Zero Points
Fang Xing returned to the living room, stood still for a moment, and eventually added an extra portion to everything he had ordered.
Fang Xing thought Jiang Zhijin should have already woken up, but by the time he had finished fiddling with the food delivery, Jiang Zhijin still hadn’t come out.
Fang Xing sat on the sofa waiting for the food delivery. Jiang Zhijin still didn’t emerge.
When the food arrived, Fang Xing carried it in, laid everything out, and the door to Jiang Zhijin’s room still hadn’t opened.
At 9:42 AM, going back to sleep sounded quite appealing, Fang Xing thought.
By the time he finished eating a serving of shrimp dumplings, custard buns, along with rice noodle rolls and soy milk, Jiang Zhijin’s bedroom door finally opened again.
Perhaps due to the injury or being disturbed earlier, Jiang Zhijin looked a bit pale. After walking to the living room and making eye contact with Fang Xing, he took the initiative to speak.
“Got up quite early.”
He probably still harbored some resentment over what happened earlier.
Fang Xing responded calmly, “I was hungry.”
Jiang Zhijin glanced at the dining table, “Did you order takeout?”
“Ordered two servings. Do you want to eat?”
Jiang Zhijin probably wasn’t picky about food. He nodded, and went to freshen up in the bathroom.
When Jiang Zhijin finished freshening up and came out, Fang Xing had already eaten most of the food. Jiang Zhijin pulled out the chair opposite Fang Xing, lowered his head, and began to eat.
He took a sip of soy milk first and then started eating the shrimp dumplings. His eating speed wasn’t slow, but there was little sound. He appeared in better spirits than before, perhaps because of his military background; he didn’t slouch and looked quite nimble. His forehead hair was damp, probably from washing his face just now—
Halfway through, Fang Xing suddenly realized he had fallen into his own bad habit. He clicked his tongue inwardly, immediately withdrew his gaze, and stared at the takeout boxes in front of him.
Coincidentally, at that moment, Jiang Zhijin spoke.
“I’ll go to the bar later to get your transfer documents and then take you to the school, Shaojiang First High School.”
Fang Xing finished the last sip of soy milk from his cup.
“Alright.”
Shaojiang wasn’t a big city. Last year, it barely squeezed into the third tier in the national ranking of cities, and its educational resources were above average. Shaojiang First High School was an old and prestigious high school, producing three national top scorers in the college entrance examination. However, compared to Chaocheng Seventh High School, where Fang Xing used to study, there was still a gap. When he first suggested transferring, his parents strongly objected.
Until later, he said either he transferred or dropped out.
On the way to the bar, Jiang Zhijin drove his car. Fang Xing remained silent, only saying a word when Jiang Zhijin was about to grab the car keys before leaving, “Your hand.”
Jiang Zhijin looked down at his left hand, “Oh, it’s fine.”
Fang Xing shut up and inwardly scolded himself again for being meddlesome.
Leaving the residential area, Fang Xing sat in the front passenger seat, tilting his head to look outside.
The rain had completely stopped, and there were still puddles on some roads. On this weekend morning, there were very few people on the road, only sanitation workers cleaning up branches fallen from the trees during the storm.
In the midst of silence, Jiang Zhijin suddenly spoke, “Yunshan Road.”
Caught off guard by someone talking beside him, Fang Xing stared at Jiang Zhijin and asked, “What?”
“This road is called Yunshan Road. The bus stop is just across from the neighborhood. Take bus 113, four stops, and get off at Shaojiang First High School station. It’s right at the entrance of your school. The entire journey takes about fifteen minutes. The earliest bus is at 6:30, and the latest is at 10:30. Actually, if you walk through the shortcuts, it’s pretty close, less than half an hour. But since you’ve just arrived, I’m afraid you might get lost.”
A car cut in ahead, and Jiang Zhijin honked the horn, continuing, “If there’s nothing at the bar in the evening, I should be able to pick you up earlier. In the morning, you might have to take the bus yourself.”
Fang Xing only understood that Jiang Zhijin was giving him directions to school.
Since the first grade, Fang Xing had never been picked up by anyone and always took the bus home with his transit card. At the beginning, he had to tiptoe to barely reach the card reader. Now, just two months shy of turning 18, suddenly being treated as a primary school student made him shudder.
“…You don’t need to pick me up. I can go on my own.”
Jiang Zhijin glanced at him, thought for a moment, and said again, “We’ll see when the time comes.”
