Children born in 1993 were nowhere near as precocious as those in later generations and had a natural fear of teachers. With the way Zhu Yun Xuan acted, he instantly drew everyone’s attention. The classroom was so silent you could hear a pin drop.
“I’m not going to sit in the front!” The spot that Teacher Chen pointed to was by the aisle next to the podium, and she only allowed him to bring a stool. This setup was even more humiliating than when she made him stand earlier.
“Then stand up front!” Teacher Chen didn’t take Zhu Yun Xuan’s resistance seriously at all. She simply struck the podium with the bamboo stick in her hand, her voice turning stern.
Another girl, apparently frightened, moved a stool and sat where Teacher Chen instructed, but Zhu Yun Xuan didn’t budge.
He was already starting to regret it. At this time, it was difficult for non-agricultural children to attend school in town. He was only able to come because his grandfather had a good relationship with an old teacher there. If this situation got out of hand, it was possible he might be expelled…
But to lower his head to the teacher now? He felt extremely unwilling.
Seeing that Zhu Yun Xuan still wasn’t moving, Teacher Chen grew even more furious. She had been teaching for over ten years and had never met a student like him!
“Get out and stand outside the classroom! A disobedient child like you has no need to attend class! Come back only when you realize your mistake!” She stormed over and grabbed him. After all, Zhu Yun Xuan was only six years old, just like how Jiang Yue Xiu could easily pick him up, this teacher could easily drag him too.
What a disgrace! Zhu Yun Xuan was yanked from his seat and finally understood what it meant to be small and weak: “I’ll go myself!”
“Then go stand properly!” Teacher Chen dragged him out the door. “Lower your head! Put your hands behind your back! I can’t teach a child like you. If your parents don’t come to pick you up later, don’t bother going home! I don’t know what kind of parents raise children like you, country folks really are uncultured!”
Listening to the sound of the class reading from inside, Zhu Yun Xuan took a deep breath. Jiang Yue Xiu and Zhu Chengtai couldn’t do anything. They spoiled him endlessly, but they also had a blind reverence and trust toward teachers, they would never confront one. As for calling the media, there weren’t really any media outlets they could go to at this time.
Was he really supposed to just endure this?
Zhu Yun Xuan clenched his teeth. If he were already in middle school, he wouldn’t be in such a passive position. But now, he was only six years old, he could literally be dragged around by that teacher!
If this really escalates, would Jiang Yue Xiu and the others be heartbroken… Am I really supposed to just put up with it?
Zhu Yun Xuan knew very well, if it were his old self in his past life, even if he was spoiled, he wouldn’t dare talk back to a teacher, and would barely react to the things they said. But now, he carried the soul of an adult. Asking him to sit still with his hands behind his back like the other kids in class was simply too difficult! And to endure humiliating words? Impossible!
Go to the principal? If he’s just a country kid with nothing, the principal definitely wouldn’t help him, but if it’s him…
“Why are you standing outside the classroom?” As Zhu Yun Xuan gritted his teeth while leaning against the wall, a voice suddenly sounded.
“Li Rui?” Zhu Yun Xuan looked up and saw Li Rui. It was the first period of the morning, so there was no physical education class. That meant everyone was in the classroom, and only Li Rui had the freedom to walk around.
“You’ve been punished, right?” Li Rui said affirmatively.
In his past life, with his parents absent and his grandparents not liking him, he was always too timid and weak. Although the teachers didn’t have any prejudice against him, he was constantly bullied by his classmates. And since every time he went to report it, nothing good ever came of it, he naturally didn’t dare to reflect it to the teachers.
It wasn’t until a classmate threw his book out of the window that the teacher finally found out.
This life was completely different from the previous one. Although, because of his special circumstances, some students still ignored him, at least no one bullied him anymore.
“What are you here for?” Zhu Yun Xuan asked. For a brief moment, he considered whether he should try to transfer into Li Rui’s class. He knew Li Rui would have ways to help him out and also give him privileges.
But it wasn’t truly his own.
