The lunch break passed quickly.
Afternoon classes started at 2:30 PM, with three periods scheduled. Evening self-study wasn’t mandatory for students who lived off campus. Xu You packed her books into her bag, changed into a short-sleeved shirt, put on her school uniform jacket, and headed to the classroom.
In September, the afternoons were particularly stuffy after noon. By the time she reached the classroom, her forehead was covered in sweat.
It was already 2:15 PM, but only two or three students were in the classroom.
Xu You sat at her desk, glanced around, took out her books, and shook her head.
If she hadn’t known their class just finished PE in the morning, she would have wondered if everyone had gathered at the sports field for first period.
While quietly working on math problems, students gradually started filing into the classroom. As Xu You held her pen and looked down at her book, someone suddenly placed a cup of crushed ice on her desk.
She looked up to see Fu Xueli carrying a Hello Kitty purse, smiling sweetly: “Little one, I bought this for you.”
“Ah?” Xu You hurriedly stood up to let Fu Xueli through, stammering: “This… I…”
“What’s with all the hesitation?”
Fu Xueli shook her head and raised her eyebrows, “If you don’t drink it, I’ll throw it away.”
After a few seconds, Xu You lowered her head and said very softly: “Thank you.”
She thought to herself that her new classmates didn’t seem as bad as the rumors suggested.
At least her desk mate, Fu Xueli, was a warm and pretty girl.
Xu You bit the straw, secretly glancing twice at the person sitting beside her playing with their phone.
She accidentally took a big sip, and the crushed ice was so cold it made her shiver.
She couldn’t help but cough, but worried about disturbing others in the classroom, she could only cover her mouth.
Xu You rarely drank things like this. At home, she only drank cooled boiled water and mung bean soup that her grandmother made. She never touched those strange drinks and cold beverages.
Seeing her like this, Fu Xueli burst out laughing and suddenly asked: “Hey… little one, do you have a boyfriend?”
“Huh?” Xu You was stunned for a moment, then shook her head, “No.”
“How come no one’s pursuing you when you’re so cute?”
Xu You became embarrassed at the compliment: “I’m not cute. You’re the first person to say that about me.”
“Really?” Fu Xueli laughed again, “That just shows I have good taste.”
The two of them continued chatting at their seats, exchanging words back and forth.
Actually, Xu You wasn’t traditionally introverted, just somewhat slow to warm up to others. Once she became familiar with someone, she felt she actually had a lot to say.
Gradually, the classroom filled up and became somewhat noisy as the teacher walked to the podium carrying teaching materials.
Xu You quickly finished what was left in her cup, tidied up her desk, and took out her Chinese textbook.
“Hey, why are there two empty seats in the fourth row back there? Who sits there?” the Chinese teacher pointed and asked the class monitor.
“Xie Ci and Song Yi Fan.”
The class monitor stood up and answered flatly, clearly used to dealing with such questions.
The Chinese teacher rolled her eyes but didn’t pursue the matter further.
These two students would either barely make it on time or be late.
The various subject teachers found it annoying but couldn’t do much about it.
She took a sip of water, picked up the chalk, and began writing “Jing Ke’s Assassination Attempt on the King of Qin” on the blackboard.
Halfway through writing, the back door of the classroom was suddenly thrown open with a bang.
The entire class turned to look as the Chinese teacher’s hand paused and she turned around.
Xie Ci and Song Yi Fan, seemingly unfazed by the whole class staring at them, sauntered in one after another.
The Chinese teacher appeared to hold back her temper and didn’t get angry, turning back to finish writing on the blackboard.
Xu You nervously listened to the commotion behind her.
— Clang, thud.
The two troublemakers pulled out their chairs, making quite a racket before finally sitting down.
“Where did you guys go? Did you resolve things with Fu Yi Shun?”
Fu Xueli leaned back against Xie Ci’s desk and turned to look at them, speaking in a low voice.
Xie Ci couldn’t be bothered to speak, casually pulled out a book from his drawer, and slapped it on the desk.
