In the English class of Class 2, Sister Xin entered the classroom with her small megaphone and immediately heard coughing from all sides. She frowned, then walked stomping onto the podium in her high heels.
"Students by the window, please open the window a little so we can get some fresh air."
It was cold by the window, and Yang Shuhuan had caught a cold. She kept blowing her nose with tissues on the table. In the morning, she simply switched places with Wang Zehao.
"I remember the four seasons are spring, summer, autumn, and winter, right? Summer just ended, how come it's already winter?" Wang Zehao, wearing a thick sweatshirt, couldn't help but rub his arms against the chill coming from the window. He refused to obey Sister Xin's order to open the window.
"Right now, only Huanhuan is sick. If we open the window, we'll both die."
Gu Chen, who was sitting in front of him, looked at his deskmate first upon hearing this, "Hey deskmate, aren't you cold? Can we open the window a crack?"
"Mm." Xiang Yu had been memorizing the vocabulary words at the back of his English book since before class, and nodded in response when Gu Chen asked him.
Gu Chen opened the window a crack less than a centimeter wide, and the cold wind blew in through the crack.
"Hmph." Gu Chen closed the window again, picked up the thermos on the table, unscrewed it, took a sip of hot water, and handed the cup to Xiang Yu. "It's too cold. You should drink some too, it'll warm you up."
"No need," Xiang Yu shook his head.
During the National Day holiday, Xiang Yu was dragged by Gu Chen to the welfare home and nursing home in City B, plus the time she chased away the thugs at the movie theater. The 50 morality points required for this month were handed over to the system early. As long as the morality index of the Four Constellations is above 50, they will always be free from illness and disaster, which can be considered a benefit.
"Quick, drink a couple of sips. Drinking more hot water is good for your health." Steam rose from the thermos, and Gu Chen's attitude was firm, as if he would keep holding it up until the other person drank.
Xiang Yu couldn't refuse him, so she took the thermos and took a sip.
"I'll bring my own cup next time." Xiang Yu handed the thermos back to him.
Gu Chen said, "Why should we distinguish between each other? We can just use one of them."
"...There's really no need for that."
Xiang Yu didn't know what was wrong with Gu Chen lately. He would send him good morning and good night greetings on WeChat every day without fail. If it rained or the temperature dropped the next day, he would definitely tell him on WeChat on time to bring an umbrella and wear more clothes. At school, the two of them were basically never separated for more than ten minutes. Even when he went to the toilet, this idiot would drag him along.
Of course they couldn't be together; he refused.
Although Gu Chen had been very enthusiastic before, recently this enthusiasm had been mixed with a sticky feeling that he couldn't shake off, making him feel that their relationship was strange now.
Not only did he think so, but Wang Zehao, who was sitting in the back row watching their interaction, also thought so.
"See that?" Wang Zehao nudged Yang Shuhuan with his elbow and whispered, "Don't you think they look gay? I bet this is how Brother Chen would act if he had a girlfriend."
"You're overthinking it." Yang Shuhuan sniffled and pulled out a tissue to blow his nose. "Go a bit further."
The last sentence was spoken too softly for Wang Zehao to hear clearly. He exclaimed "Ah!" and leaned even closer, "Huanhuan, what did you say?"
"I told you I'm fucking sick and you better stay away from me." Yang Shuhuan rolled her eyes, shoved him aside, and grabbed a tissue.
"Huanhuan, drink more hot water and take your medicine on time when you have a cold." Gu Chen turned to look at Yang Shuhuan, pulled a new disposable mask from the table drawer and handed it to her. "Here, wear it."
Yang Shuhuan took it and was about to say thank you when he heard his brother Chen say, "Don't infect my deskmate."
Grass?
Yang Shuhuan looked at him with a skeptical gaze, then, seeing the other's serious expression, looked at Xiang Yu in front of him and asked, "My brother Yu is treated so well?"
Absolutely!
