Chapter 34: First Day Back: A Morning of Surprises and Familiar Routines

September 5th, Monday, six o’clock in the morning.

Zhong Tian awoke naturally.

He rose, stretching languidly, his spirit returning with the movement, before slipping his feet into slippers and heading to the bathroom to wash up.

While washing up, Zhong Tian vaguely heard the hum of the kitchen range hood, accompanied by the familiar sizzle of eggs hitting a hot pan.

Having finished his ablutions, Zhong Tian tidied his hair, preparing to change.

He retrieved the breast forms and bra from his wardrobe, donning them with practiced ease.

He then bounced lightly on the spot a couple of times, ensuring their stability.

Zhong Tian slipped into his familiar school uniform, slung his canvas bag over his shoulder, and stood before the full-length mirror.

The female uniform of Taisugi Senior High was an uncommon design: a shirt dress with a hemline that fell just past the knee.

Donning this student attire, Zhong Tian exuded an undeniable girlish charm, appearing both pure and youthfully vibrant.

He adjusted his expression in the mirror, allowing himself to re-familiarize with the cold, indifferent demeanor he adopted at school.

‘Hmm, that’s better,’ he thought, satisfied.

His mood regarding the start of school remained as calm as ever.

‘Ren, on the other hand, would likely be brimming with excitement right now,’ he mused.

‘No, wait. He might not even be awake yet.’

Pondering this, he decided to give Ren a call.

Unexpectedly, the call connected almost immediately.

-Hello? Hello? Hello?-

The voice on the other end sounded remarkably energetic, far from someone who had just woken up.

-Oh? You’re up this early?-

-No, no, I haven’t slept at all.-

-Huh?-

-I pulled an all-nighter playing games.-

-You pulled an all-nighter on the first day of school?!-

-Huh??-

Li Jianren’s bewildered tone left Zhong Tian utterly speechless.

-You didn’t forget school starts today, did you?-

-Huh??? School starts today? Oh my god!-

Li Jianren abruptly hung up.

****

‘Unbelievable,’ Zhong Tian thought, shaking his head with a mixture of helplessness and amusement.

He then exited his room and took a seat at the table where breakfast had already been laid out.

Su Linxi had prepared breakfast for three and was already seated at the dining table, awaiting Zhong Tian’s arrival.

“Your sister isn’t up yet. Go ahead and eat.”

Zhong Tian glanced at the breakfast before him, finding it remarkably familiar.

‘Ah, the usual three dishes I make,’ he realized.

Fried eggs, pan-fried dumplings, and hot milk.

Zhong Tian took a bite, finding the fried eggs and pan-fried dumplings quite delicious.

Su Linxi had cooked the eggs perfectly, half-boiled and half-fried, while the dumplings were a delightful blend of color, aroma, and taste.

Though he knew these three staples often tasted similar no matter who prepared them, Zhong Tian felt a slight pleasant surprise.

‘Su Linxi is quite skilled at making breakfast,’ he mused.

‘Even Zhong Jing, with her somewhat picky palate, should approve.’

A sense of relief washed over Zhong Tian.

After finishing breakfast, Zhong Tian headed to the bathroom to check and tidy his appearance, ensuring nothing was amiss before he left.

Zhong Tian commuted to school by bicycle.

The previous evening, he had already thoroughly cleaned the bicycle that had been gathering dust all summer, inflated its tires, and made all necessary preparations.

Now, he simply mounted the bike, adjusted his skirt to prevent it from getting caught in the wheels, and set off.

Of course, he was also wearing safety shorts beneath his skirt, allowing him to cycle with peace of mind.

A bus stop stood outside his residential complex, but Zhong Tian had no desire to use it.

The reason stemmed from an incident during his first year of high school: while riding the bus home alone, the vehicle had been quite crowded, forcing Zhong Tian to stand.

Throughout the journey, a man had persistently pressed against him from behind, shifting and moving.

Zhong Tian hadn’t paid it much mind at the time, but upon returning home and showering, he discovered mysterious liquid stains on the back of his skirt…

The discovery had nearly made Zhong Tian faint from disgust.

