Placing the textbook on the lectern, Gu Qingying scanned the classroom, her gaze lingering on Yang Haoran for a few seconds.
“Class, let’s begin the lesson!”
“Good morning, teacher!”
Following the usual greeting, Yang Haoran stood up along with everyone else.
“You may be seated.” Gu Qingying gave a slight nod, then spoke: “Before we officially start the lesson, Yang Haoran, Wei Ming, and Li Peng, please hand in your self-criticism essays.”
“Self-criticism essays?” Yang Haoran, hearing this from below the lectern, stiffened. Fuck, I forgot to write it.
He had been flirting and bantering with that devil Shen until late last night; how could he possibly remember to write some self-criticism essay?
Wei Ming and Li Peng took out their self-criticism essays and dutifully handed them in at the lectern, leaving Yang Haoran sitting motionless in his seat, a glaringly obvious omission.
After Wei Ming and Li Peng returned to their seats and sat down, everyone instinctively turned their eyes toward Yang Haoran.
Facing the stares of his numerous classmates, Yang Haoran maintained a calm and composed expression on the surface, but inwardly he was screaming, This is bad, this is really bad.
Only when Gu Qingying’s gaze also shifted to him did he stiffen. There was no way out. Steeling himself, he stood up, intending to confess: “Teacher, Iβ”
“Teacher, Yang Haoran handed his self-criticism essay to me this morning.” Before he could confess, Yang Mengyao stood up, her innocent face slightly tense.
As she spoke, she took out the so-called self-criticism essay from her desk and handed it in at the lectern.
Gu Qingying picked up the essay and glanced at it. Although the handwriting somewhat resembled Yang Haoran’s, she could tell it was an imitation.
“Take your seat. Let’s begin the lesson.” Gu Qingying gave Yang Haoran a meaningful look. Since his sister Yang Mengyao had written it for him, providing him cover, she didn’t plan to make things difficult for the boy.
She, as their teacher, was aware that Yang Mengyao and Yang Haoran were siblings.
Regarding Yang Haoran, a student with connections, her usual policy was to turn a blind eye. As long as he didn’t go too far, she could cover for him.
Of course, there was another matter concerning this boy that gave her a constant headache. Yet, because it was rather sensitive, she found herself powerless to address it.
Yang Haoran, who had thought he was about to be publicly reprimanded by Gu Qingying, breathed a sigh of relief and sat down calmly, looking completely composed as if he had indeed handed the essay to the class president, Yang Mengyao, earlier.
As for how Yang Mengyao knew about the self-criticism essay, this had to do with yesterday, after the three boys were called to the office. Worried about her brother, Yang Mengyao, leveraging her position as class president, had subtly probed Wei Ming for information.
Knowing her brother as well as she did, a self-criticism essay? What was that?
If her brother had written it, she wouldn’t need to produce the one she had prepared. If he hadn’t, then hers would come in handy.
Everything unfolded exactly as she had anticipated.
After that, the lesson proceeded normally.
As time slipped away unnoticed, the noon bell rang, signaling the end of school.
Yang Haoran, Zhou Shiwen, and Wei Ming formed their usual trio and headed to the school cafeteria for lunch.
Following the slightly crowded flow of students, the three of them went downstairs.
They chatted casually as usual about school gossip and pretty female classmates. During the conversation, Wei Ming casually asked Zhou Shiwen why he hadn’t come to school yesterday. Zhou Shiwen made up a random excuse, glossing over it. Fortunately, he had already checked in with their homeroom teacher, Gu Qingying, that morning. The topic then deliberately steered by Wei Ming towards Xiao Shaowan.
“Wasn’t there a rumor going around that Xiao Shaowan was being kept by someone?”
“It seems like it was confirmed yesterday.”
Wei Ming spoke while sneaking a glance at Yang Haoran, observing his reaction. He knew Yang Haoran had a crush on Xiao Shaowan.
Hearing this, Yang Haoran’s face instantly darkened: “Xiao Mingzi, tell me exactly what happened?”
Knowing Yang Haoran would ask this, Wei Ming, as a good buddy, had already gathered all the details yesterday.
