"Because no one else has gone to such an absurd degree as you to the point that people suspect your legs are just for decoration."
Jian Mingyuan was so angry that he picked up a pen and hit him: "Do you think I'll die if you don't belittle me every day?"
Ye Ruhui blocked her with his textbook: "Back when everyone on the playground was staring at you, you had such a strong sense of self-esteem."
"It's just a classroom quiz, why take it so seriously?"
"Do you think you'll get a perfect score in physical education on your final exam?"
"Why not?!"
“Uh…” Ye Ruhui turned his head: “Squad leader, did you hear that? Be our witness.”
Ji Li looked up from the draft paper, not having heard the recap, and asked blankly, "Huh?"
Ye Ruhui smiled and made the final decision: "I'll wait for you to get a perfect score on your final exam."
Jian Mingyuan had an expression that said his worldview had been completely shattered.
Ye Ruhui felt he had completed the important task assigned by the PE teacher, and returned to his desk refreshed. Then he turned back and said, "Note that it's a perfect score in PE, not just a perfect score in the 1,000-meter run."
"Uh..." The other person simply tossed their head away, leaving Jian Mingyuan groaning in his seat, utterly dejected.
Ji Li, a special individual who doesn't have to attend physical education classes, couldn't understand the other person's frustration. After finishing the equation in his hand, the school bell rang.
Mao Xianzhi walked up to the podium with a stack of exercise books in his arms: "In this lesson, we will talk about composition."
It's about a class assignment we did a few days ago in Chinese class, where the two passages provided served as a contrasting reference.
The first paragraph tells the story of two people who were originally good friends, but due to certain reasons, they both misunderstood each other. However, they chose to keep it a secret for fear of ending their friendship if they confronted each other, and eventually drifted apart.
The second paragraph follows the same premise, but the two had a big argument on the spot and talked things out, and then made up smoothly.
Mao Xianzhi flipped through the composition books and pulled one out: "When I looked at them before, I found that everyone's divergent thinking was quite interesting. I picked a few representative ones to read to everyone. Everyone listen and think at the same time. Later, I will ask someone to summarize the advantages and disadvantages."
Jian Mingyuan tore off a piece of scrap paper, ready to jot down keywords, but the next second he heard the familiar opening: "Friends are a very magical existence in interpersonal relationships."
His pen paused.
Mao Xianzhi continued reading without changing his expression: "Because no matter how close you are at the beginning, lamenting that you met too late and swearing to go through thick and thin for each other, every time the other person takes away the homework you are copying, snatches the ice cream from your hand, and forces you to run a thousand meters on the playground, you will still want to beat them up to show that God made him born blind."
"Uh..." Ye Ruhui: "..."
Others: "..."
Ji Li glanced at Jian Mingyuan and asked, "Did you write this?"
Jian Mingyuan covered his face with his notebook: "It's just a classroom composition. Don't take the values expressed in an introductory text so seriously."
In fact, apart from the beginning, the rest of the content was quite normal, mostly consisting of clichés that could be copied from anywhere, and the examples and famous quotes cited were still relevant to the major theme of "friendship".
Mao Xianzhi stood amidst the whispers, calmly reading through one paragraph, two paragraphs, three paragraphs, until the very end, before finally looking at the creator: "Do you still remember what your title was?"
Jian Mingyuan didn't want to talk.
“If this essay were simply about friendship, it might barely get a passing grade; but the angle from which the material is cited is too far-fetched, and it doesn’t offer any perspective on the material.” Mao Xianzhi put down the essay and pulled out another one from the stack. “Alright, you’ve laughed enough, now listen to the next one.”
The essays that were singled out by the homeroom teacher and read aloud as model examples each had their own unique characteristics.
While everyone was taking notes, they could usually guess what topics others would write about, such as "people should be honest with each other," "friends should trust each other," or "be strict with yourself and lenient with others." They could make judgments on the merits and demerits of different ways of getting along, solving problems, and even principles of conduct. The content was always similar.
It wasn't until the homeroom teacher read Ji Li's essay aloud.
At first, the people below were attentive enough to listen and take notes, but later they were almost entirely focused on listening.
Ji Lixuan's argument is quite unique.
Because he did not emphasize the protagonist's handling of the situation in the material, but instead focused on the two completely different outcomes of "drifting further apart" and "reconciling as before," analyzing the inevitability of the latter.
That's amazing.
It's a very unconventional approach.
To get a high score on an essay, you need either strong logic or originality.
The latter needs to grab attention, and his essay already achieved that with just one title.
The main text, however, gives an even stronger impression.
It's not that it's bad.
Instead, they were horrified.
It's like a torrential downpour; the listener runs through it, experiencing the thrill, but no man-made instrument can replace the emotional impact of natural weather.
Even the homeroom teacher seemed to have a particular fondness for this assignment, as his voice even had a rhythmic intonation.
"If a broken relationship can be repaired, it means that both parties have a strong enough desire to go back, even if the price of tearing apart the facade of peace is being stabbed all over by the person they care about and who worked hard for the relationship."
Jian Mingyuan listened intently, completely absorbed.
I don't know why, but I suddenly became very curious about what my deskmate's mindset was when they wrote this.
.
As get out of class was about to end, Mao Xianzhi called Ji Li to the podium, pulled a piece of paper from his lesson plan and handed it to him: "Take a look at this."
Ji Li looked at the top-printed text: "An essay contest?"
“It’s just a small competition in Chongliu City. I was originally planning to assign it as your weekend homework, but then I thought better of it. Just post the notice on the bulletin board and let everyone sign up voluntarily.” Mao Xianzhi finished speaking and emphasized, “You have to submit it.”
