When she arrived in school, Shuishui drank her yogurt and read a book.
Xu Die hadn't arrived yet. Shuishui thought about what she had heard concerning Xu Die and her father. She shrugged it off. It was probably a family matter, and it had nothing to do with her.
However, Xu Die didn't show up to attend their classes. Shuishui felt it had nothing to do with her. Everyone had treated Xu Die differently. They were not as warm and friendly towards her as before. To the others, the so-called livestreamer wasn't attractive to them at all. They felt that because they saw Xu Die almost every day, they realized that she was not as attractive, and they found her personality to be very unpleasant. They had liked her in the beginning, but now, no one had a good impression of her.
Mu Qing, on the other hand, wanted to gossip about Xu Die. "Hey, Shuishui, why do you think Xu Die is not here?"
"Does it concern you if she is not here?" Mu Zilin asked Mu Qing.
Mu Qing tsk-tsked. "I didn't ask you. I asked Shuishui. Besides, it's good to gossip occasionally. What's wrong with that?" Mu Qing pouted as she responded to Mu Zilin. She felt that Mu Zilin always liked to ridicule her.
She smiled awkwardly and decided to let it go. She realized that Shuishui might not know either.
It was time for class. Every Monday, they had a class meeting during the first period. The teacher-in-charge talked about the monthly exam and other trivial matters concerning the class.
"Qian Shuishui, come to my office later. I have something to tell you." The teacher looked at Shuishui. Her smile was very friendly, and there was no hint of coldness and repulsion as there was before.
Shuishui nodded. "Okay, Teacher."
She was a little confused, because the teacher's attitude towards her suddenly changed. She was a little surprised.
Mu Zilin secretly ate the potato chips he had brought. "The teacher asked Shuishui to go to the office. Do you have any idea why?"
"I don't know why, but the teacher especially likes to ask Shuishui to go to the office," Mu Qing said in boredom.
After class, Shuishui went to the office. Even if she didn't want to, she had to go.
She entered the office and approached her teacher.
The mathematics teacher saw Shuishui and smiled. "Shuishui, not bad. The score is out. The teacher was a little surprised when he heard it. For the next round, work hard."
Shuishui recalled that she had participated in the math competition. "Thank you, Teacher. I will work hard."
The homeroom teacher brought a cup of tea over, sat down, and drank a few sips of tea before he said anything. "In this math competition, you were the only first-year student who passed. We don't know the score, but I heard from the teacher over there that your performance was outstanding and that you have a solid foundation. The second round might be a little difficult for you, but you can enter the second round, which means that you are a strong competitor. Don't be pressured. If you have any questions that you don't understand, you can consult the math teacher. The next round will be held this Friday afternoon, and all first year students will go."
Shuishui nodded. "I understand."
"It's good that you understand. I think that you're pretty good in other aspects." The form teacher, Teacher Chu, taught politics. She was a logical thinker. She had graduated from a prestigious university at a young age. She hoped she would be able to determine who among her students were outstanding. She knew that there were not many who were very good.
Teachers focused on nurturing the outstanding students. However, the one who received the highest comprehensive evaluation from all the teachers was Shuishui. The form teacher's prejudice towards Shuishui faded. She had noticed that Shuishui would sometimes read other books in class, so she had wanted to make things more difficult for Shuishui at that time. However, she realized that even when Shuishui seemed to be distracted, she would still be able to fluently answer questions. She later learned that Shuishui also had extra-curricular activities. She was different from the other students. As for Mu Zilin, she felt that although his foundation was not very good, his results in the middle school examination were solid. She noticed that Mu Zilin and Qian Shuishui would sometimes pass notes in class. The teachers thought that they were a couple, but they later realized that they were not.
High school teachers discouraged students from falling in love at a young age because they believed it would hinder students from excelling academically.
Suddenly, the office was very quiet.
Teacher Huang, who taught English, waved at Shuihui. "Shuishui, come over here for a moment."
Teacher Huang thought that Shuishui was a middle-aged woman. She especially liked Shuishui because her spoken accent was very good. Shuishui had been respectful and courteous towards teachers. She felt that Shuishui did not gloat over the fact that she excelled and did better than other students.
Shuishui approached her English teacher. She smiled indifferently and her gaze drifted to a list on Teacher Huang's desk. However, she did not clearly see what was on it. "Teacher, is there anything you need?"
"Today's English class is in the afternoon, but there's an activity in the afternoon for the students of the three grades. The last three students can represent the school to participate in the English debate competition organized by the provincial education bureau. This will add points to the college entrance examination in the future. Are you interested? If you're interested, I will help you sign up. The English class representative has already signed up. I mentioned it in class before, but you didn't come to me." Teacher Huang remembered that there were only two people who had signed up for Class 13—the one with the best spoken English didn't actually sign up.
In fact, Shuishui would not pay attention during Teacher Huang's class.
Shuishui blinked her eyes and looked at Teacher Huang. Her mind was racing as she thought, 'Plus points—I estimate that it will be five points, but it's not bad, because these level competitions don't happen often.' She then continued, "Teacher, I want to sign up. After I sign up, do you want me to attend the selection at noon?"
"That's right. It will be chosen by a foreign teacher and two third-year English teachers. The foreign teacher is the chief judge. Your accent is very good, and I'm not too clear about the process. When you arrive at the concert hall, just follow the arrangements. " Teacher Huang didn't know how to go for the selection After all, every selection was different. She was not a judge, so she could only listen from the side. However, most of the English teachers would listen. They all wanted to see if their students could be selected.
Shuishui felt that it would be good. The selection process seemed fair.
The bell rang. Shuishui was about to go to class when Teacher Huang tugged Qian Shuishui and said, "Shuishui, I almost forgot. Remember to finish your meal early and arrive at the concert hall at twelve thirty. Don't be late."
"Yes, Teacher." Shuishui quickly ran back to the classroom.
Shuishui sat down. She started to feel that, with all the various approaching competitions, high school was quite busy,
Mu Zilin, who was sitting behind Shuishui and playing with his phone, said, "I found a mobile game that is very fun. Shuishui, let's play together."
Shuishui ignored him because she did not play mobile games. For her, they were troublesome and time-consuming.
Mu Qing was encouraged by Mu Zilin to play. They had too much fun and even secretly played in the classroom drawer.
There were a few students who were not attentive in class. There were so many students in the classroom that the teacher could not control how each one would behave, so he turned a blind eye.
The third high school was a key high school after all. The school's learning atmosphere was good. Students were not fussy at the end of every class. They were generally well-behaved.
The English class representative, Jiang Xinyu, looked for Shuishui and shyly invited her. "Qian Shuishui, let's have lunch together and then go to the concert hall together."
"Okay." Shuishui did not refuse. In her memory, Jiang Xinyu did not seem to have spoken much to her. She was only active in English class. She was usually a quiet person. She had short hair that reached her ears, which made her look nimble.
Mu Qing saw that Jiang Xinyu had invited Shuishui to lunch. They were going to the concert hall. Could there be some competition or something? She really envied Shuishui. However, she felt very lucky to be friends with Shuishui because Shuishui was a good-natured girl who treated her very well and guided her. Shuishui wasn't like the other girls she had met in junior high, who always thought of scheming and gossiping. It was really tiring for her to be around such people.
Mu Zilin tugged on Shuishui's ponytail. "Shuishui . . . Shuishui, what are you going to do again?"
"I'm going to participate in the selection for the English debate competition," Shuishui said bluntly.
"Then Mu Qing and I will go watch and cheer for you!" Mu Zilin chuckled. He was very curious about how Shuishui's would fare in the competition.