Chapter 52: Blossoming and Bearing Fruit
Name: Ruan Xi
Chinese: 121
Math: 126
English: 124
Physics: 70
Chemistry: 79
Biology: 83
Total Score: 603
Class Rank: 24
Grade Rank: 221
Ruan Xi stood in front of the report card posted at the back of the classroom, her first reaction being disbelief.
I… got over 600?
Although she had a premonition that she had done well this time, she hadn’t expected to score more than forty points higher than the monthly exam. The last time was an anomaly, but this time… was an exceptional performance.
She hadn’t even checked the answers yet. Her own estimate was only 580. She didn’t know where the extra 20 points came from.
During Chinese class, Labor Reform was holding another commendation and criticism meeting at the front.
“You all need to learn from student Ruan Xi, learn from her spirit of hard work and diligence, learn from her spirit of arduous struggle. Every time I see Ruan Xi, she’s doing practice problems. And you? Huh? Those students who have regressed, ask yourselves, have you worked half as hard as her? In less than three months, student Ruan Xi has improved from over fiftieth in the class to over twentieth. What does this show? It shows that hard work pays off!”
Jiang Yiming looked to his side, lowered his head, and said quietly, “Awesome.”
The young girl’s face was a little red, her tail almost wagging to the heavens from the teacher’s praise.
So this was what it felt like to be praised.
This time was different from the previous praises. Before, Teacher Tong praised her because she had made a little progress, had mastered a certain concept. But this time, being praised by the teacher… was because she had done really well.
This was the top two hundred in the science track of the number one high school in the province. As long as she maintained this level for two years, getting into a 985 university in the province wouldn’t be difficult.
Ruan Xi remembered the honor roll at the school gate. Central South University was around this rank.
Teacher Tong must have already seen my score, right?
The reward… I can have whatever I want…
She buried her face in her arms, her face burning. She already knew what she wanted, but… she didn’t dare to ask for it.
Will Teacher Tong be angry if I say it?
Even if Teacher Tong agreed, it would be meaningless to get it this way.
Moreover, Teacher Tong was still a little distant from her now.
At this thought, Ruan Xi’s happiness came to an abrupt halt.
After class, she borrowed Jiang Yiming’s phone and ran to the stairwell to make a call.
“Hello, Mom.”
“Sweetie, what’s wrong?”
“The mid-term results are out.” Although she was trying her best not to get carried away, her tone couldn’t help but rise.
“So happy, you improved?” her mother on the other end laughed.
“221st in the grade!” The meaning of “praise me” was already very obvious.
“My sweetie is so amazing. I knew our Little Xi would have a bright future. But don’t be proud and complacent, okay? The semester is only half over.”
Across hundreds of kilometers, Ruan Xi could imagine a smile appearing on her mother’s tired face. From the first year of high school until now, she had finally done well on an exam once. How pleased would her mother be? Every time she thought of this, she wanted to travel back in time and slap the Ruan Xi who was mired in a daze every day.
“Alright, that’s all for now. Mom has to go get busy.”
There was a faint sound of urging on the other end of the line. Ruan Xi quickly said “goodbye” and “take care of yourself,” and the call was hastily hung up.
She looked at the phone, her brows lowered.
She actually… wanted this joy to last a little longer for her mother.
Children sometimes feel that they grow up too slowly. Ruan Xi was in this stage now. She wanted to grow up quickly and become the person she wanted to be. While many people were still enjoying the fruits of their parents’ labor, Ruan Xi was already thinking about how to let her mother enjoy a comfortable life in the future.
She put the phone in her pocket and looked towards the office. Although she hadn’t decided what reward to ask for from Teacher Tong, she wanted to first restore her relationship with Teacher Tong to the intimacy of before. If Teacher Tong cared about that kiss, then she would find a reason to cover it up. No matter what, before she was confident enough, she couldn’t let Teacher Tong know her feelings.
She walked towards the office, nervous yet expectant. She stopped at the door. The office door was open, and it was lively inside. Almost every teacher’s desk had students in front of it. These students were usually the ones who had regressed severely, and the teachers were earnestly talking to them.
But what caught Ruan Xi’s attention was that there was also someone at Teacher Tong’s desk.
It seemed she hadn’t come at a good time.
“I checked online. Actually, many students have this kind of anxiety. Maybe… you can try to lower your goal a little, not to be like before. For example… let’s aim for 150th place first? You’re in the two hundreds now, it’s not the end of the world.”
It was the first time Tong Yao had felt so helpless in front of a student.
Chen Mo had bombed the exam again this time. Over two hundredth in the grade. At No. 1 High, that would be around the four or five thousandth place in the province for the college entrance exam, which was already outstanding among the four hundred thousand candidates. But for Chen Mo, who had been cultivated as a potential top scorer, it was no different from failing.
Anxiety and nervousness could no longer describe Chen Mo’s state. She was now terrified of exams. The already thin girl now looked as if she could be blown away by the wind. Her notes were the most diligent, she did the most problems, but in an exam, even the words she wrote were twisted.
Not a single teacher criticized her. No one dared, fearing they might crush this fragile student. The homeroom teacher, Liu Jian, was already tired of her psychological counseling. In the prime of her youth, her eyes were as empty as someone in their twilight years.
“Or I can talk to your father again…”
“It’s useless.”
Chen Mo said softly, “I’ve tried everything.”
“Thank you, Teacher Tong.”
**
Even long after Chen Mo had left, Tong Yao was still in a daze.
She came back to her senses because of Ruan Xi.
