The two sheets of letter paper were clean and contained no signatures.
Her gaze paused for a moment. Suddenly remembering something, she casually stuffed them into the compartment under her desk without much reaction.
The girl sitting behind her, Zhang Wenwen, leaned forward and poked her back with a fingertip.
“Open them and see who wrote them. You actually got two at once!”
She had noticed them as soon as she arrived that morning and had even secretly stood up to take a look. There was no name on either envelope, which made her curious, but she couldn’t very well open someone else’s love letters without permission.
Zhang Wenwen was talkative and gossipy, and Lin Zhinuo didn’t particularly like her. She didn’t want to get involved in anything unnecessary, so she simply refused.
“Morning reading is about to start. Old Jiang will be here soon.”
After saying that, Lin Zhinuo sat properly, opened her Chinese textbook, and began reading aloud.
Zhang Wenwen was met with a rebuff and secretly curled her lips in annoyance.
Meng Siyu wasn’t surprised or particularly curious about her deskmate receiving love letters. The reason she had originally waved Lin Zhinuo over to sit beside her was precisely because she thought Lin Zhinuo was pretty.
Having a beautiful girl beside you even made the three daily meals taste better.
Meng Siyu lowered her head and pulled her textbook out of the compartment under her desk. When she looked up, the corner of her eye happened to catch Zhang Wenwen’s dissatisfied expression.
She couldn’t help frowning slightly.
After two consecutive periods of mathematics finally ended, the moment the bell rang, the students who had been half-asleep instantly perked up and rushed toward the cafeteria like a pack of hungry wolves.
The cafeteria at Yucheng No. 1 High School was enormous. It was next to the North Teaching Building, and the three grades ate in staggered shifts. First-year students had always been the last group to eat.
Lin Zhinuo piled a full plate with food: two huge, glistening chicken drumsticks, a serving of spicy stir-fried beef, and a generous portion of stir-fried seasonal vegetables.
Meng Siyu was stunned.
“Oh my gosh, Zhinuo! Were you just released from prison after starving for three days? This mountain of food… Are you sure you can finish it all?”
“I need to eat more. I want to see if I can grow a little taller.”
Lin Zhinuo picked up a chicken leg and took a huge bite, her cheeks bulging as she chewed.
Meng Siyu burst out laughing.
“What, you’re treating the cafeteria food like height-increasing medicine? Fine, I’ll support you with all my strength!”
As she spoke, Meng Siyu picked the largest piece of scrambled egg from her own plate and put it on Lin Zhinuo’s plate.
After all, Little Nuonuo was planning to apply to a dance academy in the future. Being taller and more slender would definitely be an advantage.
“You should eat more too. Beef is low in fat, so it won’t make you gain weight.”
Lin Zhinuo thoughtfully picked out several slices of beef and placed them on Meng Siyu’s plate.
Meng Siyu giggled.
“By the way, Zhinuo, what are you planning to do with those two love letters in your desk?”
Lin Zhinuo looked completely unconcerned.
“Throw them away.”
She vaguely remembered this incident.
Not long after the beginning of her first year of high school, she had received two love letters. They had both been written by the same person. She had forgotten his name, but she remembered that he was a student athlete from the class next door. He played basketball very well and looked especially handsome on the court. She had even dragged Meng Siyu along to secretly watch him play once.
However, she later happened to overhear him gathered together with a group of boys, making crude comments about the figures of the girls on the cheerleading squad.
Their words had been vulgar and greasy, and the little bit of favorable impression she had of him instantly turned into disgust.
Meng Siyu nodded thoughtfully.
There would definitely be a steady stream of love letters in the future anyway. If she wasn’t going to throw them away, what was she supposed to do with them? Save them for New Year’s?
After finishing their meal, the two of them strolled around the shaded path for a while before leisurely returning to the classroom.
They had barely sat down when the class monitor, Li Qin, stood at the doorway and called out,
“Lin Zhinuo, Teacher Jiang wants you to go to the office.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Why does Old Jiang want you?” Meng Siyu asked.
Lin Zhinuo shook her head.
“I’ll find out when I get there.”
There were several teachers scattered around the office, preparing lessons. Jiang Yun’s desk was near the window. The curtains were only half drawn, and fine rays of sunlight streamed through, falling brightly across the desk.
“Teacher Jiang, you wanted to see me?”