“Uh…” Ji Li asked, “Why?”
“The rule is that each class must submit at least one piece of work. It would be best if someone else was willing, but if not, you’ll have to make up the numbers. The class monitor should set an example.” Mao Xianzhi couldn’t help but laugh as he spoke. “Don’t make it so difficult for yourself. The deadline is in the middle of next month. Besides, there’s a prize for winning an award, so just think of it as earning some pocket money.”
.
The heavy rain continued unabated, and even in the afternoon, the sky remained foggy. The water in the corridor was so thick that it could submerge the soles of people's shoes.
The PE teacher clearly didn't let the students off the hook just because it was raining; the class still had to be held.
Ji Li lingered in the classroom for a while. When he picked up his coat and went to the school clinic, he heard a commotion inside before he even entered the room.
The school doctor was busy and sweating profusely. She glanced up and saw him coming. She didn't have time to ask about his lateness: "You've come at the right time. There are a few injured people over there. Please help me treat them."
Ji Li glanced in the direction the school doctor was pointing and then spotted a familiar face.
Ying Yunsheng was dragged into the school clinic by his roommate, and even noticed Ji Li's arrival earlier than anyone else.
My roommate Meng Xing was occupying one of the few chairs while waiting for the school doctor to finish his work when he was suddenly looked at like this. He immediately sat up straight: "Academic genius? What are you doing here?"
Ji Li took a new pack of cotton swabs from the counter and, instead of answering, asked, "Where are you hurt?"
Meng Xing quickly spread his hands, revealing fresh scratches on his palms: "I scraped myself on the stairs earlier, but thankfully, at least I wasn't stepped on."
"Stepped on it?"
“It was raining heavily outside today, and the PE teacher told us to have class on the basement level of the gym. But the stairs down were too slippery with water, and the lights weren’t on. Someone slipped and fell on the way, which knocked down a whole bunch of people.” Meng Xing explained the whole story in a few words. “Then the PE teacher sent us all here.”
Upon hearing this, Ji Li looked up and glanced to the side.
Ying Yunsheng had been paying attention to him, and when their eyes met unexpectedly, he heard the other ask, "What about him?"
He was taken aback and subconsciously wanted to speak, but Meng Xing answered first: "He is my classmate. He helped me when I almost fell, so I asked him to come with me."
Ying Yunsheng swallowed his words again.
Meng Xing continued, "You probably don't know the academic genius. He was the top science student in our class placement exam, and the only one who outperformed you..."
Ji Li lowered his head to take the medicine and replied, "I know him."
Getting a response from the person in question is the most effective stimulant for any gossipmonger, and Meng Xing, being a natural chatterbox, immediately started talking even more enthusiastically.
While the other person was talking, Ji Li quickly treated the wound, and then did the same to treat the various bumps and bruises on the other students who the school doctor hadn't been able to attend to.
The school clinic was small, and the students he treated thanked him and left on their own.
Ying Yunsheng didn't utter a single word from beginning to end. It wasn't until Meng Xing reluctantly pulled him away that he belatedly realized that it was rather impolite to treat him like he wasn't there the whole time.
Before he could even think of what to say in farewell, Ji Li reached out and pulled him out of the crowd.
Meng Xing's movements were thwarted, and he turned his head in confusion, looking up at Ying Yunsheng's wrist that was being gripped: "Academic genius?"
Ji Li said, "You go first, he'll stay."
.
Everyone else left.
Ying Yunsheng finally asked, "How did you..."
Ji Li glanced at him and rolled up the cuff of his right sleeve.
A nearly two-inch-long gash appeared abruptly on the forearm, from wrist to elbow, with the skin and flesh at the edges slightly rolled back and blood seeping out drop by drop.
The school doctor, having finally finished treating the student he was treating, glanced over as he passed by and exclaimed, "Ouch! Little student, your injury is quite serious. What happened?"
Ying Yunsheng paused for a few seconds: "I scratched it on the railing."
Actually, it was earlier on the stairs of the gymnasium when Meng Xing fell towards him. He reached out to catch him, but his arm hit the metal railing and was cut by a rusty piece of metal protruding from the railing.
School doctor: "Wait here, I'll go get the medicine and pack it for you..."
Ying Yunsheng: "No need."
The school doctor thought he had misheard: "What did you say?"
Ying Yunsheng repeated: "No need to bandage."
The school doctor asked in a shocked tone, "What did you say?"
"Well……"
"There's a time and place for showing off." The school doctor placed the medicine bottle on the table and said earnestly, "I know you boys might think it's cool to have a little blood on you, but you can't treat your body like that. In your current situation, if it's not treated in time, inflammation and infection are the least of your worries. What if it leaves a scar? When you go to university, your professors will think you were a troublemaker and got into fights. When you start working, your boss will think you used to be involved in gangs and caused trouble. When you're in a relationship, your girlfriend will think you're ugly and it's embarrassing to take you out like that. If the whole world abandons you because of this scar, will you still think it's no big deal?"
“Uh…” Ying Yunsheng was silent for a while, then said, “I’m leaving now.”
The school doctor, his throat dry from talking so much, was quite dissatisfied with his indifference: "Wait a minute, student..."
Ji Li: "Why didn't you say so just now?"
Ying Yunsheng stopped in his tracks instinctively.
Ji Li looked into his eyes: "Why didn't you say you were injured?"
Ying Yunsheng endured his direct gaze for half a minute before speaking again, his tone instantly softening: "It costs money to see a doctor at the school clinic."
"Uh..." Author's Note: