Chapter 9: 0008 【Monk of More Money】
After individual talks with a few students, Liu Shuying returned to the classroom to tidy up.
“Next Saturday is a holiday, and there will be a parent-teacher conference over the weekend. Students whose families don’t have a phone, remember to go home on Saturday to inform your parents…”,
“There’s still half an hour until the end of evening self-study. Class monitor, please pay attention to discipline!”
With that, she left.
Teachers wouldn’t constantly supervise evening self-study.
Class monitor Li Rui stood up: “Everyone, no talking. Let’s keep quiet.”
After all, it was an experimental class; they still had basic etiquette.
Even students like Li Jun and Guan Zhiqiang, though they couldn’t focus on studying themselves, wouldn’t loudly disturb others.
At most, they would whisper to each other.
Li Jun put on his MP3 earphones, lay on his desk, listened to music, and napped. He occasionally opened his eyes to look at Bian Guanyue, finding her more and more beautiful, and pondered how to get closer to her.
Guan Zhiqiang was still reading a novel, unconsciously drooling again.
Xie Yang was spacing out, pouting his lower lip and blowing air to play with the hair on his forehead.
Xu Haibo diligently reviewed his English mistakes, then subtly pushed his transcribed “Call to Arms Against America” in front of his deskmate, Wu Yuehan.
Wu Yuehan was a good student who was sure to get into a top-tier university. She read the article carefully and asked, “You wrote this?”
They communicated silently through lip-reading.
“It’s Chen Daxia’s article, for submission to the New Concept Writing Competition,” Xu Haibo replied.
He had always regarded Chen Guiliang as an idol; whenever Chen Guiliang did something he found remarkable, he would proactively publicize it.
Wu Yuehan genuinely praised him: “So impressive, truly worthy of being the Chinese Language class representative.”
The more they talked, the more their lip-reading became insufficient, and they gradually started making sounds.
Xu Haibo said, “I think Chen Daxia can win first prize. He should have participated in the New Concept Writing Competition long ago.”
Wu Yuehan was very good at cooperative conversation: “Maybe he could even get direct admission to a prestigious university.”
Yao Lingling, who sat in the row behind them, lightly poked Wu Yuehan’s shoulder with her pen: “Let me see.”
Wu Yuehan passed the article back.
Yao Lingling savored it twice, trying to learn the composition method. But this kind of classical and vernacular mixed, four-six parallel prose was not something she could write, so she passed the article to her deskmate, Wang Lei.
Wang Lei glanced at it, uninterested.
Yao Lingling then handed the article to the next desk, specifically explaining: “This is Chen Daxia’s New Concept Writing Competition submission.”
In just twenty minutes, the article had spread through half the classroom.
High school life was dry and boring; they always had to find some fun for themselves, and circulating the article was a form of entertainment.
Moreover, they enjoyed watching Chen Guiliang stir things up.
When they demanded the school refund the computer fees for the third year of high school, only Li Jun in the entire class didn't sign. They ultimately achieved their goal, and the students were very excited, feeling a sense of glory for participating in a major event.
Chen Guiliang also gained great prestige among his classmates because of this.
Unbeknownst to him, the article reached Wang Siyu, who sat in front of Chen Guiliang.
By this time, evening self-study was almost over. Wang Siyu directly turned around, leaned on Chen Guiliang’s desk, and asked, “Chen Daxia, did you enter the New Concept Writing Competition?”
Chen Guiliang nodded: “Just trying my luck.”
Wang Siyu said, “Your essays are so good, you’ll definitely win an award.” She even waved her fist, “Go for it!”
“Thank you,” Chen Guiliang replied with a smile.
The class atmosphere was still very friendly; students got along relatively harmoniously, and no one looked down on Chen Guiliang for being too poor.
Except for Li Jun!
Bian Guanyue listened to their dialogue without any reaction, continuously memorizing English words.
Wang Siyu chatted with Chen Guiliang for a few sentences, then curiously asked Bian Guanyue: “Student Bian, are you from Chengdu?”
“Mm.” Bian Guanyue only responded with one word.
Wang Siyu, however, was naturally outgoing: “Then do you live in the dorms or commute?”
