Confessing To The School Queen In Front Of The Whole School - Chapter 21.1

Lin Ruoruo finished her last few bites of bread. After throwing the packaging away and getting a cup of water, she watched Tao Yun and Xia Meng open their lunch boxes, whose contents looked and smelled delicious, making her hungry again.

Lin Ruoruo, being un-pampered, had to be strong. The strong Lin Ruoruo asked, “Were you eating here at the student council office yesterday too?”

No wonder she hadn’t run into them at the cafeteria; it seemed these two had already abandoned her. Lin Ruoruo wasn’t angry. She sipped her water slowly, just watching them eat. Xia Meng felt uncomfortable under her gaze and almost wanted to move her lunchbox elsewhere to avoid Lin Ruoruo’s staring.

Tao Yun, in contrast, sat firmly and asked, “Where is everyone else?” The student council office usually had people eating lunch every day, so it was unusual for only Lin Ruoruo to be there today. No one else had arrived yet.

The three sat in silence, with the air filled with the aroma of food. When Tao Yun spoke, Xia Meng finally felt at ease. She didn’t move but ate quietly, ears perked to listen to their conversation.

Lin Ruoruo: “They finished their exams early and already ate.”

“Oh.”

(Sound of eating)

Lin Ruoruo opened up and couldn’t stop talking: “The high school sophomore-level questions have gotten harder. I’m really worried about my grades this time.” Her grades weren’t bad, or she wouldn’t be the Minister of the Discipline Department of the Student Council. Lin Ruoruo saying it was hard meant it was genuinely difficult. This was a struggle that Class 8 of High School Year 1 couldn’t relate to, and Xia Meng didn’t interject.

Mmm, green pepper! Xia Meng quickly ate the green pepper, wasting nothing, sticking to her principles.

Tao Yun’s lunchbox didn’t seem to have green peppers, and Lin Ruoruo wondered if she did it on purpose. Tao Yun then spoke with a parental tone: “Xia Meng has even improved this time.”

Lin Ruoruo: “…”

She was so annoyed. She wanted to find a grenade and throw it at that girl. Lin Ruoruo took a big gulp of water indignantly and complained, “With you tutoring her, how could she not improve!”

Lin Ruoruo used to ask Tao Yun for tutoring. She never felt embarrassed that a High School Year 2 student was tutored by a Year 1 student; in fact, Tao Yun often corrected her daily homework. Years of friendship couldn’t compare to a little idiot.

The little idiot lowered her head shyly: “Not at all, I only improved by ten-plus points.”

Improving by ten-plus points after only a few days of tutoring was already impressive. Lin Ruoruo, unaware of the Class Monitor’s Experience Replication Book boost, conceded and fell silent. Exam results were a dangerous topic; discussing them could affect subsequent exams. What if the faces of these two popped into her head instead of the answers during the next test? That would be infuriating.

Lin Ruoruo changed the subject: “I haven’t congratulated Xia Meng on joining the Student Council yet.”

Xia Meng thought for a moment: “No, I should be thanking you for recommending me.” Even though she hadn’t planned on joining the Student Council, if Lin Ruoruo hadn’t suggested and recommended her, Xia Meng wouldn’t have the chance to sit here and eat. Xia Meng was clear on this small matter.

She continued, “We have exams these few days. After the exams are over, I’ll thank you properly.”

“Pffft.” Lin Ruoruo couldn’t help but laugh, watching Xia Meng’s serious expression. She was so earnest about thanking her for such a small thing—typical Xia Meng. Her cute, child-like personality, yet possessing an adult-like clarity of right and wrong, made her so lovable at this age. It was no wonder Tao Yun was so fond of her.

Lin Ruoruo readily agreed: “Okay, I won’t let you off easy then.”

Study Session & Grading Day

After finishing lunch, the three left the Student Council office together. There was half an hour before the next exam, and they all hoped to get in some extra studying.

When Xia Meng returned to Class 8, she expected to see a crowd of students making noise or, at least, taking a nap. She was surprised to find them all sitting diligently, determined to make a comeback. For a moment, she saw a reflection of the top-tier classes.

She returned to her seat in a daze. To be honest, Lin Ruoruo and Tao Yun might truly want to study, but Xia Meng just wanted to nap. Eating made her sleepy. But with everyone around studying, how could she be the only one slacking off? And so, a strange atmosphere of internal competition formed in Class 8: We must work harder than others and score better!

The exams lasted for two and a half days, with the students getting a half-day break in the afternoon. Wait… that half-day was originally Saturday’s exam time, so the break was rightfully theirs!

However, at No. 1 High School, Saturday was tacitly understood as a school day, so the students happily went home. Meanwhile, the teachers stayed behind to grade the papers. The teachers at No. 1 High School graded very quickly, and soon, discussions began.

“This test paper is a bit strange.”

“It is. We’ve been grading until now, and there are no failing grades…”

The two teachers fell silent for a moment.

