The School Beauty from the Next Class Insisted I Confess - Chapter 26

“Ahhhhhhh, why is the boundless heaven so unfair to me!” [1] Xu Qingfeng had lost count of how many times she had heard Gao Zhi’s complaint.

Ever since the monthly exam results were posted this morning, Gao Zhi had been like a frost-bitten eggplant. Thanks to her efforts, her grade had improved significantly, and she had ranked twenty-first in the liberal arts track. Her class teacher, Liu Li, even singled her out for praise, citing her as an exemplary model student.

Just one rank’s difference meant that Gao Zhi and Li Tian’s agreement of only one weekly phone call would continue until the next monthly exam. A few days after that, Li Tian would be coming to Weicheng No. 1 High School for an exchange study. Gao Zhi only had one last chance. Xu Qingfeng was very much looking forward to seeing if she could achieve her goal.

Liang Hao, next door, had fortunately achieved her wish. She was ninth in the science track this time, one rank better than her original goal. Perfect.

“Gao Zhi, here’s your form.” Xu Qingfeng poked the person next to her, who was still groaning, with her pen.

“Just one rank, just two points! If only I had gotten one more multiple-choice question right.” Gao Zhi clearly didn’t notice Xu Qingfeng’s reminder.

Since that was the case, Xu Qingfeng decided not to be polite. Her eyes curved into a smile, and she gave a firm poke, seeing the expected reaction.

“Ah, that hurts.” Gao Zhi’s upper body, which was slumped over, instantly straightened up. She clutched her arm and turned to glare at the culprit, “Xu Qingfeng, why did you poke me for no reason?”

Hearing the commotion, Han Feng turned around. “Ah, isn’t this our newly appointed study role model? What’s wrong, changed your love of sports? Haven’t signed up yet?” Han Feng spoke sarcastically, glancing at the empty sign-up sheet on Gao Zhi’s desk.

The war of words erupted again. Gao Zhi no longer had time to dwell on her disappointment or Xu Qingfeng’s prank.

Xu Qingfeng watched the familiar scene and couldn’t help but sigh. These two troublemakers have been arguing for a year and still haven’t stopped.

The school sports meet was starting next week. Liu Li had deliberately held the class after the bell to collect the voluntary sign-ups and events. “Gao Zhi is the hope of our class,” Liu Li had said. Last year, she bravely took third place in the 800-meter race and also achieved second place in the long jump.

Sigh, the sports meet. Hopefully, it wouldn’t rain this year.

Looking at the sign-up form spread between the two desks, Xu Qingfeng’s name was next to the 100-meter sprint. This was much better than last year. She usually wouldn’t participate in such a conspicuous event. As for why she wasn’t participating in the 800-meter race, she’d just watch Yi Qiu’s race.

It was noon again. After lunch, Liang Hao and Gao Zhi went to the library together for self-study. Today was Xu Qingfeng and Xia Yiqiu’s turn to be on duty, so they naturally didn’t go the same way.

“Ah, comfortable.” Xu Qingfeng leaned back in her chair and stretched. Lately, she had become much less reserved around Xia Yiqiu. Perhaps people let down their guard once they got familiar with each other.

“Yiqiu, it’s really quiet without Gao Zhi here at noon. I knew the Psychology Club wouldn’t be noisy,” Xu Qingfeng said to Xia Yiqiu, who looked a bit sleepy.

It was strange. Ever since the Psychology Club gained popularity, many students came to the club every day while they were on duty to seek help with their troubles, or at least use it as a free “complaint box.” Things that were inconvenient to say to family or friends were poured out here, and the class atmosphere had significantly improved. Perhaps due to the non-disclosure of the club’s duty schedule or their sheer luck, Xu Qingfeng and Xia Yiqiu’s duty slots were often completely empty.

“It is quite quiet.”

President Xia’s tone was a little depressed. Where did everyone go? Her original intention for joining the club was to add some fun to her life. Staying with this little bookworm next to her was nice, but they could be together every day, so she didn’t need this time on duty. Her role as president really didn’t involve much.

