No One Else Will Do But You - Chapter 22

“For now, your desk arrangements will remain the same. We’ll change them after the midterm exam. Students who are moving up from the middle school section can help the new students get familiar with the campus. The textbooks have already been handed out, and now I’d like to talk about the daily schedule.”

High school life was naturally different from middle school. Morning self-study started at 7 a.m., followed by a run at 8 a.m. and classes at 8:40 a.m. There were four classes in the morning, which ended at 11:40 a.m. Afternoon classes started at 2:20 p.m. and ended at 5 p.m. Evening self-study was from 7 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., with four self-study periods.

As the honors class, Class 5’s schedule was even more demanding than the others. Morning self-study started at 6:50 a.m., and evening self-study also started at 6:50 p.m. The two 6:50 times were an old tradition for the honors classes. It would become even stricter in the third year of high school.

Shu Luo looked at the daily schedule and sighed helplessly. He knew he was in for a rough time. Being at the bottom of the class felt like a lot of pressure, and making a comeback would be difficult. He felt like he had been incredibly lucky to get into this class with all the top students, but his future might not be so easy. Everyone was so excellent; the pressure was immense.

He looked at the new textbooks in front of him and could only write his name and class. As he wrote the class name, he couldn’t help but sigh again.

He wrote his name on the textbook in a beautiful, flowing font. His handwriting style didn’t match his appearance at all. The strokes of his pen were sharp and powerful, giving an immediate impression of dominance.

Every time Jiang Mu saw him write, he found it pleasing to the eye. In comparison, Jiang Mu used to write in English more. Although he also wrote in Chinese, his handwriting wasn’t particularly good, and it looked even worse next to Shu Luo’s.

Shu Luo felt Jiang Mu’s gaze on him and knew he was looking at his handwriting. He smiled a little, feeling a sense of pride. He was very confident when it came to his handwriting.

“Can you write my name for me?” Jiang Mu pushed his textbooks toward him.

Shu Luo looked at him and smiled smugly. “My handwriting is very valuable! Don’t forget to cut out all the names when we graduate. Maybe you can keep them as a souvenir!”

His proud, confident smile was never annoying to Jiang Mu. Instead, it made him feel that this face was perfect for such a brilliant expression. It made it so that he could only see Shu Luo, and he couldn’t look away.

Jiang Mu didn’t answer Shu Luo’s question, but it felt like he was agreeing.

The teacher for Class 5 was the grade director, a male teacher named Wang Tingxu, who taught Chinese. He only taught two classes: Class 5 and another honors class, Class 8.

As he looked at the students, most of the faces were new, but a few were familiar, like Shu Luo and Jiang Mu.

Jiang Mu’s grades in middle school were always at the top of the list. After he transferred in the second year of middle school, he consistently ranked first in every exam. He was outstanding. All the teachers admired that a mixed-race boy who had lived in France for so long could have such a strong ability to adapt and learn. As for Shu Luo, his beautiful handwriting had won him many calligraphy awards, and he was a minor celebrity on campus. He was also very sweet, often visiting the teachers’ office, so many of them knew him. Some of the most well-known students from the middle school were also famous in the high school section.

“Also, we need to elect class officers, starting with the class monitor. Does anyone want to volunteer?”

No one raised their hand, but many probably wanted to, though they were too shy. Everyone wanted to be a class officer.

Teacher Wang held his hands together and smiled at the students. He could see a few pairs of eager eyes, but he already had someone in mind.

“Shu Luo, why don’t you do it?” The class needed a leader who not only had leadership skills but also had the ability to get people excited. Skills could be taught, but energy wasn’t something you could cultivate in a short amount of time.

A sudden bombshell hit him, making him dizzy.

“Teacher, I’m at the bottom of the class, you know. I don’t think I’m good enough.”

His words made many students laugh, and they all learned who the last-place student was.

“So what if you’re last in Class 5? You’d be one of the top students in any other class. What’s wrong? You’re not confident?” Teacher Wang asked with a smile.

