By the time Shi Niannian returned to class, evening reading had already begun. It was a Chinese literature evening study.
Her Chinese was very good; her essays often won awards, and she consistently ranked first in her grade in Chinese.
The Chinese teacher saw her coming in late but didn’t say much, just waved her in.
During evening study, the teacher handed out many reading materials, including essay materials and classical short stories. Shi Niannian loved reading these little stories the most.
But today she couldn’t focus.
She took out a blue marker from her pencil case and marked good phrases and useful paragraphs that could be incorporated into essays as she read.
Sitting by the window, the evening breeze blew in through the half-open window.
It ruffled the homework notebook at the corner of her desk, making the pages flutter with a rustling sound.
That person… how could he be like that?
Shi Niannian bit her teeth, recalling what Jiang Wang had whispered in her ear earlier.
“—Then thank me with a kiss.”
She blinked, her left hand pressed against her burning face, her right hand continuing to mark the paper.
In her mind appeared his face, with strong brow bones and narrow double eyelids. When his face was cold, he looked distant and unfeeling, but his voice always carried a hint of laughter, lazy and casual, with a nasal tone, exuding a roguish air.
She gripped her pen tightly, her index finger’s knuckle turning slightly white.
Her cheeks burned crimson with embarrassment and awkwardness, standing out against her fair face.
Finally, giving up, she buried her head lower, her voice completely drowned out among the reading voices.
She muttered quietly and angrily: “Pervert!”
Early the next morning, as soon as the morning self-study ended, Cai Yucai knocked on the classroom door with a stack of papers.
“Xu Fei, come here and arrange the sports meet registration.”
Xu Fei was the class sports representative.
Tall and skinny, he played basketball and had tanned skin, a very sunny disposition.
He took the forms and asked each student one by one.
Shi Niannian sat at the back. After he finished asking everyone else, the registration form already had many check marks, with Shi Niannian being the last one.
“Shi Niannian, what event do you want to register for?” Xu Fei leaned on Jiang Wang’s desk, moving closer to her desk to ask.
Jiang Wang hadn’t come to class yet.
She shook her head, indicating she didn’t want to register.
“Hmm?” Xu Fei flipped through the roster, “I remember you won an award for the 800 meters last year in your freshman year. Our class only has one person registered for the 800 meters this time. This event gives high points for awards. Why don’t you register again?”
Shi Niannian was easy to persuade. She had been convinced to register for the 800 meters in her freshman year, in the same way.
She nodded and used her pen to put a check mark in the 800 meters box corresponding to her name.
Xu Fei was about to say something else when the chair beside her was pulled out and a backpack was thrown onto the seat.
A cold voice said, “—Excuse me.”
Xu Fei quickly straightened up. Jiang Wang swung a long leg in, his eyes black, scanning Xu Fei from top to bottom.
Xu Fei held the registration form out to him: “Jiang Wang, the sports meet is coming up soon. Why don’t you register for an event too? Any event is fine.”
His voice was cold: “Not registering.”
“I heard you’re good at sports. I think you still hold the 100-meter record at First High School.” Xu Fei stood beside him, trying to persuade him. “Register for one.”
Jiang Wang frowned slightly, obviously not wanting to engage.
Xu Fei was about to say something else when the English teacher rushed in before the bell rang: “Come on! Come on, students! Let’s get started quickly. The first class is English anyway, so let’s begin!”
A boy complained below: “Teacher, I haven’t even gone to the bathroom yet!”
The English teacher glared at him: “The morning is the best time for planning the day. Where’s your enthusiasm for learning?”
Shi Niannian took out her English book and opened it. Her notes were neat and clean, using different colored pens to distinguish sections.
Jiang Wang sat in his seat, spacing out for a while, then turned his head to look at Shi Niannian. She turned her head to avoid him.
From his angle, he could see the black hair tie binding the girl’s hair.
Jiang Wang remembered how she had held her hair tie between her teeth while combing her hair last night.
Shi Niannian listened attentively, looking up at the blackboard, occasionally taking notes in her textbook.
When Jiang Wang’s hand reached over, Shi Niannian was writing. She caught it in her peripheral vision and quickly pulled her hand away. Only after she had withdrawn did she realize her reaction had been too extreme.
Like avoiding the plague, it seemed very disrespectful.
Jiang Wang laughed, his nasal tone heavy.
He tucked in his chin and looked up at her, as if mocking, or perhaps disdaining.
His tongue pressed against his back teeth, and he gave a cold laugh.
“Think I’m dirty?”