Zheng Tan had heard Jiao Yuan complain about some issues within the school before. His class had a rivalry with Fifth Class of the same grade – from sports meetings to basketball matches, and even to the end-of-term evaluations. Everyone knew not to praise Fifth Class in First Class, and not to boast about First Class in Fifth Class. Even if you truly thought someone from the other class was impressive, you had to keep it to yourself, or risk triggering public indignation.
The rivalry also involved the headteachers of the two classes, who had been at odds for a long time. In class meetings, when negative examples were needed, the headteacher of Fifth Class would first point to First Class. Back in first grade, Fu Lei was still the "Lone Ranger" at the bottom of his class – he was frequently criticized as an example by the Fifth Class teacher, who had even claimed in private that this student was a "piece of stinking dog poop." Fu Lei had never forgotten this grudge.
