Wen Leyu

When Lu Jingyao's letter arrived at Qingshui County No. 2 Middle School, Li Ye had just been transferred into the new Retake Class One along with several students from Class Two.

One student grumbled resentfully, wondering why they had to be shuffled around for no reason. He had only just gotten familiar enough with the girl next to him to the point of "reading palms," yet they were being forcibly torn apart.

But Li Ye, who had learned the inside story from his grandfather, knew that the school was reshuffling its "fast and slow classes."

This year, County Second High School had enrolled three Retake Classes. At the beginning of the school year, Retake Class One had been designated the "fast class" based on college entrance exam scores.

But the results of one exam could not fully reflect a student's overall ability. After four months of intensive teaching, the classes had all begun to diverge in performance.

Some students had risen against the tide and caught up, while others had fallen into the dust. Among the students who had just entered their second year of high school, there were also several promising prospects.

So it was only inevitable that the school would select its exam hopefuls again and form a new "fast class" to boost its advancement rate.

Li Ye slung his schoolbag over his back and followed behind Hu Man and the others, strolling lazily into the Retake Class One classroom.

And immediately drew the attention of countless students.

"Why did that Huang Shiren come to our class? He couldn't even make the top ten in Class Two, could he?"

"Hmph, his family has money! Maybe he pulled strings and gave gifts through the back door!"

"What do you mean maybe? It's definitely true. Dog landlords always take crooked paths and evil shortcuts."

"Then Guo Yunzhen really got the short end of the stick. He studied so hard, yet Huang Shiren squeezed him out."

Where there was someone coming in, there had to be someone going out. Since Li Ye and the others had entered Retake Class One, some of its students had been assigned to the other two classes.

The students who had stayed in Retake Class One for a long time had always considered themselves a cut above the rest. Now that they were being pushed out, they were naturally unwilling to accept it.

Still, they only discussed it in low voices. Li Dayong, built strong as a bear, was a tyrant in Class One. He and Li Ye, that dog landlord, were birds of a feather, so few people dared provoke them to their faces.

"Brother, brother, sit over here!"

Li Dayong sat in the last row, happily stretching out his arm in greeting.

Though Li Dayong looked big and brawny, his grades really were just a little better than Li Ye's.

Because Li Ye had needed to seek out Lu Jingyao, Li Dayong had previously tried his best not to provoke him. Now that they were in the same class, Li Dayong was actually happier than Li Ye.

Li Ye smiled and walked toward Li Dayong, but someone stopped him midway.

Xia Yue, once Lu Jingyao's best friend, held out a letter and said to Li Ye with a sour face, "Here, your letter."

Li Ye took the letter in surprise. Once he saw the date on the postmark, the smile on his face instantly darkened.

"My letter—why was it in your hands?"

"I saw it in the mailroom by the entrance and brought it over for you. What, are you expecting to thank me?"

Xia Yue rolled her eyes and struck a scornful pose.

But when she met Li Ye's suddenly cold, oppressive gaze, she could not help taking half a step back. She asked in alarm, "What are you going to do?"

"I'm not going to do anything," Li Ye said coldly. "I just want to know what gave you the right to withhold my letter."

Xia Yue raised her voice. "Who withheld your letter? I kindly brought it to you, and you're like a dog biting Lü Dongbin—you can't tell good from bad."

"This letter arrived yesterday." Li Ye raised the envelope and cut off Xia Yue's defense. "The postmark is proof. Want to go to the post office and check the records? Last time, you opened my package without permission. This time, you withheld my letter. What exactly are you trying to do?"

"..."

For a moment, Xia Yue could not defend herself. Her eyes widened as though fire might burst from them.

Then several other students in Class One finally stood up indignantly to speak for her.

"What's the big deal? It's just a lousy letter. You just got here on your first day and you're already trying to bully someone from Class One?"

"Exactly! Getting in through the back door is one thing, but now you're stirring up trouble for no reason. Do you really think Class One is easy to mess with?"

Bang!

Li Dayong at the back of the classroom slapped the desk and shot to his feet in fury. "Who are you calling someone who got in through the back door? Watch your mouths, every last one of you!"

Li Dayong's fierce reputation was no empty boast. The noisy clamor in the classroom immediately died down by more than half.

