The One Sitting Across From You (Part 2)
With the reputation of being in the same class as Ní Yǎng, Jiāng Zhī Hán started his second year of high school. For several days, he made inquiries and finally found out that Gù Wàng Shān had taken a month's leave for some unknown reason and hadn't come to school yet. So the matter of the car had to be put off for the time being.
After school started, except for weekends, there was no time to go to the library. Fortunately, he is now familiar with Feng Auntie and Xiang Xiang, so they help him borrow books through the back door, and those that need to be returned overnight are also extended to once a week. In recent days, Jiang Zhihan's meditation and breathing exercises have made progress, and his sleep efficiency has also improved accordingly. So he moved up his wake-up time by another hour, first practicing qigong and footwork in the morning, followed by physical exercise.
What's been giving Jiang Zihan a headache is the arrangement of class time. Skipping classes is impossible, or else he would be expelled within three days and then his mom would skin him alive. But some classes are really a waste of time, such as politics. And there are some classes that could have rich and vivid content but the teacher makes them dry and boring, like language, geography, and history. Sitting in class for 45 minutes listening to those dull and repetitive things is truly a huge torture for Jiang Zihan now.
Jiang Zhi Han racked his brains to think of ways to utilize this time to do something slightly meaningful, but there weren't many options available to him. In the end, he came up with two ideas: one was to do his homework in class and free up all his time after school to do what he wanted, and the other was to bring the book he was currently reading to class to read.
He gradually began to practice these two things, lowering his head to study seriously, looking at the book inserted in the textbook; holding a pen to take notes seriously, that was scribbling on doing homework; occasionally he would also look up at the teacher, pretending to listen attentively, but actually thinking about his own problems or spacing out. Jiang Zhihan soon discovered that he was a genius, able to grasp this rhythm very well and quickly switch between reading, thinking, spacing out, and doing homework without any issues.
What makes Jiang Zihan's head ache is that his deskmate is Nian Rong. Normally, Jiang Zihan is a guy who is not tall or short, not fat or thin, not diligent or mischievous, and neither excellent nor poor in studies - in short, ordinary. This ordinariness sometimes has its advantages, such as being able to blend into the crowd and not be found. When sitting in class, he's the least noticeable, and doesn't need to worry about being discovered by teachers. However, when Nian Rong is sitting next to him, things are a bit different. Not only students, but also teachers' attention often falls on her. For example, when calling someone to read aloud or answer questions, she's always one of the easiest targets to think of. Because of this, Jiang Zihan has to be extra careful, but soon he realizes he's being overly cautious. The teachers' gazes are always fixed on the dazzling Nian Rong, while the nearby Jiang Zihan is often treated as a transparent, non-existent object.
Ní Péng is a very traditional, diligent student who takes notes seriously, answers questions seriously, listens to classes seriously and does her homework seriously. Sometimes even when the course is really dull and boring, she would at most frown slightly. Extremely rarely, she would draw a small animal or something on the blank page of her notebook to pass the time. When she did that, Jiāng Zhī Hán couldn't help but admit that the teacher had already become so boring as to be infuriating.
Although Jiang Zihan's set was not detected by the teacher, it naturally could not escape Ni Xiang's eyes, which were only a foot away. For the first two days, Jiang Zihan was still worried. His intuition and first impression told him that Ni Xiang was not the kind of person who would report small things, but he did not dare to confirm whether Ni Xiang was a more rigid person or not. At the beginning, Ni Xiang only occasionally glanced at him and didn't say anything. Gradually, when he saw Ni Xiang, he noticed that she would occasionally glance over, but inside, there seemed to be more of a curious flavor.
On this day, after the second class, Jiang Zhihan went to the bathroom and returned to the classroom. Most of his classmates had gone out to sunbathe and chat. Ni Xiang was still sitting in her seat. As he approached, he saw that Ni Xiang was looking at the book under his textbook, which was William's "Seven Elements of Value Investing" that Jiang Zhihan was re-reading for the second time. In fact, Ni Xiang had been secretly looking at Jiang Zhihan's extracurricular books for several days, but this time she deliberately looked at them in front of him, wanting to ask him some questions.
Ní Péng said: "This book is so difficult, many new words are not understood, and the sentence structure is also very complicated."
Jiang Zihan said: "I'm reading it for the second time. The first time was also very difficult, and I even wore out a dictionary."
"Ni Tang asked: 'Do you see this learning English?'"
Jiang Zihan shook his head and said: "I'm reading this thing. I couldn't find a Chinese version, so I can only read the English original."
Ni Tang wrinkled her nose, looking very cute and petite. She tilted her head and asked, "You spend so much time reading these? What about the exams? Don't you need to get through the college entrance exam first?"
Jiang Zhihan said seriously: "I'm also learning. I listen carefully to what I need to hear, but there's too much repetition and useless stuff. I do my homework too. This summer vacation plus the first week of school, I've also put in some effort to study our exam model, which can be summed up in eight words: 'learn by analogy, practice makes perfect.' The first part, 'learn by analogy,' is something I'm getting more and more used to, and I think it's no problem. As for 'practice makes perfect,' I don't like doing too much repetitive work, so I probably can't compare to some people, but I should be able to hold my own. So I think taking the Peking University or Tsinghua University exam is a bit of a stretch for me, but getting into an ordinary key university shouldn't be a problem."
Ní Péng knows that Jiāng Zhī Hán's score for the last semester is roughly around. Qī Zhōng isn't one of the top schools in Zhōng Zhuàng, but it's still considered a first-rate key school without any issues. Based on previous years' results, generally having 60 to 100 students get into the key university program is already quite good, and Jiāng Zhī Hán's current ranking is only around 100 or so. To say that he has complete confidence in getting into a key university is truly astonishing.
It's not that there aren't boys who like to brag in front of Ni Xiang, but the truth is that many boys do. However, intuitively, Ni Xiang felt that this boy wasn't just boasting. For a week since school started, Ni Xiang's biggest impression of Jiang Zhi Han was that she couldn't understand him. This boy was polite and courteous, often smiling, and occasionally spoke with a sarcastic tone. When asked for help, he never declined, but also didn't try to curry favor. Although this boy seemed ordinary in every aspect, he appeared very confident and composed in front of her. He read books that were completely beyond his knowledge range, full of confidence, as if he had already planned out his life. At first glance, his appearance was ordinary, but slowly, you could feel that his occasional smile or furrowed brow was particularly endearing.
From a young age, Niang Yu was accustomed to being the class monitor and chairman, accustomed to interacting more with the adult world (teachers), accustomed to being praised and flattered as well as being ridiculed and spoken ill of behind her back. She was accustomed to coordinating relationships between classmates, accustomed to many different boys trying to show off their excellence in front of her, accustomed to many boys trying to get close to her in a hypocritical way, accustomed to always feeling like she was the more mature person compared to them. She was accustomed to walking a well-designed path: studying hard, doing well in class and organizational work, getting along with classmates and teachers, striving to get into a top-tier university. For many years, she felt that she wasn't necessarily the smartest person in her class, maybe not even the hardest working, but she was the one who knew the clearest what path to take and how to walk it, the one who understood her classmates' personalities and tendencies the best.
But facing Jiang Zhi Han, although it was only for a short time, she began to doubt her own judgment. What kind of guy is this? He seems like an unsolvable riddle.
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It's already been three weeks since the start of school, and the burden of homework has begun to increase dramatically. Jiang Zhihan was initially able to finish his homework in class before dismissal, but it soon became impossible. Unable to complete it, and not wanting to use up his evening time, what could he do? Refuse to hand in his homework? Such a rebellious act was not something he dared to do for the time being. So the only solution had only one word: copy. But Jiang Zhihan was an inherently proud person who didn't like to ask others for help, and the only people he could truly call good friends were Chu Mingyang and Chen Yimeng, who had just arrived. Unfortunately, these two guys' grades were not even as good as his own, and they often came to copy his homework in the morning, having relied on him to bail them out previously, so there was no way he could count on them this time.
Naturally, Jiang Zhihan's gaze fell on Nian Niang's body, doing homework and being serious about grades, and also being close to the water tower, what a great target! But after getting along for a while, Jiang Zhihan gradually figured out Nian Niang's personality. This girl is gentle outside but firm inside (of course, many people think she is a strong woman, not soft outside either). If you ask her to copy homework once or twice a month, she will probably compromise. But if you ask her every day, she won't hesitate to refuse. Speaking of refusing people, there are probably no more than three people in the whole grade who have more experience than Miss Nian Niang.
Jiang Zihan had to resort to some calculations, although it wasn't entirely aboveboard. But in order to get rid of the detestable homework burden, some sacrifices were worth making. One day, Jiang Zihan finally found an opportunity when he was working on his physics homework, which he was most skilled at. He discovered that two questions were exceptionally cunning and could easily lead him into a trap if he wasn't careful. After careful consideration, Jiang Zihan felt more and more that these two questions were very cunning, similar to the two from last week, and easy to fall into the trap of habitual thinking, following the original train of thought naturally.
The next morning, Jiang Zihan left a bit earlier than usual. As soon as Niang Piao sat down, Jiang Zihan said, "Let me take a look at your physics homework." Just like how stealing books isn't really stealing, when someone who reads books says "let me take a look", it means "copy for me", but that word "copy" is absolutely not to be spoken out loud. Niang Piao hesitated for a moment and asked, "Didn't you finish it?" Jiang Zihan calmly said, "I had something come up last night, didn't do any of it." Niang Piao said, "Don't make this a habit", and handed over her own homework notebook. Jiang Zihan smiled and said, "It won't be exactly the same." Meaning don't worry, I won't stupidly copy it verbatim.
Jiang Zihan buried his head, scribbling away with his pen, occasionally lifting it to think for a moment. According to the rules, as soon as he arrived at school, he should hand in his homework to the group leader, who would then pass it on to the subject representative. However, the representatives also had their own way of thinking, knowing that many classmates needed some time in the morning to complete their homework, so they would often turn a blind eye and wait until the second or third class to go to the office to hand in their work. This gave Jiang Zihan some buffer time during breaks, early self-study sessions, and between classes to rush through his homework.
Jiang Zhihan handed over the homework very quickly, as soon as the first class bell rang, he handed Nian Niang's homework to her and said calmly: "There seem to be two places with a little problem, the third from last question and the last question...", then handed his own copy to her. Nian Niang, this good student, did not choose to look at it during class time, but as soon as the first class was over, she leaned on the table and looked carefully.
The break between the second and third periods was the longest, with a full 30 minutes, also the last chance for students who were diligently doing their homework. Ni Xiang buried her head in her work for over ten minutes, then returned Jiang Zhihan's notebook to him without saying anything, leaving Jiang Zhihan feeling anxious. This time, by copying his homework, he was trying to prove two things to Ni Xiang: first, that this copy was an artistic re-creation and would absolutely not put her in danger; second, that even when copying, he was still thinking independently and could help check for errors and engage in equal academic discussions. What effect did this have? Jiang Zhihan observed Ni Xiang's reaction, but in the end, she didn't say anything at all.
The bell rang, signaling the end of class. Many students rushed out of the classroom, some heading home and others to the cafeteria for lunch. Jiang Zhihan was usually one of the first to leave, but today he lingered behind, slowly packing up his things. After a few minutes, everyone else had left the room, leaving only Nian Xiang and Jiang Zhihan. Nian Xiang suddenly sighed and said wistfully, "You're smarter than me." Jiang Zhihan had finished copying his homework in under 20 minutes and had even caught two major mistakes that Nian Xiang had made. No wonder she felt this way. Jiang Zhihan felt a twinge of guilt and replied casually, "It was just luck. Sometimes you just don't think of things. By the way, thanks for today. I know I spend too much time reading novels and it's really hard to finish my homework." After speaking, Jiang Zhihan suddenly felt ashamed and didn't dare turn around to face Nian Xiang directly. Nian Xiang said, "You don't have to comfort me. My father says that talent or intelligence is not something you can force, and there's no need to be discouraged. Just make up for it with your own efforts. It doesn't matter what level you reach, as long as you've tried your best, you can rest easy." Jiang Zhihan felt even more ashamed and turned around to face her, saying sincerely, "I think you're really smart, not just a little bit, but truly wise." After flattering her, he quickly ran off.
In the evening, there was a scheduled self-study session. Boarding students had to attend, but non-boarding students in their second year of high school could choose whether or not to attend; once they reached their third year, attendance became mandatory. Jiang Zhihan, who loved reading idle books and wandering freely, never came to the evening self-study sessions. Ni Xiang didn't board at school either, but she chose to stay every Tuesday and Thursday for the evening self-study session. Today was Thursday, and when the evening self-study session was about to end, Jiang Zhihan quietly slipped in through the back door. There was a lot of homework today - physics, politics, and English all had large assignments - and Jiang Zhihan had probably only done less than one-fifth of it during class.
Jiang Zihan sat down beside Ni Xiang and said in a low voice, "Is the homework done? Can I take a look?" Then he sat there waiting for judgment. He hoped that his "copying" this morning had left an impression on Ni Xiang: this copying is not like that copying. Ni Xiang didn't have any expression, she turned her head to look at Jiang Zihan, and Jiang Zihan stiffened his scalp and stared back at her. After a while, Ni Xiang asked, "Do you really think it's more important to read those books usually?" Ni Xiang said, "I don't want to harm you, or know that you're doing something wrong and still push you." Jiang Zihan suddenly felt very narrow-minded, he said seriously, "I'm sure I know what I'm doing." Ni Xiang handed him two homework notebooks, saying "Politics isn't done yet, I'll give it to you tomorrow."
The next day, during the morning self-study session, Jiang Zihan returned two homework books to Ni Xiang and said, "Not a single mistake was found." He himself had intentionally copied three or five places wrong, anyway, the usual homework didn't count towards the final score, so handing it in was fine.
Ni Xiang handed him the political assignment with an expressionless face, Jiang Zhihan clasped his hands together in gratitude and said: "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." Ni Xiang chuckled and said: "I really like Casablanca, but you and I don't have any interests to exchange."
