"Your action have been exposed. Come out now!"
Zhang Shutong understood immediately. It must be that the news of the poachers' capture had reached the school. If this were in the city, there would have been a buffer period of a few days;
But the small island was such a small place, and there was only one junior high school. The incident happened last night, and the police called early this morning.
Judging by Old Song's joyful expression, they were definitely going to get a praise.
But it was a good thing. Why did he make it sound like they were caught?
Regardless of what Zhang Shutong was thinking, the classroom suddenly fell silent, and most people's gazes were focused on Lu Qinglian.
—It wasn't strange for Zhang Shutong and his best friends to do anything since they were always together, but what did this have to do with Lu Qinglian?
This thought surfaced in many people's minds.
Was Lu Qinglian close to any of them?
Many people in the class knew that Du Kang liked Lu Qinglian. After thinking for a long time, there was only one suffocating possibility:
Did that kid finally succeed?
With this guess, everyone's gaze shifted. They saw Du Kang, who had just put down his backpack, run out of the classroom smugly. Many boys' eyes turned vicious.
In short, under the curious and whispering gazes of the people around them, a few of them walked out of the classroom and followed the class teacher to the office.
Old Song had a trick called "never be too honest in war." He just had to keep them in suspense. He first leaned back in his office chair, and in a leisurely manner, as if he was interrogating suspects, he said:
"Do you know why I called you all here?"
Du Kang was the first to pout:
"Old Song, why are you acting like Qingyi? Just say it."
"You can't call me Old Song. You're being disrespectful," Song Nanshan said with a frown. "Then let me ask you, did you do your homework yesterday?"
"Uh..."
"A week of duty," the class teacher said with a terrifying smile.
"No way!"
Zhang Shutong thought that Du Kang was still too naive. When dealing with Song Nanshan, you couldn't be so direct. He took the other person's teacup and was about to go to the water dispenser to get water. He was completely acting like an obedient student.
Old Song then said to Du Kang that Shutong respected his teacher. He told him to learn from him more. As he said that, he turned his head with a grin and saw Zhang Shutong's hand aggressively adding hot water. He was shocked:
"What are you doing now, kid?"
Zhang Shutong stopped his hand in a bit of disappointment.
"Alright, alright. Don't do it. I can see that you're all heartless little rascals. Give the cup to Ruoping. Let Ruoping get it for me..."
Saying that, Song Nanshan was no longer in the mood to play with the students and said irritably:
"I just wanted to tell you that there will be no morning calisthenics today. The principal wants you all to go to the flag-raising platform and take turns speaking. Go back and prepare yourselves well."
"No bonus?" Du Kang was stunned.
"What a daydreamer. A bonus? At most, they'll give you a banner." Song Nanshan cursed with a smile: "Take this seriously. Think carefully about what to write. It doesn't have to be too long. The principal values this a lot. Especially you boys, don't just ramble... Feng Ruoping!"
Old Song shouted again, glaring at her and asking if she wanted to scald him to death too. Did she think he didn't see her?
Ruoping stuck her tongue out in embarrassment. She was about to hand the cup to Qingyi, but Old Song wouldn't have it. He glared at them:
"Are you all playing a relay? Let Qinglian get it for me!"
Lu Qinglian just nodded when she heard this and calmly took the cup;
Old Song was very pleased with this and thought that there was finally a good kid. He then looked at the four ungrateful kids and said with a stern face:
"Praise is praise, but you should all do less of these dangerous things in the future. Oh, this time, it wasn't just the four of you. You also dragged Qinglian into it. I didn't ask for the specifics, but what if something happened to you kids? Do your parents not have to live their lives anymore? Don't always try to be a hero. Do you all hear me?"
The few of them nodded and said they understood. Only then did Old Song open his drawer. He was clearly a rough man, but at this moment, he was acting like an old woman. He wouldn't let them off with his words:
"I can tell you didn't listen at all. Sigh, forget it. Come over here. You all did well this time. Just like before, one for each of you..."
Song Nanshan's drawer was always full of lollipops. He had them to quit smoking, but in reality, very few of them ever made it into his stomach. He gave them all to the students in the class: one for praise, one for a heart-to-heart talk, and another one to console someone he had made cry...
In short, a few of them happily received a lollipop, and even Lu Qinglian took one.
Song Nanshan then waved his hand, shooing the children back to the classroom like he was shooing away chicks. He looked at the backs of the boys and girls as they laughed and chattered, feeling a bit nostalgic and also a bit proud.
The man just smiled and shook his head, sighing that he was indeed getting old. He habitually rubbed his waist, straightened his slightly hunched back under his white shirt, and picked up the freshly filled cup of water;
He took a sip and then spat it out on the ground, his eyes wide:
"Seriously, why is it still hot?"
