The handwriting was beautiful, so uniform that every character looked the same in height and width. Tao Zhi stared at those two print-like characters for five seconds, then raised her head expressionlessly: “I suddenly regret not encouraging Ji Shi Yu to make you wait four hours. You really do deserve a beating.”
Jiang Qi Huai remained unmoved: “Don’t pick on me when I’m working.”
The papers were passed to the first row. Teacher Wang collected them group by group, walking to the podium while casually flipping through a couple of pages. Halfway through, he paused, suddenly laughing: “Come on, where’s Tao Zhi sitting? Stand up and let me see.”
Tao Zhi was about to talk back, turning around to stand up, the displeasure still evident on her face.
Teacher Wang raised his hand, waving the blank test papers: “What’s the meaning of this? Challenging me? Quite rebellious, aren’t you?”
Tao Zhi pouted: “I don’t know how to do it.”
Teacher Wang looked at her half-skeptically: “You don’t know? I just graded your homework last class, I remember you did quite well, barely made any mistakes.”
“Teacher,” Tao Zhi said honestly, “There can be various methods to complete homework, and when necessary, one can seek help from others. But an exam is different.”
She paused, then added quietly: “Especially with your type, where everyone’s test paper is different.”
Teacher Wang choked on his anger at her words: “You’re quite frank, complaining to me now? Fine, I won’t waste everyone’s class time. Come to my office after class. Sit down.”
Just as Tao Zhi was about to sit down, Teacher Wang, while organizing papers with his head down, spoke again: “Which two are class monitors? I heard from your Teacher Wang that you just elected them on Friday, right? And my subject representative, stand up and let me see.”
Tao Zhi remained standing.
Behind her, Jiang Qi Huai also stood up.
Teacher Wang looked up. He wasn’t surprised about Jiang Qi Huai, who had perfect math scores, but seeing these two standing one in front of the other, he was momentarily confused, looking at Tao Zhi puzzled: “Why are you still standing?”
The class was holding back laughter, with a few unable to contain themselves.
Teacher Wang finally realized: “You’re the class monitor?”
Tao Zhi was starting to get impatient.
“Your Teacher Wang is quite talented,” Teacher Wang laughed again, looking at Jiang Qi Huai teasingly, “You two share the same position, why don’t you help out? Give your colleague some tutoring.”
He pulled out Tao Zhi’s test paper and slapped it on the podium: “Take the paper back after class. Five problems — let your colleague explain them to you later. I’ll give you the whole afternoon. Make sure you understand them thoroughly, and I’ll test you again during evening self-study. Sit down now, let’s start class.”
Tao Zhi sat down numbly, feeling utterly desperate.
She took out her phone, hiding it in her sleeve, and sent a WeChat message to Tao Xiu Ping.
Zhi Zhi Grape: [Dad, I want to change classes.]
Tao Xiu Ping replied unusually quickly: [You look like a class to me.]
Tao Zhi complained desperately: [I can’t stay in this class for one more second! I want to go to a class with poor academic performance!]
Tao Xiu Ping: [Do I look like a class to you? Want to change dads too?]
“…”
Tao Zhi was about to reply.
Tao Xiu Ping: [Pay attention in class, don’t play with your phone.]
Tao Zhi didn’t know why, but since starting second year of high school, her life had suddenly undergone a dramatic change. Originally, no one cared when she skipped classes, got punished, or scored zeros, but suddenly she needed to study again.
Every subject teacher watched her like a dog without a leash.
It was pure torture.
She attended this class without any enthusiasm. As soon as the bell rang, she darted out the back door like a sprinter. The kind with talent worthy of the national team — without even half a second’s pause.
Fu Xi Ling was dumbfounded: “What’s with her today, is she that hungry?”
Her movement had caused Jiang Qi Huai’s test paper to flutter, and he commented indifferently: “She’s afraid I’ll make her study with me.”
Fu Xi Ling: “…”
Fu Xi Ling couldn’t for the life of her imagine what it would look like for Jiang Qi Huai to force someone to study with him.
After lunch, Tao Zhi returned to the classroom early.
Jiang Qi Huai usually came back right at the start of afternoon self-study. When she returned, only Fu Xi Ling and a few others who brought their own lunch were in the classroom.
“Zhi Zhi, Teacher Wang came looking for you earlier, said to go to his office when you got back,” Fu Xi Ling said when she saw her sit down. “I brought back that math test paper for you. You should really let Jiang Qi Huai explain it to you, otherwise what will you do during evening self-study?”
Tao Zhi lay on her desk and yawned, chin resting on the desktop, eyes lowered to look at the math test paper with five problems.
She had a feeling that if she let Jiang Qi Huai teach her, she would somehow lose.
“Maybe you can teach me instead,” Tao Zhi said listlessly.
Fu Xi Ling also deflated: “My math isn’t that great either…”
“Alright,” Tao Zhi stood up, “I’ll ask Li Shuang Jiang this afternoon.”
She left the classroom, walking slowly towards Teacher Wang’s office. The corridor was very quiet during lunch break, with most people not back yet. Tao Zhi reached the office door, which was half open, and just as she was about to knock on the doorframe.
