Chapter 308 - 133: Seat-Changing Commotion

Chapter 308: Chapter 133: Seat-Changing Commotion

December 12, 2012.

Wednesday.

"Tongtong, put on your scarf before you run off!"

the woman with long, wavy hair called out.

Zhang Shutong stopped in his tracks and took the scarf his mom handed him.

The egg in his mouth wasn’t fully swallowed yet. He wiped his mouth haphazardly, and without a word, waved goodbye to his mom and got out of the car.

It was 7:25 in the morning, his first day back at school.

He had been discharged yesterday afternoon. After being cooped up in the hospital for three whole days, he felt like he was about to grow mold. Alright, Zhang Shutong had to admit he was the type who couldn’t sit still. Although he always talked about returning to a normal life, he would absolutely jump at any chance to run wild outside.

A fair amount had happened over these past three days.

If it was just his own schedule, it couldn’t have been simpler: holing up in his hospital room to watch TV, sleeping when he got tired, sometimes heading to the corridor to look at the scenery, and at night, chatting with the young nurses while munching on sunflower seeds. The one thing he didn’t do was study. It turned out that the whole "your classmates will bring you your homework when you’re hospitalized" thing was a lie. At least, Zhang Shutong didn’t have any classmates like that.

Qingyi had brought him a stack of books, so Zhang Shutong spent three days engrossed in *Ghost Blows Out the Light*.

Beyond that, he had also been quietly observing the changes around him.

The course of many events had deviated completely from his expectations.

Take Gu Qiuyan, for instance. She had overcome the hurdle of that early Sunday morning, and her reward was still a huge bag of snacks—all sorts of chocolates, potato chips, and beef jerky, which successfully made Zhang Shutong gain half a kilogram.

They had been constantly chatting on their phones these past few days. In theory, students weren’t allowed to bring phones to school, but for the young miss, theories were just theories. So, he spent most of his time talking to the user ID "Autumn Rain Mianmian." However, the security around Gu Qiuyan had been ramped up another level; her daily routine was now a straight line between her villa and the school. The two of them could only talk on the phone.

A major event had occurred at school, which Zhang Shutong dubbed the "Class Reshuffle Incident."

’Maybe it had something to do with Zhou Ziheng, or perhaps it was a request from Boss Gu? Or could it just be an adjustment made as graduation approaches?’

In any case, the entire fourth year of junior high was broken up and reassigned into four new classes.

Zhang Shutong was now in Class One. The young miss was in Class Two.

She was a bit unhappy about it, complaining that her spot where she could draw sheep was gone.

Gu Qiuyan hadn’t really had a social circle in Class One before. Although she had a large posse, there were very few people she could actually talk to in class. Zhang Shutong felt that since she was embarking on a new life, this was a fresh start for her.

So he had told her, ’It’s alright, it’s alright, you can find another spot for drawing sheep.’

In the end, Gu Qiuyan stopped replying.

His best friends had also been split up. Qingyi went to Class Two, while Du Kang and Ruoping went to Class Three. By that count, only Class Four was left without their influence. ’We were so close to conquering the world,’ he thought. ’What a shame.’

Some were happy, some were sad, but the impact was actually minimal. They could always find opportunities to meet if they wanted to.

For example, Gu Qiuyan had already booked this weekend, saying she wanted to treat everyone to a meal, much like last time.

The last time he saw Lu Qinglian was on Sunday night; he hadn’t heard from her since.

Zhang Shutong sometimes wondered. The two of them had temporarily teamed up for a common goal. Now that the "clay figurine" was dealt with, the partnership ended, and she had returned to her solitary ways.

On Monday night, his best friends gathered in the hospital room to celebrate Du Kang’s 16th birthday.

He remembered how, in the past, this birthday had been celebrated at Du Kang’s family restaurant. They had secretly shared a bottle of beer and stayed out late.

But this time, the three of them came to the hospital after dinner, bringing a piece of cake they had saved especially for him. They turned off the lights, drew the curtains, and lit the candles in the pitch-black observation room. Zhang Shutong had been looking forward to this birthday for a long time, and in the end, it was a very simple affair. But sometimes, simplicity is the greatest happiness.

’Maybe that’s what Song was thinking, too.’

His little car had been totaled, but thankfully he had insurance and received a payout, so it wasn’t a total loss. But some things, once lost, can never be recovered—like that bootleg, out-of-print Bulbasaur, or, for instance, his spleen.

The car accident had cost Song his spleen, and he was in worse shape than Zhang Shutong himself. They had spoken on the phone a few times. Once, when they were talking about future plans, the man fell silent for a long moment before saying:

"Shutong, I might have to take a long leave of absence."

He said he’d felt stifled on the island for too many years and was going to take this opportunity to go home and spend time with his parents, visit old friends and classmates, and maybe even plan a trip if his health allowed.

In other words, Zhang Shutong wouldn’t be seeing the man again until after the first semester of fourth year ended.

Naturally, Class One of the fourth year would be getting a new homeroom teacher.

Zhang Shutong felt a little melancholy. He didn’t know whether these changes were for the better or for the worse.

His body had mostly recovered. There was still some inflammation in his lungs, causing him to cough from time to time, but as long as he stayed warm, it wouldn’t develop into a chronic problem. Just now, his mom had insisted he wear a scarf, but in reality, Zhang Shutong was already bundled up in two jackets and was starting to sweat in the car.

As the saying goes, "it takes a hundred days to recover from a serious injury to muscle or bone." His arm wasn’t broken, so it wasn’t that serious, but he still had to keep it in a sling for a week. Riding a bike was out of the question, of course. Now he was one of those people who got driven to and from school.

His mom had wanted to escort him all the way to his classroom, but Zhang Shutong felt that was making too much of a fuss.

Du Kang had told him that he’d become a celebrity in his absence, with legends of "Senior Zhang Shutong" spreading everywhere.

In the span of a single week, this senior had caught poachers, thwarted a vicious revenge plot on campus, and then—