Chapter 80 First High School

Although they said otherwise, in the end it was Old Officer Han who bought drinks and hot food for the two of them, then used his car to take them separately back to school.

It didn’t seem right for them to skip the exam and instead accompany these old men to drink, eat, and socialize all day, after all~~

Well, the main reason was Sui Yi’s casual remark: “Let me go back to school for the exam, then I won’t have to treat anyone to a meal.”

Ha, it was a joke, but since Sui Yi said she wanted to go back, then she was definitely going to go back.

This girl was far too strong-willed.

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On the way, she sipped some milk, ate a slice of pizza, but spent most of her time contacting Ah A. As she ended the call, she arrived at the school, already more than ten minutes late. Since she was late anyway, Sui Yi didn’t bother rushing.

The exam hall was silent, broken only by the scratching of pens and the broadcast of English listening comprehension. As she passed by several classrooms, she drew many surprised looks—how could someone arrive so late?

“Is that Sui Yi?”

“Looks like her?”

“She’s late for the exam, that’s incredible!”

In the classroom, Yang Ying and Lin Chuxiao noticed Sui Yi as well and couldn’t help but be amazed. This kind of person was truly remarkable; even when missing part of the exam, she remained so calm. If it were them, they'd be running in like dogs, exhausted.

Even the underachievers were amazed.

By all accounts, Sui Yi was the most remarkable of them all.

That afternoon’s English exam happened to be invigilated by Huang Yan, who oversaw his own class. He’d noticed Sui Yi hadn’t arrived. Because of what happened that morning, his impression of her had improved a lot, and seeing her absence now made him anxious.

He kept wandering out into the corridor, drawing laughter from other teachers. Old Huang, they said, was too earnest. He used to be indifferent toward Sui Yi, but now he seemed to care.

Fortunately, Huang Yan finally caught sight of her.

“Sorry, teacher. I had something to do at noon and was delayed…” Sui Yi apologized to Huang Yan, not bothering with details—there was no time for that now.

This was the English exam, and the listening comprehension had just ended—worth a full thirty points!

So, even though Sui Yi had arrived, she’d already missed those thirty points.

That was the last listening question.

Huang Yan pursed his lips and couldn’t bring himself to scold her. With such a beautiful face, he could hardly be harsh. If it had been a boy, he would have given him a knock on the head.

“All right, go in and do your best.”

Sui Yi nodded, stepped lightly, and entered the exam room.

Inside, she felt countless eyes on her—some friendly, some mischievous. The atmosphere was much better than before.

Yan Qingwu breathed a sigh of relief and pointed to Sui Yi’s desk, indicating her exam paper was on top.

Sui Yi nodded and sat down. Glancing at the empty seat in front of her where Qian Fengling usually sat, she felt a pang of gloom. If she could, she would never have wanted to send a classmate to the police station.

But if she hadn’t, that dangerous “bomb” would always have been near.

Zhou Xiaopang nudged Sui Yi’s wrist and winked, offering to let her copy his listening answers.

Sui Yi shook her head just as the English teacher invigilating above adjusted his glasses and said, “For those who missed the listening section, my advice is to guess randomly between A, B, C, and D. That’s better than copying from some unreliable classmates. In fact, your chances are higher. Of course, you can even eliminate his choices and raise your odds to one in three…”

The whole class erupted in laughter.

Zhou Xiaopang grimaced and rolled his eyes.

Come on, is my English really that bad?

Sui Yi chuckled to herself. She’d never noticed before how witty this fair, clean-cut English teacher could be.

But their students weren’t as sensitive as those in the city. Here, a few offhanded remarks from a teacher wouldn’t cause anyone to cry about hurt feelings.

In truth, if used well, a mix of encouragement and sarcasm could be effective—certainly better than open rebuke.

Education should be tailored to the student.

For someone like Zhou Xiaopang, humor worked best.

As for herself…

Unless she wanted to learn, nothing would work anyway.

Sui Yi tilted her head and smiled, then bent over her paper and began to write.

The English teacher, seeing that Sui Yi wasn’t flustered despite missing the listening section, felt reassured, picked up his water bottle, and left the classroom.

He leaned on the balcony railing to chat with Huang Yan.

Sui Yi had arrived, but the girl from the Qian family still hadn’t shown up.

“There’s no phone at Qian Fengling’s house?”

“No. I just called, but the line was busy… I don’t know what’s going on.”

“Try again.”

“I’ve been trying. It’s always busy.”

The two teachers were puzzled, unaware that chaos had erupted at the Qian house. After learning her daughter had been taken to the police station, Qian Fengling’s mother had gone hysterical, rushing into the kitchen for a cleaver.

The household was in an uproar, and the phone rang off the hook with calls from concerned relatives and friends, as well as local reporters from Nanxun.