This incident had left him with a lingering psychological trauma.

To this day, Zhong Tian remained wary, unwilling to board a public bus.

Though cycling was tiring, he considered it a form of exercise.

Zhong Tian, breathless from a summer devoid of exercise, continued his ride.

****

Lin Yu left her home.

Her house was quite close to the school, prompting her to choose walking as her mode of transport.

She walked directly into a noodle shop named ‘Summer Slumber.’

‘Summer Slumber’ was currently packed, with most of its patrons being students from Taisugi Senior High.

“Nanjin,” Lin Yu greeted, spotting the familiar figure, and took a seat across from her.

-My dear Lin, you’ve finally arrived!-

-Ahaha… I overslept a little.-

-If you’d been five minutes later, I would have left without you, you know.-

Jiang Nanjin chuckled, unwrapping a pair of disposable chopsticks for Lin Yu.

After rinsing them with hot tea, she handed them over.

-I ordered you a bowl of beef noodles.-

Lin Yu accepted the chopsticks from Jiang Nanjin and began to eat her noodles with haste, knowing she only had fifteen minutes before being late.

-No need to rush, Lin.-

-It’s easy for you to say when you’re not the one eating…-

-While I’ve finished, I’m still waiting for you, aren’t I?-

Jiang Nanjin grinned.

-I’m even risking being late just to wait for you. How about that? Am I not incredibly noble?-

Lin Yu offered no reply, merely rolling her eyes.

She cast her gaze down at the still half-full bowl of noodle soup, feeling that sometimes, too large a portion wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

****

At the gates of Taisugi Senior High.

Zhong Tian parked his bicycle, then looked up at the familiar school entrance, exhaling slowly.

‘Why do I feel a strange sense of nervousness?’ he wondered.

Entering the school gates, Zhong Tian navigated to the second-year teaching building, guided by the details in his memory of the school notices, and found his way to Class 2-3 on the second floor.

With five minutes remaining until the designated assembly time, more than half of the classroom seats were already occupied.

As the homeroom teacher hadn’t issued a new seating chart, everyone had taken their old places.

Zhong Tian’s seat was by the aisle.

His deskmate hadn’t arrived yet, allowing Zhong Tian to easily return to his spot and sit down.

His seat was almost identical to his one in the first-year teaching building: by the aisle window, it featured a narrow windowsill perfect for small items like water bottles or potted plants, making it both practical and aesthetically pleasing.

Zhong Tian quite liked it.

‘I hope they don’t change seats,’ he mused.

‘And if they do, I hope it’s not mine.’

Zhong Tian subtly scanned the room.

He noticed that Jiang Nanjin, seated behind him, and Li Jianren from the adjacent group, had yet to return.

‘These two wouldn’t possibly be late, would they?’

Just as Zhong Tian entertained this thought, Jiang Nanjin suddenly appeared at the front door.

She checked her watch as she entered the classroom, then looked up and gave Zhong Tian a small wave.

Zhong Tian remained silent, his expression unchanging, merely offering a slight nod.

‘Yes, Zhong Tian has entered character and is performing his role,’ he thought.

After Jiang Nanjin took her seat, the remaining students filed into the classroom one by one in the final few minutes.

Zhong Tian’s deskmate also arrived; he was a boy of average height with a decent appearance and very short black hair, looking quite spirited.

-Good morning.-

He sat beside Zhong Tian, offering a brief greeting.

-Good morning.-

Zhong Tian politely returned the salutation.

Their relationship extended little beyond exchanging pleasantries when they met — despite having been deskmates for a year, Zhong Tian could barely recall his name.

‘Hmm, what was it again?’ he wondered.

‘Wu… Rui, perhaps?’

While Zhong Tian was still pondering, a figure swiftly entered the classroom.

It was a middle-aged man with sharp eyes, a flat-top haircut, and a short beard.

‘Huh?’ Zhong Tian thought.

‘Why do I have a sense of déjà vu?’

-Oh my god, Zhou [Lu] Xun!-

someone blurted out in the class, inadvertently explaining Zhong Tian’s inexplicable sense of déjà vu.