Bian Guanyue said, “I commute.”
Wang Siyu said, “My home is in Rich Garden residential complex. Where do you live? If it’s on the way, we could go to and from school together.”
“I live in the old alley on Back Street,” Bian Guanyue said.
Wang Siyu regretted: “It’s not on the way.”
Zheng Feng, Wang Siyu’s deskmate, had long wanted to talk to Bian Guanyue. Seizing the opportunity, he excitedly turned around: “I live near Back Street. The Public Security on Back Street at night is a bit chaotic. I can walk you home after evening self-study.”
“No need,” Bian Guanyue always refused.
Zheng Feng was a bit disappointed, but thinking that they didn’t live far from each other and would likely meet often in the future, he secretly became happy again.
When they changed seats, Bian Guanyue was no longer wearing her hood. Her ponytail was somehow askew, with a strand of beautiful hair resting on her left shoulder.
Wang Siyu treated her like an old friend, reaching out to touch Bian Guanyue’s hair, and said with extreme envy: “Your hair quality is really good, dry and smooth. What shampoo do you use?”
“It’s a perm, unrelated to shampoo,” Bian Guanyue said.
Wang Siyu asked: “What’s a perm? Can hair even be straightened with a perm?”
Li Jun stealthily leaned over. Because he was too tall, it was inconvenient for him to stand during self-study, so he spoke in a half-crouch: “There’s a salon on Fuzhou Avenue that does perms. Business is especially good; I heard it’s a new technique from abroad.”
To join the conversation, Zheng Feng, suppressing his distaste, picked up on Li Jun’s words: “I know that place on Fuzhou Avenue. Its name is Korean Wave Fashion Hair Salon. My sister got a perm there; it was very expensive, and my mom scolded her for it.”
These three discussed beauty and hair care, and Bian Guanyue felt annoyed listening to them.
She didn’t like to be disturbed.
Especially by strangers.
Bian Guanyue pulled up her hood again and tightened the drawstring of her hoodie collar, hiding her entire face in the hood, only exposing her eyes and nose.
It was clear she didn’t want to communicate further.
Wang Siyu gave an awkward smile, turned back, sat upright, and read her book.
Zheng Feng hesitated to speak, then gave up on trying to chat with the beautiful girl.
Only Li Jun remained squatting nearby: "Bian Guanyue, where did you buy that Nokia?"
Bian Guanyue didn't say a word, treating Li Jun as if he were air.
Li Jun continued, "I actually wanted to buy a Nokia too, but your model sold out. I'll make a trip to Chengdu later and buy the same one as yours."
Bian Guanyue remained silent.
Li Jun felt a bit embarrassed and stood up, walking behind Chen Guiliang. He patted Chen Guiliang's shoulder and said, "Let's switch seats."
"Get lost!"
Chen Guiliang's reply was simple and direct.
Li Jun pulled out some RMB: "Ten yuan for your seat."
Chen Guiliang finally looked him in the eye: "Are you trying to fob off a beggar with ten yuan?"
"Tsk." Li Jun pouted.
Chen Guiliang added, "This seat and I have a deep bond; it'll cost at least a hundred yuan."
What the hell kind of deep bond?!
Bian Guanyue listened, utterly speechless.
She turned to look at Chen Guiliang, her eyes full of disdain, treating Chen Guiliang as a greedy scoundrel.
Li Jun felt it was really not worth spending a hundred yuan on a seat. But if he could be deskmates with a beautiful girl, it seemed any amount of money would be worth it.
Li Jun gritted his teeth, pulled out his wallet, handed over a hundred yuan, and urged repeatedly, "Hurry up and move!"
Chen Guiliang grinningly accepted the banknotes, picked up his desk, and moved over.
Li Jun also hurried to get busy, fantasizing about the days of being deskmates with a beautiful girl. This guy was a bit dense, not at all considering why Bian Guanyue had wanted to switch seats earlier.
"Ho ho, we're deskmates again." Guan Zhiqiang stupid grinned at the moved Chen Guiliang.
The transaction between Chen Guiliang and Li Jun had already attracted the attention of nearby classmates. They had similar thoughts to Bian Guanyue, all somewhat disdaining Chen Guiliang's greed.
