Chapter 39: Young Man, You Think Too Much
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
"It's alright. Li Zheng's a nice guy." Jiang Qinghua smiled as he helped Zhang Xiaoke carry her bag. "Anyone who wants to study will definitely improve if they sit beside him."
"Is… Is that so…" Zhang Xiaoke instinctively felt a little resistant.
"Ah, you handsome class monitor," she thought.
"A cute girl was going to be deskmates with you."
"Aren't you going to fight for it?"
Zhang Xiaoke didn't know that Jiang Qinghua had plans of his own.
He was in school.
He wanted Li Zheng to become close to Zhang Xiaoke.
He knew at a glance that Zhang Xiaoke wasn't an easy person to deal with.
Before obtaining his victory, he might as well get her to stay between Li Zheng and Lin Yujing.
Who knew how muddy the situation could become.
It was a trap.
It was all a trap.
Between the pushing and the shoving, Zhang Xiaoke landed on her seat a little dazed.
Jiang Qinghua turned back to console his new neighbor, Liu Xin.
Lin Yujing turned her head to the side slightly and wiggled a few fingers toward Li Zheng. She then clenched her fist tightly.
The war between the different factions had started.
The Language lesson continued amid this strange, murderous atmosphere.
"Alright, you can savor the model essay slowly at home."
"Next, I'm going to talk about the monthly exam paper."
"Li Zheng, Lin Yujing, Jiang Qinghua—you guys can study on your own."
Rustle…
All of the students took out their papers.
There were still several male students stealing glances at Zhang Xiaoke.
However, the entire class had become more serious.
After all, the rewards for the great battle during the mid-semester exams were too tempting.
Zhang Xiaoke also flipped open her bag.
Still shocked, she secretly observed Li Zheng.
"He looks like an ordinary person who is exceptionally serious," she thought
"Since he has the right to self-study, his grades must be decent."
"Hmph, decent in terms of an ordinary high school's standards."
"I'm probably a poor student in your eyes."
"Hehe~"
"Young man, you think too much."
Zhang Xiaoke blinked subconsciously.
She continued thinking to herself, "Even though I'm ranked last in the High School Affiliated to the Renmin University, my grades are still better than yours~"
"But I'm not going to tell you that."
"I'll just pretend to be a lazy, poor student."
"Then during the exams..."
"I'll shock you to death."
"I really want to see what kind of expression your serious face will make."
Zhang Xiaoke became happier the more she thought about it. She hummed a small tune as she took out her paper.
"Hng…"
A disgusted grunt came from beside her.
It was Li Zheng. He had taken a peek at the score on her paper.
Li Zheng couldn't help revealing a look of disgust when he saw the score.
Out of 150 points, she had scored 79.
Indeed, she was just slightly better than Liu Xin.
Zhang Xiaoke was furious.
"I wasn't doing the paper seriously, alright?" she thought.
"I can easily score over 100 points on a poorly-set paper like this."
"Hmph."
"You're just an ordinary person who blindly works hard."
"You dare to look down on me?"
"Sigh…" Li Zheng sighed. His eyes were full of sympathy. "Keep at it. Continue to work hard. You must be strong."
"???" Zhang Xiaoke felt like she had experienced this before.
That's right. It was his expression.
It was the same expression used when looking at a puppy.
"Didn't I already transfer schools?" she thought.
"Ahhh!"
Zhang Xiaoke fought back her pain and squeezed out a smile. "Actually... My grades are truly average. Since we're teammates, please guide me along in the future."
"Alright," Li Zheng replied.
Zhang Xiaoke gritted her teeth and clenched her fists.
She was furious.
"What do you mean by 'alright'?" she thought.
"I was just being polite. Why are you so smug?"
"D*mn it. I didn't want to start out having such a high-profile."
"It was you who forced me, you ignorant, ordinary boy."
"Quick, let the exams come quick."
"I'll shock you to death."
"When that time comes, I'll see if you squirm into the corner of the classroom in shame."
Zhang Xiaoke was both dejected and angry. She reached for the comic in her bag.
She subconsciously licked her lips.
"Hehe~"
"I'm going to start pretending not to study," she thought.
"Don't you despise my poor grades?"
