"Mhm," Qin Jingchen's gaze still fixed on the road of the small alley.
Fen Ye's voice rose, "Impressive! But how can she, a high school student, manage that? Jingchen, I'll go dig up all her information for you right now!"
"No need," Qin Jingchen declined.
In the dim light, the teardrop-shaped mole at the corner of his eye was charming, vaguely accentuating a smile.
...
The next day was clear and bright.
Jiang Xiruo personally saw Jiang Zhe off onto the bus, not forgetting to caution him, "First High is good, but it isn't an unattainable existence. I have friends there, so once you arrive, feel free to make requests as you please. If it doesn't work out, just call me, and I'll ask my friends for help."
"Okay," Jiang Zhe nodded, not doubting for a moment that Jiang Xiruo could do it.
"I'll transfer some pocket money to you, use this for now, and let me know anytime if it's not enough."
Jiang Zhe glanced down as Jiang Xiruo entered twenty thousand but seemed to think that might be too much and deleted a zero; then, worrying it might not be enough, he ultimately received five thousand.
In a place like Jincheng First High School, this amount of pocket money was about average, neither too much nor too little.
"Enci is also there, get in touch with her when you arrive," Jiang Xiruo reminded him.
...
Jiang Zhe stood in the office of Director Han at Jincheng First High, squinting slightly, basking in the morning sunlight pouring into the office.
Director Han was the senior grade group director, the person in charge, the vice-principal.
Sitting behind his desk, he hesitated for a moment when he saw Jiang Zhe's appearance. Although he had heard from the principal that this transfer student was only accepted by the school due to some background, the appearance was indeed misleading.
"Jiang Zhe, graduated from Ash Street Elementary, attended Ash Street Middle School for junior high and the first two years of high school? Academic performance..." Director Han flipped through the records, shaking his head inwardly.
The scores were erratic as if chewed by a dog, ranging from zero to sixty, but that was all.
Only in a school like Ash Street could he have made it to high school.
"Senior year has thirty-eight classes, three A classes, five B classes, nine C classes, one unnamed. Which do you want to go to?" Director Han asked with patience.
As the names suggest, A class had the best grades, and the others followed in sequence.
But at First High, even the students of C classes far exceeded those from other schools.
With Jiang Zhe's grades, he wouldn't even come close to qualifying for the last C class, but the person who referred him here pulled a lot of weight.
"Which class is Xiao Meng in?" Jiang Zhe asked casually.
"Class one, the best of the A classes. You want to go to class one?" Director Han asked, looking into Jiang Zhe's eyes.
"Is that a problem?" Jiang Zhe asked nonchalantly in return.
Director Han couldn't help but cough, always feeling as if he was the newcomer, with Jiang Zhe's presence giving the impression they'd switched roles.
"That's fine too. Try this test first," Director Han pulled out a paper and handed it to Jiang Zhe.
Despite her strong background, Director Han had to go through the motions.
Jiang Zhe glanced at the test paper, then sat down and picked up a pen obediently.
As he was about to write the first answer on the paper, something unexpected happened.
"Director Han, this certainly won't do!" The slightly ajar door was pushed opened, and a somewhat portly middle-aged man walked in, slamming his Chinese textbook onto the table, "My class won't accept such a student!"
The newcomer was Tian Wangcheng, the homeroom teacher of senior grade one class one, whose sharp, shrewd eyes swept over Jiang Zhe, taking an immediate dislike to her attire.
Why would a senior-grade student keep her hair so long? Could it be eaten or turned into grades?
Was the skirt intentionally cut short? How could the boys in the class concentrate on their studies when she dressed like that?
Girls who care about looking pretty shouldn't come to school!
"Teacher Tian, the thing is…" Director Han tried to explain.
"Director Han, I've looked over her records. Never mind her terrible grades, but there have also been several final exams she missed! Not to mention her grades, her study attitude is problematic too!"
How could they allow such a student to harm the other excellent students!
Director Han felt helpless, not wishing to speak frankly in front of Jiang Zhe, he gave Tian Wangcheng a look, hinting that Jiang Zhe had connections behind her.
Tian Wangcheng was agitated, "You also know that at least half of our students can get into Beijing University, Hua University. If they are influenced by her, who will take responsibility?"
Jiang Zhe put down her pen and stood up, "Never mind, I'll just switch to another class."
Seeing her willing to compromise, Director Han was overjoyed, "Great, I'll choose another class for you."
Tian Wangcheng had achieved his goal but didn't leave immediately; instead, he said, "And you also need to resolve the issue with Xiao Meng for me."
Jiang Zhe had no interest in their conversation, but upon hearing Xiao Meng's name, she couldn't help but listen closely.
Xiao Meng was a friend from the orphanage she'd stayed at previously, the one Director Kang had heard about.
Xiao Meng had always had excellent grades and everything went smoothly after she was adopted, becoming the child with the second most promising destiny in the orphanage after Jiang Fanyue.
"Xiao Meng's issue doesn't need to be rushed," Director Han tried to pacify him.
Tian Wangcheng insisted on resolving it that day, "Xiao Meng's grades were good before, but now they are slipping more and more. I don't want a student like that in my class. You must transfer her out."
Director Han, reluctantly, "At the time of admission, you were the one who fiercely fought to have Xiao Meng in your class, and now you want her to leave. We have to give an explanation to the students…"
"I fought for her because she had the capability to be in class one! Now she doesn't, so why should class one keep her? Besides, I've heard that she's just an orphan, no wonder she's aloof and doesn't fit in, with such unstable grades. If I had known she was from the orphanage, I never would have accepted her! Isn't this deception?"
After Tian Wangcheng finished speaking, he felt the focus of a gaze upon him.
He turned his head and saw Jiang Zhe, unimpressed, and continued to speak to Director Han, "Director Han, you have to solve this for me."
Director Han, cornered by his persistence, said, "Alright, I'll give you a response as soon as possible."
Only after Tian Wangcheng left did Director Han remember that Jiang Zhe was still there, and he asked her, "Jiang Zhe, how about I arrange for you to join class A instead?"
"No need. Whatever class Xiao Meng is in, I'll go to that one."
Director Han had already communicated with Xiao Meng before, and he was well aware of her feelings towards Tian Wangcheng's attitude. Director Han had protected Xiao Meng for a long time, but this time he had to respect Tian Wangcheng's opinion.
He immediately communicated with other teachers.
But upon hearing that the students were rejected by Tian Wangcheng, the other homeroom teachers were also understandably reluctant.
In that year, at countless meetings, the Xiao Meng described by Tian Wangcheng was always portrayed as a solitary, unsociable individual with a volatile temper.
It was their senior year, and all the teachers just wanted to focus on studies without wasting time on problematic students.