Back to the rental house.
Luo Hongyun's house was almost in ruins.
Fortunately, Xia Xu rented a building with plenty of empty rooms. He could just pick one for the father and daughter to live in temporarily. The original bedding and other things could still be used.
"By the way... it seems the landlady has passed away. Who should I pay the rent for from now on?"
After settling Luo Hongyun and the others, Xia Xu suddenly thought of a serious question.
I don't know if this landlady has a son or a daughter...
"Forget it, let's not think about it for now. Anyway, I've paid the rent this month."
Without thinking about these trivial matters any more, Xia Xu happily took back the mechanical centipede spine that he had asked Uncle Luo to help hide. After fiddling with it for a while, he solemnly put it away. Then he fulfilled his promise and took Atuo straight to the vegetable market and supermarket to choose whatever they wanted to eat.
Atuo has made great contributions this time and should not be treated unfairly.
"By the way... I seem to have forgotten something."
After working for more than an hour and preparing a large bowl of beef and high-end dog food for Atuo, Xia Xu, who had just stopped to rest and drink water, always felt that he seemed to have forgotten something important.
I took out my phone and looked...
on Monday.
"Pfft, fuck, cough cough, I forgot I have class today."
A feeling of numbness went straight from the coccyx to the top of the head, and Xia Xu felt numb all over.
I had already drunk some wine when I invited Hong Bo and the others to dinner last night, and then when I came back I was attacked and killed. Then I was taken to the police station and stayed there for most of the night. How could I remember about the classes on Monday
"Ato, go, go, go quickly."
Dragging Atuo, who had just finished his meal and was in the process of digesting it, with a resentful look on his face, Xia Xu ran as fast as he could and hailed a taxi and got in it in one go.
…
Schools everywhere rang the bell to end their lunch break, and after a ten-minute break, the first class of the afternoon began.
Unfortunately, the first class in the afternoon for Class 2, Grade 12 of Xingcheng No. 3 Middle School belongs to the homeroom teacher and English teacher Liu Xiulan.
"Hello, students."
"Hello, teacher."
Liu Xiulan walked into the classroom with the lesson plan, stood up and greeted everyone as usual, and then prepared to start the class as usual.
But when she saw Xia Xu's vacant seat, which stood out from the crowd, she immediately frowned: "Ma Bing, where is Xia Xu?"
Liu Xiulan was probably not there in the morning, and other subject teachers didn't take it too seriously because it was not their "job", and just thought that Xia Xu had asked for leave or something, and didn't ask any further questions, so Xia Xu's absence from class happened to be covered up.
But now I can't hide it anymore.
The cavalry soldier whose name was called for questioning immediately looked bitter.
This is not an easy problem to deal with.
He didn't dare to lie to his class teacher. After all, for most high school students, the prestige of the class teacher was definitely thousands of times more terrifying than that of their parents or even state institutions.
But to be honest, did Xia Xu skip classes today? Then he and Xia Xu would have a grudge against each other, and they could not even be ordinary friends, let alone deskmates.
Moreover, what they hate most at this age are those who tell tales to the teacher. Even when they were beaten by classmates, they would force themselves not to tell the teacher. If they told tales about Xia Xu in public, it would be a social death.
"This... Xia Xu... Xia Xu..."
Ma Bing hesitated for a long time, and swept his helpless and pleading eyes over the classmates around him, but what he was greeted with was the same kind of giggles and gloating.
“Report… Report!”
A timid voice suddenly sounded from the back of the classroom.
At this critical moment, everyone's attention was naturally attracted, especially after seeing that the person who spoke was Tang Youxin, who was usually so autistic that she had no sense of existence at all.
At this time, Ma Bing seemed to have seen his savior and breathed a sigh of relief.
Liu Xiulan also turned her gaze to Tang Youxin who raised her hand and said, "Go ahead."
"Liu... Teacher Liu, Xia Xu... he asked me to ask for leave for him, but I... I forgot."
Dozens of gazes were focused on her, including Liu Xiulan's majestic gaze. Tang Youxin, who usually didn't even dare to talk to others, felt uneasy and stood up as if her butt was equipped with springs.
As a result, she felt more and more uncomfortable as she stood there. The gazes seemed to be stabbing into her body like knives, making her feel as if she was standing on the execution platform and being cut into pieces.
Her face turned red, and she mustered up her courage several times before she stammered out a complete sentence. Then she lowered her head, as if she was waiting for trial, and she wanted her head to burrow into a hole in the ground.
"real?"
Liu Xiulan frowned dignifiedly: "Why would he ask you to take leave? What about others? Why do they need to take leave?"
She was actually a little suspicious of Tang Youxin's words, but thinking about the fact that there seemed to be some ambiguity between this girl and Xia Xu before, it was not impossible that Xia Xu asked her to help him get leave.
"I... I..."
This question stumped Tang Youxin. She acted in a hasty and impulsive manner, so how could she consider the consequences
The birth of a lie often requires more lies to cover it up.
But this was the first time in her life that she, who had always been a good girl, had lied on purpose and it was obvious that she had no way of realizing all this in advance.
