On Monday morning at half past ten.
Rong Xu emerged from the consultation room and took the elevator to the first floor, where a waiter from a high-end restaurant was already waiting at the door.
As soon as the waiter saw Rong Xu approaching, a smile appeared on his face, and he briskly walked towards him: “Young sir, the dishes you ordered are already packed.”
Rong Xu placed the insulated bag on his lap, nodded slightly with a detached expression, and wheeled away in his wheelchair.
Since it wasn’t mealtime, the restaurant’s waitstaff were gathered in twos and threes.
A girl with tied-up hair looked somewhat envious and said, “Ah, he comes daily to bring lunch to his girlfriend. If my boyfriend could do that, I’d marry him on the spot!”
Another girl with braided hair, while quickly folding napkins, disagreed, “Why can’t he pack it for himself? How do you know he has a girlfriend?”
“I can feel it.” The girl with tied-up hair mysteriously winked, “Want to bet? I’m telling you, if he bought it for himself, there wouldn’t be so many requests, like no ginger, more vinegar… It’s obvious he’s bringing it for someone else!”
A guy seized the opportunity to join the conversation, “Exactly!”
The two girls rolled their eyes together, “Do you have a girlfriend? What’s with your ‘exactly’? Go work quickly!”
The guy: “…”
With one hand resting on the insulated bag, Rong Xu entered the school. Along the way, whether it was his imagination or not, he seemed to hear the words “Chi Han” from many people’s mouths.
It wasn’t until he entered the classroom that he didn’t see that bright smile that belonged to him alone. The two desks that should have been together were also dragged back to their original positions, separated by two rows.
Rong Xu’s hand on the bag suddenly clenched.
The intermittent words from before began to replay in his ears, ultimately forming a complete meaning:
“Chi Han from Class 19 ranked tenth in the whole grade, and the head teacher took him to Class 1 early in the morning.”
Rong Xu’s breath hitched, and the warmth in his eyes turned into a torrential downpour.
Chi Han was going to transfer to another class.
He would have new desk mates in the future.
Would they also pass notes during class?
Rong Xu’s gaze became deep, cold, and melancholic. Suddenly, he remembered that Fang Jingluo was also in Class 1.
The time they spent together was truly too beautiful, so beautiful that he was almost forgetting that Chi Han liked Fang Jingluo.
Yes, this time that made people want to drown in it was stolen by him.
Rong Xu slowly lowered his eyes and returned to his place in the corner.
Although the sunlight outside the window was brilliant, not a ray of light fell on him.
He didn’t want to look at the dazzling sunlight on the distant table anymore and silently closed his eyes.
After all, it would always come to an end.
Why keep watching?
***
There was a distinctive feature in the exams at No.1 High School. After the scores were added up, a designated teacher would directly write them on the corresponding machine-readable cards. The answer sheets and machine-readable cards were generally distributed to each class before the class rankings were announced.
The answer sheets were brought into the classroom at nine o’clock. Normally, if it were any other day, hardly anyone would bother to pick them up until the evening.
But now, the majority of the students in this classroom were eager to witness the spectacle involving Chi Han.
After all, Chi Han’s efforts were visible to everyone. Apart from talking to Rong Xu every day, he basically never took his eyes off his textbooks.
Many people secretly sneered in their hearts.
Is someone so studious yet still in a class like this? What’s with the act of pretending to be a good student?
So, as soon as the answer sheets were placed on the podium, several self-appointed do-gooders rushed up eagerly, flipping through them while loudly shouting, “Come on, fresh top student’s answer sheet is out! Everyone, take a look! Our academic overlord, Chi, actually scored in mathematics…”
The person speaking suddenly stopped, staring at the paper as if their eyeballs were about to fall out.
“Why are you stuttering? Can’t you stop teasing us?!”
“Yeah! What’s there that can’t be said?”
“Maybe he got a negative score! Hahaha, the teacher found the paper so trashy that they deducted ten points straight!”
“Hahaha…”
During the days of the exam, the few guys sitting by the window were even more enthusiastically encouraging each other, each trying to grab the paper and announce it themselves.
The guy holding the machine-readable card mumbled a few unintelligible sounds.
“Full… full…”
“Full what? He can still get a perfect score! Hey, move! Let me read it!” The guy who had once bothered Chi Han impatiently pushed the person away, snatched the machine-readable card, and shouted as if he had a megaphone, “Class 19, Chi Han, mathematics score, 150 points!”
Everyone: “…”
As the sound fell, the classroom fell into complete silence.
The guy reading the scores froze for a second, then quickly reacted. His face instantly turned pale, and he nervously grabbed his companion’s clothes, his voice sounding like it was squeezed out of his throat:
“Hey, Lao Hei, what’s the full score for our math paper?”
Lao Hei looked miserable. “150, you idiot.”
Just as everyone stared at each other, and feathers were flying everywhere, a calm voice sounded from behind them.
Chi Han expressionlessly looked at the guy and extended his hand. “Finished reading? Can I have the paper back?”
The guy instinctively handed over the test paper, his body curling up like a quail.
Chi Han took the crumpled machine-readable card that had been snatched away, wrinkled his brow in disdain, and casually folded it before tucking it into his pocket.
