One good thing about the affiliated high school of the teachers’ university was that seats were assigned according to height. Of course, except for the seats on the left and right sides of the podium, which were reserved for the more unruly students.
As everyone stood up to be reassigned, some classmates had grown taller over the break, but most had stayed the same.
Jiang Nuan was moved one row back, sitting next to Rao Can, but no longer in the same group. Instead, Lu Ran was seated directly behind her.
Jiang Nuan set down her bag and couldn’t resist glancing back. Lu Ran was absorbed in an advanced math problem, completely focused.
There wasn’t much going on during the first day, but the teachers did collect the winter break homework. The students knew that the teachers wouldn’t actually grade the mock exams like they would a regular test. They’d just skim through to see which questions were commonly missed and focus on those in their lessons.
Jiang Nuan, feeling a bit nervous, headed to the homeroom teacher’s office.
What awaited her was a personal battle—one that would determine her future choices and whether her dad would finally acknowledge her efforts.
Walking down the hallway, Jiang Nuan ran into her English teacher, Ms. Cai.
Although Jiang Nuan no longer remembered the incident where Ms. Cai took out her frustration on her over Li Shuyue’s falling grades, she still felt a bit uneasy.
“Hello, Ms. Cai.” Jiang Nuan greeted her.
Ms. Cai stopped and seemed to think for a moment before speaking. “Jiang Nuan… I’ve heard about your illness.”
“Oh, but I’m fine now.”
“What I mean is, if… I mean, if you really can’t remember last semester’s material, you might want to consider switching to the liberal arts track. You’ve always had a bit of an advantage there… And although it’s been a while, I still want to apologize to you.”
Ms. Cai adjusted her glasses.
“Huh? What for…”
“That time when you and Li Shuyue were talking in class, I made you stand at the back… Honestly, when I saw how close you were to tears, I kind of knew it wasn’t fair to blame you for Li Shuyue’s lack of focus. I was a bit surprised when you didn’t choose the liberal arts track during the arts and science division, and I wondered if it had anything to do with that incident… So, I wanted to apologize. Now that you have another chance to choose, I hope you’ll pick the path you truly like and excel in for the college entrance exams.”
After saying this, Ms. Cai exhaled softly.
Jiang Nuan knew that it wasn’t easy for a teacher to apologize to a student. Ms. Cai was genuinely looking out for her, which was why she said those things.
Jiang Nuan smiled brightly. “To be honest, that incident falls within the scope of my memory loss, so I didn’t take it to heart at all. I worked hard over the winter break, and I’m definitely aiming for a good score on the mock test. But I’ll seriously consider what you said about switching to the liberal arts track. Thank you for caring about me so much.”
Ms. Cai smiled faintly. “Well, at your age, you’re almost adults. It’s time to think carefully about your future.”
Jiang Nuan made her way to the homeroom teacher’s office. That afternoon, she had to complete both a math and a science test.
Perhaps the teacher was worried that her brain really wasn’t functioning well, as most of the questions were basic. The final few were a bit more challenging, though, and Jiang Nuan found herself struggling.
When she finally emerged from the office, she spotted Cheng Dou Dou and Rao Can sitting by the horizontal bars, sharing a bag of spicy strips.
“Give me a bite!” Jiang Nuan ran over.
Cheng Dou Dou was chewing on the last strip by the time Jiang Nuan reached her.
“All gone.”
“How could you! Not even giving me one strip! You’re going to lose me as a friend for this!” Jiang Nuan exclaimed.
“Our friendship is worth only one spicy strip?”
“What do you think?”
“Want me to spit it out and give it to you?”
“…You’re disgusting.”
“How did the test go?”
“I could do most of it. I think I did better than usual exams. The teacher went easy on us.”
“Ah, I was hoping you’d join me in the liberal arts class.” Cheng Dou Dou said.
“Hehe, to be honest, even Ms. Cai was encouraging me to go to the liberal arts track.” Jiang Nuan boasted.
Just then, they heard a clattering sound behind them. They turned around to see Lu Ran and another boy from their class. The handle of a trash can had broken off in Lu Ran’s hand, and the can itself had tipped over.
“Geez! Just my luck! This trash can had to break now of all times!” the other boy grumbled.
Lu Ran didn’t say anything. He quickly cleaned up the spilled trash and then walked away with the other boy.
“Jiang Nuan, do you think Lu Ran might have Stockholm Syndrome?” Cheng Dou Dou asked.
“Huh?” Jiang Nuan had no idea what Cheng Dou Dou was getting at.
“You’re like the captor! You’ve held him hostage for so long that now he can’t live without you.” Cheng Dou Dou said with exaggerated seriousness.
“If Lu Ran heard that, how do you think he’d respond?”
“How would he respond?” Cheng Dou Dou asked expectantly.
“He’d probably say, ‘Innocent and naive, with a boundless imagination. The perfect fit for kindergarten.’” Jiang Nuan imitated Lu Ran’s tone.
“You’re so annoying!”
