In mid-august, the hot late summer wind was bothering the cicadas chirping under the leaves of the trees.
At this time of year when the summer heat is still in full swing, students at High School D began classes, grades divided between arts and science. The second-graders were lucky enough to start a day early.
“School is so stingy, they can’t spare a day.”
“Fck! Today isn’t when homework gets picked up, is it?”
“Didn’t you finish it?”
“Nonsense! Did you finish them?”
“Of course.”
“You copied Yu Rui’s, right?”
“Hey, the number one of the course is in the class, so you don’t need me for anything.”
“Son of a bitch! Don’t ever think that I will call you when there’s something good, wait for it…”
The front door of the classroom opened and the wind blew through the hallway, blowing the rest of the words away.
A teenage boy in a white shirt with a backpack slung over his shoulders, headphone cord dangling under his ears, walked through the classroom door.
The one squatting on a chair lit up and rushed at him as he shouted, “Brother Yu, God Yu, Master Yu! Help me! Let me copy your homework!”
Long legs took a step, and the white-shirted teenager looked up as he removed his headphones. Messy black hair revealed a pair of slightly curved eyes in the corner, “Hmm? I didn’t hear well.”
Yu Rui’s eyes roamed over the other party’s flattering expression and averted, revealing a soft smile, “You mean the summer homework? Someone borrowed it and hasn’t returned it.”
Qiao Shengyu’s brightly flattering smile stiffened and with annoyance he turned his head to airily shout to the class, “Whoever borrowed Brother Yu’s homework, hurry up and return it to him! Do you have a sense of time now that classes have started?”
The class was silent for two seconds before someone raised his arm, “Here, here I am.”
Qiao Shengyu impatiently shook his head, “Hurry up and hand it over.”
“I haven’t …”
“Forcing my hand, are you?”
“…”
Qiao Shengyu, from High School D, is a notorious bully and except for the teacher, no one would dare to confront him. The person who opened his mouth in anger, did not dare to refuse him and could only hand Yu Rui’s homework to him in disgust.
Qiao Shengyu grabbed one of Yu Rui’s hands and squeezed it, “Brother Yu, let me copy the homework first, en?”
Without waiting for Yu Rui to say a word, Qiao Shengyu bared his teeth and turned his head to leave.
Yu Rui smiled softly and also returned to his seat.
He had just put down the backpack when the girl in the front seat stood up, her voice slightly suppressed, “Qiao Shengyu, it’s too much. Saying that others have no sense of time and yet he still takes away your homework. He must not have finished a single one, so for now, he won’t give them back to you.”
“It’s okay.” Yu Rui put his backpack on the hollow of the table, “I’m not in a hurry.”
“You are too kind for Qiao Shengyu to dare to be like this.” The girl looked a little helpless, “By the way, have you seen the course ranking board?”.
Yu Rui, “I haven’t seen it yet.”
“Really? I thought the class president would be able to see it first. Then we’ll have to wait for them to post it.”
“Hmm.” Yu Rui agreed. Even when there was only a tone of voice like this, the expression in his eyes when he looked at people was still calm and kind.
The girl in the front seat blushed unconsciously and muttered, “It’s a little hot today.” And she turned around.
The class was in an uproar for a while, and only quieted down when the teacher came in, stepped up to the podium, said a few routine words, and then picked up some forms on the table as the students looked on expectantly or uneasily.
“The spots in arts and sciences have been set according to the form you all turned in last semester. This is a special case today, ah, we are trying the ‘class change’ system for the first time this term.”
The classroom was silent for a few seconds and gradually became rowdy.
Qiao Shengyu, who was copying assignments as fast as he could in the midst of his busy schedule, didn’t even forget to look up and ask, “What do you mean by the ‘class change’ system?”
“Well, in a nutshell, it means that there are two classes for a single student. The first is the one we have now, called the Administrative Class, which deals with administrative matters. The second is called the Teaching Class, which is the new classroom they have divided according to arts and sciences.” The professor finished his explanation and looked around the classroom, “Is that clear?”
“Yes…”
The long, drawn out tones of the class could not hide the excitement of the students, and the quieter ones were already fidgeting in their original positions.
“Good, then I will read the classroom divisions. Then everyone will go and introduce themselves to their new class.”
Yu Rui was assigned to Class 10 of the second year.
He was dismissed by most of the girls who were not in Class 10, and he left quietly.
There was a girl and a boy with him.
The girl’s name was Pei An An, she wore round-rimmed glasses, she was tall and thin, with a small white face, a little unhealthy and striking, not very talkative. The boy is Qiao Shengyu, who has a very bad reputation among the students of Middle School D. Walking with his chin and eyes not forward and not toward the ground, only toward the ceiling, arrogant and overbearing manner.
The students in the hallway moved sideways when they saw him, and Yu Rui in the lead as a patrol group. The three soon arrived at the door of second-year Class 10. When they entered, the classroom was lively. Hearing the commotion of the classroom door opening, many students turned their heads to look and the first thing they saw was the white-shirted teenager with a bright and friendly smile walking towards them.
“It’s Yu Rui, senior year Class 3, he really came to our class!”
“Really?”
“We’re going to be in the same class with him for the next two years? I’m too happy.”
“Wait, the one at the end can’t be Qiao… !”
Seeing Qiao Shengyu behind Yu Rui, the classroom that had been buzzing due to the number one student of the course coming in was instantly cooled to the freezing point by a stream of cold water. At Middle School D, even the good students who are dedicated to their studies know that Qiao Shengyu is a “bully” and his presence has always been equated with trouble. When they saw these two enter together, the students in the class did not know whether to laugh or cry.