“Could you please find the other answer sheets for me?” Chi Han’s lips curved slightly, but there was no trace of a smile in his eyes. “Thank you.”
The guy couldn’t help but sense a hint of mockery in that “thank you.”
Chi Han was indeed taking the opportunity to mock. For people like them, it was necessary to slap them when the time came, raising a hand to smack them hard when needed.
After all, only when their faces swelled up would they stop casually being nauseating.
The guy was now thoroughly beaten down, lacking the arrogance he had before.
He clutched a glimmer of hope as he went through the remaining machine-readable cards. As long as Chi Han’s other grades were ordinary, he could still argue that Chi Han got lucky this time, pretending to be a good student.
However, the red scores on the machine-readable cards he flipped out were increasingly frightening.
Chinese: 140, English: 150, Integrated Science: 280…
The guy stared blankly at Chi Han, his mind momentarily in a daze.
Was he dreaming?
Who said Chi Han averages thirty in every subject?
Chi Han, not entirely satisfied, glanced at his Chinese score, casually took the paper, and returned to his seat.
It seemed that there would be more hard work ahead in translating classical Chinese poems.
In the atmosphere where everyone turned into fossils, the headmaster, with an excited expression, strode into the classroom. Without a second word, he tried to pull Chi Han out.
Chi Han forcefully pulled his hand away, his expression unpleasant.
He was seriously considering whether it was worth observing this bald head in front of him for a few days before giving it a good beating.
The headmaster, unperturbed by being pulled away, smiled like a Maitreya Buddha, squinting his almost nonexistent eyes.
“Student Chi, do you know your scores?” the headmaster asked.
Chi Han nodded faintly, showing no intention of speaking.
The headmaster rubbed his hands, excited and thrilled, saying, “Do you know that you ranked tenth in the whole grade this time? All the grading teachers have reviewed your paper, and we unanimously feel that you need a better learning environment to improve yourself! Come, let me take you to report to the new class. You’ve probably heard of this class; it’s the elite class where Fang Jingluo, the first in the grade, is! With better educational resources, you might make greater progress and bring glory to No.1 High School and yourself!”
“Stop.”
Chi Han made a pause gesture, half-raised his eyes, and calmly asked, “Is there anything else? If not, I want to continue reading.”
The headmaster: “…”
He really wanted to slam the table and leave right now, but the problem was that Chi Han was currently a hot cake. If they didn’t quickly use the best resources to retain him, there was a high chance that another school might snatch him away!
Although Chi Han was currently only ranked tenth in the grade, how many days had it been since his math score went from thirty to a full score?
Moreover, the teaching level of Class 19’s teachers was widely recognized throughout the school.
What did this indicate?
It indicated that Chi Han’s achievements were entirely self-taught!
If there was a teacher to guide him, who could assert that he wouldn’t become the provincial champion in the future?
The headmaster thought more and more passionately, and his gaze towards Chi Han became increasingly amiable.
Chi Han felt his hair stand on end, and the overnight meal was about to reach his throat.
Seeing that the headmaster wanted to keep talking, Chi Han could only signal him to step outside for a conversation.
Just ten minutes after he left, Rong Xu arrived in the classroom. Several people who had heard about the transfer process and wanted to flatter Chi Han enthusiastically helped him pack up his things and put them into another class.
They even flaunted their relationship with Chi Han, making it seem like they were close friends.
Unaware of all this, Chi Han stood in the headmaster’s office. His repeated refusals had finally irritated the headmaster.
The headmaster, holding back his anger, scolded, “This won’t work, that won’t work. Then what will?! How can you agree to transfer classes?!”
Chi Han suddenly thought of Rong Xu. After a moment of contemplation, he smiled and said, “Unless Rong Xu agrees to transfer with me, otherwise, it’s a no-go.”
The headmaster: “…”
Not to mention Rong Xu’s grades, even the fact that he was placed in Class 19 was explicitly instructed by Rong Family’s current wife, Xu Man. After all, the Rong family was one of the school directors at No.1 High School!
Chi Han’s request was indeed quite ruthless.
In the moment of silence from the headmaster, Chi Han understood. For someone like him, who had long entered society as a corporate worker, these twists and turns were too obvious.
Chi Han’s expression turned slightly cold, and he felt discomfort in his chest.
Why did so many people want to desperately pull Rong Xu down like this?
Rong Xu was already going through a lot.
Without saying a word, Chi Han left the office. Back in the classroom, he found Rong Xu more gloomy than usual.
People around them continued to scrutinize them, and the whispers sounded like countless buzzing flies.
Suddenly, Chi Han felt that this world was truly dull, and only Rong Xu still carried genuine colors.
He dragged a chair and sat next to Rong Xu, leaning his weary head on his desk.
With a drooping face, he sighed loudly:
“Oh, Rong Xu, it’s so annoying! I have nowhere to sit again! They all bully me!”
Rong Xu: “…”
His deep eyes stared fixedly at that disheveled fluffy head, and his fingertips uncontrollably lightly touched it. His breathing rhythm became irregular.
His light returned.
Rong Xu’s five fingers lightly rested on his head, his voice soft, as if wrapped in the sweetest honey in the world, carrying infinite indulgence and coaxing: “You can have my desk.”
As long as you don’t leave, everything is yours.