Chapter 49: Principal Mediocrity

“Classmates, first, Minini is beautiful. Second, she’s the class president, and I really want to flatter her. Third, she’s about to reach the age for dating soon, so it’s better to find someone in advance to avoid trouble.” The tall guy shamelessly continued.

Minini finally couldn’t stand it any longer and rushed forward, landing several punches squarely on the tall guy’s head.

Maopi Bi covered his head with both hands to dodge, not wanting to back down. He still had harsher words to say: “Classmates, did you see that? The wife just hit the husband! Nowadays, being afraid of your wife is a virtue—don’t miss the chance!”

Minini unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks again, but hitting Maopi Bi didn’t seem to hurt him at all. He couldn’t help but curse: “You dead pig! Don’t you see what kind of person you are? I like young boys, I wouldn’t even glance at you!”

The tall guy whined, “Young boys are girls—do you want to be a lesbian then?”

I didn’t like hearing that. People always assumed I was a lesbian. I slammed the desk beside me and shouted, “Have you said enough? Don’t drag me into this! Otherwise, I’ll beat you up!”

Minini raised her voice with a woman’s tone: “Young boy, he’s bullying me. Don’t you want to help?”

I observed her recent actions and had many questions swirling in my mind. “Minini, do you like Maopi Bi?”

The classmates all turned their attention to the class president’s face, eagerly awaiting her answer.

Minini felt wronged and insisted on defending herself: “No! Young boy, how could you think that? I love whoever I want, but I’d never like a toad!”

Hearing that, I stood up and fixed my gaze on the tall guy, shouting, “Get lost! Stop pestering her! Love is mutual consent. What you’re doing is no different from being a stalker!”

The tall guy showed a guilty expression and argued, “It was just a joke, wasn’t it? You took it seriously?”

Minini wouldn’t accept that, gesturing with her hands, “Who jokes like that? Aren’t you just making a monkey out of someone?”

Some classmates sat, others stood, shouting in disorder, “Fight! Looks like he’s asking for a beating again!”

Afraid I might jump up from the desk, the tall guy turned and ran out of the classroom, leaving behind, “I’m not playing with you guys anymore!”

The class bell rang, and the sweet voice of a woman came through, piquing my curiosity again. Who was she? Would her appearance be as beautiful as her voice?

Classmates hurriedly took their seats, nervously watching the door as an unfamiliar male teacher entered. Everyone frowned repeatedly, unsure of his purpose.

The male teacher walked to the teacher’s desk, placed a thick stack of test papers on it, and said, “Classmates, from today on, I will be your math teacher! Let’s get to know each other first!”

He turned around and wrote three large characters on the blackboard: “Yong Renxiao.” Then he told the class, “That’s my name. Due to time constraints, you’ll get to know me gradually. For now, the task is the exam. I’ll announce the classroom rules: first, no running around or whispering. Second, raise your hand if you have questions and turn off your phones. Third, no cheating or passing notes. Anyone caught will have their exam invalidated.”

The exam papers were counted and handed to the group leaders in the front row, then passed backward.

At this moment, the classroom was filled with the sounds of flipping papers and the math teacher pacing up and down the aisle.

I looked through the entire exam and felt like a complete fool. I hadn’t seen math problems like these in years. I wrote down what I could do first; for the others, I racked my brains but couldn’t come up with anything. I held the pen in my mouth, rolling it around, but no ideas came.

How I longed for Jiang Meili to be by my side. If only I could cheat somehow — but it was too late now. The damn gold-digger tightly covered his exam paper; it was hard to even take a glance.

Teacher Yong noticed my problem and quietly asked, “What’s wrong?”

I didn’t hide anything and answered honestly, “Teacher, I don’t know how to do this. It seems like we never studied it before. What should I do?”

Yong lowered his voice and whispered, “You have two choices: one, hand in your paper; two, think carefully — you still have half an hour.”

I nodded and chose to think carefully.

Yong left and continued pacing.

I buried my head deep in thought, and sure enough, inspiration came. I looked inward and asked the young boy inside me, “Do you know how to solve these math problems?”

The spirit of the young boy merged with my body, guiding my hand. Soon, I had finished all but two difficult problems. Then the bell rang.

I tried to grab more time, but the teacher snatched the exam paper away.