Just then, Chen Guiliang, having resettled, smiled and said to Bian Guanyue, "Bian Guanyue, aren't you going to switch back?"
Bian Guanyue was secretly annoyed, pondering about finding someone else to switch seats with tomorrow.
Hearing Chen Guiliang's question, Bian Guanyue was caught off guard by the sudden reversal. Her tense little face relaxed a bit. She picked up her desk and said to Guan Zhiqiang, "Classmate, please switch again."
Guan Zhiqiang froze for two seconds: "Ah? Oh, okay."
Seeing Bian Guanyue and Guan Zhiqiang also switching seats, Li Jun was instantly dumbfounded: "No... you can't switch. I... I paid a hundred yuan!"
"Excuse me, please don't block the way," Bian Guanyue said.
Li Jun was afraid of displeasing the beautiful girl, so he could only step aside and watch her move her desk.
Guan Zhiqiang carried his desk over and set it down, grinning foolishly at Li Jun: "Ho ho, we're deskmates again."
"Be your ass!" Li Jun cursed in a low voice.
Being inexplicably insulted, a flash of anger crossed Guan Zhiqiang's face, but he quickly returned to his foolish grin and took out his novel.
Li Jun was full of suppressed frustration and walked in front of Chen Guiliang, spreading his hands: "Give me back the money!"
Chen Guiliang asked, "What money?"
Li Jun said, "The hundred yuan for the seat."
Chen Guiliang asked, "Did you buy the seat?"
Li Jun was furious: "What the hell's the difference between this and not buying it!"
Chen Guiliang said, "You just need to answer, did you buy the seat or not?"
"I'm..."
Li Jun was instantly at a loss for words.
If he answered that he had bought it, then the transaction would be complete, and he would have no legitimate reason to demand the hundred yuan back.
But he had indeed bought it.
"Pfft..."
Bian Guanyue listened to their dialogue and couldn't help but burst out laughing.
She quickly covered her mouth, her hood covering her face as she lay on the desk. But her shoulders were still slightly shaking; she was clearly trying to suppress her laughter.
Bian Guanyue thought to herself, her new deskmate was truly interesting.
Li Jun's lungs were about to explode with anger. He grabbed Chen Guiliang's sleeve: "Are you giving back the money or not?"
Chen Guiliang calmly said, "Li Jun, please don't be impulsive. Bian Guanyue just transferred to our class. If she sees classmates fighting on her first day, what will she think? She'll definitely feel that this class isn't good, that there are bad students affecting the learning atmosphere, and she might even apply to transfer to another class."
Li Jun continued to yank Chen Guiliang's sleeve. He glared angrily at Chen Guiliang, then looked at Bian Guanyue, who was trying to hold back her laughter.
Then he looked up at his surroundings and found many classmates also trying to hold back their laughter.
He knew he had become a clown.
"Damn!"
Li Jun let go of Chen Guiliang's sleeve, grabbed his backpack, and left, disappearing from the classroom in the blink of an eye.
Evening self-study hadn't ended yet, but Li Jun couldn't stay any longer and rushed home as if fleeing.
He was very concerned about his reputation, but this time he had lost face terribly.
Class monitor Li Rui added insult to injury: "Evening self-study hasn't ended yet. Students, please do not leave early!"
Upon hearing this, Li Jun ran even faster.
"Hahahahaha!"
As soon as Li Jun left, the students in the back row burst out laughing.
The students in the front few rows, however, didn't know what had happened. They heard the sudden laughter and turned their heads with confused expressions.
A few more minutes passed, and the bell for the end of evening self-study rang.
Bian Guanyue packed her schoolbag, took two steps, then stopped and turned around to ask, "Classmate, what's your name?"
Chen Guiliang said, "Chen Guiliang. Chen from 'East', Gui from 'wealthy', Liang from 'kind'."
This terrible name went off track.
He was neither wealthy nor kind.
Bian Guanyue reintroduced herself: "My name is Bian Guanyue. My father's surname is Bian, and my mother's surname is Guan."
... (Recommended 'Mountain River Sacrifice' by Jicha. If it's not good, you can scold him; if it's good, thank me for recommending a great book. Also, please vote for me.)