...
As soon as they were out of the office, Ruoping went over to talk to Lu Qinglian.
Zhang Shutong thought, "If I had known this, why did I go through all that trouble?" If he had known that the class teacher would call them out, he wouldn't have gone to all that trouble just now, and he wouldn't have unnecessarily offended Gu Qiumian.
But whether he had called Lu Qinglian out or not, Zhang Shutong could only silently mourn for Ruoping, remembering the other person's behavior during morning reading.
She was probably about to get a cold shoulder.
But to his surprise, the two of them actually started talking smoothly. While they were chatting, Lu Qinglian actually peeled her lollipop under Ruoping's guidance and put it in her mouth. One side of the girl's cheek was puffed up, and she seemed to be in a good mood, squinting her peach blossom eyes.
He thought that Ruoping was just popular, but then Du Kang and Qingyi also went over and said a few words. She would sometimes nod, sometimes shake her head, or give some indifferent responses;
Although she still had no expression, she was much more lively than she was during morning reading.
Zhang Shutong, also with a lollipop in his mouth, wondered why she would frown and be a bit scary only when she talked to him.
Then he heard Ruoping ask:
"I originally wanted Shutong to call you out. I don't know if he said anything..."
"Oh, he did. That's fine. Wait, what did he call you..."
"What?"
Ruoping suddenly turned her head and glared at Zhang Shutong:
"Tsk, you pervert!"
Zhang Shutong walked into the classroom in a state of confusion. At this time, Gu Qiumian also came back, and she wasn't alone. Three small girls were gathered around her, chatting animatedly.
That's not an accurate description. It was more like Gu Qiumian was sitting in her seat, and the three small girls were around her, chattering about something;
He walked closer and saw that Gu Qiumian was scrolling on her phone. Zhang Shutong recognized it as the latest iPhone, which he remembered was being sold at a premium and was once very expensive;
He saw that Gu Qiumian was staring at the screen. Sometimes, she would casually take some snacks out of her backpack. The various colored wrappers were dazzling, and they were all in a foreign language that he didn't recognize. There was definitely no low-class snack like "Wangwang Breakfast Sausage." He wondered if Oreos were good enough to be on the table;
She put the snacks on Zhang Shutong's desk without caring how they would be divided. The few girls ate the snacks, their cheeks bulging, and tried their best to think of all sorts of gossipy and interesting things to liven up the mood, just to get a smile from the young miss. But Gu Qiumian just nodded absent-mindedly, occasionally curling her lips. When the snacks on the table were not enough, she would take out another pile from her backpack.
One of the girls saw that Gu Qiumian was not interested and wisely changed the subject, complimenting her new phone;
As soon as she brought it up, someone else quickly joined in, saying, "Wow, wasn't that just released in the U.S. in September? It's not available in China yet, is it? I saw online that the ones you can get now are all smuggled from Hong Kong, and they're ridiculously expensive and hard to get";
Another person said, "Forget the new model. I've only seen the old one online. I've never seen anyone use it. I wish I could afford one someday";
Another small girl, who loved to act cute, pouted and said, "Qiumian, Qiumian, let me see. Please..."
But in reality, they were not good judges. Zhang Shutong had noticed yesterday that the most expensive thing on Gu Qiumian was probably her lady's watch. It could be tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands. He hadn't looked into the specifics. Anyway, a phone was probably not as valuable as her woolen coat.
Gu Qiumian put down her phone when she heard this. She just gave the Apple logo on the back a strange look. As she handed it over, she said casually, "If you want to look at it, then look. I'm not interested in these electronics. An uncle gave it to me. I just started using it." The few girls were again filled with admiration;
But Zhang Shutong felt that she wasn't lying and wasn't showing off on purpose. He saw that she was using the one-finger method to type, her fair finger poking at the screen. It was so slow...
When he walked closer to his seat, they had already moved on to the next topic:
"Should we still call Zhao Yang today..."
"No."
Gu Qiumian didn't even look up.
"He actually wanted me to apologize for him. He's just not very smart and said the wrong thing. He shouldn't have told people he liked you in private. Qiumian, look..."
Gu Qiumian looked up at the girl, and the girl immediately bit her lip and fell silent;
The other two girls also looked at each other, quietly put down the snacks in their hands, and also shut up. It seemed that no one dared to speak until Gu Qiumian made her position clear.
The originally noisy small circle fell silent. Gu Qiumian was, of course, the leader of the circle. When they went silent, Zhang Shutong happened to walk back to his seat.
