Chen Niohuru Zhu

Of course, Chen Zhu ended up walking Yu Xian home.

Because Yu Xian said that if he didn't, she would find a few of the class loudmouths and spread the story about him wanting to kiss her.

"We arts students might not have much else, but we have plenty of time."

Yu Xian threatened him fiercely. "You wouldn't want your reputation at Zhizhong High School going down the drain, would you, mister?"

Chen Zhu could only be "forced" into walking her home. In reality, boys at school would have fought tooth and nail for this chance. This was Yu Xian, not just any other girl.

When they reached the bottom of her building, Yu Xian actually sounded a little "disappointed." "I thought being walked home by a boy would feel special somehow. Turns out I'd have been better off walking alone."

"Fine, fine. Next time I'd rather let my reputation go down the drain than walk you home."

Chen Zhu shot back without ceremony, waved, and left.

Yu Xian stood beneath the dim yellow streetlight, her slightly damp hair fluttering gently in the breeze, a happy smile lifting the corners of her mouth. The peaceful street seemed to be an extension of her mood, giving her an inexplicable sense of calm and belonging.

Then her grandmother called from upstairs, "Xian, sweetheart! Why aren't you coming home yet?"

"I know! Just go to bed."

Yu Xian tilted her head up to answer. Only after Chen Zhu disappeared from sight did she turn and go upstairs.

Chen Zhu arrived home at roughly the same time he normally returned from evening study, so his parents assumed he had come from school.

Mao Xiaoqin warmed up his milk and bread as usual, completely unaware that her son had spent half the afternoon on a little tour of the police station.

When Chen Zhu got up the next morning, he found unrelenting drizzle outside his window and wet patches everywhere in the stairwell and corridors. He knew the "Returning-South Weather" had arrived.

"Returning-South Weather" was a climate phenomenon unique to southern cities, primarily caused by the maritime subtropical monsoon climate. It generally occurred between March and April and lasted about a week.

But that week was truly miserable. There was no sun, laundry never dried, and droplets constantly gathered on the ceiling at home, occasionally falling onto your head with a perfectly timed plop while you squatted over the toilet...

Still, it made little difference to students in their final year of high school. With the Gaokao looming, never mind a little Returning-South Weather-even if icicles were raining from the sky, they would still have to attend morning study.

As usual, Chen Zhu went to find Huang Bohan first. Bohan was still rather keyed up, seemingly caught up in what had happened yesterday.

He hadn't been the main character, or even a supporting character, but he still found it more interesting than the dry facts in their textbooks.

Toward the end of their conversation, Huang Bohan casually asked, "What time did you get home yesterday?"

"I walked Yu Xian home first, so it was already quarter past ten when I got back."

Chen Zhu spoke while eating a steamed bun.

"You walked Yu Xian home?"

Huang Bohan froze for a moment, then hurriedly pressed him. "Was it because you helped her yesterday, so she felt too awkward to turn down your request?"

Chen Zhu glanced at Bohan. "Would saying yes make you feel better?"

"Yes!"

Huang Bohan nodded from the bottom of his heart. He had walked the chubby girl home last night and spent an extra five yuan on fried skewers along the way.

"Sorry to disappoint you, then. Yu Xian was the one who asked me to walk her home."

Chen Zhu deliberately told him the truth. He really did have a quietly wicked streak.

"Fuck!"

Although he had considered that possibility, hearing Chen Zhu admit it himself still left Huang Bohan green with envy. He complained, "Damn it, would it have killed you to lie to me?"

"We Party... Young Pioneers don't like telling lies."

Chen Zhu spoke with a cheerful smile.

"Well, you've gotten what you wanted now."

Unable to win against Chen Zhu, Huang Bohan went back to gossiping. "If Yu Xian asked you to walk her home, does that mean she's thinking about dating you?"

Chen Zhu considered it. "Probably not. I only walked her home."

"That's where you're clueless."

Huang Bohan instantly turned into Mr. Know-It-All and explained, "There was a couple in my middle school. The girl's bike chain came off on her way home, and the boy went over and fixed it. After that, they often went home together, and eventually they became a couple."

"If a girl's willing to let a boy walk her home, I think she must at least-at least like him a little."

Huang Bohan spoke earnestly, chewing on a fingernail.

Chen Zhu seemed not to have heard him. He was already absorbed in memorizing his English textbook.

All four periods that morning were chemistry. Schedules like this were common in the second semester of their final year.

