Chapter 39: Precious Xi

Zhuang Wenqian had not expected that a single sentence from Jiang Nian would ignite the classroom, nor that there would be such deep-seated resentment hidden behind Yu Tongjie’s provocation.

Since things had reached this point, there was no turning back.

"Quiet!"

"Stop stirring up trouble, everyone sit down!" Qian-bao regained her teacher's authority, scanning the class with a stern face. "Anyone still standing can go and stand in Mr. Liu’s office!"

Invoking the name of the head teacher, Mr. Liu, the class grew noticeably quiet.

Qian-bao frowned and turned to glance at Yu Tongjie. Seeing the kid just standing there in silence, without any extreme reactions or a ferocious expression, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. She had been truly afraid he might attempt a "leap of faith" from this fourth-floor window.

*My, this kid actually has quite strong nerves!*

Zhuang Wenqian was young herself and could handle abstract humor. Married to a small business owner, her life wasn't exactly opulent, but it was certainly comfortable. Seeing that Yu Tongjie seemed fine, she prepared to finish the translation exercise. At this stage, it would be even stranger not to continue; it was best to leave it at that.

The senior year English office was small, and Jiang Nian’s previous English teacher sat right across from Zhuang Wenqian. She was well aware of whether Jiang Nian had cheated or not. That was precisely why she had pointedly called on him for no apparent reason. Zhuang Wenqian neither liked Jiang Nian for skipping assignments nor did she like students who stirred up conflict in class.

"That student, you go first. Translate the sentence."

Yu Tongjie lowered his head slightly, gritting his teeth as he started a dry, stiff translation: "Before the earthquake, the sewage rose up, but no one judged that an earthquake was coming."

He didn't know the word "canals," and he had forgotten what "wells" meant, so he had to translate it vaguely.

"Mmh, the general meaning is correct," Qian-bao encouraged. "When doing reading comprehension, you don't need to know every single word. Using context to infer meaning is the right approach."

"If you forget the meaning of a word for a moment, we can guess what it relates to based on the context, right? Yes, it relates to where the sewage flows through, doesn't it?"

The summer heat was stifling, the view outside the window was bright, and the hum of the small microphone clipped to the English teacher's collar echoed through the classroom.

Some of the girls sitting near the podium couldn't help but purse their lips as they cast glances at Jiang Nian, who stood there holding a blank test paper, looking clearly distracted.

In Chinese schools, those who are good-looking and have good grades usually enjoy their youth first. Jiang Nian possessed both. His grades weren't exceptional, but they were respectable enough for the Olympiad class. His face was so handsome that whatever he did seemed reasonable. Perhaps the pressure of the final year was just too much, and they found themselves drawn to someone who didn't play social games but instead struck back directly to one's face.

***

It felt good.

After finishing the first sentence, Zhuang Wenqian turned to look at Jiang Nian and threw out a command.

"You translate the rest."

Hearing this, everyone in the class involuntarily looked at Jiang Nian. They saw him pick up his blank test paper, but he didn't start translating right away; instead, he flicked the paper.

"The whole thing?"

The classroom fell silent. That white sheet of paper looked particularly striking in the sunlight.

Qian-bao choked and said unhappily, "If you translate it all, what am I supposed to teach?"

The class erupted in laughter.

Li Hua chimed in, "Teacher, he's trying to steal your job!"

Amidst the students' teasing, Jiang Nian began to translate, "In an instant, the staircases collapsed, the mountains crumbled, and huge fissures opened in the ground; life was frozen in that moment."

Zhuang Wenqian nodded, "A very accurate translation. Now, looking at the words..."

The translation continued, sentence by sentence, back and forth. Yu Tongjie struggled more and more, making several mistakes where the meaning was completely off. As for Jiang Nian, almost as soon as he finished a sentence, Qian-bao would begin to explain the vocabulary. Less than halfway through, Zhuang Wenqian told Yu Tongjie to sit down.

Although Qian-bao had encouraged and affirmed Yu Tongjie throughout, everyone in the class could clearly see who was in the right and who was in the wrong. The way the surrounding students looked at Yu Tongjie had changed. He would even spread rumors about someone who had moved up through the grades with him—who would dare hang out with him after that? Who knew what he might say behind their backs?

*I said I couldn't drink, and you went around telling people I wouldn't live much longer?*

Jiang Nian had spent the whole period translating, standing on the podium with his blank paper. Acting cool really was addictive; he didn't feel tired at all after doing it for a full lesson.

*Ring, ring, ring.* The bell for the end of class rang.

To avoid a direct confrontation, Zhuang Wenqian took Jiang Nian with her as she left. As soon as the two stepped out of the classroom, a deafening roar of noise erupted behind them.

In the corridor, the sunlight was bright.

Qian-bao walked briskly, her lesson plan tucked under her arm, leaving a trail of faint fragrance. Jiang Nian followed closely behind, walking side-by-side with her through the crowd in the hallway.

"Teacher, I want to go to the restroom."

"Will you die if you hold it for a while?" She shot him a glare.

Jiang Nian muttered, "That depends on how long I have to hold it."

***

Teachers tend to have a higher tolerance for high-achieving students, and the extent of that privilege depends entirely on how high those grades are—a score of 140 is a clear watershed.

English is different from other subjects; 120 is just average. 130 is for top students, and anything above 140 is the "absolute territory."

"Still being cheeky? I haven't even settled the account for you disrupting the class yet," Qian-bao turned and glared at him, threatening, "I'll have Mr. Liu scold you later."

"That wouldn't be necessary, Teacher." Jiang Nian remained unfazed, smiling, "In that case, I won't go to the restroom. I'll reluctantly hold it for another half hour."

"You... you can't be so impulsive just because your grades are good. You need to get along with your classmates, understand?" Qian-bao lectured earnestly. "It's only just past National Day; you still have a year to spend together."

"That's not necessarily true," Jiang Nian said out of the blue. "What if he gets filtered out in this month's mock exam?"

Hearing this, Qian-bao was speechless.

*She thought to herself, this kid really is the same inside and out. Even away from the classroom, he’s still so aggressive.*

"You said 'what if.' Have you thought about what you'll do if he stays?" Qian-bao walked into the office, sat down, and handed him her cup. "First, go and help me fill this with hot water."

Jiang Nian was speechless. *Wait... is she already ordering me around?*

"Fine."

After he filled the water, Qian-bao tossed a few unknown flowers into the cup. Steam curled upward, releasing an unfamiliar fragrance. Jiang Nian’s nose twitched slightly.

"Teacher, starting to look after your health at such a young age?"

When Zhuang Wenqian heard the word "young," her eyes curved into crescents as she smiled. *This kid isn't so bad at talking after all.*

"Oh, my child is almost in elementary school; what 'young' are you talking about?"

According to the rules of women's polite deception, the next sentence should have been to praise her for looking young. It was impossible to tell she had a child; she clearly looked no different from the students.

But Jiang Nian stopped right there.

He stared at the unknown herbs in the cup and said, "This thing that looks like a centipede..."

The fist under Qian-bao’s desk clenched for no reason. She didn't speak, just stared at him.

Jiang Nian felt a chill run down his spine under her gaze. He swallowed a mouthful of saliva and said, "Teacher, you only look seventeen."

Qian-bao’s expression turned sunny in a second. She covered her mouth and laughed, "Oh, you're too kind."