Spend Summer Chapter 3
byAdorable Desk Mate
Shen Wan looked up at Ji Zhao. Ji Zhao had her fists clenched next to her cheeks, moving them up and down as if wiping away tears when Shen Wan looked over, gazing at her pitifully.
Shen Wan’s first reaction was a confused frown, followed by a sense of amusement. It felt as if a tiny claw had scratched her heart, leaving a lingering itch.
But she didn’t show it. She merely quirked an eyebrow, wrote “It’s okay” on a piece of paper, pushed it toward Ji Zhao, and went back to her practice problems.
Ji Zhao wasn’t discouraged. At least they had communicated, even if it was on paper.
Ji Zhao formed her first impression of her new desk mate: taciturn, studious, frail, but very beautiful.
.
The class period passed quickly as Shen Wan immersed herself in her work.
As soon as the bell rang, an impatient Lin Jiayue immediately turned around to face Ji Zhao.
However, her eyes drifted toward Shen Wan as she spoke. “Shen… Shen Wan, right? Why did you only show up today?”
Shen Wan looked up from her books at Lin Jiayue and replied coldly, “I had things to do.”
“Things to do… right, things to do…” Lin Jiayue scratched the back of her head awkwardly and decided to look at Ji Zhao, who had been staring at Shen Wan the whole time.
“Hey!” Seeing that Ji Zhao wasn’t even glancing at her, Lin Jiayue was forced to call out in a low voice.
Ji Zhao turned her head, her eyes signaling: What is it?
Lin Jiayue looked from Ji Zhao to Shen Wan, her expression saying: Aren’t you rivals? Why are you staring at her?
Ji Zhao clearly couldn’t decipher so much information from a single look and remained utterly confused.
Glancing at Shen Wan, who was back to reading, Ji Zhao carefully stood up and pulled Lin Jiayue out of the classroom.
Shen Wan let out a quiet breath, her heart finally settling. Although she knew the two meant no harm, she truly disliked the gaze of strangers.
Especially Ji Zhao. Regarding her, Shen Wan felt an indescribable sensation.
Was it dislike? It didn’t seem like it.
Was it not dislike? That didn’t seem right either.
Realizing she was focusing too much on Ji Zhao, Shen Wan quickly shook her head to clear her thoughts and continued with her problems.
Outside, Ji Zhao leaned against the railing and looked at Lin Jiayue. “What was that about just now?”
Lin Jiayue held onto the railing, her eyes sparkling with the look of someone hunting for gossip. “Sister Zhao, do you want to be friends with Shen Wan?”
Ji Zhao looked at Lin Jiayue with a face full of disdain. Wasn’t it obvious? Why else would she be so proactive?
Lin Jiayue chuckled twice and said, “Sister Zhao, I advise you to give up. From what I know, Shen Wan won’t be friends with anyone…”
At this point, Lin Jiayue paused, waiting proudly for Ji Zhao to ask for more.
Ji Zhao saw right through her. She sighed and decided to satisfy Lin Jiayue’s desire for attention, putting on a curious look. “Oh? Why?”
Lin Jiayue cheered inwardly and immediately said, “I don’t know the details. I just heard it from a former classmate who was in the same class as her.”
Ji Zhao was speechless. “Alright, you actually dared to trick me! Are you looking for a fight?” As she spoke, she clenched her fist.
Lin Jiayue twisted her body and skillfully dodged. After running a short distance, she turned back and laughed. “Hehe, that’s all I can say. You’ll have to find out the rest yourself, Sister Zhao.”
Ji Zhao was even more exasperated. So she did know something!
She shook her fist. “Tricking me again? See if you don’t get a punch when you come back!”
Lin Jiayue made a face and said smugly, “Ayyy, you can’t catch me!” Her annoying behavior made Ji Zhao grit her teeth.
Can’t catch you, huh? Let’s see what you do when class starts.
Just as she thought that, the bell rang.
Lin Jiayue’s body stiffened. She walked back to Ji Zhao’s side dejectedly, pressing her hands together in a plea for mercy. “Sister Zhao~ I was wrong, please spare me!”
Ji Zhao snorted coldly. “Weren’t you very smug just now? Scared now?”
