At this thought, Xue Jiao took out her phone and sent a message:
[Thank you, the problem is solved. You're really smart!]
The reply came just as quickly, making one momentarily think the other person had all the time in the world:
[A child's solution—circuitous route to success.]
Xue Jiao: "..."
She quickly sent back:
[Alright, alright. So, as an adult, how would you solve a problem like mine?]
Her phone vibrated with the reply:
[I would never encounter such a problem.]
Gu Xue Jiao: "..."
Another message followed:
[Little girl, now that the problem is solved, you should focus on studying.]
Xue Jiao looked out the window and exhaled.
Right! She needed to study. This matter had already wasted a lot of her time, and she had to catch up over the next couple of days!
With a few minutes left before the car reached school, Xue Jiao took out her notebook of unfamiliar and vague words from the recent monthly English exam and started memorizing them again.
——
"Oh, you're here? Did you finish writing your reflection?" Yi Tianyu raised an eyebrow, a gloating smile on his lips.
But heaven knew how happy he was right now!
After Xue Jiao left yesterday, Yi Tianyu had been listless in his seat, his eyes practically glued to her spot until evening.
This morning, he had even woken up half an hour earlier than usual—unheard of for him!
His father was so shocked he thought Yi Tianyu had taken the wrong medicine.
From the moment he sat down this morning, he had been wondering: When would Xue Jiao arrive? Had she been hit again? Would she even come today? All sorts of troubling questions.
But when she finally arrived, the first thing out of his mouth was gloating!
Xue Jiao rolled her eyes at him, unfazed. "I didn't write it."
"You didn't?!" Yi Tianyu's eyes widened, and he leaned closer. "You actually didn't write it?!"
"Why should I write it when I did nothing wrong?" Xue Jiao narrowed her eyes slightly and leaned away, putting distance between them.
Yi Tianyu immediately forgot about the reflection, raising his voice. "Why are you dodging me? Do you find me disgusting?!"
"Men and women should maintain a proper distance."
Yi Tianyu paused, then a strange smile curled his lips. He placed one hand on her desk and the other on her chair, effectively trapping her in his embrace, and leaned in... closer... closer...
Xue Jiao desperately leaned to the side, almost toppling over.
Yi Tianyu kept leaning in, closer to her ear. "I'm leaning in... what can you do about it?"
Xue Jiao glared at him angrily. In her current position, she didn't dare move—she'd lose her balance and fall. She could only grit her teeth. "Yi Tianyu!"
"What are you two doing?" A voice suddenly came from behind.
Yi Tianyu instinctively straightened up, and Xue Jiao slowly returned to her original position.
"Nothing!" Yi Tianyu said quickly.
Xi Junyang approached them, eyeing them suspiciously. "If it's nothing, why are your ears red?"
Yi Tianyu flushed with embarrassment, looking like a ruffled cat. "Who's red?! Who's red?!"
Xi Junyang's gaze grew even more doubtful. "Why are you so nervous?"
"Get lost already—"
Xi Junyang rolled his eyes at him, then turned to Xue Jiao. "Xue Jiao, how did it go? Is it resolved?"
"Yeah, it's pretty much resolved. Thanks for your help in the office earlier."
Xi Junyang waved his hands. "No, I didn't do much. I'm just glad it's resolved!"
"Hey, hey, hey!" Yi Tianyu's eyes widened in disbelief. "Who are you thanking?!"Xue Jiao smiled, "Classmate Xi, class is about to start. You should hurry back to your seat."
"Alright then. If you need anything, remember to tell me."
"Okay, thank you."
"No need to be polite!" Xi Junyang said, gently ruffling her hair before walking away with a smile.
Yi Tianyu's eyes widened, his gaze sharp as knives, fixed intently on Xi Junyang's hand.
Xue Jiao set down her bag and took out the books she needed from her desk drawer, while Yi Tianyu scratched the wall in frustration.
Is this girl an idiot?!
Yesterday, it was clearly me who helped her the whole time! Yet she only thanked Xi Junyang, who did nothing at all?!
Yi Tianyu wanted to say something but felt it would sound like he was bragging. He fidgeted in his seat, restless and uncomfortable.
A moment later, a slender, fair hand reached out and placed something on the desk in front of Yi Tianyu.
A round lollipop wrapped in white paper.
He froze, then dumbly unfolded the paper to find just two words—Thank you.
Followed by a smiley face. Though the smile was made of just three curved lines, it looked incredibly sweet.
He glanced at the smiley, then at the girl sitting upright beside him, reciting her lesson.
Yi Tianyu grinned.
See? She gave me candy!
Only me!
Xi Junyang didn’t get any!
It’s unique!
Carefully, he rewrapped the lollipop in the paper and tucked it into his pocket, close to his heart.
——
"Gu Xue Jiao! Come out!" Yin Fang called from the doorway.
Yi Tianyu froze, then nudged her arm. "Hey, she’s definitely asking for your reflection essay! What are you gonna do? You didn’t write it!"
Xue Jiao frowned, shook her head at Yi Tianyu, and walked out.
"Reflection essay?" Sure enough, those were Yin Fang’s first words.
A seasoned high school homeroom teacher, Yin Fang always wore a stern expression that commanded respect.
Xue Jiao bit her lower lip and looked up. "I didn’t do anything wrong. I can’t reflect on it."
Yin Fang laughed in disbelief. "Hitting someone isn’t wrong?"
"I didn’t hit anyone," Xue Jiao paused. "The classmates already testified for me..."