Teacher Ji had finished grading his math papers and was about to start on physics and chemistry. Hearing the comment, he said, “What’s so strange? Failing a test at No. 1 High School is what would be strange.”

A teacher whispered, “No, it’s Class 8…”

There were only eight classes in total, and Class 8 was the notoriously poor one. In other words, out of every eight papers, at least one was expected to fail. Even Class 8 had good students, but they had graded over twenty papers without hitting a single failure.

Teacher Ji: “Maybe they’re all in one pile.”

True, even with the papers shuffled, this could happen. They would probably show up soon. The teachers silently continued grading.

Then one picked up a paper: “We’ve reached Tao Yun’s paper.”

Other teachers gathered to look. Tao Yun’s paper was highly recognizable: beautiful handwriting, neat layout, and most importantly, the answers showed the test-taker’s calm and composed mental state. Tao Yun was a good student, a favorite of the teachers. They all recognized her papers and had developed the habit of calling others over to look whenever they came across hers. Grading too many papers was a headache; looking at a standard, perfect answer sheet always lifted their spirits.

Teacher Ji wasn’t as eager as the others, but his raised smile revealed his pride. Tao Yun was a student in Class 1, and he was the Class 1 homeroom teacher. Sure enough, the teachers sounded envious: “I wish I had a student like Tao Yun.”

The paper was so beautiful it was like a famous painting. Then they started grading. Mostly all correct. Full marks were 100. Her final score was ninety-eight, with only one mistake. That question was intentionally difficult, designed to trip students up. It was normal for Tao Yun, being only in Year 1, not to get it perfectly, although her answer was mostly there, the steps were slightly inadequate. Even if Tao Yun was the teachers’ favorite, they couldn’t be biased.

They shook their heads regretfully: “Speaking of which, Tao Yun is participating in the Physics Competition, right?”

Teacher Ji smiled even more proudly: “Yes, I’ve seen her working hard recently.”

“With Tao Yun, she has a great chance of taking first place.”

No. 1 High School was the best high school in the city, but for some reason, their performance in the Physics Competition in recent years had been weak. The rival, No. 6 High School, kept snatching the victory, which infuriated the teachers at No. 1 High School. Originally, they had little hope for this year. But then, Tao Yun appeared…

They had regretted it when she initially said she didn’t want to participate in the Physics Competition, with everyone taking turns to persuade her, but she wouldn’t change her mind. Later, she somehow came around, allowing the teachers to start dreaming of a No. 1 High School student winning the award.

“She’s only in Year 1, let’s not put too much pressure on her.” If it didn’t work out, there was always next year.

Teacher Ji shook his head triumphantly: “Tao Yun knows what she’s doing. We don’t need to worry.” In his opinion, Tao Yun would definitely take first place.

His smile couldn’t be stopped until he glanced at Old Yang, which finally sobered him.

Old Yang hadn’t joined the teachers’ discussion, his mind calm as water. He graded paper after paper. Half a day passed, and other teachers were on their second round of grading, but he still hadn’t finished. Even hearing about the Physics Competition didn’t cause much of a stir.

Right, what does teaching Class 8 have to do with the Physics Competition? Teacher Ji thought of Xia Meng and started to feel annoyed. Tao Yun had been getting a bit too close to Xia Meng recently. He worried that the student’s early romance would affect her grades, but considering it was Tao Yun, he reluctantly held back from calling her into the office. He should trust Tao Yun.

But this Old Yang, can’t he discipline the students in his class? Teaching the worst class, yet showing no ambition! Teacher Ji intentionally called Old Yang over: “Teacher Yang, are you confident about this mid-term exam?”

Old Yang was startled to hear his name. He looked up: “Yes.”

Teacher Ji was amused. Given the behavior of Class 8, this man still had confidence? “I’m not saying this to be mean, but you need to be stricter with your students. Don’t spoil them too much. It’s only Year 1 now; what about Year 3? Will they even go to university?”

Old Yang: “Of course they will. Why go to high school if not to go to university?” Old Yang thought, they can also date, but he didn’t say that, or Teacher Ji would get even angrier. Even with half a sentence hidden, he still managed to irritate Teacher Ji. Old Yang really lacked high emotional intelligence. Everyone was colleagues with a shared goal: making students better. Only Old Yang seemed to be an exception.

The others could better understand Teacher Ji’s mood: “Forget it. Parents can just buy points to get them into university. Why worry?” The words were spoken sarcastically.

Old Yang continued grading but replied, “No need to buy points. I believe in my students. They’re just a little mischievous, but they are reliable.”

Reliable? They couldn’t see it. A few days before the exam, they were still planning to go out and play. Even on the day of the exam, they all looked sluggish, probably from staying up late playing video games.

“Never mind, never mind.” It wouldn’t look good to argue. They were all adults, all teachers, and they shouldn’t let the students see them fighting.

They continued grading the papers.