Zhu Yun Xuan knew that Li Rui’s parents were wealthy and powerful, so it wasn’t a big deal for Li Rui to treat him to a meal or anything, but he couldn’t just keep accepting it. After all, those things didn’t belong to him. Just like now, if he relied on Li Rui to become part of the privileged class in this school, how would he repay Li Rui?
“I came to check on you,” Li Rui stood by Zhu Yun Xuan, leaning against the wall, “Do you want some snacks?”
“What do you have?” Zhu Yun Xuan asked. At that time, there weren’t many types of snacks, and the prices were quite high. He usually wouldn’t buy them.
“Dried tofu.” Li Rui took out two packs of dried tofu wrapped in transparent packaging. The small, bite-sized pieces of tofu tasted good. This type of dried tofu only cost three mao (about 0.30 yuan) per pack, and it seemed to be produced around Wende Town, so there wasn’t even a brand label on it. This dried tofu and shrimp chips were two of Zhu Yun Xuan’s favorite snacks at the time.
“Actually, making snacks to sell can be really profitable. You should know how much money those tea drinks make, right? And dried tofu too. In my past life, I couldn’t even afford dried tofu when I went to the supermarket.” Zhu Yun Xuan slowly ate the dried tofu. He could accept the small things Li Rui gave him, and he would also give him some pickled vegetables or something in return. But as for the incident at school today, it was best if he solved it himself!
Owing someone a favor always has to be repaid. He didn’t want to accept Li Rui’s feelings, and naturally, he couldn’t always owe him. In fact, if Li Rui hadn’t come to Wende Town, wouldn’t he still have to deal with today’s situation on his own?
“Thinking too much might actually lead to earning less money.” Just like Li Yue in his previous life, who switched careers multiple times but still ended up with nothing? Li Rui could tell that Zhu Yun Xuan didn’t want him to get involved in this matter, so he didn’t say anything more.
He believed Zhu Yun Xuan would handle things well, but he had no idea what exactly Zhu Yun Xuan was planning to do.
“Yeah… I probably won’t do these things anyway.” Due to his family circumstances, Zhu Yun Xuan hadn’t learned much extracurricular stuff in his past life, nor did he have any special skills. If he had to mention something, it was that he studied computer science in university.
In his first and second years, he was average, but by his third and fourth years, he became very serious about his studies. He didn’t know much else, but he was confident that he could make a living with this skill in the future.
Li Rui and Zhu Yun Xuan were speaking softly, so the rest of the class couldn’t hear them. The teacher, Mr. Chen, didn’t notice either. After a while, Li Rui quietly left.
Zhu Yun Xuan glanced around the classroom. Right now, forgetting everything else, if he stayed after school again and made Jiang Yue Xiu wait outside for too long…
Without thinking, Zhu Yun Xuan started running toward the nearby multi-purpose building.
In his previous life, he had spent six years at this elementary school and hadn’t encountered a teacher like Mr. Chen. In fact, most of the teachers were pretty good. The teacher he liked the most was the elderly teacher who taught them general knowledge in fifth and sixth grades.
This teacher was very well-known for one thing: she had once chased away a woman who had entered the school through connections and spent her days lounging in the school clinic. Zhu Yun Xuan had a vivid memory of this woman because after every health check, the students were forced to buy overpriced eye drops from the clinic. If a student had poor eyesight, they had to buy two or three types of drops. It wasn’t a big deal, but if any student had a real issue, they couldn’t find anyone in the clinic when they needed help.
The elderly teacher who taught them general knowledge was already at retirement age, but the principal rehired her. She was not only an excellent teacher who made lessons very engaging, but she could teach almost anything in the elementary school curriculum. Before retiring, she was said to have been the vice-principal of the school.
Zhu Yun Xuan wasn’t sure if he could find this teacher, but the fact that such a person existed proved that the school’s leadership wasn’t bad. If he went to the multi-purpose building, he was sure to find someone who could help him.