But Xia Yue was in the heat of her anger, and she spoke without restraint. "What, people who came in through the back door can't be talked about now? Everyone knows what kind of grades Li Ye has. What right does he have to come to our Class One?

"Our class was supposed to have fifty people and twenty-five desks. Why was another desk added separately now? It was obviously prepared for Li Ye. If that isn't opening the back door, what is?"

"..."

Even the fierce Li Dayong was left speechless for a moment, but an eerie voice came from the classroom door.

"Who was saying the school opened the back door? And for whom?"

Xia Yue suddenly shuddered. Turning toward the door, she saw that Class One's homeroom teacher had somehow arrived there.

"Teacher Luo, we were discussing the mock exam scores from a few days ago."

"Discussing scores? Xia Yue, do you think you're qualified to discuss other people's scores? How many points did you get on this mock exam? Did you even get five hundred?"

"No."

Xia Yue smiled awkwardly, but inwardly cursed Li Ye a hundred times over. She believed he had brought this undeserved disaster upon her.

"Why aren't you all back in your seats?"

"Hmph."

Teacher Luo gave a cold snort, turned to say something to someone behind her, and only then walked to the podium.

Only then did everyone notice that at the door of the Class One classroom stood a middle-aged woman carrying a lesson-plan notebook, along with a girl wearing a schoolbag.

"Now let me introduce your new teacher and new classmate. This is your new English teacher, Teacher Ke. This is your new classmate, Wen Leyu. Everyone, welcome them."

Clap clap clap clap clap!

The Class One students applauded in unison, while Teacher Ke stepped onto the podium and gave everyone a slight bow.

Teacher Luo beckoned to the girl standing outside, then pointed to the empty seat beside Li Ye. "All right, Wen Leyu, go sit in the empty seat in the last row for now. We'll arrange a more suitable seat later."

The girl entered from outside and walked toward Li Ye.

As she moved, the dozens of eyes in the classroom shifted in unison like tracking radar.

The girl's gaze was clear and tranquil. Faced with everyone's stares, she remained utterly unmoved.

But when her eyes met those of her new deskmate, she was visibly startled for a moment. Then a faint, almost imperceptible smile appeared on her cold face.

Li Ye knew both Wen Leyu and Teacher Ke. He simply had not expected to encounter them again at County Second High School.

Before 1980, English scores in the college entrance exam were only for reference and were not included in the total score.

Even by 1981, only thirty percent of the written score counted toward the total. Many examinees therefore did not take it seriously enough, and plenty could not even recognize all twenty-six letters.

But Lu Jingyao's father had eyes like a torch and saw the opportunity within it.

Through all kinds of connections, he found Teacher Ke, who was temporarily living in Qingshui County, and asked her to tutor his daughter in English. In just half a year, she raised Lu Jingyao's English score by a large margin.

The college entrance exam questions of that era were remarkably simple compared to those of later generations.

So when Lu Jingyao took the exam, although her overall score was not outstanding, she earned an extremely high English score and was exceptionally admitted to Beijing Foreign Studies University. It had been a narrow escape, a blessing within misfortune.

Li Ye, who was already Lu Jingyao's fiancé at the time, attended several tutoring sessions with her before turning his attention back to those subjects worth a full hundred points.

Though his final score still did not qualify, the hidden twists within it were worth savoring.

"This class adjustment is a targeted teaching adjustment by the school. Don't let a normal adjustment like this affect your normal studies."

"I'm warning you: do not let anything unrelated to studying happen in the classroom. Xia Yue, as class monitor, you must maintain order."

After emphasizing classroom discipline from the podium, homeroom teacher Teacher Luo prepared to turn and leave.

But Li Ye raised his arm high.

Teacher Luo frowned and asked, "Student, what is it?"

Li Ye stood up and said in an even, steady voice, "Teacher, I believe Xia Yue's moral character does not meet the standard of a class monitor, so she cannot fulfill the responsibility of maintaining classroom order."

"..."

The entire room fell silent for two seconds, then erupted into chaos.

Everyone twisted their necks one hundred and eighty degrees to look at the tall, lean boy in the back row.

Xia Yue, in particular, was so furious that smoke seemed to pour from all seven orifices. She wished she could leap over and strangle Li Ye to death.