"You laid hands on her," Yin Fang insisted. "Even if it was just covering her mouth, you still acted physically. And the whole class was watching you instead of studying. Don’t you think you owe them a reflection?"
Xue Jiao stayed silent, but her gaze was just as stubborn.
For some reason, Yin Fang suddenly recalled the slap from yesterday...
Her expression softened slightly.
"Fine. I’ve noticed your grades have improved a lot, and you’ve been attentive in class. If you can rank in the top 30 in the midterms, you won’t need to submit a reflection. If you can’t, you’ll have to write one now!"
"Deal." Xue Jiao agreed almost instantly.
Yin Fang was taken aback, eyeing her suspiciously. Xue Jiao met her gaze steadily.
"If you fail, you’ll submit two reflection essays!"
"Fine."
Yin Fang: "..."
"Then keep your word," she said after a long pause.
Xue Jiao nodded. She had faith in her abilities.
"And Cheng Mingjiao?" Yin Fang asked.
"Don’t know."
Xue Jiao’s reply was crisp. Yin Fang frowned. Cheng Mingjiao was one of her top students, holding a completely different status in her mind compared to Xue Jiao.
"No more disturbances in class. If I catch you again, the consequences won’t be this light!"
Xue Jiao said nothing.She believed she didn’t want to argue, but she couldn’t say the same for Cheng Mingjiao.
Yin Fang’s brows were tightly furrowed as she looked at the other party’s stubborn, unyielding expression, her face clearly pained.
“Forget it, forget it. You can go back.”
“Alright.” Xue Jiao nodded and returned to the classroom.
Yin Fang shook her head and turned back toward the office.
Classroom of Class 1, Grade 11.
“Hey, how did the Nun punish you?” Yi Tianyu leaned in.
Xue Jiao took out her pen and resumed the exercise she had been working on, casually replying, “She didn’t punish me.”
“No way!” Yi Tianyu refused to believe it. “The Nun is that easygoing?”
Xue Jiao finally looked up. “Because I promised her I’d make it into the top 30 in the class by midterms. So, please don’t disturb me!”
Yi Tianyu’s eyes widened. “Top 30 in the class?! Are you crazy?!”
His voice was a little loud, and a few students in the front row turned to look. Xue Jiao quickly pinched him. “Depression, I’m begging you to keep it down, okay?!”
Yi Tianyu: “……” Depression???
“What kind of stupid nickname is that…”
Xue Jiao ignored him and went back to studying.
Yi Tianyu, seeing how serious she was, didn’t dare disturb her further—only stealing glances at her.
This girl actually dared to promise top 30 in the class? That was practically top 100 in the grade!
Seriously…
Seriously…
Good for her!
Such fighting spirit!
——
Meanwhile, in the office.
“Teacher Yin? What’s on your mind?” A Chinese teacher next to her called out to Yin Fang, who was lost in thought.
This Teacher Yin was strict with her students and equally strict with herself—always busy preparing lessons, grading homework, or supervising students. It was rare to see her so distracted.
Today must be a day the sun rose from the west.
“Gu Xue Jiao…” Yin Fang snapped out of it, the name slipping out unconsciously.
“Huh?” The Chinese teacher taught Classes 1 and 2, so of course she knew Gu Xue Jiao.
Just then, a student approached the desk of Class 2’s homeroom teacher across from them, but Yin Fang and the Chinese teacher continued their conversation.
“Yesterday, Gu Xue Jiao and Cheng Mingjiao got into a fight. I told them to write self-criticisms, but Gu Xue Jiao refused. So I said if she didn’t hand one in, she’d have to make top 30 in the class by midterms—and she actually agreed!” Yin Fang sounded bewildered.
“What? She agreed?!” The Chinese teacher was equally shocked. Even Class 2’s homeroom teacher across from them looked up at their conversation.
Though Gu Xue Jiao was from Class 1, Class 2’s homeroom teacher knew her well. The two teachers were fierce rivals. Back when classes were first assigned, Yin Fang had often complained about how Gu Xue Jiao had barely scored anything in the previous final exams, dragging the class down…
Naturally, Class 2’s homeroom teacher remembered her vividly.
“She agreed. Kids these days, really…” Yin Fang sighed helplessly.
Class 2’s homeroom teacher smirked. “Yin Fang, maybe she actually has the confidence to back it up!”
Yin Fang could hear the mockery in her tone and glared. “Our class has too many stragglers. Not like yours—even the backdoor students have decent grades!”
“Heh heh, that was just luck of the draw!”
There had been nine students admitted through connections, and the school couldn’t decide how to distribute them fairly, so they drew lots. Class 2’s homeroom teacher had ended up with five, but all five were quite capable—at least salvageable."I actually have a pretty good impression of Gu Xue Jiao. She's attentive in class, her handwriting is neat, and she always prepares for my Chinese lessons in advance!" the Chinese teacher said with a smile, recalling the girl who always sat upright with her back straight, lifting her head to look at the blackboard. She truly left a favorable impression.
"Ah, that's just how high school is. Some students are naturally smart and can score well with minimal effort, while others work extremely hard but only achieve average results."
Yin Fang spoke while shifting her gaze to the girl standing beside the homeroom teacher of Class Two. She paused, her tone turning slightly sour: "They share the same surname Gu, so how come your Gu Shiyun performs so much better!"
The Class Two homeroom teacher chuckled: "Hehehe, Gu Shiyun is indeed a hardworking student."
Yin Fang continued enviously: "She ranked second in the grade again this time... Why couldn't she be in my class... Gu Shiyun, would you like to transfer to Class One?"
OpenNovel