A Cold and Aloof Top Student Is Relied Upon - Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Officially

◎Classmates◎

Bai Tan had wanted to try and explain her name’s origin in a poetic way, just like Gu Zhu, since she had only said her name and not the characters. But it seemed she had already contributed her share of offenses for the day.

She touched her nose and, unwilling to give up, finally said, “My name is Bai Tan, the ‘Bai’ from ‘white,’ and the ‘Tan’ from ‘water pool.'” Then, she pulled a line from her limited poetic knowledge: “Like the ‘peach blossom pool’ that is ‘a thousand feet deep’ from Li Bai’s poem to Wang Lun. Gu Zhu, I won’t bother you anymore. See you tonight!”

The hallway finally became quiet. Gu Zhu didn’t move right away. Leaning against the back of her door, she thought, The dorm next to me should be very lively.

But she waited for a while and never heard the kind of enthusiastic atmosphere that would come with welcoming a new roommate.

She opened the door suspiciously. Bai Tan was no longer there. The door to the dorm across the hall was also closed, showing no signs of life.

Did the rich young lady really run away in a panic, unable to bear the crowdedness of an eight-person dorm and its old, run-down state? She instinctively stepped out and peered down the hallway, but she didn’t see anyone. She pursed her lips and returned to her own room.

Dismissing her guesses, Gu Zhu walked back to her desk and took out the jars and containers from her bag. These were side dishes her mother, Gu Baozhi, had specifically made for her: pickled radish, salted vegetables, and clam seeds. They were all her mother’s specialties and Gu Zhu’s favorites.

The weather wasn’t too hot yet, so they wouldn’t spoil if left out for a few days without a fridge. Gu Baozhi had packed a week’s worth, so the jars weren’t very big, similar to a jar of Laoganma chili crisp.

She had returned after dinner from home and had pretty much digested her meal on the walk back to school. She decided to go shower to avoid the evening rush.

Gu Zhu’s single room didn’t have its own balcony to hang clothes, so she had to hang them on the clothesline outside in the hallway. To save space indoors, the school had installed a steel chain on the outside of the dorm corridor, which could also be used to air out blankets. The only downside was that if it rained, and you didn’t get your clothes in time, they would get wet.

As she was leaving, she heard a faint sound of an argument. Carrying her washbasin, she glanced up and down her floor but saw no one. It was a cry of “Old man!” that made her realize the sound was coming from the floor above, around the corner of the stairs.

Gu Zhu didn’t understand the dialect very well. She only knew it was a dialect from the southern area of the South China Sea. Only when some words had similar tones could she barely understand them. Gu Zhu paused because the voice sounded familiar. When she realized it was Bai Tan, she hung her clothes up and was about to go inside. Just as she stepped back in, a sudden gust of wind “BAM!” slammed the door shut.

Upstairs, Bai Tan heard the noise and peeked her head around the stairwell, but saw no one. She was on the phone, and the person on the other end was still rambling: “I’m making you live in a multi-person dorm so you’ll learn to get along with others and not just indulge your foul temper every day. I’m telling you, if you dare to bully your roommates, I’ll break your legs when you get back!”

“When have I ever bullied anyone? You’re being ridiculous. You didn’t discuss the transfer with me, and you didn’t discuss the dorms either. You just dumped me here and washed your hands of it. Am I your daughter or a prize you won for topping up your phone bill? Do you know that this dorm was originally for other people? You’re making things so hard for me!”

“…Don’t you give me excuses. Just live in the dorm obediently. I’ll have Xiao Zhang pick you up on the weekend. Also, no phones are allowed in high school. You’re to hand it over yourself, or I’ll report you!”

“Hello! Hello! Are you even my real father?!” Bai Tan glared at her phone, almost shouting a curse word. The screen turned off, its last bit of battery gone. Hand it over? I don’t even have a phone to use!

She angrily walked downstairs, paused briefly outside Gu Zhu’s room, and then returned to her own dorm.

Gu Zhu put the incident outside her mind. She had overheard it by chance. The sudden slamming of the door had startled her for a moment, but she quickly forgot about it.

Gu Zhu had short hair and barely used a hairdryer. She would just wrap her hair in a dry towel and shake it out when it was mostly dry, letting it air dry naturally. During this time before evening self-study, she took out the chemistry exercises from the supermarket owner’s son and began to correct them. She added notes on the side, detailing the thought process behind the solutions, pointing out the relevant sections in the textbook, and most importantly, highlighting the probability of each question appearing on exams.

Her predictions were highly accurate, on par with some professional teachers. Thanks to this skill, she had an enjoyable partnership with the owner, who would either pay her or help her get things she couldn’t normally access.

Like an MP3 player. She just liked listening to music and didn’t need many functions, so a cheap, small, and portable MP3 player was perfect.

This small device had been phased out of the market, but the owner’s extensive network in their small town made it easy to acquire. This was their first transaction.

Gu Zhu listened to the song playing in her headphones. The melody was beautiful, and the female singer’s voice was full of emotion. She loved road trip songs; it felt as though she could travel to all corners of the world with the music.

This was her brief, private world.