The three of them walked home together and boarded the bus.
As the bus made a turn, they spotted Li Tietou from their class giving a girl a ride on his bike.
Jiang Nuan burst out laughing. “Wow! Li Tietou sure is smooth, already riding with a pretty girl!”
“That looks like our liberal arts class president!” Cheng Dou Dou said.
Rao Can nudged Jiang Nuan with her elbow. “Hey, that bike looks a lot like Lu Ran’s.”
“Lu Ran has such a boring sense of style. His bike model is super common!” Jiang Nuan said.
“I also think my taste is pretty plain.”
A clear voice interrupted them, and all three of them turned around to find Lu Ran standing not far away, holding onto the bus’s handrail.
“Lu… Lu Ran? What… what are you doing on the bus?” Jiang Nuan stuttered.
When had Lu Ran boarded the bus?
Had he heard what she said earlier?
“I was riding my bike to Longmen Road when Li Tietou asked to borrow it to take Zhang Dandan to the hospital. She sprained her ankle.” Lu Ran explained in his usual straightforward manner.
So after lending his bike to Li Tietou, Lu Ran had taken the bus, which meant he might not have heard what she said earlier.
Jiang Nuan quietly patted her chest in relief.
“Even if you talk bad about me with your friends, I can’t hit you. What are you so nervous about?”
Lu Ran’s question left Jiang Nuan speechless.
Rao Can quickly changed the subject. “Actually, compared to Li Tietou, you’re much better at riding a bike, Lu Ran. You should’ve taken Zhang Dandan to the hospital yourself to avoid further injury.”
“I don’t give girls rides.” Lu Ran said casually.
Jiang Nuan muttered to herself: So arrogant.
When the bus reached their stop, Lu Ran got off first, followed by Jiang Nuan.
The two of them entered the elevator together. Feeling a bit awkward, Jiang Nuan stood behind Lu Ran in silence.
Her phone buzzed, and she pulled it out to check. It was a text from Rao Can: He said he doesn’t give rides to other girls, which means there’s someone who isn’t “other girls” that he’s willing to give a ride to.
Jiang Nuan’s eyes lit up as if she’d uncovered a secret. “Lu Ran, do you have a girlfriend?”
“No.”
“You’re lying! You just said you don’t give rides to other girls, not that you don’t give rides to girls at all. So, there must be a girl you want to give a ride to!”
This discovery made Jiang Nuan feel that Lu Ran was indeed just like the rest of them, a normal teenager! If girls were all about “young love is poetic” then boys were all about “youth is the time to be reckless”!
At that moment, the elevator dinged as it reached their floor.
“You’re home.” Lu Ran said.
Jiang Nuan knew Lu Ran wouldn’t admit to anything, but teasing him still gave her a sense of accomplishment.
“Next time, tell us who you like, and we’ll help you out.”
Jiang Nuan walked out, and just as the elevator doors were about to close, Lu Ran reached out and stopped them, preventing her from being pinched.
“Thanks…”
“Jiang Nuan.”
“Hm?” Jiang Nuan turned around and looked at Lu Ran, who reminded her of that night under the streetlamp when he had lifted her onto the car’s hood.
“Are you going to switch to the liberal arts class?”
Jiang Nuan remembered what Rao Can had once said. Last semester, Lu Ran had spent time and energy helping her. If she just up and switched to the liberal arts class, Lu Ran might feel betrayed or something.
“I’m not sure yet. Maybe. But it’s not because I’m bad at science that I’d switch. I just think I could do better in liberal arts.”
“You wouldn’t necessarily do better in the liberal arts class.” Lu Ran said.
“Why?”
“Because politics, history, and geography—one requires you to follow a specific answering pattern, one requires rote memorization, and one is logical thinking disguised as liberal arts. You might not do better there than in the science track.”
Jiang Nuan didn’t like politics, and memorizing historical events felt like torture. As for geography, she could point out the South Pole when she was supposed to point to the Americas—she had no sense of direction.
“And if you switch to the liberal arts class, I won’t be able to tutor you anymore.”
With that, the elevator doors closed.
In the narrow gap as the doors shut, Jiang Nuan caught a glimpse of Lu Ran’s eyes. There was a slight hint of dimness in them.
She suddenly remembered that night when Lu Ran said he didn’t give rides to other girls. But that night when she went to retrieve her lost bag, he had given her a ride.
That night, lying in bed, every time she closed her eyes, she heard Lu Ran’s words: I won’t be able to tutor you anymore.
Oh my god!
Do you really want to tutor me that badly?
Could it be that you actually have Stockholm Syndrome? Have I been bothering you for so long that now, without me, you just can’t function?
The next day, when classes officially started, Jiang Nuan received her mock test results.
Author’s Note:
Jiang Nuan: It really hurts my pride when you say I belong in kindergarten!
Lu Ran: That’s because I dream of being a kindergarten director.
Jiang Nuan: All the kids would hate you!
Lu Ran: In my kindergarten, you’d be the only one.
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