Chapter 23 - I’m Not in a Good Mood
Lin Qian avoided the eyes of the crowd and asked Zheng PingQing: “What’s the matter?”
His question wasn’t obvious, but he knew Zheng PingQing would understand him anyway.
As expected, Zhang PingQing didn’t ask him to explain. After a small silence, he grasped Lin Qian’s hand for a moment, then let go. “Just something from the past.”
Zheng PingQing didn’t elaborate any further, but he didn’t conceal anything either because he knew that Lin Qian would understand.
After a pause, Zheng PingQing added very seriously: “But I just hugged you. After experiencing such foreplay, I feel much better.”
Lin Qian: “…..” Lin Qian reined in his urge to smack Zheng PingQing since he had just been in a bad mood.
Not only did Lin Qian not hit him, but he even took the initiative to try and coax him. “I’ll give you more experiences later.” Never let it be said that he wasn’t an attentive boyfriend.
“Don’t.” Zheng PingQing, with his courageous spirit, refused. Lin Qian almost thought he heard wrong, but then Zheng PingQing clarified. “With all that foreplay, my seventeen-year-old body will probably cause a tragedy.”
“My seventeen-year-old body doesn’t consent.” Lin Qian calmly replied.
“I’m in a bad mood again.”
In the end, Lin Qian gave in to his urge and grabbed at Zheng PingQing’s hair. He didn’t ask. There was no need to, when it came to him and Zheng PingQing.
Lin Qian then touched the collar of Zheng PingQing’s new clothes. “Did you knock something off?”
“Un.” With a slight nod, Zheng PingQing explained. “No fights, no tantrums, just accidents.”
Dazed after his talk with Chen ShiYi, he ran into a waiter holding a bowl of fried noodles and ended up covered in sauce from head to toe. A little annoyed, Zheng PingQing continued: “I wanted to buy another set of the same clothes, but they were out of stock.”
The brand wasn’t popular yet, so stores didn’t have much in stock.
“Then you could’ve just bought another pair. I could’ve changed into them, ah.”
After that revelation, Zheng PingQing was so angry he wanted to beat himself. “d.a.m.n it, why didn’t I think of that.”
Lin Qian’s words had successfully diverted Zheng PingQing’s attention. Seeing that he was in a much better mood, Lin Qian led Zheng PingQing to his little corner. Unexpectedly, Ke MuZi was still sitting there.
Ke MuZi looked at Zheng PingQing with envious eyes. “This cla.s.smate is so strong. You probably lift a lot of iron, don’t you…”
Lin Qian, who was often ‘held’: Iron??!
Zheng PingQing also had black lines as he replied: “…No.”
“Then I guess it’s just natural talent.” Ke MuZi’s programming skills were top-notch, but he was a very weak chicken in terms of strength. So he envied Zheng PingQing even more and said: “But the physical fitness of us coders certainly won’t lose to you in terms of waist and limb strain.”
Lin Qian: “…” Boss Ke sure does love coding.
Lin Qian didn’t have the nerve to tell Ke MuZi that Zheng PingQing’s ability to carry him wasn’t because of his strength, but because he had lots of practice.
Zheng PingQing, however, had no such problems. “Even if you’re doing something you love, it’s still best to do things in moderation.”
“That makes sense.” Ke MuZi nodded. But he was still tangled, saying: “But I just can’t give up on doing what I love!”
Zheng PingQing sympathized with him. “Me too.”
Lin Qian: “….” This shameless bully still wanting to drive despite being a minor!
Lin Qian coughed. Then he politely introduced Zheng PingQing to his new big-shot friend. He then gave Zheng PingQing a tacit smile. “I don’t need to introduce this person to you. You should be able to recognize him.”
“Bo-…I mean Cla.s.smate Ke, h.e.l.lo.” Like his boyfriend, Zheng PingQing almost called Ke MuZi Boss.
But Ke MuZi was delighted. “Oh, so you know that I’m the top scorer of the city exam?”
Zheng PingQing: “….” Never mind the fact that he can’t remember things that happened ten years ago, he had never paid any attention to something like the city exam results in his life.
However, in the face of Ke MuZi’s shining eyes, Zheng PingQing could only nod. “Right.”
Ke MuZi became very fond of these two new friends of his’. He thought this birthday would be boring, who knew he would find people like this. He was delighted to continue chatting with them: “My mother always worried that I spend too much time programming. She thinks it’s going to affect my grades. I really don’t know what she has to worry about, though. I placed first in the city, but she still forces me to drink this tonic soup. I hate the taste so much. Are moms always like that? Happy to force their children to do something they hate…”
As Zheng PingQing listened to ‘mother this’ and ‘mother that,’ he couldn’t help getting restless. Standing up, he said: “I’m going to go get something to eat.”
Lin Qian guessed his mood, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he said: “Bring me some mango on the way back.”
Zheng PingQing ran a hand through his hair. “Un.”
After Zheng PingQing walked away, Lin Qian interrupted Ke MuZi’s tirade. “Cla.s.smate Ke, let’s not talk about your mom forcing things on you, let’s talk about something else.”
This Boss sensitivity to other people’s emotions was surprisingly low. He didn’t notice any problems whatsoever and simply changed the topic in one breath: “Then I’ll tell you about my recent programming experience…”
Lin Qian: “…” He was now hearing about the barren life of a science and engineering otaku first-hand.
“I wanted to develop a system all on my own recently, but I haven’t figured out what kind of system I should develop….”
……
Zheng PingQing said that he was getting something to eat, but he headed for the door instead. He felt like he needed to breathe some fresh air for a bit. But halfway through the journey, he was stopped by someone.