The young girl had been waiting at the door for a long time and only came in a few minutes after Chen Mo had left. Because the next class was PE, and the PE teacher had recently given them a break for free activity, her time was very flexible.
“Teacher Tong!”
The young girl bent down to look at her. Seeing her proud and cute appearance, Tong Yao was pulled out of her thoughts about Chen Mo and couldn’t help but smile.
“What are you shouting about?”
This child had improved a lot. She had known since yesterday.
It was just that she hadn’t decided on her attitude yet.
Intimate but not overstepping—this balance was too hard to grasp. Does Ruan Ruan really like me, a person of the same sex? Looking at her now, it didn’t seem like it. The young girl looked so open and honest, as if she was the only one worrying for nothing.
“Teacher Tong, I got 603.”
Ruan Xi blinked, hinting.
Tong Yao looked up at the sky, thought for a long time, and said, “Congratulations.”
She avoided the topic of a reward.
She kind of regretted saying “I’ll give you whatever you want” back then. Wouldn’t it have been better to suggest “I’ll take you to a movie”? What if Ruan Ruan said “kiss me” again?
She wasn’t a person who liked to go back on her word. Keeping her promises was her life’s creed.
“Teacher Tong…” The girl’s voice was delicate and slightly petulant. “You’re not going to go back on your word, are you?”
“…What going back on my word?”
Tong Yao had a bad feeling. Sure enough, this child still remembered her promise. This was a bit bad. With Ruan Ruan being so disrespectful, where was her authority? A teacher really needed some distance. But to be strict…
She felt guilty.
She had had thoughts of a teacher-student relationship, even if it was just a little. She had to bear the consequences herself, not let the student bear them.
“As long as you don’t go back on your word,” the young girl smiled. “Teacher Tong said I could have whatever I want if I did well, right?”
Tong Yao’s eyelid twitched. Here it comes. What’s meant to be can’t be avoided.
“…You’re only in the two hundreds. Xu Yin was first in the grade this time.”
Ruan Xi was taken aback. Her smile disappeared. She gave a soft “oh” and then silently lowered her head.
Tong Yao wanted to stuff the words she had just said back into her mouth.
But what’s done is done.
She felt a pang of guilt and said in a low voice, “I was just kidding… Ruan Ruan did very well. What reward do you want?”
The young girl looked up, her eyes bright. Her face changed so quickly that Tong Yao cried out in her heart that she had been deceived.
“I want Teacher Tong…”
Tong Yao’s breath hitched.
“…to be my painting model for once.” The young girl’s tone changed, her smile a little mischievous.
Tong Yao let out a sigh of relief. “Being your model doesn’t require me to be naked, right?”
Ruan Xi’s face flushed, and she shook her head. “No.” But naked would be best. “What about the specific time?”
“I… I’ll listen to Teacher Tong.”
She was being obedient again now.
Tong Yao sighed and waved her hand. “Go back. I’m going to rest for a while.”
“Mhm, goodbye, Teacher Tong!”
**
After the mid-terms, many people’s study state relaxed a little, but Ruan Xi still insisted on attending the fourth evening self-study session, only returning to her dorm at eleven.
Before leaving, she packed her schoolbag. She still had to work overtime after returning to her dorm. While packing, she found that she was missing a workbook. It was probably lost when they moved the desks to set up the exam room. She was a little anxious. If she was lucky, it should still be in the classroom. Everyone’s workbooks were mostly the same, so someone might have taken it by mistake.
She had already been in the classroom for more than ten minutes. As she was searching, it was already 11:30.
“Lights out, lights out!” The patrolling security guard stood at the door, holding a large flashlight. “Still not back in your dorms? I’m going to pull the switch!”
“Right away!” Ruan Xi searched for a long time and finally found her book in the drawer under the podium. “Got it!”
She stuffed the book into her bag. The security guard had already left and was shouting loudly not far away. Is there someone else who hasn’t left? Ruan Xi was puzzled. She hadn’t expected someone else to stay this late besides her.
She flew out the door. As she passed by Class 4, she saw the only girl in the classroom.
It was the girl from Teacher Tong’s office in the morning.
Class 4 and Class 7 shared several teachers and were considered sister classes. Everyone couldn’t call each other by name, but their relationship was quite good, and they often played together during PE class. She took a few steps back, retreated to the door of Class 4, and poked her head in.
“Aren’t you going back to your dorm? The security guard is going to yell at us.”
A few of the security guards at No. 1 High were very grumpy and had received widespread negative reviews from the students.
The girl was doing problems with her head down. Hearing Ruan Xi’s words, she looked up, gently put her pen in her pencil case, and said, “Okay.”
Almost all the classrooms had their lights turned off. A flashlight shone over from a distance, and the familiar angry roar shouted again.
“The one from Class 4, still not leaving?!”
“Hurry up, hurry up!” Ruan Xi said. “Why don’t you do your problems in your dorm?”
Chen Mo quietly packed her schoolbag. When she reached the door, she said in a small voice, “I’m a day student.”
A day student, meaning she had to go home.
Ruan Xi was instantly embarrassed. She had originally wanted to go back to the dorm with this girl. She wanted to get to know her because Teacher Tong seemed to be troubled by this girl’s problem. If there was even a slight possibility, she also wanted to try to help Teacher Tong.
“Oh… being a day student is nice. But it’s so late, is it safe to go back?”
“The rented house is very close.”
Chen Mo pulled the switch. The last light in the school building also went out, hiding her expression in the darkness.
Before the lights went out, for a split second, Ruan Xi felt that this girl had stayed here so late because she didn’t want to go home.
