Cheng Yifei asked, "What problem?"
Fei Cheng replied, "I haven't hit my growth spurt yet. I can't sit in the back row."
Cheng Yifei snorted. "Why don't you just say you're short?"
Fei Cheng took his compass and stabbed it fiercely into his eraser. "Me, short? You’ve got to be kidding. Don't look at me now just because you’re 1.68 meters; I’m going to be 1.88 meters in the future!"
"Comparing your unknown future to my known present? You've already lost at the starting line. I'm already ten centimeters taller than you." Cheng Yifei measured the gap with his fingers, his eyes narrowing slightly to reveal his smugness.
Fei Cheng: "..." *What is there to be so proud of?*
Leaving the notebook behind, Cheng Yifei added, "Seats are being rearranged tomorrow afternoon. What is that mouth of yours for if not to speak up?"
Fei Cheng’s eyes lit up. He pressed his palms together and bowed toward Cheng Yifei’s retreating back. He would talk to "Big Eyes" about the seating arrangement in a moment!
Heaven was on his side. During Sunday’s evening self-study, the homeroom teacher usually presided over the classroom. This time, Li Xiuxiu even dragged a chair over to sit right next to Fei Cheng.
Fei Cheng wasn't nervous at all; on the contrary, he was quite happy.
He whispered secretly, "Teacher, I heard seats are being rearranged tomorrow afternoon."
Li Xiuxiu shot him a glare and lowered his voice. "No idling during evening self-study."
Fei Cheng: "I'm short. Sitting in the back, all I see are the backs of people's heads."
Li Xiuxiu: "..."
Fei Cheng: "It’s really affecting my studies. Can I apply to move to the front row?"
With a stern face, Li Xiuxiu pulled a math paper from his folder. "Finish this."
Fei Cheng took it and looked. "The 2005 Wahe Middle School Grade 7 (Second Semester) Final Exam? If I finish this, will you agree to change my seat?"
Li Xiuxiu just wanted to shut him up. "Yes. No flipping through books. Keep quiet."
Fei Cheng glanced at the clock above the blackboard. Self-study ended at nine; he had a little over two hours. He also needed to catch up on the notes from last week. He had to aim to finish the paper within an hour!
He tucked his textbooks into his desk, leaving only blank scratch paper and his stationery on the surface. He looked quite the part.
Seeing him seriously writing his name, class, and student ID on the exam paper, Li Xiuxiu adjusted his glasses and went back to his own work.
Thirty minutes later, the bell rang for the end of the first period of self-study. Because the homeroom teacher was present, the students didn't dare cause a ruckus.
Fei Cheng was currently working on the geometry problems on the third page. Only three major questions were left.
Li Xiuxiu encouraged this kind of studious attitude. He stood up and said, "If you want to go out, go out. You can continue writing during the next period."
Fei Cheng gave a distracted grunt without looking up, using his ruler to draw diagrams on his scratch paper to calculate the area of the shaded regions.
Since "Old Xiu" had been sitting in the back row the whole period, the boys nearby hadn't dared to play around. They had been stifled for an entire hour and bolted out the moment the bell rang. Consequently, the surroundings were very quiet.
Fei Cheng remained completely oblivious even when the bell for the second period rang. It was only after he finished the last question and double-checked everything for errors that he happily prepared to hand the paper to "Big Eyes" beside him. But where was the man? He looked down at his paper and scratched his cheek.
A moment later, the light over his desk dimmed. He looked up—hey, wasn't this Big Eyes!
"Teacher, I've finished the paper," he mouthed, handing the exam to Li Xiuxiu.
Li Xiuxiu took the paper and scanned it. Seeing that Fei Cheng hadn't missed a single question, he nodded and took it back to the podium to grade.
He had been at the podium throughout the second period; otherwise, he wouldn't have noticed so quickly that Fei Cheng had finished.
Fei Cheng breathed a private sigh of relief. He checked the time: eight o'clock. There really was an hour left before the end of self-study. He quickly took out the notes Cheng Yifei had lent him to review, completely unaware that his classmates were looking at him as if they had seen a ghost.
The first period could be explained by Big Eyes sitting next to him, forcing him to do the paper. But during the second period, Big Eyes had returned to his throne on the podium! And yet, even after handing in the paper, he had taken out his textbook and notes? Textbooks and notes?? Was he serious???
Fei Cheng was truly grateful for Cheng Yifei’s notes. The key points were summarized incisively. Plus, there hadn't been much content covered last week. He had already memorized it all superficially; after going back to the dorm tonight to digest it properly, he should be fine.
Who knew this brain was so useful!
Soon, evening self-study ended. The long-suppressed students in the back row stood up and let out primal roars.
Li Xiuxiu threw a blackboard eraser toward them. "What are you howling for? Back to the dorms, all of you! No running downstairs. If I catch anyone acting like they're rushing to be reincarnated, they’ll be in charge of cleaning the classroom this week!"
The back row fell silent instantly.
Fei Cheng was in no hurry to leave. Since he sat in the far corner anyway, it wouldn't be too late to head back after the crowd thinned.
At the podium, Li Xiuxiu saw Fei Cheng slowly packing his things and waved him over with a satisfied expression.
Fei Cheng took his pen and scratch paper to the podium.
Li Xiuxiu had graded the paper with a red pen. As soon as Fei Cheng stepped up, he saw a score of ninety-six. He tried his best to hold it in, but he couldn't help but grin. The exam was out of a hundred, which meant he had only lost four points! Four points!!
How could he not be happy!