When they arrived at the bar, there was no one inside. Jiang Zhijin opened the door, and Fang Xing’s suitcase and backpack sat quietly in the lobby. Fang Xing opened the backpack and took a look; a bunch of transfer documents were inside.
Actually, Shaojiang First High School wasn’t far from where Jiang Zhijin lived. It would only take twenty minutes to walk, but the two went to the bar first and then came back, delaying a bit of time. After entering the school, Fang Xing carried his bag off the car, and Jiang Zhijin parked the car in the parking lot.
That day was Saturday, and classes were still ongoing in the school. The school was quiet, and the sound of an English listening comprehension exercise from one of the classes reached the parking lot. Jiang Zhijin got off the phone while coming down from the car, indicating for Fang Xing to follow him.
“We’ve entered. Where are you… Okay, coming up.”
The tone was very familiar, as if he was contacting a teacher inside the school.
Fang Xing looked up, and Jiang Zhijin was holding not the phone that had turned into a spider web the night before, but a white iPhone 8, probably one he had used before, pulled out temporarily.
Shaojiang First High School was quite large, and the greenery was well done. The two passed by a lotus pond and arrived at the administrative building. Jiang Zhijin led Fang Xing to the second floor, pushed open one of the offices, and entered.
Inside should be the teachers’ office; there weren’t many people. A man behind the desk opposite the door lifted his head as soon as he heard the door opening.
“Oh, you’re here pretty quickly.”
“You told me to come early.” Jiang Zhijin turned to Fang Xing, “This is Teacher Tang Yi, your homeroom teacher.”
“Cut it out.” Tang Yi smiled and patted Jiang Zhijin on the shoulder, then turned to Fang Xing. “You must be Fang Xing. Just call me Teacher Tang. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, you’ll be with me for the year.”
Being “with him” sounded quite sociable; no wonder he was friends with Jiang Zhijin.
Tang Yi didn’t look very old, with a baby face and a pair of frameless glasses. He seemed cheerful. Fang Xing nodded, “Teacher Tang.”
“Good.” Tang Yi spoke as if coaxing a three-year-old. “Give me your documents.”
“Jiang Zhijin said you have excellent grades. When I heard that, I thought my enrollment rate was being gifted to me.”
Tang Yi took out Fang Xing’s file and glanced at the last monthly exam report Fang Xing had brought. “Hmm, not bad. Chinese 131, Mathematics 140, English 137, Integrated Science—uh, zero points?”
This time, not only Tang Yi but even Jiang Zhijin, who was leaning against the desk, turned their heads to look at Fang Xing.
Tang Yi joked, “You seem to have a serious issue with certain subjects.”
“…I missed that exam.” Fang Xing explained.
“I knew it.” Tang Yi put away the file, still smiling. “Let’s make it clear, try not to miss exams in the future. I have a weak heart, and I might not be able to handle a shock like that.”
Fang Xing couldn’t help but laugh, “Alright.”
Curiously, no one asked Fang Xing why he missed the exam that day.
“Senior year classes are from Monday to Saturday afternoon. Saturday evening and Sunday daytime are off. Except for Saturday, there are two sessions of evening self-study each day from Sunday to Friday. Teachers have classes from 7:00 to 8:30 in the evening, and students have self-study from 8:45 to 10:00. This is the schedule for our class.”
Tang Yi circled back behind his desk, pulled out a piece of paper, and handed it to Fang Xing. “Are you a day student or a boarder?”
Jiang Zhijin, who was on the side, answered first, “Day student.”
Fang Xing didn’t say anything. He had considered boarding, but adhering to the lights-out time and dealing with multiple roommates would be distracting for his focused study. Besides, he knew he wasn’t a sociable person. Boarding would mean expending a significant portion of his energy on social interactions, which seemed troublesome.
Although dealing with someone like Jiang Zhijin was also troublesome, well…
“Oh, that’s fine. It’s more convenient to review at home. Wait until you officially start classes to pick up textbooks. Leave them in the classroom; carrying them back home will be too heavy. Sunday night is my evening self-study session, and I teach Chinese.”
Even though they had only interacted for a short time, Fang Xing noticed that Tang Yi was very warm-hearted and talkative, probably a common trait for homeroom teachers. He sounded very—
“Chatty,” Jiang Zhijin interjected.
…Fang Xing glanced at Jiang Zhijin.
But Jiang Zhijin was just looking at Tang Yi, casually making a comment.
“How should I put it,” Tang Yi glared at Jiang Zhijin, “I’m demonstrating a diligent gardener’s spirit.”
Jiang Zhijin said, “Alright, Gardener, anything else?”
