With the new semester beginning, all of the previous first-year classes were broken up, except for the two advanced classes; the remaining classes were reorganized based on grades.
Today was the first day of registration, and Class 18 was composed of students from different classes, including Lin Tiao from Class 6 and Jiang Yan from Class 15, along with his three little followers.
Lin Tiao didn’t understand how the four of them ended up in the same class amid the crowd.
Unlike her, who was surrounded by unfamiliar faces, she didn’t recognize anyone else in the classroom aside from them.
Standing at the door, she had already imagined her lonely freshman experience, feeling isolated and helpless, and had envisioned the tragic fate of a freshman who, unable to endure the humiliation, dropped out.
The homeroom teacher interrupted her thoughts, saying, “You two, come in and find a seat. Then we’ll take attendance and let everyone get to know each other.”
Although Jiang Yan was the last one to enter the classroom, his three friends had arrived early and already secured prime spots for him.
Lin Tiao, unfamiliar with the place and without a friend to save a seat, scanned the classroom and noticed an empty spot in the front row by the door.
With no other choice, she grabbed her backpack and sat down.
Her new desk mate was a boy who greeted Lin Tiao friendly enough before looking down at his phone, not saying another word to her.
“……”
Very nice, very cool.
Lin Tiao, with her arm in a cast, simply placed her backpack on the desk. Looking up, she saw three powerful characters written on the blackboard.
— Yu Bingshan.
Followed by an eleven-digit number.
It appeared to be the teacher’s name and contact information.
Soon, the new homeroom teacher confirmed Lin Tiao’s assumption, “The names and contact information on the blackboard are mine, for the new students to get to know.”
The “new students” clearly referred to her and Jiang Yan.
Lin Tiao pretended to nod in understanding, planning to take out a pen to jot down the number but stopped when she saw the cast on her arm.
“In the future, we will be a new class together,” Yu Bingshan said slowly. “Now I will take attendance, and when I call your name, please come up to introduce yourself.”
Yu Bingshan walked to the podium and pulled out a list from his bag. Watching him move so slowly made Lin Tiao sigh, and she took out her phone to message Meng Xin.
“Lin Tiao,” Yu Bingshan called out.
“……” Sitting in the back, Lin Tiao expressionlessly raised her head, and in response to Yu’s searching gaze, stood up.
“Oh, so you’re Lin Tiao,” Yu Bingshan pointed to the spot next to him, “Come here and face everyone to speak.”
“……”
Suddenly, Lin Tiao regretted not agreeing with her dad when he suggested she wait a few days before returning to school. Instead, she insisted on coming back on the first day.
Under Yu Bingshan’s eager gaze, Lin Tiao dragged her weary body to the podium. Turning around to face the classroom, she nearly lost her breath.
After a long silence, Yu Bingshan thought she was shy and encouraged everyone, “Let’s give the new student a round of applause.”
A round of applause erupted in the classroom.
“……”
No, teacher, I really don’t need applause; just let me sit down.
Amid the curious, strange, and eager gazes of her classmates, Lin Tiao finally spoke, “Hello everyone, my name is Lin Tiao. My surname is Lin, which means ‘forest’ with two trees, and my name has a ‘shelter’ under a roof with two dots. I’m very happy to be in the same class as everyone. Thank you!”
Yu Bingshan led the applause again, and just as Lin Tiao was about to return to her seat, someone in the back raised their hand, “Teacher, doesn’t the self-introduction also need to include our interests and hobbies?”
Lin Tiao looked back at the classroom and met Jiang Yan’s gaze and bright smile.
Taking a deep breath to suppress the urge to respond impulsively, she added, “I don’t have any hobbies; I only love studying.”
Yu Bingshan applauded again, looking very pleased. “Good, Lin Tiao’s attitude toward studying is something we should all learn from.”
The applause in the classroom was thunderous. Lin Tiao even saw a certain idiot in the back clapping with one hand while his arm was in a cast.
“……”
Idiot.
Returning to her seat, Lin Tiao found that Meng Xin had already replied to her message: “No way, you’re in the same class as Jiang Yan and the others?”
“Ahhhh! Is it still possible for me to transfer classes now?”
“No! I’m asking my dad to transfer me today; I can’t miss this epic showdown!”
What kind of person is this?
