Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Chen Mo first went to the teachers' office of the second-year students. The head teacher of the experimental class was surnamed Xiang, full name Xiang Shenglong, who taught physics for more than one-third of the classes in the entire grade. In his thirties, he wore glasses and had a scholarly appearance.

"Our dormitory quota for the class was filled at the beginning of the semester," he said from behind his desk, eyes probing. "There's still space in the mixed dorms. Can you accept that?"

Chen Mo took two forms, glanced down, and said, "I can manage."

"Chen Mo." The head teacher called his name. Seeing Chen Mo look up, he continued, "The mixed dorms might be a bit chaotic, and the study atmosphere won't be the same as our class dorms. You've just arrived; do you really want to stay on campus?"

Chen Mo understood this subtle discouragement.

He smiled, "Yes, I'll stay."

"Alright then." Xiang Shenglong relented. "If you have no objections, fill out this application form and the commitment letter, and give them to the class monitor. He will submit them to the dormitory management office for the official stamp."

Chen Mo nodded. Just as he was about to leave, a voice came from the door: "Reporting."

Xiang Shenglong, seeing who it was, immediately told Chen Mo, "Fill it out here."

Turning to the person, he waved them over, casually familiar, "You're here just in time. Help Chen Mo fill out these forms and run an errand to get the process completed today."

"Aren't these your own tasks?" the person asked.

As they spoke, they entered the room and placed two stacks of papers on Xiang Shenglong's desk. They were not wearing the school uniform, and their rolled-up shirt sleeves accidentally brushed against Chen Mo's elbow, leaving a faint but familiar scent.

After placing the papers, they leaned on the desk and glanced at Xiang Shenglong's computer screen, "An academic report from the Physics Research Institute? Didn't it already get published last year? Still milking it?"

Xiang Shenglong gave him a sidelong glance, "This is a project led by my mentor. Do you think everyone is like you, with no respect for teachers?"

Xi Siyan straightened up, scoffing, "I didn't say anything. Who started the personal attacks?"

"Cut the crap. Did you collect the phones from the class?"

Xi Siyan shook his head, "What's the point? Everyone has two phones now—one for show at school, one kept in their pocket. You should patrol the back gate during self-study periods; you'll find more there than by collecting phones."

Xiang Shenglong threw a book at him, "I don't need your advice!"

Xi Siyan caught it, smiling, before finally turning his attention to the other person present.

Looking at the two papers in his hand, he raised an eyebrow, "Going to live on campus?"

"Yes," Chen Mo replied.

Thinking, 'Isn't this obvious? Asking such a pointless question.'

In the next moment, Xi Siyan held out his hand.

Chen Mo paused for a second before handing over the forms.

But Xi Siyan shook his head, saying, "Not those. Hand over your phone first."

Chen Mo's habitual privacy concerns flared up instantly, and he frowned, showing his displeasure.

"Huh." Xi Siyan chuckled, "Lao Xiang, see that? Here's someone unwilling to cooperate."

Only then did Chen Mo realize that high school students weren't allowed to use phones.

He convinced himself, 'You're just a high school student now. Classes, exams, yes, and another round of college entrance exams.' Before he could feel annoyed by this reality, he heard Xiang Shenglong say, "Chen Mo can keep his phone for now."

He smiled warmly at Chen Mo, "Adapt to living on campus for a couple of days. If you're uncomfortable, call your family. As long as you don't bring your phone into the classroom, you can hand it in next week."

Xi Siyan scoffed, "You sound like you're talking to a child."

"Thank you, Teacher Xiang," Chen Mo said simultaneously. "No need to contact my family. I need my phone at night to sleep. I'll adapt for a few days."

Xiang Shenglong: "...Electronics can be addictive, so try to use them less."

Chen Mo found this amusing yet slightly distracting. During his two days at the Yangs', he had forgotten that his high school life had been challenging not only because of social scum like Li Rui and endless rumors, but also due to the cautious and considerate treatment from various teachers.

Most people weren't as straightforward as Director Lai, making him even more uncomfortable.

Yuhuai Village was indeed poor, but not completely isolated. The primary school he attended was funded by donations, but his junior high and first year of high school were in the county.

He had used a phone, albeit a basic one.

He knew which way the amusement park gates opened, that the ice rink security guard would let you in at midnight for ten yuan, and that the two bars in the county offered part-time jobs that paid several hundred yuan a night.

Even more so for the current Chen Mo.

How could he tell this head teacher, whom he would interact with for the next two years, that he couldn't be a model student? In his previous life, he barely lived up to that title because studying was his only way out for the first seventeen years. Later, he focused solely on improving his grades due to anger and frustration, barely knowing anyone in the class and having only a vague impression of this young teacher who got along well with students.

But now, he neither wanted to compete with Yang Shule nor needed to prove himself through grades.

He even asked a seemingly random question, "Teacher Xiang, is the experimental class on a rotating schedule?"

"No," Xiang Shenglong answered seriously, despite finding it a known fact. "It used to be, but it was canceled last year. Don't worry too much; we don't easily change the class roster."

Chen Mo: "...Thanks, Teacher. Actually, I'm not under any pressure."

Just a pity, the dream of being kicked out of the experimental class remains unfulfilled.

Leaving the office with Xi Siyan, Chen Mo headed back to his classroom while Xi Siyan went to another building.

