Chapter 312 - 135: Human Shield

Chapter 312: Chapter 135: Human Shield

Zhang Shutong instinctively fell silent.

Even though plenty of people around him were whispering.

He followed his homeroom teacher’s gaze. The teacher shot him a meaningful look.

’I don’t know why, but whenever I’m with Lu Qinglian, I’m always cast as the guy corrupting the good girl. Like that time at the hospital, when that doctor almost chewed me out while poking me in the forehead.’

Zhang Shutong saw no reason to pick a fight with a middle-aged woman, so he tore off a piece of scrap paper and slid it over to Lu Qinglian, on which he had written:

"So besides small animals, can people be drawn to you too?"

Lu Qinglian glanced at the note, then looked up at him, her face devoid of expression.

Her expression seemed to say:

’You’d better start making some sense.’

"Looks like noon is no good either."

Done joking around, Zhang Shutong wrote again.

He had just remembered a meal was waiting for him at noon, probably a get-together to celebrate his first day of school.

’Should I go to that meal?’

Lu Qinglian asked directly,

"Where’s the key?"

"I have it on me."

That night, he had run straight out of the dorm and hadn’t had time to put the key back. He’d been carrying it with him for the past few days.

Lu Qinglian held out a pale hand.

Zhang Shutong placed the key in her palm.

"I’ll try my best to find time."

"Okay."

"By the way, what are we on in language arts?" Zhang Shutong asked.

Language Arts was next period.

"Zhang Shutong, you could have asked any other student about something so minor." Lu Qinglian rubbed her temples. "’The Snake Catcher’s Tale’."

"You’re the group leader."

Lu Qinglian ignored him after that.

Meanwhile, the class election at the front of the room was nearing its conclusion.

Zhang Shutong used the time to learn a few names. For instance, the class monitor was a tall boy named Wu Shengyu.

He also learned that the girl in the front row who’d called herself Ruoping’s friend was Wei Chenchen, the new Discipline Committee member. The two of them had been in Class 2 together—old partners in crime.

Wei Chenchen had been the one to fill him in on all this.

Ruoping’s friends generally had two things in common: first, they were chatty, and second, they knew how to dress well.

That explained why, despite being on the Discipline Committee, she had a stylish bob haircut and was a total chatterbox. She would turn to her deskmate for a few words, tap the student in front of her, or twist around to chat with Zhang Shutong. She mostly gossiped about their old class, and since Zhang Shutong found it hard to brush her off, he would just politely agree with a few words here and there.

Zhang Shutong had never paid much attention to the other classes before, but now he was learning a lot. The new class monitor, for example, had been the "class heartthrob" of Class 2. He had a sunny, cheerful personality and was great at basketball. ’It seems guys who are good at basketball are popular everywhere,’ he mused.

In reality, every class had a few popular boys and girls. In their original Class 1, for example, Lu Qinglian and Gu Qiuyan had simply shone so brightly that they overshadowed everyone else.

As for this Wu Shengyu from Class 2, his name sounded a little familiar.

He thought for a moment. It seemed Wu Shengyu had some beef with Du Kang, but he couldn’t remember why.

Wei Chenchen’s gossip stirred more of his memories. Since the reset, he’d only been in school for a few days, so everything around him still felt fresh.

Their school wasn’t large, but it was small and perfectly formed. Boss Gu had sponsored the island’s education sector quite a bit. In addition to the rubberized athletic field, he had also donated funds over time. The general idea was that as the island’s infrastructure developed, its education had to keep pace.

The principal and President Gu were on the same wavelength. The principal enthusiastically promised a well-rounded education for the students, covering moral, intellectual, physical, and aesthetic development. The school’s academic performance was already decent; based on average scores alone, it ranked in the upper tier of the city. But improving academics was a long-term battle, while adding more extracurriculars was an easier win. So, besides the academic and administration buildings, there was also an activities building.

The library, for instance, was built right next to the activities building.

The activities building also housed an entire floor of clubrooms and a large lecture hall.

The clubrooms were, naturally, for club activities. It belatedly occurred to Zhang Shutong that their middle school actually had quite a few clubs. All activities had been suspended last week because it was exam week. Of course, club meetings weren’t held every day—that wouldn’t be realistic in this country—so they were scheduled for Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Zhang Shutong was in the debate club.

He had often single-handedly defeated hordes of scholars in debate competitions—or not. That was impossible, of course. He’d only picked the debate club because it was easy. No one ever looked at him and thought he was the talkative type, and nobody expected him to speak. Zhang Shutong would usually find a corner, sit down, and quietly do his homework or read a manga. The moment the final bell rang, he’d sling his backpack on and bolt for the lake.

The lecture hall on the first floor was for hosting all sorts of large-scale events.

Things like the graduation ceremony, the New Year’s Gala, and student council elections.

Some places might call it an auditorium, but on their small island, they didn’t use such a fancy name. "Lecture hall" was simpler. In theory, one hall couldn’t possibly fit the entire student body, but since their school was small, it was just barely big enough.

For a change, Zhang Shutong tried to recall the annual New Year’s Galas. It was usually organized by class, with each class putting on a performance. The reason it stood out so vividly in his memory was that the two "celebrities" of Class 1 had never once participated.

Every New Year, Lu Qinglian would return to the temple.

As for Gu Qiuyan, it seemed that for all three years of middle school, she had spent the New Year off-island with her father. She would often take several days’ leave at a time. He remembered a rumor that one year, the moment school let out, she’d hopped in a car and flown straight to Sanya to sunbathe while everyone else was freezing.

He vaguely recalled that Class 1 always seemed listless around that time of year. A big event like this was prime time for showing off, but with the two star girls gone, who was there to show off for? Their teacher, Song, was pretty open-minded; he’d approve any performance as long as it wasn’t too ridiculous. One year, they put on a horrifying play—horrifying because Qingyi wrote the script and Ruoping directed it.