Lin Tiao quickly sent her a barrage of replies while Yu Bingshan continued taking attendance, calling out names one by one… “Jiang Yan.”
Upon hearing that name, Lin Tiao suddenly looked up.
Jiang Yan walked down the aisle next to her, stood at the podium, and without any unnecessary words said, “Jiang Yan, hobbies unspecified.”
Lin Tiao couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Hobbies unspecified? Who in the whole school didn’t know he enjoyed showing off and acting foolishly?
His classmates were very accommodating to him, and the applause nearly shook the roof.
Just when Lin Tiao felt like she was about to roll her eyes out of her head, Jiang Yan walked down from the podium and suddenly stopped beside her.
“?” She looked up, meeting his gaze, puzzled.
Everyone in the class held their breath, watching the two, afraid to miss any details, while Yu Bingshan was ready to ask what was going on.
Jiang Yan spoke up, clearly and loudly, “Lin Tiao, why didn’t you applaud just now? Do you have any objections to me?”
“……” Objections? What objections?
Lin Tiao tugged at the corner of her mouth and raised her arm. “Classmate, you see I have this cast on, how can I applaud?”
In the silence that followed, Jiang Yan suddenly raised his hand. Just as everyone thought that the big shot was finally angry and about to take action, a certain idiot patted his own cast in front of Lin Tiao.
“Why can’t you applaud? I’ll show you how.”
The whole class: “……”
Lin Tiao: “……”
The awkward self-introduction quickly came to an end. Before the class was dismissed, Yu Bingshan selected a class monitor and a study committee member based on the entrance scores and the self-introduction performances.
Lin Tiao’s deskmate, Du Wenbo, was chosen as the study committee member, while Jiang Yan became the class monitor.
She turned to look at Du Wenbo, who was engrossed in playing on his phone, and Jiang Yan, who was sleeping in the back row, and couldn’t help but sigh, questioning Yu Bingshan’s judgment.
At the same time, she deeply wondered if she could survive until graduation.
-
On the first day of school, there were no classes scheduled; it was basically a time for everyone to get familiar with the new environment and for new students to get to know each other.
During the self-study period in the afternoon, Yu Bingshan organized students to record the clothing sizes of the boys and girls in the class. “After class, the class leader will take a few boys to the playground to retrieve the uniforms.”
Each grade at the Tenth Middle School has different uniforms, but the colors and styles are generally similar. The only difference is that the first-year uniforms have a single stripe under the school emblem, and the matching short-sleeve shirts also have a single stripe.
In contrast, the second-year uniforms have two stripes, and the third-year uniforms have three stripes.
This is commonly referred to as the “stripe school uniform.”
After the sizes were collected, Yu Bingshan stood at the podium with the list, occasionally glancing down at the students while making notes on the paper.
Lin Tiao didn’t pay much attention; she was chatting with Meng Xin on QQ.
As class was about to end, students from the neighboring class came over to call people to help retrieve the uniforms. Jiang Yan called six or seven boys to go with him.
Before long, the bell rang, and Yu Bingshan took the list and left. The classroom buzzed with chatter, while Lin Tiao’s deskmate, Du Wenbo, remained focused on his phone, seemingly unaffected by the noise around him.
She stretched her shoulders and got up to go to the restroom.
When she returned, Jiang Yan and the others were back and distributing uniforms in the classroom.
During the break, the classroom was chaotic. Lin Tiao, fearing being jostled, chose to stand outside and wait.
There were fifty-eight students in total in the class, with boys making up a significant portion.
Once the uniforms were distributed, Hu Hanghang handed the list to Jiang Yan. “The ones marked are those who didn’t receive their uniforms. The teacher who distributed them really messed up; he said there were fifty-eight people, yet some were still missed.”
Jiang Yan took the list, flipped through it, and noted that all the names without uniforms were boys. He circled their names and casually tossed the list on the desk. “We’ll get them later; let’s go eat first.”
“Got it.”
The four of them rushed out through the back door of the classroom, and just as Lin Tiao entered through the front, she noticed her uniform wasn’t on the desk. Her deskmate, Xu Huanhuan, reminded her, “It seems they didn’t get enough uniforms, so you’ll probably receive yours later.”
“Oh,” Lin Tiao nodded. “Thanks.”