"I'm reading a comic book during my first lesson here. Aren't I great?"
"The more you despise me, the better it is for me."
"I'll shock you to death when the grades are released!"
Just as she fished out her comic, Li Zheng also moved.
He quietly reached his hand into the bottom of his desk.
He took out a year's worth of "Science Fiction World."
Zhang Xiaoke was furious.
She forced her mouth closed to prevent herself from spitting out in shock.
"This person… He's not playing his cards like a normal person," she thought.
"Wait!"
"Are you also going to pretend to not work hard?"
"Then you're going to study your life away at home and get a high score?"
"F***, you're stealing this too."
"Who still reads novels now?" Zhang Xiaoke took out a comic book. The cover page was of a large-eyed lady biting down on a piece of bamboo. "Do you want to read comics? This is the latest one~"
Li Zheng knitted his brows.
He looked at Zhang Xiaoke, extremely dissatisfied.
"Your grades are already this abysmal. Are you still not going to study?" he thought.
"Your test grades are second to last."
"Liu Xin is about to step over you."
"Furthermore, even though Liu Xin isn't great with his studies, he can go move bricks or operate an excavator in the future."
"What about you? Do you have a mine at home?"
Li Zheng couldn't help but feel sorry for her foolishness, yet he was furious at her unwillingness to improve.
However, he didn't say anything.
Even though this was a group battle, he didn't have the right to force his teammate to study.
Ultimately, Li Zheng forcefully suppressed his grievances, then looked at the comic's colorful cover page and asked, "What is this? I've never seen it."
"Demon Slayer." Zhang Xiaoke gave a naughty smile as she looked at the female character with the piece of bamboo in her mouth. "Nezuko is really cute~"
"Why is she eating a piece of bamboo?"
"That's a plot point. You have to read the story from the beginning to understand." Zhang Xiaoke quickly found the first volume, then stuck out her tongue and gave a silly smile. "Hehe. I brought the entire set."
Li Zheng froze for a moment.
"This person sure has many goods," he thought.
"I'll try it." Li Zheng nodded and took the comic book.
He had read too much science fiction recently and felt a little bored. His rate of recovery had consistently been rather low. He could try a different genre.
Zhang Xiaoke laughed deep down.
"You're pretending to like it?" she thought.
"I told you to read it. Read it."
"You'll soon become addicted to it."
"Then your grades will drop."
"Then you'll become a fool."
"Wow, we're both chasing after Nezuko together."
"Why are your grades so good, Xiaoke?"
"Are you a genius?"
Zhang Xiaoke suddenly felt that the deskmate she was assigned to was rather interesting.
It felt much better to step over someone like this.
She had spent a great deal of effort to switch schools.
Wasn't it all for this?
She giggled as she placed the comic on her thighs, then lowered her head and started to read.
However, an incident occurred just 30 seconds later.
"Zhang Xiaoke?" Tang Zhifei reminded her, "It's just the first lesson. Don't give up on the teacher just yet. You might be able to follow my lesson."
All of the students started to giggle.
"I… I was listening…" Zhang Xiaoke blushed as she stuffed the book back into her bag.
"Yes, be more patient. Give me the chance to grab your attention." Tang Zhifei smiled as she made a clawing gesture, then continued with her lesson.
Zhang Xiaoke was depressed.
"Aren't all of the teachers in an ordinary school supposed to be lax?" she thought.
She glanced sideways at Li Zheng.
"Oh my, this guy is getting into the heat of things. He's flipping the pages so hard," she thought.
"The beginning of the story isn't that interesting."
"Read it more. Read it until you die."
…
The bell for dismissal rang. Several female students crowded around Zhang Xiaoke. They wanted to interact with her.
"How did you do your hair? It's really cute."
Zhang Xiaoke blinked and said, "Aiya, I just grabbed it a few times before I left the house~"
"Xiaoke, what school did you go to before this?"
Zhang Xiaoke stuck out her tongue. "It's not worth mentioning, it's not worth mentioning~"
"You have so many accessories hanging on your bag."
Zhang Xiaoke was elated. "I love anime. I can't help it."
"This scent. You secretly sprayed on some perfume, didn't you?"
Zhang Xiaoke smirked. "Shhh…"
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