It was Huo YeRui. With a smile, Huo YeRui stopped in front of him and asked: “Cla.s.smate Zheng, why’d you arrive so late today?”
Zheng PingQing still hadn’t forgiven him for pushing Lin Qian to carry a girl, so his expression remained stony. “I went to eat some rice before coming over.”
Huo YeRui: “…” He came to his party in a buffet restaurant after eating…
But Huo YeRui was someone who managed to stay friends with many influential people in his last life. He kept his smile and said: “Let’s walk and talk for a bit.”
Zheng PingQing had no patience for Huo YeRui, but he clearly had some bad intentions, so he forced himself to endure. “Let’s go then.”
Huo YeRui casually started: “I didn’t expect for you and Lin Qian to turn from enemies to friends.”
Zheng PingQing didn’t know what his aim was, so he sneered and deliberately acted ambiguously. “Do we look like friends?”
Huo YeRui heard this and secretly rejoiced. Pretending to be surprised, he asked: “Aren’t you?”
“No.” Zheng PingQing answered without hesitation. Inside though, he was cackling. No, we’re not friends, we’re boyfriends.
However, Huo YeRui wouldn’t want to hear that truth, so Zheng PingQing graciously didn’t say it.
Huo YeRui finally breathed a big sigh of relief. He couldn’t hide his joy as he said: “It’s been hard on you. I also sometimes have to tolerate Lin Qian.”
Zheng PingQing’s brows furrowed. What is this person talking about?
After confirming Zheng PingQing’s feelings about Lin Qian, Huo YeRui confidently continued: “You probably know that my father is going to get promoted to princ.i.p.al next year. He’s been trying to improve the teaching level in No. 12, and I also want to do my best to help him and carry some of his burdens.”
Zheng PingQing watched as Huo YeRui, a high school student, spouted some lines that didn’t match his age. His face looked so serious that Zheng PingQing wanted to laugh.
Huo YeRui didn’t know why, but Zheng PingQing makes him feel like he was coming up a little short. They were all cla.s.smates, but Huo YeRui felt insecure from the bottom of his heart. Burying this feeling down, he tried to look sincere. “I heard that you and your friends are trying to study recently. If you don’t mind it, I can teach you too.”
Zheng PingQing looked at him for a moment, then slowly replied: “I do mind.”
At this, Huo YeRui’s smile froze for just a moment, making him seem disingenuous.
Zheng PingQing continued: “You don’t have a university recommendation, so you need more time to study.”
Zheng PingQing went directly for the throat. And Huo YeRui wasn’t old enough to control his emotions properly. With a cold snort, Huo YeRui said: “I have a number of recommendations, they just haven’t been approved yet. Who knows how many of them I’ll get?”
Zheng PingQing understood what Huo YeRui was trying to do. He asked: “So you’re saying you have a chance?”
“Everyone has a chance.” Huo YeRui replied, wary.
Zheng PingQing almost laughed out loud. What’s up with that weak attempt of a cover-up, ah? Even if they’re seniors, it seems that high school students really are a bit less experienced when it comes to social battles.
“Let’s not talk about this.” Huo Yerui quickly tried to redirect the conversation to the main topic. “My dad’s been really concerned about the students. Although Cla.s.s 8 is considered the tardy cla.s.s, he always wanted to help everyone raise their grades.”
Zheng PingQing: “…” I’m sorry, but I already know what Huo PingChuan’s going to do when he comes into power.
Zheng PingQing quietly watched Huo YeRui pretend and didn’t say anything else. He waited for Huo YeRui to warble every trick he had.
Huo YeRui didn’t disappoint, continuing his tirade: “The relationship between Cla.s.s 8 and their teachers are terrible, especially in math cla.s.s. Lin YaZhi often tells my dad that Cla.s.s 8 is too difficult to teach, blaming you guys for your declining scores.”
Huo YeRui looked at Zheng PingQing and earnestly said: “You have a lot of power in Cla.s.s 8. I heard that they all listen to you.”
Zheng PingQing pretended to act enlightened. “So you came to persuade me to listen to Teacher Lin?”
Huo YeRui: “…” How did you come to that conclusion?
Huo YeRui: “Thing’s aren’t that easy. Besides, Teacher Lin said himself that he couldn’t teach you guys.”
Zheng PingQing spread his arms wide. “Then, nothing else can be done.”
Huo YeRui felt that the brainpower of these students in Cla.s.s 8 was quite lacking. They failed to comprehend even the simplest things. Huo YeRui tried to reveal a little more, saying: “My dad wants to go to the Education Bureau and propose a teacher satisfaction survey for No. 12. If students rate teachers low enough, they can be replaced.”
Huo YeRui tried to sound even more sincere: “This can be a chance for teachers and students to cooperate. Only when teachers satisfy and gain the trust of their students can they help them improve their grades. Right?”
“Right.” Zheng PingQing finally put two and two together. Looks like the teacher satisfaction survey still hadn’t been approved?
Many ideas flashed through Zheng PingQing’s mind as Huo YeRui continued to persuade him. “If you guys had a teacher that you trusted, I’m sure everyone in Cla.s.s 8 would get better grades.”
“Not really.” Zheng PingQing gave him a meaningful look. “I have a lot of trust towards Teacher Lin and would give him full marks if I ever did a survey like that.”
After saying this, Zheng PingQing had lost all patience with Huo YeRui and simply walked away.
Huo YeRui:??????
There’s something wrong with this storyline!
The author has something to say:
Lin Qian: Reporting Zheng PingQing for driving without a license!