CHAPTER 961: CHAPTER 556: STRAW (PART 2)

Every time she posted on QQ Space, the likes on her posts would never fall short of Bai Yuxia’s, but on the level of active comments and replies, she’d be overwhelmed by Bai Yuxia, making her friends seem like fake fans.

Every time, Lu Qiqi had to privately chat with friends to like and comment, just to barely get an edge over Bai Yuxia.

This gave Lu Qiqi a slight dissatisfaction towards Bai Yuxia, which even she didn’t want to admit to herself.

Bai Yuxia’s looks, figure, academic performance, and family background almost had no flaws. Lu Qiqi could never find a gap, seeing Bai Yuxia as wearing a flawless celestial garment.

If there’s no condition, create one. Lu Qiqi focused on Bai Yuxia’s handbag and playfully smiled:

"Bai Yuxia, your handbag is just like my mom’s."

After she finished, a few girls around heard her.

Bai Yuxia, unoffended by the comment, smiled back: "Yeah, my mom picked out this bag for me, it seems like they have similar tastes."

Lu Qiqi’s probing attempt failed, and she left discontentedly.

...

The morning self-study session began, and the sound of reading came from class 8.

Of course, not everyone was reading. For example, Cui Yu recently upgraded his gear and bought a semi-smartwatch.

This watch was like an MP4 player, capable of playing music and videos, and because it was disguised as a watch, it wasn’t easily noticed.

With this watch, Cui Yu only needed to import video files into a memory card and insert it into the watch, and he could watch clips all day at school, enjoying endless fun!

For instance, this morning when Shan Qingrong patrolled the classroom, he didn’t notice what Cui Yu was doing.

Shan Qingrong took two rounds around the classroom, and the sound of reading became even more vibrant. He took a look at Xue Yuantong, who was playing games, and was very pleased.

Shan Qingrong wandered to the corridor by the door to chat with the head teacher of the neighboring class 9.

Suddenly, his phone vibrated; the caller ID showed ’Dan Kaiquan’s Parent.’

As a homeroom teacher, Shan Qingrong had contact details of many parents, who occasionally called to inquire about their children’s situations.

Such as their performance in school, whether they caused any trouble, or how their grades were.

Shen Qing’e’s parents called several times to ask about their daughter’s health and if she was bullied.

Or Song Sheng’s parents, calling to ask if their son was bullying others.

Also, Chen Qian’s parents, hoping the teacher would persuade him not to study all the time and to rest more.

Even Miao Zhe’s mom, asking if Miao Zhe had made good friends.

There were many such trivial matters.

Although usually strict, Shan Qingrong always patiently explained when parents called.

Shan Qingrong and Dan Kaiquan shared the same surname, they were distant relatives, and Shan Qingrong quite admired the tremendous improvement in the boy’s grades.

"Hello, Mr. Shan? How is my son Quan Quan doing at school? Recently he’s asked me for living expenses." A woman’s voice came from the other end of the line.

Shan Qingrong, "How much did he ask for as living expenses?"

"Eight hundred, but the key is that during the summer he earned money himself, he always had money. Why is he asking for living expenses again? Is he up to no good?"

After hearing this, Shan Qingrong recalled the information sent by Xin Youling and later he personally found Wang Longlong to get more detailed information.

Shan Qingrong knew exactly what Dan Kaiquan had done.

Although it was against school rules, the student did it skillfully without being discovered, so he decided to let it go.

"It’s like this, your son has taken a liking to a girl recently." Shan Qingrong said.

Upon hearing this, Dan Kaiquan’s mom was first excited. "He hasn’t dated anyone before, and now he actually likes someone. He’s really growing up."

After talking for a while, she worriedly asked, "What if he starts dating too early? It would surely affect his grades."

Hearing this, Shan Qingrong laughed, "I don’t think you need to worry, the girl isn’t interested in him."

...

At the school gate, last year the responsibility of cleaning the main campus road belonged to the sophomore year, and today it was the freshmen’s turn.

