He glanced at the dark, thin Jiang Chan and frowned. “Jiang Chan, you need to eat more if you want to grow taller. Look at what a little shorty you are!”
Jiang Chan was almost ready to fall to her knees before him. He really knew how to sting. He had just finished mocking He Qinxue, and now he was picking on her height. Still, she knew he was joking. “I can’t compare with your well-developed limbs, sir!”
Old Jiang paused. Why did that sound a little odd? Seeing that Jiang Chan had already entered the classroom, he hurried after her on his long legs.
The classroom was noisy, but at the sight of Jiang Chan entering with her schoolbag, everyone fell silent. After a long while, someone spoke. “It really is her. Things are going to get interesting!”
The expression on the student’s face was not quite happiness, and carried a certain relief now that the matter was settled.
Jiang Chan stood at the front of the classroom and looked at Old Jiang as he followed her in, silently asking where her seat was. Old Jiang widened his eyes and looked over the now-quiet students.
“This is our new classmate, Jiang Chan. Jiang Chan, introduce yourself to everyone!”
She nodded. “Hello, everyone. I’m Jiang Chan. I look forward to getting along with you!”
That was all, very brief. A student called out from below, “Tell us more! Your interests, hobbies, special skills, age, weight, things like that.”
Jiang Chan readily obliged. “My hobby is studying. As for special skills, I suppose that’s studying too. I’m seventeen.”
Old Jiang had also collected his thoughts. He pointed toward the seats. “A few students haven’t arrived yet. Have a look and choose where you’d like to sit.”
Jiang Chan glanced around. Seeing an empty place by the window, she carried her bag over to it. It was the window seat in the back row. Wherever she studied, she seemed to end up in the back row.
Old Jiang said nothing about her choice. After giving a few brief instructions, he was about to leave when he suddenly shot a wide-eyed glare in Jiang Chan’s direction.
He had thought her reply sounded a little off. Now he finally understood. He had teased her about being short, and she had indirectly called him all brawn and no brains.
Jiang Chan completely ignored his glare. She could hold a grudge too, alright? The moment Old Jiang left, the classroom grew lively again. The two male students in front of her abruptly turned around, smiling with shameless eagerness.
“Study god, take us under your wing!” Jiang Chan looked up. They were familiar faces who had attended competition classes with her.
“Do top students need someone to look after them?”
“Listen to you! You’re a study god. We’re only top students. Compared with a study god, aren’t top students a long way behind?” The slightly darker-skinned student grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.
“You’re reading a mathematics competition book? Are you planning to enter the mathematics competition?” His desk mate, a fair-skinned student in glasses, had keenly spotted the heavily annotated book open before Jiang Chan.
Jiang Chan tapped it with a finger. “Just having a look. What about you two? Aren’t you entering any competitions?”
The darker-skinned student shook his head. “I signed up for chemistry. I’m not doing mathematics, but this fellow is. He’s Song Yi, and I’m Chen Wei. Shall we get properly acquainted, new classmate?”
Jiang Chan smiled. “I hope we’ll get along over the next two years!”
Chen Wei was lively by nature. Hearing this, he wailed, “I have a feeling we’ll all be living in your shadow for the next year and a half. Ah, it’ll be hard to stand out now.”
Song Yi abruptly delivered a blow. “As though you stood out before.”
Chen Wei clutched his chest and slumped onto Song Yi’s shoulder. “Brother, life is hard enough without you exposing me! I was hoping Jiang Chan could come and take someone down a peg. So what if her grades are high? She’s got her nose so far in the air!”
Seeing Jiang Chan’s confusion, Chen Wei gestured toward a girl in the third row. “That one. She usually comes first in class. She doesn’t enter any competitions, and she always looks at us strangely.”
Jiang Chan glanced over. “What do other people’s affairs have to do with us? Just study your own books and do what you need to do.”
On the first day of the new second-year term, the morning was for collecting textbooks, and the afternoon was free. Boarding students could tidy their dorm rooms, while day students went straight home.
This was their last chance to enjoy themselves before the Placement Test. Afterward, things would become tense. Jiang Chan had left to compete immediately after last term’s final exams and had never taken her bedding and belongings home.
The sunshine was good today. She planned to air her quilt and tidy her dorm room. Carrying the local specialties she had brought that morning, Jiang Chan walked briskly toward the dormitory.
She had barely entered when three girls seized her arms and legs and sat her down on a chair in the middle of the room.
Wen Jing perched casually on the desk opposite her, with Yu Jie and Yang Liuqing standing behind her like bodyguards, lending her support.
Looking at the three girls as they prepared to interrogate her like a criminal, Jiang Chan raised an eyebrow. “What’s all this about?”
Wen Jing folded her arms and curled her lips. “Well, well, our senior has returned?”
“Exactly! We heard over winter break that someone had skipped a grade, and she didn’t even tell us about something so important!” That was Yang Liuqing.
“Xiao Chan is amazing!” Yu Jie applauded with shining eyes. Yang Liuqing flicked her forehead. “Are you silly? We’re supposed to present a united front! We have to make her admit she was wrong!”
Jiang Chan raised both hands in surrender. “Alright, my fault. I brought presents for you. Have you finished your interrogation, Your Honors?”
At the mention of presents, they could no longer keep straight faces. Yang Liuqing cheered and hugged the bag from Jiang Chan’s hands, while Yu Jie went over to look too. Wen Jing pointed at Jiang Chan, indicating that she would let her off this time.
“It wasn’t that I didn’t want to tell you. Winter break was too busy. After the grade-skipping exam, I went to the provincial capital. A child from the orphanage was having heart surgery, and I went along to look after him.”
Seeing the others eating their snacks, Jiang Chan opened a packet of pastries herself, took a small bite, and explained.
“Your winter break really was busy. Competitions, then back for an exam, then more orphanage matters. You were spinning like a top.”
Yu Jie sighed. “How did the child’s operation go? Was it successful?”
“Yes. He’s under observation after surgery now. Once Kang Kang comes home, I’ll take you to see him.”
“That’s wonderful. I’ve wanted to visit your orphanage for ages, but you’ve never had time, and we’ve all been busy with schoolwork. How about we go together during our first monthly break? We could do some volunteering too.”
Wen Jing immediately settled it. The other two had no objections. They also wanted to see the place where Jiang Chan had grown up.
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Thanks for the chapters!
I love this group of friends <3