Li Mu Yang left.
He left after proving to every student in the class that he had not cheated, and after Teacher Zhao apologized to him.
"I don't accept it."
That was his counterattack, and also his furious roar of indignation.
He needed an apology, because only an apology from the other party could prove that she had done something wrong.
But he had no way to accept this apology—he had carried hopes and dreams in his heart, wanting to put on a good showing before his teacher and those classmates who often mocked and ridiculed him. He wanted to tell them, It's not that I haven't worked hard. I'm not useless by nature. I want to study well, and I can study well—
And what kind of treatment had he received in the end?
He had been accused of cheating!
Just as he had said, this was an attempt to kill him.
How many once-innocent, simple young people had been ruined by a teacher's single sentence and driven to extremes?
Li Mu Yang had been gone for a long time, yet the classroom was still drowned in deathly silence.
Zhao Mingzhu's face was so twisted with anger that it seemed water could be wrung from it. She stared silently in the direction Li Mu Yang had left for a long, long time.
That student's actions had undoubtedly slapped her hard across the face. At the same time, they had also given her an important lesson in life—a bloody lesson that would be unforgettable forever.
As she looked toward the doorway, every student in the classroom was looking at her.
Their feelings were complicated. Some sympathized with Li Mu Yang, while others leaned toward Zhao Mingzhu—Teacher Zhao had already apologized, so why was Li Mu Yang still refusing to let the matter go?
They felt they had realized something, but whenever they tried to think it through, that thought would slip into the vast sea of their minds like a cunning fish, making it impossible to find.
Years later, when they looked back on the past and this scene surfaced in their minds once more, only then would they truly understand what they had witnessed on that ordinary day.
It had been a magnificent transformation, a phoenix-like rebirth of the soul.
When Zhao Mingzhu turned to look into the classroom, every student hurriedly lowered their heads and pretended to work on their papers.
Yet their turbulent emotions could not calm down for a long time.
Zhao Mingzhu opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but when the words reached her lips, it was as if something had blocked them.
"Answer your papers properly," Zhao Mingzhu said to the students.
Cui Xiaoxin put her calligraphy brush into its case, then carried her test paper toward the lectern.
Zhao Mingzhu looked at Cui Xiaoxin with a face full of smiles and said, "Have you checked it? You can't be careless in the slightest."
"I have." Cui Xiaoxin answered, then turned and walked out of the classroom.
Her body was slender, and beneath the brilliant sunlight, her snow-white skin looked almost transparent.
"Cui Xiaoxin—" Zhao Mingzhu called out anxiously. "You forgot to write your name."
Cui Xiaoxin did not turn around. "Teacher Zhao, whoever you think answered the paper, write that person's name."
"..."
The timing was perfect, and the sunlight was fierce.
Li Mu Yang and Cui Xiaoxin walked side by side beneath the shade of the trees on campus. The cicadas called one after another, as if accompanying their footsteps.
"You shouldn't have come out," Li Mu Yang said, breaking the quiet between them. "The Literary Examination is approaching, and everyone has entered the final sprint—"
"I said I'm ready," Cui Xiaoxin replied in her clear voice.
"Studying a little more is always good. During this period, the teachers will definitely keep highlighting the key points for the exam. If you aren't there, won't you miss those questions? If your Literary Examination is delayed because of me—"
"Impossible." Cui Xiaoxin cut him off cleanly. "I will definitely get into Xifeng University."
Li Mu Yang grinned. He was sincerely happy for his friend and said, "So confident? Looks like you really are ready."
"I don't like waiting until the last minute to cram for something I neglected before. There are too many uncertainties that way, and it makes me feel very insecure—" Cui Xiaoxin said. After a pause, she turned her face toward Li Mu Yang beside her. "But you're an exception."
"Hm?"
"Li Mu Yang, you must know how astonishing your progress has been. You scared me when I was tutoring you. It was only to be expected that Teacher Zhao would have suspicions today—but I still don't like what she did. And her words were truly vicious."