Qiao Shengyu not only didn’t mind the awkward stares, he was even a little smug. After glancing around the class like a king surveying his territory, he chose a remote spot, put on his backpack and prepared to go there.
Before continuing, he thought of Yu Rui and stopped, turning his head to ask, “Brother Yu, you lent your brother your homework, so I’ll keep that in mind. You choose the table first, don’t be polite to me!”
Yu Rui looked up and smiled softly, “I’ll make myself at home, sit down first.”
“Fine! I’ll go to the last row then, ah, tell me if you need anything.”
Yu Rui looked towards the classroom. When his gaze passed, several girls deliberately avoided it, and there were some bold ones who met his gaze with a wide smile.
He paused for two seconds and turned to the back row. The first thing you need to do is have a good idea of what you’re looking for.
With his height, sitting in the front row would inevitably block the view of the people behind him, so he consciously made his way to the empty seat at the back, in the second-to-last row, in the row against the northern wall of the classroom.
High School D still had the old-fashioned double tables this year, and the table Yu Rui had chosen was empty, with another table behind it with only one person.
Must be……
It was a person, sure.
Yu Rui thought uncertainly as he flicked his eyes twice.
The young man was asleep on his desk, not sure if the light was too harsh or he was cold, and he was hooded. His entire upper body was buried under his uniform, except for the middle of his waist and his stomach line which was exposed behind the desk.
By the first day of the new term, everyone’s uniforms had been washed and taken out throughout the summer, coming out clean and smooth. But this person was different, with a uniform as wrinkled and messy as a piece of crushed pickle… At that instant, in Yu Rui’s heart was born the desire to leave.
But faced with the countless eyes staring at him in the classroom, he restrained himself. He put his backpack on the desk and leaned over to pull the chair. Then he stopped moving.
Under the desk, the pair of long legs from the back seat that probably didn’t have enough room to fit them in one place also appeared in his view, so they came out in front.
Long, it’s really long. Straight and slim, the ordinary pants model disappeared and became those of a male runway model…. but they were also really annoying.
Yu Rui ‘s eyelashes dropped.
He was a bit expressionless for that brief moment, with a cold indifference fizzing up, but it was quickly brushed off.
Although the students who noticed this looked at him again, they only felt that they had been mistaken; he was the same bright and kind student as always, the same bright and kind smile.
Infected by this smile, the girl who had long hesitated across the hall boldly peeked out, “You’re Yu Rui from Class 3, right?”
“Certainly, hello.”
“Hello to you…. I’ve heard about you for a long time. You are very, very good, always at the top of your course, especially good that…. Our teacher often praises you in class.” The more the girl said, the more she blushed.
Yu Rui dropped down in his seat and smiled softly, “Thank you.”
“No, you’re welcome…”
“But I’m not always the first.”
“Huh?” The girl looked up blankly.
Yu Rui’s voice lowered, and her well-arched eyes seemed to narrow unconsciously, “Class 10 also has Xie Li. He is better than me.”
The girl froze and opened her mouth to retort, but said nothing. Because what Yu Rui said was the truth.
While Yu Rui’s excellence was known within the course, Xie Li from Class 10, was known throughout the school. He was absent in almost every exam, but as long as he participated, the first place of the course belonged to no one else, including Yu Rui. And because of this, most called Yu Rui the number one student of the course, but no one called him number one of the school. Thinking about this, the girl paused in embarrassment. Before she could find the opportunity to speak again, the class teacher entered through the front door.
The one who entered was a male teacher, not very tall, slightly overweight, with glasses on the bridge of his nose and a serious expression. Standing at the podium, he wrote three words on the blackboard and then underlined them with chalk, “My name is Tian Xueqian, I am your Teaching Class teacher.”
“Hello, Professor Tian!”
“Hmm.” Tian Xueqian picked up the booklet in his hand, “I just received the class list, so let’s get started. The list is sorted according to your science grades on the final exam, so you’ll be able to tell where you rank in the class as I read it.”
The relaxed atmosphere of the class was affected by this sentence.
Tian Xueqian, however, did not seem to notice and began to call out, “Yu Rui.”
“Present.” Yu Rui raised his hand in a gesture.
Despite knowing he was there, complicated glances were thrown from all directions of the class.
“Good.” Tian Xueqian nodded, “The best grade from last year’s final exam was assigned to our class, so everyone should learn more from Yu Rui.”
“…”
Yu Rui was very popular among the students in the same class, and as soon as Tian Xueqian’s words fell, the classroom resounded with loud applause in response.
The Teaching Class had about 60 students in total, and with 30 people on one page, Tian Xueqian quickly moved to the last page.
Sitting in the last row, Yu Rui could also see the large blank space of the translucent paper, with only a line of black printing ink on the top.
Yu Rui looked at it nonchalantly and willingly looked down again.
“Last place, Xie Li.”
There was silence in the class.
Two or three seconds later, this silence was abruptly interrupted by murmurs.
Yu Rui was surprised: that Xie Li, was he also in this Teaching Class?
Amidst the noise, Tian Xueqian tapped impatiently on the blackboard, “Where is Xie Li, not here?”
The classroom fell silent and no one answered.
He wasn’t.
Yu Rui dropped his gaze.
Just then, on the table behind him, the messy school uniform shifted. A few seconds later, a lazy, sleepy voice emerged from the silence,