Lin Zhixia’s family background was completely different from what Jiang Yubai had imagined.
Jiang Yubai once thought that Lin Zhixia also lived in a mansion, with many tutors guiding her daily. However, based on what Jiang Yubai witnessed firsthand, Lin Zhixia was born in a completely ordinary place. Lin Zhixia’s parents did not spoil or indulge her—when she wanted a strawberry-flavored lollipop, her mother mercilessly refused.
Jiang Yubai’s parents also restricted his snacks. Thinking of this, Jiang Yubai felt a kind of sympathetic pity for Lin Zhixia.
The chef in Jiang Yubai’s home excelled at making Chinese pastries. In recent days, the osmanthus trees in the garden had bloomed, and the chefs picked fresh flowers to make a steamer basket of “Crystal Osmanthus Cakes,” mainly using premium Northeast rice, Hainan coconut oil, and Tianshui honey from Gansu. These pastries were fragrant, soft, and smooth, chewy but not greasy, worth sampling.
That morning, before going to school, Jiang Yubai found a clean lunchbox and secretly packed more than a dozen osmanthus cakes to bring to school for Lin Zhixia.
Just as the morning reading class ended, Jiang Yubai placed the lunchbox in front of Lin Zhixia.
Lin Zhixia was puzzled: “What is this?”
“Osmanthus cake,” Jiang Yubai feigned nonchalance, “it’s sweet.”
Lin Zhixia opened the lunchbox, and fragrance immediately wafted out. She had never seen such beautiful pastries before and couldn’t help asking: “Where did you buy these?”
“You can’t buy them on the market,” Jiang Yubai honestly explained, “these were made by my family’s chef…”
Before he could finish, Zhou Bufeng, who sat in front of him, suddenly turned around and grabbed two cakes, stuffing them into his mouth. While seizing the opportunity, Zhou Bufeng exclaimed loudly: “Wow! These are so delicious… so delicious I might choke! Everyone come try these… brothers of Class 1, Grade 4!”
Zhou Bufeng’s desk mate was a girl named Gan Shuli. Gan Shuli had always been a quiet, introverted girl who didn’t like to talk, and she had even drawn a “38th parallel” on her desk with correction fluid to prevent Zhou Bufeng from making contact with her. Normally, when Zhou Bufeng spoke to her, she never responded.
But now, several classmates came over, all wanting to taste the osmanthus cakes Jiang Yubai had brought.
Gan Shuli hadn’t eaten breakfast today. She couldn’t resist reaching out and also grabbed a piece from the lunchbox, responding to Zhou Bufeng’s call.
The seventeen Osmanthus cakes were divided up by everyone in the blink of an eye.
Lin Zhixia didn’t even get to taste one.
Jiang Yubai felt confused. He asked Lin Zhixia: “Why did you just watch them grab them?”
Lin Zhixia said: “Once Zhou Bufeng touched them, I didn’t want to eat them anymore.”
Jiang Yubai asked again: “If I fight with Zhou Bufeng, will the classmates tell the teacher?”
“It wouldn’t matter if they did,” Lin Zhixia calmly stated, “because the teacher would take your side. But I still think you shouldn’t fight with him… fighting doesn’t solve problems. If you hit him today, he’ll always remember it.”
Jiang Yubai tried hard to suppress his anger. He threw the lunchbox into the trash can, returned to his seat, and wiped Lin Zhixia’s desk with a tissue. At this moment, Zhou Bufeng turned his head and mocked him: “Jiang Yubai, you’re Lin Zhixia’s little shadow, hehe.”
Jiang Yubai remained silent.
Zhou Bufeng pushed Jiang Yubai’s pencil case: “Jiang Shadow, Jiang Shadow, hehe.”
Jiang Yubai adjusted his breathing. His cheeks turned slightly red, and his gaze became cold and serious.
Zhou Bufeng sensed the unusual atmosphere but couldn’t help but provoke: “You’re the desk mate of a freak, Freak Shadow! Haha.”