She raised her fist. Lin Jiayue knew she couldn’t escape this time and proactively leaned her head forward.
Ji Zhao gave her a flick on the forehead and then walked into the classroom.
Lin Jiayue rubbed her forehead and followed her inside, looking wilted.
.
Ji Zhao sat in her seat, her heart itching as she glanced at her desk mate, who was still buried in her books.
She wanted to talk to her but was afraid of disturbing her.
Turning her head, Ji Zhao looked at the blackboard, but her mind was still wandering. Eventually, she drifted into a daze.
Shen Wan had tensed up the moment Ji Zhao returned. Sensing the gaze fixed on her, the hair on her arms stood up.
Fortunately, Ji Zhao looked away quickly. Otherwise, Shen Wan felt she really would have to change seats again.
This period was supposed to be English, but the Head Teacher, Li Yuanfang, walked in instead.
The students were confused. Had the schedule changed?
Li Yuanfang clapped her hands to signal for silence.
“Alright, I’ve swapped classes with your English teacher. I’ll be taking this period.”
The students nodded. Swapping classes was normal, especially since the English teacher and the Head Teacher were husband and wife.
Li Yuanfang nodded in satisfaction and continued, “Now that the whole class is here, we’re going to have a class meeting so everyone can get to know each other.”
Most of the students looked at each other. Didn’t they already know each other? Why have a class meeting?
Although it was the start of the term and classes had been reshuffled, most of the students who chose the Full Science Stream had stayed, so they were already familiar with one another.
Li Yuanfang expected this reaction and said, “While most of you were already in this class, we do have new students. From now on, they are part of Class 3. Let’s welcome them.”
The students began to clap.
Lin Jiayue was the first to join the fun. “Since they’re part of Class 3, they should stand up and introduce themselves!”
Ji Zhao also clapped to liven up the atmosphere. “That’s right! We’re all family from now on. If anything happens, just say my name and I’ll settle it for you!”
The other students immediately started cheering. “Exactly! Sister Zhao is right!”
Li Yuanfang nodded. “Student Shen Wan introduced herself last period, so would the other students who haven’t introduced themselves please stand up?”
The applause grew even louder.
Shen Wan was still not used to such a noisy atmosphere. Hearing that Li Yuanfang wasn’t making her introduce herself again, she felt relieved and looked at the people standing up.
Counting them, including herself, a total of nine students had been assigned to Class 3.
They began introducing themselves one by one, starting with the person closest to the teacher.
Shen Wan listened a bit. To summarize: there were boys and girls, and their personalities varied.
After the eight finished, everyone clapped again, and the classroom was filled with excitement.
Li Yuanfang smiled warmly and continued, “Alright, since you’ve transferred to Class 3, you’re all part of the family now. We must all work hard together.”
The other students chimed in with shouts of agreement.
“Exactly!”
“Don’t panic if something happens, just go find Old Huang!”
“You? Get out of here, you’re not as reliable as me!”
“Hey! How can you say that? Don’t you know to leave me some face in front of the new students?”
“Haha, you have face?”
“Little Huang, you can’t win an argument against Little Li. Stop embarrassing yourself in front of the new students.”
…
The lively students started bickering. Li Yuanfang didn’t stop them, her eyes crinkling as she watched them play around.
Shen Wan watched the scene blankly, a bit stunned. Could the atmosphere in a classroom really be this good?
Before she could recover, Li Yuanfang announced that there would be no lesson this period; they were going to watch a movie.
The students were even happier, looking at the new transfers with gratitude. They secretly laughed, thinking it was thanks to them that they got to watch a movie.
In school, even the most boring things seemed interesting. Everyone argued over what movie to watch.
Finally, Li Yuanfang made the decision to play The Chorus.
Although their middle school English teachers had recommended this movie, everyone usually preferred their phones and wouldn’t watch it on their own.
Shen Wan was someone who wanted to watch it but didn’t have the resources. Now that it was playing, her eyes sparkled slightly as she stared at the screen with pursed lips.
Ji Zhao looked at the movie, then at Shen Wan, and finally just stared at Shen Wan.
This little desk mate of hers was actually quite cute.
As Ji Zhao thought this, her gaze suddenly froze on Shen Wan’s exposed neck. There was a bruise there.