Jiang Yun raised his hand and tapped the two sheets of paper that had been bleached almost white by the glaring sunlight.
“A student reported that you’re dating early. Tell me, what’s going on with these?”
Dating at such a young age?
Lin Zhinuo leaned forward and took a look.
The paper was covered densely with black ink. The handwriting was bold, sweeping, messy, and flamboyant, though not particularly attractive.
If you send Chapter 15’s next part, I’ll continue with the same names, tone, and translation style.
Continuing with the same names and style:
She shook her head expressionlessly, though inwardly she was muttering to herself.
These two love letters had clearly been in the compartment under her desk. How had they ended up in Old Jiang’s hands?
“They were secretly slipped into my desk by someone else. I never opened them.”
Jiang Yun leaned back against her chair and frowned as she sized up the girl in front of her. She was certainly pretty, but she was just too eye-catching.
School had only been in session for how long, and she was already receiving love letters? Once she became more familiar with the school, wouldn’t those letters come flying at her like snowflakes?
It would interfere with her studies and make it easy for her to get distracted…
She couldn’t help thinking of her own son, who was in ninth grade. His grades had plummeted because of an early relationship.
Jiang Yun sighed in frustration.
“Go back and write a thousand-word self-criticism, along with a study plan for the new semester. Hand them in tomorrow.”
Lin Zhinuo was slightly stunned, thinking she must have heard wrong.
“Teacher, you want me to write a self-criticism?”
“That’s right.”
The sunlight made Jiang Yun squint. Her tone left no room for argument.
“Neither of them is optional.”
Lin Zhinuo: “…Teacher, you’ve got this wrong, haven’t you? The love letters were written by someone else. I didn’t even read them. What does that have to do with me?”
“They were written to you, and you say it has nothing to do with you?”
“Is it my fault that I was born beautiful?”
Lin Zhinuo felt that Teacher Jiang was being unreasonable. Her temper flared, and before she could stop herself, she talked back.
As soon as her words fell, several suppressed chuckles sounded throughout the office.
Jiang Yun’s expression immediately darkened.
“Bring your parents here this afternoon!”
Lin Zhinuo’s heart tightened.
Did such a trivial matter really require bothering the incredibly busy Mr. Lin?
No!
She bit her lip and softened her tone.
“Um, Teacher Jiang…”
“There’s nothing to discuss.”
Jiang Yun’s attitude was firm.
“Not only are your parents coming, but the parents of the boy who wrote the love letters are coming too!”
Lin Zhinuo secretly ground her teeth.
Shen Qianqian’s warning had been absolutely right. Old Jiang was going through menopause, and once she got serious about something, she was incredibly difficult to deal with. You simply couldn’t guard against her.
When Lin Zhinuo returned to class, Meng Siyu noticed that she looked upset and asked worriedly,
“What happened? Did you get scolded?”
“Those two love letters ended up in Old Jiang’s hands.”
Meng Siyu gasped in shock.
“You handed them in?”
Lin Zhinuo shot her a sidelong glance.
“Do I look stupid to you?”
With that, she collapsed onto her desk in frustration.
“Old Jiang insisted that I write a self-criticism. I wasn’t convinced, so I talked back a couple of times. Then she insisted on calling my dad over.”
Meng Siyu looked a little bewildered. After taking a moment to process everything, her face filled with indignation.
“This is ridiculous! Someone else wrote you love letters. It’s not your fault! Why should you have to write a self-criticism? And for something this trivial, she actually needs to call your parents?”
When Lin Jingshan received a call from Lin Zhinuo’s homeroom teacher, he was on his way to another province.
After the teacher vaguely explained the situation, he roughly understood what had happened.
A boy had written his daughter a love letter, and the teacher suspected that his daughter might be involved in an early relationship.
Lin Jingshan found himself caught in a dilemma.
Should he turn around and go back? He had an extremely important client from another province to meet tomorrow.
But if he didn’t go back, what if his innocent, soft, and adorable little white rabbit was swept away by some rotten boy?
After thinking it over again and again, Lin Jingshan picked up his phone and quickly sent a message.
During the long break between classes, Lin Zhinuo was summoned to the office again.
The moment she stepped through the doorway, a tall, slender figure came into view.
She stared in astonishment.
“Brother? What are you doing here?”
Send the next passage whenever you’re ready, and I’ll continue seamlessly from here.