He Xunyan immediately gave her a super thumbs-up: “You know so much, you’re amazing.”
It turns out that an eighteen-point score can be explained this way. Lesson learned; lesson learned.
He Xunyan’s grades had never been considered particularly good, and of course, she never believed that scores could define a person’s life; she had even developed severe rebellious psychological tendencies due to her hatred of meritocracy.
Yet, it didn’t take long for her to realize that the exact same words are treated as a display of modesty when spoken by a winner, but dismissed as an excuse when uttered by a loser.
Therefore, she did not want to lag behind others in terms of grades. With a somewhat idealistic streak, she also deeply yearned to achieve a secular sense of success.
Qin Qianyi chuckled twice, crooked her finger, and signaled He Xunyan to lean in closer:
“During an exam in the second grade of elementary school, I scored just 18 in mathematics. I cried and made a fuss, saying it was too humiliating and that I couldn’t go on living, so my mother told me all of this.”
“When I thought about it, hey, putting it that way actually felt quite interesting, hehehe.”
“And ever since then, my math grades have truly skyrocketed, so I’m definitely not lying to you.” As she spoke, Qin Qianyi picked up her own test paper and kissed it.
“Mm,” He Xunyan replied softly. So that’s how it is. It seems we really are destined to cross paths.
He Xunyan retrieved her test paper, smoothed it out flat on the desk, raised her right fist to give it a little pump to cheer herself up, and looked up right into Jiang Yumo’s gaze.
Maintaining her original smile, He Xunyan blinked at Jiang Yumo and said softly, “Is there something else?”
Actually, ever since the semester started, He Xunyan had always held a lingering puzzle: she and Jiang Yumo had never really had any interactions before, so why on earth did she feel so inexplicably nervous every time she saw her?
Is this the unique intimidation exuded by someone who is both academically gifted and exceptionally attractive?
Or is it the natural intimidation carried by the title of “math class representative”?
It should probably be attributed to a combination of both.
“The math teacher said she’d like you to go to her office after class; she has something to discuss with you,” Jiang Yumo said with a smile.
The smile of death! How terrifying, how terrifying. Is the math teacher going to sanction me?
Just as He Xunyan was about to let out a whimper, she heard Jiang Yumo add, “It’s not about your grades.”
Hearing this, He Xunyan immediately put on an even more brilliant smile, patted her own chest, and said, “That’s a relief! Thank you, thank you!”
Jiang Yumo responded with an “mm” and returned to her seat.
During the math class, He Xunyan repeatedly lectured herself: You must listen carefully, you must listen carefully, you must listen carefully.
Who would have thought that the more she told herself to focus, the more her mind would race?
Suddenly, He Xunyan realized: Wait a minute, just because it’s not about grades doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good news, right?
Apart from that smile of death, what tone of voice did Jiang Yumo use earlier?
He Xunyan tried hard to recall the scene of Jiang Yumo speaking to her.
Her tone didn’t seem to go up at the end, did it? If she had realized that I was making a fuss over nothing, her tone should have risen at the end, right?
Hehehehehe, could it be something even more terrifying?
At this thought, He Xunyan looked up and happened to lock eyes with the math teacher. If she wasn’t mistaken, was the math teacher actually smiling?
Oh heavens! Why does the more I think about it, the more bizarre it feels?
Time truly crawls when you are terrified. After what felt like a century, the class finally ended.
“Qin Qianyi,” He Xunyan stood up in a flash, her chair scraping loudly with a squeak.
With the resolve of someone heading to their execution, He Xunyan cupped one hand in the other before her chest and declared, “I am off!”
Watching her antics, Qin Qianyi couldn’t help but chuckle, cupping her hands in return: “Safe journey, brave warrior.” With that, she blew her a flying kiss.
The math teacher was waiting at the doorway. Seeing the two little ones cupping their hands at each other, the corners of her mouth curved slightly upward.
Running through eight hundred different inner monologues, He Xunyan nervously followed the math teacher back to the office.
There, the math teacher took out a small test paper and handed it to her.