Shu Luo looked at the “kind” smile and gulped. “What is this?” he thought. “A class officer is something that has nothing to do with me!” What was happening today? He was nominated to be the class monitor? And how did the teacher even know his name?

“Brother, Brother, the teacher wants me to be the class monitor! What should I do? I have no experience! How am I supposed to do it? You’re more suited for it. When you stand up, no one would dare say a word,” Shu Luo said nervously, tugging on Jiang Mu’s sleeve.

Jiang Mu looked calm and gently patted his hand. “I think it’s a good idea. Give it a try.”

“What do you mean ‘a good idea’?” he thought. “It’s not good at all!”

“Shu Luo, this is a great opportunity to build your confidence. The teachers know you, the little calligrapher from the middle school,” Teacher Wang said.

Another verbal ambush.

“I’m not worthy, I’m not worthy, Teacher! Don’t give me such a big surprise on the first day of school. I’ve never had this position before! I’ve never even been a group leader! You… you’re making me a class monitor right away. I’m afraid I won’t be able to handle it.”

His words amused many of the students, and they seemed to silently agree.

“You speak so well. Why not just take it? I approve,” Wang Kai, who was sitting behind him, said.

Shu Luo turned his head with a fake smile and looked at Wang Kai, who was watching the show.

“Thank you so much!” he thought sarcastically.

After that, many students also spoke up and agreed. They all thought Shu Luo was funny. The girls thought he was good-looking, too, since girls his age were very visual. Many of the girls also kept looking at Jiang Mu, thinking that both of them were attractive.

Teacher Wang saw their reactions and felt it was a good sign. “Good job, Shu Luo. It seems everyone likes you. Don’t be so humble and turn it down. Give it a try, and maybe you’ll learn a lot.”

And just like that, he became the class monitor for no apparent reason. On his first day of high school, he gained his second official title in life: class monitor. The first was “student.”

It was amazing. He suddenly felt a sense of purpose. He was the class monitor; he was the leader. He had been a student for so many years and had never even been a group leader. He couldn’t believe that he became a class monitor on the first day of high school. The teacher even gave him the title of “little calligrapher,” which was a pleasant surprise. Could he do a good job? He had no experience. As a rookie class officer, he worried about how many things he would have to handle and whether he would be able to do them.

“You’ll do great,” Jiang Mu said.

Jiang Mu’s steady voice always had a strange power of persuasion.

Shu Luo turned his head and looked at Jiang Mu. Although there was no special expression on his face, and he wasn’t smiling, his features looked gentle. It was like he was smiling without actually smiling. “If he believes in me, then I should believe in myself,” Shu Luo thought.

This person, whom he now called his brother, always seemed to be his source of strength. He admitted that he had never been an emotional person, but this person always taught him to be more emotional and to think.

He had always been someone who didn’t like to think because he didn’t like complicated things. But he had truly learned a lot from Jiang Mu. The process of going from just listening to Jiang Mu to truly accepting his words was a transformation, and it was also a change in his attitude toward Jiang Mu. From the moment he started calling him “brother,” he truly accepted him.

This class monitor position would also be a very rewarding experience for him in these three years that would decide the direction of his life.

“Hey, not bad, you little rascal. You’re the class monitor of Class 5, the honors class!”

In the hallway, Zhang Feiyang ran into Shu Luo, who was on his way to the restroom.

“You’re very well-informed. We just picked them this morning, and you already know?” Shu Luo asked in surprise.

“Don’t forget, your teacher is my Chinese teacher. This afternoon, he picked the subject representatives, and I’m the Chinese representative!” he said, confidently patting his chest.

Shu Luo looked at him with doubt. “Isn’t Chinese your worst subject? Are you really going to take that on?”

Zhang Feiyang gave Shu Luo a playful punch in the chest. “If you can be a class monitor, why can’t I be the Chinese representative? Don’t look down on me!”

Shu Luo rubbed his chest in pain, but he smiled. “I’m not! Don’t twist my words. I’m just worried about you.”

“Alright, go take a leak.”

Shu Luo raised an eyebrow and went into the restroom.

“Jiang Mu, I saw your score when they assigned the classes. It’s really high. Which subject are you best at?”

