Hello, everyone! Thanks for all your hard work!]
Liu Wei shot him a vicious glare.
When she turned to Bai Qingxia, her expression softened again. She smiled and asked, "Qingxia, do you want Lu Yuanqiu to stand at the front?"
Bai Qingxia still said nothing, but her little hand kept a firm grip on Lu Yuanqiu's wrist. Even her pink fingernails had gone pale, and she showed no intention of letting go.
Everyone in the class knew she was strange. For several semesters, she had been practically mute, never talking to anyone. This odd behavior was actually quite in character for her.
Liu Wei had no choice. She was famous for doting on Bai Qingxia, too.
The homeroom teacher with the blatant double standard immediately turned and ordered:
"Lu Yuanqiu, join the first row!"
"Oh, okay... Huh?!" Lu Yuanqiu realized what she had said and gaped.
Liu Wei adjusted her glasses and said sternly, "Say 'huh' one more time, I dare you. If I tell you to stand there, stand there. What's with all the back talk?"
When Bai Qingxia promptly let go of Lu Yuanqiu's wrist, Liu Wei didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She had finally guessed what the girl wanted.
Honestly, you little thing. If you wanted Lu Yuanqiu in the first row, couldn't you just say so? It's not as if I'd refuse.
"Sorry, sorry. I've been called up in a crisis. Duty calls. Make some room, please. Make some room."
Lu Yuanqiu pressed his palms together and spoke with a smile, squeezing into the first row and positioning himself right in the middle of the girls.
Surrounded by girls, he was the only boy towering there, making the entire formation look as though it were flipping someone off.
Zhong Jincheng, Gao Qiang, Wang Haoran, and the others in the back were practically grinding their teeth. They had been even more dumbfounded when they saw Bai Qingxia holding on to Lu Yuanqiu.
Since when had those two become so close?
Hu Caiwei was also in the first row. Now she voiced her displeasure. "Teacher, Lu Yuanqiu's a boy. Why does he get to stand with us girls?"
Remembering what Bai Qingxia had just done filled her with an inexplicable anger. Now, the more she looked at Lu Yuanqiu standing in the first row, the more irritated she became.
Liu Wei turned to her. "Because I'm the homeroom teacher."
Hu Caiwei frowned and stamped her foot in frustration.
Wang Haoran, who usually took her side, remained uncharacteristically silent. He smoothed his center-parted hair, his gaze fixed on Bai Qingxia's tall, slender figure without once looking away.
After making sure Lu Yuanqiu was right behind her, Bai Qingxia let out a soft breath. Only then did she turn around, holding the class sign.
She didn't want to sit this exam titled "Youth" all alone.
Lu Yuanqiu had gotten one thing wrong.
In her heart, this exam could only be called "Youth" if Lu Yuanqiu was beside her. Only then could she look back on it years later without regret.
Her hand, gripping Lu Yuanqiu tightly and refusing to let go, represented her determination.
Watching Lu Yuanqiu, who had been beside him a moment ago but was now in the first row, Zheng Yifeng gave a wistful smile from the back. Then he covered his mouth and yawned.
Do I really need to spell out what kind of guy Bai Qingxia likes?
He murmured the words to himself inwardly.
Just then, he turned and glanced at Su Miaomiao, the English teacher walking past, before casually looking away.
After roughly half an hour of waiting, it was finally Senior Class 27's turn to march.
"Let's go," Liu Wei said.
Bai Qingxia picked up the class sign and followed Class 27 ahead of them, stopping again at the hundred-meter starting line.
All the Class 27 students, dressed in Hogwarts Academy uniforms, came to a halt in front of the reviewing stand. Without warning, they turned toward the field, pulled magic wands from their cloaks, and, in perfect unison, traced a circle toward the sky at a forty-five-degree angle before tucking the wands away again.
Thunderous applause broke out across the field. The more stunts a class pulled, the more excited the audience became.
