novelraw Chapter 14
Chapter 14
Chapter 14 We’re Really Not CloseQin Qing fainting from heatstroke was reported to Li Jinghe by the school, who then relayed the news to Grandma Qin. This gave Grandma Qin quite a scare.
Especially after seeing the untreated wounds on Qin Qing’s legs hidden under her military training pants, Grandma Qin was practically in a state of semi-panic.
“Is heatstroke a minor issue?? Qingqing actually fainted! If it had developed into heatstroke, it could have been a major problem!”
Grandma Qin was so angry that her voice rose an octave.
“Training for what—does something have to go wrong before they regret it?! No more training!”
In the end, due to Grandma Qin’s firm stance, Li Jinghe had no choice but to call the school and request a week off for Qin Qing.
Given that Qin Qing had indeed shown signs of fainting during the training, the teacher couldn’t really argue and had to agree.
So, when Qin Qing returned to Yishi High School, it was after the military training had ended.
Already unfamiliar with her new classmates, the added week of absence made Qin Qing feel like a complete outsider when she returned to Class 15 of the first-year students.
Fortunately, there was at least one exception among her new classmates.
“You’re finally back!”
Zhuo Anke immediately stood up and ran over when she saw Qin Qing sitting quietly at her desk after entering the classroom in the morning. “How was it? Did you have a good rest at home?”
Qin Qing was still a bit unaccustomed to this very outgoing girl.
She blinked her eyes a couple of times before nodding and giving a soft smile.
“Yeah.”
Her pretty almond-shaped eyes drooped slightly at the corners.
Zhuo Anke was stunned for a second, then she snapped out of it and lamented with a hint of bitterness.
“I wasn’t as good-looking as you to begin with, but after a hellish week of military training, the difference in our skin tones is practically a whole different race now.”
“…”
Qin Qing wanted to say something to comfort her, but seeing how much darker Zhuo Anke’s skin had become compared to a week ago, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything insincere.
Her delicate, finely-featured face creased with a bit of frustration.
Zhuo Anke was amused by her expression. “Qin Qing, you’re just so cute. No wonder that guy’s so interested in you.”
“…Huh?”
The topic changed so quickly that Qin Qing hadn’t even figured out what Zhuo Anke was talking about before being led astray.
“Did you know?” Zhuo Anke winked at Qin Qing. “Wen Yufeng got a demerit and was publicly criticized by the whole school for getting into a fight with the instructors that day.”
“…”
Qin Qing was stunned.
Zhuo Anke continued, “A lot of second- and even third-year students came to our grade’s building over the past few days, all asking around about the little beauty who made Wen Yufeng fight the instructors.”
Qin Qing was speechless, and after a few seconds, her ears turned red like white jade as she widened her almond-shaped eyes and repeated, “…‘Little beauty’?”
“Haha, that’s not what I said.”
Zhuo Anke laughed and clapped her hands. “That’s what the second-year students are saying—they think that anyone who could make Wen Yufeng break up with the school belle must be a hidden little beauty.”
Qin Qing frowned slightly and hesitated before asking, “What do you mean by ‘break up with the school belle’?”
“You don’t know?” Zhuo Anke’s eyes widened in surprise. “Last school year, it was rumored all over the high school that our school belle, Ling Yu, was Wen Yufeng’s girlfriend.”
Qin Qing still frowned and lightly shook her head.
“I’m really not that familiar with him.”
“…”
Zhuo Anke stared at her for a long time, blinking repeatedly as if trying to catch any change in Qin Qing’s expression.
After nearly half a minute, she finally confirmed that the girl was telling the truth.
—Or at least, Qin Qing genuinely believed that they weren’t close at all.
After a few more seconds, Zhuo Anke finally managed a smile and asked with difficulty,“So, now that you’ve heard that Ling Yu is his girlfriend, how do you feel?”
“I do have thoughts on that.”
Qin Qing nodded affirmatively.
Zhuo Anke’s eyes lit up as if she had expected this, and she quickly asked,“What are they?”
Qin Qing replied honestly, her clear and pure almond-shaped eyes filled with innocent curiosity,“Who is Ling Yu? Is she pretty?”
Zhuo Anke: “…”
For some reason, she suddenly felt a bit sorry for that Wen Yufeng.
—It turns out that even a tough guy’s romantic path can be full of obstacles, especially when he’s interested in a girl who’s not particularly sensitive to matters of the heart.
Out of humanitarian concern, Zhuo Anke decided to give Qin Qing a little hint, but before she could say anything, the classroom door was pushed open.
The homeroom teacher of Class 15, Teacher Xiaolin, walked in.
“Qin Qing.”
Teacher Xiaolin stood at the podium and waved cheerfully at Qin Qing.
“Come here.”
Qin Qing met Teacher Xiaolin’s gaze and had a sense of foreboding.