Perhaps Xia Yiqiu’s silent complaint was heard by heaven, or perhaps it was punishment for Xu Qingfeng’s words, but a girl appeared at the club’s door.

The look of disappointment on her face was no less than Gao Zhi’s this morning. Her head was bowed, and her entire being looked shrouded in a cloud of sadness even from afar.

Xia Yiqiu quickly got up from her chair and said enthusiastically, “Classmate, come and sit here quickly.” Xia Yiqiu pulled out the chair in front of the desk and set it up.

The student maintained her original pace. When she got closer, Xu Qingfeng noticed that she looked a little familiar.

“Liu Xiao?” Xia Yiqiu recognized the person. This was their classmate, the perennial runner-up in the science track.

The girl recovered from her sadness and looked up, showing a surprised expression.

“Ah, why are you here this noon?” She was somewhat surprised by Xia Yiqiu’s presence, not expecting such a coincidence.

Her words stunned Xia Yiqiu as well.

Xu Qingfeng noticed the girl’s hesitation and said softly, “Classmate, please sit down first.”

Liu Xiao obeyed and sat down, as she didn’t have a better place to go right now.

Xia Yiqiu was extremely curious at this moment. Why didn’t Liu Xiao want to see her? Their usual relationship wasn’t particularly good, but it wasn’t bad either. Come to think of it, the other person did always seem to avoid her.

“Liu Xiao, did you come here for something?” Xia Yiqiu asked.

Liu Xiao kept her mouth shut, biting her lip tightly. She squeezed out a tiny whisper through her teeth, “No, I, I’m leaving.”

Xia Yiqiu quickly pressed down on the shoulder of the person who was about to stand up. Xu Qingfeng helped, seeing Xia Yiqiu’s expression become serious and earnest—President Xia’s unique expression when dealing with important matters.

“Liu Classmate, did I do something to hurt you? If so, please tell me.” Xia Yiqiu really couldn’t reconcile the usually proud Liu Xiao with the person in front of her. If it was truly her fault, she would immediately correct it and apologize.

When Liu Xiao heard Xia Yiqiu’s words, tears began to fall like beans. She was crying her eyes out. The face that had been covered by her hair was finally fully revealed.

“No, it’s not your fault. It’s my own problem…” Liu Xiao finally spoke her true feelings.

It turned out that Liu Xiao had broken down after seeing today’s monthly exam results. In the past, she always ranked second, and she could comfort herself that she still had time and could slowly catch up.

In the past few months, the Psychology Club activities had been frequent, and even though Xia Yiqiu was so busy, she was still first, and the gap between their scores was getting wider. She couldn’t help but suspect that she was a stupid person. She, Liu Xiao, had been first since childhood, a chosen child, yet only when facing Xia Yiqiu did she feel like a mouse in a ditch, forever unable to surpass that cat. A failure could only laugh at herself.

Liu Xiao really didn’t know who to talk to about this distress. She knew that these words were inappropriate to say to her classmates, and her family was traditional. Her parents loved her, but they didn’t have an open, friend-like family environment where she could talk about everything. After much thought, she could only come to the recently popular Psychology Club. Before coming, she was worried about running into Xia Yiqiu, thinking that the president shouldn’t be on duty often. How could she be so unlucky as to catch her?

As the saying goes, no coincidence, no story. Coincidences in real life are everywhere, like now.

Xu Qingfeng and Xia Yiqiu were uncharacteristically silent after hearing this, unsure how to comfort her. Did Liu Xiao forget that while she scored ten-something points less than Xia Yiqiu, she herself scored five points higher than the third-place student!

Just regarding Xia Yiqiu, she really wanted to say that she was wronged. The Psychology Club usually had a lot of things to do, but in the past, she just rested at noon. Whether she did anything or not made no difference to her. Naturally gifted, she wrote assignments and digested knowledge quickly. She could finish the day’s test papers during evening self-study, and she didn’t need extra study time at noon or after going home in the evening.

