It had been nearly a month since the freshman opening ceremony, and Zhi Ying's skin tone had gradually returned to its original appearance. Han Jiaojiao, sitting in the front row, still found herself surprised sometimes when she looked back.
Strictly speaking, Zhi Ying didn't look like a boy. Although her facial features carried the heroic spirit inherited from her father, she also had the fair skin given by her mother.
Because her skin had been too tanned previously, her appearance had been inconspicuous. Plus, Zhi Ying did not pay attention to her appearance, so she was frequently mistaken as a boy.
After Li Ge finished a physics problem, he turned around and rushed to the other three to announce, "Next week, we will have our first monthly exam!"
Without skipping a beat, his gossipy nature came out, "I heard from Class One that Jiang Wei's grades are very good. This time, he might take first place in the monthly exam."
Although Han Jiaojiao was obsessed with Jiang Wei's looks, she was someone who believed in strength. She disdained this kind of gossip, "Just because he has good grades, does that mean he can get first place? My grades are also good. Does that mean that I will get first place in the monthly exam?"
Zhao Qian was delighted and said with a smile, "You can get first place? Come on!"
Han Jiaojiao was not convinced, "What's wrong with me? I was first in the last language arts test, and also in English."
There were many students with good grades in Class Two, and Han Jiaojiao's grades were not bad among them. So it was not surprising to say such a thing.
Zhi Ying, immersed in her own problems, paid no attention to this topic. To her, mathematics came first; everything else was secondary.
As for the first place champion, it was also secondary.
…
Lao Han didn't really catch any student with a phone. These students wished they could split their time in half just to use it.
After class, there was break time, but some students didn't rest. They just sat there flipping through their notes or doing a few multiple-choice questions.
This was convenient for Zhi Ying, though. She often took her phone with her, so as not to miss the math problems her neighbor sent from Miradonia.
Zhi Ying, who had just finished a multiple-choice question on biology, heard a vibration from the drawer.
Lowering her head, she pulled out her phone. It was a message from her father saying they had come to see her at school and were waiting at the school gate.
Zhi Ying replied back via a text message to her dad: [I got it. There is one more class period.]
When the class was over, Zhi Ying didn't go to the school gate immediately but quickly went back to her dormitory.
After tidying up all the books and rough papers on the bed, table, and even on the floor, she walked to the school gate.
As soon as she arrived at the school gate, she saw her parents. Sure enough, her mother had come too. Approaching closer, Zhi Ying sensed something amiss. Her parents had their backs turned, engaged in conversation with a student in school uniform.
"Dad, Mom," Zhi Ying called out, a little confused.
"Xiao Ying, why are you so thin again?" Zhi Ying's mother looked Zhi Ying up and down and immediately frowned.
As Zhi Ying approached, she realized the person talking to her parents was classmate Jiang Wei. After a moment of surprise, she greeted him with a friendly smile, "Classmate Jiang Wei."
"Xiao Ying, do you know him?" Father Zhi asked in surprise.
Zhi Ying nodded. "He's a classmate from Class One."
"It's such a coincidence!" Mother Zhi said with a smile, "Do you remember what I told you before about the neighbors on Lugu Mountain? I didn't expect you two to know each other already."
"Lugu Mountain?" Zhi Ying looked at Jiang Wei in surprise. Her parents had told her before about their neighbors on Lugu Mountain, but she did not expect it to be Jiang Wei.
Every year when Jiang Wei recuperated in Lugu Mountain, he ran into this couple. He had heard them talk about having a daughter the same age as him. They ran into each other today, so they pulled him over to say a few words. Then, they saw Zhi Ying coming this way.
Jiang Wei smiled politely at Father Zhi and Mother Zhi, and his eyes swept over Zhi Ying.
Unlike her parents, who exuded a tactful demeanor—Father Zhi, a discernible businessman that anyone with eyesight could tell, and Mother Zhi, who also appeared far from ordinary—Zhi Ying wore her emotions openly.
In the end, Jiang Wei declined Zhi Ying's parents' invitation for lunch and took Uncle Li's car back to the apartment.
"That child is really handsome," Mother Zhi sighed as she watched Jiang Wei's departing back.
Father Zhi nodded. "He looks more energetic than before."
Zhi Ying had never seen Jiang Wei in the past, and even if she had, she had no impression. She could only silently listen to her parents constantly praise Jiang Wei's appearance and proper etiquette.
"Xiao Ying, did you sleep well at school? What about eating? Did you only take a few bites and say it was good?" Mother Zhi turned to her daughter.
Zhi Ying didn't like to lie, but she also didn't want to worry her parents. She awkwardly tried to change the subject, "Why haven't I ever met Jiang Wei in Lugu Mountain?"
"He only goes to Lugu Mountain during summer break. You only lived there when you were a child, and you never wanted to leave the study room in the city."
She understood her own daughter and so, she didn't want to give Zhi Ying a hard time, so she went along with her attempt to change the topic.
Transitioning from the initial greetings, Father Zhi asked again, "You really don't want to live at home? I heard that the food in the school cafeteria is not very good. Xiao Ying, you always stay at school. We can't have peace of mind when we work at home."
"I'm already in high school, and study time is tight. I have to fight for a good university," Zhi Ying said seriously, determined to get the best university.
"Don't act dumb!" Father Zhi was unhappy, "You think I don't know? You've already finished your high school curriculum. Besides, we just want you to be happy. As for a good university, you don't need to sacrifice your health to get admission."
Sometimes parents were contradictory. When their children didn't have good grades, they hoped that they would study hard. But when their grades were good, they didn't want their children to be too stressed, and having good health is good enough.
"Xiao Ying, can you come home on weekends?" Mother Zhi asked expectantly, holding Zhi Ying's hand.
"...Oh." Zhi Ying couldn't stand her mother's coquettish look, so she could only nod her head in agreement.
Following dinner with her parents, Zhi Ying returned to the dormitory and started to review her composition paper.