Even in her past life, when she was at her academic best, she couldn’t be called a top student, just an ordinary girl who ended up having a tough life.
And now!
She was going to stand two meters in front of the whole grade, just like two other senior sisters, as a flag bearer.
The soul of an adult who hadn’t dreamt in a long time suddenly felt like it was in a dream, feeling a bit surreal.
As she was lost in her thoughts, she noticed Zhao Jinhui, who had just returned from the restroom at the back, ignoring her completely and greeting Shen Mo instead, asking:
“Mo, what were you doing wandering back and forth in the corridor just now?”
“…” Shen Mo’s heart skipped a beat. He was indeed a bit anxious to know whether the headmaster had agreed to Little Potato becoming the flag bearer, but he instinctively didn’t want anyone to know about his actions. Although he felt like he was being cursed by Zhao Jinhui’s remarks just by looking at his hairstyle, he didn’t show any signs of it on his face. Instead, he casually changed the subject:
“Do you have the basketball with you?”
“Yeah, I brought it. During the break, didn’t we agree to play 3v3 with the seniors?” Zhao Jinhui, completely oblivious to Shen Mo not answering his question, started laughing happily as he talked about basketball.
“Mm.” Shen Mo responded with a grunt, ignoring the cheerful Zhao Jinhui, and stepped into the classroom, leaving a cold and indifferent back view for the fanboy.
“…” Hua Jie, because of her short legs, was left behind by the two boys. She glanced at Shen Mo, who had already sat down at his seat, and then at Zhao Jinhui’s back. She vaguely felt like she had missed some information, but soon her mind was filled with thoughts of painting the wall and being a flag bearer.
Hastily lowering her head as she walked past the podium to return to her seat, she placed her hand on the design draft, earnestly considering the next steps in execution.
Just before class started, Shen Mo’s gaze suddenly shifted from the snowflakes outside the window, which were being blown around by the wind, back to Hua Jie.
“On such a cold day, won’t you freeze if you paint outside?” he asked.
“Cold medicine is only a few bucks. I can earn 400 bucks from it! That’s worth it!” 400 bucks in this era, it’s as much as her mother’s monthly salary last year!
“… ” Shen Mo stared at her incredulously, unable to believe what he was hearing.
Is this kid crazy?
Does she value money over her life?
…
…
During Thursday’s break, the snow finally stopped.
The students all ran outside to have snowball fights. At first, it was quite harmonious and organized, but gradually it turned into grabbing huge chunks of snow, shoving them down classmates’ collars, and then laughing wildly as they ran away.
As they played more recklessly, it didn’t take long for things to get out of hand.
In Hua Jie’s class, the sports student Liu Qingquan annoyed the senior students from the third year by hitting them with a snowball. Several senior students surrounded him and fought back, all getting angry and showing no mercy.
Liu Qingquan’s friends were also unhappy, and soon both sides were engaged in a brawl.
Worried that they might not win the fight, the senior students ran back to their classroom and called Zhao Qinglou, a senior from Class 1 of the first year, saying, “Qinglou! Some little punks from the first year are provoking us!”
Zhao Qinglou immediately got off his desk and, accompanied by a group of senior students, rushed downstairs.
In Class 7 of the first year, all the boys crowded around the window sill to watch the commotion.
They were angry that the senior students were bullying them, who were not fully developed yet, but hesitated about whether to go down and help.
Shen Mo was sleeping on his desk when he heard the commotion and lifted his head to look outside.
He immediately recognized that the group not wearing school uniforms were seniors, while the ones wearing uniforms were from their class.
Frowning, he stood up, stretched lazily, put on a padded jacket, and walked outside.
The other boys thought he was going to the restroom after waking up and didn’t pay much attention.
Two minutes later, they saw Shen Mo heading straight for the playground and kicking the senior students who were not wearing school uniforms into the snowdrifts behind Zhao Qinglou.
His kicks were powerful, showing his strong martial arts skills, making onlookers shrink their necks.
After shrinking their necks, the boys from Class 7 of the first year who were watching the commotion from the window couldn’t sit still.
Ah, the blood boiled instantly!
Even Shen Mo, who had fought against the sports students from their own class, couldn’t sit by. How could they, as friendly classmates, just watch?
Internal conflicts should be resolved internally. They couldn’t just stand by and watch students from other classes bully their classmates!
“I told you Brother Mo is a loyal man!” Zhao Jinhui, the fanboy, waved the eraser in his hand, excited like a baboon.
With the impulsiveness of adolescence, in a flash, all the boys from Class 7 of the first year ran downstairs.
Even the two female classmates who were studying sports took out iron rulers, filled with enthusiasm, and went downstairs.
…
…
Hua Jie’s efficiency in issuing tasks to her classmates decreased because she started painting walls for the school.
During music class, Hua Jie was called out by the art teacher to paint walls outside;
During self-study, Hua Jie was called out by the art teacher to paint walls outside;
During art class, while her classmates were self-studying in the classroom, Hua Jie and the art teacher were both outside painting walls;
During break time, Hua Jie was called out by the art teacher to paint walls outside…
In short, she was very busy.