Jiang Yubai strongly disliked it when others referred to Lin Zhixia as a “freak.” He grabbed Zhou Bufeng’s collar and lifted him from his seat. Pencils, erasers, pencil cases, and correction tape were scattered everywhere, with nearby desks and chairs becoming disarrayed. Zhou Bufeng’s face turned solemn as he countered by grabbing Jiang Yubai’s wrist and pulling it backward forcefully. Zhou Bufeng’s nostrils emitted angry muffled sounds: “What are you doing?!”
Jiang Yubai twisted one hand forward, successfully shaking off Zhou Bufeng. In the aisle formed by the desks, Jiang Yubai stepped back, suddenly raised his leg, and his knee was about to hit Zhou Bufeng’s abdomen.
Zhou Bufeng immediately collapsed, avoiding the blow, but his left leg was stepped on by Jiang Yubai.
Just at this moment, the math teacher entered the classroom.
The math teacher’s surname was Qian, about forty years old, and she was a certified “Senior Primary School Teacher.” Teacher Qian always wore gold-rimmed glasses, observing all the students through the reflective lenses.
Teacher Qian usually spoke softly, but today, as soon as she entered the door, she angrily said: “Who’s fighting in the corner? You are fourth-grade students! You’re not little children anymore! How can you still be fighting? Both of you go to the homeroom teacher’s office! Come back when the homeroom teacher lets you, and don’t enter my classroom until then, just stand in the corridor! Let the whole grade see! Who dares to fight again!”
After she finished speaking, Zhou Bufeng quickly ran out of the classroom.
Jiang Yubai still stood in place.
He had never been scolded by a teacher before. He couldn’t react for a moment.
In the spacious and clean classroom, Teacher Qian put down her ruler and compass, placed both hands on the podium, and pointedly criticized: “Some students, to save your face, I won’t call you out by name. But you know who I’m talking about… I’m telling you, don’t think that because your family is well-off, has some money, has some capital, you can run amok and throw your weight around in our school! Before being a student, you need to learn how to be a person! I don’t care if you’re from Singapore or New Guinea, as long as you use violence in the class and fight with people, you are wrong! I’m telling you, hey, do you understand? How old are you? When you encounter something, can you only solve problems with your fists? Haven’t you studied math? Don’t you understand logical thinking? Don’t fight in a place for studying! I’m warning you! I’ll criticize you every time I see it! It’s no use complaining about me to the principal! I’ve been teaching for over twenty years, and I don’t teach students who only know how to fight!”
Teacher Qian’s last sentence was resounding.
Jiang Yubai’s face burned hot, as if someone had slapped him. Especially that line “don’t fight in a place for studying,” which made him feel extremely ashamed.
He walked out of the classroom without a word, heading toward the homeroom teacher’s office.
Lin Zhixia stared blankly at his back.
This class felt exceptionally long.
Finally enduring until the bell rang, Lin Zhixia was the first to rush out of the classroom. She saw Jiang Yubai and Zhou Bufeng both standing in the corridor as punishment, with a distance of four meters between them.
“Jiang Yubai?” Lin Zhixia called him.
But he didn’t respond to her.
Lin Zhixia softly said: “Little Chairman Jiang.”
Jiang Yubai held onto the stainless steel railing: “Don’t call me Little Chairman Jiang.”
“What are you thinking about?” Lin Zhixia stood beside him and asked.
“I know Zhou Bufeng can’t beat me,” Jiang Yubai frankly admitted, “I wanted to beat him until he cried.”
Zhou Bufeng heard Jiang Yubai’s words and jumped away, running even further. More and more classmates appeared in the corridor, their shoe soles rubbing against the plastic floor, making rising and falling “shh—swish” sounds.
Jiang Yubai turned around, looked at the many classmates, and changed his words: “But I didn’t learn martial arts… to beat up classmates.”
“It’s so good that you can think this way,” Lin Zhixia responded, “when you raised your leg to strike Zhou Bufeng, I estimated your momentum would be very strong, and that’s not something to be taken lightly. I was scared, too.”