It was utter chaos!

Their resentment toward Sui Yi only deepened, but for now, they dared not act.

Sui Yi had become too difficult to deal with, too thorny.

For now, they could only wait.

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Among all the subjects, English was the one students felt passed the quickest. You either knew it or you didn’t; thinking longer wouldn’t suddenly reveal the answer. So many students handed in their papers early.

Still…

Sui Yi was the first to leave the room.

Zhou Xiaopang looked dejected. Seriously? His desk mate had been late, yet finished the paper so swiftly and fluidly, then left without even checking her answers?

Was this really necessary?

Just then, Yan Qingwu also turned in her paper.

The others grew even more despondent.

The subsequent physics exam dragged on. Physics had always been Sui Yi’s weak point, and even with her recent diligence, she dared not relax. Luckily, the questions were easier than she expected, and she finished smoothly.

By the time she was done, several people had already left—mostly the class’s physics whizzes.

As Sui Yi exited, she saw Yan Qingwu surrounded by the class’s top physics students, pestering her for answers. It was clear the goddess Yan didn’t see much point in this, but out of courtesy, she answered them all. In fact, Sui Yi saw this as one of the few differences between herself and Yan Qingwu.

She herself was too detached. If she didn’t want to engage, she simply wouldn’t. If she disliked something, she made no secret of it.

But Yan Qingwu was different. Raised with Tang Hanyan’s aristocratic values, she had to be elegant and refined, never too casual.

So, even if she disliked something, Yan Qingwu would never show it.

“Since Sui Yi is out, I’ll go over there. Excuse me,” Yan Qingwu said, taking the opportunity to escape the endless barrage of questions and walk over to Sui Yi, who wore a faint smile.

“Go ahead and laugh now. When the grades come out, you’ll probably look just like me…” Yan Qingwu shot Sui Yi a playful glance, but saw Yu Hang and two others approaching.

Was it about the basketball game?

The exams were over, and since it was only four o’clock, the handful who finished early gathered in the corridor. From afar, Sui Yi saw that Zhang Yang and his friends had already occupied the sports field.

“Let’s find another place,” Yu Hang frowned, thinking aloud. “I did find a spot before, but all the full-sized courts are a bit far from here… Only one place is suitable.”

Where was that?

“The court at No.1 High School.”

When Chi Gao said this with such nonchalance, Sui Yi and Yan Qingwu were both taken aback. How had he managed to arrange something over there?

“No.1 doesn’t have a basketball team, and few people play. Plus, I know some of the students there. If we go, hardly anyone will object…”

Yu Hang was confident about his connections at No.1, even though he’d previously been upset over a few friends backing out.

Since Yu Hang said so, Sui Yi had no objection. “Let’s go to No.1 then. As for players… I found someone, he should be waiting at the school gate now. I’ll go with you to meet him.”

Sui Yi felt she had some responsibility for this basketball game, so it wouldn’t be right to just stand by and watch. She ought to see it through.

With Sui Yi joining, Chi Gao and Xiao Nan were both pleased. Who wouldn’t like a pretty yet unpretentious girl?

They all had bikes—except Yan Qingwu.

“Are you going home?”

“No, it’s still early. I’ll come with you.”

Yan Qingwu had never had many friends. Now, with so many people heading out together, she found it rather fun.

At the school gate, Ah A, leaning against a tree, drew many lingering glances from the girls. At the moment, a few were standing right in front of him.

“Tell us—what’s your name? Where are you from? And your measurements!” Lin Chuxiao stood with hands on hips, a skewer in her mouth, exuding the aura of a true boss.

Wearing pale blue jeans, high-top sneakers, and a skull T-shirt, Ah A glanced at her, his amber eyes momentarily startled but immediately returning to their calm indifference.

Lin Chuxiao finished her kebab, twirling a toothpick in her hand, about to say something when she saw the cold and stoic Ah A stand up.

He strode straight over.

“Hey, you… Sui Yi?”

Lin Chuxiao was shocked to see Sui Yi and her friends. Damn, when did this group start hanging out together?

“Sui Yi, is this the person you meant?” Yu Hang’s expression eased.

Wasn’t this the guy from the photo in the post—

The one rumored to be Sui Yi’s gangster boyfriend.

Sui Yi showed no hint of embarrassment, bringing him over without a second thought.

Ah A glanced at Yu Hang, curled his lips, and looked at Sui Yi. “Seems your classmates aren’t too happy to see me.”

“That’s between you two,” Sui Yi waved nonchalantly, as if to say she wouldn’t get involved in their dispute.

Both Yu Hang and Ah A fell silent.

Girl, that attitude is just wrong, you know? (To be continued. If you enjoy this story, please visit Qidian to vote and support the author. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile readers, please visit m.reading.)