Jiang Mu turned his head to look at the girl who sat next to him. “Math,” he said plainly.

The girl smiled. “I knew it. Hi, my name is Zhang Jiani. I’m from another middle school. The Li Zixin in your dorm is in the same class as me.”

“She even knows who’s in my dorm…” Jiang Mu thought.

Jiang Mu looked at the sweet-looking girl and didn’t feel like talking much.

“Okay,” he said.

Zhang Jiani was a little disappointed that he just ignored her. She felt awkward but thought it was still good that she got to talk to him because Jiang Mu was very good-looking.

“Dude, you’re a real catch! Zhang Jiani is very popular at our old school,” Li Zixin said as he walked by, seeing that Zhang Jiani was a little shy and guessing she was interested in Jiang Mu.

Jiang Mu chose to remain silent. The thing he feared most was a girl’s persistence.

“What’s going on? What’s all the chatter about?”

Shu Luo came back and saw a girl at his desk, a very pretty girl, and Li Zixin was also there.

Seeing Shu Luo return, Jiang Mu just put his head down to sleep, a side hustle he had perfected.

Zhang Jiani was a little sad. Why didn’t Jiang Mu want to talk?

Shu Luo saw her sad face and comforted her. “That’s how he is; he likes to sleep. He sleeps as soon as class is over, so try not to bother him. He’s very grumpy when he’s woken up and will eat people.” He made a motion with his hands as if he was a monster.

Zhang Jiani was amused by Shu Luo and looked at the handsome boy in front of her. Suddenly, she didn’t feel so bad about being ignored by Jiang Mu.

“Pfft, thank you, Class Monitor. And my name is Zhang Jiani,” she said.

Shu Luo felt a little dizzy from being called “class monitor.” “Okay, okay, I remember. Come talk to us again next time, okay?”

Li Zixin gave him a thumbs-up. “Shu Luo, you’re good. Zhang Jiani is known to be a tough nut to crack at our old school. She has a good temper, but she rarely approaches people or talks to guys on her own. You and Jiang Mu are both impressive.”

“You flatter me, you flatter me,” Shu Luo said.

On the first day of school, there weren’t many classes. It was just the teachers coming in to introduce themselves.

Then, there was the first evening self-study. They didn’t have evening self-study in middle school, and the students were visibly antsy. Those who couldn’t sit still were chatting or exchanging social media accounts.

In the middle of the noise, there was one desk that was special. The two people sitting there were very quiet and looked like perfect students.

Shu Luo was practicing his handwriting in a notebook. Jiang Mu was doing practice problems.

Wang Kai, who was sitting behind them, looked at the two of them doing their own things quietly and felt it was strange. “Why aren’t they talking to everyone?” he thought. “The teacher even told us we could chat for a bit!”

“Shu Luo, Jiang Mu, are you guys studying?” he asked.

“Can’t you tell? Don’t disturb me while I’m practicing my handwriting,” Shu Luo said in a huff.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, look at you being so smug. Let me see your handwriting.”

Wang Kai, full of curiosity, leaned over. Shu Luo had a special notebook just for practicing his handwriting. It was filled with beautiful, neat lines of poetry, all written in a powerful, flowing font.

“Shu Luo, this handwriting is good. Can you help me fix mine?”

With that, Wang Kai handed over his textbook, on which he had written his name.

Shu Luo looked at it with a complicated expression. “Uh… maybe you should buy a workbook and practice first. This isn’t something that can be fixed overnight, but it is possible.” The handwriting was like a dog’s scratch, and he almost couldn’t read the character for “Kai.”

“Really? That’s great! You have to recommend a workbook for me to practice with. Oh, by the way, can you write my name for me? I want to keep it as a souvenir,” Wang Kai said.

Shu Luo signed his name with a flourish and handed the book back to him.

Wang Kai looked at Shu Luo with admiration. “I can’t believe a guy who looks so… ahem, handsome, can write in such a dominant font!” He almost said “beautiful” but figured he would have been hit if he did.

“Of course. You have to remember who I am,” Shu Luo said confidently.