I looked up and saw all my classmates had finished and handed in their papers. The teacher held a large pile and left the classroom.

I barely paid attention in the last class before school ended.

Jiang Meili came over, tightly holding my arm, and asked, “How did the exam go?”

“At first, I couldn’t do it, but after thinking carefully, I finished all but two problems. The bell rang, and Teacher Yong took my paper away. How about you?”

“I did okay. I took my time and completed all the questions but didn’t have time to review before the class president collected the papers.”

I glanced at her left hand and was shocked. “Where’s your jade bracelet?”

She stammered, “I always wear it. I never took it off. I only noticed it was missing after washing my face this morning. I’m really puzzled and still don’t understand.”

“Didn’t I tell you before? It’s my family’s heirloom. If it’s lost, we can’t explain it. What will you do?”

Jiang Meili looked guilty. “Don’t worry. I’ll look for it carefully when I get home. Maybe the thread broke while I was sleeping, and it’s still on the bed.”

Hearing this, I could accept the situation. “Make sure to search thoroughly. If your mom found it while folding your bed, it might be with her. Ask her; you’ll definitely find it.”

Just then, Minini came over, ready to discuss the exam. I wasn’t interested, so I changed the subject: “Jiang Meili lost her bracelet. If it doesn’t turn up, you’ll be responsible. Aren’t you the guarantor?”

She looked at Jiang Meili and asked, “How did you lose it?”

“...”

“You need to get to the bottom of this. Even though I’m the guarantor, if something happens, you have to take full responsibility! Because the person wearing the bracelet is you, not me. When you get home, look carefully. If you find it, return it to the young boy as soon as possible.”

“All right! I don’t think it could be lost! The bracelet must be somewhere.”

I had to analyze the situation: “My mom once had someone restring the bracelet. It’s practically new. It’s unlikely to have broken while you were sleeping. The key is to ask your mom if she took it.”

Jiang Meili never suspected her mom would take the bracelet and frowned deeply, unable to accept that idea. “Impossible, absolutely impossible!”

But Minini offered another perspective: “If it’s impossible, then maybe it’s possible? Things often have two sides. When you go home, don’t be loud or confrontational. Speak gently, and you might find the bracelet!”

“All right.” Jiang Meili considered for a long time before replying.

…

We all knew the tight schedule: classes start at 8:30 a.m., each lasting 45 minutes. Four classes in the morning plus 10-minute breaks total 3 hours and 5 minutes, with dismissal at 11:35 a.m. The afternoon usually has two or three classes with minor subjects.

Jiang Meili clung to my right arm like a lover, making me feel shorter and my backpack look smaller on my back.

Today, no one feared me leaving the classroom. Instead, they stared unnaturally at Jiang Meili.

The school’s loudspeaker played that sweet woman’s voice: “Classmates, school’s over. Walk on the side of the road! Watch out for cars, safety first!”

I wanted to go to the hospital to check something. Taking my phone from my chest, I was about to dial when it rang first. I glanced, answered, and put the phone to my ear. “Hello?”

The lady’s voice came immediately: “Young boy, take the bus home by yourself. Dad can’t be left alone. After dinner, study hard and don’t play on your phone, okay?”

I gave a casual response and hung up.

Jiang Meili dragged my arm heavily and had a new idea: “Young boy, let’s go see Teacher Zhen?”

I wasn’t familiar with him and wondered what good it would do. If he had powers, he wouldn’t have been hospitalized after a beating. So I declined, “I still have classes this afternoon. No time!”

Jiang Meili looked disappointed and sulky, dragging my arm as we left the school gate. Suddenly, her mother appeared, dressed brightly and riding an electric scooter. Seeing us, she frowned and asked, “Her?”

I didn’t want to answer. Lesbian relationships were frowned upon and not accepted by people. Besides, Jiang Meili’s mother forbade her from hanging out with me, saying I was a bad influence. It made me very unhappy.

Jiang Meili, however, said everything: “Mom, she’s my good sister and amazing! She can take down four top students by herself!”

“Still talking? Didn’t I tell you not to hang out with her?” Her mother looked at Jiang Meili and quietly asked, “Is she two meters tall now?”

“I don’t know! I haven’t spent much time with her lately. Besides, we don’t even sit together anymore.”