“One last thing, I’ll take you to get your school uniforms. I don’t know how tall your little friend at home is, so I didn’t pick it up for him.”
“Your little friend at home,” if someone didn’t know, they might think Fang Xing had just started kindergarten today.
The room where they stored the uniforms was around the corner on the first floor. Fang Xing, who was 184 cm tall, was searched for a while by the logistics auntie, and she said, “Teacher Tang, there isn’t a uniform with this height in the storage. You’ll have to get it from the warehouse.”
“Then let Fang Xing go with you. It’s in the building diagonally opposite,” Tang Yi said, “Take it and try it on right away.”
Fang Xing nodded and followed the auntie to the warehouse.
There was a corridor in front of the administrative building covered with wisteria, blooming vibrantly. Jiang Zhijin and Tang Yi leaned against the wall of the administrative building, waiting for the others to walk away. Tang Yi looked at Jiang Zhijin.
“I haven’t asked you yet, what happened to your hand?”
“An accident.” Jiang Zhijin’s craving for cigarettes flared up again, but the Huanghelou he finished last night was already empty, and he didn’t have time to buy more.
Tang Yi stared at Jiang Zhijin, wrinkling his brows disapprovingly. “You seem to have a lot of ‘accidents’—it rained last night, and your back injury acted up, didn’t it?”
Jiang Zhijin answered, “Yeah, it acted up.”
Tang Yi chuckled, “Does it hurt?”
“It hurts.” Jiang Zhijin sighed. “It hurt so much that I couldn’t sleep until past five in the morning, and I lost consciousness. I woke up around seven—”
Jiang Zhijin paused and didn’t continue. He smiled and said, “Then I suddenly remembered there was a kid at home who hadn’t eaten, so I woke up in a panic.”
“As a result, the little guy ordered takeout himself and even remembered to save me some.”
Tang Yi laughed heartily, “You better take care of that little guy. He’s the key to my high enrollment rate. Seriously, can a single, aging youth like you take care of a high school senior? If not, just let him stay in the dormitory.”
On the other end, Fang Xing had already returned with the auntie. Jiang Zhijin looked at Fang Xing, who was holding the school uniform, walking closer. He said, “You know, I feel this kid is quite… independent, keep your distance from strangers kind of guy—”
As the group approached the building, both of them stopped talking, and Jiang Zhijin stood up straight.
“I’ll take him back to pack up first. What about you, Teacher Tang? Join us for lunch?”
“I’m afraid I can’t.” Tang Yi chuckled, “I have classes in the afternoon. Why don’t you take him to eat at Li’s Family Courtyard?”
After saying that, he turned to Fang Xing, “Remember to come to class at 7:00 on Sunday night.”
After submitting the files and meeting the teacher, it was already past 11:00. Jiang Zhijin drove out of the school towards the direction of the bar.
“Let’s eat first. After lunch, I’ll take you to the supermarket to see what else you need to buy, and then we’ll go to the bar to pick up some things.”
The school uniforms for the three grades at Shaojiang First High School had different colors. For the seniors in the third year, it was red and white, a loose-fitting tracksuit. Fang Xing held it in his hands, rubbing a corner of the collar with his fingers without saying anything.
Jiang Zhijin glanced at him when he had the chance, “Is it okay, Student Fang?”
“It’s okay,” Fang Xing replied. “If it’s too much trouble for you, I can go to the supermarket by myself.”
“It’s not troublesome.” Jiang Zhijin sighed again, repeating the phrase he had said multiple times since last night. “You really don’t have to be so polite.”
“I want to eat what Teacher Tang mentioned just now, Li’s Family Courtyard.” Fang Xing suddenly said.
“…What?”
“Didn’t you say not to be polite?” Fang Xing looked at Jiang Zhijin. “This one sounds quite expensive.”
Jiang Zhijin was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter for more than a minute. When he stopped at the red light ahead, he was still laughing. Fang Xing looked at him, “Is it that funny?”
“Not really.” Jiang Zhijin, still smiling, said, “Alright, we’ll go there.”
“You won’t ask me to order just a pot of tea, will you?”
Jiang Zhijin was serious, “No, for the senior student, we should at least order two pots.”
Fang Xing couldn’t help but smile.
When the traffic light turned green, the traffic started moving again, and Jiang Zhijin, gazing ahead, followed the car in front. He said with a smile, “Since you’re not so polite, can I be a little less polite too?”
He said it like a tongue twister. Fang Xing asked, “What?”
“Why did you miss the last monthly exam?” Jiang Zhijin asked.