The summer heat in Lin City was oppressive, the sky brilliantly blue with white clouds tinged with a hint of dryness.
After last night’s rain, the temperature didn’t drop but rose instead.
Cicadas chirped noisily, and on the school’s black iron fence, wild roses bloomed beautifully.
Xu You, carrying a white backpack, leaned over the second-floor railing, peering through gaps in the dense tree shadows at the lively basketball court in the distance. On the sun-scorched rubber track, a group of boys ran about.
After waiting a while longer, Chen Lizhi finally emerged from the administrative office with a young female teacher.
Xu You straightened up and called out obediently, “Auntie.”
Chen Lizhi nodded, took her arm, and said with a smile to the slightly plump woman beside her, “I’m entrusting our child to you then.”
Xu Huiru pushed up her glasses, looked down at the name on the roster, and read aloud: “Xu You, what a coincidence—she shares my surname.”
Lin City No. 1 Middle School was the best private school in Lin City.
Because her parents’ work required relocation, Xu You came along to this northern metropolis. Through her aunt’s connections, she transferred into this school as an insertion student.
No. 1 Middle School had both junior high and senior high divisions, with most students being local and relatively few boarding students.
When her father brought her, he lectured and admonished her the entire journey, telling her to study hard once she got there and not waste time.
Xu You had always excelled academically since childhood, was well-behaved and didn’t cause trouble, and had strict family discipline.
Seeing Xu You’s docile demeanor, Xu Huiru felt quite satisfied.
She couldn’t help thinking that finally a proper-looking transfer student had arrived who could help straighten out the class atmosphere.
After thinking this, she felt a bit worried again.
This child was so quiet and gentle—she looked like she’d be easily bullied.
She had been assigned as the homeroom teacher of Class 9 last semester and had really worried herself sick over it for half a year.
The students in that class were more troublesome than the last.
They didn’t respect teachers, didn’t care about class collective honor, and liked fighting and causing trouble.
For a private elite school like No. 1 Middle School, it was naturally full of wealthy young masters and misses. But Class 9 was especially notorious for having many such students, a group that was particularly rebellious.
Each one had a more unruly temperament than the next, along with quite a strong sense of superiority.
After collecting textbooks from the materials office, Xu You followed the homeroom teacher to class. The bell had just rung for break, and male and female students in uniforms walked past them in twos and threes.
In the hallway, they ran into two boys wearing basketball jerseys head-on. As soon as they saw Xu Huiru, they immediately stopped and saluted, both shouting in unison: “Hello, Teacher Xu!”
Their booming voices startled Xu You.
The male students from the north all seemed to be this tall and imposing, with particularly loud voices.
Xu Huiru nodded in acknowledgment and casually asked, “Did you just finish PE class?”
“Hehe.” One of them, a dark-skinned boy dripping with sweat, stretched his neck to peek at Xu You standing quietly behind the homeroom teacher and asked with a grin, “Teacher, is this the new student in our class?”
Xu Huiru waved her hand, shooing them away: “Mind your own business.”
They walked away.
Xu Huiru instructed her: “From now on, don’t pay too much attention to those unscholarly boys in class. Study hard, understand?”
Xu You nodded, “I understand, Teacher.”
“Good.”
Xu Huiru looked at the cotton dress she was wearing and remembered: “After morning classes, go to the main hall of Zhicheng Building to pick up your uniform.”
Around a corner, Class 9 was right next to the staircase.
The classroom was lively and noisy, with students chasing and playing around, voices clamoring, everyone doing their own thing. The moment Xu Huiru stepped through the door, it gradually quieted down.
Everyone’s eyes focused on the unfamiliar transfer student appearing in the classroom behind the homeroom teacher.
Xu You held her books and stood near the podium.
Bright sunlight gently outlined her figure, soft black hair falling over her chest. A white dress that reached just past her knees, short cotton socks, exposing pale ankles.
Since the next physics class was about to start and the teacher was already waiting at the door, Xu Huiru didn’t plan to have Xu You give a self-introduction. She simply clapped her hands and briefly said to them: “This is a new student named Xu You. Everyone welcome her.”
A brief silence.
“Welcome, new student.”
Some mischievous boys in the back row sat on their desks, elbows propped on their knees, and whistled at Xu You, accompanied by laughter from several other boys.
“Alright, alright, don’t fool around!”
Xu Huiru slapped a desk with one hand, stopping the atmosphere from getting rowdy. Her eyes scanned around, then her finger casually pointed toward the back of the fourth group, saying to Xu You: “You sit in that empty seat first.”
After two seconds, Xu Huiru seemed to realize this wasn’t appropriate. She hesitated for a moment and patted Xu You’s shoulder: “Sit there for a while. We’ll change seats next week.”
“Okay.”
So under the entire class’s gaze, Xu You walked through the gaps between groups and stopped in the aisle of one of the last few rows at the back of the fourth group.
It was very messy there, with several half-smoked, extinguished cigarette butts scattered on the floor. Books and draft paper were piled haphazardly on the desks and chairs, and there was even a basketball under a stool.
Xu You paused and stood there, a bit hesitant.