“Heh, she’s already so poor she has to resort to that!” Bian Ying said in a low voice.
“…” The chemistry class representative suddenly fell silent, glancing at Bian Ying beside her with a cold, sharp gaze, feeling a chill.
It wasn’t until they walked side by side into the classroom and saw Hua Jie already quietly reading at her desk that the chemistry class representative perked up again.
Soon, rumors about Hua Jie possibly being kept spread throughout the class.
By the second period, rumors about Hua Jie, the freshman exercise leader, had spread to other classes:
“Hua Jie’s boyfriend is a big shot in society, they say he collects protection money to buy luxury cars and drives her to and from school!”
“I never heard she had a boyfriend before. Did she become famous as the exercise leader and then get noticed by gangsters?”
“I don’t know, but it’s impressive, driving a luxury car. I heard Brother smokes with one hand and steers with the other, so cool.”
“Wow, Hua Jie is so bold. Do those thugs like girls who look innocent like her?”
“Yes, haven’t you read in romance novels? These seemingly honest girls can really arouse a thug’s protective instincts.”
“Right, those who collect protection money love to ‘protect’ someone.”
“Hua Jie, tsk tsk, to think she’s dating a guy from society, they say older men really know how to pamper.”
“…I also want to be an exercise leader.”
“You better not, even if you became a flag bearer, no one would fancy you…”
“Shut up! Take this punch—”
Fortunately, this rumor hadn’t reached Zhao Xiaolei; otherwise, he might start to question whether his demeanor as a teacher was not quite pure enough.
…
…
Hua Jie desperately wanted a lot of money.
Shen Jiaru initially started his class because a parent from Beijing offered a monthly tuition of 10,000 yuan, asking Teacher Shen to tutor his daughter.
After reviewing the girl’s drawings and recognizing her talent, Shen Jiaru agreed.
The parent from Beijing immediately traveled thousands of miles with his child to Jinsong City for the training, and the mother stayed to accompany her daughter.
Later, thinking that managing one student was like managing a flock, Shen Jiaru opened up more spots and recruited two additional students, including Hua Jie who happened by his class, totaling four children.
However, Teacher Shen did not accept her money.
But she still needed to buy many consumables like paper and paint, and even new drawing boards.
Moreover, as an adult, she couldn’t comfortably rely on others like a child without guilt.
She always felt she was taking undue advantage of Teacher Shen’s kindness, and wanted to earn more money to honor her parents and show gratitude to her teacher.
However, even by drawing for her classmates and accumulating small earnings, she could only make a few hundred yuan at most. A particularly lucky month might bring in just over a thousand yuan.
How could she make more money?
With these worries, after finishing two morning classes, Hua Jie earnestly ran out to lead the exercise routine.
The usual supervising director of physical education, who often scrutinized the students during exercises from the sidelines, was absent. Instead, the homeroom teachers stood solemnly behind their class lines, watching every student more strictly than usual.
At the school gate, the principal, along with the director of education and others, was welcoming a visiting provincial leader.
They greeted the official respectfully, inviting him with great reverence. The provincial leader, however, stood at the school gate with his hands behind his back, first admiring the school’s walls.
“Quite innovative, indeed. The vibrancy and enthusiasm of campus life are very well depicted.
“And it’s quite fascinating how it uses strong visual appeal to propagate values of diligence, focus, perseverance, and resilience. You’ve put a lot of effort into this.”
The leader looked around approvingly, expressing his satisfaction.
“Yes, our school places great importance on students’ holistic education and guides them towards healthy growth in all aspects,” the principal responded with a humble smile.
“That’s very good,” the provincial leader nodded, then asked:
“Did a school teacher paint this?”
Hearing this question, the director of education, standing behind, quickly spoke up:
“It was painted by our students.”
The principal, who was prepared to praise the high quality and awareness of the art teachers at his school, was momentarily stunned.
Not by teachers, but by students?
A high school with such standards already?
“Yes, our school also values fostering a sense of collective honor among students, encouraging them to take initiative, apply their talents, and help create and maintain their own environment. We gather the best of all to build a beautiful campus life,” the principal replied, his ability to converse impressively and his vocabulary remarkable.
The director of education, standing slightly behind, felt admiration; no wonder the other was the principal and he was just the director.
Such words might take him a long while to formulate, but the principal articulated them effortlessly, evoking his admiration!
“Remarkable that it was the students. Jinsong No. 1 High School, truly a place of hidden dragons and crouching tigers!” the provincial leader praised generously.
“Exactly, we focus greatly on holistic education, aiming for comprehensive development in morals, intelligence, physical education, aesthetics, and labor, nurturing our students to become the pillars of the nation!” the principal proclaimed, never one to mince words!
“Well done,” the leader nodded, stepping further into the campus, then turned back to find paintings also on the inner walls, each depicting different facets of teacher-student life.
As they walked past the first row of classrooms, they reached the large exercise field, where the students were neatly performing their routines.
