“You Should Be on Your Knees with Gratitude”
It all started when girls from other classes would come to their classroom looking for Chen Luobai. Zhu Ran would watch from the back, laughing and teasing loudly.
“Chen Luobai, another girl’s here to ask you about math problems.”
The teasing was good-natured, and it even provided the girls with an excuse for their visits.
The girls from other classes didn’t get angry; they just blushed deeply.
Although those girls ultimately left empty-handed, the “asking about math problems” joke somehow spread like wildfire.
It started in their class, then spread to other classes, and eventually throughout the whole school. By then, whether due to embellishments or not, the phrase had taken on a different meaning.
“Can I ask you a math question?” suddenly replaced “I like you,” “Can we be together?” “Want to try dating?” and “The moonlight is beautiful tonight.” It became the new, unspoken way of confessing one’s feelings among No. 2 High School students.
A simple, ordinary sentence transformed into a secret, ambiguous expression of youthful emotions.
The key was that it was safe.
It was a question that left room for interpretation.
It was even “above board” enough to use if caught by a teacher.
The only ones who suffered were the students who genuinely needed help with math. They no longer dared to ask classmates of the opposite sex for help.
Even asking someone of the same sex wasn’t entirely “safe” anymore.
The “boys’ love” culture was already prevalent.
Girls being affectionate with each other was still fine, but when male seatmates occasionally forgot the new connotation and casually asked the question, they’d quickly realize their mistake. Before the girls, always eager for entertainment amidst the daily grind of studying, could turn to tease them, the boys would pull their desks apart, immediately establishing a “we’re just friends” distance.
As a result, the number of students directly asking math teachers for help reached unprecedented levels during this period.
This was especially noticeable in Class 2, where the joke originated.
The math teacher was utterly confused and finally couldn’t help but ask during a night study session: “What’s going on with you all lately?”
It was mid-November, with midterm exams starting the next day.
As autumn neared its end, temperatures in Nancheng had risen again. Daytime highs reached over 20°C, with nighttime temperatures in the teens. A cool autumn breeze drifted pleasantly through the windows.
Class 2’s math teacher was also their homeroom teacher, Gao Guohua, a middle-aged man who could seamlessly switch between being gentle and irascible.
After asking the question, he rubbed his receding hairline and eyed the little rascals suspiciously: “Your enthusiasm for math has been quite high lately. Why are so many of you coming to me with math questions?”
As soon as he finished speaking, the class erupted in laughter.
Some tried to hold it in, others chuckled, and a few burst out laughing.
Gao Guohua pointed at one of the loudest: “Zhu Ran, stand up. What’s so funny?”
Zhu Ran stood up, still clutching his stomach. He glanced at the young master next to him, tears of laughter in his eyes. After a few seconds, he said righteously, “Teacher, I’m just happy about our class’s unprecedented enthusiasm for learning. I think our class will not only maintain its position as first in the grade but also leave Class 1 several points behind in average scores.”
Gao Guohua felt something was off.
But after thinking it over, he couldn’t pinpoint what exactly was wrong.
He didn’t understand why they were laughing so hard.
Maybe there was a generation gap.
But Zhu Ran’s words pleased him, so he nodded: “Sit down.”
Just as Zhu Ran was about to sit, Gao Guohua saw someone effortlessly lift Zhu Ran’s chair and move it aside right in front of him.
Before Gao Guohua could warn him, Zhu Ran had already sat down on the floor.
“Chen Luobai, stand up.”
As soon as Gao Guohua spoke, most of the clueless students in the class immediately turned to look. Zhou Anran, pretending to follow the crowd, also turned to watch him.
“Why did you pull Zhu Ran’s chair away?”
From a moderate distance, Zhou Anran saw the boy still casually holding the “evidence” of his crime. The small mole on his wrist was blurred by the distance. He stood with a lazy, relaxed posture, the corner of his mouth slightly curved upward, as he casually glanced at Zhu Ran on the floor.
“Teacher, he was disturbing my math studies.”
Whether it was her imagination or not, Zhou Anran felt he emphasized the word “math” slightly.
Maybe it wasn’t just her, because the class suddenly burst into laughter again.
Gao Guohua, unaware that Zhu Ran was the instigator of everyone’s recent enthusiasm for math, was left even more confused by their laughter.
However, as a teacher, he naturally favored students with excellent grades. Moreover, Chen Luobai’s reason sounded quite legitimate, and he knew that Chen Luobai and Zhu Ran were good friends, so it was probably just playful banter.
In the end, he just pointed at Chen Luobai and said resignedly, “Sit down, and no more fooling around during self-study time.”
Zhu Ran stood up, rubbing his backside. He wasn’t really upset but pretended to look aggrieved as he said, “Teacher, you’re playing favorites. You should at least make him stand at the back for half a class period.”
Gao Guohua glanced at him, immediately seeing through his act: “You were laughing so loud the next class could probably hear you. Should I make you stand at the back for half a class period too?”
Zhu Ran made a zipping motion across his mouth, indicating he’d be quiet.
“Alright, alright, everyone focuses,” Gao Guohua said. “The midterms start tomorrow. If you don’t beat Class 1, I’ll settle accounts with all of you later.”
Zhou Anran turned back with everyone else.
But the boy’s smile from earlier seemed imprinted in her mind.