Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The fall was hardly unnoticeable. Everyone turned to stare.

“……” After a moment of speechlessness, Du Kang asked, “Principal Tao, what are you…?”

Tao Fangzheng struggled to get up, failed several times, and finally managed with Li Yurong’s help. He stood, barely maintaining an awkward smile, and sweat rolled down his face.

Rubbing his dirty, sweaty palms on his trousers, he explained weakly, “I just, the floor was slippery.”

“This won’t do. You weren’t hurt, but what if a student is less lucky?” Du Kang rebuked. “You need to fix this.”

“Yes, yes, we’ll improve on it,” Tao Fangzheng kept nodding until Du Kang’s gaze left him. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief, but at the same time, his heart rose to his throat. He swallowed and subconsciously glanced at Li Yurong, who had the same terror in her eyes.

She kept her hand on his back, and nudged him urgently, but the more anxious she was, the more he hesitated. A moment later, he stepped forward and asked cautiously, “Leader, do you… know this student?”

Du Kang saw him sweating and realized something was wrong. He recalled when he asked about this part of the corridor just now, Tao Fangzheng actually replied this was the toilets.

Toilets? There were indeed toilets here, he could smell them from where he stood, but beside them, there was a large classroom with fifty or sixty students! Not to mention this dark, smelly environment was entirely unconducive to learning. And Tao Fangzheng’s obvious concealment—did he want to directly erase the existence of this class?

Du Kang visited his old school to find Lin Jingzhe. Though he did find him, instead of being relieved, his heart grew heavy—it turned out he wasn’t the only thing he’d found.

Calmly watching Principal Tao, he answered, “Yes, I do.”

He really does!

Tao Fangzheng’s hands trembled. He turned to look at Lin Jingzhe’s equally composed face, hating that he couldn’t grab the youth’s shoulders and shake him violently—

If you fucking knew Du Kang, why didn’t you say it?! Why didn’t you say it?! Why didn’t you say it!!!

Du Kang’s expression was inscrutable; Tao Fangzheng struggled to see any indication of his mood without success. As he frantically recalled everything that happened, from the class change to the strike, he grew more and more uneasy. He worried how much of the situation, and in what way, Lin Jingzhe told Du Kang.

Lin Jingzhe was puzzled by the principal’s inexplicable expression as the man looked caught between hysterical laughter and tears. Because of the group’s arrival, the Class 5 students who wanted to have lunch didn’t dare leave. The principal and Li Yurong never came to Class 5, and this time, they even brought a bunch of strangers—who knew what they plotted? They had to support each other and face whatever came together.

Lin Jingzhe knew this was probably just a regular inspection, and it wouldn’t end quickly. His gaze swept over the group of wary, vigilant teenagers, who seemed ready for trouble, and he nodded to Deng Mai: “Take everyone to cafeteria, it’s lunchtime.”

Deng Mai hesitated, but Lin Jingzhe waved at him, and he instinctively obeyed. Du Kang took note of this scene, more and more convinced Lin Jingzhe’s origins were extraordinary.

He put it on his agenda to look into it at the nearest opportunity.

The moment he entered the cafeteria, Lin Jingzhe choked, because what the hell?

No. 1 High School’s cafeteria was a detached, single-story building behind the main building. Lin Jingzhe had never seen it as clean as it was today, whether in his past or present life—the windows were gleaming and the cement floor, still not completely dry after scrubbing, lacked its eternal greasy stains. He was curious just how much effort this emergency assault took. On the squeaky-clean food-serving counter, there were more than ten kinds of dishes! A large pot of red-braised pork belly, dripping with aromatic sauce, the golden pan-fried yellow croaker, huge chicken drumsticks, sweet and sour spare ribs… Compared with the usual, this was practically a state banquet.

The students who walked in froze in shock, jaws dropping. Since meals in the cafeteria were free, the standard non-vegetarian dish was stir-fried tomato and scrambled eggs, and you still had to be lucky to get it. The students made complaints countless times, but the school didn’t pay them any attention. The reply they got was “funds were limited,” and that there was only so much the school could allocate to the catering. This was the highest standard they could provide—if they didn’t like it, it’s not as if anyone was forcing them to eat.

But how could Du Kang know any of this? He nodded with approval, satisfied with the dishes he saw. “Yes, very good, the growing children have to eat well. You shouldn’t skimp on ingredients, they have to be fresh and of good quality, and the dishes nutritious. Hmm, perhaps you might add bone soup to the menu.”

Tao Fangzheng nodded hurriedly: “Certainly, I will immediately implement your suggestion.”

Lin Jingzhe, made to tag along for some inexplicable reason, smirked silently.

He wondered whether Du Kang was acting or wasn’t aware of the real situation.

Tao Fangzheng nodded to Du Kang’s remarks, but he kept an eye on Lin Jingzhe’s expression the whole time. He was on the brink of a heart attack due to anxiety. He felt as if there was a bomb next to him which could detonate at any moment. Every minute and second before the explosion was a torture unto itself.

Even if the food was better, the principal might as well have been chewing wax. He couldn’t help but silently grumble about Li Yurong hiding behind the rest of the inspection team for fear Lin Jingzhe would notice her.

Du Kang looked around the cafeteria at the black-haired heads buried in their plates like chicks at feeding time. He was pleased to know this inspection was fairly successful and his alma mater was still as he remembered it. Although the current principal lacked in some aspects, he didn’t seem incompetent; at least the students were well-fed.

And so, he declined Tao Fangzheng’s invitation to eat in the cafeteria’s side room. He found a free table instead and motioned for Lin Jingzhe to sit beside him.

He was thinking about his own matters and didn’t notice the principal’s uneasy expression. He wanted to ask Lin Jinghze if Elder Fang had left specific instructions for the antiques’ investigation case.

