CM - 23

In the morning, Wen Huo went to a class near Shen Tingwen’s place and treated him to breakfast along the way.

Shen Tingwen barely ate a few bites before asking her, “Mom, am I ugly?”

Wen Huo had just broken open a sandwich and, hearing him, glanced at him. “Compared to your dad, you’re not as good-looking, but don’t feel inferior. Your dad’s appearance is one of a kind in this world; no one can compare.”

Shen Tingwen regretted asking her. In her eyes, her lover was the most beautiful; all other men were like Wu Dalang from a play.

Wen Huo felt that his sudden concern for his appearance wasn’t a good sign: “What? Did that girl say you’re ugly?”

Shen Tingwen was annoyed by her directness and stopped eating. “I’m leaving.”

________________________________________

At school.

Today, there were outside leaders inspecting the school. Students on duty for morning self-study who were cleaning the school grounds had to wear duty badges and red armbands. Zhou Shuirong was on duty today and wore the full set.

Shen Tingwen and a few other students from different classes were called by the music teacher to help organize the classroom. On their way back to the teaching building, they ran into Zhou Shuirong, who was sweeping.

The boys from the other classes were a bit excited: “Hey, hey, hey, Zhou Shuirong, Zhou Shuirong!”

Shen Tingwen got annoyed as soon as he heard them call her name. He took off the school uniform draped over his shoulder and clutched it in his hand.

They continued to gossip: “I heard her essay on the last monthly exam got three points, holy cow, that’s awesome. I’ve heard her speak, she’s articulate, and she can speak common vernacular fluently, so how come it’s so awful when transcribed onto paper?”

“She’s an international student after all, be understanding. Look, she even wore her armband backward, so cute.”

“To be honest, is her type ‘cute’? She’s a bit ‘regal,’ and a bit ‘desirable,’ that kind of beauty that’s between unripe and slightly mature.”

They say that women talk most about men, and men talk most about women. This is true; idle chatter isn’t only for women. When men get together, they also can’t control their loose tongues.

Shen Tingwen suddenly blurted out, “Does it matter to you whether she’s good-looking or not?”

They were a little bewildered. No, what was wrong with this guy? Wasn’t he usually too disdainful to talk nonsense with them? Always a loner, with an unapproachable gaze and stride. Had he gotten tired of being a cliff rose and wanted a taste of human life?

Shen Tingwen said only one sentence, then left them and walked towards Zhou Shuirong. He grabbed her arm, making her look at him.

Zhou Shuirong had no pleasant expression when she saw him: “Didn’t I make it clear to you last night?”

Shen Tingwen acted as if he hadn’t heard, gently adjusting her armband, which she had worn backward.

Zhou Shuirong looked down at his hand, then looked up at his eyes. He was very serious, his movements very cautious, just like that day at the hospital. Zhou Shuirong inexplicably swallowed, and she started having some unfamiliar reactions more frequently.

When she realized her rationality couldn’t quite control this reaction, she slapped away Shen Tingwen’s hand: “Don’t touch your dad.”

Shen Tingwen said, “You wore it backward.”

Zhou Shuirong wasn’t embarrassed: “I just like wearing it backward.”

“So when you said I was ugly, it was actually sarcasm.”

Zhou Shuirong paused.

Shen Tingwen fixed it for her, then leaned close to her ear: “When you reject me, can you put some effort into it? That kind of obvious lie just makes me feel like you’re avoiding me, and avoidance invariably means I’ve affected you too.”

Zhou Shuirong was stunned by his shamelessness. He was so thick-skinned; she couldn’t be bothered to talk to him anymore, so she swept his feet with her broom: “Get out of my way.”

The people nearby who were talking about Zhou Shuirong saw Shen Tingwen almost hug Zhou Shuirong and exchanged glances, their eyes conveying information: Forgot someone said they were ambiguous? No wonder Shen Tingwen got angry just now.

________________________________________

Thursday, afternoon self-study.

Zhou Shuirong scored her lowest ever on a physics quiz, third to last in the entire class. Her science subjects had always been fine. The things taught abroad were superficial, but her physics, chemistry, and math were taught by Si Wen. Si Wen was someone who skipped grades, so teaching her was like child’s play for him, wasn’t it? Besides, she had his genes.

The physics teacher stood at the podium, her expression serious: “Look at your terrible scores! Is this how you’ll get into a 985, 211 university? You’ll just stay at home! I really can’t teach you anymore. Each class is worse than the last. With this level of comprehension, even farming might not take you in!”

Then she called out students one by one to criticize them, starting from the last place, and quickly reaching Zhou Shuirong.

Zhou Shuirong stood up, accepting the criticism.

Shen Tingwen glanced at her. She wasn’t someone with thin skin; she could withstand this kind of blow. But even at this level, he felt a bit uncomfortable.

Listening to others criticize Zhou Shuirong, he just felt uncomfortable.

So he stood up, interrupting the physics teacher: “This set of questions involves college physics. The total score is 120, and only 6 students passed, which shows the difficulty. Making a big deal out of this paper seems a bit like an overreaction. Teacher, have you encountered something unpleasant recently?”

The physics teacher was choked, her face red and neck bulging: “Don’t think that just because you got a high score again, you can disrespect the teacher. Is it your place to speak? Are you upset because I haven’t criticized you?”

Shen Tingwen stated the truth: “It was already difficult. If you discourage the students’ enthusiasm further, they’ll develop a physiological fear of physics. What will they learn then?”

The physics teacher coughed with anger, pointing to the door: “Get out!”

Shen Tingwen picked up his books and didn’t stay in the classroom for a second.

The class was silent, nobody dared to utter a sound, fearing they would be implicated.

The physics teacher adjusted her emotions, saw Zhou Shuirong still standing, and grew more and more annoyed: “You, get out too!”

The classroom didn’t have air conditioning that afternoon; the homeroom teacher said they needed to conserve energy. It was hot anyway, so she gladly went out.

Shen Tingwen saw her come out and moved aside for her.

Zhou Shuirong stood next to him.

Shen Tingwen said, “You implicated me. How will you compensate me?”

Zhou Shuirong glanced at him: “Think logically. If you hadn’t stuck your nose where it didn’t belong, I would have sat down after being scolded a couple of times. Now, thanks to you, I have to stand for an entire class. I haven’t even asked you for compensation, and you have the nerve to ask me?”

“I can compensate you too. What do you want?”

“I want you to stay away from me.”

“Choose another one.”

There was nothing else. Zhou Shuirong didn’t want to talk to him anymore and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes.

Shen Tingwen didn’t get a reply from her, but he saw a drop of sweat run down her forehead; she looked a bit hot. He picked up his book and gently fanned her, not too hard, not too soft, just the right amount of breeze.

Zhou Shuirong had been pulling all-nighters recently to catch up on liberal arts, possibly over-exhausting her brain, which might be why she scored third to last in a science subject. She began to think her study methods were problematic and was considering how to adjust them.

She was unfocused and could feel a breeze, but didn’t realize it was Shen Tingwen manually fanning her.

Shen Tingwen, like an idiot, fanned her for an entire class, until his arm almost gave out.

He didn’t feel tired, not at all. He could fan for a few more classes and still not be tired.