Jiang Qi Huai watched as the person sitting in front of him became completely rigid. Their tense expression barely contained their fury as they turned around like a demon crawling out of hell.
That look in their eyes suggested they might lose control at any moment and devour him alive.
Jiang Qi Huai’s mind wandered unusually, and he shifted his gaze up two inches, wondering if smoke might actually start coming out of this little groundhog’s head.
If anger could materialize…
His lips curved almost imperceptibly for just a moment before returning to his usual unshakeable cold demeanor.
Tao Zhi turned back around.
Jiang Qi Huai twirled his pen while leisurely waiting to hear her explanation.
Sitting behind her, he couldn’t see the groundhog’s expression, only that the young girl’s shoulders had shrunk slightly.
“Teacher, I don’t know how to do it,” Tao Zhi said in a very small voice. “I wanted to do the homework well, but my foundation is too weak.”
She was quite adaptable.
The young girl’s face was full of sincerity, and her voice sounded pitifully weak. Teacher Wang’s expression softened a bit: “Even if you don’t know how to do it, you shouldn’t just write anything. When you don’t understand something, you can ask your classmates or ask the teacher. I’m in the office every day.”
“I didn’t want to bother my classmates,” Tao Zhi appeared to honestly admit her mistake. “I was too anxious, worried I wouldn’t be able to submit it this week. When I got anxious, I just wrote whatever came to mind. Teacher Wang, I’ll definitely do better next time, though it might take me longer. Please don’t be angry.”
Teacher Wang was actually soft-hearted despite his stern exterior. Seeing her sincere attitude in admitting her mistake, and considering she was a shy young girl, his anger came and went quickly: “As long as you have this determination, that’s good enough. Teachers don’t mind if you write slowly or make many mistakes. As long as you have the intention to learn, teachers and classmates are all willing to help you. Ask your classmates in front and behind you, and your deskmate when you don’t understand something.” Teacher Wang’s tone softened, “Alright, you can sit down now. Your foundation is indeed a problem, I’ll think of another way to help.”
Tao Zhi obediently responded and sat down.
As she sat, her knees pressed against the edge of the chair, and she deliberately pushed back hard without drawing attention.
Caught off guard, Jiang Qi Huai’s desk tilted backward, the edge rising at a thirty-degree angle. The stack of test papers and books piled on his desk slid down, with most of them scattering across the floor with a rustle.
Jiang Qi Huai: “…”
He bent down to pick them up.
Tao Zhi also acted like it was an accident and “kindly” turned around, holding the edge of the desk as she bent down to help him.
As she lowered her head, her expression changed completely. While pretending to help pick up the papers, she moved closer, trying to control her temper and volume as she gritted her teeth: “Do we have some kind of ancient grudge?”
Jiang Qi Huai picked up a test paper: “No.”
“Then why are you trying to harm me?” Tao Zhi asked in a suppressed angry whisper.
“Why did you make me do your homework?” Jiang Qi Huai also kept his voice down.
Tao Zhi picked up a test paper and handed it to him: “If you didn’t want to do it, fine, but you agreed and then deliberately wrote wrong answers. Are you even human?”
Jiang Qi Huai took it: “Weren’t you threatening me?”
“Weren’t you the one who tricked me in Teacher Wang’s office by saying you were also there to make up homework?”
“I never said that.”
“…What the hell?” Tao Zhi hadn’t expected Jiang Qi Huai to be so devious. She picked up the last test paper and handed it over, glaring at him angrily, “You might not have said it directly, but that’s what you implied. You deliberately misled me.”
The two of them ducked under the desk, passing papers back and forth while whispering, appearing calm on the surface but with undercurrents raging beneath.
Jiang Qi Huai took the paper, straightened up, and placed the papers on his desk.
Tao Zhi also straightened up and casually sat back down.
Above the desk, everything appeared peaceful.
Teacher Wang glanced in their direction while asking everyone to open their books, but didn’t notice anything unusual.
The two classmates sitting in the next row, separated only by an aisle who had heard their entire conversation clearly: “…”
Are they elementary school students?
Tao Zhi felt the entire class period was completely tasteless.
Although physics class usually wasn’t very interesting, at least she could sleep through it. Today she was so angry she couldn’t even sleep.
Tao Zhi propped her head up with her arm, holding a pen and pretending to occasionally flip through the book. She checked the time every five minutes, feeling as if the minute hand had frozen.
She took out her phone and sent a WeChat message to Ji Fan from under her desk.