Taking a break to use the restroom, she bumped into a senior student from the third year, Bai Xue, who talked to her about painting portraits. Although Hua Jie couldn’t immediately fulfill the request, Bai Xue didn’t mind at all. She said they could wait for half a month, but they needed to be put on the waiting list first.
So the two walked side by side, scheduling a time and discussing the price.
Just as they walked a little farther, they suddenly heard loud shouting, cursing, and the sound of a fight breaking out. Turning their heads, they saw a brawl, and among them, someone was swinging a padded jacket to hit others… It seemed to be Shen Mo.
Without hesitation, Hua Jie dashed towards the crowd.
She swore she wasn’t squeezing in just to watch the excitement, although she did enjoy watching it. This time, she was genuinely worried about Shen Mo’s safety.
Senior student Bai Xue hurriedly caught up and asked, “What’s going on?”
…
Shen Mo had knocked down two senior students into the snowdrifts, and they couldn’t get up. He then turned his head and saw a girl with a bobbed haircut and a school uniform with a red scarf. Immediately, he took off his somewhat loose padded jacket and threw it to her.
He had already memorized Hua Jie’s attire, so he was unlikely to mistake her for someone else—
Just like how a dog can recognize its owner by their footsteps.
At this moment, Bai Xue caught up to Hua Jie. She glanced at the senior student Zhao Qinglou, then at Shen Mo, and turned to ask Hua Jie:
“Is he your boyfriend?”
“Ah…” Hua Jie didn’t even have time to answer her senior. Her eyes were fixed on Shen Mo, extremely nervous.
Bai Xue understood immediately. That handsome and wild-looking young man must be Hua Jie’s crush.
Now that Hua Jie was going to paint her portrait, she was practically her person. She definitely couldn’t let Zhao Qinglou beat up the girl’s crush.
By the edge of the snowdrift, Zhao Qinglou had already abandoned the sports student from Class 7 of the first year and was heading towards Shen Mo.
But before he reached Shen Mo, a hand suddenly grabbed his arm.
“Hey, stop it. We’re all friends here!” Bai Xue held onto Zhao Qinglou’s arm and softly persuaded him, hoping to calm down Zhao Qinglou’s anger.
Zhao Qinglou wasn’t buying it. He forcefully shook off Bai Xue’s hand and pointed at her fiercely, saying:
“You stay out of this today!”
Bai Xue was stunned for 2 seconds, and Zhao Qinglou froze when he saw who it was.
In the next moment, Bai Xue widened her eyes and bumped her shoulder against him:
“I am involved! What about you? Are you going to hit me?”
Zhao Qinglou was taken aback by the bump. He saw his girlfriend, who he had just caught up to, glaring at him with a flushed face, leaving him in a dilemma.
If he didn’t hit her, not only would it seem like he was afraid of Shen Mo, but he would also seem afraid of women.
But if he pushed away his girlfriend, he would probably get dumped immediately…
Shen Mo tilted his head, frowned impatiently, and said, “Are you going to fight or not?”
“Shut up!” Zhao Qinglou was annoyed and turned his head, shouting.
Shen Mo clenched his teeth, his cheek slightly bulging, and in the next instant, his fist struck Zhao Qinglou’s cheekbone.
The situation then descended into chaos. Bai Xue’s hand was still reaching forward, but the Zhao Qinglou she had just been holding onto had been pushed back three steps by Shen Mo, completely out of her control.
She stood there in a daze, watching the group of boys fighting.
Out of control.
“….” In the blink of an eye, Bai Xue even struggled to find the figures of Zhao Qinglou and Shen Mo.
The snow flew in the air as the brawl ensued, and the duty students might as well have not bothered to clear the playground.
As the headmaster and several male teachers came over to separate the students, Shen Mo was sitting on top of Zhao Qinglou, throwing punches with both hands. Apart from his disheveled hair, he didn’t seem to have suffered any damage.
However, Zhao Qinglou beneath him was in a sorry state, his padded jacket torn to shreds, his face swollen and bruised…
Other senior students who wanted to come to Zhao Qinglou’s aid were all blocked by the other male students from Class 7 of the first year.
Hua Jie held Shen Mo’s padded jacket, quietly watching as Shen Mo and the others were taken away by the teachers, finally exhaling a sigh of relief.
Turning her head to look at Bai Xue beside her, she said softly:
“Shen Mo knows when to stop when he’s fighting. Don’t worry, Senior Sister, it’s probably just minor injuries.”
Bai Xue only realized now. When Hua Jie was looking worriedly at Zhao Qinglou and Shen Mo earlier, she might not have been concerned about Shen Mo, but rather about Zhao Qinglou.
Or perhaps she was worried that Shen Mo would beat Zhao Qinglou so badly that he would be subjected to justice…
It was completely different from what she had thought.
Zhao Qinglou had never lost a fight before…
Bai Xue suddenly felt a pang of sadness. How could this happen like this…