…

When it was time for evening self-study, Gu Zhu didn’t attend as usual. Her current focus was on the chemistry competition. Two days ago, the results for the city-level qualifiers were officially announced. Out of about 60 high schools in the city, fewer than 40 people passed this round to participate in the provincial preliminaries. Gu Zhu was the only one from Sanhai High School to qualify. She had competed with Chang Ru, and with their scores being similar, she was chosen.

This wasn’t her first time being recommended by the school to participate in the national chemistry competition. In her first year of high school, she had passed all the selections and made it to the national finals, only to be forced to drop out at the last minute.

This was the source of her conflict with Chang Ru.

For students from their small town, participating in a national competition was a rare opportunity. She and Chang Ru had competed, and then she had given up. It was no wonder Chang Ru would target and dislike her.

She walked to the chemistry lab and began her practical work based on the topic her chemistry teacher had given her.

…

Meanwhile, in the classroom, the transfer student’s sudden arrival was causing a stir.

In Class 3, Bai Tan was almost being escorted to the classroom door by the seven enthusiastic girls from dorm 512. Her head was dripping with sweat. In the dorm, these girls were quiet as mice, talking to her carefully. But the moment they left the dorm, it was as if they had been unsealed. Every time they encountered someone they knew, they would enthusiastically introduce her, especially the girl named Gu Xiaoxi. “This is the new transfer student in our class! Isn’t she pretty? Come hang out in our dorm sometime!”

Despite her outgoing and friendly nature, Bai Tan, who was now a social butterfly, deeply regretted not wearing her baseball cap.

She finally made it to the classroom with an awkward smile. Teacher Lin Qingmei was already there, both to supervise the evening self-study and to introduce the transfer student. With the exception of Gu Zhu, who had an assignment, the whole class was present.

The other seven girls from dorm 512 greeted Teacher Lin and went into the classroom. As soon as they entered, someone eagerly asked if they were the new transfer students. The girls were all very secretive and refused to give a direct answer.

At the door, Bai Tan faced her class teacher alone. Before the bell rang, Teacher Lin asked her some caring questions about how she was feeling, how her dorm was, and how familiar she was with the school curriculum.

Bai Tan answered obediently, her eyes wide with innocent sincerity. She said “Thank you, Teacher, you’re so good” and “My new roommates are so enthusiastic and friendly; the dorm has a great atmosphere.” She praised the school’s environment and culture so much it seemed like she wasn’t a transfer student but a researcher who had done in-depth studies. Teacher Lin listened with a huge smile.

“I’m so happy for you that you’ve been able to adapt so quickly. Our classmates are very united, and I hope you can integrate quickly and keep up with the school’s pace. I also feel very lucky to be able to spend this new stage with you. So let’s work hard together!” Teacher Lin cheered her on. The school administrators had told her to pay extra attention to the transfer student, and she had been a bit worried. But now that she had met her, she thought this girl was not only pretty but also a good speaker, and her polite demeanor didn’t suggest she would cause any trouble. But you can’t judge a book by its cover; time would tell. For now, the most important thing was to make the transfer student feel the love and warmth of the class!

So, after the evening self-study bell rang and with countless expectant glances from the students, she led Bai Tan to the podium. “Today, our class welcomes a new classmate. Let’s give her a warm welcome!”

Applause erupted. Bai Tan wasn’t shy. She curved her eyebrows and clapped for herself along with them. Her eyes casually scanned the room, but she didn’t see the familiar person. “My name is Bai Tan, the ‘Bai’ from white, and the ‘Tan’ from water pool. I hope you’ll all take care of me!”

Another round of applause followed. Suddenly, a loud voice from below asked, “Bai Tan, you’re so pretty! Do you know that?”

Teacher Lin’s eyes, like sharp daggers, found Luo Minmin but she held back her murderous stare. Under my watch, no puppy love is allowed! Never!

“Thank you. I know I’m pretty, but I think my soul is even more interesting than my looks. Please don’t fall in love with me; I’m not into puppy love!”

This statement was like a soothing balm. Teacher Lin heard the students’ catcalls and lightly coughed. She waved her finger, and when they quieted down, she said, “You all should learn from our new classmate. Focus on your studies. When you get into college, you can have all the freedom to fall in love that you want. Whether you’re a boy or a girl, you must have self-respect, self-love, self-restraint, and resilience. Only then will your life not fall apart before your journey is half-finished.”

Seeing that they were listening attentively, Teacher Lin dropped her serious expression and softened her tone. “Love is indeed a beautiful thing, but only the right time and the right person can honor that beauty. I hope that everyone in our class meets the right person at the right time and cultivates a beautiful flower. So for now, let’s fight for our beautiful future!”

This time, the applause in the class was gentle but long-lasting. Bai Tan glanced at her class teacher. This teacher from a small town wasn’t afraid to talk about love. Instead, she was open about it, treating them as flowers of the future to be nurtured. It prevented the students from being rebellious and encouraged them to think deeply.

But unlike her previous statement about not having puppy love, Bai Tan silently refuted the teacher’s words. If I find someone I love, what does “the right time” matter? I will hold on tightly until my beloved leaves.

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