Ding Ling Ling—
The bell signaling the end of class rang, and Chen Qiao came to his senses.
His nosebleed had long stopped, but his legs were numb from standing for too long.
His school uniform and red scarf were stained with blood and water.
He pulled out the handkerchief stuffed in his nose and washed his face with both hands.
The blue handkerchief, embroidered with plum blossoms, was stained with blood.
It couldn’t be cleaned by just rubbing it, so it probably needed some soap or detergent.
The corner of the handkerchief had the name “Lin Na” printed on it.
Such a familiar name.
Isn’t this his female deskmate?
Chen Qiao noticed strange glances from the surrounding people and looked up.
A girl in a pink dress was standing nearby.
It turned out this was the wash basin outside the girls’ restroom.
He thought that his perverted reputation would probably spread across the school tomorrow, and soon the whole village would know.
The village was too small, and gossip spread quickly, so the whole village would soon be aware of it.
Chen Qiao shrugged and walked toward the familiar school building.
He was in the 6th Grade, Class 2, on the 6th floor.
There weren’t many students in the class, only two classes per grade.
Around the year 2015, there had been a small baby boom due to the policy allowing families to have two children.
The village had even spent a lot of money to build a luxurious kindergarten, with tuition fees comparable to those in the county, but after a few years, the kindergarten had no more students.
Chen Qiao was out of breath as he climbed the stairs to the 6th floor.
His body lacked exercise, and he was short.
He was the typical “otaku,” not a fan of sports.
Now that he had the chance to live a second life, he planned to work on getting a healthier body, or else how would he survive in this world?
As he entered the classroom just before the prep bell rang, it was noisy.
The students had just finished physical education class.
Some were fanning themselves with paper fans made from homework papers or textbooks.
Others gathered under the two fans in the classroom, one above the teacher’s desk and the other in the center of the room.
The old fans made creaking sounds and the airflow was weak, squeezing a bunch of people underneath, making it even hotter.
Some mischievous boys were making fart-like sounds with folded paper, teasing their deskmates, while some girls were playing with rubber bands or doing cross-stitching.
No one seemed to be worried about the upcoming graduation exams.
Elementary school these days wasn’t as competitive as it would be in the future.
There were no parents hovering over them to tutor them, except for those aiming for top scores in the county.
Most students could just continue to the next grade.
The top students had signed up for private tutoring, where after-school lessons were given special attention.
Chen Qiao immediately spotted his seat in the first row, fourth column by the window.
The seating arrangement changed every two weeks, and now he happened to be by the window.
There were no curtains in the classroom, so the afternoon sun made it unbearably hot.
Since he was short, he sat in the first row, which meant he had the rare privilege of having a female deskmate.
As a child, he had felt embarrassed about it, but now he realized how rare and valuable that opportunity was.
His deskmate, Lin Na, was petite, often hunched over, and lacked confidence.
Her skin was somewhat dark.
Her family sold fruits at a stall on the street, and she had helped a lot with the family business, likely doing farmwork as well.
She didn’t pay much attention to sun protection, so the skin inside her sleeves was much lighter.
Lin Na had a younger sister who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in junior high school.
There had even been a fundraising event at school for her medical expenses.
That was also a very dark time in Chen Qiao’s life.
He had been in no position to help anyone at that time.
Chen Qiao spread out the damp handkerchief in his palm and said,
“Thanks for the handkerchief. It helped a lot, but I’ve gotten it dirty. I’ll wash it and return it to you later.”
“No need. I can wash it myself,”
Lin Na immediately snatched the handkerchief back and laid it on the book that had sunlight shining on it in the classroom.
The class teacher, Yang Fang, entered the classroom holding some materials and shouted, “It’s time for the class meeting! Everyone return to your seats!”
Students who had been fanning themselves with the fans quickly scattered and returned to their seats.
Yang Fang was a middle-aged woman with gold-rimmed glasses, her face always stern.
She was going through menopause, and when she got angry, she could be pretty scary.
She had taught Chen Qiao once in third grade but had taken maternity leave after that.
She had come back from her break and started a writing class in the teacher’s apartment.
Chen Qiao had been invited to attend a trial lesson, but when he realized there was a fee, he didn’t dare to go again.
Chen Qiao tried to squeeze into his seat through the gap behind Lin Na.
He thought he was slim and nimble, but in reality, he wasn’t.
His legs brushed against Lin Na’s back, and she immediately moved her chair forward, making it easier for him to sit down.
He sat on the long bench, blocking most of the sunlight, so even the walls of the classroom felt hot.
“Class is starting.”
Yang Fang loudly announced the beginning of the class.
The class monitor called out,
“Stand up!”
As soon as Chen Qiao sat down, he stood up again with the rest of the class.
The sound of chair legs scraping against the floor filled the room, and together with the rest of the class, he said, “Good morning, Teacher!”
“Good morning, class. Today’s class meeting is starting. Summer is coming, and the weather is getting hotter. You’re about to graduate, so you are not allowed to swim in the river on your own. Do you understand?”
This was the usual talk.
Every year, someone got into trouble: either a child drowned or someone drowned while trying to rescue others.