Zhizhi Grape: [I’ve been defeated.]
Ji Fan replied quickly: [?]
Zhizhi Grape: [A bastard transferred to our class, and I can’t outsmart him.]
Ji Fan: [In what way?]
Zhizhi Grape: [He tricked me! He played mind games with me!! He’s so scheming!!!]
Ji Fan: [Don’t make trouble for yourself. You’re not good at using your brain anyway. Play to your strengths and avoid your weaknesses, understand? Just fight him directly.]
Tao Zhi: “…”
Tao Zhi didn’t want to respond to him anymore and angrily threw her phone back. After thinking about it, she had to admit that Ji Fan’s words made some damn sense.
Finally, as class was about to end, Tao Zhi looked up to see Teacher Wang finishing the last physics example in the book.
“Alright, that’s all for today. Your homework is to complete the remaining problems in the book and the corresponding workbook exercises,” Teacher Wang said, clapping chalk dust from his hands as he walked out of the classroom. “Everyone go eat lunch.”
As soon as Teacher Wang left the classroom, Tao Zhi suddenly stood up, pushing her chair in with a harsh “screech—” as the wooden legs scraped against the floor.
Tao Zhi turned around and looked down at Jiang Qi Huai, who had just closed his book, with murderous intent: “Let’s fight.”
Jiang Qi Huai raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised by her direct challenge: “I’m busy.”
“I didn’t ask if you were busy. You might not have understood,” Tao Zhi explained patiently, “Let me rephrase: you need to let me beat you up.”
Jiang Qi Huai looked her up and down: “You want me to fight a groundhog? How? By comparing hole-digging skills or sunflower seed cracking?”
“You want me to—” Tao Zhi paused, belatedly processing what he’d said, and narrowed her eyes, “What did you call me? A groundhog?”
Tao Zhi felt like the last strand of rationality in her brain had finally snapped.
At that moment, the classroom’s back door opened, and Li Shuang Jiang’s head poked in: “Huai bro, Old Wang’s looking for you! Wants you to go over!” Li Shuang Jiang had no idea his single sentence had just prevented a disaster, “He looks pretty happy, must be something good.”
Jiang Qi Huai turned and left the classroom, with Li Shuang Jiang following behind.
Fu Xi Ling sat there, looking at Jiang Qi Huai’s desk and then up at Tao Zhi, wondering if she would take advantage of the desk owner’s absence to throw it out the third-floor window the next second.
But Tao Zhi’s focus was elsewhere.
She turned around: “Do I look like a groundhog?”
Fu Xi Ling was startled and quickly shook her head: “No, you don’t.”
Tao Zhi pointed at the door, still in shock: “Did he just call me a groundhog?”
Fu Xi Ling didn’t know how to answer this question. After a long while, she slowly managed to say: “Groundhogs are quite cute.”
“…”
Tao Zhi didn’t know why this random, somewhat slow response actually managed to placate her.
She suddenly deflated, her shoulders slumping as she sat back down in her seat, saying listlessly: “Fine.”
She turned her head to see Fu Xi Ling taking out a thermal lunch box from under her seat: “You bring your own lunch?”
Fu Xi Ling made an affirmative sound as she unscrewed the lunch box. She had become more familiar with Tao Zhi over the past few days and was talking a bit more: “Would you like some?”
The experimental school’s cafeteria had decent food and wasn’t expensive. There was also a street of food stalls just outside the school, lined with eateries. Most people usually ate either in the cafeteria or went out to eat, with very few bringing their own lunch.
Tao Zhi had no appetite and shook her head. She lay on her desk and took out her phone to send Song Jiang a WeChat message, telling him she wouldn’t be going for lunch today.
Barely two minutes after sending the message, Song Jiang’s head appeared in the same spot where Li Shuang Jiang had poked his head in earlier: “Why aren’t you eating, your majesty? What’s got you upset now?”
“Leave your old man alone.” Tao Zhi said listlessly.
Song Jiang bounced in, carrying two bottles of sweet milk and two boxes of cream wafers which he tossed in front of her. He sat on the desk in the row next to them: “Just checking on my old man. Someone whose most important daily pursuits are eating and sleeping suddenly tells me they’re skipping lunch.”
Fu Xi Ling added while holding her chopsticks: “She didn’t sleep in class either.”
Song Jiang declared confidently: “Must be heartbroken.”
“Heartbroken my ass,” the quality individual raised her head impatiently, frowning as she suddenly asked him, “Timely Rain, how do I look?”
