Chapter 35: Lies

Upon waking, Feng Yan lay in bed, staring at the white ceiling, unwilling to get up for a long time.

He recalled everything that had happened during this period, feeling that these events were like a melodramatic TV drama: a friend's betrayal, himself and Chen Hao having their names crossed out from the list of those appointed to take the final exam, the homeroom teacher's sudden visit, Feng Yan's mockery of the homeroom teacher, etc.; Feng Yan felt these were not like him.

Feng Yan slowly got up; Grandma had prepared the meals, seeing her grandson already up, she smiled. Feng Yan put on his clothes, slowly walked in the courtyard, found his toothbrush, drew water, washed his face. The sun had slowly hung in mid‑air, revealing a red face, like a pure‑looking maiden confessing to her beloved. The snow began to melt slowly. Feng Yan picked up a cup to scoop water from the bucket; the instant his right hand touched the water, he was instantly refreshed, then quickly pulled his hand back outside.

"Exactly, it's still winter now." Feng Yan thought.

After finishing everything, Feng Yan went to the kitchen, picked up his bowl and chopsticks, and went to eat.

Grandma looked at Feng Yan eating, her eyes full of affection, and said: "Since you entered high school, every time I cook I make too much left over, but whenever it's time to eat, a lot disappears; then I remember my grandson is in high school and won't be eating at home, yet the next day I still make that much……"

Grandma spoke with a smile, her eyes full of affection; Feng Yan ate in silence, obviously afraid she would ask about his grades—how could someone who had been expelled have any grades? He worried about this and also feared she would bring it up. Regarding the expulsion, Feng Yan felt it was a disgrace, like a branding iron heated red by charcoal, seized by an executioner and stamped directly onto his heart; though there was no outward wound or pain, inwardly it left an indelible mark.

"Little Feng? What's wrong? If you don't eat, the food will get cold." Grandma kindly reminded Feng Yan.

Feng Yan came to his senses, smiled at Grandma, and said: "It's nothing, Grandma; are you talking about the final exam grades?"

Grandma sighed and said: "I know your grades aren't good, but we still have to let the family know, right?"

After finishing his meal, Feng Yan said: "Okay, Grandma, I'll call the homeroom teacher right away to ask about the grades."

After hearing this, Grandma felt both happy and puzzled, and asked Feng Yan: "Ask the homeroom teacher? Doesn't high school send out grade reports?"

Feng Yan patiently explained to Grandma: "It's like this, Grandma; because the school is in the county town, the teachers directly send us the grades, meaning we don't need to go fetch the report slips—they're useless; if you want them, I actually have a whole stack in my hand right now."

After hearing this, Grandma nodded, the stone in her heart also settling. Feng Yan finished eating and went out for a walk; the sun shone on his face, he leisurely basked in the sunlight, feeling very content, yet inside he was deeply troubled—he didn't know how to produce a grade, and he hated to deceive Grandma, which put him in a dilemma. Because on one hand he wanted to have a genuine grade, on the other he felt he couldn't lie to Grandma, leaving him stuck with no solution for a while.

At that moment a phone call came through; Feng Yan answered, and a familiar voice from the other end said: "This is the homeroom teacher; can you hear me?"

Feng Yan instantly understood something and replied: "I can hear you; what's up?"

The voice continued: "Because your two names weren't recorded, and I don't want you to have no grades, I came up with a win‑win solution: I combined your monthly exam scores, calculated an average, and counted that as your grade; that way you'll have exam scores and can enjoy a peaceful New Year."

Hearing this, Feng Yan gritted his teeth in anger, his other hand clenched tightly, making a faint sound; he thought: "Why don't you realize this yourself? Still shameless enough to call? I really don't know where you get such thick skin!"

He sighed, deliberately made his tone grateful, and said: "Then I'll thank you, Teacher; today Grandma even asked about my grades! I was still worrying how to explain it to her, but now you've given me grades—I thank you, Teacher!"

After saying that, he hung up immediately, his face darkened, and he slowly walked toward the street. Along the way, the villagers watched Feng Yan; he turned his head and saw they stopped pointing and gossiping, but as soon as he turned away they started again. Unable to bear it, he shouted at them: "Is that all you can do? You just gossip behind people's backs and stab them in the spine? That's all you'll ever amount to in this life."

Those people, seeing Feng Yan's outburst, fell silent one by one until he slowly disappeared from their sight, after which they became lively again.

Feng Yan returned home dejected, sat on the sofa; Grandma saw his dispirited look and comforted him: "Grandson, don't worry too much about this final exam grade; we didn't do well this time, so let's strive to do better next time."

Hearing this, Feng Yan could no longer hold back the tears welling in his eyes; they fell drop by drop onto the floor.

Grandma looked at Feng Yan's state and smiled: "You child, you've been hiding things in your heart lately; I also know that at school the teachers aren't kind to us poor students. As students we should just listen to the teachers; that way we won't get scolded by them, right?"

Feng Yan wiped the tears from his eyes, nodded, and seeing this, Grandma broke into a relieved smile.

Chen Hao felt anxious; his family had already asked about his grades more than once, but he clearly had none, and he couldn't tell them, leaving him troubled. When he received the homeroom teacher's call, the stone in his heart finally settled, and Chen Hao broke into a relaxed smile, saying: "In that case, it's not too bad, I guess. I suppose Feng Yan's side used the same method—should I say this teacher is sick, or that he lacks integrity?"

Chen Hao walked to the window, gazed at the gradually melting snow, and mused: "Come to think of it, it'll snow again in a few days, huh?"

The homeroom teacher called Feng Yan and Chen Hao one after another; the matter arose because of him, he thought that by removing a few high‑scoring students his class ranking could move up a few places, so he wouldn't be scolded too harshly; but after the grades came out, it was still the same, and the teacher said dejectedly: "In the end, I just did useless work—it seems some things can't be changed by removing just one or two people."

Feng Yan's eyes were red; he slowly began to understand—this was a homeroom teacher who cared about grades, and Feng Yan was exactly the object that needed attention.

Feng Yan gave a faint smile, thinking: "If I ever get a chance, I'd like to humiliate him thoroughly—even in a game would be fine."