Song Yi Fan shook his leg carelessly and said: “Fu Yi Shun isn’t worth shit. Ah Ci and I found some people to rough him up, then went to the internet cafe to play games.”
“Hey, is it true that you’re officially with Qiu Qing Qing?” Fu Xueli looked at him. “That girl has such a bitchy attitude, I don’t like her.”
“You’re just jealous that she’s prettier than you,” Song Yi Fan said dismissively.
“No, Song Yi Fan, don’t you feel it too?” Fu Xueli said seriously. “After Ah Ci took her out a few times, she seems to look down on us students with poor grades.”
Song Yi Fan remained unconcerned, making a noncommittal sound before saying: “Well, she’s like a lotus rising from the mud, untained1.”
Xie Ci hadn’t said a word the entire time and was getting impatient. He laid his head on the desk, preparing to sleep.
“Alright, we’re starting our new lesson today.”
The Chinese teacher stood at the podium, cleared her throat, and said, “Everyone be quiet, I’m going to find someone to read the text.”
Hmm…
The classroom instantly fell silent.
Damn.
Such a long classical Chinese text, and she had to find someone to read it – what was wrong with her?
Most of the class quickly lowered their heads, avoiding her scanning gaze.
The Chinese teacher looked around and her eyes lit up as she pointed to the properly seated Xu You and asked: “That girl in the back, are you the transfer student who came this morning?”
Xu You froze for a moment. When she realized the teacher was addressing her, with all eyes on her, she blushed and quietly stood up, nodding.
“What’s your name?”
“Xu You.”
“Where are you from?”
“Xi Zhou.”
“Ah, that place!” The Chinese teacher thought for a moment and nodded thoughtfully. “A Southerner, no wonder you’re so fair-skinned.”
As soon as she said this, the whole class burst into laughter.
Xu You stood there awkwardly, slightly lowering her head.
Although she had always been an excellent student and a teacher’s favorite, for some reason, she was afraid of being called on to answer questions. Every time she stood up, her ears would turn completely red.
The Chinese teacher liked this kind of well-behaved, quiet female student. She nodded and said: “Then please read this text for us.”
Summer sunlight streamed through the glass, creating beams of light in the air where tiny particles floated.
Xu You had rolled up her school uniform sleeves to her elbows, revealing thin, fair arms. She picked up her Chinese textbook and began reading from the first line.
Word by word.
Her voice carried the characteristic softness of the South, with a slow, particularly gentle cadence.
“The Qin general Wang Jian defeated Zhao, captured the King of Zhao, took all his territory, and advanced north to survey the land, reaching Yan’s southern border…”
The Chinese teacher nodded as she listened, wrinkles forming as she smiled, clearly pleased.
Xu You not only read fluently but pronounced many difficult characters accurately.
This was the result of previewing the lesson beforehand.
When she read “The wind whispers cold by the Yi River,” the teacher interrupted her.
“Stop.” The Chinese teacher made a gesture and said kindly, “Please read that line again.”
Xu You hesitated: “…The wind whispers…”
“It’s ‘feng’ (wind), with a back nasal sound,” the Chinese teacher interrupted, explaining kindly. “Not ‘fen’, you pronounced it as ‘fen xiao xiao’.”
“Feng… feng…”
Xu You took a moment to process this, her voice lacking confidence.
Southerners indeed often couldn’t distinguish between front and back nasal sounds, and their Mandarin wasn’t as good as Northerners’.
Song Yi Fan was right behind Xu You and heard everything clearly. He finally couldn’t hold back his laughter, his body shaking.
Beside him, Xie Ci propped his head up with one hand, looking down at the phrase ‘The wind whispers cold by the Yi River’ in the book, grinning.
Once the two brothers started laughing, others also burst into laughter.
The classroom discipline instantly broke down.
The Chinese teacher was in the middle of speaking when she noticed the commotion in the back. She couldn’t help but knock hard on the blackboard. Seeing those boys’ delinquent behavior made her angry, “Song Yi Fan!! What are you laughing at? You come read!”
