The holiday had just passed, and most people had obviously not yet adapted to being students. So much so that when it was time to hand in the first English assignment, the class was filled with wailing.
The reason why everyone was so horrified was that the English teacher and head teacher had left a very deep impression on them in the first class. This woman was wearing a small suit, an A-line skirt that covered her hips, and her hair was neatly tied up.
She first used an all-English class to show her power, and then set three rules in the class meeting, "I know that most of the students in the class come from well-off families, but I am not without a background to be able to stand here and teach you today. As long as you listen carefully and complete the homework I assign, nothing will happen to you. Don't go against me, otherwise I will punish you directly. You can just run down to the playground until I shout stop, and it will be useless even if the principal comes to plead for you."
This cold and ruthless speech shocked the whole class and made them speechless for a long time. The Iron Lady (English teacher) never joked with students. She even personally selected the group leaders, all of whom were girls, and were jokingly called the Iron Lady Army.
There was a half-hour break between classes, and Feng Ning, as one of the main forces of her mother's army, had no choice but to collect the homework from the front. If someone hadn't finished, she would give them a hint with her eyes and generously hand them over. She was not in a hurry, and lazily waited for them to finish copying before moving to the next row.
After receiving the message from Zhao Binlin, both of them were writing furiously.
"Here." She habitually took out a homework and threw it on his desk, "Here, hurry up."
Jiang Wen flipped through a few pages of the book, glanced at it out of the corner of his eye, and said without any emotion, "I won't copy."
Feng Ning was a little surprised. She hummed and stepped aside, "Then you write, I'll collect the rest first."
After a while, she returned. A voice sounded slowly, "The tense and plural form in your second paragraph are both wrong."
Jiang Wen paused, and let his pen hang on the paper for a while. But Zhao Binlin quickly followed up with a conversation, very enthusiastic, "Hey, Mr. Feng, can you check mine too?"
Feng Ning forced a smile and deliberately used a disdainful tone, "As for you, I'll consider paying the tuition."
They were talking happily, Jiang Wen was spinning the pen with his right hand, and the pen cap fell to the ground. He put the pen down with a "snap", lowered his head to pick it up, and his peripheral vision caught the shadow on the ground, and he paused.
He subconsciously raised his eyes to look at her, and paused for a second, as if the mute button was pressed.
The picture was silent, and the shadows slanted into a line. Feng Ning was holding a stack of exercise books in his arms, interweaving with the light and shadow behind him, with a calm and peaceful look, looking at him from a distance.
At this angle, Jiang Wen needed to look up at her. They were still too young, and as a teenager, he just couldn't help but look at her like this instinctively. At that time, he didn't know that the action of "looking up" would run through his life.
For a long time afterwards, he could only look at her like this.
Ever since Zhao Binlin heard about Feng Ning's "glorious deeds" from Wang Shao, he had become extremely curious about her. After finally getting a chance to talk to Feng Ning, he couldn't help but ask, "Is it true that you cut your own hair in middle school?"
Feng Ning was not surprised and said calmly, "You know all this?"
"I heard it from others."
"Oh? Am I that famous?"
Zhao Binlin nodded. He wanted to continue talking, but when he caught a glimpse of Jiang Wen's eyes, he shrank his neck and automatically fell silent.
In the evening, Feng Ning took a shower and went to the classroom to study. It was just the beginning of the school year, and the midterm exam was still a long way off, so everyone generally had little motivation to study. There were only a dozen people sitting in the class, so it was relatively quiet.
After learning for a while, I don’t know what happened, but some people in front started partying and making a lot of noise.
Feng Ning was working hard at his desk with a sea of questions. After solving them, he erased the wrong formula on the draft paper. When he looked up, he saw Zhao Binlin coming towards him carrying an exquisite paper box.
She was startled, "Wow, it's your birthday today?"
Zhao Binlin pulled off the silk ribbon tied into a bow and said, "Not really. Today is my lunar birthday. I don't usually celebrate it, but my mom is busy and insisted on making a cake for me."
"Oh." Feng Ning nodded nonchalantly and continued with the next question, "Happy birthday."
Gradually, the classroom became more crowded and lively.
A piece of mousse cake cut into a triangle was placed on the table, and Feng Ning was confused.
Zhao Binlin pretended to be calm and said, "It's for you."
She forked a small piece without hesitation, put it into her mouth, and hummed twice: "Thank you, boss."
There were a few boys nearby. When they saw Zhao Binlin walk around several rows of tables and chairs and take the initiative to hand the cake to the girl, they shouted "Oh my God" a lot.
Zhao Binlin's skin color was a darker wheat color, but it couldn't hide the slight redness on his face. He cursed inwardly, but couldn't help grinning.
Everyone could sense that Zhao Binlin was acting very active tonight, jumping up and down, not knowing who he was showing off to.
"Are you very excited today?" Jiang Wen said this while sitting in his seat, leaning against the table and looking at him.
Zhao Binlin was a little embarrassed, as if someone had hit him right in the heart, and he was shouting something.
Jiang Wen didn't like sweet things, but they forced him to take a big bite. He felt sick because of the sweetness. "Is there anything to drink?"
A voice came from the back: "Do you want AD calcium milk? I have several bottles left." Feng Ning took out a bottle and handed it over with a straw, "Here you go."
Jiang Wen was silent for a while, then took it.
In the end, she didn't let go, so he pulled again, but it didn't move. He turned his head and asked angrily, "What are you doing?"
Feng Ning smiled silently and teased him deliberately, "You are so weak?" She leaned close to him, and the hot breath of her voice brushed his ears.