“It’s just a small matter, no need to thank me.”
Lin Tiao smiled and didn’t say anything else. She pulled out her phone and went downstairs to find Meng Xin to have lunch together. They were in different classes, one in Class 18 and the other in Class 14, so the distance between them was manageable.
When they met, Meng Xin complained, “I never expected to be in the same class as Tang Yushi. Now both of us are class officers.”
“Just thinking about spending the next two years together with her makes me lose motivation to study.”
“Ahhhh! Why didn’t she like us? Technically, she was the class flower and the class leader; I don’t get why she was so dismissive of us.”
Lin Tiao scrolled through the menu, selecting a few dishes. “Maybe good-looking people face some societal bias, regardless of the circumstances.”
“…”
After lunch, before Meng Xin returned to her class, she mentioned to Lin Tiao, “I have to get my dad to transfer me to another class.”
“Okay, I’ll wait for you in Class 18,” Lin Tiao replied, heading upstairs. On the way, she received a call from her father, who asked if she had classes that evening and mentioned he would pass by her school to pick her up.
After hanging up, she detoured to Old Yu’s office to request a leave of absence. Upon seeing her injury, Old Yu promptly approved her request and advised her to be careful on her way home.
“Goodbye, teacher.” She quickly walked back to the classroom, grabbed her backpack, and waited at the school gate.
During the evening self-study session, Old Yu asked the class representative to create a group to include everyone. Since Lin Tiao had gone home, she missed the message from Old Yu stating, “Tomorrow morning is the school opening ceremony. The school requires all students to wear their uniforms. Please don’t wash your uniforms tonight.”
The next morning, when Lin Tiao arrived at the classroom, she realized everyone was wearing the standard two-stripe uniforms, except for her.
Xu Huanhuan, holding a cup of soy milk, exclaimed, “Lin Tiao, why aren’t you wearing your uniform? The school requires all teachers and students to wear them for the opening ceremony today.”
“Didn’t they say they didn’t have enough uniforms yesterday? Didn’t you pick yours up?” Lin Tiao placed her backpack on the desk. “Did I miss something?”
Xu Huanhuan was taken aback. “They went to get the uniforms last night! When you weren’t here, I thought you had already picked yours up.”
“I…” Lin Tiao scratched her head, not wanting to explain further. “It shouldn’t be a problem if I don’t attend the opening ceremony, right?”
“I heard that Li Kun will take attendance in every class.” Xu Huanhuan put down her things. “Why don’t you ask the class leader? He’s responsible for the uniforms.”
Lin Tiao glanced back at the classroom, hesitating between approaching the Black Teachers or Jiang Yan, before finally deciding on the latter. “Alright, I’ll go ask him.”
Their seats were one in front of the other, separated by the classroom aisle. Lin Tiao walked over, repeatedly reminding herself to lower her head when asking for a favor, before slowly forcing a smile. “Class leader.”
Jiang Yan looked surprised, glancing at her without saying a word.
Lin Tiao continued, “I don’t have a uniform. Did you miss mine when you were handing them out yesterday?”
“You don’t have a uniform?” Jiang Yan finally raised his gaze, leaning back. “Hu Hanghang, where’s the uniform list you counted yesterday?”
“It’s on my desk. You can check it out.” As soon as she said this, Hu Hanghang quickly moved back, pulled out the list from her desk, and handed it to Jiang Yan. “Here it is, bro.”
Lin Tiao: “…”
Jiang Yan flipped through the list, looking at the names he circled yesterday, then turned to the next page and found Lin Tiao's name. There was neither a tick nor a mark next to it.
He placed the list in front of Lin Tiao. “These were the only boys who were missed during the count. Why didn’t you say you didn’t have a uniform?”
Lin Tiao bit her lip. “I didn’t think I would be overlooked.”
“Why does it sound like you think I purposely didn’t give you a uniform?” Jiang Yan chuckled, leaning against the wall. Although his hand was in a cast, it didn’t affect his playful nature.
“Fine, if there isn’t one, then there isn’t one.” Lin Tiao decided not to say anything further and turned to leave.
“Hey” Jiang Yan called out to her, reaching into the space under his desk and pulling out his own uniform jacket to hand to her. “Here, wear mine for now; there will be a check this morning.”
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