Chapter 28: Conflict

“…”

Swish. The homeroom teacher drew the curtains, instantly adding a layer of gloom to the small office. She poured herself a glass of water, saying, “Lu Yansheng, your grades weren’t great when you started; you barely scraped past the admission line. It wasn’t easy getting in here, so you need to work hard. Don’t slack off.”

“Mmh.” Shi Yue saw Lu Yansheng nod heavily, his expression indicating he took the teacher’s words to heart.

“Your parents have it tough, moving here from the countryside, hoping for you to succeed. Your grandmother takes care of you at home, right?”

“Mmh.”

“Talk to your family more. Your grandmother says you’re very obedient, just too timid. Afraid of strangers.” The teacher paused, holding her water cup as she stood before him. “Classmates have also mentioned that sometimes… during study hall, you suddenly scream and disturb everyone’s studying. No one understands you. Why do you get so startled during study hall or breaks?”

“…I… I didn’t…”

Lu Yansheng stammered, his lips trembling, his ears flushing red. Seeing he couldn’t speak, the teacher didn’t push him, only speaking earnestly: “Lu Yansheng, you studied hard to get into this school. You need to keep at it. You’ve come this far in your education, don’t waste it.”

“…Mmh.”

“You need to integrate into the group, don’t reject your classmates. Try to be bolder; don’t get startled over little things. You’re a boy; it’s embarrassing to say you’re afraid of everything. You should work on your courage. Don’t be so afraid of strangers; you’re not a child anymore, and you’re not a girl. It’s past the age for acting spoiled.”

“Mmh-hm.” Lu Yansheng nodded obediently.

“Wang Xuelai,” after finishing with Lu Yansheng, the teacher turned to the female student beside Shi Yue. “What about your issues? Let’s hear it.”

“I don’t have any issues, Teacher.”

Wang Xuelai’s voice was unexpectedly pleasant and crisp, like the twittering of birds in the early morning. Shi Yue subconsciously glanced at her a few more times. Pitch-black, straight hair cascaded down from the top of her head, covering her narrow shoulders. Scallion-white fingers, a face as soft and white as a boiled egg, thin red lips like a touch of vermilion on rice paper. Her quiet, placid eyes were like deep earth covered by white snow. Her frail body seemed as if it could be blown over by the wind. Her tranquil gaze was like still water. Her snow-white skin interwoven with deep black hair resembled a white moon drifting in a snowy night.

“She really lives up to her name [Xuelai: Snow Comes],” Shi Yue couldn’t help but think.

The homeroom teacher adjusted her glasses, seemingly surprised by Wang Xuelai’s answer. She leaned closer to Wang Xuelai and said, “Really? But some students have told me that not only do you not get along well with others, but you’ve also had quite a few conflicts with your deskmate. What happened? Tell me.”

“…” Wang Xuelai looked away, silent for a moment before speaking. “It’s Qin Yong’s fault. He kept annoying me and disturbing my studying during class, so I tore up his book. He said he was going to get someone to beat me up, so I hit him first.”

…?

Shi Yue was a little surprised. She never paid attention to class affairs, and she and Wang Xuelai sat in opposite corners of the classroom, so they had never interacted. But looking at Wang Xuelai’s appearance… Shi Yue really couldn’t imagine her hitting someone.

I guess you really can’t judge a book by its cover.

“That kid Qin Yong again…”

The homeroom teacher patted her forehead helplessly and immediately began to comfort the obedient-looking Wang Xuelai. It seemed Wang Xuelai’s grades had slipped because her constant conflicts with her deskmate, Qin Yong, had reached the point of affecting her ability to listen in class. Originally, her high school entrance exam and admission test scores were good, but after a month, she had actually failed a subject in the monthly exam.

“We’re changing seats this month anyway. Don’t worry, I’ll move Qin Yong next to the lectern. You just study hard and catch up on what you missed. And try to have a good relationship with your classmates; don’t always get into conflicts. You need to integrate into the group.”

“I’ll try, Teacher.”

The teacher nodded in satisfaction. Just as she was about to turn to Shi Yue, the office door suddenly opened, and an energetic figure bounded in.

