“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
Teacher Cui slapped the podium hard, deep disappointment written all over her face.
But no matter how hard she hit it, she couldn’t stop the laughter filling the classroom.
Chen Zimo curled his lips slightly, secretly pleased with his “heartfelt confession.”
At No. 11 Middle School, ghostwriting love letters had always been his main source of income. Looking at it now, it really was childish, but girls genuinely loved this kind of writing.
Although he was a straight guy, his learning ability was extremely strong. For the sake of making money, he had seriously studied how to write them well.
Sure enough, it had become the largest portion of his income.
Teacher Cui’s expression grew even darker.
Three years ago, Chen Zimo had entered No. 11 Middle School as the top scorer in the high school entrance exam, exempt from tuition. The teachers had practically fought over him.
Teacher Cui had gone to great lengths to secure him in her class.
In his first year of high school, Chen Zimo had truly outperformed everyone. He overshadowed all his classmates, and even the class monitor had been slightly inferior to him.
But for some unknown reason, in his second year, his grades had suddenly plummeted. In every exam, he could only manage an average score.
For others, that would still be decent. It would be enough to get into a respectable second-tier university.
But he was Chen Zimo.
He had been the top scorer.
Chen Zimo was an orphan. As a teacher, she felt she should care for him even more.
For over a year, Teacher Cui had patiently advised him in every possible way, urging him to improve. Unfortunately, the boy was as stubborn as a mule. Not only did he feel no shame, he even seemed proud of himself.
She had nearly given up on him.
Now, she truly held no hope for him anymore.
Still, out of professional responsibility, she asked, “Chen Zimo, do you know you were wrong?”
Chen Zimo knew that Teacher Cui genuinely cared about him. Otherwise, what teacher would keep patiently persuading a student who had fallen behind for two years?
He stood up straight and bowed at a ninety-degree angle.
“Teacher Cui, I was wrong!”
Seeing his sincere attitude, Teacher Cui was stunned for a moment and blurted out, “What were you wrong about?”
Chen Zimo looked directly at her. “I shouldn’t have been blinded by profit and ghostwritten love letters for my classmates to make money.”
“Teacher Cui, you know I’m an orphan. My parents and sisters passed away long ago.”
“To continue studying, I had no choice but to earn living expenses through improper means.”
“Now I know I was wrong. From now on, I will turn over a new leaf. I will give up my love-letter business and use my limited time to study hard every day. I will get into Qingbei University and not disappoint your careful guidance.”
He paused, then added in a self-mocking tone, “Uh… it seems I’ve already earned the qualification for Qingbei University.”
The classroom suddenly fell into a strange silence. It was so quiet that even a pin drop could be heard.
Then it erupted into noise again.
“This is absolutely Versailles!”
“Getting into Qingbei University is impossible for us, but ghostwriting love letters… hehe!”
“Damn, I’d heard there was a love-letter master in our class. I didn’t expect it to be Chen Zimo!”
“This is my first time finding out too. If I’d known earlier, I would’ve asked him last time…”
“I regret it! I paid 300 yuan last time to have someone write one, and it was pure garbage. I didn’t know the master was right in our class!”
“No way. Everyone knows Chen Zimo is Gu Xiaoxiao’s most loyal simp.”
“Hehe, a simp will end up with nothing.”
“What if he’s suddenly awakened?”
“Impossible! Absolutely impossible! If Chen Zimo can suddenly awaken, I’ll eat crap upside down!”
Zhang Bin, who was sitting beside Chen Zimo, stared with his mouth wide open. “Damn, Chen Zimo, you can write love letters and didn’t tell me earlier? It’s fine. My happiness for the rest of my life depends on you!”
Teacher Cui frowned. “This love letter wasn’t written to Gu Xiaoxiao by you?”
She had heard about Chen Zimo pursuing Gu Xiaoxiao. She had even suspected his falling grades were related to her.
Otherwise, how could someone who usually only scored 60 in physics win third place in the Physics Competition and earn a qualification for Qingbei University?
Chen Zimo glanced at Gu Xiaoxiao, then withdrew his gaze and said righteously, “Teacher, I deeply understand that liking someone can’t be based on feelings alone. It also requires a material foundation.”
“Right now, I only want to focus on studying and get into a good university. How could I have the mood for romance?”
“Besides, dating costs a lot of money. A poor loser like me, with no parents, might as well spend that money on nutritional supplements for myself.”
“Teacher, look at how thin I am. I’m just skin and bones. Who would even like me?”