Ji Zhao immediately frowned, looking at it several times. The injury looked painful to her.
Seeing that Shen Wan was still focused on the movie, Ji Zhao suppressed her curiosity, deciding to ask about it once they were better acquainted.
The class period ended quickly, but the movie wasn’t over. Li Yuanfang turned off the screen and clapped her hands. “Class is over. Go to the restroom if you need to, or preview your textbooks. We’ll finish the movie next time.”
Shen Wan lowered her head in disappointment, the light in her eyes fading.
Ji Zhao let out a small laugh.
Shen Wan looked at her blankly, not understanding what was wrong with her new desk mate now.
Ji Zhao wanted to laugh even more. She quickly covered her mouth, afraid that Shen Wan would get angry.
Li Yuanfang walked down from the podium and stood beside Ji Zhao.
“Ji Zhao, Shen Wan…” Li Yuanfang called out.
Shen Wan looked up at Li Yuanfang and stood up. “Teacher, what is it?”
Li Yuanfang said, “Come to the office with me for a moment.”
Ji Zhao nodded, her voice bright. “Okay, Head Teacher.”
Shen Wan nodded silently and followed behind, watching Ji Zhao talk to Li Yuanfang.
Ji Zhao’s tone was intimate, and she could even joke with the teacher. It was something Shen Wan couldn’t help but envy.
When they reached the office, the head teachers of other classes were there. Seeing Shen Wan and Ji Zhao following Li Yuanfang, they began to tease her.
“Sister Li, not bad! Now that the grade topper and the runner-up are both in your class, you don’t have to worry about your bonus.”
“True, as expected of a veteran teacher of No. 2 Middle School!”
Li Yuanfang replied with a smile, “So you all need to work harder. Don’t let our class surpass you.”
The Class 2 Head Teacher, wearing glasses, looked up from grading lesson plans to chime in, “That’s impossible. Your class still needs to work hard.”
Li Yuanfang nodded. “True, we still need to put in the effort.”
Amidst the banter, Li Yuanfang sat in her office chair and handed a sheet of paper to Shen Wan. “These are your exam rankings from last semester. Take a look.”
Shen Wan took it and looked down.
The name at the top was Ji Zhao, and the second was herself. There was only a five-point difference between them.
Shen Wan studied it carefully and found that the main difference was in English.
She didn’t feel bad about it. She knew English was her weakness. Without a good environment, relying solely on memorization worked in middle school, but it felt inadequate in high school.
Ji Zhao slowly leaned in toward Shen Wan to look at the grade sheet.
She felt fine about her own grades, but she looked closely at Shen Wan’s.
So, it was that “Wan.”
Shen Wan was still uncomfortable with someone being so close. She took a step away, handed the sheet to Ji Zhao, and said, “I’m done. Do you want to see?”
Ji Zhao shook her head in disappointment. “I’ve seen it too.”
Shen Wan returned the sheet to Li Yuanfang.
Li Yuanfang continued, “You both probably know that our school holds an opening ceremony every term. This time, the two of you have been chosen as the speakers for the tenth grade.”
Both Ji Zhao and Shen Wan were familiar with this and nodded.
Li Yuanfang said, “That’s all then. The ceremony is next Monday. You two prepare a speech.”
Ji Zhao waved her hand. “Head Teacher, don’t you trust us? I guarantee it’ll be handled perfectly.”
Li Yuanfang laughed and shook her head. “I certainly trust Shen Wan, but I don’t trust you.”
Ji Zhao feigned heartbreak. “Ah? You don’t trust me? I’m so sad.”
Li Yuanfang was helpless against this drama queen. She ignored Ji Zhao and turned to Shen Wan. “Then I’ll have to trouble you, Shen Wan. Especially, keep an eye on her for me!”
Shen Wan couldn’t help but frown. she wanted to refuse, but since it was the teacher, she agreed.
“Okay, Teacher. I wanted to ask, should we each prepare a speech or read the same one together?”
Li Yuanfang thought for a moment and said, “Preparing one is enough. You can split it and each read a part.”
She then looked at Ji Zhao and scolded, “And you said you were reliable. See, Shen Wan is the reliable one.”