Behind the sports field is a basketball court, and further back, a well-maintained, smooth ice skating rink surrounded by walls of snow. Even if students can’t stop in time and slide out of the rink, they crash into the soft snow piles and aren’t injured.
The area around the ice rink is fully equipped with single bars, parallel bars, and other exercise equipment, and all the safety facilities are excellent.
After the morning exercises, under the supervision of their homeroom teachers, the students lined up orderly to enter the school building. Those heading to the restrooms or the sports fields for leisure also walked steadily. Any students tempted to run were quickly reprimanded by their teachers.
The provincial leader then continued his inspection to the school dormitories, and after a comprehensive tour, it was already time for classes to start, initiating a new round of classroom inspections.
At noon, after dining in the cafeteria with the school leaders, the inspection was successfully concluded.
Before the evening self-study, at the teachers’ meeting, the principal specifically praised the art department for the murals painted around the campus.
Wang Ting, receiving envious looks from other teachers, took the opportunity to bring up the art department’s budget issues to the principal.
The next day, the principal approved a bonus package for the art department.
The director of education personally delivered the bonus to Wang Ting, also mentioning other rewards related to Hua Jie.
Wang Ting happily accepted and during the lunch break rushed to the city center to buy a batch of art supplies, including plaster, still life sets, and more.
She specifically bought a new wooden drawing board for Hua Jie, a thick packet of watercolor paper, a thick packet of sketching paper, a thick packet of general sketch paper, two sets of sketching pencils, a box of 2B erasers, a set of watercolor brushes…
When getting the receipt, a whole section was dedicated to listing the materials purchased for Hua Jie.
Back at the school, Wang Ting called the art and physical education teachers to help move everything back to the art studio.
After the first class in the afternoon, she went to the doorway of Class 1-7, smiling and waving at Hua Jie:
“Hua Jie, come here~”
Her expression was exceptionally warm, and her tone was joyful.
She didn’t sound like a typical school teacher, more like a family relative.
Shen Mo was the first to look up, instinctively inquiring about everything related to Hua Jie:
“What do they want with you?”
“I don’t know.” After snapping her pen cap on, Hua Jie turned back, raised an eyebrow playfully and said, “By the look of it, seems like good news,” and then she bounced out the door.
Could it be that a girl who loves to smile really can’t have bad luck?
Why are there so many teachers and students in the school who are especially kind to Hua Jie?
Is the little potato really that likable?
He pushed back his chair and stood up, having sat for 45 minutes. He thought about going downstairs for a walk to get some fresh air.
Just as he reached the classroom door, a head suddenly popped up behind him:
“Brother Mo, do you know about your desk mate’s situation?”
“???” Shen Mo stepped back, visibly disgusted, dodging the approaching boy.
He stared at him for a while, trying to figure out from his body language, voice, and attire that this was Yao Nan, the sports student who often played basketball with him and always stuck close by.
“What’s up?” His tone was clearly impatient.
Yao Nan, however, didn’t mind Shen Mo’s attitude. He sneakily looked around to make sure no one was paying attention, then tried to lean in to whisper something.
“Just talk, keep your distance.” Shen Mo didn’t wait for him to come closer, he stepped back even further, exiting the classroom into the hallway.
“Hey, what if someone hears us?” Yao Nan said anxiously.
“Are you going to talk or not? If not, I’m leaving.” Shen Mo didn’t even finish his sentence before starting to walk away.
Yao Nan had no choice but to follow him, quickly saying:
“Your desk mate, Hua Jie, she’s got a boyfriend from outside school, someone involved in society!”
“What?” Shen Mo stopped abruptly and turned around to glare fiercely.
Yao Nan nearly bumped into his back, startled and quickly dodged to the side.
“You didn’t know?” Yao Nan looked around and made a ‘shushing’ gesture with his finger.
“…” Shen Mo glared at Yao Nan as if he wanted to wring his neck.
Under the intense gaze, Yao Nan swallowed hard, feeling as if he needed to say something more or Shen Mo might actually grab him by the neck. He hurriedly continued:
“Yesterday, her boyfriend, who’s involved in society, drove her to school in a Mercedes. He was really sweet to her, all lovey-dovey.”
“…” Shen Mo’s anger suddenly deflated, leaving him with nothing but frustration.
He nearly rolled his eyes without even realizing it.
The one who drove Hua Jie to school yesterday was Zhao Xiaolei. That Zhao Xiaolei, mix with society?
How would he fit in? By taking off his shirt and serving as a washboard for gang leaders?
Shen Mo gave Yao Nan a speechless glare, his interest in continuing the conversation completely vanished as he turned and walked towards the stairs.
What a waste of time. What kind of ridiculous rumor is this?
“Hey? Brother Mo?” Yao Nan watched Shen Mo’s retreating figure in astonishment.
Why did he leave? He had heard so many more juicy details about Hua Jie and her supposed gangster boyfriend.
Why isn’t he listening? Doesn’t Brother Mo want to know?
Is he so upset that he needs to go cool off?
Or does he simply not care?
Yao Nan couldn’t quite understand.
So, does Brother Mo actually like his deskmate or not?