Liu Wei didn't like her class pulling stunts, so Class 28's marching performance the previous year had been quite ordinary.
"Approaching us next is Senior Class 28. Led by their homeroom teacher, Liu Wei, Senior Class 28 has achieved, year after year..."
The announcer on the reviewing stand began the introduction. Liu Wei quietly reminded them, "Let's go, let's go. Look sharp, everyone."
Bai Qingxia lifted the class sign, her slender, fair arms crossed straight in front of her as she gripped the pole beneath it.
She stepped forward on long legs clad in black knee-high socks, her glossy black leather shoes treading on the streamers scattered across the track.
In an instant, every first-year and second-year student on the field, along with the first twenty-seven senior classes, turned their eyes toward the girl carrying the sign.
They didn't cheer or applaud. They simply stared, transfixed, at the stunning girl whose black hair cascaded like a waterfall.
Every gaze seemed to ask in astonishment whether Class 28 had somehow brought in outside help to carry their sign.
She was so beautiful that she seemed to belong to an entirely different dimension from everyone else.
Many began turning to their classmates in bewilderment, asking where this beautiful girl they had never seen at school before had come from and what her name was.
Most of those asking were boys, since Bai Qingxia was already quite well known among the girls.
The formation gradually reached the front.
Bai Qingxia, carrying the sign, was the center of everyone's attention.
She was tall and slender, with a narrow waist and legs that went on forever. Framed by cascading hair, her face was small, fair, and exquisitely delicate. She had a striking air about her, like a dance student, because she walked no differently from an elegant, proud swan.
Even the Senior Class 28 sign in her hands suddenly looked prestigious.
More and more eyes gathered on her, and Bai Qingxia's heart raced. She had never been watched by so many people before. Although the boy behind her gave her a considerable sense of security, it still wasn't enough to withstand the pressure of all those stares.
Lu Yuanqiu also noticed that Bai Qingxia was struggling to hold the sign steady.
As they reached the reviewing stand, the boy's loud voice suddenly rang out behind her.
"Hello, everyone! Thanks for all your hard work!"
Hearing his voice, Bai Qingxia froze for a moment, then smiled and breathed out. It was as though she had come back to life. Strength flowed into her arms, and she raised the drooping class sign until it was level again.
Lu Yuanqiu's shout drew all the eyes focused on the girl toward him instead.
Liu Wei turned and saw Lu Yuanqiu waving enthusiastically to the people on the field. Her smile froze on her face, but she certainly couldn't lose her temper now. She could only watch helplessly as he stirred up trouble.
Everyone else noticed the tall boy standing among the girls, too. They laughed in surprise, and quite a few shouted back, "It wasn't hard!"
Lu Yuanqiu challenged them loudly. "What was that? It wasn't hard? Clearly you haven't been assigned enough home-
work, huh? Teachers, take note. Keep a close eye on this class!"
On the reviewing stand, Ge Ritian, the head of the senior year, stared at Lu Yuanqiu with a dark expression, then stole a glance at the principal's face.
Seeing the principal smiling, he inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.
Liu Wei, meanwhile, covered her face with one hand, so embarrassed she wished the ground would swallow her.
Still, thanks to the amusing exchange across the field and the boy making a spectacle of himself among the girls, Class 28's formation received a round of enthusiastic applause.
But that "enthusiasm" definitely included admiration for the girl carrying the sign. Lu Yuanqiu had merely been the spark that set off the applause.
After completing their march without incident, Class 28 reached their assigned spot on the field. Bai Qingxia stood at the front with the sign, while the boys and girls filed back in two separate columns.
Lu Yuanqiu was still first in the girls' column.
"I'll deal with you when this is over."
Liu Wei's voice came from beside Lu Yuanqiu, the words forced through gritted teeth.
"Teacher, I've got the three-thousand-meter race this morning. Don't put me under pressure."
Lu Yuanqiu spoke.