Lin Zhexia was making friendship bracelets with Chen Lin when the class monitor called her name from the doorway: “Lin Zhexia, go to Teacher Xu’s office.”
She usually behaved well and was rarely called to the teacher’s office.
On the way there, she kept guessing why Teacher Xu would call for her.
Was it because she left too many problems blank in yesterday’s homework?
Just two problems, that shouldn’t be too many.
Or was it because she and Chen Lin were passing notes about the dessert shop they wanted to visit on the weekend, and Teacher Xu found out?
Lin Zhexia really couldn’t think of a reason.
Finally, she sighed and obediently knocked on the teacher’s office door.
From inside, a teacher said: “Come in—”
She pushed the door open and entered.
The office was crowded, and among these people, there was a familiar figure.
Even though that person had his back to her, she recognized him at a glance.
As she walked over, she heard their class teacher saying to Chi Yao: “You don’t need to do the assignments that will be handed out later, I’ve prepared something else for you, just do those problems…”
“Teacher Xu,” Lin Zhexia walked up to Teacher Xu and said, “You were looking for me?”
Teacher Xu saw her arrive and put down what he was holding: “Ah, yes, I need to talk to you about something.”
Teacher Xu casually asked: “Do you have any plans for the weekend?”
Lin Zhexia misunderstood and confessed without being accused: “I shouldn’t have eagerly passed notes with Chen Lin to discuss weekend plans.”
Teacher Xu: “…”
Teacher Xu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “You two were passing notes? When did this happen?”
Lin Zhexia: “During the lunch break.”
Teacher Xu: “Alright, it’s not about the notes. It’s like this, our school has a speech competition next week.”
Lin Zhexia: “Huh?”
Teacher Xu: “The preparation time is very ample, you can use a whole week to prepare properly. Our class has two spots, and I’m thinking of sending you and Tang Shuxuan.”
“That’s not a good idea,” the development was completely beyond her imagination. Lin Zhexia thought of the school’s large auditorium that could accommodate over a thousand people with microphones, and her first reaction was to refuse, “I… I haven’t had any similar experience before, I probably can’t do it.”
Teacher Xu: “I think you have potential, and it’s a rare opportunity. Wouldn’t it be good to use this chance to improve yourself?”
Lin Zhexia really couldn’t understand which part of her showed potential.
But her mind did work quickly.
Perhaps because she was used to the back-and-forth mind games with Chi Yao, to dissuade Teacher Xu, she began to ramble almost without thinking: “Teacher, it’s not that I don’t want to, but I’m naturally quite shy. Whenever I face more than three people, I start to stutter when I speak. Not only do I stutter, but sometimes I also have trouble breathing.”
“This is an old problem of mine, I’ve been like this since I was little.”
“I would like to try, but this competition isn’t just about the individual; it also concerns the honor of our class, so maybe you should reconsider.”
Lin Zhexia finished this long string of words almost without breathing. After finishing, she found that not only was Teacher Xu smiling at her, but there was also a very familiar, extremely light snicker from behind her.
“…”
Teacher Xu even applauded for her: “See, you’re quite articulate. I say one sentence, and you can say ten.”
Lin Zhexia: “…”
She had miscalculated.
She should have started pretending to stutter just now.
Lin Zhexia was in a state of being struck by something extremely unfortunate, and annoyed that she hadn’t performed well. So she concentrated her emotions and found an outlet for release, and this outlet was the person who had just laughed at her mockingly.
Teacher Xu was still explaining the requirements for the speech competition: “This is the 10th Speech Competition of Chengan. The topic for this speech is ‘Youth,’ and the requirements are as follows: the speech should be no less than five minutes long, and the content must be positive and uplifting…”
What Teacher Xu said went in one ear and out the other.
She only knew that she and Chi Yao were standing very close to each other now.
The two were almost standing back to back.
She moved her fingers, discreetly reaching her hand back, wanting to pinch Chi Yao through his clothes to vent her frustration.
However, she misjudged the position, and what she touched wasn’t the fabric of the school uniform, but a warm area with a bony feel.
She paused slightly, then realized she had pinched Chi Yao’s hand.
“You’ve been selected for the competition.” After a moment, the voice from behind paused and then said, “…why are you getting physical with me?”