Chai Meicen knew very well what a popular figure her son Zhou Rui was.
On her way back from the dance studio, she could tell from the chattering of the young girls that Zhou Rui had skipped his interest class. It was supposed to be two consecutive classes, but he only attended one before leaving.
Someone happened to bump into Zhou Rui on his way back and complimented that Zhou Rui walked with such flair and was so handsome.
Chai Meicen was just about to go back to the classroom to interrogate the teacher when she saw Zhou Rui sitting properly in the classroom doing his homework.
She put down her training clothes, shoved her hands into her uniform pockets, and lowered her head to look at Zhou Rui doing his homework.
She had to admit, he was really doing it diligently without copying others. Because it was obvious from the messy scribbles and cross-outs that it was Zhou Rui's handwriting.
Zhou Rui slammed his workbook on the desk and said, "See, I'm doing my homework! With the proper attitude, diligently, almost finished."
Chai Meicen's attitude softened a little. She walked over to Zhou Rui and used her elbow to massage his shoulders, "Oh my precious darling is so good! Let me massage you, you must be exhausted."
Li Xiaonan originally came over to bring Zhou Rui something. Hearing this term of endearment, his expression became weird. And really, what was so tiring about doing homework?
This is just... Getting no praise day after day for diligently doing homework. But when you don't do your homework diligently, and suddenly do it once, you find your "relative" extremely excited.
Who would have thought Zhou Rui didn't find being called "precious darling" disgusting at all. On the contrary, he smiled brightly, extremely happy.
Li Xiaonan put the stuff on the desk and left again, returning to the last row of the classroom, not wanting to get involved.
Zhou Rui and Li Xiaonan's seats were originally in the last row. But Zhou Rui insisted on moving to the front.
Zhou Rui understood his mother. As the star dancer of the square dancing troupe, she must have the central seat in the classroom too. It fit Chai Meicen's style.
So every day the students at Jiaku International School were used to seeing the tall Zhou Rui sitting in the front row of the classroom bobbing his head around. It was quite a comical sight.
After letting Chai Meicen massage his shoulders for a while, Zhou Rui pushed her hand away and said, "After self-study, let's have a heart-to-heart talk, you and I."
"What's with you wanting to have heart-to-heart talks all of a sudden?" Chai Meicen was a little surprised.
"Yeah! Cathartic, opening our hearts, it feels great."
"Alright."
Seeing Zhou Rui maintaining his good boy attitude, Chai Meicen sat down and continued reading her book.
After self-study ended, mother and son walked out together again.
The students at Jiaku International School were used to seeing these two together all the time. Even so, no one would spread any scandals.
It was clear they were relatives, the two did look quite alike. Plus people said Chai Meicen was pursuing Li Xiaonan.
Zhou Rui behaved exceptionally well today. Before leaving, he had bought Chai Meicen a milk tea. When they got to the seats, he didn't threaten other students either.
After sitting down, Chai Meicen took a sip of milk tea and said, "Alright, go ahead, what is it?"
No one gives gifts for no reason.
If Zhou Rui was being obedient, he must be brewing some mischief.
"You already understand the truth about my fighting, and know I'm not a lost cause. Can't we stop staying at school now?"
"Are you trying to get rid of me?"
"I know you enjoy going to school a lot, but the age doesn't match. You also have a generation gap with the other students. You've accomplished what you came here to do, so why not go do something more enjoyable?"
Zhou Rui's words made her start to think about this.
She had come because she was worried Zhou Rui had no moral integrity and would become a menace to society in the future.
Now that she was certain Zhou Rui had good character and was a kind-hearted child, her purpose of attending Jiaku School was gone.
There really was no need to stay here anymore.
"But if I don't come here, what do I do?" Chai Meicen quickly asked this question.
In her current sixteen-year-old looks, no one would want to hire a child laborer if she went job hunting. She didn't want to go on group tours either, too tiring. As for solo travel, being alone would be too lonely.
What could she do?
It seemed she would be idle if she didn't attend school either.
"You can sign up for a dance class. Or learn about makeup, fitness, yoga. Life is full of wonders." Zhou Rui spoke in flowery terms.
"But there's still one thing on my mind."
"What is it?"
"What exactly is the deal between you and Zhao Bing Qing?"
Zhou Rui shamelessly rolled his eyes dramatically and nodded in concession. "Alright, I'll tell you about this failed first love of mine."
"Failed... Can't you try harder in your language arts classes?" Chai Meicen was very disapproving.
"Don't mind the details, okay?"
"Fine, fine. Go on."
"I first noticed Zhao Bing Qing because of her looks." Zhou Rui was very honest.
Often to sound better, guys won't admit it, but the bare truth is they look at the face.
Putting everything else aside, Zhao Bing Qing did look quite good. Even Chai Meicen conceded this point.
So she nodded. Then she heard Zhou Rui mutter softly, "But her figure wasn't hot enough. So I hesitated for a while..."
Chai Meicen was truly rendered speechless by Zhou Rui, not knowing what to say.
But she understood boys with heavier hormones liking hot girls.
"For me, I'm a bit picky... When looking for a partner, I want it to be for life. I absolutely won't get her pregnant then abandon her, leaving a young auntie to raise a child alone. So I want to find the most suitable match in one go. You know?"
Regarding attitudes toward relationships, Zhou Rui had also been provoked by Chai Meicen.
So in Zhou Rui's mind, if he came to like a girl, he would like her for life. He absolutely wouldn't let a girl he liked go through hardships like Chai Meicen's.
It was also because of this that Zhou Rui was very picky. He wanted to find the one most suitable for him in one go. If there was the slightest unsuitability, he would reject them.
Discovering Zhao Bing Qing wasn't his type, it wasn't strange he would reject her.
"At first I heard Zhao Bing Qing tell others she thought I was handsome. So people came to hype me up and told me to go try it out and get to know her. I thought... Since the young lady already thought I wasn't bad, I just went with the flow, you know?"
"That's a scheme," Chai Meicen said decisively.
These were just child's play in front of Chai Meicen. She had pursued Zhou Rui's father for a full two years. Moves like this were very disdained.
If a girl was pretty, she could very well not take the initiative to pursue someone. With some smart maneuvering, the guy she had her eyes on might take the initiative to get to know her.
Telling others she found a guy very handsome was one of the most clichéd schemes.
Especially emphasizing to her BFFs: Don't tell anyone.
Those plastic BFFs wouldn't be long before analyzing the matter secretly to others until it reached the guy's ears.
What if the BFFs really kept it secret?
Silly girl, just say it again to someone else.
Zhou Rui clapped loudly: "Right, it was a scheme. I really fell for it!"
"What next?"
"Once when we were out singing, a friend told me Zhao Bing Qing was there too. So I went along and that's when we met. We also became WeChat contacts then. We would chat casually from time to time. That's how it was. But after chatting more, I realized I was actually a bit impatient. I didn't even want to reply, I'd rather play games, more fun."
"Then Zhao Bing Qing confessed?"
Zhou Rui nodded, "One day after self-study she came looking for me. I was playing basketball with Li Xiaonan and the others. They substituted me out when she came, otherwise we would have definitely won that game!"
"That's not the point," Chai Meicen asked in puzzlement.
"Oh... After I was subbed out, she and I went around the running track alone to talk, we call it 'going around the track'. That day she confessed. I said I'd think about it."
This was the standard of keeping the young lady waiting anxiously. All the hints Zhou Rui didn't get. Chatting less and less, Zhou Rui gradually replied less too.
Anxious, she simply came to confess. But Zhou Rui still wasn't that happy and said he'd consider it.
"How long did you consider it?" Chai Meicen was quite curious about this.
"Around three months... Then the thing with Tian Yueyi happened. During that time I was closer with Zhao Bing Qing. We were always together. Rumors were spreading around school about us. Zhao Bing Qing also took it as us being boyfriend and girlfriend. When Tian Yueyi came looking for me, Zhao Bing Qing saw us talking alone. She then went and made a scene in Tian Yueyi's dorm."
Now Chai Meicen could imagine it.
Zhao Bing Qing probably thought Tian Yueyi had come to make trouble. Seeing another girl getting close with Zhou Rui made her jealous.
But that was quite the fierce jealousy, not cute at all, rather frightening.
"Tian Yueyi cried the whole night after being scolded by Zhao Bing Qing. When I found out I got angry. I just told Zhao Bing Qing we weren't suitable. I don't know if Zhao Bing Qing was dumb or what, she insisted it must be because of Tian Yueyi messing things up that made us end up like that. Afterward she kept targeting Tian Yueyi. The day you ran into us, I had gone to find Zhao Bing Qing to tell her to stop antagonizing Tian Yueyi. I simply didn't like her. Then she slapped me."
Zhou Rui already had resentment to begin with. Plus he spoke without tact. He also didn't know how to handle these matters. His harsh words provoked Zhao Bing Qing.
As for Zhao Bing Qing, she was the standard spoiled coddled type. Arrogant, most concerned with face and image. When angered she would lose control.
Chai Meicen nodded. She also understood the whole cause and effect now.
"Alright, I got it."
"Reassured now I'm not in a relationship?"
"I never opposed you having a girlfriend. I worried you getting a girlfriend would distract you from yourself. In my opinion, if you meet a girl you like, so there are no regrets you can pursue her, you can be with her. But the relationship must make you become better."
"Is having a girlfriend like hiring a tutor?" Zhou Rui was a bit confused.
Chai Meicen knew Zhou Rui didn't understand, so she patiently explained to Zhou Rui: "When you fall in love, you will feel like that person is especially outstanding, so you will try your best to improve yourself for her, to be worthy of her. Being with her will gradually make you excel, motivate you to progress, this is the best kind of love."
"Oh..." Zhou Rui was slow on the uptake, as if he had just heard a math problem and was instantly confused.
"But if she makes you go astray, like bringing you to loaf around every day instead of doing proper work, getting you to fight for her, telling you not to study anymore and to just go out and play with her, that would be a bad kind of love. In that case I would definitely put a stop to it, even if you end up hating me, I would still do this." Chai Meicen spoke very seriously, these were words from her heart.
Zhou Rui turned his head to look at Chai Meicen, and nodded: "Alright, I understand."
He had to behave extra well now, otherwise what would he do if Chai Meicen didn't leave.
Chai Meicen suddenly became very worried.
It took so much effort for Hou Rangxi to get into this school, it would be a bit of a waste for her to just leave like this.
To stay, or to leave.
Very unfortunately, something happened in the school the next day.
A senior who went abroad to study was expelled, and could only return to Jiahua High School to repeat a year. Because of the hassle of studying overseas, he could only return to second year of high school, he couldn't directly go to third year like normal students retaking the gaokao.
This senior didn't go to International Class 3, but rather Class 1.
But this matter still shocked the international classes, and the teacher specifically set aside time in class to talk about studying overseas.
The main point of the teacher's lecture was that many overseas institutions had easy admission but strict graduation requirements, with only 56% of students successfully graduating.
Many students spent huge sums of money to go to famous schools, but got expelled within two years, ending up with nothing to show for it.
Just because you got admitted doesn't mean you can relax, if your grades are too poor you'll still have to repeat the year.
A large part of the teacher's speech was meant as a warning to these students, though there was some exaggeration, the points were logical and well-founded.
The students listened with half an ear, letting it go in one ear and out the other.
But Chai Meicen took it to heart, her whole body taut with tension.
She strongly suspected that with Zhou Rui's current grades, he would get expelled after not too long...
Seeing Chai Meicen's nervous state, Zhou Rui started guessing that something was wrong. Sure enough, after class Chai Meicen turned to look at Zhou Rui.
"Why don't we try applying to domestic universities instead?" Chai Meicen asked earnestly.
"It's also very difficult to get into domestic universities."
"I'm not asking you to apply for Tsinghua or Peking University, I know you don't have the ability. But getting into a first-tier university should be fine."
Hearing this, Zhou Rui almost laughed from anger. What does she mean getting into a first-tier university should be fine?
That was said in such an aggravating way.
Furthermore, the curriculum here was simpler than the regular classes. The regular classes were exhausting and difficult. Here there were no restrictions, free use of time, workbooks were purchased voluntarily, focusing mainly on past papers and textbook exercises. As long as your grades met the standard you could get into a pretty good university, this was also the reason they were in the international class.
He hadn't heard of anyone who transferred from the regular classes ever going back to take the normal gaokao, after all the knowledge they learned was too different to switch back.
"The international and regular classes learn different content, I'd have to start over to prepare for domestic universities." Zhou Rui couldn't help but ask.
"No, I can't leave, I need to supervise your studies. If you can't get into university, I'll repeat the year with you."
Zhou Rui understood Chai Meicen would not easily change a decision once made.
He looked at Chai Meicen for a while then suddenly stood up and called Yang Yue and Li Xiaonan over.
"What's up?" Yang Yue ran over to ask.
Li Xiaonan just lazily lifted his head from the back row to glance over.
"Go beat up that expelled kid, messing up my plans."
Chai Meicen nimbly jumped up and twisted Zhou Rui's ear. "What does that have to do with him?"
"He just had to come at this time, couldn't have come sooner or later."
"Looking for trouble again, sit down!"
Zhou Rui plopped down, dissatisfied and resentful.
After thinking about it, Zhou Rui was still very annoyed. He stood up again.
Chai Meicen asked him, "Where are you going?"
"Washing off my tattoo sticker, and cooling off."
Zhou Rui huffily went to the bathroom, scrubbing his tattoo sticker fiercely under the faucet, very angry.
When he looked up, he saw Zhang Ruchen standing next to him watching him scrub his tattoo with great interest.
"Can you lend me some makeup remover?" Zhou Rui asked Zhang Ruchen.
"Ask Zhao Bingqing."
Zhang Ruchen and Zhao Bingqing were known as the "peerless pair", one ruled the international class, the other led the rocket class, so they were acquainted.
"Nevermind then." Zhou Rui chickened out.
Author's note: Randomly giving out 50 red envelopes to thank commenters!
[April 11, 17:22, compiled]
Thanks to Xianxian's hand grenade
Thanks to KeepBlowingWithMe?x2, zerox2, GumuNanyi x2, I'mThreePointFivex2, Xianxianx2, 29870440x2, 24804515, AhAhAhAhAhAh, I heard you call me dad, Liu Erwen, q, uteki_rain, Aga, Don'tKnowTheEastIsAlreadyWhite, DiXin, SeverelyIntrovertedOtaku, Baishanshan, EverythingIsLemonJuice, FatDuuDuuKnight, Does today's you become pink, luluyouqaq, ZhongAn, Jiaoxuan's landmine