She stood up and started to pack her bag.
Teacher Xiaolin waved her hand. “No need to bring your books, they’ve already prepared everything for you over there.”
Qin Qing nodded and left her seat under the puzzled gazes of her classmates.
Before leaving, she gave Zhuo Anke an apologetic and regretful look.
——
I wonder if in the new second-year class, there will be girls as nice as Zhuo Anke who would be willing to be friends with me?
………
The students in the class couldn’t help but discuss the unusual “little prodigy” in their midst. It wasn’t until the second period of the afternoon the next day that Qin Qing finally appeared outside the classroom of Class 15, accompanied by Teacher Xiaolin.
At that time, it was Chinese class for Class 15. Teacher Xiaolin knocked on the door, and the Chinese teacher, noticing them, came over to speak with her. The two teachers whispered for a moment, during which the Chinese teacher glanced at Qin Qing, who was packing up her things, with some surprise.
Qin Qing didn’t sit down after returning to her seat. Instead, she quietly started packing her bag.
At this point, the classroom couldn’t hold back anymore and erupted into hushed whispers.
After silently packing her things, Qin Qing hesitated for a moment before she turned back to look at Zhuo Anke, who was sitting not far from her.
Zhuo Anke, clearly confused about what was happening, stared blankly at her.
After a brief moment of hesitation, a soft, serene smile appeared on Qin Qing’s face.
She walked over to Zhuo Anke’s side.
“I’m moving to the second-year class, but I don’t know which one yet, so I can’t tell you.”
As she spoke, Qin Qing bent down and wrote a string of numbers on Zhuo Anke’s notepad, then straightened up and smiled gently, her almond-shaped eyes curving slightly.
“You’re the first friend I’ve made here, so let’s keep in touch.”
“…”
Zhuo Anke, still in a daze, found herself nodding instinctively, mesmerized by that bright smile.
Teacher Xiaolin urged her, and Qin Qing didn’t delay any further. She put down the pen, waved at Zhuo Anke, and turned to leave the classroom.
Teacher Xiaolin placed a hand on Qin Qing’s shoulder and looked at the still-whispering students.
“All right, enough talking.”
Teacher Xiaolin glanced around the classroom. “Here’s the situation: our classmate Qin Qing, due to her excellent academic performance, has passed the first-year comprehensive exams and is being promoted to the second-year class. After today, Qin Qing will be your senior, so you all need to learn from her.”
Having said that, Teacher Xiaolin smiled first.
He patted Qin Qing’s shoulder and spoke softly, “Qin Qing, say goodbye to your classmates.”
Qin Qing nodded, took a step forward, and bowed slightly toward the center of the classroom.
“Thank you for taking care of me during these past days.”
After saying this, Qin Qing’s face turned slightly red as she stepped back.
“That’s it?” Teacher Xiaolin, surprised, looked at Qin Qing.
“…”
Qin Qing’s ears turned slightly red as she looked back at him.
“Teacher Lin, you know Qin Qing is very shy,” a female voice rang out from the classroom, laced with kind laughter.
Qin Qing turned her head and saw that it was Zhuo Anke, who was smiling and mouthing the words, “I’ll come to find you.”
A gentle smile appeared on Qin Qing’s face as well.
…
About ten minutes later, Teacher Xiaolin led Qin Qing to the second-year math department.
—Right in front of Fu Zhengnan’s desk.
“Qin Qing, you know Teacher Fu. He will be your new homeroom teacher from now on.”
“…”
Qin Qing stood there, stunned, looking at the kindly Teacher Fu in front of her.
If she remembered correctly, that person… was in Teacher Fu’s class, right?
…
Meanwhile, in Class 6 of the second-year students.
“Yufeng, you’re here so early again. Since we’re free anyway,” Li Xiang suggested as he spun a basketball on his finger, “why don’t we go play basketball?”
Wen Yufeng didn’t respond, lazily glancing at Li Xiang.
Seeing an opportunity, Li Xiang pushed further.
“Besides, Yufeng, you’ve been spending so much time at school these past two days. You probably haven’t gone to the fight club much, right? Let’s play some basketball to stretch our muscles.”
Seeing Zhao Zirui behind Li Xiang also eager to join, Wen Yufeng smirked slightly.
“All right, let’s go.”
The boy stood up, hands in his pockets.
“You go gather the others.”
With that, he headed straight for the back door.
“Wen Yufeng!”
The geography teacher, who had just turned around to face the class, saw the few students heading toward the back door and was so angry he threw his textbook.
“Where are you going!?”
The boy in the lead paused, turned slightly, and gave a brief nod in the teacher’s direction.
Then, standing up straight again, a lazy, carefree smile played on his lips as he spoke.
“I overslept. I’m going out to wake up. You can continue, teacher.”
With that, he turned and walked out the back door of the classroom.