He even rolled up his sleeve to show his skinny arm.
At that moment, looking at his sincere face, Teacher Cui thought to herself.
Could it really be that he wrote the love letter for someone else?
That made sense. He had no parents and no stable income. His financial situation had always been a problem.
She sighed inwardly. As his homeroom teacher, knowing he was an orphan, she should have thought of this earlier and applied for financial aid for him.
Yes, she would do it after class.
Although she felt guilty, Teacher Cui remained calm and said, “Chen Zimo, if you make a mistake, you must accept punishment. School is for learning. How can you engage in such messy things?”
“There are more than 40 days left before the college entrance exam. Your physics is good, but you must improve your other subjects.”
“As for punishment…”
Chen Zimo immediately interrupted, “Teacher Cui, if I score over 600 in the mock exam three days from now, will you forgive me?”
Teacher Cui was stunned.
That was certainly good.
Students should focus on their studies and grades.
Mao Quan sneered, “Chen Zimo, aren’t you afraid your tongue will twist from boasting like that?”
“You? Score over 600?”
“You’re just saying that to avoid punishment, aren’t you?”
“What if you don’t reach 600? What then?”
The classmates’ eyes all turned toward Mao Quan.
Seeing everyone looking at him, Mao Quan puffed out his chest, as if this were his glorious moment.
But when the students noticed the pus-filled acne on his chubby face, they suppressed their nausea and lowered their heads.
“Too damn ugly!”
Chen Zimo also looked at him with disdain. “Being a bad student is one thing. Being ugly is another. But not even knowing it and still mocking others? How shameless.”
Mao Quan was so furious his chest heaved, and he couldn’t speak.
He was tall and strong. His father was a senior executive at Chen Group, earning an annual salary of 1 million yuan. He also had a close relationship with the Chen family’s eldest young master. By all accounts, he was a winner in life.
But no one was perfect.
His poor grades and ugly appearance were his greatest weaknesses. Chen Zimo wasn’t just scolding him. He was humiliating him and trampling on him.
“Chen Zimo, you bastard!”
“You’re the bastard! Your whole family are bastards! Otherwise, how could the best No. 11 Middle School in the city have someone like you who scores zero?”
“Did your dad bribe your way in?”
Chen Zimo shot back mercilessly.
In such a good school, some students did get in through money. But a dog couldn’t change its habit. A bad student would remain bad anywhere.
“Hahaha…”
The class burst into laughter again, admiration in their eyes for Chen Zimo.
Even Gu Xiaoxiao, who had always looked down on him, cast him a surprised glance.
She felt that Chen Zimo was different today.
He had always been her loyal lapdog, yet now he was speaking boldly about not liking her.
He used to carry her bag every day and buy her breakfast in countless creative ways. Now he said without hesitation that if he had money, he would buy supplements for himself instead.
How shameless.
By the window sat the class monitor, a girl with a birthmark on her face. She adjusted her black-framed glasses that covered half her face and looked at Chen Zimo through the bangs hiding the other half.
In a corner no one noticed, a different light flickered in her eyes.
Mao Quan felt the veins at his temples throb violently.
Being ugly and once scoring zero after sleeping through an exam were the greatest humiliations of his life.
How dared this boy, who had been expelled from the Chen family, insult him?
A vicious light flashed in Mao Quan’s eyes.
He had no problem throwing punches. But trading words with Chen Zimo was truly difficult for him.
“Chen Zimo, do you dare to make a bet with me?”
“Let’s bet that you won’t score 600 in three days.”
Instead of replying to him, Chen Zimo turned to Teacher Cui. “Teacher Cui, do you see? Is Mao Quan still acting like a student? Always talking about betting. His learning attitude is completely improper.”
“As youths of the new era, we should contribute to the future of our nation. We must firmly reject gambling, starting with ourselves.”
He spoke with righteous conviction, as if he were the embodiment of justice and the future successor of the nation.
Seeing Teacher Cui nod, Chen Zimo continued, “Moreover, Mao Quan is wasting the entire class’s time. Time is money.”
“If you waste 1 minute, you waste over 40 minutes for the whole class. Rounding it up, you’ve wasted an entire class period. That’s outrageous.”
“Originally, I didn’t want to argue with you. But to punish you for wasting everyone’s time, I’ll take this bet.”
“If I don’t reach 600, I’ll personally pay 10,000 yuan to treat the entire class to McDonald’s.”
“But…”