“Bu Yang! You’re here? Come, come!”

The teacher hurriedly beckoned Bu Yang over. Shi Yue glanced at her. She recognized Bu Yang as their class’s study commissary and the Chinese class representative. Not only were her grades excellent, but she was also cheerful every day. As soon as she enrolled, she mingled well with several cliques in the class and was extremely popular. Perhaps her cute appearance was part of the reason. Slender calves supported a petite figure, and her wheat-colored skin in the shimmering sunlight looked like oats swaying freely in midsummer. A cute baby face paired with round, black pearl-like eyes, and her bob cut, neat as a knife’s edge, bobbed up and down with her bouncing movements, like an energetic Egyptian cat.

As soon as Bu Yang entered and saw the trio sitting in a row, she couldn’t help but rush over to greet them. “Classmate Lu!” “Classmate Wang!” “Classmate Shi!” Her face was brimming with an enthusiastic smile, her hands waving at the three of them like flowers, her eyes squinting into upward-curving slits.

“…Hello, Classmate Bu,” Wang Xuelai greeted back awkwardly.

“Ah, hello,” Shi Yue chimed in.

“Bu Yang, I wanted to tell you something. We’re changing seats this month, and I plan to seat you with the three of them so you can help guide them. Is that okay?”

“Huh? No problem!”

Bu Yang smiled like a little sun. She greeted the three of them again, her enthusiasm making Shi Yue feel embarrassed. Wang Xuelai mechanically returned the greeting again, while Lu Yansheng glanced at her and then lowered his head.

The homeroom teacher drew open the curtains, and rich sunlight instantly flooded in. She looked at Shi Yue: “Shi Yue didn’t come last week and missed a lot of lessons. Bu Yang, take good care of her. She’s from a single-parent family; it’s not easy. Fortunately, Shi Yue has a good foundation, and her monthly exam scores were good, but missing last week is a lot… Shi Yue, you work hard too, don’t fall behind. As long as you’re willing to work hard, I’m not worried about you.”

“Understood, Teacher.” Shi Yue squeezed out a polite smile.

“Also, Shi Yue, you too—you don’t talk to your classmates at all. Even now, many people in the class don’t know you. Do you recognize everyone in the class?”

The teacher took out a roster, pointed to a name, and asked Shi Yue, “Do you know who this is?” Shi Yue stared silently at the dense list of names, spacing out. To be honest, she really didn’t.

“It’s not okay not to know your own classmates. Bu Yang, when you have time, help Shi Yue make more friends. It’s been a month since school started, and she doesn’t even know all her classmates’ names. That won’t do.”

“Pfft, heehee~” Bu Yang covered her mouth and chuckled softly. “Classmate Shi is so spaced out, it’s cute!”

“Alright, that’s all. You guys go back first; we’ll change seats after school.” The teacher specifically instructed Shi Yue, “Review more when you go back. I’ve also spoken to the other subject teachers and asked them to look out for you. You need to catch up quickly!”

“…Thank you, Teacher.”

The three of them followed Bu Yang out of the office. Shi Yue let out a breath. The teacher was still taking care of her… maybe it was just the red envelope her dad used that worked, but regardless, she could see the teacher was responsible toward her.

“Hey, don’t you guys make friends usually…”

Bu Yang seemed infected by the fine weather of high noon. As soon as they came out, she pestered Shi Yue and the others to chat. However, the three were more silent than the last. No matter how Bu Yang tried to start a conversation, the three remained as unmelting as hard ice.

“Classmate Shi, you’re the most mysterious one in our class! You don’t talk to classmates at all~ Tell me, what do you like to do usually—”

Thud. In her excitement, Bu Yang didn’t notice someone beside her and accidentally bumped into them. She turned to look and saw a group of students she didn’t recognize… oh no, there was one from her class; she spotted him immediately.

“Classmate Qin Yong, hello!”

“Oh, hello…”

Qin Yong glanced at Bu Yang, but inadvertently caught sight of Wang Xuelai following behind Shi Yue. He froze instantly.

“Wang Xuelai, didn’t you say last time that if I dared to touch you, you’d teach me a lesson? I’m going to ruin your face right now, let’s see what you do then!”