For two consecutive days, her elder sister had stayed at home properly, allowing Shi Li to attend school with peace of mind.
After a week-long National Day holiday, thanks to the adjusted work schedule, both students and working people had to endure eleven days without a break. What a human tragedy.
After a week away from school, Shi Li noticed some subtle changes in the classroom as soon as she entered.
A whiteboard had been added to the wall near the door, displaying the current scores for each group.
A photo was attached to the bottom left corner of the whiteboard. It was a group picture taken during the sports meet, with everyone making various funny expressions, resulting in a very joyful photograph.
Shi Li glanced at the group photo from the outer edge of the crowd before returning to her seat.
Shi Li arrived a bit late today, and all her group members except her were already present.
Upon seeing Shi Li, Qiao Jiajing couldn't resist teasing, "Our group leader has arrived. Is your throat all better now? Can you speak normally?"
It had been ten days since the sports meet, and if she still couldn't speak normally, it would be a serious problem.
Shi Li had been able to speak normally by the second day of the holiday, though her voice was still slightly hoarse.
She carried a box of throat lozenges in her bag, occasionally eating one, leaving a medicinal taste in her mouth.
After eating them for several days and speaking less, her voice finally returned to normal.
Shi Li glared at him, "Of course I can speak normally now."
After not seeing each other for a week, everyone had a lot to talk about. It wasn't until the bell rang that the noisy classroom gradually quieted down, with students busying themselves with their own affairs.
Everyone followed the rules so obediently it was almost painful to watch. There was no choice; the point deduction system was in place. Talking or using phones during self-study periods would result in point deductions. They couldn't let their scores, which had just returned to the positive, become negative again.
When the homeroom teacher entered the classroom and saw everyone quietly reading, he was very satisfied.
He announced that three students from the class, led by Shi Li, would join a few top students from the neighboring class for a nightly competition training camp over the next period, in preparation for the competition in November.
Most students showed no reaction to this news, except for those whose overall grades were good but whose math scores might not be as excellent. They felt a bit unbalanced and wished they could also participate in the competition training camp.
Participating in the training camp didn't necessarily mean being selected for the competition. The final selection would depend on their performance during the camp.
This cautious approach was influenced by the previous physics competition, where an unlucky score of eight points had occurred. The school was being extra careful in selecting participants to avoid repeating that mistake.
Due to the competition training, Shi Li would no longer attend evening self-study sessions with her classmates but instead go to a small classroom for specialized instruction.
Coincidentally, the other two students from her class joining Shi Li for these lessons were her group members, Rongrong and Fu Huixing.
As classmates from the same class, the three naturally sat together during the training.
Before the teacher arrived, Shi Li's two group members whispered, "Winning awards in the competition can also earn points for our group. It should be worth more than getting first place in a single subject for the whole school, at least three to five points, right?"
Saying this, Shi Li grinned, her smile so wide it was hard to suppress.
Five points meant they could have five days off.
There were ten students participating in the competition training, and the classroom was small with ten desks and chairs scattered around.
At the front near the podium, there was a huge table with no chairs around it.
Looking at the table, Shi Li thought, [This table is so big, it would be perfect for a group of people to gather around and enjoy a hot pot meal.]
The homeroom teacher, carrying his teaching materials, pushed open the door just in time to hear this comment. His mouth twitched, and he couldn't help but glare in the direction of the voice. All they think about is eating, day in and day out.
Shi Li was surprised to find that their homeroom teacher would be teaching the competition class. At the same time, she felt utterly innocent – she hadn't done anything wrong, so why was the teacher glaring at her?
Although he was the beloved homeroom teacher of the three, he showed no intention of favoring them.
With a strictly professional demeanor, he introduced the teaching format, class times and frequency, as well as the final selection process for participants, before officially starting the lesson.
While the homeroom teacher usually focused on basics when giving extra lessons to the class, he quickly shifted gears when teaching the top students.
The pace and difficulty were not a problem for Shi Li and Rongrong, but other students found it challenging to keep up.
After one lesson, estimating that the group of children still needed some time to absorb the material, the homeroom teacher left the classroom with his teaching materials.
Compared to the other students, Fu Huixing was lucky to have Rongrong and Shi Li sitting in front of him, able to answer his questions and explain things.
The grueling part of the training camp was that after finishing classes, they still had to continue with self-study.
What made it even tougher was that they had two classes every Saturday and Sunday.
This continued for a month, and as they entered November and approached the competition date, it also meant that the training camp was about to end, ushering in a new dawn.
After finishing the weekend morning training session, Shi Li said to her two group members, "I'm craving Thai food. Why don't you join me for lunch? My treat."
The group members often ate together, so Shi Li thought today would be like usual, with everyone eating, drinking, and having fun together.
Unexpectedly, Rongrong, who usually had no objections, said, "I'm sorry, but I have something to do today and can't join you for lunch. I'll treat you guys next time."
Shi Li didn't insist on Rongrong accompanying her for lunch, but she was curious about what Rongrong had to do.
She knew nothing about Rongrong's various situations.
She only knew that Rongrong had transferred from a provincial key school to Qianpu School, but nothing beyond that.
Out of concern for her group member, Shi Li asked, "What do you have to do?"
Fearing that Rongrong might find her question too intrusive, Shi Li quickly added, "Of course, if you can't say, just pretend I didn't ask."
Seeing Shi Li's serious expression, Rongrong smiled, "It's nothing major. I made an appointment with my landlord to move today, and it's almost time."
Shi Li nodded, so it was about moving.
But wait, why did Rongrong need to make an appointment with the landlord to move? Where were her parents and family?
Considering certain possibilities, Shi Li carefully asked, "Are your parents busy with work, so you're moving by yourself?"
Rongrong said nonchalantly, "My family members are all gone."
Shi Li instinctively exchanged a glance with Fu Huixing, blinking twice before saying, "Well, we don't have anything else to do anyway. Why don't we help you move?"
Fu Huixing nodded, "Let's call Qiao Jingjia to join us. More people will make the work go faster."
Qiao Jingjia received Fu Huixing's text message at home, saying that their group leader was treating them to lunch. He was particularly touched that his classmates hadn't forgotten about him when enjoying good food.
He quickly changed his clothes and took a taxi to the agreed location.
Only upon arrival did he realize that it wasn't an invitation to eat, but an invitation to help move.
Mini-scene
Qiao Jingjia: You said the princess invited us to move?
