Chapter Four: Conversation

Ring, ring. The bell signaling the end of class sounded right on schedule. As luck would have it, the moment the bell rang, Xiao Lin woke up. He stretched nonchalantly and smacked his lips as if nothing had happened.

The homeroom teacher, fuming, snapped the test papers shut. “Class dismissed. Xiao Lin, come to my office.” Xiao Lin glanced at the teacher, raising an eyebrow. He got up and followed, his lazy gait exuding a blatant disregard for authority.

Wang Yuqing frowned at his behavior, mumbling softly to herself, “You weren’t like this before. What on earth happened to you?”

“Yuqing?” Tan Linlin, noticing Wang Yuqing’s furrowed brow, nudged her gently with her elbow.

“Hm? What is it, Linlin?” Wang Yuqing snapped back to reality, looking at Tan Linlin’s round little face.

“So, do you know Xiao Lin?”

“Ah, well... I suppose you could say I do,” Wang Yuqing replied after a long pause.

“What do you mean, ‘suppose’? Why won’t you tell me? There must be a story between you two. Otherwise, why would you want to sit with him and abandon me?” Tan Linlin pouted.

Wang Yuqing couldn’t help but laugh at Tan Linlin’s adorable, sulking face.

“What, are you jealous? Hee hee.”

“Hmph, why would I be jealous? Are you going to tell me or not?” Tan Linlin grumbled in mock annoyance.

“Xiao Lin, well...” Wang Yuqing smiled faintly, her fingers gently touching the red string around her neck, her eyes distant as if lost in thought, leaving Tan Linlin utterly puzzled.

Inside the office—

Xiao Lin slouched against the desk, while the homeroom teacher, restless as a monkey, paced back and forth in front of him, hands clasped behind his back.

As he walked, he grumbled, “Xiao Lin, what are you thinking? Always sleeping in class—we’ll set that aside for now. Let’s talk about your grades. Last exam, you got 240, the lowest in the school. Today, Director Liu came to ask about you. Do you even realize what that means?”

“With grades like this, you won’t even make it into a third-tier college. If I were you, I’d have packed up my desk and gone home to feed pigs by now.”

“Look at our class! Is there anyone else like you? We’re the honors class, for heaven’s sake! No one scores below 300. Do you know how embarrassing that is? Do you know what your classmates think of you? Hey, I’m talking to you—”

Xiao Lin wrinkled his nose. “Are you done, teacher? If so, I’ll be leaving. Whether I get into college or not is my business, not yours. And I don’t care what others think of me. I am who I am. No explanation needed.”

The teacher slammed his hand on the desk with a bang, roaring, “Xiao Lin, what kind of attitude is that?” Xiao Lin shrugged. “That’s just who I am. I’m leaving.” Without another glance at the teacher, he walked straight out of the office. The teacher’s furious shouts trailed behind him, but Xiao Lin simply closed the door, dug a finger in his ear, and strolled back to the classroom as if nothing had happened.

When Xiao Lin entered, he saw all his classmates staring at him. He snorted, “What are you all looking at? Get back to what you were doing. Come on... This isn’t the first time. I’m used to it, but you all act like it’s a big deal.” The class burst into laughter.

At that moment, a skinny boy came over with a grin. “Boss Xiao, what did the homeroom teacher scold you for this time?”

This lanky boy was Xu Tong, one of Xiao Lin’s good friends—lively, mischievous, and a notorious troublemaker. He lived in the same neighborhood as Tan Linlin, and the two were sworn frenemies.

Xiao Lin said to Xu Tong, “He didn’t really scold me. He just said my grades are so bad I can’t even get into a junior college, and I’d be better off feeding pigs.”

Xu Tong burst out laughing. “So if you can’t get into college, your only option is raising pigs?”

Just then, a bespectacled boy chimed in, “Xu Tong, don’t laugh too soon. You might end up poorer than a pig farmer someday. With pork prices so high, and inflation...”

This was Lin Xudong, nicknamed ‘the Scholar,’ one of the top students—a bookworm whose dream was to become a research scientist.

Xu Tong interrupted, “Scholar, Scholar! Enough already. Everything you say sounds like an essay. Pork’s getting expensive? Maybe it’s your prices going up!”

Lin Xudong replied, “I won’t argue with you. But it’s a social trend you can’t deny. There are too many college graduates nowadays. The country doesn’t need more...”

“Stop! If you put it that way, why bother with college? Selling pigs sounds great, right, everyone?” Xu Tong turned to the class.

“Ha! Boss Xu, you might have a point. Go raise pigs!” “Yeah, who knows, you might end up a millionaire!” The classroom erupted with laughter.

Xiao Lin watched them joking around, amusement shining in his eyes, as he made his way back to his seat. But Wang Yuqing wasn’t laughing. Xiao Lin’s words had startled her. If he couldn't even reach the minimum score, he wouldn’t get into college, and she’d lose the chance to see him again. She had only just found him—she couldn’t let him slip away again. She had to find a way to help him.

She glanced at Xiao Lin, who had already lain down to sleep again, then quietly stood and walked toward the office, determination settling in her heart.

In the office, the homeroom teacher’s face was dark with anger, nostrils flaring as he muttered, “That boy really thinks I can’t handle him. Fine, I’ll talk to the Dean and have him transferred out of my class.”

Knock, knock.

“Who is it? Come in,” the teacher snapped impatiently.

Wang Yuqing pushed open the door and entered quietly. “Teacher, it’s me. There’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”

“Oh, Yuqing! Come in, sit, sit. What is it? Whatever it is, I’ll help you sort it out.” The teacher’s expression softened instantly on seeing Wang Yuqing. He even got up to pour her and himself a cup of hot water.

“Go ahead, Yuqing,” he said with a big smile.

Wang Yuqing pursed her lips. “Teacher, I’d like to transfer to Xiao Lin’s desk and sit with him.”

The teacher spat out a mouthful of hot water. “What? You want to sit with him? Absolutely not!”

Wang Yuqing pulled out some tissues to wipe the desk clean for him. “I want to help him, to bring his studies up to speed.”

“No way. Absolutely not. That boy is a hopeless case. What if he drags your grades down? I was just about to transfer him out!”

“Please, teacher... don’t transfer him. He used to be an excellent student. I don’t know what happened in high school, but back in middle school, he was the top student at our school. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gotten into this top high school.” Wang Yuqing pleaded anxiously.

“Oh? You and he went to the same school?” The teacher perked up, interested.

“Yes, he used to be really outstanding...” Wang Yuqing’s face lit up with a smile at the memory.

“Even so, I can’t agree. However good he was before, he’s just a lost cause now. I can’t sacrifice the whole for the sake of one.”

“Please, teacher, give him one more chance. I promise he’ll shine again.”

The teacher looked at Wang Yuqing’s earnest expression. “Yuqing, go back for now. We’ll discuss changing seats another time. For now, I won’t transfer him out.”

Seeing the teacher’s resolve, Wang Yuqing pressed her lips together and said nothing more.