said as she ate.

The two had lunch and dessert at the restaurant, and it was almost time to leave. Zhou Yining and Chen Yitong left the restaurant.

“Xizhi?”

“You’re going back to school!” Before she could finish, she was cut off with a loud yell. Zhou Yining and Chen Yitong turned around.

She wanted to offer to take Zhou Yining back herself.

“Yes, see you at school.” Zhou Yining told Jiang Xizhi.

Jiang Xizhi nodded at Zhou Yining and then at Chen Yitong. “Goodbye, Teacher Chen.”

“Goodbye.”

Chen Yitong drove back to school at 2:00 p.m. and Zhou Yining went to class.

Zhou Yining was not at her best for her afternoon classes and even fell asleep during math.

Fortunately, the teachers were aware of the situation with Tian Xue and were not hard on her.

Zhou Yining finished the homework during study hall, but she fell asleep at her desk.

She awoke after the 9:30 p.m. dismissal.

As Zhou Yining was packing her bag, she turned to look at where Tian Xue would normally be.

After a short moment, she remembered the events of the last few days.

Zhou Yining shook her head, put her bag on her back, and left the classroom.

Back at home, Zhou Yining washed up and lay in bed. She fell asleep with her phone still on her nightstand.

The next morning, Zhou Yining did not want to get out of bed. She forced herself to eat breakfast and go to school.

In first period, Chen Yitong happily entered the classroom.

She looked at her students. “Today, on the second day of school, we have good news. Zhou Yining won first prize at the provincial writing competition! She won a 50,000 yuan prize!”

Chen Yitong looked at Zhou Yining. “Yining, come to the office with me later and write down your bank information. You should be getting your prize money in a few days.”

“Yes, teacher.” Zhou Yining smiled. 50,000 yuan was not a lot, but now she could pay back Chen Yitong and Jiang Xizhi’s attorney fees. It was good news.

As soon as class ended, Zhou Yining went with Chen Yitong to the office. In class 19, everyone was talking about Zhou Yining’s success.

“Wow, Zhou Yining is amazing! She won 50,000 yuan! I’m so jealous!”

“I know! First place is so cool!”

“I am so envious of that prize money. I could use it to buy so much good food!”

Zhou Yining stayed calm. She was aware of her writing skills and was ready to receive the prize.

“Write your bank account number here and your bank’s name here.” Chen Yitong handed Zhou Yining a notebook.

Zhou Yining wrote down her bank information.

“Do not give the money to your parents!” Chen Yitong warned.

Zhou Yining nodded. “I won’t. I am not that stupid.”

“Good. This money will help you a lot. You do not need to work every day. Okay, you can go now.” Chen Yitong waved.

Chen Yitong ran into the homeroom teacher of class 1 on the way back.

“I think you are Zhou Yining? Based on your final exams last semester, you can go to class 1.

The grade leader told me about that. We just started school, Zhou Yining, would you like to move to class 1?”

Chen Yitong was shocked. “I am still here! You are stealing a student from me?”

Chen Yitong was joking with the other teacher. “What she is saying is true. If you want to move, you can move today.”

Zhou Yining laughed and shook her head. “I’m used to my class.”

Chen Yitong felt like she had not wasted her money on lunch. She smiled at the class 1 teacher. “I am sorry, but I think my student should stay in my class.”

“Okay.” The class 1 teacher nodded and told Zhou Yining. “If you change your mind, you can come find me.”

“Thank you, but I do not want to go to another class.” Zhou Yining left the office.

Jiang Xizhi and Zhou Yumeng were in class 1. She wanted to go, but she owed Chen Yitong a favor. Additionally, all of the girls in her class were cute. If she left, it would not be nice.

If she was the best student in her district on the national university entrance examinations, she would make Chen Yitong proud.

It was not like Chen Yitong was looking for anything in return, but she wanted to help Chen Yitong since Chen Yitong had helped her.

Back in class, the students surrounded Zhou Yining.

“Zhou Yining, congratulations! You are rich now!”

“I can’t do as well as you, no matter what!”

Zhou Yining laughed. “It was my normal performance.”

“Zhou Yining, you are too modest.” Yu Yang laughed.

“I am just being honest!” Zhou Yining felt that she was being sincere.

“You are trying to be humble.”

After that, the students calmed down and focused on English.

The new English teacher was responsible and nice, and not mean like the old one.