"Yes, why did Tang Youxin ask for leave for Xia Xu? If you want to find someone, you should ask Ma Bing, right?"
"Hehe, you are really ignorant about this. Recently, Brother Xu and Tang Youxin have been very close and affectionate."
"Hey, you said the two of them...?"
"Of course. Although they didn't say it explicitly, everyone knows that they eat together and go home after school every day. I heard that Tang Youxin's grades got worse in the last monthly exam, and we almost called her parents..."
"You know what? I just realized that Tang Youxin is really pretty. But unfortunately, she has a weird personality. She sits in her seat like a nerd all day without moving or talking to anyone..."
Compared to Liu Xiulan, other people's focus was obviously different. They were whispering gossip, some of which were heard by Tang Youxin at close range and without any concealment, making her so embarrassed that her entire body turned red from her neck to her ears.
"What are you mumbling about? What are you mumbling about? You are just a nagging person, aren't you?"
A panting figure pushed open the door at the back of the classroom. Without even taking a breath to catch his breath, he forced himself to swallow his saliva before shouting, laughing and cursing, interrupting everyone's muttering and drawing all attention to himself.
This is undoubtedly Xia Xu.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Liu. I had something to do this morning, and I happened to meet Tang Youxin on the way, so I asked her to help me take a leave."
Xia Xu also heard a little bit of the whole story from everyone's murmurs. After interrupting everyone and completing the "rescue" of Xiao Baihua, he immediately corrected his attitude and explained to Liu Xiulan.
"You can ask for leave just because you want to? If you don't give a valid reason, it won't count. It will still be treated as absence."
Liu Xiulan also looked serious.
She would not go to extremes if she could be flexible in other matters, but the classroom atmosphere must not be distorted. Skipping class without saying a word was too bad and might lead others to follow suit.
"Yes, yes, yes, of course. Teacher Liu, I was asked to go to the police station today to take a statement because I was brave enough to do something righteous. I was fulfilling my civic duty to cooperate with the police in enforcing the law. This is a legitimate reason, right?"
Xia Xu said quickly.
"You? Doing something brave?"
Liu Xiulan looked Xia Xu up and down with a suspicious look on her face: "What did you do? Can anyone prove it?"
"Of course, I, no, to be more precise, it was my dog who bravely fought against criminals and human traffickers and saved people from danger, so I was asked to go to the police station to take a statement. They also said they would give me a banner for my bravery."
Xia Xu took out his cell phone and said, "If you don't believe me, Mr. Liu, you can call to verify. I left the phone number of one of the police officers..."
This was not a random statement. Whether it was due to coincidence in the previous times or a favor this time, he specifically asked for the square-faced police officer's private number.
And I specifically explained it on the way here, so they are naturally willing to cooperate.
After all, he is a high school student who still needs to study and live his life. It is impossible for him to publicly say that he killed a few people. The police station even specially hired someone to give him a long period of psychological counseling yesterday - even though he, the person involved, and the police officers in charge of him all agreed that this was unnecessary and useless.
In short, it would be a good idea to cooperate in the end and characterize this incident as a heroic act, because that is the fact anyway.
"I've written down the number. I'll go back and verify it after class. Please take your seat and start class."
Liu Xiulan's expression relaxed a little. She wrote down the phone number and then started the class directly in order not to waste everyone's time.
As the unlucky guy who had left a "deep" impression today, Xia Xu, who was usually rarely called upon, became the focus of attention. This time, after just a few minutes of speaking, the words "Xia Xu, you answer it" sounded like a magic sound in his ears.
Calling the roll is probably the way most teachers remind and punish students.
If it were the original body or other courses, this sentence would naturally be like a life-threatening devil's voice, but Xia Xu was not at all weak in English and stood up to answer fluently.
"When did your English become so good?"
Because it was a rather complicated question designed to embarrass Xia Xu and serve as a warning, Liu Xiulan was greatly surprised when Xia Xu answered it correctly right away, and continued to ask questions directly in English.
Unlike other pretentious so-called English teachers, in order to take care of students with poor grades, she usually does not communicate in English throughout the whole process to show how great she is.
Maybe some teachers really think that this can help improve spoken English, but she does not think it is a good behavior.
After all, the purpose of their classes is to teach English. If students really want to understand everything, there is no need for them to teach.
Moreover, even if most of them understand, there will always be some who don't. Doing so is undoubtedly giving up completely on those poor students and those who can't keep up, and even cruelly depriving them of the opportunity to learn and work hard.
Besides, English classes in Xiaguo are basically used for exam-oriented education, and oral English is not that important. Teaching a few top students to speak better is definitely not as practical as teaching the whole class a few more words.
"Just recently, I found a few foreign friends to practice with. Well, a few hunters who claimed to be hunting werewolves probably sounded nonsense. After all, how could there be werewolves in this world, right?"
Xia Xu's response after hearing her words finally made Liu Xiulan confirm that what she just saw was not an illusion.
After trying several times in a row, she had to admit that Xia Xu gave her a surprise.