“I’ve talked to Principal Li about the student aid, it’s been approved. Principal Li said as long as you maintain your grades, the school will help you apply for a full scholarship.”
Tao Zhi’s movement froze.
Teacher Wang continued: “You were on a full scholarship at Affiliated School too, right?”
Jiang Qi Huai made an affirmative sound, sounding no different than usual.
“Don’t worry, the school won’t let you worry about these things. Just focus on studying and maintaining your grades,” Teacher Wang’s tone was unusually gentle. “Now that you’re at Experimental, you’re one of us. It might be a bit difficult to fit in at first, but your classmates are all quite easy to get along with. Once you get familiar, it’ll be fine. If anything makes you uncomfortable, just come tell me directly.”
Jiang Qi Huai said “Thank you, teacher.”
“I’ve tried calling your mother several times before, but couldn’t get through. See when your parent is available, I’d like to have a good chat with her,” Teacher Wang said.
Jiang Qi Huai replied quickly this time, almost blurting out, his voice noticeably colder: “I don’t have parents.”
With a hint of that stubborn hardness unique to teenagers his age.
Tao Zhi was stunned.
Teacher Wang didn’t speak.
Tao Zhi leaned against the doorframe, somewhat lost in thought, vaguely hearing Jiang Qi Huai say inside: “Then I’ll head back first.”
“Alright, you go ahead.”
Tao Zhi instantly snapped back to reality as footsteps sounded from inside the office. She looked around the bare corridor in panic, but there was nowhere to hide. The stairwell was too far, and the nearest classroom door was more than a dozen steps away — there wasn’t enough time.
The footsteps from the office were just steps away. Tao Zhi barely had time to think before she whirled around, facing the wall, pressing herself tightly against it.
The next second, the office door was pushed open, and Jiang Qi Huai walked out.
Tao Zhi had her back to him, her shoulders somewhat stiff, not moving at all.
Five seconds of silence passed.
She felt a faint breath from above near her left ear as the young man spoke indifferently: “What are you doing?”
Tao Zhi’s forehead pressed against the cold wall, avoiding turning around, her voice somewhat muffled: “I didn’t hear anything.”
Jiang Qi Huai seemed to find it somewhat amusing: “Why are you feeling guilty?”
Tao Zhi didn’t speak, still not turning around, pressing herself even closer to the wall, as if hoping to merge with it.
Another few seconds of silence passed.
Jiang Qi Huai couldn’t be bothered to waste time with her and was about to leave.
Tao Zhi suddenly turned her head, quickly glancing at him before lowering her eyes again, looking very guilty.
“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop,” she mumbled softly. “I’m sorry.”
Jiang Qi Huai thought he had misheard.
“Say that again.”
“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop,” Tao Zhi obediently repeated.
“Not that part,” Jiang Qi Huai’s lips curled up, “The part after that.”
— I’m sorry.
Tao Zhi raised her head, glaring at him somewhat angrily.
Jiang Qi Huai stood before her with his head slightly lowered, the noon sunlight flowing through the window, casting a gentle gloss over his peach blossom eyes, tempering some of their sharpness and coldness.
Light touched his nose bridge, highlighting the small protruding bone in the middle of his tall nose, his lips curved in a slight arc.
Tao Zhi tilted her head back, momentarily lost in thought.
She suddenly felt something heavy thump inside her body, as if something with unknown weight had crashed down from above with tremendous force, the aftershock making her heart tremor, blood rushing up, small sparks crackling in her mind with a “sizzle,” exploding recklessly.
But it was only for that moment.
The next second, this strange feeling vanished completely.
Tao Zhi blinked: “I won’t tell anyone else.”
Jiang Qi Huai didn’t care whether anyone knew: “Whatever.”
Seeing his expression that seemed either indifferent or completely distrustful, Tao Zhi became a bit upset: “I really won’t tell anyone else, I’ve been keeping your secret for so long already.”
Jiang Qi Huai glanced at her: “What do you mean ‘so long’?”
“I knew early on,” Tao Zhi said stiffly, “The first time I met you, you were filling out that… application form, I saw it.”
Jiang Qi Huai didn’t speak.
This little prairie dog had a temper that could flare up at the slightest provocation, and she had indeed been genuinely angered by him several times, but this matter, she had never mentioned it.
Tao Zhi seemed afraid he wouldn’t believe her, emphasizing again: “I won’t use this kind of thing to attack you, that would be dishonorable.”
Jiang Qi Huai lowered his eyes.
Tao Zhi continued: “I’ll defeat you fair and square, make you one day submit to me completely, deeply realize my power, understand that you’re no match for me, and then kneel down begging for mercy.”
“…”
Jiang Qi Huai looked at her with a strange expression, wondering what dream this little lunatic was having now.
Tao Zhi had already fallen into her own fantasy, momentarily unable to control her mouth, continuing to run wild with her words. She said gleefully: “But I won’t forgive you, I’ll beat you so hard you’ll be buried in the ground cracks, impossible to dig out.”
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