Wende Town might be small, but it was where he had spent the longest time in his previous life. Even during his middle and high school years, he often came back to visit. At that time, Zhu Cheng Cai had bought him a simple camera, and he had even taken pictures of the entire school…
Although Wende Town was small, it was developing well. The elementary school in Wende Town was also built well. Zhu Yun Xuan wandered around the multi-purpose building for a while, and then he heard the bell for the end of class. Suddenly, he saw the principal, who had spoken at the opening ceremony the day before. Perhaps by chance, the elderly teacher he had been looking for was standing right beside the principal.
“Principal, Uncle, you’re the principal, right? My homeroom teacher said I’m not doing well in school, but I know all the knowledge from fourth grade!” Zhu Yun Xuan immediately ran over and looked up at the principal with an innocent expression.
The principal clearly didn’t want to deal with a child’s matter. He probably didn’t take such a child seriously. Then, Zhu Yun Xuan grabbed the elderly teacher’s clothes. “Grandpa, I’m really learning well! You can test me on anything!”
“Did the teacher scold you for not listening in class? You need to be more serious about your studies.” The elderly teacher patted Zhu Yun Xuan’s head. At this age, boys were still small, and the elderly teacher probably didn’t think a student from the first or second grade could know the knowledge from the fourth or fifth grade. Wende Town Elementary School hadn’t produced any geniuses.
“I’m telling the truth!” Zhu Yun Xuan insisted firmly.
Because of his persistence, he was eventually taken to the principal’s office. Of course, the principal was likely trying to keep the situation calm. After all, he was just a child, and if he cried or caused a scene, it would be difficult for them to handle.
Zhu Yun Xuan was confident that he could easily complete elementary school math. However, when it came to high school questions, he might be at a loss. As for Chinese, because his teacher was strict when he attended Wende Town Elementary School in his previous life, his foundation was solid. He had also learned pinyin and other basic skills well. The only problem now was that he had to control himself from writing in cursive!
The principal’s office wasn’t large, with two desks inside. The elderly teacher pulled out a few Chinese textbooks and began to ask him questions.
Zhu Yun Xuan wanted to finish quickly, so he directly picked up a fourth-grade Chinese book and began reading the text aloud, speaking clearly and with good pronunciation.
Both the principal and the vice principal were older, and when they spoke Mandarin, they had the distinct southern accent, often mixing flat tongue and curled tongue sounds, not to mention the difficulty in distinguishing between front and back nasal sounds. They were somewhat surprised to hear Zhu Yun Xuan read the text aloud.
“Little friend, how about you read this one?” Zhu Yun Xuan wasn’t wearing a red scarf, which was strictly enforced at Wende Town Elementary. If a student didn’t wear the red scarf, they would lose points, and only first graders would forget to wear it. This child must have just started school, right? The principal suddenly handed over a piece of paper.
It was a “Parent’s Notice,” basically saying not to give money to children, to avoid letting them play video games, and to pay attention to their safety. Zhu Yun Xuan glanced at it and started reading aloud.
Zhu Yun Xuan read it very well. In middle and high school, he liked to show off and had even been a school announcer. He read the entire notice without any issues, except for a slight pause in one part. Overall, it was very good.
“You read well!” The principal became interested. This was the era when people across the country were on the lookout for prodigies to promote, and if their school produced a prodigy… His excitement grew as he pulled out two exam papers and handed them to Zhu Yun Xuan. Zhu Yun Xuan took a look and saw they were the fourth-grade final exam papers.
Zhu Yun Xuan started with math. He solved the calculation problems quickly. For multiplication and division, where he needed to show his work, he wasn’t sure if his methods were correct. For the application problems at the back, once he calculated the answer, he couldn’t be bothered to write the “Answer: XXXX” at the end.
Next, he did the Chinese section, and it went smoothly. It was only halfway through when he realized pinyin was different from English, so he went back and made corrections. As for the reading comprehension, he might not be able to write the standard answers, but he believed his understanding skills were solid. When it came to the composition part, he was stopped.
The math paper had already been graded, and all the answers were correct. The Chinese paper didn’t have any major mistakes. As for the reading comprehension, it depended on how the grader evaluated it!
A six or seven-year-old child could do a fourth-grade exam paper?
The principal, who wore glasses, smiled broadly and squinted his eyes: “Little friend, what’s your name? Which class are you in?”