Chapter 8: 0007 【A New Deskmate】
“Class 11 is the only liberal arts experimental class in the entire grade. Yet, in this midterm exam, three students from regular classes managed to score in the top ten of the entire grade! Tell me, what’s the point of having this experimental class then?”
“I won’t announce the total scores and overall rankings; they’re posted next to the blackboard for you to see.”
“Zhang Chao,” Ms. Liu Shuying suddenly called out a name.
“Here!”
A short, stout boy stood up nervously.
Ms. Liu Shuying said, “You usually rank in the top eight of the grade every time, but this time you only got fourteenth.”
Zhang Chao hung his head in shame.
Ms. Liu Shuying continued, “You are a diligent and hardworking student, so I won’t say anything too harsh. Once the subject papers are distributed, make sure to thoroughly review your own issues.”
“Understood.”
Zhang Chao buried his head even lower, as if scoring fourteenth in the entire grade was a heinous crime.
His score would definitely be within the top fifty in the entire city!
Ms. Liu Shuying continued calling out names: “Wei Xiaofeng…”
She called out six students in a row, but Chen Guiliang was not among them.
Chen Guiliang knew very well that he had only done the multiple-choice questions in math, and he would definitely be called for a private chat after class.
After calling out names, Ms. Liu Shuying said, “The papers for other subjects will be given to you tomorrow. Now, come up and get your English test papers. Zhou Jing, 131 points, a drop from your monthly exam…”
“Peng Yang, 106 points. You have a severe imbalance in subjects; you must make up for your weakness in English.”
“Wu Meng, 147 points, first in the entire grade, keep it up.”
“…”
Finally, it was Chen Guiliang’s paper. Ms. Liu Shuying only stated the score without comment: “Chen Guiliang, 82 points.”
Chen Guiliang confidently went up to collect his test paper.
After passing his university CET-4, he hadn’t really touched English much. For more than ten years afterward, the English vocabulary he encountered was basically all work-related. He was already very content to score 82 points after being reborn.
However, Ms. Liu Shuying was particularly disappointed in Chen Guiliang.
Xu Haibo scored 130 this time, which was his normal level.
Xie Yang scored 115, which was just acceptable. When he went to get his test paper, he even couldn't help but flip his hair.
Guan Zhiqiang returned with his test paper, happily saying, “I’ve improved, up 5 points from the monthly exam.”
Chen Guiliang looked closely and immediately chuckled along.
Guan Zhiqiang’s English score was 58… one could only say there was still a lot of room for improvement.
Even as a man reborn, Chen Guiliang truly found it hard to imagine what Guan Zhiqiang would be like as a leader at the Academy of Fine Arts.
After distributing the papers, she began to explain the questions.
Chen Guiliang listened attentively; his problem was that he had neglected English for too long.
He had forgotten words, forgotten phrase combinations, and even forgotten grammar.
Li Jun felt his chance had come. He moved his test paper, which only scored 34 points, to the middle of the two desks: “Bian Guanyue, you don’t have a paper, use mine to follow along.”
“No need.” Bian Guanyue flatly refused.
Li Jun, with a fawning smile, persisted, “Classmates should help each other.”
Bian Guanyue pulled up her hoodie hood, covering most of her face, and took out her English textbook to silently memorize words.
Li Jun was rebuffed and didn’t know how to proceed.
He was afraid of leaving a bad impression on Bian Guanyue, so he pretended to listen to the teacher explain the test paper. But he couldn’t focus at all, and within two minutes, his mind wandered, and he sat there half-dozing with his eyes half-open.
Time passed bit by bit, and Ms. Liu Shuying finally finished explaining the English test paper.
“You all carefully summarize your own problems. Chen Guiliang, come out for a moment.” Ms. Liu Shuying said and then walked out, intending to have a private long talk with Chen Guiliang in the hallway.
Guan Zhiqiang, with one hand on his novel, patted Chen Guiliang with the other, as if to comfort him.
This guy was actually quite a good person.
As Chen Guiliang followed the homeroom teacher out, the classroom instantly became a bit noisier. Most students were studying diligently, while a few began to chat in low voices.
Li Jun took off the MP3 hanging around his neck and pushed it onto Bian Guanyue’s desk, saying, “Want to listen to music?”
