Dong Sunqi slowly stood up to let the students in the last row see his inventory.
Looking over, everyone could see that on Dong Sunqi’s desk were stacked seven “Tiger Team Adventures” books.
“Tiger Team Adventures” was a series of books popular throughout the school. Students were keen on reading them while using a transparent “decoding card” to find clues in the books.
One “Tiger Team Adventures” book costs 18 yuan.
Buying them yourself would be a loss.
But borrowing them from classmates would be very worthwhile.
Dong Sunqi was a long-term supplier of “Tiger Team Adventures,” and he had good relationships with everyone in the class. Besides “Tiger Team Adventures,” he also frequently purchased series like “Goosebumps,” “Ghost Blows Out the Light,” and other book series to satisfy the extensive extracurricular reading needs of his classmates.
Dong Sunqi once claimed: My family has money! I’m loaded with cash!
Therefore, his nickname was “Dong Wanguan” (Dong Thousands), and some people called him “Young Master Dong.”
Zhou Bufeng led the way to Dong Sunqi’s desk, calling out: “Dong Wanguan, lend me a book to read! I’ll return it next week.” As more people came to borrow books, the area around Dong Sunqi became noisy.
Jiang Yubai’s side became somewhat quieter.
Lin Zhixia tidied up her desk and said to Jiang Yubai: “In our city, the best schools are all public schools. Public school tuition isn’t expensive… the school choice fee might be a bit more expensive. But compared to private elementary schools in Singapore, our good schools are still much cheaper.”
“What do you mean by ‘your Singapore’?” Jiang Yubai said impatiently, “I’m not Singaporean, I’m Chinese.”
Lin Zhixia tilted her head: “I’m sorry. Are you angry?”
She blinked, her eyes very innocent.
Jiang Yubai blushed as she stared at him. He could only turn his head to look the other way before answering: “I’m not angry.”
“That’s good!” Lin Zhixia clapped once, “Move aside, don’t block my way. The break is only ten minutes, I want to go play card flipping.”
“Card flipping” was a fun little game popular throughout the school. This game had been circulating in the entire school for a long time, originally started by upper-grade students, then passed down to lower grades, and even became popular in all elementary schools across the city.
Before participating in the “card flipping” game, one first needed to prepare 1 yuan as startup capital.
This 1 yuan could buy 40 small cards at the small shop at the school gate. The back of each card was covered with interlaced blue patterns, while the front featured different characters from the Japanese anime “Pokémon”—including Pikachu, Togepi, Psyduck, Bulbasaur, Chikorita, and more.
At the start of the game, two students would stand on opposite sides of a desk, show their cards, then flip them face down on the table. Then, they would slightly bend down and take turns slapping the table with their palms—whoever could flip the cards over would get to keep them.
“What’s so fun about this?” Jiang Yubai asked in shock.
Jiang Yubai watched the fascinated looks of his classmates, especially Lin Zhixia, who was also enjoying herself… Jiang Yubai found it incomprehensible.
A new round of cards began.
In this round, Lin Zhixia faced off against Dong Sunqi.
Lin Zhixia wore a pink long-sleeved shirt and gray jeans, her figure thin and frail. Her wrists were too slender, soft and weak, seemingly incapable of generating enough force to flip two cards over.
Facing such an opponent, Dong Sunqi did warm-up exercises on the spot. He bounced up and down a few times, stretched his arms and legs, and prepared himself: “I’ll go first!”
Lin Zhixia cheerfully agreed: “Okay! You go first!”
She placed a “Mew” card.
The onlooking classmates exclaimed: “Mew! Mew is so rare! A sixth-grade senior is willing to pay 3 yuan for a Mew card!”
“How about it?” Lin Zhixia said, “I put down Mew, what will you put down?”
Dong Sunqi felt the pressure of a strong opponent. He had to stay calm. He took a breath, the air settling in his lungs. He spread his five fingers, gripping the two corners of the table: “I’ll put down… Pikachu!”
“Ah! Pikachu!” Another classmate commented, “Last time I spent 7 yuan and bought several hundred cards, but couldn’t get a single Pikachu! Class Monitor Dong, you’re so generous!”