It was supposed to be class 16 of the freshman year’s duty, with Wu Yunzhi lifting the big broom, sweeping the concrete ground.

There was no avoiding it; no matter how powerful his family was, coming to school still meant doing chores.

Fortunately, there were Lan Zichen and a few other female classmates around, adding some fun to the boring duty.

While Wu Yunzhi joked and swept the ground, after last week’s brawl, his dad smoothed things over by treating school leaders to a meal, although it was said to be disciplinary actions, it didn’t have any real impact. It was enough to lay low afterwards.

This made Wu Yunzhi extremely proud, considering himself a person with privileges.

While chatting with Lan Zichen, two figures swaggered through the school gate.

It was already the time for morning self-study, so they were late.

Wu Yunzhi was puzzled inside.

One boy, wearing cropped trousers and Doudou shoes, saw the girls on this side; his eyes brightened. He quickly said to the boy beside him, dressed in trendy attire, "Brother Tian, Brother Tian!"

Hearing this, Qi Tianheng shifted his gaze. Once he saw Lan Zichen’s face clearly, he was surprised:

"Oh, not bad."

...

Morning fourth period, Chemistry class.

Guo Ran’s clear voice came from the podium: "The volume occupied by a unit amount of substance in gas is called the molar volume of the gas..."

She taught earnestly, breaking down the knowledge and explaining it thoroughly.

Although Guo Ran’s level might not match the best veteran teachers at Fourth Middle School, she was definitely above average with her enthusiastic nightly lesson preparations.

Young teachers always held a burning passion for teaching and educating.

This was the last class of the morning, as tired students found it hard to concentrate by the end of the morning.

Five minutes before the end of class, a rumor spread about the cafeteria serving big fried chicken legs at noon, one for each person, stirring up student discussions.

Wang Yan Yan told Pang Jiao she’d share her chicken leg, prompting Pang Jiao’s howl that erupted like a firecracker in the classroom.

Zhang Chi thought about the crispy big chicken leg sprinkled with cumin and chili powder, preparing to give it his all.

Chatting about chicken legs, cosmetics, or fans; the classroom suddenly became chaotic with many students laughing and talking, disrupting class order.

Guo Ran, a young female teacher, lacked intimidating presence and used gentle means, hence everyone spoke more freely.

If it were the former strong bald man, the English teacher Chen Haiyang, nobody would dare to act up.

With only four minutes until class ended, students were discussing, making louder noises like the waves, drowning out Guo Ran’s clear voice until it completely disappeared in the classroom, unheard by anyone.

This was a collective upheaval. Class monitor Xin Youling intended to stop it but decided to give up after checking the time; only a few minutes left until class ended.

Standing on the podium, Guo Ran gradually lowered her voice and then stopped speaking, looking at the students, attempting to softly maintain classroom discipline and boost students’ self-discipline.

Generally, this method would quickly quiet down the class.

But today it wasn’t effective; Pang Jiao let out a "hohoho" laugh.

Guo Ran silently gazed at the chaotic classroom, she opened her mouth, wanting to say something but ended up saying nothing. Only a loud voice wouldn’t get drowned, or else it would just be swallowed by the chaos.

Guo Ran disliked using harsh words to maintain classroom order.

Thus, the classroom was full of noise, and Guo Ran helplessly stood at the podium, her gaze sweeping over the students, finally landing on Jiang Ning’s face, as if grabbing onto the last straw.

Jiang Ning chose to be that straw, he said: "Silence."

The sound wasn’t loud, yet it swept through the classroom like a strong wind, clearly resonating in the students’ ears, blowing all the noise into oblivion.

Even Pang Jiao, who was discussing lipstick shades with Wang Yan Yan, sensibly shut her mouth.

At that moment, the class was silent.

Guo Ran didn’t resume teaching, she said, "There are three minutes left until class ends, please quiet down."

Subsequently, she gave Jiang Ning a grateful look as if to say, ’Thank you for letting me hold onto.’

Jiang Ning chuckled, thinking that if counted past lives, the lovely and gentle Miss Guo was supposed to be his straw instead.