He was both showing off his Meizu MP3 and trying to listen to music with Bian Guanyue.
Sharing one pair of earphones, each listening to one side, how romantic, like a couple.
Bian Guanyue didn’t seem to like talking. She reached into her schoolbag, pulled out an MP3, and placed it on the desk, indicating that she also had one.
Li Jun glanced at the brand: Samsung.
His expression was a bit awkward, and he silently put away his Meizu.
Still unwilling to give up, Li Jun took out his phone: “What’s Bian Guanyue’s phone number?”
Still showing off, and trying to pick up a girl at the same time.
His phone was a Sony Ericsson T618, with an official price of 3800 yuan, but it actually cost over 4000 yuan to get. It was a hot item, requiring a premium to acquire.
“Clack!”
Bian Guanyue clearly guessed his intentions. She immediately pulled out a fat 6 phone and slapped it directly on the table: “Don’t bother me.”
It was a Nokia 6600, with an official price of 4680 yuan, even more expensive than the premium-priced Sony Ericsson.
Li Jun instantly froze there.
He had a foul mouth that made him annoying, and his academic performance wasn’t good either. The only two things he could show off were that he was tall and good at basketball, and that his family was rich and lacked nothing.
Now it was clear that Bian Guanyue was richer than him.
He couldn’t possibly challenge a girl to a one-on-one basketball match to regain his face, could he?
Subtly slipping his phone back into his pocket, Li Jun cautiously probed, “Bian Guanyue, is your dad doing business in Chengdu?”
Bian Guanyue said, “My dad is a triad member, just released from prison.”
At these words, the conversation died instantly.
Li Jun scratched his ears and cheeks in frustration. His usual methods of picking up girls had failed, and he truly didn’t know what to do next.
But he was still reluctant to give up, because Bian Guanyue was too beautiful.
…
Outside the classroom door, in the hallway.
Ms. Liu Shuying said with a stern face, “You’ve caused trouble several times this semester; normally, you would have been advised to withdraw or expelled long ago. Do you know why you’re only on probation?”
Chen Guiliang expressed his sincere gratitude: “Thank you, Ms. Liu Shuying, for interceding for me.”
Ms. Liu Shuying shook her head, “My pleading with the principal was only a secondary factor. The school didn’t expel you because your academic performance is still quite good. You can at least get into a second-tier university, and with a little effort, a first-tier one. If you study diligently, you might even get into a key university.”
“Sigh,” Chen Guiliang sighed.
Ms. Liu Shuying continued, “Before the division into arts and sciences, I taught you English in Class 1. I know how good your admission scores were—56th in the entire city for the high school entrance exam! You only lost a few points in Chinese, Math, and English. For other subjects, you got full marks on the high school entrance exam. If you had studied hard from the first year of high school, you could have gotten into Tsinghua University or Peking University.”
Chen Guiliang chuckled heartily; he was still very satisfied with his high school entrance exam results.
Ms. Liu Shuying added, “When we divided into arts and sciences classes, your math and physics scores were both above 95 (out of 100). I don’t know why you insisted on choosing the arts stream, but no matter what stream you choose, you should focus on your studies. You are a student, why do you keep getting involved in all those messy things?”
Chen Guiliang was speechless.
Because even he himself felt that his three years of high school were quite absurd.
But he didn’t regret it, he just thought it was ridiculous.
Ms. Liu Shuying said, “Li Jun’s family has someone in officialdom, and Guan Zhiqiang’s family is in business. Their parents are rich and powerful, so no matter how wild and playful they are, they don’t have to worry about the future. What about you? A left-behind child, what other way do you have to change your life besides studying hard?”
Chen Guiliang wholeheartedly agreed, “Teacher is right.”
Ms. Liu Shuying said with great distress, “Although you often caused trouble before and didn’t focus on your studies, at least you were serious during exams. What was this time? You only did the multiple-choice questions for math before handing in the paper, your English score dropped by over 30 points, and your comprehensive arts score dropped by over 50 points. If this continues, the school will really expel you!”
Chen Guiliang promised, “I will definitely correct myself.”
Ms. Liu Shuying said, “Next weekend is the parent-teacher conference; you must call your parents to come.”
