Chapter 66: Nie Qiu, Stay!
Nie Qiu looked around here, then looked around there, and asked hesitantly, “What’s wrong with you all?”
No one spoke. Nie Qiu looked at Huang Yan, “Huang Yan, what’s going on? You… what’s wrong?”
Huang Yan couldn’t hold back, and tears dripped down. Feeling embarrassed, she lowered her head, covered her face, and sobbed softly. Nie Qiu looked at Peng Yu Yang in surprise. In this class, only Peng Yu Yang and Huang Yan were closer to her.
Peng Yu Yang shrugged. Although he was reluctant, he knew very well that no matter which class he was in, he would study as hard as he did now. He didn’t want to let down this person’s good intentions, nor did he want to see his parents disappointed again.
Bai Ya stood up and said loudly, “I know I’m not a great person, but I always say what I think. Nie Qiu, can you stay?”
“Stay? What… do you mean?” Nie Qiu seemed to understand, but also not quite. She looked at Bai Ya and asked blankly.
“Stay, stay in our class! Whether you got first place in the grade or last place, no matter how you scored, Nie Qiu, you…”
“Shut up!” Li Kai slammed the table and interrupted Bai Ya’s words. “Go do what you should be doing. Why are you saying this? Bai Ya, it’s one thing if you’re selfish, but don’t disregard other people’s lives!”
Bai Ya pouted and reluctantly sat back in her seat. Everyone else dared not speak, but she could. She was just expressing her inner thoughts, what was wrong with that? Whether it was because Nie Qiu’s uncle was the boss of a newly listed company, or because she was truly grateful that Nie Qiu made her realize that studying was also beautiful, she wanted Nie Qiu to stay in Class 10.
Of course, like all her classmates, she knew that Nie Qiu staying in Class 10 was not good for her. Only in Class 1 could she truly learn something. But… that’s just who she was! She wanted Nie Qiu to stay, so she said it. She didn’t think she could influence Nie Qiu, so she said it. Was there anything wrong with that?
Nie Qiu looked at the agitated Li Kai. “Tell me, what exactly are you hiding from me?” Nie Qiu disliked this feeling, not at all. It felt like something concerning her was known to the whole world, but she was the only one left in the dark. This feeling was not good at all.
Li Kai smiled. “It’s nothing, what could we be hiding from you? Go to the lectern quickly. You haven’t finished explaining yesterday’s physics problem, have you? Let’s do physics problems today.”
“Yesterday I was doing chemistry problems. Physics was finished the day before yesterday.” Nie Qiu looked at the person in front of her suspiciously. This person was her deskmate, someone who had disliked her intensely from the very beginning.
“Then let’s do chemistry.” Li Kai placed his hand on Nie Qiu’s back, pushing her towards the lectern. “You explain, quickly explain, quickly explain. Don’t worry, we will definitely listen carefully!”
Nie Qiu stood on the lectern again. Huang Yan had already wiped away her tears. Nie Qiu took a deep breath. “I’ll do problems and review with everyone. Will everyone really listen carefully?”
The classmates in the classroom all nodded and answered loudly, “Yes!” They would definitely listen carefully, because this might be… the last time.
“Alright, let’s continue with the previous problem. I believe none of you were listening to what I was saying just now. Everyone take out your workbooks and turn to page forty-two…” Nie Qiu stopped dwelling on the reason for the classmates’ unusual behavior. As long as it didn’t affect her and her beloved family, she could ignore it as much as possible.
What you’re meant to know, you’ll eventually know. What you’re not meant to know, you can’t find out no matter how hard you try. Just like in her previous life, regarding Yang Zihao’s marriage, she… was kept in the dark for a whole year. Without knowing, she lived with a married man for a whole year, becoming a third party in someone else’s marriage, even though she didn’t do it intentionally.
So, now, when encountering things, she tries to let nature take its course. What is hers, she will eventually know.
She didn’t have to wait long for this day. Amidst the cheers of her classmates, Nie Qiu received her exam results and nine test papers.
Seeing that their efforts had paid off and their grades had improved, the students of Class 10 were very happy. But when they saw Nie Qiu receiving her results and test papers, the students in the classroom fell silent, heads bowed, no longer speaking. Their previously joyful mood was gone.
Teacher Yang stood on the lectern and said with a smile, “Nie Qiu, come to the office after class.”
Nie Qiu smiled and nodded, “Okay!” She looked at the results in her hand and suddenly felt dissatisfied. Eighth place in the entire grade! To be honest, she thought she would at least get into the top five. But after all, it had been so many years, and the knowledge points had also changed. She hadn’t specifically studied anything, just routinely read books, listened attentively when the teacher lectured, and helped classmates with problems.
Teacher Yang took out the Chinese test paper. “Here, I want to specifically commend the students in our class. Our class’s total score this monthly exam is more than eight hundred and forty points higher than Class 5. This is the first time Class 10 has surpassed a fast class since the school implemented the fast and slow class system. And for the Chinese I teach, I am also very happy. The first place in the entire grade is in our class, and that is — Nie Qiu!”
As Teacher Yang spoke, a few people gave scattered applause. Teacher Yang frowned. “What’s wrong? You all worked so hard and got good grades, aren’t you happy?”
“Happy!” Yes, they were happy. Looking at the test papers, they had never achieved such high scores since junior high school. How could they not be happy? But… mixed with this happiness was a deeper sense of loss, because the person who helped them improve and achieve high scores was about to leave their group.
“I thought you weren’t happy!” Teacher Yang said jokingly, then continued, “The types of questions the school uses should not be far from the Senior High School Entrance Examination. In this class, I will explain the questions on this monthly exam paper…”
Nie Qiu looked at the test paper in her hand and finally understood why Huang Yan had been crying that morning and why everyone had been silent… As Bai Ya had said, they… were reluctant to part with her.
Nie Qiu never assumed too much. She didn’t think she had helped Class 10 much, but they remembered her kindness. She suddenly felt that they were still just children, still endearingly innocent.
