Chapter 273
New Deskmates
Yang Liqun had taught Bai Yunshan mathematics the previous year, but he was not her class teacher back then. However, he had long heard of her attitude. He was most impressed by the that she was not only strict on others, but even more so on herself. That’s the so-called definition of leading by example.
He knew about Shen Menglian too, and was aware of her solid results. But, was this an excuse for her to disregard the teacher?
In order to fortify his position, he immediately asked Shen Menglian to stand up and listen to his admonitory talk attentively. On this first day, she had been subject to humiliation in a class full of strangers.
This only intensified her grudge against Zhao Youyue. At the same time, she could not understand why a perfectionist like Bai Yunshan would cover up for Zhao Youyue.
Did they already know each other?
No, they did not know each other at all. The fact of the matter was far simpler. Bai Yunshan was not as gullible as what Shen Menglian thought. Could anyone simply take advantage of Bai Yunshan?
Bai Yunshan had no idea about the story between the two, but, she would not let Shen Menglian use her for her petty revenge.
As for Zhao Youyue, she took a mental note about it. She had not taken any action on her, for this was her first timeOf course, Zhao Youyue’s beautiful face had also played role. Well, she was witnessing the effects of “lookism[1].”
Zhao Youyue was already born with a face that granted her a pass with the aid of “lookism,” and her recent exploits had only given it more power.
After that, their dignified fatty class teacher, Yang Liqun, ordered the only eight male students in the class to had out and pick up the new books. It looks like the male students in this class are going to experience bitter lives
After seeing what happened to Shen Menglian, Zhao Youyue quickly kept away her cell phone. She had a gut feeling that this fatty Yang was not as flexible as Lao Qiu. This would be rather frustrating.
The privilege that top students enjoy heavily depended on their teachers. An uncompromising class teacher would not hesitate to confiscate one’s cell phone, regardless of how good his results are.
Next, it was the ice-breaking session. This wasn’t actually necessary for a popular kid like her. Everyone knew that she was the top student whose results had improved notably during her last semester in the tenth grade. Now that they had been divided into Art and Science streams, she would probably rank first among the art class students
Zhao Youyue’s self-introduction was short and simple. She simply stated her name, her former class, and her hobbies – listening to and playing music. Nonetheless, the applause that she got was exceptionally passionate especially from boys with glittering eyes as they gazed at her. After all, everyone is fond of beauty. On top of that, her beautiful face now far surpassed most girls.
The faces of the girls in this class were not that bad actually but, they were incomparable to Jiang Qin Little Angel. Therefore, this gap only caused Zhao Youyue to become more outstanding in contrast.
Apparently, it is hard to find a girl who had the smarts and looks these days
On the other hand, girls like Bai Yunshan and Shen Menglian whose results were excellent yet only had acceptable faces were far more common.
After that, Fatty Yang started to elect the class committee members, without going through all the democratic fluff. He was the dictator type of class teacher.
Undoubtedly, he chose Bai Yunshan, whom he considered a role model of students, as the class monitor. He was certain that she would manage the class well.
As her former mathematics teacher, he knew her better than most. This girl had an unusual background which would serve well in her role.
After learning that Bai Yunshan was the class monitor, Zhu Ran, who was the class monitor of Zhao Youyue’s former class, was disappointed. Although he felt that being a class monitor distracted him from his studies, he took it as a badge of honor. After losing it, he now felt incomplete
Then, Zhao Youyue was appointed to be the Commissary in charge of studies. Fatty Yang knew nothing about her, but he knew for sure that her results were good enough to equal Huang Zhongchao and vie for the top spot in their grade. An elite student like her deserved to become the Commissary in charge of studies!
However, Zhao Youyue raised a hand. Kindly, Fatty Yang asked her to stand up, wanting to hear about her opinion about this arrangement.
“Teacher Yang, I don’t think that I am suitable for this position. My learning style can’t be an example for my classmates,” Zhao Youyue said.
“Oh. So, how is your learning style like?” Asked Fatty Yang with interest.
“Well, I simply focus during class and complete my assignments dutifully. That’s all. I won’t do anything more. I spend my free time on music and reading novels. In other words, I don’t have much motivation to study for my exams.”
After listening to her explanation, the whole class was silent, and Fatty Yang was dumbfounded. All this while, he thought that she was an elite scholar who spent most of her time studying. He never expected her to spare no additional time for her self-revision
Even so, she had managed to pass her exams with flying colors. Well, this could only be justified with talent!
“Pretentious,” Shen Menglian, who was still standing, murmured. Back in her previous class, she was the Commissary in charge of studies. So, she was unhappy after knowing that Yang Liqun had appointed Zhao Youyue to this position.
“I would like to suggest Zhu Ran, my former class monitor, to hold this position. His attitude of learning is far better than mine, and he would be a good example for the class.” Zhao Youyue did not understand Zhu Ran well, but she knew him enough to suggest that role. Also, he had the aptitude of becoming a class committee member. For a hermit like her, she was reluctant to be bound by anything.
In fact, Zhao Youyue lacked a sense of collective honor as well as a sense of duty. All of these have been covered up by her good results, causing people to believe that she was a flawless model student. Well, she was just fooling around with her studies, and she did not have a sense of camaraderie for her class either. She was an ultra-individualist.
Bai Yunshan, the class monitor, was her counterpart from the other side of the scale. She was an ultra-collectivist.
Eventually, Zhu Ran became the Commissary in charge of studies as he had hoped. It was partly because of the recommendation of Zhao Youyue. His good results, which were not always consistent, helped too.
He was extremely grateful to Zhao Youyue for her help. He was now indebted to her, and would never turn away if she is ever in need in the future.
Soon, the election process of the class committee members came to an end. Zhao Youyue felt at ease, as she had been left with no strings attached.
Finally, it was the time for the seating rearrangement. Shen Menglian prayed in her heart that it would be alright for anyone to be her desk mate except for Zhao Youyue. That woman would be her bane. Moreover, no one wants to be the green leaf to Zhao Youyue’s rose petals!
Shen Menglian was a narcissist, and took great pride in her beauty and talent. However, she was hopeless when compared to Zhao Youyue
“Shen Menglian and Zhao Youyue, your seats – second set – third row,” Yang Liqun was reading from some notes that he had prepared beforehand.
Meanwhile, Bai Yunshan and a girl whose name was Qiu Ya were placed behind them.
Translation note:
[1] [] lit. meaning “Facial Recognition” is an internet slang means that someone can take advantage of something or get by something just because another party knows him/her or by using his/her appealing face. Here, we’ll adopt the closest English counterpart known “Lookism.”