Gu Chen's voice was rather loud, and everyone around him turned to look at him, which also caught the attention of Sister Xin in front.
"Class monitor, what's so 'must'?" Sister Xin leaned against the lectern and looked at him with a smile.
It's over.
History always repeats itself, and Xiang Yu didn't even have time to stop him.
Then Gu Chen stood up and answered the question loudly: "My deskmate must be treated well!"
"Oh~"
The girls in the class sighed at Gu Chen, but their eyes were all on Xiang Yu.
Xiang Yu kept his head down, not looking at anyone, his face expressionless, but in his heart he wished he could drag Gu Chen over and beat him up.
The class started teasing, everyone was just having fun, and Sister Xin laughed too.
Even if he laughed, he couldn't be let off so easily. Gu Chen was called up to wipe the blackboard because Xin Jie's hands were covered in chalk dust. He also unscrewed Xin Jie's water cup. After drinking from it, he had to refill it with hot water, but unfortunately, the water dispenser was out of water.
"I'll go to the hot water room to get it." Gu Chen grabbed his water cup and ran out of the classroom before Xin Jie could say anything.
Xin-jie stood there blinking, then said to the whole classroom, "I haven't even said anything yet, your class monitor is so nice."
The English class representative was Wang Airu, who usually chatted happily with the English teacher, and she immediately took over the conversation.
"The class monitor has a lot of love in his heart; he's the kindest person in the class."
"What you give away is small love, what you leave for your deskmate is great love!"
Some girls started to egg them on, which immediately caused another round of sighs.
"Oh~"
Just a second ago there was a chorus of coughing, but now they're all energetic and have stopped coughing, busy making a ruckus.
When Gu Chen came in, the cheers and jeers were deafening, almost lifting the ceiling off Class 2 of the Literature Department.
Gu Chen looked bewildered at the inexplicable sigh, but quickly laughed along, placing the water cup, now screwed shut, on the lectern while carrying a bucket of water in his other hand.
The water dispenser's large water bottle looked heavy, yet Gu Chen carried it so calmly; anyone who didn't know better would think he was carrying an empty bottle.
"Hey, where did you get the water from?" Xin Jie was curious because there was no water bucket in the hot water room.
"I borrowed this from the grade-level office downstairs last year. I'll take a water ticket to Director Tang after class."
Each class needs to use class funds to buy water tickets. The water tickets from the teachers are given out at the beginning of the semester, but the quantity is limited, especially since we drink a lot of hot water in winter. Tang Weijin originally planned to let Gu Chen take them directly, but Gu Chen insisted on not taking them for free.
"There's no water in the classroom. It's been cold lately, and many students have caught colds. We can't let the hot water run out." As soon as Gu Chen finished speaking, the girls below started shouting.
"Our squad leader is forever a god!"
"Brother Chen is the best class monitor I've ever met since I started school! Without a doubt!"
"Sigh, I wonder which girl will end up with the class monitor."
"I ship the Shen Yu couple!"
The topic was about to veer off course again, and Sister Xin still had to continue the lesson, so she coaxed Little Bee, "Okay, let's stop talking and continue looking at the workbook..."
Gu Chen placed the water bucket on the water dispenser and returned to his seat.
Xiang Yu's head was spinning from the noise the girls in his class had just made, and all he wanted to do was hold his head and calm down.
"Classmate? What's wrong? Do you have a headache?" Gu Chen thought he was not feeling well and was afraid that the other person had a fever, so he hurriedly reached out his hand.
Before Xiang Yu could stop him, he felt a cold sensation on his forehead.
"It's not hot." Gu Chen placed his other hand on his forehead, seriously comparing the two people's body temperatures.
"Damn." Wang Zehao shook Yang Shuhuan's arm wildly. "Is this right? This isn't right. It shouldn't be like this normally." After saying that, he also imitated Gu Chen's action and reached out his hand to Yang Shuhuan.
"Should we visit Huanhuan too?"
Get out of my way!
