Chapter 39: Qian Bao

Zhuang Wenqian hadn't expected that Jiang Nian's single sentence would ignite the classroom atmosphere—behind Yu Tongjie's fanning the flames, there was actually this layer of grudge.

Things had already come to this point; there was no room to take it back.

"Quiet!"

"Stop stirring things up, all of you sit down!" Qian Bao reasserted her teacher's authority, face stern as she swept her gaze across the class. "Anyone still standing, go stand in Liu Laoshi's office!"

After pulling out head teacher Old Liu, the class noticeably quieted down.

Qian Bao frowned, turned her head to glance at Yu Tongjie, and saw that this kid was only silent. He didn't show any extreme reaction, nor a savage expression.

Only then did she let out a breath of relief—truly afraid he'd take a leap of faith from this fourth floor.

Sigh, these kids' mental fortitude is pretty strong!

Zhuang Wenqian herself was young, and could accept abstract culture. Having married a small boss, her life couldn't be called great wealth and nobility, but at the very least she lived comfortably.

Seeing Yu Tongjie showed nothing unusual, she prepared to finish explaining the translation.

At this point, it would be stranger not to continue—touching on it and stopping there would be enough.

The Gao San English office was only so big; Jiang Nian's previous English teacher sat right across from Zhuang Wenqian. Whether Jiang Nian had cheated, she was very clear on it.

Otherwise she wouldn't have inexplicably called Jiang Nian to stand up.

Zhuang Wenqian neither liked Jiang Nian who didn't do the test paper, nor liked students who fanned the flames in class.

"That student, you go first—translate the sentence."

Yu Tongjie, head slightly lowered, gritted his teeth and began translating dryly, "Before the earthquake, the sewage all rose up, but no one judged that the earthquake was about to come."

He didn't recognize the word "canals," and had forgotten what "well" meant, so he could only translate it this vaguely.

"Mm, the general meaning is correct." Qian Bao encouraged, "Doing reading comprehension doesn't require knowing every single word; the approach of deducing meaning through context is also correct."

"If you temporarily forget a word's meaning, through context we can roughly guess what it has to do with, right? Yes—has to do with the place the sewage flows through, right?"

The summer was hot and dry, bright outside the window, and the electric current hum of the little bee amplifier on the English teacher's body echoed through the classroom.

Some of the girls sitting close to the podium, their gazes brushing past Jiang Nian standing there holding a blank paper, clearly somewhat absent-minded, couldn't help but secretly press their lips together.

In Chinese-style campuses, usually it's the good-looking and good-grades people who get to enjoy youth first.

Jiang Nian had both—his grades weren't particularly excellent, but in the competition class they were passable. That face was good-looking to the point that whatever he did seemed reasonable.

Perhaps it was because the pressure of Gao San was too great, and people who didn't go through empty courtesy, who would directly retaliate to one's face, were too well-liked.

Felt great.

After finishing the first sentence, Zhuang Wenqian turned her head to look at Jiang Nian and tossed out a line.

"You just translate directly."

Hearing this, everyone's gaze in the class involuntarily turned to Jiang Nian. They saw him pick up the blank test paper, and instead of translating directly, he flicked the paper.

"Translate all of it?"

The class instantly fell silent; that white paper looked especially striking in the sunlight.

Qian Bao choked, said unhappily, "If you translate it all, what would I teach?"

Instantly, the class burst into laughter.

Li Hua egged on, "Teacher, he wants to steal your job."

Amid the classmates' uproar, Jiang Nian began translating downward, "In an instant, the collapsing staircase, the fragmented mountain body, the huge cracks splitting the ground—life froze at this moment."

Zhuang Wenqian nodded, "Translated very accurately. Now looking at the word......"

The translation kept rolling on like this, left and right. One sentence each. Yu Tongjie grew more and more strained, several times completely mistranslating, the meaning vastly off.

As for Jiang Nian's side, basically the moment his voice fell, Qian Bao would immediately begin explaining the meaning. Before half was translated, Zhuang Wenqian told Yu Tongjie to go back to his seat first.

Although Qian Bao encouraged and affirmed Yu Tongjie throughout, who was right and who was wrong, the people in the class saw it very clearly.

The looks from those around at Yu Tongjie weren't right anymore—you badmouthed someone who came up to the advanced class with you. Who would still dare to hang out with you? Wouldn't they gossip behind your back to no end.

I said I can't drink alcohol, and you go around saying I won't live much longer?

Jiang Nian translated for an entire class period, and also stood on the podium holding a blank paper for an entire class period. Showing off really is addictive—showed off for a whole class and didn't even feel tired.

Ring ring ring, the class bell rang.

To avoid direct conflict, Zhuang Wenqian conveniently took Jiang Nian along with her. The moment the two stepped out of the classroom door, an earsplitting uproar immediately rose from behind.

In the corridor, the sunlight was bright.

Qian Bao hugged the lesson plan to her chest, clip-clopping forward, bringing a waft of fragrance. Jiang Nian followed step for step, walking alongside her, threading through the crowd in the corridor.

"Teacher, I want to go to the bathroom."

"Would holding it a while kill you?" She shot Jiang Nian a look.

Jiang Nian muttered, "That depends on how long I hold it."

Students with good grades have a higher tolerance with teachers of their subject; as for how big the privilege is, it all depends on how high the grades are—one hundred and forty is an obvious watershed.

The English subject is different from other subjects—one hundred and twenty can only be considered ordinary. One hundred and thirty counts as a top student; one hundred and forty and above is absolute territory.

"Still being cheeky—the matter of disrupting class I haven't settled with you yet." Qian Bao turned her head and glared at him, threatening, "Later I'll have Liu Laoshi scold you."

"That won't be necessary, teacher." Jiang Nian, clearly impervious to both soft and hard tactics, said with a grin, "Then I won't go to the bathroom—reluctantly hold it for another half hour."

"You, even with good grades you can't be so impulsive—get along well with your classmates, got it?" Qian Bao earnestly instructed, "National Day just passed, you all still have to spend a year together in the future."

"That might not be the case." Jiang Nian suddenly tossed out a line, "What if this month's joint exam, he gets brushed out?"

Hearing this, Qian Bao's train of thought stalled.

She thought to herself—this person really is the same inside and out. Leaving the classroom, is his aggressiveness still this strong?

"You said it's 'what if,' but have you thought about what you'd do if he stayed?" Qian Bao walked into the office, sat down, and handed him the cup.

"Go fill me a cup of hot water first."

Jiang Nian was speechless—not...... and just like that, she's ordering me around?

"Fine."

After boiling the water, Qian Bao tossed a few unknown flowers into the cup. Steam curled upward, a nameless fragrance wafting out, and Jiang Nian's nose twitched slightly.

"Teacher, starting to look after your health this young?"

Zhuang Wenqian, hearing the word "young," smiled until her brows and eyes curved, thinking to herself that this darn kid did know how to talk after all.

"Oh, the child's almost starting elementary school — what do you mean, young?"

The woman's words said one thing but meant another; by all rights, the next line should have been to praise Qian Bao for looking young. She really didn't look like she'd given birth — clearly about the same age as a student.

But Jiang Nian stopped dead right there.

He stared at the nameless medicinal ingredient in the cup and said, "This thing that looks like a centipede…"

Under the table, Qian Bao's fist clenched for no apparent reason; she said nothing, just stared at him like that.

Jiang Nian got stared at until his hair stood on end, swallowed, and said, "Teacher, you look like you're only seventeen."

Qian Bao's mood brightened in an instant; she covered her mouth and laughed, "Oh, not at all, not at all."