They spent the first two periods doing a test paper and the next two going over it. The idea was to serve it fresh: spot gaps in their knowledge and patch them on the spot.

To make students take the papers a little more seriously, some teachers had classmates swap papers for marking and assign scores at the end.

Sometimes desk mates marked each other's work, but the results were mediocre. Desk mates covered for one another, making it impossible to identify genuine gaps in their knowledge.

More often, the completed papers were collected and randomly handed out again. Of course, that created new problems too. Certain people's papers became "hot commodities," and getting hold of one sometimes came at a price.

For example:

Student A: "I got Song Shiwei's paper."

Student B: "Give it to me. I'll buy you lunch."

Song Shiwei's paper = one free lunch.

After chemistry teacher Feng Jie entered the classroom, she gave a few instructions and handed out the papers. Soon, the only sounds left were the scratching of pens and the rustle of pages turning.

The bell rang after two periods. The bad weather had also led to the cancellation of the between-class exercises, so Ms. Feng had the chemistry class representative collect the papers, shuffle them, and hand them out again.

Chen Zhu got the paper of a girl named Shi Ying. He barely knew her and had almost forgotten what she was like.

Huang Bohan got the paper of a boy in their class.

The "jackpot" in this round of marking went to a boy named Jin Hui in the next group. His personality was somewhat like Chen Zhu's before his rebirth: quiet and rather introverted.

But with Song Shiwei's chemistry paper in hand, he looked visibly delighted, sitting there with a goofy grin.

For introverted students like him, a chance to interact and talk with the prettiest girl in the class or school might only come once or twice a year.

Before that excitement had even worn off, however, someone came up from behind, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Jin Hui, could you swap papers with me?"

It was Kang Liangsong, the academic affairs representative.

Everyone in class knew Kang Liangsong had a crush on Song Shiwei. Whenever this happened, he would find some way to trade for her paper.

"Well..."

Jin Hui clearly didn't want to swap. His hesitation was written all over his face.

"I'll buy you lunch. Thank you."

Kang Liangsong was both polite and sincere, and he had offered something in exchange.

"Then... all right."

Only then did Jin Hui awkwardly agree.

When Kang Liangsong took the paper away, Jin Hui still cast several lingering glances at it.

It certainly wasn't that Jin Hui needed that free lunch. First, his personality made it difficult for him to turn people down.

Second, Kang Liangsong liked Song Shiwei, so he had a reason to do this. If you refused to swap, wouldn't that mean you liked Song Shiwei too?

Whenever something happened in class, Huang Bohan, Chen Zhu's partner in snark, was bound to comment. He couldn't help scoffing and muttering, "What a piece of work! When Li Jianming was harassing Song Shiwei, he didn't dare step in. But he sees a decent guy like Jin Hui and starts pushing him around."

"Chen Zhu, if it were you, would you swap?"

Huang Bohan asked.

"I wouldn't care."

Chen Zhu shrugged. "If he wants Shi Ying's paper, he can have it."

"That's not what I meant."

Huang Bohan asked again. "If you got Song Shiwei's paper, would you swap with Kang Liangsong?"

"I don't know."

Chen Zhu answered honestly. "Right now, I don't really care. If he asked a little more nicely, I'd have no problem agreeing. But if I were like Jin Hui and genuinely didn't want to swap, I'd definitely say no."

"If it were me, there's no way I'd swap."

Huang Bohan declared with absolute conviction.

Chen Zhu smiled. Bohan was only tough in words. In reality, he was another person who couldn't turn others down. After every argument or request he reluctantly agreed to, he would regret it, thinking he should have "said this or that instead..."

But Chen Zhu was also curious: who had his paper?

"Oh my God!"

Two rows ahead, Mou Jiawen suddenly squealed in disbelief. "I've got Chen Zhu's paper!"

Ever since Chen Zhu had stood up for Song Shiwei, people in class had started talking about him. After that, he had lived up to their expectations and made the year's top ten again. Even listening to his speech at the exam rally had felt like watching the national news broadcast.

Recently, there had apparently also been word that he was on the list for the "Appointment with Prestigious Universities" event early next month.

Those little peaks of excitement just kept coming.

In everyone's minds, he was no longer the Chen Zhu of a month ago. Now he was Chen Niohuru Zhu.

So Mou Jiawen was quite excited to get Chen Zhu's paper. At last, she had a reason to strike up a conversation with him.

(There will be another chapter at eight tonight.)

(End of chapter)