But he never expected that the girl who was biting her lip would suddenly let out a "wah," her eyes sparkling as she looked at Zhang Shutong:
"Handsome guy, handsome guy, Qiumian, is this your deskmate? Since when?"
The two girls behind her also chimed in, immediately changing the subject:
"I think he looks familiar. What's your name, senior?"
"This guy is so much better than your last deskmate..."
Saying that, they consciously moved aside, as if they were going to ask for his autograph any second. Their attitude was very enthusiastic.
Zhang Shutong, however, noticed that the truly clever one was the girl who was biting her lip. Her words were about him, but her eyes were always watching Gu Qiumian's expression. As for the other two, they were always a beat behind. They seemed to have really had their attention diverted.
He saw that Gu Qiumian also gave him an indifferent glance:
"We're not close."
She said two words crisply, and then she put her phone face down on the desk. The three girls stopped talking mid-sentence. The atmosphere became a bit awkward. They looked at each other, but no one spoke until Gu Qiumian waved her hand boredly:
"You guys can go back first. We'll talk about lunch later."
The three girls felt as if they had been pardoned. They quickly said goodbye and scurried out of the classroom.
When Zhang Shutong returned to his seat, if you were to ask for his impression, it would probably be that he had seen a very real "young miss" side of Gu Qiumian. Before, he could only sense her uniqueness by looking at the brick castle on the bookcase, but now it was much clearer.
There were still two things on his mind. One was to find Zhou Ziheng. That was simple; but the most urgent matter was to write a speech. This was what gave Zhang Shutong a headache. He wasn't good at this kind of thing;
He was just thinking about how to draft a document. God knows why he would use the word "draft." The Chinese teacher then walked into the class, clapped her hands, and said that they would have a surprise check of the textbook, and she righteously combined morning reading with the first class;
When the class ended, Zhang Shutong had just managed to draft a speech in his mind, but the bell for the second class rang.
Then it was the long break after the second class in the morning.
The long break was usually divided into two parts, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. In the morning, they would usually go downstairs for calisthenics. His only memory of morning calisthenics was "Colorful Sunshine," but they were doing something else now. For the students, it was a time to go out and have some fun;
The afternoon was for running around the track field. Running was a chore. Fortunately, the track field was icy these days, so it was changed to free time.
Now, even the morning calisthenics were changed to listening to them speak. This had already been announced on the school broadcast. Zhang Shutong felt that the students must be very unhappy, but looking at the reactions of the people around him, they all looked eager to try. It seemed as long as they could go outside for some fresh air, that was all that mattered.
As a result, he couldn't find a chance to talk to Zhou Ziheng even during the long break. Zhang Shutong was also surprised at how many things he had to do. He remembered being very idle before... He decided to just get it over with and deal with other things after he gave his speech.
The classroom was noisy. This time, Zhang Shutong didn't wait for Gu Qiumian to tap on the stool. He went out first;
Du Kang was still bragging to the people around him, and Old Song pulled him out by the collar, telling them all to follow him.
The group of them quickly went downstairs to the flag-raising platform. They were first forced to rehearse by Song Nanshan, and it was clear that none of them were easy to handle.
"Du Kang, you're exaggerating. The man was scared by a frog? Is that for real?"
"Ruoping's is too long. Don't start with how you started playing on your phone..."
"Qingyi, stop with the middle-school talk. This is about giving your thoughts on a heroic deed. There's no need to discuss a man's mission..."
"As for you, Shutong... forget it. Just be yourself. Try to smile a little more."
"And finally, Qinglian. I said it's okay to write just one sentence, but you can't really just say one. What's 'I'm very happy that I subdued a thug last night'?"
After a long time of work, Old Song sighed and looked up at the sky.
Then it was time to arrange the speaking order:
The few of them unanimously nominated Du Kang to go first, to liven up the mood;
Next were Ruoping and Qingyi.
Zhang Shutong really wanted to go last. By that time, the people below would be bored of listening, and he could just say a few words and get off the stage. But a girl had no sense of tact. The three best friends were already in a line, but Lu Qinglian hadn't moved;
Zhang Shutong deliberately left a spot for her behind Qingyi, but the girl, when she saw it, just went around him and stood behind him. He turned around and looked at Lu Qinglian for two seconds. She calmly looked back. Should he then go and stand behind her? He just sighed.
Soon, the students were lined up below the flag-raising platform. The morning sun pierced through the clouds and into their eyes. Melted snow ran down the flagpole. If they looked up to find its source, they would be blinded by the bright sky... It was a very clean scene.