‘Oh my god, [Lu] Xun!’ Zhong Tian thought.

‘Is this our new homeroom teacher? This is too…’

‘If I don’t know, I’ll ask: am I studying at Zhejiang Liangji Normal Academy?’

The man, bearing a striking resemblance to [Lu] Xun, picked up the seating chart from the podium and silently surveyed the classroom.

He was about to speak when—

-Report!-

A near-heartbreaking shout from the classroom doorway interrupted the homeroom teacher’s impending speech.

The teacher, seemingly with a question mark hovering above his head, along with the entire class, turned to face the entrance.

‘Oh my god, Ren!’ Zhong Tian thought, barely managing to keep his expression from breaking as he recognized the newcomer.

Li Jianren, clutching the doorframe, was gasping for air as if trying to suck the surrounding oxygen dry.

Even after completing the thousand-meter run during his middle school physical exam, Zhong Tian had never seen him look so utterly on the verge of collapsing.

‘Hmm… pulling an all-nighter and then a full-out sprint. It wouldn’t surprise me if he’s ready for a funeral feast right after,’ Zhong Tian mused.

‘Hope he’s alright,’ he silently added, bringing his hands together in a prayer-like gesture.

-You… go back to your seat.-

Perhaps Li Jianren’s current appearance was simply too alarming, for the homeroom teacher, who resembled [Lu] Xun, showed no intention of reprimanding him for being late.

Disregarding the astonished stares of the entire class, Li Jianren returned to his seat and immediately slumped forward onto his desk.

The homeroom teacher cleared his throat and spoke in standard Mandarin.

-Good morning, everyone. My name is Wang Changgeng, and I will be the homeroom teacher for Class 2-3.-

-I will be teaching Chinese language and literature. Throughout your upcoming academic life, I will strive to be a responsible homeroom teacher and Chinese teacher.-

Wang Changgeng closed his eyes, clasped his hands behind his back, and spoke slowly.

-I hope all students will hold me accountable.-

‘Hmm, Wang Changgeng is just missing a cloth gown and a hand-rolled cigarette to complete the look,’ Zhong Tian inwardly mused.

-Now, I’ll briefly outline some upcoming arrangements. After the bell rings, we will promptly gather on the sports field for the flag-raising ceremony and the opening ceremony.-

Wang Changgeng stated.

-Following that, the boys will accompany me to the library hall to collect new textbooks. Once we return to the classroom and distribute the books, you will submit your summer homework to your group leaders.-

As Wang Changgeng concluded his remarks, the bell rang, perfectly timed.

The entire teaching building stirred with activity.

-Alright, students, please proceed downstairs in an orderly fashion to assemble!-

The entire class rose and began to file out of the classroom.

Only Li Jianren remained slumped over his desk.

He appeared to be fast asleep.

Zhong Tian walked over to him and subtly nudged his arm.

-Wake up.-

Li Jianren groggily lifted his head, glanced at Zhong Tian, then at the departing crowd, and seemed to struggle to rise, but his head ultimately drooped back down, and he fell asleep once more.

****

-Teacher,-

Zhong Tian said softly, approaching the podium and addressing Wang Changgeng, the homeroom teacher.

-That student who was late… he pulled an all-nighter finishing homework last night. He’s hoping to catch up on some sleep in class. Would that be alright?-

Wang Changgeng’s gaze swept past Zhong Tian, landing on Li Jianren, who was deeply asleep behind him, even beginning to snore.

-Very well,-

Wang Changgeng replied, recalling Li Jianren’s alarming appearance when he first entered the room.

-You can relay the announcements from the opening ceremony to him later.-

-Understood,-

Zhong Tian said, lowering his gaze and nodding.

-Thank you, Teacher.-

-Hmm… wait,-

Wang Changgeng said, as if suddenly remembering something, looking at Zhong Tian’s face.

-You are Zhong Tian, correct?-

-Yes, I am.-

-Yes, I am aware of your situation,-

he said.

-Remember to adhere to school rules and not exploit your identity as a girl to do anything inappropriate.-

-Understood. Thank you for the reminder, Teacher.-

-Alright, head to the sports field to assemble.-