Li Mu Yang sighed softly. "Perhaps it's because of the way I look. I've never been popular. I originally thought that if I put on a good showing, I could make Teacher Zhao see me in a new light. She would pat me on the shoulder in front of the whole class and say, 'Li Mu Yang, well done.' The students in the class would smile at me too and say, 'Li Mu Yang, who would've thought you were hiding your abilities so deeply?' I only wanted them to know that I was just like them. I'm not an idiot, and I'm not a Pig who only knows how to sleep—"
Cui Xiaoxin remained silent.
She could understand how Li Mu Yang felt at that moment.
He was ultimately only a child, and a 'poor' child at that. He envied his classmates for having pretty clothes and fun toys. At last, he had waited for the day when he could hold his new toy and show it off before his classmates, telling them, Look, I have a toy too. Yet the others accused him of stealing it. How could that child not feel hurt and miserable?
After remaining silent for a long while, Cui Xiaoxin asked, "What are you planning to do next?"
"I'm planning to study at home," Li Mu Yang said. "I've thought it over. Even if I stay in the classroom, I won't be able to learn much more. Teacher Zhao suspected me of cheating today. What if Teacher Chen and Teacher Jiang suspect me of the same thing next time? Since that's the case, I might as well study peacefully at home and return to school when the exam comes."
"All right. I'll accompany you," Cui Xiaoxin said.
"What?"
"I admit that your ability to learn is astonishing. But as for how to study and what to study, you still need someone beside you to guide you. Your foundation is too weak. It's impossible to make up all the knowledge you missed before. All I can do is help you identify, during this month, what you should study and what you can temporarily set aside. That way, you can spend your limited time on the most important things."
"Cui Xiaoxin—"
"Don't be too moved," Cui Xiaoxin said. Her feet stepped across the strips of sunlight on the ground, and her embroidered shoes, decorated with peonies, were dyed with countless specks of light. "I have a reason for doing this."
"What?"
"I only hope that the next time I invite you to watch a grand performance, you won't cruelly refuse me." The corners of Cui Xiaoxin's mouth lifted slightly, forming a graceful and enchanting arc.
"..."
Li Yan, Li Mu Yang's father, went to the school to request leave for him. Perhaps because of whatever considerations they had, the school approved it easily.
Li Mu Yang reviewed his lessons at home, while Cui Xiaoxin came to the Li family's small courtyard every day to tutor him one-on-one.
Li Sinian was the happiest of all. Every time she came home from school, she would bring a plate of fruit and sit nearby, crunching away nonstop.
She was very dissatisfied with Li Mu Yang's behavior of valuing beauty over his little sister. In the past, she had also racked her brains trying to tutor Li Mu Yang and improve her older brother's grades. Yet every time she had talked until her mouth was dry, all she heard was Li Mu Yang's snoring.
What she had been unable to accomplish, Cui Xiaoxin had done with ease. This made her doubt her own charms. Several times, she had examined her face and figure in the bathroom mirror—her chest wasn't small either.
Whenever Luo Qi, Li Mu Yang's mother, returned from the pastry shop, she brought Cui Xiaoxin all kinds of pastries. Whenever she saw which kind Cui Xiaoxin liked, she would bring more of it the next time.
While Luo Qi was cooking in the kitchen, her husband, Li Yan, walked in.
"You're back?" Luo Qi greeted her husband, but her gaze passed through the kitchen window toward the two children studying outside. Her eyes held a thick, meltingly tender smile.
"Yes." Li Yan glanced outside and said, "That girl is here again? This couldn't be puppy love, could it?"
"It would be wonderful if it really were puppy love." Luo Qi sighed. "What a fine girl. Not only is she beautiful, but it's rare for someone to have such a good bearing too. She studies well, has a good personality, and is well-mannered. She comes every day to help Mu Yang, yet she never agrees to stay at our house for even one simple meal. If a girl like this can't be reserved in advance, I'm afraid there won't be anything left for our Mu Yang in the future, will there?"
"But this sort of thing isn't up to us to decide. Mu Yang is, after all—" Li Yan began.
"Shut up." Luo Qi glared fiercely at her husband, like a vicious she-wolf guarding her cubs. "Li Mu Yang was my son before, and he'll be my son in the future too. They didn't want him before, and no one will take him away from me now."
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