Dong Sunqi raised his palm and pressed it down, gesturing for the crowd to be quiet.
He said: “I’m our Class 1’s monitor, who else would be generous if not me?” He looked at Lin Zhixia: “I’m going to make my move!”
Lin Zhixia urged: “Hurry up, don’t waste my time.”
Dong Sunqi bent down, using all his might, and slammed his palm heavily on the desk, with such force it seemed like he wanted to crack the entire table.
The two cards on the table didn’t move at all.
Dong Sunqi’s expression crumbled.
“Hahahahaha, it’s my turn!” Lin Zhixia was extremely happy.
She knelt on a chair, flattened her right hand, adjusted the angle, and muttered something.
What was she saying?
Jiang Yubai couldn’t help but walk over to eavesdrop. He was very close to Lin Zhixia. He heard Lin Zhixia say: “Angle thirty-seven degrees, torque in this direction…”
Then, she gently slapped the table, and both cards flipped over simultaneously, revealing the faces of “Mew” and “Pikachu.”
The classmates applauded for her: “Lin Zhixia, you’re so strong!”
“Oh, just got lucky.” Lin Zhixia happily collected the cards and joined the group of girls to play string games.
Dong Sunqi sat on his chair, dumbfounded, silently grieving the departure of “Pikachu.” His expression was sad and melancholic, with nearby classmates consoling him: “Class Monitor Dong, don’t be sad.”
Dong Sunqi shook his head. His gaze penetrated the window, looking far into the sky: “No, I’m not sad. Victory and defeat are both the meaning of battle… What I wanted to protect, I ultimately lost! Farewell, Pikachu!”
Jiang Yubai muttered: “Lunatic.”
These Class 4(1) students still carried the childishness of third grade, not yet developing the steadiness of fourth grade. Jiang Yubai walked out of the classroom, wanting to get some fresh air, when the phone in his pocket suddenly began to vibrate violently. He stood in the corridor, took out his phone, and answered: “Hello?”
His family’s driver replied: “Young Master Jiang, you left your water bottle in the car. I just discovered it and am bringing it to your school right now…”
“No need,” Jiang Yubai insisted, “I’m not thirsty, I don’t want to drink. No need to bring me the water bottle.”
The driver’s tone was anxious: “That won’t do, Young Master Jiang. Children are growing every day, and I’m already at your school gate.”
While Jiang Yubai was talking to the driver, he vaguely sensed someone behind him. He turned around, and Lin Zhixia was standing right behind him. She looked as if she had just uncovered a huge secret, staring at him with wide eyes.
He stepped back, his back touching the cold railing.
He asked: “Why are you looking at me again?”
Lin Zhixia asked instead: “Are you afraid of me?”
Jiang Yubai asked back: “What’s there to be afraid of about you?”
Lin Zhixia stated: “Some of my relatives call me a freak. Just like your relatives… call you Young Master Jiang?”
Jiang Yubai’s driver wasn’t local, but had worked for the Jiang family for a long time, and was used to calling Jiang Yubai’s father “Mr. Jiang,” and consequently called Jiang Yubai “Young Master Jiang.”
Jiang Yubai disliked being called “Young Master Jiang.” But he was too embarrassed to ask them to change it—that would make him seem narrow-minded, actually caring about a mere title.
He was about to speak when the bell for class rang.
Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai returned to the classroom one after another, quietly sitting back in their seats.
Today the sunshine was bright, with white light spots falling on the desk, making the wooden surface gleam gold and silver. Lin Zhixia found it fascinating, holding a ruler to chase the bright spots. She also imitated others, calling him: “Young Master Jiang.”
He avoided her gaze, turning his face to the side: “If you call me that again, I won’t play with you.”
Lin Zhixia became more amused and called out again: “Young Master Jiang.”
In elementary school, many classmates like to give others nicknames, and they especially like calling others by these nicknames. Lin Zhixia once thought this behavior was very boring.
But when Lin Zhixia discovered how fun it was to call someone by a nickname, she couldn’t stop. Especially when the person was more embarrassed, she became more curious and couldn’t help calling him: “Young Master Jiang, Young Master Jiang, Young Master Jiang… Young Master Jiang!”
Jiang Yubai slammed his fist hard on the desk.