Zhang Zhiyuan's timely appearance broke the awkward silence in the cssroom. He had overheard a few sentences in the hallway and had a general idea of what was going on, so he came in to help Zhuang Zi'ang out of the predicament.
"Zhuang Zi'ang, come with me for a moment. The rest of you, continue with the css meeting."
Li Huangxuan was puzzled. "Mr. Zhang, why have you been calling on Zhuang Zi'ang so often tely?"
Zhang Zhiyuan said sternly, "Worry about yourself first. Why haven't you turned in your self-reflection essay yet?"
Li Huangxuan immediately shut his mouth. His phone had been confiscated, and his entire weekend had been utterly tasteless.
On the way to the office, Zhang Zhiyuan asked Zhuang Zi'ang, "I saw that Lin Mushi looked like she was about to cry. Did you tell her?"
Zhuang Zi'ang said, "We bumped into each other at the hospital. She saw the test report."
"What did the doctor say?"
"To look on the bright side."
After this brief exchange, they fell into a long silence. Zhang Zhiyuan didn't know how to comfort him, so he just walked with his head down in silence. Zhuang Zi'ang walked with his hands in his pockets, with an "I don't care anymore" attitude.
When they arrived at the office, several other teachers were already there. Zhang Zhiyuan sat down in his office chair, habitually taking a sip of his goji berry tea, and gnced at Zhuang Zi'ang.
"Do you know why I called you here?"
Zhuang Zi'ang thought for a moment. "Did the monthly exam papers come out?"
Zhang Zhiyuan smmed his hand on the table. "What kind of nonsense are you trying to pull? Who is Su Yudiel from Css 23?"
"Mr. Zhang, if I said I was just absent-minded and wrote the wrong name, would you believe me?" Zhuang Zi'ang shrugged.
Zhang Zhiyuan wanted to lose his temper, but considering Zhuang Zi'ang's physical condition, he forced himself to hold back. As the top student in the grade for two consecutive years, Zhuang Zi'ang's exam papers were always closely scrutinized by the teachers.
This time, after the papers were graded and the sealed name sections were removed, they couldn't find his paper at first. However, it didn't take long for the teachers to easily identify him. Aside from the name and css, everything else—student ID number, handwriting, score—confirmed that it was undoubtedly Zhuang Zi'ang's paper.
This little prank, however, had caused quite a stir at the school. The Dean of Students specifically called a meeting of teachers to discuss it. The main point of discussion was whether Zhuang Zi'ang's score this time should be considered valid.
The pro side argued that Zhuang Zi'ang was just pying a harmless joke, and that he was still serious about answering the questions. He still achieved the highest overall score in the grade, so it should be valid.
The con side argued that this kind of disregard for the rules should not be encouraged. If he couldn't even write his name correctly, his score, no matter how high, should be zero. He needed to be severely punished, and his score should be invalidated.
The two sides were locked in a heated debate and argued for a long time without reaching a conclusion. Zhang Zhiyuan had called Zhuang Zi'ang in to hear his own expnation. Seeing his carefree attitude, it was clear that he didn't feel any remorse.
"Mr. Zhang, can you tell me if this Su Yudiel is the top student in her grade?" Zhuang Zi'ang asked with a smile.
"Consider yourself lucky, kid. Deng Haijun was only two points behind you," Zhang Zhiyuan said, giving him a sidelong gnce, indirectly answering his question.
"Alright, I'm a practical person. I don't care about empty titles. Just let the score be invalidated!" Zhuang Zi'ang said magnanimously. Getting the de facto first pce was enough for him; he could now make his request to Little Butterfly (his nickname for Su Yudiel). The ranking on the score sheet was no longer important. Deng Haijun had been coveting that throne for two years; he could fulfill his wish for once.
Zhang Zhiyuan sighed and softened his tone. "Alright, I'll expin to the Dean that you've been under a lot of pressure these years and wanted to let loose a little. I can understand that. But don't do anything too outrageous."
"Then can you return Li Huangxuan's phone to him? I promise I won't do it again," Zhuang Zi'ang said, taking advantage of the situation.
"Here, take it. This thing is pretty expensive. I can't afford to repce it if it gets lost here," Zhang Zhiyuan said, opening a drawer and tossing the phone onto the desk.
"Thank you, Mr. Zhang. May you live a hundred years," Zhuang Zi'ang said with a grin, picking up the phone.
Hearing the blessing "live a hundred years," Zhang Zhiyuan felt a pang of sadness. After learning about Zhuang Zi'ang's condition, he couldn't bring himself to be strict with him anymore. He just hoped that this excellent student could feel more warmth in his limited remaining days.
"If there's nothing else, can I go back to css now?" Zhuang Zi'ang raised an eyebrow.
"Wait a minute. There's a teacher who wants to talk to you privately. He's on his way," Zhang Zhiyuan said, stopping him.
"Which teacher?"
"He's coming from the West Campus, so it might take some time."
Zhuang Zi'ang was puzzled. He didn't know any teachers from the West Campus. Each grade had different academic tasks and schedules, so the school divided each grade into separate campuses to avoid students influencing each other.
Zhuang Zi'ang was currently on the East Campus. When they first started, they had also spent a year on the West Campus. The students currently on the West Campus were two grades below them, and they hardly had any interaction. The two campuses were connected by a narrow staircase.
After a while, there was a knock on the door. A teacher in his thirties, well-dressed and with a schorly air, stood at the doorway.
Zhang Zhiyuan quickly got up and warmly shook his hand. "Xiao Li, it's been a while."
The other teacher smiled and greeted him back. Then Zhang Zhiyuan introduced him to Zhuang Zi'ang. "This is Teacher Li Junnan."
Zhuang Zi'ang lowered his voice. "I don't know him. Why does he want to see me?"
Zhang Zhiyuan shook his head slightly, indicating that he didn't know either.
Li Junnan looked at Zhuang Zi'ang and smiled warmly. "Student Zhuang Zi'ang, would you mind taking a walk with me?"
Zhuang Zi'ang immediately said, "Of course." This Teacher Li made a very good first impression. His smile, in particur, was very comforting, like a pleasant spring breeze.
After leaving the office, Li Junnan led Zhuang Zi'ang up the stairs, all the way to the rooftop. From here, they could see almost the entire campus. Tall ginkgo trees swayed in the wind. The warm sunlight felt pleasant on their faces.
Li Junnan took a deep breath before speaking to Zhuang Zi'ang. "I heard that you wrote Su Yudiel's name on your monthly exam paper."
Zhuang Zi'ang was surprised. "Sir, you know her?"
Li Junnan nodded slightly. "I'm her homeroom teacher."
Zhuang Zi'ang suddenly understood. All his previous confusion was cleared up. No wonder he couldn't find Su Yudiel's name in the guardhouse's computer system or among the students surnamed Su in the exam hall.
So she was a student at the West Campus, his junior. He had thought she was the same age as him!
There were a total of 25 csses on the West Campus. She wasn't lying when she said she was from Css 23. The two campuses had a difference in elevation.
The structure of the teaching building was somewhat unique. There was a connecting corridor on the roof that led to the staircase going to the West Campus.
Zhuang Zi'ang thought to himself, so every time Little Butterfly parted ways with him at the stairs, she was actually going upstairs back to the West Campus. Since the two campuses had different schedules, she could buy ice cream before his css ended and wait for him.
Everything made sense now.
"Why did you write her name on your paper?" Li Junnan asked.
"I missed her a lot, and I wrote it without thinking," Zhuang Zi'ang answered honestly.
"She is indeed a very lovely girl. I miss her a lot too," Li Junnan said, his eyes slightly red.