He Xunyan took a look, and to her shock, it was an elementary school second-grade test paper.
What? Has my math score really dropped to the point where I have to retake second-grade exams?
He Xunyan looked up at the math teacher in utter despair. The teacher maintained her amiable smile, raising an eyebrow as she waited for her to speak.
Truly, the more I think about it, the scarier it gets.
“Teacher, am I supposed to study this?” He Xunyan asked, on the verge of tears. She barely managed to stop herself from pouting, thinking it wouldn’t look appropriate, and finally settled on a deeply complicated, indescribable expression.
It seems I still haven’t done enough mental preparation.
Taking in every bit of He Xunyan’s tiny expressions, the math teacher smiled slightly and pointed to the top-left corner of the test paper with her right index finger: “Take a look at this name.”
Following the teacher’s finger, He Xunyan saw the teacher’s own name written there.
So? So what? What on earth does this mean, Teacher?
“It’s your name, Teacher. I… I don’t quite understand,” He Xunyan’s voice carried a hint of grievance.
How sad I feel. As soon as I walked into this office I felt so sad. Teacher, just spell it out for me, this suspense is pure torture.
Never mind, Teacher, even if you spell it out I probably couldn’t handle it either. It’s all so complicated.
Believing her covert sweep of the room was completely hidden, He Xunyan quickly scanned the office and realized she was the only student there.
Is there a book specifically dedicated to explaining how students should face their teachers? I would definitely study it devoutly, He Xunyan nodded slightly to herself.
Teacher Zhao likely guessed her thoughts, yet remained unhurried, continuing to smile at He Xunyan: “Take a look at this handwriting. Doesn’t it look familiar?”
Prompted by the teacher, He Xunyan looked closer. Wait a minute… why does this handwriting look like my own?
If she remembered correctly…
“Teacher, this appears to be my handwriting,” He Xunyan began to grow excited. “During the first half of the eighth grade, on a holiday when I was heading home, I hadn’t done well on an exam and wanted to punish myself a little, so I decided to walk home.”
“Little did I know, halfway through I exhausted myself stupid. If I had known better, I wouldn’t have gotten off the bus early. I ended up squatting by the roadside and crying.”
“Right at that moment, I felt someone pat my head. I looked up and saw a little girl, around six or seven years old, asking me with concern what was wrong. I told her I hadn’t done well on my exam.”
“She said: ‘Big Sister, do you need your parents to sign something? If you’re too scared to show them, I can sign it for you!’ I replied: ‘Big Sister doesn’t need her parents to sign anything.'”
At this memory, He Xunyan instinctively smiled. So a child’s meticulously foolproof little scheme is actually so obvious in the eyes of adults.
“After hearing that, the little girl pouted and said: ‘But Big Sister, I do need a parent’s signature on mine. Could you help me sign it? I don’t want to go back and let my mom see.’ Thinking it was just about helping others, I went ahead and signed it for her.”
Even though act of deception wasn’t good, He Xunyan admired the little girl’s courage; if it had been her at that age, she certainly wouldn’t have dared to ask.
Wait a second… so, oh my god! He Xunyan’s eyes widened dramatically.
She finally understood what the teacher meant. That little girl was actually the math teacher’s daughter?! How could they be so destined to meet? This coincidence is getting a bit out of hand.
No wonder she had felt a slight sense of familiarity when she saw the math teacher’s name.
“I only found out about it not too long ago myself. At the time, I wondered why I couldn’t remember ever signing this test paper—until I graded yours,” the math teacher said with a smile, placing the test paper back on the desk. “You write a nice hand.”
“Teacher, I think it’s very normal for a child to have that kind of thought. She definitely wanted you to see her at her best.”
“Of course, of course, deception is definitely wrong. I told her back then that Big Sister could only help her this one time, and that we would work harder next time to score better,” He Xunyan hurriedly explained.
I’m sorry, little girl. I had no idea I shared such an incredible bond of fate with your mom. Your mom won’t hold a grudge over past scores, right? After all, two years have passed, so it’s not like it’s a big deal, right?