Song Yi Fan immediately stopped laughing and said pitifully: “I’m not the only one laughing, my deskmate was laughing too.”
“Then both of you!”
The Chinese teacher took a breath and said: “Xu You, you may sit down. Some people in the back, if you don’t want to listen to the lesson, just sleep, don’t disrupt the class!”
Although Xu You felt embarrassed from being laughed at, she still felt relieved and sat down quietly.
Fu Xueli leaned over to comfort her, “It’s okay, little one. Song Yi Fan and his friends are just naturally jerks, don’t take it to heart.”
Xu You nodded, not angry, and said quietly: “I don’t mind.”
Actually, it wasn’t a big deal, since she had a good temperament.
After a while, the two boys behind her stood up reluctantly.
“Teacher, I and Xie Ci are illiterate, can you let us off?”
Song Yi Fan continued to joke around casually.
The Chinese teacher’s eyes widened: “If I ask you to read, just read! Why so much nonsense! Xie Ci, you start first.”
Xie Ci leaned against the wall with his shoulder, held the book up to his eyes, glanced at it, and lazily continued reading: “Fen xiao xiao yi shui han.”
When this line came out, the whole class burst into laughter again.
The Chinese teacher’s eyes blazed with anger: “Are you done? Read it properly!”
Xu You kept her head down, looking at her Chinese textbook, not laughing. After being deliberately mocked by the person behind her, she felt even more embarrassed.
Sigh.
She felt a bit tired.
After spacing out for a while, Song Yi Fan’s weird tone made Xu You pay attention again, so she picked up her pen and continued listening attentively.
Finally getting through two Chinese lessons, the last period was self-study.
During the ten-minute break, all sorts of chaos broke out, with desks and chairs being moved around noisily by a group of rowdy boys.
Xu You opened a supplementary textbook with classical Chinese annotations, preparing to copy down explanations for some key sentences from the new lesson.
After writing for a while, the class bell rang. Everyone returned to their seats, and those who had gone to the bathroom ran back from the corridor.
Fu Xueli had been sleeping since the second period ended.
Xu You took her book and helped make a copy of the notes for her as well.
The self-study period was generally quiet, with occasional noises.
“Hey, switch seats,” Xie Ci suddenly said.
Song Yi Fan was confused, “Why?”
Xie Ci kicked him: “Hurry up, stop asking questions.”
Then there was a rustling commotion as they moved.
Xu You’s pen paused for a moment, and only after confirming nothing else was happening did she continue with her homework.
About ten minutes passed quietly.
Suddenly her chair was kicked, accompanied by a voice: “Hey, my physics homework…”
Xu You’s heart skipped a beat.
She didn’t know how to respond since she hadn’t done it herself.
Not wanting to disturb others with an explanation, she pretended not to hear and continued copying notes.
After a while.
Her chair was kicked twice more.
Xu You’s back stiffened, but she waited for him to finish kicking before continuing her work.
Song Yi Fan kept giving her meaningful looks.
Xu You’s expression remained stiff as she continued to ignore him.
Until.
Someone hooked their foot around her chair and suddenly pulled it backward.
There was a harsh scraping sound that startled her, and she quickly grabbed the edge of her desk.
Everyone around turned to look in surprise, and Fu Xueli was awakened by the noise.
Xu You finally couldn’t take it anymore.
She turned around, not daring to look at him, and could only say submissively in a small voice: “Classmate, your physics homework, I…”
“You what?”
“I don’t know which parts to do.”
“Give me your book.”
Xie Ci looked down at her from above.
“What?” Xu You was stunned.
“Physics book.”
“Ah…?”
Xie Ci leaned back in his chair, slightly lifted his chin, raised his eyebrows: “I’ll mark which questions for you.”
- This is a Chinese saying – ?????? (ch? y? ní ér bù r?n). It draws parallels between the lotus, which often grows in muddy water, but emerges untainted and unsullied by the mud, and someone who is principled and incorruptible. ↩︎
Leave a Reply