Due to severe pollution in the village’s river, which was filled with trash and occasionally dead pigs, it was so dirty that the smell could be detected from afar.
No one dared to swim there anymore.
If they wanted to swim, they had to go to the upstream area in the mountains.
Chen Qiao turned his head, propping his chin with one hand, continuing to look at Lin Na’s side profile.
He still remembered how someone in the class had given Lin Na and Wu Xinyu the nicknames
“ugly duckling” and “white swan,” because comparison brings hurt.
Due to Lin Na being short and dark-skinned, combined with her average academic performance, she was often quiet and reserved with few friends.
After school, she would run home to help with her family’s fruit stand.
On the other hand, Wu Xinyu was fair-skinned, a top student, and often helped classmates with problems.
Although she wore the same school uniform as everyone else, her hairstyle and accessories were different every day.
This wasn’t because she was particularly interested in fashion or beauty at such a young age, but because her mother had the time and energy to do her hair and treat her like a little princess.
Comparing Wu Xinyu to Lin Na seemed almost like bullying.
Not just in their grade, but even in the whole school or village, it was hard to find anyone who stood out more than Wu Xinyu.
Lin Na was certainly not in that category.
Feeling uncomfortable under Chen Qiao’s gaze, Lin Na turned around, facing away from him.
They were seated at the same desk, yet there was an invisible line they never crossed.
If their elbows accidentally touched, they would blush, their hearts racing.
Unable to bear the tension, Lin Na tucked her hair behind her ear, biting her lower lip, and asked, “Chen Qiao… is there something dirty on my face?”
“No, I just wanted to ask about today’s homework. I didn’t remember it.”
Chen Qiao’s mind was still a bit disorganized, too much information had come at him all at once, and he couldn’t recall all the little details right away.
“The math homework is the exercises 1-3-5 at the end of the chapter, plus the equations and word problems written on the back blackboard by the teacher.”
Chen Qiao looked toward the back blackboard.
The handwriting was neat and delicate, unlike the math teacher’s usual rough brush strokes.
It was probably written by Wu Xinyu, the class and math representative.
“Chinese homework is the exercise sheet copied on the blackboard this afternoon,” Lin Na said as she flipped open her notebook.
Ms. Yang, the Chinese teacher, worked hard, often bringing exercises from past years for them to practice, starting early with drills.
However, the school didn’t have enough funds to print worksheets for every student, so the students had to copy the exercises from the blackboard.
During lunch break, the class representative would copy them onto the board, and the students would arrive early to write their answers.
The more diligent students would also copy down the questions.
Lin Na was one of them.
After copying, she left spaces or drew slanted lines with a ruler, and she wrote the answers with a pencil.
Chen Qiao flipped through his notebook and found that he had already completed the Chinese homework.
He had only copied down the math questions, planning to finish them at home.
The algebra equations were easy, and the word problems were classic—distance problems, the “chickens and rabbits in the same cage” problem, and profit and loss questions.
The elementary school problems these days were innocent and straightforward, with no tricky twists.
In his drawer, he found a red ribbon, old and worn, with the inscription “Lanhe Town Baiyun Primary School Civilized Advisory Team.”
He had been a member of the advisory team since fifth grade.
It wasn’t his turn originally, but the two students who had better grades than him—Wu Xinyu had already been a member in fourth grade, and the other student didn’t want to take the role, as they already held the position of class monitor.
The advisory team was responsible for checking the cleanliness of the hygiene areas and classrooms, which directly influenced the evaluation of civilized classes.
They also made sure students were wearing their red scarves and collected toys or cards like marbles and various game cards, such as Yu-Gi-Oh! or Three Kingdoms Kill.
Chen Qiao had submitted some cards but kept a few for himself.
“Is that all the homework for today?”
Chen Qiao asked, picking up his notebook and math workbook.
He didn’t want to go home and do homework; he had more important things to do.
“Huh? You’re already done?”
Lin Na tilted her head, surprised.
“Is that strange?”
Lin Na hurriedly waved her hands.
“No, no.”
Thinking her voice was too loud, she turned her head to check where the teacher was.
Ms. Yang was by the back blackboard, and Lin Na sighed in relief.
Some of the boys in the back row were quite mischievous.
“I heard today’s questions were really hard…” Lin Na began, her mouth slightly open, but then she hesitated.
“What’s wrong?” “It’s nothing, nothing…” Lin Na shook her head like a rattle drum.
“Do you want me to teach you how to solve these problems?”
Chen Qiao asked.
Lin Na took out the back of her used notebook and filled it with various formulas.
The numbers from the problems were correct, but the mistakes she made were rather glaring.
“I’m so dumb. You probably won’t be able to teach me,” Lin Na said shyly, lowering her head in self-doubt.
Math had always been her weak subject, and she often failed.
“The harder it is, the more challenging it is. I like it. There’s no such thing as a stupid student, only a teacher who doesn’t know how to teach. And since you helped me with my nosebleed by lending me your handkerchief, I have to repay you properly.”
Not having a childhood sweetheart was one of Chen Qiao’s biggest regrets.
He spent all his time playing games, keeping a distance from girls.
But if he could turn an ugly duckling into a white swan, it would be quite an accomplishment.
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