Chapter 72: Stay ②
“Auntie…” Seeing Nie Aifang, Li Kai was stunned.
Huang Yan smiled and stepped forward, linking her arm through Nie Aifang’s shoulder. “Auntie, come, come, sit with me. Our class has prepared a program to hold a farewell party for Nie Qiu.” As she spoke, Huang Yan pulled the stunned Nie Aifang into the classroom and seated her in the front row by the lectern.
Li Kai looked at Nie Qiu and said with a smile, “Please!”
Nie Qiu walked into the classroom in a daze, everything before her seemed so unreal. Yes, she had been a teacher. Since she was young, her parents were not around, so she didn’t get along with many classmates. Therefore, she had never participated in many group activities. Even if she had to participate, she could never integrate into the class collective.
Beautiful memories?
The scene before her not only stunned Nie Qiu but also Nie Aifang, who was standing behind Nie Qiu. In the classroom, the ceiling was adorned with circles upon circles of pink balloons and gold colored ribbons. The desks were neatly arranged around the room, and various snacks were placed on them. The blackboard was decorated with a beautiful blackboard report drawn with colored chalk, with the words “Thank You Nie Qiu” written in large characters in the center.
On the blackboard behind, there was also a neat and beautiful blackboard report. In the center was a figure standing on the lectern, lecturing. The furrowed brow and impassioned expression made it instantly recognizable that it was Nie Qiu.
Nie Qiu stood on the lectern blankly, and was blankly pulled by Huang Yan to sit down.
Li Kai stood in the middle of the classroom, took a deep breath, and said loudly, “Hello everyone, classmates. Today we gather here to hold a farewell party for classmate Nie Qiu. Nie Qiu is in Class 10. I must say, we haven’t helped her much, nor have we been able to leave her with many beautiful memories. Instead, it is she who has left us with much emotion and moved us greatly. She has taught us a lot, helped us grow a lot, and made us realize that studying can actually be a very happy thing. She made us realize how naive and immature we were before. Since then, I have always been grateful, and I have always wondered if we should let her stay.”
As he spoke, Li Kai looked at Nie Qiu and smiled, “I think everyone’s thoughts are probably the same as mine. It would be great if you could stay, and we could progress together, sharing the joys and sorrows of learning. But we also know that in Class 10, you won’t learn the real knowledge points for the Senior High School Entrance Examination. In Class 10, you might only stagnate and not be able to get into any good schools. For Nie Qiu’s sake, for Nie Qiu’s future, we should let her go to a better class, learn better knowledge, and give her a brighter future.”
Nie Qiu came back to her senses and glanced at Nie Aifang, who was stunned and sitting to her left, then at Huang Yan, who was sitting to her right. Huang Yan turned to look at Nie Qiu, smiling brilliantly.
Li Kai clenched his fist and placed it on his chest, saying solemnly, “Here, we promise, we swear.”
As soon as Li Kai finished speaking, the classmates sitting around the classroom stood up. Among those who stood up, Nie Qiu and Nie Aifang, who were sitting in their seats, seemed a bit out of place. They also stood up.
“Whether Nie Qiu is in Class 10 or not, we will continue to study hard, strive for our future, and fight for our tomorrow!” Li Kai shouted loudly.
“Whether Nie Qiu is in Class 10 or not, we will continue to study hard, strive for our future, and fight for our tomorrow!” Although the classmates in the classroom looked a little tired, their expressions were unusually excited, and more importantly, determined…
“We will not let down our parents, not let down our teachers, and not disappoint Nie Qiu!” Li Kai continued.
“We will not let down our parents, not let down our teachers, and not disappoint Nie Qiu!” The classmates in the classroom also said loudly.
Nie Qiu was almost in tears. These people… their interactions over the past month. It would be a lie to say there were no feelings. Although there were many unpleasant things, there were also many happy moments. While lecturing, she could feel happiness from them, from Peng Yu Yang, Huang Yan, and her deskmate Li Kai. Zhang Haiyang, who used to be a bit awkward and always passed notes during class, Luo Xu with his dyed golden hair, Bai Ya who was a bit materialistic…
Everyone has their own personality, good or bad, but all are equally worth cherishing. There’s a saying, isn’t there? It seems to say that everyone is unique in this world.
From their eyes, she knew that they considered her a friend.
A friend? When she was very, very young, her nanny would often be called to parent-teacher meetings, and her classmates would gossip and mock her privately. No matter what games others played, she only dared to stand far away and watch, secretly envying them. No one would invite her to play jump rope, nor hide-and-seek, nor shadow tag. And she didn’t dare to approach them, because she was afraid of getting her clothes dirty and being scolded by her nanny when she got home.
From elementary school to high school graduation, she never had a close friend. She had no best friends or confidantes as others described.
And now, these people standing in the classroom, with their sincere eyes, they… although not best friends, they are at least friends, right? At least… at least in their eyes, she wasn’t dispensable, she… she was useful, she… she was their friend, right?
“I now declare that classmate Nie Qiu’s farewell party officially begins! First, let’s invite her two best friends, Huang Yan and Peng Yu Yang, to speak on stage.” Wang Chao Lei said with a smile, loudly.
Huang Yan stood up, and Peng Yu Yang also stood up with a smile and walked to the center of the classroom. Looking at Nie Qiu, both of them couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed. Peng Yu Yang cleared his throat and said, “Nie Qiu, you must not know how bad my grades were before. I was the eighth from the bottom in the entire grade. Every day after school, I would go to the arcade and internet cafe to play games and surf the internet. I always thought that no matter how bad my grades were, I would still get into high school after graduation. Even if I wanted to go to a key high school, I believed it wouldn’t be a problem.”
“Whether it’s high school or university, as long as you want a diploma, you should be able to get one. If I want to work, it should be much easier than for others. Even if I don’t want to work outside, I can stay at home and help my parents. I never thought about what my dream was, what I really wanted to do… Should I just live a mediocre life like this?” Peng Yu Yang smiled and said loudly, “After listening to you, I finally understood, no, it’s not like that! I don’t want to live like this my whole life. I want to have a different life from others. Nie Qiu… do you know? I want to start a company, I want to make a lot of money, I want to travel the world! But… if I don’t study well, I won’t even be able to speak English, how can I travel the world?”
“Nie Qiu, I want to thank you. You’ve made me understand a lot and learn a lot. For my dreams, for my own life, I have to work hard too.” Peng Yu Yang smiled, turned back to his desk, took out a schoolbag from his desk, and walked up to Nie Qiu, smiling, “Last time I saw Wang Chao Lei and the others damage your schoolbag. This is the schoolbag I bought. It’s a gift for you.”
Wang Chao Lei jumped up, “Hey, hey, hey! Auntie is still here! You can’t reveal my business.” As he spoke, Wang Chao Lei looked at Nie Qiu and bowed deeply, “I’m sorry, before…” As he spoke, Wang Chao Lei suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. He looked at Nie Qiu shyly, took out a packaged box from his purse, and said, “This is a gift for you, Nie Qiu. Thank you.”