Before parting ways, Chen Mo stopped him.

Xi Siyan looked puzzled, "Anything?"

Chen Mo asked, "Which floor is Class One, Year Two on?"

"Playing me?"

Chen Mo raised his hands. "In good conscience, I'm asking seriously."

"Do you even have a conscience?" Xi Siyan stared at him for two seconds, seemingly confirming something, and finally said, "Second floor, turn left."

Chen Mo nodded to acknowledge, "Thank you, class monitor. You're a good person."

Xi Siyan turned his head and threw out, "When you say I'm a good person, you can still fake your smile a bit more."

When Chen Mo found the classroom of Class 1, Senior 2, the bell signaling the end of morning self-study had just rung, and the classroom was noisy.

Some were getting water, some were fooling around, but being an elite class, most were still buried in their books and doing problems.

The moment Chen Mo entered, the classroom suddenly quieted down.

Qi Li's deskmate looked at the swollen bruise on his forehead, which was dark purple and quite frightening.

"Why haven't you talked to Yang Shule today?" The deskmate genuinely wondered.

Yang Shule's seat was in the third row from the middle, a standard position for a model student. He had been absent for a whole half month. Even though everyone had heard about what happened over the weekend, many students still gathered around his desk to ask after his well-being when he returned to school.

But today, Qi Li, who usually got along best with Yang Shule, sat at his desk without any intention of going over.

Hearing this, Qi Li pulled out a book coldly, "I just don't want to go. Why must I?"

The deskmate muttered softly, "I was just asking, why so hostile?"

"What does it have to do with you!" The deskmate didn't expect such a reaction, and his voice was loud enough that everyone looked over.

Including Yang Shule.

"Shule, what's wrong with Qi Li today?"

"Yeah, he's acting strange."

Someone looked at the person who had just come in from the door and said, "What else? He got beaten up by Chen Mo like that; it would be odd if he wasn't upset."

Yang Shule remained seated.

Watching Chen Mo enter from the door, he saw him look around the classroom as if searching for something, and eventually, after being reminded by someone in the front row, he walked towards his seat.

That seat was next to the podium, alone, the only one.

Others might not know, but Yang Shule knew that teachers considered this seat special care, yet it also made the occupant the most noticeable. He had already shown his presence enough at home these past few days; sitting in this seat, could he still act so nonchalantly?

Unfortunately, Chen Mo neither calmly sat down nor appeared uneasy.

He moved the desk away.

Chen Mo knew many were watching him, but so what? Thinking back to the two months of discomfort in his previous life, he wasn't crazy enough to sit here again.

He moved the desk to the last row near the window and slammed it down.

Immediately, murmurs of discussion arose.

"What is he doing? Did Teacher Xiang tell him to move?"

"Who knows? He's just showing off, daring to act so calmly after beating someone up. It was easy for him to buy his way into our class; moving seats is nothing."

"Well, other than that, I heard his grades aren't bad."

"Whether they're good or not, the monthly exam is coming soon. If his grades are poor, it'll be embarrassing."

At that moment, Gou Yiyang and the two boys who met Chen Mo on Friday came in through the back door.

Gou Yiyang saw him at once, "Young Master Mo, what are you doing? How did you end up in my dream spot?"

The boy on his shoulder, Jiang Xu, laughed, "Don't be shameless. Didn't your dream spot used to be the cleaning corner at the back, where you could play games without anyone finding you?"

Everyone in the back rows laughed.

The classroom seemed divided into two different zones.

Chen Mo ignored the subtle atmosphere and simply responded to Gou Yiyang and the others, "No problem. Hand in hand in the garbage pile, whoever leaves first is a dog."

"Who's holding hands with you? Besides, this spot is far from the garbage pile." They squeezed into the seats in front of Chen Mo, and Gou Yiyang turned his head, "But buddy, Lao Xiang said no one should sit here. How did you convince him?"

Chen Mo organized the clutter on the table.

Pens, rulers—nothing felt familiar.

Casually: "I didn't say anything."

"...Are you that bold?"

Chen Mo glanced at the solitary seat opposite his, near the door, and raised an eyebrow, "Why can't anyone sit here?"

Jiang Xu pushed aside Gou Yiyang, imitating Xiang Shenglong's tone, and slapped Chen Mo's ruler on the table, "Do you think you're another Xi Siyan? There are only so many people in the experimental class; can't you fit in the front?"

So that solitary seat belonged to the class monitor of the experimental class.

Chen Mo didn't remember.

He only remembered that studying was intense back then, and seats changed after each monthly exam. Except for the first two months, the faces of his deskmates came and went, and he couldn't recall many of them.

The first class was Chinese.

The Chinese teacher was an old man who didn't care why the seat beside the podium was gone or where the person from the empty seat had gone. He shook his head and recited, "Have you not seen the Yellow River's waters come from heaven above, rushing to the sea never to return? Have you not seen the bright mirror in the high hall..."

Reading aloud, "The student at the very end of this row, please stand up and translate."

No response.

The old man repeated, "The student at the back."

Everyone in the class turned to look.

The student who had been mentioned earlier for receiving special treatment and paying his way in truly embodied what it meant to buy one's admission.

The morning sunlight streamed through the glass window, casting its glow on the young man's slightly disheveled hair. With one hand resting on the back of his head, he was sound asleep, oblivious to the passage of time.