However, he couldn’t raise this topic without rhyme or reason, so he said, “It’s about time for the mock exams, isn’t it? I remember the third-years take them earlier.”

Tao Fangzheng, on the opposite side of the table, rushed to answer, “We had the second one last week.”

“Oh?” Du Kang looked at Lin Jingzhe with a smile. “Can you tell me how you did, young man? The third year of high school is one of the turning points of life—if your grades are bad, you must put all your effort into raising them.”

The principal, anxious to butter Lin Jingzhe up, immediately boasted, “Leader, Lin Jingzhe is very hard-working and has excellent grades. He took first place in the second mock exam, and got full marks in math and chemistry!”

Lin Jingzhe’s chopsticks, reaching for a morsel to eat, missed and tapped the plate instead. He looked at the principal with a faint smile.

“Really? That’s good.” Du Kang nodded approvingly. After a moment of thought, however, he felt something wasn’t right. “But with these results, why aren’t you in Class 1?”

Tao Fangzheng’s expression froze. Lin Jingzhe looked back to his plate and caught a piece of meat with his chopsticks. “I used to be,” he replied.

Du Kang blinked, taken aback. “‘Used to’?”

“Yes.” Lin Jingzhe meticulously picked the ginger slices out of his bowl of braised pig trotters. “I was transferred out.”

Du Kang couldn’t understand. “Transferred out? But why?”

At this, Lin Jingzhe smiled and gave Tao Fangzheng a sidelong glance. “This you have to ask Principal Tao, sir.”

Du Kang’s expression turned solemn—Lin Jingzhe’s words indicated it wasn’t his own choice.

His sharp gaze immediately cut to Tao Fangzheng’s face. “What’s going on?”

The principal wanted to strangle Li Yurong. He explained with a forced smile, “…It’s, it’s mostly because the results of Lin Jingzhe’s first mock exam were quite bad…”

“What?!” Du Kang couldn’t understand what the hell was going on. “What is this nonsense?!”

The other inspection team members were equally indignant. They talked over each other: “Indeed! The third year of high school is the most critical time for students, but you transferred someone just because his mock exam score dropped? Are you serious? What do you take the responsibilities of educator for, just some words on paper?!”

“Have you even considered what influence this would have on the boy’s mental state?!”

“Yes, yes, you’re right, it’s my negligence.” Tao Fangzheng struggled to maintain his forced smile but it kept slipping. “I already realized my mistake, Lin Jingzhe will be transferred back to Class 1…”

Lin Jingzhe interrupted him calmly: “That isn’t necessary.”

As Tao Fangzheng looked at him, stunned, Lin Jingzhe explained to Du Kang, “Compared with Class 1, I very much prefer the atmosphere of Class 5. My class teacher is competent and responsible, so I’d like to stay where I am. The class transfer aside…”

Lin Jingzhe casually tossed out a thunderbolt, “…Isn’t restoring Class 5’s English class more important? The class transfer is a trifle compared to that.”

For a moment, Du Kang couldn’t comprehend his words. He watched Lin Jingzhe unhurriedly eat a mouthful of food, repeating subconsciously, “Restore Class 5’s English class?”

The next second, the realization hit him: “You mean, Class 5 has no English class right now?”

As before, Lin Jingzhe nodded placidly, “We used to have it.”

Used to have it! Used to have it! Used to have it!

Du Kang was dumbfounded. It was already after the mock exams, and the third-year students were about to face the most important challenge, the college entrance exam, which would essentially decide their future path. And at this critical juncture, there was a class with a subject missing from the curriculum?! Are you joking?!

In an instant, his expression turned frightening, and he slammed his chopsticks down with a loud bang. The inspection team members at the table were also shocked. Lin Jingzhe was the only person unfazed—he continued to eat, chewing unhurriedly.

The man in his fifties sitting next to Du Kang pointed at Tao Fangzheng, hand shaking with anger. “Is that true?!” He asked.

Tao Fangzheng, frightened out of his wits, did not dare lie. He explained in panic, “Please listen to me, there’s a reason for that: the students of Class 5 were unwilling to attend English class. They even drove away the English teacher…”

The students at the nearby table protested loudly. Deng Mai got up and shouted, “What are you saying, Principal Tao—what do you mean, we were unwilling to attend English class? You should first mention how Teacher Li’s ‘class’ looked like! She never taught us anything, she only let us self-study and gave homework! Is there any point to attending such a class?”

“Nonsense!” Tao Fangzheng’s face was flushed red. “Sit down at once!”

“No!” At this point, Du Kang completely lost his appetite. He put his hands on his knees and straightened imposingly in his chair. “Let him speak.”

Deng Mai glanced at Lin Jingzhe, who gave a slight nod.

Immediately filled with confidence, he ignored the threat in Tao Fangzheng’s eyes and motioned to his classmates sitting at the same table to stand up—

“Every time she came to class, she only sat at the dais and sneered, saying we were garbage, our class teacher was useless, that we would never amount to anything more than the dregs of society… Who wants that kind of a teacher!”

“That’s right! That’s right!”

Li Yurong, sitting at the end of the table, trembled with fury and hate. She gripped her chopsticks in a tightly clenched fist, gnashing her teeth; she secretly decided after this was over, she would give those trash a lesson they would never forget. However, right then, a low, deep voice asked—

“Who was your English teacher?”

Who? All the third-years had the same English teacher.

Everyone’s eyes turned in the same direction. Du Kang followed their gazes and immediately felt the veins on his temples pop, pulsing with anger.

He took a deep breath and asked pleasantly, his smile full of rage: “Isn’t that the teacher in charge of No. 1 High School’s best class, Principal Tao?”