Jiang Wen's face darkened, and he exerted a little more force. They were in a stalemate, neither of them letting go.
This strange and ambiguous scene fell into the eyes of the girl who threw the note. She clenched the pen in her hand and lowered her head.
As soon as Pei Shurou entered the classroom, she saw Jiang Wen and someone else fighting over something. She took two steps closer, stopped, and was stunned.
It's a girl.
Jiang Wen never fights or plays with girls like this.
"Awen." Pei Shurou shouted.
Feng Ning had had enough fun, and when he saw someone coming, he pulled his hand back.
"What are you doing?" Pei Shurou had fair skin, waist-length black hair draped innocently, and a smile on her face. She looked at Feng Ning's face twice and asked him.
Jiang Wen quickly regained his composure. He didn't explain and turned his eyes away calmly, "The cake is next to you, go cut it yourself."
She pulled out a chair and sat down, pouting and acting coquettishly, "Have you forgotten that I'm on a diet and can't eat at night."
"Um."
"Where did you have dinner? Why did you want to celebrate your birthday in the classroom?"
Jiang Wen didn't even raise his head, and flipped through the news on his phone, "Ask Zhao Binlin."
Pei Shurou stared at his profile in a daze and swallowed back the questions she wanted to ask.
Feng Ning could feel the scrutiny, but she kept talking and ate the cake seriously, completely oblivious to the situation. Pei Shurou's giggles filled her ears, which were so sweet.
After a while, Zhao Binlin came to talk to her again, scratching his head, "Feng Ning, you ate my cake, but remember to give me a birthday present."
"Okay." Feng Ning agreed readily, "When you officially celebrate your birthday, I'll give you a big gift."
"Is it true? Then I'm starting to look forward to it." Zhao Binlin counted the days on his fingers, "Next weekend."
After chatting for a while, Feng Ning suddenly said, "Since you treated me to cake today, I will tell you a secret that few people know."
"What?"
She spoke softly and in a long tone. Her speech was slow and clear. "You know, rainy days not only bring more accidents, but also promote the secretion of dopamine, so the probability of falling in love at first sight on rainy days is higher."
Zhao Binlin was a little skeptical: "There is such a saying, have you ever fallen in love at first sight on a rainy day?"
Jiang Wen stopped talking abruptly.
Xi Gaoyuan was still talking nonstop, excitedly planning to go to Hokkaido to see the snow in the winter. Pei Shurou saw that he was silent and asked, "What's wrong, Wen?"
He was a little stunned. It took only a moment for him to come back to his senses. His expression was still quite cold. "It's okay."
Under Zhao Binlin's expectant eyes, Feng Ning laughed and said, "I can't tell you that."
"Why?"
"Because I'm only telling you one secret."
The next day, we had a basketball game with Class 4. When the history teacher stepped out of the classroom door, the boys in the back row cheered a few times, the noise stopped, and they all started to change their jerseys.
The physical education class started with a 400-meter warm-up run around the playground. The physical education teacher gathered the boys from both classes together to explain the scoring rules. At the end, he said, "I hope both classes can perform well. Remember that competition comes first, and friendship comes second."
The cheerleading team was assembled quickly.
Shuangyao was from Class 4. She had always had a strong sense of honor for this kind of group competition, and she forced Fengning and Meng Taoyu to grab a good position together. They were under the sycamore tree, and soon two girls also stood over.
"It's so annoying. It's so hot. When will the competition start?" Tong Erdie was in a very bad mood after sending away the third admirer. After a while, she changed the subject and said, "G, Meng Taoyu, have you made up your mind? Just apologize to Cheng Jiajia. Why are you arguing with a young lady who is used to being praised by others?"
Meng Taoyu froze, lowered her head and hummed.
Tong Erdie seemed not to notice the awkward atmosphere. She deliberately glanced at Feng Ning and said in a pretentious tone, "She is attracted to Jiang Wen now. As long as you don't mess with Jiang Wen, she won't be hard on you." After saying that, she seemed to suddenly remember something, "By the way, Feng Ning, I heard that you like Jiang Wen too? Someone saw you two in the classroom yesterday..."
Feng Ning squeezed Meng Taoyu's hand firmly and smiled at Tong Erdie, looking a little embarrassed. "Yes, how did you know?"
"So it's true?!" another girl immediately said, "Then I advise you to wake up, uh, and think it through."
She almost said, "Wake up."
"how?"
"No, do you see those big white buildings?"
Everyone tilted their heads and looked where Tong Erdie's finger was pointing.
"—named after his father."
Someone in the field called for Jiang Wen to serve. In the center of the crowd, he was wearing a white jersey, leaning against the basketball stand, slightly tilting his head to talk to someone, and casually tossing the basketball in his hand.
The ball drew an arc in the air, bounced on the ground, and hit the center of the field.
Every move he made could make people think of the adjective "very handsome". As the whistle blew, the girls began to scream and shout.
Feng Ning took a deep breath and said in surprise, "Wow, Jiang Wen's family is so rich?"
"Yeah." Tong Erdie suppressed the disdain in her eyes, "I don't mean anything else, I just think that as a student, learning is the most important thing. With a family background like his, you shouldn't get too involved."
Shuangyao couldn't hold it back and spurted out.
"Tsk." Feng Ning slapped his thigh excitedly, "Isn't that perfect?"
Tong Erdie's smile froze, and she turned around and said sincerely, "You know, my favorite story since I was a child is Cinderella. Ah - I think I finally found my little prince!"