Chapter Seventeen: She Is Still a Child

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Lin Cheng smiled as he thought of Zhou Luoyao darting about on the basketball court. Zhou Luoyao had a delicate and gentle appearance, a stark contrast to her fiery and spirited demeanor. After Zhou Yeyan finished speaking, his expression turned serious as he asked, "She’s been hanging around you a lot lately, hasn’t she?"

This seemingly rough and simple fellow was actually quite shrewd—shaped by the environment they grew up in. Lin Cheng smiled faintly and replied, "The boys like her for her beauty and vivacity, and they respect her a lot. No matter where you come from or how far you can fly, school life isn’t as complicated as you think!"

Zhou Yeyan smirked mischievously, "I think you’re complicated enough yourself!"

Lin Cheng nodded, "Yeah, no kidding. I’m not an ordinary person—I’m from Class Three!"

The sunset, the red clouds.

Two youths walked down the slope; slightly intoxicated and full of passion, as if warming up for some kind of legend.

...

During evening study, amidst the symbols of "ferric oxide and sulfur dioxide," whispers fluttered.

Tonight, the teachers were staying late to grade exams. Even top students like Chen Zishi and Su Xiang had come to help, aiming to release the results by Monday—or even tomorrow.

...

The next morning was the chemistry exam.

Chemistry was the "liberal arts" among the sciences.

Besides requiring understanding and calculation skills, it also demanded excellent memorization.

Even if one couldn’t solve the complex final problems, just reading more could secure the basic points.

So for top students, chemistry wouldn’t create a huge gap; mostly everyone scored above 120.

To expedite grading, class study committee members were drafted to grade the multiple-choice questions.

Zhuang Sijing went upstairs to the teachers’ office.

Suddenly, there was the sound of fabric rubbing and a loud crash at the stairwell, followed by a tearful "Ouch—"

As a conscientious successor of socialism, she couldn't let the nation's flowers come to harm!

So, Zhuang Sijing gently opened the door to the small cubicle...

What she saw was unforgettable!!!

In broad daylight, Lin Yueyue had her arm around Chen Zishi’s neck, leaning against the wall.

Chen Zishi nodded his head like a pecking chick while reaching toward Lin Yueyue’s uniform collar...

This caused Zhuang Sijing, single for over a decade, to have her mind immediately short-circuit.

Wu Zhou Middle School was strict with discipline, so most students were "born solo."

Moreover, she was still a child!

Zhuang Sijing had jumped a grade in primary school and was one or two years younger than her classmates!

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If it weren’t for being Lin Cheng’s middle school deskmate and their fathers being classmates, Zhuang Sijing wouldn’t bother with such a foolish slacker who didn’t care about studying!

At that moment, the two “newcomers” heard the noise and turned their heads in unison!

Their eyes met.

Then, their movements froze.

Silence.

Silence was tonight’s ferry across the Naihe Bridge...

Time seemed to stop for three seconds!

Zhuang Sijing softly said, “Sorry to interrupt,” and with a considerate smile, closed the door for the “newcomers” amidst the terrified and confused gazes of Lin Yueyue and Chen Zishi.

On the surface, she remained calm and continued upstairs;

but inside, her young heart was shattered, her worldview shaken—and yet a faint thrill stirred...

Then, suddenly!!!

Chen Zishi came running up wildly from behind!

Watching his agile figure, Zhuang Sijing inexplicably felt guilty and began to run as well...

“Zhuang Sijing! Zhuang Sijing! Hey—wait...” Chen Zishi called out anxiously.

Zhuang Sijing’s legs moved like the wind as she sprinted at her fastest fifty-meter dash speed...

Don’t ask—her thought process was just different from ordinary people!

Chen Zishi took a long stride and shoved the chemistry score sheet directly into her arms:

“You dropped this.”

Zhuang Sijing was startled!

“...Thank you.”

She took the score sheet, looking at Chen Zishi’s eyes full of sorrow and hesitation, silently giving him an approving glance...

Night fell, and the office windows reflected the teachers’ diligent work.

They were either grading exams or ranking the results.

Stars twinkled, classroom windows illuminated the students’ focused faces;

The atmosphere was serene and peaceful, broken only by the scratching of pens on paper and the occasional turning of pages.

Occasionally, lifting their eyes to the window, their minds still followed the pages turning;

Whenever footsteps echoed down the hallway, everyone tensed, thinking it was homeroom teacher Wang Lixin coming to distribute the test papers.

If it wasn’t him, the students visibly relaxed.

During the second evening study session, the sound of leather shoes echoed again, and everyone instinctively looked up.

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Navy blue suit, thick glasses—this time it was really Wang Lixin!

He carried thick stacks of test papers!

Are the results coming out tonight?

A cold wind seemed to blow through the classroom...

Wu Zhou’s teachers, especially homeroom teachers, received psychology training during the holidays;

Wang Lixin, a teaching backbone for many years, knew exactly how to manipulate the students’ minds.

His face darkened as he entered the classroom, his sharp gaze sweeping from right to left, then left to right like laser beams.

The students instinctively held their breath, afraid to be called out suddenly;

At this moment, even the sound of a needle dropping could be heard.

“It’s a death stare,” someone whispered.

Even Wu Zhu from "Joy of Life" would have to bow his head before Wang’s glare!

With Lin Cheng’s current psychological resilience, he felt a bit like sitting on pins and needles.

After the laser gaze, Wang Lixin slammed the test papers down on the podium with a muffled thud that echoed heavily in the silent classroom.

The students’ hearts skipped a beat, as if a gust of wind had rushed through.

Terrifying!

The “kids” buried their heads even lower.

No one knew how long it was before Wang’s cold voice came:

“This exam exposed many problems. Some students thought they had reviewed well, but actually couldn’t apply what they should have mastered.”

“Even if the honors classes can get into top universities, based on this exam’s level, some will only reach ordinary universities...”

Some students’ hands trembled nervously, afraid the “some people” meant themselves.

For homeroom teachers of honors classes like Wang Lixin, there was never a satisfactory exam result;

Because if “Xiao Ming” underperforms this time, “Xiao Qiang” will do so next time.

These seventeen- and eighteen-year-old top students were too prone to pride!

“Pressure education” was a medicine that could never stop!

After pointing out the problems in this big exam, Wang Lixin casually added:

“However, some students have made tremendous progress—so great it can be called a leap.”

Lin Cheng lowered his head; he felt Wang’s gaze might have glanced at him.

He wasn’t sure if it was one of life’s three great illusions.