Chapter 309 - 133: The Seat Change Commotion, Part 2

Chapter 309: Chapter 133: The Seat Change Commotion, Part 2

He’d broken his hand in a pretty flashy way.

Some people said they saw him racing around on his motorcycle over the weekend.

That made sense. He had cut through the city center several times, and the island wasn’t that big to begin with, so it was only natural that people would notice him.

In the end, it was Gu Qiuyan’s young assistant who put the matter to rest, claiming that Senior Zhang had been injured while bravely fighting off some thugs. Only then were the rumors squashed. Thanks to her, "Senior Zhang Shutong" suddenly had a ton of new fans.

Now, as he walked through the school gates with one arm in a sling and his school bag casually slung over his other shoulder, he certainly stood out. Plenty of people stared his way. Zhang Shutong had never cared about getting looks, but why were some people gazing at him with such reverence? And what about those two students on duty who had been fighting? Why did they freeze the moment they saw him?

’A guy who rides a motorcycle isn’t automatically a delinquent, you know.’

He thought with exasperation.

Zhang Shutong entered the academic building nonchalantly. By the time he climbed the stairs to the fourth floor, it was seven-thirty, right in the middle of the morning reading session. It reminded him of last Wednesday—the first day of the rewind. He hadn’t turned in his homework, and Song had assigned him a week of cleaning duty.

Technically, his turn should have started this week, but with Song gone, who would even care about cleaning duty?

Zhang Shutong hadn’t met the new teacher yet.

She was also an English teacher, supposedly transferred over temporarily from the seventh grade after having just seen a class through to graduation.

He walked to the back door of the classroom. He’d expected to hear the murmur of students reading aloud, but today, it was surprisingly quiet. Zhang Shutong took one step inside and saw a woman standing at the podium.

The woman was about forty, with high cheekbones and glasses. Her hair was already white—the mark of a veteran teacher.

In fact, Zhang Shutong had already heard about her from Du Kang. The new teacher’s surname was Xu, and she was extremely strict. Apparently, one student who had zoned out for a moment in her class was made to stand at the back for the entire period.

’She’s probably the type who doesn’t even let you drink water in class.’

"You must be Zhang Shutong?"

The woman adjusted her glasses, and the entire class turned to look at him.

"You’re in the ninth grade now. It’s time to focus. Don’t spend your weekends fooling around."

Only then did Zhang Shutong realize they were in the middle of a vocabulary quiz. No wonder it was dead silent.

After saying her piece, Teacher Xu ignored him and clapped her hands.

"Group leaders, collect the quizzes. We need to hurry and change seats..."

Zhang Shutong stopped in his tracks.

’Why are we changing seats again? And why is it always on a Wednesday?’

The classroom finally stirred to life. Students stood up, grabbed their bags, and filed out. Someone greeted him, and though Zhang Shutong didn’t recognize them, he nodded back. He hadn’t even had a chance to sit down before he found himself inexplicably swept back out of the room with the crowd.

’A new broom sweeps clean, huh?’

In Class 1, he was on his own now. Who he’d end up sitting next to was purely up to fate. In any case, Zhang Shutong didn’t know anyone well here.

The other three classes were still having their morning reading session, while only the students of Class 1 were lined up in the hallway. This new homeroom teacher sure liked to make a fuss, Zhang Shutong thought.

The homeroom teacher adjusted her glasses again. In the three days he’d been absent, she had already established considerable authority. No one dared to make a sound. The days of Teacher Song laughing and joking around with students were gone, never to return.

"Let me say a few things."

Teacher Xu cleared her throat. After the familiar opening line, she began.

"Our class is the honors class. Several of the top ten students in the grade are right here. The principal has high expectations for you, as do I. You’re all about to start your final semester of middle school. Your former teacher, Teacher Song, had his own methods, but now that I’m your homeroom teacher, this ninth-grade Class 1 will operate under a new set of rules..."

What followed was the classic lecture about how "nothing can be accomplished without rules," which made Zhang Shutong stare up at the sky.

"So, from now on, seating in our class will be based entirely on your monthly exam scores. Water seeks its own level, and motivated students should sit with other motivated students."

Zhang Shutong felt a little embarrassed. He felt like a complete fraud in the honors class.

He used to be ranked second in the grade, and that was probably how he’d coasted into the honors class. But in reality, if he had to take the test again now, he’d be hovering somewhere around the top one hundred.