Li Xiuxiu had never seen Fei Cheng smile like this. From the start of the semester until now, this student’s face had always been either bruised or swollen. He spoke with thorns in his words, walked with his head down, and on the rare occasions he looked up, his face was wooden and lifeless, giving off an uncomfortable, gloomy vibe.
He wasn't like that now. He looked energetic, his face was clean, and while he wasn't exactly "bubbly" yet, he was at least no longer cynical. Not only did he dare to meet people's eyes, but he also dared to bargain with his teacher. The vitality of a youth was slowly manifesting. This was good.
"What are you smiling about!" Li Xiuxiu intentionally kept his face stern, looking very solemn. "You're satisfied with a ninety-six? You've even got a little tiger tooth, kid!"
Fei Cheng let out an "ah." What was wrong with his tiger tooth? He immediately pursed his lips. People could talk about him, but they couldn't talk about his tiger tooth. He would never let his tiger tooth suffer undeserved wrath!
Seeing Fei Cheng so guarded, as if afraid he would pull the tooth out, Li Xiuxiu suppressed a laugh until the veins in his temples throbbed. He took off his glasses, his fierce aura instantly diminishing. He flipped through the paper, intentionally showing Fei Cheng all the big red checkmarks.
Li Xiuxiu stood up, patting Fei Cheng’s shoulder with one hand while giving him a thumbs-up with the other. "Great progress, worthy of encouragement! I misjudged you before; I owe you an apology."
Fei Cheng’s initial excitement had passed. He nodded and said, "Teacher, there's no need for an apology. Can I change my seat now?"
Li Xiuxiu: "..." *So the only thing in your head is that seat!*
He tucked away his smile, put his glasses back on, and surveyed the classroom's seating chart as if he were surveying his kingdom. With full authority, he said, "Change it! Tell me where you want to sit!"
Fei Cheng faced the same direction as him, thought for a moment, and said, "The third or fourth row!"
"Fine. There's still a little time. Hurry up and listen while I explain where you went wrong." Li Xiuxiu spread out the paper, pointing to the circled areas. "Your overall logic was correct, but you were careless here. You should have used..."
Fei Cheng listened intently, reworking the calculations on his scratch paper as he went.
Li Xiuxiu was very satisfied with the correct answers he produced. He looked up and noticed seven or eight students hadn't left yet; they were all gathered around the podium. Cheng Yifei was there too. For once, the teacher spoke with a gentle tone: "Do you all need to get to know Fei Cheng all over again?"
Fei Cheng looked at his classmates and introduced himself openly. "Hello everyone, I'm Fei Cheng. 'Fei' as in 'flights of fancy,' and 'Cheng' as in 'Prime Minister.' Please look after me from now on."
"Hello, hello. I'm Yu Qing. 'Yu' as in 'lingering fear,' and 'Qing' as in 'universal celebration.'"
Li Xiuxiu shooed them away with a smile. "Alright, alright, everyone back to the dorms. Tomorrow morning is the flag-raising ceremony. No being late, no wearing flip-flops, and don't forget your school IDs. Got it?"
Just as he finished, Fei Cheng’s stomach let out a very loud, clear growl.
Under the gaze of his classmates, Fei Cheng remained perfectly calm. "Why are you all looking at me like that? Didn't you hear it saying it 'got it'?"
Cheng Yifei draped an arm over his shoulder and laughed. "No, it's time to go to the canteen and make it shut up."
Fei Cheng dropped his pen and bolted. "Then what are we waiting for? Lights out is soon! Hurry up and buy some food!"
Li Xiuxiu watched their retreating backs, shaking his head with a laugh. He put the paper and pen back on Fei Cheng’s desk, turned off the classroom lights, locked the doors and windows, and left.
***
The next morning at the flag-raising ceremony, the entire playground was swarming with people; every teacher and student in the school was present.
Fei Cheng once again experienced the frustration of being short. The lines were ordered from shortest to tallest. Without a doubt, he was the one standing at the very front of the boys' line!!
They raised the flag, played the national anthem, and performed the eye salute. Fei Cheng watched the flag, which was rising at a speed that didn't match the progress of the anthem, and found it strangely hilarious. The flag-bearers seemed to realize they were going too fast, so they simply stopped and waited. Only when the anthem reached its final notes did they hoist it up the rest of the way in one go.
Next came the usual speeches from the Principal, the Dean of Students, and other faculty members with things to add.
The unchanging rhythm of the speeches made the students, who had crawled out of bed early, feel drowsy. The Principal spoke first: "Good morning, students. Today is Monday, a new day and a new beginning. First, I want to emphasize a few things. The first is regarding the formation of gangs and the bullying of classmates. This matter is extremely serious..."
This speech lasted for over ten minutes. For the students standing below, every second felt like a year. At the end, he added, "I have finished. Next, your Dean of Students has something to say."
The students of all grades clapped listlessly. The sparse applause did nothing to dampen the Dean’s enthusiasm for speaking.
Fei Cheng stood at the very front. A meter ahead of him was a platform about twenty centimeters higher than he was, where the school leaders stood to give their lectures. He didn't dare make any small movements, like looking around, because the Principal and the Dean kept glancing toward him whenever they emphasized discipline. It forced him to keep his back ramrod straight!
The Dean of Students called out a string of names with a cold face—students from Class 8-4 and Class 9-6, nine people in total. The students called forward each held a letter of self-criticism. They stood on the platform facing the student body, forming an uneven line. This was far more stimulating than a teacher’s speech; whispers began to break out all around as everyone stared at the people on stage.