Song Jiang had known Tao Zhi since elementary school, practically growing up together. He was so used to her face that he couldn’t really judge anymore: “You look pretty good.”
Fu Xi Ling, biting a piece of vegetables, added: “She wants to know if you think she looks like a groundhog.”
Song Jiang stroked his chin: “Ah? I think—”
Before he could finish his thought, the back door of Class 2-1 was pushed open for the fourth time that afternoon, the wooden door making a pitiful “creaking” sound. It was an unfamiliar male student.
“Fu Xi Ling,” the boy walked in like he knew the place well, “You must have lunch with me today, right?”
Tao Zhi turned her head.
The boy was wearing a senior high school uniform, with the jacket hanging loosely on him, almost falling off. There was a black skull drawn on the white cuffs, and instead of uniform pants, he wore tight jeans.
Old school emo style.
Tao Zhi looked at his face again, took two seconds to remember, and recalled who he was.
The idiot who harassed girls in the hallway.
Fu Xi Ling’s hand holding the chopsticks tightened, her body visibly tensing up. She turned her head and said nervously: “I brought my lunch today…”
The emo guy frowned, showing some impatience: “How come you always have excuses? Didn’t we agree to eat together today?”
“I’m sorry,” Fu Xi Ling stuttered, “But, I never agreed…”
“I already told my bros I’d bring you over today. You’re making me lose face.” As he spoke, the boy walked forward two steps, pulled out the empty desk in the last row, and reached out to grab her.
Song Jiang immediately stood up, pressing down on the corner of the desk, and said politely: “Brother, the young lady said she doesn’t want to go eat with you.”
The emo guy turned around: “Hey, who are you? This is between me and my girlfriend, what’s it got to do with you?”
Song Jiang and Tao Zhi both turned to look at Fu Xi Ling for confirmation.
“No!” Fu Xi Ling hurriedly said, “I never agreed to be his girlfriend.”
Song Jiang laughed: “Did you hear that? She doesn’t like you, stop being so persistent.”
The emo guy’s face reddened from having his pride hurt. He came straight at Song Jiang, raising his hand to push him: “Who the fuck are you? Do you just love meddling in other people’s business—”
Tao Zhi quickly assessed his position and, seeing an opening as he walked by, swiftly kicked Jiang Qi Huai’s desk forward. The desk and chair moved together, crashing into him. Song Jiang seized the opportunity to grab his outstretched wrist and pull him forward, while his other hand gripped his neck and slammed him onto the desk surface with a bang.
“Hey,” Song Jiang said with a laughing breath: “Why are you getting physical?”
The emo guy must have known how to fight too, as his free hand swung a punch toward Song Jiang’s stomach. The two of them started fighting right there in the back of the classroom, desks and chairs crashing and flying everywhere. With a loud bang, Jiang Qi Huai’s desk, which had already been kicked to the middle, was knocked over again.
It fell!
Jiang Qi Huai’s desk fell!
Tao Zhi happily watched his desk topple over, test papers flying everywhere, with two hot-blooded high school boys stepping on them as they exchanged punches and judo moves, leaving footprints with every step.
Over there, Song Jiang kicked the emo guy in the stomach again, and as the battle seemed about to spread to her position, Tao Zhi quickly moved away. The next second, the emo guy crashed into her chair.
Tao Zhi stood against the wall, dissatisfied as she directed him: “Timely Rain, can you handle this or not? Kick him that way, we’re trying to eat here.”
Song Jiang spared her a glance before getting hit by another punch from the emo guy.
Right then, the classroom’s back door was opened for the fourth time that afternoon.
Jiang Qi Huai pushed the door open and had just taken a step when the chaos inside made him pause.
He stood in the doorway, looking around with apparent calmness.
His desk was overturned, everything from inside scattered about, his chair had slid to the other end of the classroom, and his backpack had somehow ended up in the dirty mop water bucket by the wall. Test papers and books were spread all over the floor, with two guys wrestling on top of them in an intense fight.
Right in front of him, a physics test paper with a hole in it caught the wind and swirled down before his eyes, bearing two huge black footprints.
Jiang Qi Huai: “…”
[Author’s Note] Tao Zhi: This move, this move is called using others to do your dirty work.
Our contestant Zhizhi! Rising from the depths of despair! Finally scored a point with the help of our comrades Timely Rain and Emo Guy!!! Let’s all congratulate her!!!!
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