Three of them were bona fide slackers.
Suyun spoke softly, "In our class, the three of you, along with Lin Zhennan and Wu Jiadong, who don't stay in the dorms, have long occupied five of the bottom ten spots in our grade. I think your poor performance is due to not focusing your minds on studying. I hope you will study hard in your third year. Keep it up."
After speaking, she looked up and scrutinized Luo Yang and the others one by one.
Luo Yang said, "Teacher, if I don't go to Hell, who will? If I ranked first, then others would have to fill my spot at the bottom. That wouldn't be nice, right? Someone always has to come in last."
"Luo Yang, that kind of thinking is wrong. You should be ambitious."
"Teacher Su, I am ambitious."
"That's good. Keep it up. Each of you write a self-reflection and hand it to me this afternoon."
After closing the rollbook, Suyun mentioned she would arrange for students with good grades to tutor Luo Yang and the others and then asked them to go to the academic affairs office to help bring back the textbooks for Class 5, Grade 3.
Upon leaving the office and descending the stairs, Luo Yang flanked Wu Guangde on the left, and Xiao Daniu on the right.
"You carry the books, I oversee."
"Haha, I'll be overseeing too, haha..."
Wu Guangde had a sullen face and was holding back a stomach full of anger but didn't dare to erupt.
He couldn't beat Luo Yang one-on-one, not to mention with Xiao Daniu by his side, showing off would just get him beaten up even more. Staying honest was the only way to stay alive.
The three made their way to the academic affairs office, where several pickup trucks were already parked outside, loaded with new textbooks.
Under the watchful eye of Luo Yang and Xiao Daniu, Wu Guangde did the work of two people by himself.
On the way back to Class 5, Grade 3, they actually ran into Hong Jiaxin.
"You're carrying so few, why not help him?" Hong Jiaxin asked curiously as she looked the three over.
She was the acting class monitor.
"He said he wanted to work out, insisting on helping me. I told him not to, but he insisted," Luo Yang explained.
Looking again at Wu Guangde, his long face made it obvious he was unhappy.
"You're picking on him, aren't you?"
"Not at all, ask him, see if we've been bullying him?"
Luo Yang patted Wu Guangde's shoulder with a smile.
Having already sensed something was off, Hong Jia looked at Luo Yang and said, "Luo Yang, come with me, I have something to talk to you about."
After she spoke, she walked toward the back gate of the school.
Luo Yang handed over the bundle of new books to Xiao Daniu and followed her.
Outside the back gate was the school sports field, newly leveled, half the size of a hilltop, flat and smooth.
There were slopes on both sides of the sports field, one side planted with lychee trees and the other with grass.
Hong Jia walked toward the grassy slope, which was gently sloped and easy to climb. The slope wasn't very high, and at the top, there was also a very flat patch of grassland.
On the first day of school, no students were having PE class on the sports field, it was empty.
Appreciating Hong Jia's curvaceous backside from behind, Luo Yang wondered what she had in mind.
She wasn't tall, around 1.68 meters, but she had a well-proportioned figure, and her bang-less bun added a playful air.
Walking on the grass slope, the smell of fresh greenery hit him.
Reaching the flat area at the top of the slope, Hong Jia stopped and turned around, hands on her hips facing Luo Yang.
The harsh sun blazed down, making it fiercely hot.
"Why did we come here?" Luo Yang asked.
"I want to know, do you enjoy bullying people?" she countered.
Luo Yang more or less knew what Hong Jia wanted to say, waved his hand, and turned to leave.
As he moved, Hong Jia blocked his way.
"You haven't answered my question."
"Cut the crap, what do you really want?"
"Bullying classmates isn't good, I hope you won't do that anymore in the future."
"Please, coming here to talk about this, it's so hot it kills."
On the slope, only low shrubs were available, inadequate for shade.
Casting a sidelong glance at Hong Jia, Luo Yang began to walk down the slope.
Hong Jia called out, "Luo Yang, you think you're strong, right?"
He sensed a challenge, and Luo Yang asked with a smile, "You have a problem with that?"
Immediately after, Hong Jia wanted to have a practice fight with Luo Yang.
"Ever heard my story? If you can touch my body, you win. From then on, you can bully whoever you want, and I won't interfere," Hong Jia said.
"Any touch counts?" Luo Yang asked, smiling.
Hong Jia nodded.
Moving two steps closer, Luo Yang feigned surprise, then suddenly peered over Hong Jia's shoulder, "Teacher Su, how did you get here?"
Hong Jia turned to look back, but there was no one there.
In that lightning-fast moment, Luo Yang gently poked Hong Jia's chest with his finger.
It felt so springy!
A lingering touch of supple warmth remained on his fingertip, excitingly palpable.
"I win."
"You!"
Realizing she'd been tricked, Hong Jia was a mix of embarrassment and irritation. She lashed out with a kick.
Luo Yang jumped aside, laughing as he ran down the slope.
"You lost, why are you so angry?"
"I'm gonna kill you!"
Hong Jia's cheeks flushed, spreading to her ears, giving her a charming allure even in her anger.
The two of them entered the school's back gate one after the other, with Hong Jia in hot pursuit.