The classroom erupted in groans, and the student sitting in front of me went so far as to bang his head on the desk. “Exams, exams, exams every day. Old Qin, just kill me already.”
Old Qin was our homeroom teacher and also the math teacher.
As the class president, I often found myself the target of his frustration due to my less-than-stellar math grades.
This time was no different. Even though it was the student in front of me who made the noise, Old Qin’s ire was directed straight at me. “Cheng Yueguang, why are you resting your chin in class? Come here.”
He patted the lectern. “Bring me the test paper you did over the break. Let me take a look.”
A chill ran through me, like frost on plum blossoms in the dead of winter. Not for any reason other than the fact that I hadn’t finished my math paper.
After spending so much time at the beach and then running around with Yuan Ziyi, I managed to complete the other subjects’ assignments, but the math paper was a different story. Every time I tried to work on it, I’d end up falling asleep at my desk.
Old Qin was still waiting for my paper. I took a deep breath, picked up the half-finished test, and walked to the front with the resolve of a condemned man.
Life isn’t easy, Yueguang sighed.
After class, my classmates started chattering away. The student in front of me turned around with a pen in hand, teasing me, “Wow, you really dared to not finish Old Qin’s assignment.”
Having been reprimanded by Old Qin, my ears were still red, and I looked at him gloomily.
“Come on, don’t look so glum all the time.” He tossed his pen aside, dragged his crumpled backpack over, and pulled out a pack of jelly snacks.
He grabbed a handful for me first, then went around sharing them with others. By the time he came back, the bag was empty.
“Damn,” he showed me the empty bag, “they’re like bandits!”
His expression made me laugh, and I pushed the jelly snacks he’d given me back toward him. “Go ahead, eat them.”
“No way, these are for you…” he protested with his mouth, but his hand grabbed a jelly snack, tore off the top, squeezed the shell, and sucked it into his mouth.
He’d given me five jelly snacks in total, but he ate four himself. When only one was left, he tore open the package and held it up to my mouth, feigning sympathy. “My poor class president, come on, eat this last one.”
I couldn’t take it anymore and playfully swatted him with my textbook. “Get lost, stop grossing me out.”
He laughed too, blocking my textbook with his arm, and ate the last jelly snack.