Teacher Xu paused.

"I will call out names in order of rank, from highest to lowest. When your name is called, go directly into the classroom and sit down. No talking. Start with the window seat in the third row..."

Zhang Shutong was starting to understand the new teacher’s strategy.

Unlike Teacher Song, who gave top students their choice of seats, this new teacher was clustering the best students together—but not in the front row.

’The front-most seats are probably reserved for the students who need to be watched closely.’

"Now, I’ll start calling names—"

’A very pragmatic person.’

Zhang Shutong made his silent assessment, stepping slightly away from the crowd.

"Lu Qinglian."

Zhang Shutong was taken aback.

’Why Lu Qinglian? I’ve never heard that she and I were in the same class.’

Besides, he had scanned the entire classroom the moment he first walked in and hadn’t seen her anywhere.

"Teacher, Lu Qinglian isn’t here yet..."

Someone reminded her in a small voice.

But the homeroom teacher ignored them.

"This is a good opportunity to make something clear. Last year, I saw a class through to graduation. And their results? Of all the students in this entire school who placed in the city’s top 100 on the entrance exams, two-thirds came from my class. Teacher Song’s leave was sudden, and I was given this post in a crisis. I initially refused the principal’s request to transfer me. My condition was simple: I would not take over this class unless the top two students in the grade were assigned to me."

"Lu Qinglian was originally in Class 4; I fought hard to have her transferred here. From now on, you will all treat them as your role models."

’Some role models.’

Zhang Shutong couldn’t help but think.

So that’s how it was.

No wonder he’d never heard anyone mention Lu Qinglian being in Class 1.

And it seemed he wasn’t the only one in the dark—none of the other students knew either. The transfer had happened on Tuesday. Zhang Shutong now noticed the shocked expressions on many faces, especially the boys’.

Zhang Shutong knew just how popular Lu Qinglian was throughout the school. A single sentence from her during the flag-raising ceremony was enough to send the crowd into a frenzy. The mysterious, beautiful, and aloof Temple Priestess—it seemed a lot of guys were into that type. At least, on the surface.

But for the other students, it was a different story. They could only admire her from a distance, occasionally keeping track of her movements. A single chance encounter was enough to make their day. Zhang Shutong had crushed on girls before, so he understood the feeling. Now, she was going to be in their class—it would be weird if they weren’t excited. Du Kang was far from the only one who felt that way.

A sudden thought struck him. ’But if that’s the case, doesn’t that mean—’

Teacher Xu held up a hand to quiet them.

"Lu Qinglian isn’t here for now, so the next student I call will leave the seat next to them empty for her. Zhang Shutong..."

Just then, the soft patter of footsteps grew closer. Everyone’s gaze snapped to the top of the staircase. A girl in a cyan robe came up the stairs, a backpack on her shoulders and her hair in a ponytail. She cast a calm glance over the large group assembled in the hallway.

「One minute later.」

"Morning."

Zhang Shutong picked up his school bag and greeted his new deskmate.

"Morning."

Lu Qinglian replied politely.

"What a coincidence. We’re deskmates," Zhang Shutong said, explaining the new teacher’s rules to her.

Lu Qinglian said nothing, simply nodding. The two of them headed for the seats in the third row by the window, one walking behind the other.

Zhang Shutong stepped aside, gesturing for Lu Qinglian to take the inner seat. According to the teacher’s instructions, her name had been called first, so she should sit there.

But Lu Qinglian just stood in front of the seat, staring at him.

"If you want the aisle seat, you can just say so." Zhang Shutong moved to the inner seat with a sigh.

"Zhang Shutong, why do you always assume my thoughts are as strange as yours?" She frowned. "Haven’t you noticed? Your broken arm is your left arm. It would be inconvenient to sit to your left."

"...Actually, it’s just a hairline fracture."

"You’re being noisy."

She took out her textbook for the first period, ending the conversation.

Zhang Shutong took out his textbook as well. They were the class’s model students now; their every move was under scrutiny.

The classroom quickly filled up. The homeroom teacher then held another morning meeting, using the last few moments to have Lu Qinglian share some of her study methods.

The girl took off her cyan robe, revealing the coolly aloof figure familiar to the student body. Amid a burst of enthusiastic applause, Zhang Shutong rested his chin on his hand. ’Well,’ he thought, ’things are about to get complicated.’

But at least his new life had finally begun.