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Chapter 14: Cornering the Teacher
"Mom, you’ve worked hard. Here are my monthly exam results—Literature, Math, and English are all better than last time, and my class ranking improved too!" Gu Jiayu proudly held up her report card. "If I hadn’t been careless on the last big math problem, my score would’ve been even higher."
Her mother glanced at the three test papers. The pleasing Arabic numerals made her happy; it didn’t matter what the questions were, only the scores counted.
"Not bad," her mother said with a smile. "Alright, I’ll give your phone back in a bit. But remember, moving from seventh to eighth grade is crucial—don’t get distracted by your phone."
"Hehe, thanks, Mom!" Gu Jiayu beamed. Then she added, "Mom, you promised me a computer if I did well…"
At the mention of a computer, her mother’s smile faded. "I did promise, but right now, playing on the computer will just distract you with games, which won’t help your studies. I’ll buy it for you after you start eighth grade."
"Aww—but you promised!" Gu Jiayu pouted unhappily.
"Tell you what," her mother said. "If you make progress again in the midterms, I’ll definitely get it for you."
"You swear? You can’t go back on this!" Gu Jiayu insisted.
"I never break promises. When have I ever lied to you?" her mother declared firmly.
You lie all the time, Gu Jiayu thought silently but didn’t dare say it aloud. Seeing her mother’s sincere tone, she chose to believe her once more.
"Mom, my birthday falls on a Saturday this year. Should we invite my brother over?" Gu Jiayu brought up another topic.
"…" Her mother hesitated before replying, "Your brother is busy preparing for his high school entrance exams. Let’s not bother him right now."
"Oh." Gu Jiayu nodded.
In truth, her mother thought poorly of Gu Lu’s grades and worried that Jiayu might be influenced negatively by him.
"Let’s call your step brother Xiao Yang instead. We’ll celebrate your good grades with a nice dinner out," her mother suggested.
Xiao Yang was Jiayu’s half-brother from another family. He was in ninth grade and an excellent student, aiming to enter Bashu High School—one of Chongqing’s top schools. With a maximum score of 750 on the high school entrance exam, Bashu’s cutoff was over 690 points… Jiayu’s mother hoped her daughter would spend more time around Xiao Yang.
As the saying goes, "You are who you hang out with." Yang was the "good influence," and Gu Lu was naturally the "bad influence."
Gu Lu had performed decently in seventh grade, but his grades had worsened since then. In his mother’s eyes, he was becoming more and more like his father every day.
……..
Gu Lu noticed Wang Han, the student sitting in front of him, whose head seemed weighed down by gravity, constantly fighting to keep it from collapsing onto the desk.
The original owner of Gu Lu’s body had been quite familiar with Wang Han because he was the “lifesaver” for struggling students. Not all homework assignments could be completed without thinking, and some workbooks required real effort.
Struggling students often copied Wang Han’s answers, though even so, Wang Han didn’t have many friends in class due to his unique interests—he loved history. He’d read the history textbook countless times and even saved money to buy historical books outside the curriculum.
"Crunch crunch—" The familiar sound of snacks being eaten.
His deskmate Zhou Lin had started munching on snacks again—this time, Little Chef Fugui. She didn’t bother asking him if he wanted any.
Ever since their “breakup,” Zhou Lin hadn’t spoken to him for two days. Before, Gu Lu’s elbow might occasionally stray into her territory, but now there was an invisible line between them—a strict boundary.
It was time for a little mischief. During the break, while Zhou Lin went to the restroom, Gu Lu tightened the lid of her water bottle as hard as he could.
Then, testing it himself, he found it impossible to open without significant effort.
Perfect.
He placed the bottle back where it belonged, knowing that Zhou Lin was a “water buffalo” who drank copious amounts of water daily.
The opportunity came sooner than expected. In the next class, Zhou Lin picked up her water bottle and tried to twist the cap—nothing happened.
Gu Lu watched intently as Zhou Lin wrapped the cap with a tissue and gave it another try. To his astonishment, she managed to open it effortlessly.
"!" Gu Lu’s pupils dilated. Even with the added friction of the tissue, opening it should’ve required considerable strength. Was she secretly a powerhouse?
Could the internet rumors be true? Women only pretend to be delicate in front of boys when they’re actually capable of flipping your skull!
---
Lunch break rolled around again.
"Zhou Lin, hurry up! Come with me!" Ren Jie urged, her expression urgent.
"Hold on, hold on," Zhou Lin replied. "Nothing is more important than eating. If we go too late, there won’t be any meat left!"
"Someone’s confessing to Da Niu!"
Da Niu must have been a nickname. She was a friend of both Zhou Lin and Ren Jie and lived in the same dormitory. Ren Jie had caught wind of the confession plans.
"What are we waiting for? Let’s go!" Zhou Lin abandoned her meal and rushed toward the playground, eager to witness the spectacle.
"Wait, wait! What’s this stuck to your back?" Ren Jie reached over and peeled off a sticky note.
[Reconciliation Charm, Reconcile Reconcile]
The handwriting was unmistakably Gu Lu’s. Over the past two weeks, they’d grown somewhat familiar with each other. Seeing this, Zhou Lin chuckled softly, tucked the note into her pocket, and continued sprinting toward the playground.
She absolutely had to be present for Da Niu’s confession!
Middle school crushes come and go quickly. A single small incident can spark feelings, and it’s easy to fall for someone at this age—not just because of youthful naivety but also because teenagers have boundless energy.
"Gu Lu still hasn’t made a move," Zhao Juan complained to her close friend Chen Na during lunch.
Chen Na offered a possibility: "Maybe Fan Xiaotian never told him about it?"
"That’s possible. I’ll ask him directly during class this afternoon. If he hasn’t said anything, I’ll tell him myself," Zhao Juan resolved.
"Do you really like Gu Lu because of that one time?" Chen Na asked curiously.
"It’s not exactly ‘like.’ I was scared when Old Hag scolded me, and he stepped forward to help me then," Zhao Juan explained. "I hadn’t thought much about him before, but now I want to talk to him more."
Chen Na agreed. Gu Lu was practically invisible in class.
"If you want to chat, you’d better hurry. The high school entrance exams are coming soon, and after that, everyone will scatter to different schools," Chen Na reminded her. "Long-distance relationships aren’t convenient."
That made sense. For middle and high school students, attending different schools meant long-distance.
"He’s actually pretty smart. If he studies hard, maybe he can get into the same school as me. I can help supervise his studies," Zhao Juan said optimistically.
Isn’t that forcing things a bit? You haven’t even started talking properly yet, and you’re already planning to supervise his studies. Chen Na thought skeptically.
Speaking of the entrance exams, Zhao Juan suddenly remembered something else. "Oh yeah, did you understand what the teacher explained today?"
"Mostly," Chen Na nodded.
Known as "Sister Nana" among classmates, Chen Na was the class monitor and excelled academically.
"I didn’t quite get it…" Zhao Juan admitted, seeking advice. Everyone knew that the math representative wasn’t necessarily the best at math—it didn’t need explaining.
As Zhao Juan and Chen Na discussed math problems, their conversation drifted into another realm entirely. Enough said.
Before the afternoon classes began, Gu Lu grabbed his workbook and… no, not cornered, but found Mr. Li. Using the word “corner” sounded too aggressive, almost like picking a fight.
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