Chen Guiliang said, “Ms. Liu Shuying, you know this. My parents work out of town, and other relatives coming to the parent-teacher conference is purely a formality. Isn’t it better to use that 8 yuan round-trip bus fare to eat two more meat meals instead of wasting it?”
Ms. Liu Shuying was so amused by this statement that she laughed; she truly didn’t know how to manage this peculiar student.
Chen Guiliang was actually very tired too; despite having the soul of a 40-year-old, he had to pretend to be a little kid and obediently take a scolding due to the messed-up things he did in high school.
After a few seconds of silence, Ms. Liu Shuying said, “You’d better look out for yourself. Go call Wang Chunlei out.”
Chen Guiliang finally gained his freedom, walked back to the classroom with light steps, and shouted loudly, “Wang Chunlei, Ms. Liu Shuying summons you!”
A bespectacled boy, hearing this, looked nervous and stiffly got up to walk out.
Chen Guiliang returned to his seat and continued to review his English mistakes.
Not sure what Li Jun said, Bian Guanyue stood up impatiently. She saw Guan Zhiqiang drooling while reading a novel, looking utterly idiotic and foolish, confirming he was a good choice for a deskmate.
So, Bian Guanyue, carrying her schoolbag, walked up to Chen Guiliang, “Classmate, can we switch seats?”
“No,” Chen Guiliang didn’t even lift his head, continuing to flip through the English test paper.
Bian Guanyue seemed to have misheard, forcing out a polite smile, “Thank you.”
Chen Guiliang repeated, “I said no.”
Bian Guanyue: “…”
In his previous life, before his rebirth, Chen Guiliang foolishly agreed.
If he had switched to be deskmates with Li Jun, what was the difference from sitting next to a pile of shit? He was disgusted enough in his last life.
However, Bian Guanyue didn’t know Chen Guiliang’s thoughts; no boy had ever refused her request, and Chen Guiliang’s decisive “no” suddenly left her at a loss.
After thinking for a moment, Chen Guiliang’s attitude also seemed suitable for a deskmate, so Bian Guanyue then said to Guan Zhiqiang, “Classmate, can we switch seats?”
Guan Zhiqiang’s brain had a long reaction time; he paused for a few seconds before realizing, then grinned foolishly at the girl, “Huh? Oh, okay.”
After saying that, the fellow packed his things and moved.
He carried his textbooks, test papers, novels, schoolbag, and exercise books all at once to Li Jun’s side, chuckling foolishly, “Hoo hoo, we’re deskmates again.”
Li Jun muttered glumly, “Only an idiot would want to be deskmates with you.”
Guan Zhiqiang turned back and grinned foolishly at Chen Daxia, “Chen Daxia, Li Jun is calling you an idiot.”
Chen Guiliang ignored him, not bothering to stoop to the level of two simpletons.
He suddenly remembered something and finally looked up at Bian Guanyue, “A reminder for you.”
“What is it?” Bian Guanyue asked.
Chen Guiliang said, “You’d best switch the desk as well.”
Bian Guanyue asked in confusion, “Why?”
Chen Guiliang pointed at the desk Guan Zhiqiang left behind, “No one knows where the old boogers are hidden on this desk. That student Guan, who just moved, not only drools when reading novels but also likes to pick his nose.”
Bian Guanyue felt a wave of nausea. She had just placed her schoolbag on the desk and immediately picked it up again.
Her schoolbag was no longer pure; she planned to get a new one.
Bian Guanyue carried her schoolbag to exchange desks, and Guan Zhiqiang happily agreed.
Li Jun was still trying to be attentive, “Classmate Bian, I’m strong; I’ll help you move.”
“No need,” Bian Guanyue refused again.
—
(Old Wang has never met Yue Guan in person, nor has he chatted with him online, and the female lead has absolutely no relation to Yue Guan. In the comment section and chapter discussions of this book, it’s best not to joke about other authors. I don’t mind, but it’s not good if the mentioned authors see it.)
(Also, based on suggestions from fellow readers, starting tomorrow, the update times will change to 8 AM and 6 PM. This makes it convenient for slacking off at work and reading a chapter after work.)
(Thanks to sfqk, Yaoshen Yibian, and successor—three big bosses for their Alliance Leader rewards.)