“Yesterday afternoon, after school, someone saw a guy walking and talking with Xiao Shaowan on the sports field, and quite a few people witnessed it.”
“I found out all about it. That guy is from Class 3 on the second floor, named Han Hongfei. He’s a rich second-generation heir; his family is supposedly in the clothing business.”
“You guys probably know him tooβthe one who’s always picked up and dropped off by a sports car. Very flashy.”
Once Wei Ming said this, Yang Haoran immediately had an impression. He remembered a chubby guy, average-looking, but because he was rich, he changed girlfriends as often as he changed clothes. He usually had a chauffeur driving him to and from school in a sports car.
If it was him, then to outsiders, given his family’s financial situation, it would seem more than sufficient for him to be keeping Xiao Shaowan.
Seeing Yang Haoran’s dark, silent expression, Wei Ming patted his shoulder comfortingly: “Haoran, don’t be upset. If it doesn’t work out, we can just find someone else. Why cling to one flower?”
“Besides, someone who can be kept isn’t worth much anyway. She’s not good enough for you.”
Wei Ming patted his shoulder, offering comfort, understanding his buddy’s inner pain. The person he liked was actually being kept by someone else? What kind of situation was that?
A human tragedy?
Thankfully, the one he liked was Han Lili, Wei Ming thought to himself with private relief.
Seeing Yang Haoran remain silent with a grim expression, Zhou Shiwen, feeling guilty because he had forced him to agree to his conditions that morning, tried to console him: “Haoran, Xiao Shaowan is just a bit pretty, has a good figure, but otherwise⦔
Zhou Shiwen wanted to list Xiao Shaowan’s flaws to make Yang Haoran feel less heartbroken, but as he spoke, he suddenly found himself at a loss for words.
Because, thinking about it, he couldn’t recall any flaws Xiao Shaowan had. She was good-looking, had a great figure, and her academic performance wasδΈη¨θ―΄ (needless to say)βexcept for Yang Haoran, almost everyone in Class 5 was a top student.
Zhou Shiwen glanced at Wei Ming; seems there was another one, Wei Ming himself, who was placed in Class 5 as a sportsηΉιΏη (specialty student). He was also the class’sδ½θ²ε§ε (PE monitor). His grades were average, at least at the bottom of the class, just slightly better than Yang Haoran’s.
As for Xiao Shaowan’s personality, there was also nothing to criticize. Apart from being a bit aloof and proud, which wasn’t really a flawβin fact, some people saw her as a goddess because of it.
The two guys were clearly not very good at comforting people. Yang Haoran looked rather upset, lost in his thoughts.
While the two of them were trying their best, racking their brains on how to comfort him, they had already arrived at the school cafeteria.
“Haoran, Shiwen, you two grab a seat. I’ll get the food for you.”
Seeing that he really couldn’t comfort him, Wei Ming gave up. The only thing he could do for his good buddy now was get his meal, slightly alleviating his inner sorrow.
Inside the cafeteria, students were orderlyζι (lining up) in several queues to get food. The place was bustling with people coming and going. Yang Haoran and Zhou Shiwen simply found an empty table, sat down, and saved the spots. Soon, Wei Ming came over, struggling somewhat as he carried three meal trays with his fingers interlaced between them.
He regretted it a little. I should have just gotten Haoran’s meal. Shiwen has hands and feet and isn’t upset. Thankfully, he was fairly strong and had sturdy wrists.
After placing the meal trays in front of them, just as Wei Ming was about to sit down, he caught sight of a boy and a girl sitting in the distance out of the corner of his eye.
“Haoran, look over there. Doesn’t that look like Xiao Shaowan and that Han Hongfei?”
Once he clearly saw who it was, Wei Ming immediately became agitated and hurriedly signaled for Yang Haoran to stand up and look.
Hearing this, Yang Haoran stood up and followed the direction Wei Ming was pointing. About twenty meters away, Xiao Shaowan was sitting across from a boy of average looks, about 1.6 meters tall, slightly chubby, engaged in a conversation, talking and laughing with him.