I don’t know about other courses, but just looking at this course, Xia Xu, who has always been a poor student, has undergone a complete transformation.
Originally, she was also very troubled by Xia Xu, a student, because this student was not simply disliked studying and gave up on studying, but because of complicated family circumstances and various psychological factors.
In his experience, this type of student is the most difficult to persuade, and is also the most likely to cause big problems accidentally. For many things, they can only think clearly and deal with them on their own.
It seems that Xia Xu has gradually come to terms with it, and has made such gratifying progress in just over half a month. If he makes one more sprint in the last month or so, he might be able to get into college.
Is it the effect of love
The naive first love is soothing and sounds quite romantic, but I don’t know what Tang Youxin thinks.
It would be a good thing if we could promote each other and improve our academic performance...
"Sit down. Keep up the good work and do the same for other subjects."
Liu Xiulan raised her hand and pressed twice.
"OK."
Xia Xu sat down amid countless classmates' astonishment and disbelief.
"Oh shit, Brother Xu, I called you brother, how did you do that? What did you just say to the teacher?"
While others were still feeling inconvenienced while attending class, Ma Bing excitedly pulled Xia Xu's arm.
"Go away, don't bother me. Can't you see I'm secretly enjoying myself?"
After successfully putting on a clichéd act in front of a group of 'little brats', Xia Xu originally thought that he wouldn't feel anything, but unexpectedly, he actually felt secretly happy.
Especially when I see those people who were gloating just now are now dumbfounded, the more I watch it, the more pleasing it is.
It seems that the love of showing off knows no age or object.
"Damn it, you actually pretended to be so smart. Did you memorize those English sentences in advance? What do those sentences mean?"
Ma Bing guessed with full of malice.
As a classmate who usually shared the same suffering, he would never believe that Xia Xu could really learn English so quickly.
"I wasn't pretending just now. I was pretending before, but now I won't pretend anymore. I'm going to reveal my true identity. I'm actually a hidden academic master."
Xia Xu smiled and joked: "Before, I actually lowered my grades in order to blend in with you. Now that the college entrance examination is coming soon, I naturally have to show my true strength."
As expected, he was greeted with Ma Bing's look of disdain and contempt: "Qi, keep pretending. Here, this is the math test paper handed out this morning. I'll believe you if you can do it."
Xia Xu: “…”
"Haha, I don't even know you, and you're still pretending to be me."
Seeing Xia Xu speechless and deflated, Ma Bing burst into laughter.
But it's not meant to be sarcastic, just a joke between friends.
After the English class, Liu Xiulan walked out of the classroom, and the others also dispersed to play and buy snacks. Those who were reluctant to leave were also driven away by Xia Xuxiao.
"Were you trying to lie and ask for leave for me during class just now?"
When the classroom was empty, Xia Xu immediately went to a seat in front of Little White Flower, sat upside down, supported his cheeks with his palms, and stared at her fair little face with a smile.
Mm, it’s so cute. The more you look at it, the more tempting it becomes. I really want to take a bite.
"No."
Tang Youxin's eyes flickered and she turned her head away. Her long black hair covered most of her face, but Xia Xu could still vaguely see a hint of blush.
"Don't do this next time. I don't need you to suffer any grievances for me, and you must tell me any grievances you suffer. Do you understand?"
Xia Xu's tone was gentle but also a little serious.
In fact, he was quite worried about Xiao Baihua. Her delicate, timid, yet aggressive appearance and temperament could easily lead to bullying from others.
Whether it's jealousy or wanting to attract attention, many inconspicuous reasons may become the motivation for others to hurt her.
Her introverted personality actually makes her very sensitive and easily hurt.
Normally, he is unwilling to appear in crowded places, and even habitually avoids the sight of people around him. He needs to be mentally prepared in advance to talk to classmates he has known for two or three years, and is often so shy that he stays put like an ostrich... How can he not be worried and distressed
But it was precisely because of this that the little white flower's actions just now touched him.
It seemed like just a small lie to ask for leave, but standing out to face everyone's gaze, everyone's discussions and misunderstandings, God knows how much courage she mustered and how much psychological pressure she endured.
At this moment he understood that this was a person whom he should not let down in his entire life.
She is also someone he is willing to protect carefully and not let her get hurt in any way.
Just let him see the tearful look for himself.
It is enough for the rest of the wind and rain to fall on yourself.
"Listen... I understand."
The sound of a mosquito's humming faintly could be heard from the little white flowers, weak and sticky.
"Do you know what I'm thinking?"
After hearing this, Xia Xu quickly put aside his seriousness and started laughing.
"Thinking... thinking about what?"
Tang Youxin was puzzled.
Xia Xu said with a smile: "I was thinking you'd better slap me and scold me, "You don't understand me."
Tang Youxin didn't care about being shy, and widened her eyes: "Ah? Why... why? Do you have... "
"What nonsense! I just hope I can be stronger and less introverted."
Xia Xu knocked her head in annoyance, which immediately attracted her eyes of holding her head and looking aggrieved.