“Mm, the teacher also expects you to score better next time. Alright, there’s nothing else. I just wanted to bring this up with you. When you get back to the classroom, please help me call Jiang Yumo over,” the math teacher said with a smile, turning to pick up her pen to write something.
“Got it, got it,” He Xunyan replied swiftly and hurried out of the office.
Too perfect. The moment I graduate, I must write a popular science book titled: How to Look Completely Calm on the Surface While Panicking Utterly on the Inside When Facing Your Teachers.
Lost in these thoughts, He Xunyan walked back to the classroom with a very brisk step.
Seeing He Xunyan return, Qin Qianyi immediately rushed up to her and asked, “What did she say?”
“I’ll tell you in a bit. I have more important matters right now,” He Xunyan gently pushed Qin Qianyi’s arm and headed in another direction.
With a puzzled gaze, Qin Qianyi watched as He Xunyan walked resolutely toward Jiang Yumo.
He Xunyan walked up to Jiang Yumo’s desk and tapped it lightly with her right index finger: “Jiang Yumo, the math teacher wants you to go to her office.”
Jiang Yumo looked up and stood up: “Okay, thank you.”
For reasons unknown even to herself, He Xunyan began to smile mysteriously at Jiang Yumo’s retreating back.
Seeing this, Qin Qianyi immediately leaned right into her face: “What are you smiling at? Have you lost your mind?”
What’s so funny about that?
She says the math teacher called you to the office, and you say the math teacher called her to the office—huh, where is the punchline?
We’re both earthlings, why aren’t we sharing the same neural circuitry?
“I’m not telling you,” He Xunyan’s voice even took on a tone of coy pride. With that, she pushed Qin Qianyi’s arm to walk her back to their seats. “Isn’t the next period a Chinese self-study class?”
“Yeah, so what? Is the Chinese teacher going to invite you for tea too?” Qin Qianyi teased as she dug out her books.
“No way. Well then, I’m about to start creating.” He Xunyan also pulled out her books, along with a bag of oranges. “Do you want an orange?”
“I don’t like oranges. Do you have anything else?” Qin Qianyi asked while flipping through her textbook.
“Only oranges, so I guess I’ll eat them myself.”
Saying this, He Xunyan peeled the orange, separated it slice by slice, pulled out a small plate onto her desk, and placed all the separated orange slices neatly on it.
Watching her methodically peel and place each slice onto the plate, Qin Qianyi asked in puzzlement, “What are you doing?”
He Xunyan offered another mysterious smile, raising her right index finger to point in the air:
“Isn’t a forty-five-minute class agonizingly hard to get through? But we can divide the forty-five minutes into twenty portions—each portion being just a little over two minutes. Every two-plus minutes, I’ll eat a single orange slice.”
“After eating twenty times, class will be over. Wouldn’t that make time fly by? Hehehe, this is the real-world application of the ‘sub-goal effect’. I am truly a genius.” With that, she popped an orange slice into her mouth.
With this weapon to accelerate time, what is there left for me to fear?
Qin Qianyi frowned in confusion and asked, “Won’t the teacher notice?”
“Hehehe, that’s where another concept comes in called ‘gradual change blindness’. If the orange slices suddenly vanished all at once, it would definitely be noticed.”
“But if they decrease little by little, bit by bit, nobody will notice,” He Xunyan clicked her tongue and shook her head. “I am truly a genius.”
It seems I have fully mastered how to operate inside an Earth classroom!
“Oh ho, sounds kind of interesting. Well then, I wish you success,” Qin Qianyi laughed.
This whole thing is clearly absurd. Why does He Xunyan look so serious about it? Is there something wrong with me, or is there something wrong with her?
Could it be that she noticed something strange about the teacher?
Is she sacrificing herself to save everyone? What a brave warrior.
During the self-study class, He Xunyan strictly followed her own plan, and sure enough, the class passed by in a flash.
After class ended, He Xunyan prepared to get up and head to the restroom, only to see the Chinese teacher walking toward her.