[Author's Note: Xiang Yu: Something's wrong with him, something's really wrong with him.]
Chapter Thirty-Six: Did Gu Chen see that? The one with the best grades is my deskmate.
Chapter Thirty-Six Gu Chen: Did you see that? The one with the best grades is my deskmate.
The next class was Chinese. As soon as the preparatory bell rang, the dean strolled into the classroom with his textbook, humming a little tune as he entered, looking to be in a good mood.
"The monthly exam results are out. Class monitor, come up and get your report cards." The dean took the report cards out from between the pages of the textbook, smiling as he looked at the group of students below. "Let me ask for your opinions. Should we send the report cards to the parents' group?"
Upon hearing this, Class 2 of the Literature Department immediately erupted in excitement.
"Of course we won't send it!"
"I didn't have a choice during my first year of high school; if I could, I wouldn't want to post this!"
"Don't send it! Leave the child a way to survive!"
"Don't send it!" Zhang Boyuan shouted from the back row with a mournful face. "I don't want to be beaten by a mixed doubles team."
β Fang Huo Yue Gong Shui Lin Shi Qu
"Who says otherwise? My mom has been asking me about my grades these past few days. I wasn't worried at first, but now I'm getting scared from all the questions," Wang Zehao sighed.
Gu Chen returned to his seat, glanced at the report card in his hand, raised an eyebrow, and said to the person behind him, "Haozi, you're twentieth in the class."
"What? Twenty?" Wang Zehao's expression brightened visibly, and he grinned at the dean on the podium, "Then it's alright, go ahead and distribute them."
"Grass? Are you a person?"
As he spoke, Zhang Boyuan pulled a piece of scrap paper from his desk drawer, crumpled it up, and threw it at Wang Zehao. Wang Zehao was hit on the head by the flying paper but didn't care. He asked Gu Chen for his report card, found his line, and looked at it with a smile. There were 48 students in Class 2 of Literature. He ranked 20th, which was considered an above-average result. Wasn't this better than being at the bottom of the class in the first year of high school?
"Huanhuan, you're ninth in your class and thirteenth in the grade, that's impressive." Wang Zehao counted up the rankings and was overjoyed to see that Yang Shuhuan had made it into the top ten in her class. He patted her on the shoulder and laughed, "Please invite me to your house for dinner tonight."
"When have you ever not eaten dinner at my house?" Yang Shuhuan rolled her eyes at him, snatched the report card, glanced at her grades in each subject, and continued to look up the rankings.
"Brother Chen, you're second in your class and third in the grade."
"Oh, that's good."
Gu Chen himself didn't react much to his grades. He had been studying all along, and it was only the first semester of his second year of high school. The feedback from his grades didn't matter much to him, and he hadn't reached the point where he really cared about his grades yet.
"My brother Chen is second, so who's first?" Wang Zehao leaned over to look, exclaimed "Holy crap!" and stared at the report card with wide eyes. After looking at each subject, he looked at Gu Chen's side.
"Is my brother Yu really that strong?"
"Let me see it." Gu Chen hadn't had a chance to look at the report card yet, and only now did he see that his deskmate's name was written in first place.
"138 in Chinese, 145 in English, and 150 in Math?" Gu Chen's excited expression made it seem like he had gotten first place. "First place, deskmate! You're amazing!"
"You don't need to be so excited..." Although he said that, Xiang Yu felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction. It wasn't the first time someone had praised his grades, but it seemed a little different when Gu Chen said it.
Why?
Xiang Yu turned her head slightly to look at Gu Chen. The other party still had a smile on his face, and looked at things seriously. His profile was sharp and smooth.
I've heard other girls call this classmate the school heartthrob before, and he really is quite handsome.
Gu Chen noticed someone watching him out of the corner of his eye and wondered if this was what mutual affection looked like.
Gu Chen looked over and smiled brightly the moment their eyes met.
Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating Gu Chen's face. Xiang Yu, momentarily lost in thought, unconsciously returned a faint smile.