Helping Liang Hao with her studies for the past few months had also taught her a lot; it was like teaching and learning from each other. Furthermore, with Xu Qingfeng, her weakness in Chinese was being gradually patched up, so her overall score would naturally increase. However, she couldn’t tell Liu Xiao this; saying it would only provoke her further.

After pondering for a moment, Xia Yiqiu could only tell a white lie.

“Liu Classmate, you’ve actually misunderstood.”

Liu Xiao looked up, listening intently, “Misunderstood what?”

Xu Qingfeng watched as Xia Yiqiu began her outrageous fabrications next to her.

“Liu Classmate, actually, it’s not just you who’s under pressure, my pressure is also huge. Every monthly exam, you follow closely behind me. I lose sleep over it! That’s why I specially pulled Xu Qingfeng, the top liberal arts student, into the club and had her tutor me every noon, especially in Chinese.”

“Liu Classmate, your Chinese scores are so excellent. I look up to you and admire you greatly.”

Although tutoring was a fact, when praising someone, one should always praise their strengths.

After Xia Yiqiu finished this round of compliments, Liu Xiao’s complexion clearly improved, and she was even blushing with excitement.

“Xia Classmate! Is what you said true?” Liu Xiao asked, eyes wide.

Xia Yiqiu was absolutely certain. She slapped the table and stared directly into the other person’s eyes.

“Of course it’s true, Liu Classmate. Pressure leads to progress! If you weren’t so outstanding, why would I be so eager to change?”

“Don’t look at me being all calm and carefree on the surface. In reality, I stay up studying at home until midnight every night, afraid of being surpassed.”

Liu Xiao finally couldn’t suppress her restless body and stood up. “So that’s how it is, Xia Classmate! I knew it. Learning requires diligence. I’m going to study right now. Starting today, I will study until 12:30 AM.”

Liu Xiao was determined to study even harder. If she still couldn’t surpass her in the future, it must be because she hadn’t studied enough. Look at what Xia Yiqiu said. She might even be studying at home until 1:00 AM and just hadn’t told her.

Xu Qingfeng looked at the girl who actually went to bed at eleven o’clock and realized she still knew too little about Yiqiu. But this version of Yiqiu was still so cute. Didn’t Xia Yiqiu just wink at Xu Qingfeng after speaking?

Praise me, you blockhead.

She couldn’t take it. She really wanted to rub her head. Xu Qingfeng struggled to restrain her hand. She couldn’t actually do it with someone else present.

Then, Xu Qingfeng called out to Liu Xiao, who was heading to the library for a battle of wits, “Liu Classmate, don’t leave yet. Fill out a survey for us.”

Students in the Psychology Club issue a questionnaire after helping a classmate resolve their troubles to understand the shortcomings in their communication process. More importantly, each questionnaire represents a student they have helped, a solid record of achievement and honor to be submitted to the president for ranking in the club’s “Annual Good Deed Helper List.”

Although they were the presidents and didn’t need to worry about this, having zero people helped was too miserable. Xu Qingfeng and Xia Yiqiu, who had just achieved their first success, were thrilled to see Liu Xiao’s departing back.

Xu Qingfeng sighed, “All that effort for nothing.”

Xia Yiqiu next to her didn’t think so. She showed a playful smile, her dimples appearing on the side of her cheeks. She grasped Xu Qingfeng’s hand and shook it.

“President Xu, don’t be discouraged. Helping classmates is so meaningful and joyful!”

The girl in front of her was radiating enthusiasm. She was a little sun, and this was exactly the kind of Yiqiu that she loved most.

Xu Qingfeng’s world brightened. She nodded, squeezed the warm hand in return, and said firmly to the girl.

“Mhm, we will help more people together in the future.”

By being with the sun, bathed in the sun’s light every day, the moon in the dark can also emit light, illuminating those lost in the night.

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