Then the leaders went up to speak. Du Kang was already impatient. He was staring at the leader's pant legs, his face contorted. He really wanted to just pull them down;
Finally, it was their turn. Du Kang rushed up, Ruoping took a deep breath below... Everyone reacted differently. Zhang Shutong, on the other hand, was daydreaming:
Why was the applause below the flag-raising platform so rhythmic?
First, it was the most intense when they saw off the leaders;
Then it was much weaker for Du Kang;
It got a bit more intense for Ruoping;
The girl, with a red face, quickly ran off the stage. Then Qingyi, with his blank face, went up, and the applause was even louder than before.
It was Zhang Shutong's turn to go on stage.
He was a bit puzzled as to why the applause below suddenly rang out, even more intense than when they saw off the leaders. Shouldn't they be getting more and more annoyed?
He walked up to the flag-raising platform step by step. He could even see someone waving at him in the crowd. He looked closely and saw that it was the girls who were with Gu Qiumian this morning. They were jumping up and down, looking excited, like a fan club, and they were whispering to the people around them.
When he got to the microphone, the applause hadn't stopped—according to his observation, the boys had already stopped, and only the girls were yelling and screaming. He looked at a few of them, and they were all unfamiliar faces.
Wait, don't tell me...
Zhang Shutong's eyelid twitched, and an absurd guess surfaced.
But it was a good thing that they didn't stop. He might as well use this time to finish his speech. He cleared his throat. The microphone also made a coughing sound mixed with a sharp echo. The strange thing was that the applause stopped. Pairs of curious eyes were looking at him.
Zhang Shutong scanned the faces of his peers and the younger students. He had no idea what they were so excited about. But he wasn't afraid of the stage. Not liking this kind of event didn't mean he couldn't handle it. He stood on the stage calmly and looked down.
He didn't need to look at his draft. It was just a few sentences. He could memorize it with one glance. He started with a calm and steady tone. As he was speaking, he happened to see a familiar figure in the crowd.
It was Gu Qiumian. She was too conspicuous. She was wearing her school uniform jacket, but her lower half was that light-brown skirt, which made her look out of place among a bunch of students;
The girl had her hands behind her back, looking very proud, but she would stomp her feet from time to time, which really ruined her grace—it was clear that Miss Gu had chosen beauty over warmth;
She was still wearing that red scarf. She would usually take it off for morning calisthenics, but since today's activity was to clap in the cold wind, she put it on again.
Their eyes met for a moment, and then Gu Qiumian looked away. He didn't know what she was thinking. At this time, Zhang Shutong was almost done with his speech. In the renewed applause, he bowed and walked off the stage, brushing past Lu Qinglian.
Then—
The crowd erupted.
The boys below were not just clapping. They started howling and screaming. Some boys even jumped up and down;
If Old Song hadn't been watching Du Kang, he would have also been screaming. The physical education teacher had to use the microphone to shout and calm them down, but by the time he finished, Lu Qinglian had already floated off the stage like a gust of wind. She didn't even bow and just turned and left;
This was followed by another round of wailing, but this time it was not from excitement but from regret.
It would be best not to participate in this kind of activity again.
This was Zhang Shutong's only thought.
In the sound of the formal music from the speakers, the physical education teacher maintained order, and everyone left in an orderly fashion—actually, it was a mess.
The few of them also quickly went back to the classroom.
Du Kang was mumbling about which girl had looked at him a little more;
Qingyi was staring at the draft of his speech and sighing. He originally wanted to add a line to impress everyone, but Old Song stopped him with a glare.
Ruoping was discussing with Zhang Shutong who got more applause, him or Lu Qinglian. The conclusion was that the ratio of boys to girls in the school was 6:4, so the temple priestess girl had a slight advantage over him;
But Zhang Shutong didn't want to discuss this with her at all. At this time, she would look at him sideways and say, "What's wrong? Can't wait to go back and talk to your deskmate?"
Zhang Shutong just had to endure it.
At this time, Qingyi came over again to discuss a man's mission with him. Zhang Shutong rolled his eyes and said that it was definitely not endurance.
They all squeezed together and went up the stairs. The people in front of them went into the classroom first, but for some reason, someone suddenly gasped and stopped;
The moving crowd came to a halt. Some people were complaining, some were curious... and then only surprise spread through the crowd;
So the noisy voices suddenly became quiet.
Zhang Shutong was listening to Ruoping talk and wasn't paying much attention. He bumped into the student in front of him. He frowned and squeezed in, looking toward the place where everyone's gaze was gathered—
It turned out that the brick castle on the bookcase had been knocked to the ground. Various parts were scattered everywhere, and there was a white piece of paper buried inside. The words "Go to hell" were written on it with a black marker: