Faced with Rongrong's dark, penetrating gaze, Song Ying smiled awkwardly. "There is something, but I'm not sure if I should tell you."
"If you're not sure whether you should say it, then don't," Rongrong retorted, effectively shutting Song Ying down.
Just then, the bell rang for class. Before the teacher arrived, Song Ying quickly sent a message to a small group chat:
[Comrades, she says she can hear]
Song Ying's cryptic message didn't connect with the previous conversation, but the classmates who saw it understood her meaning. Most of the students were either still solving problems during the break or had put their phones away before the bell rang. Only a few students happened to see the message.
Those who wanted to inquire further about Song Ying's situation couldn't, as the teacher had already taken the podium.
There was so much they wanted to say, but they had to hold back.
This period was math class. The Math Teacher was very curious about the new transfer student, mainly because of the child's excellent math skills.
Qianpu Middle School had managed to poach a top math student from the provincial key school, and this prized asset was now sitting at a desk near the podium.
The news had already spread throughout the entire freshman class. Poaching a student from the provincial key school was an unprecedented victory in Qianpu's history.
Gaining a great general while the opponent lost one meant their odds of success had doubled.
The Math Teacher showed unprecedented interest in the new student. Even though the precious student only answered one out of every two questions, he still felt that Rongrong had the air of a master.
The other students couldn't bear to watch, thankfully the Math Teacher remembered his duty to teach class.
After chatting with Rongrong for a bit about the teaching methods at the provincial key school, he finally began the formal lesson.
This was the first math class after the midterm exam results had come out. He held up the score sheet and lavishly praised the whole class for their improvement.
Both individual student scores and the class average had seen significant increases.
He nodded, "I hear that your class's scores in other subjects have also improved a lot. That's great. As long as you can continue to improve your grades, you'll all be able to get into good universities in the future. Hard work will not be in vain."
Despite being a man, the Math Teacher was quite talkative. After praising the students, he didn't continue with the lesson.
"By the way, I heard that your class has self-study every evening. It seems this self-study is very effective. I should suggest to the principal about implementing it in other classes as well."
[The Class Teacher is probably going to be cursed by students from other classes]
Other students wouldn't know who made the suggestion, but they could resent the Class Teacher for making them do self-study.
Through Song Ying, a small group of people knew that Rongrong could hear Shi Li's inner thoughts.
After the Math Teacher entered the classroom, he didn't lecture but spent the whole time chatting about useless topics. As the students reminded each other, this small hope was spread widely.
Everyone knew Rongrong could hear Shi Li's inner voice, so when the familiar voice sounded again, everyone became especially nervous.
Whether Song Ying had told Rongrong the details, and whether Rongrong believed it after hearing it, were both open questions.
Everyone closely observed Rongrong, vainly trying to judge her current expression and mood from her back.
Only Song Ying, sitting next to Rongrong, could achieve this feat. She turned her head and could see that Rongrong's expression hadn't changed at all.
Something was off, very off.
Shouldn't a normal person have some kind of strange reaction upon hearing someone respond in class? If not shocked, at least a bit surprised?
But Rongrong showed no reaction at all.
"Alright, let's not say anymore. Let's start class," the Math Teacher said, ending today's idle chat. His next words were, "By the way, Rongrong, what part had you studied up to at your previous school?"
Learning that Rongrong's previous school's progress was nearly a book ahead of his class, the Math Teacher couldn't help but exclaim, "Your teachers sure taught quickly!"
His intention was to say that with good students, their high comprehension ability allows for faster learning, so naturally, the course progresses quicker.
As for his own students, there were all levels, and when teaching, he had to cater to all students' comprehension abilities, so the speed naturally slowed down.
"Our teachers don't say useless things in class."
The Math Teacher, who had just chatted for fifteen minutes, felt like he'd been shot in the knee.
He tried to save face, "Today was special because the midterm results came out. I couldn't help but chat with you all a bit more. It won't be like this in the future."
After Rongrong's words, the Math Teacher didn't say anything useless again.
To leave a good impression on the new student, the Math Teacher used all his skills. From the start of the lecture, he didn't say a single useless word in class.
The students had privately discussed how the Math Teacher talked too much, but in the second half of the class, he didn't say a single unnecessary word. The students felt a bit unaccustomed.
However, they had no trouble keeping up with the Math Teacher's pace. The Class Teacher's nightly tutoring sessions were only slightly faster than this, certainly not slower than Teacher Shu's pace.
The Class Teacher had previously taught math to the top classes, so one can imagine his teaching speed. After getting used to it for a while, the students could all keep up with his pace.
Listening to the Math Teacher's lecture was even easier to follow.
As the impassioned class ended, the Math Teacher looked expectantly at the new student, his posture clearly seeking praise.
Rongrong acted as if she hadn't seen his expression, closing her math book while yawning boredly.
The Math Teacher was quite stung by her reaction. He immediately resolved that in future classes with Class 1, he would bring his A-game and give these students some shocks courtesy of him.
He left the classroom dejectedly, with no one paying attention to his reaction.
Song Ying, however, eagerly picked up her phone, waiting for her classmates to give her advice on what to say.
During this break, Song Ying didn't go to socialize with the new student, instead guarding her phone and waiting for her classmates' ideas.
She overlooked her classmates' unreliability. After waiting for a long time, she only received one response: Tell her the truth.
Song Ying: Just like that?
Yes, just like that. Until the end of the break, she didn't get any other answers.
Song Ying didn't believe that others hadn't seen the message. They must have chosen not to reply to her.
Thinking about how she had been specially called out by the Class Teacher for briefing, she felt it was time to take up the banner and tell others about this matter.
The next class was English. Half of Song Ying's brain was listening to the lecture, while the other half was recalling how the Class Teacher had told her about it, and how she should relay this information to Rongrong.
After much consideration, Song Ying used the excuse of familiarizing Rongrong with the campus during the longest break to call her out.
Rongrong was somewhat resistant to her new class and initially refused Song Ying's invitation.
But when Song Ying put on that pitiful little expression, no one could refuse her.
So, "morally kidnapped," Rongrong reluctantly followed her out.
After leaving the teaching building, Song Ying looked around furtively like a thief.
Song Ying hadn't expected that the new classmate, who seemed so rebellious, would accept such an incredible story so quickly.
She asked incredulously, "You believe it just like that? Don't you need me to explain further?"
Rongrong glanced at her, "I have my own judgment. I'll assess the specific situation myself."
Although it was Song Ying who had enlightened her, she returned to the classroom with a dazed expression.
She typed three words on her phone, then opened her classical Chinese text and focused on reciting it. She desperately needed to fill her brain with knowledge right now.
[She believed it]
Others: If she believed it, she believed it. Your tone makes it sound like we're plotting some conspiracy.
Song Ying didn't forget about what she needed to tell Shi Li that evening, despite this small hiccup.
"Sister, will you come home with me tonight?"
"What's the matter?"
Song Ying's face showed a shy smile, "My mother's close friend, Mrs. Xu, the wife of Xu General whom we met at the banquet before, is visiting our home tomorrow. I'm afraid of embarrassing myself in front of such an esteemed guest, so I wanted to ask you to come and keep me company. With you by my side, I'll feel more confident."
This was clearly an opportunity for gossip, how could Shi Li refuse?
"Alright then, I'll come and keep you company."
Others: Have you forgotten about us? We're your half-sisters, after all!
You'd be lost without us around, wouldn't you? Haha!
