Chapter Sixteen: Newcomer or Old Acquaintance

  The wonderful time of summer vacation always passes by like a sword, and the new semester has begun. I have also been promoted from a second-grade primary school student to a third-grade primary school student. Carrying my bag, I jumped and jumped to school, and everyone gathered together talking about what happened during the summer vacation. Some people were saying that someone had grown taller, someone had gained weight, and someone had gotten darker, chattering non-stop like happy little sparrows.

  Lily is over there spreading the new news she's heard, speaking very loudly, as if afraid someone doesn't know how well-informed she is. It turns out our class is going to change teachers again. Teacher Fan has no experience, but this teacher has a lot of experience and was poached from Experimental Elementary School at great cost. Apparently, they'll be taking us all the way to sixth grade. As for why it's our class, that's unknown. Maybe everyone's luck is just too good, or maybe there are human factors at play. Also, we're getting a new male student this year, so from now on our class will have an equal number of boys and girls - a perfect balance!

  Wang Xiaoxiao walked up to me and said, "Xiaoxiao, look at Lin Lilili's pretentious attitude. It's as if she's afraid that everyone doesn't know her aunt is the head of our school's Chinese department."

  I burst out laughing and said, "Haha, Xiaoxiao, you're usually afraid of making sentences with words, especially idioms. You've only just learned 'fox exploiting the tiger's might' and you're already using it so skillfully! It seems like you have a deep understanding of this idiom, worthy of praise. However, if you use it in sentence-making, your language teacher will be after you, saying that you're speaking ill of your classmates behind their backs, which isn't conducive to unity." Wang Xiaoxiao wouldn't let up, saying, "Fine, Nan Xiangxiang, you think you can tease me? I see you're getting bolder and bolder, daring to even tease me! Who was it that got bullied by Lin Lili back then? Just wait till I tickle you, today you'll be begging for mercy!" I took a glance at the escape route and said "Who's afraid of who?" before taking off in a sprint. Wang Xiaoxiao chased after me, hot on my heels. My little legs were so uncooperative! Just as I was about to reach the door, with her closing in on me, I shouted loudly, "Brother Shu, save me! Someone's trying to murder your sister! You're not going to turn a blind eye just because it's Wang Xiaoxiao, are you?"

  Wang Xiaoxiao immediately reined in some of her emotions upon hearing me call out Muluo En, and her face turned a bit red as she said: "Nan Xiuxiu, what nonsense are you spouting? Your brother isn't committing fratricide, he's eliminating harm for the people. You're just a scourge, the masses' eyes are clear-sighted."

  I saw that Brother Huan didn't move at all, and I said again: "Is it the masses' eyes that are bright, or is someone's heart biased?" After finishing, I winked directly at Xiao Xiao. Hou Jingya also timely "oh" a sound, instantly Wang Xiaoxiao's face turned red like an apple, tender and delicate, like a splash of water, extremely cute.

  I was backing away, laughing out loud, and in my excitement, I lost control and bumped into someone's chest. Seeing that everyone in the class was staring at me, I quickly pushed them away, but accidentally stepped on my own feet with one careless move. As a result, I almost fell backwards. Oh no, God, why are you treating me like this? If only I hadn't pushed that person away so quickly.

  Today, I've lost face big time, and who knows, maybe I'll even get a concussion. What a loss! But to my surprise, there wasn't much pain, because someone had caught hold of me. With one pull, I fell back into their chest again. I thought to myself: Who is this guy? He's so strong! Although he saved me, his strength was a bit too much. Does he have nothing better to do with his energy?

  I lifted my head, and the person turned out to be Xuan Yuan Ruo. I asked in surprise: "You're not supposed to be in B City, what brings you here?"

  Xuanyuan Hui looked at me with a hint of disdain, pointed at me and said: "Are you sure you want to maintain this attitude when speaking with me?" I quickly let go and took several steps back, showing that I absolutely did not intend to take advantage of him.

  "I didn't come here earlier. Who saved you just now? I transferred from B City Elementary School to your Sunshine Primary School, 3rd grade class 2. Please guide me more in the future."

  I suddenly felt a surge of confidence, yeah, this is my turf, even a powerful dragon can't beat the local snake. But whether he's a dragon or a python remains to be seen. I put on an air of "you've come to the right person" and said: "Xuanyuan, from now on you'll follow me, sis will take care of you. After all, I'm at least half a familiar face to you."

  "I thought I was your friend, but it turns out we're just acquaintances." This person's words were already so blunt, how could I not go along with them? I quickly changed my tone and said: "I was just joking, don't take it seriously. We're familiar with each other, haha." Amidst Lin Lili's envy and jealousy, Xuan Yuanrui followed me to my circle of friends. As for who's in my circle, there's Wang Xiaoxiao, Mu Luoyu, Hou Jingya, Wu Hanwen, and so on. I introduced Xuan Yuanrui to the people in my circle, and then introduced him to them again. After exchanging greetings, just as I was worried about an awkward silence, a mysterious voice appeared before its owner did - our new class teacher had arrived.

  The new head teacher introduced himself and wrote his name on the blackboard. His surname is Xu, his first name is Minxing, he looks around thirty years old, about 1.8 meters tall, with a pair of sharp eyes that seem to be able to see through our every little thought. Then he briefly mentioned the three things they were going to do next: arrange seats, distribute materials, and elect class cadres.

  "He said loudly: 'Classmates, from now on I will be your class teacher and teach you Chinese. At the same time, our class has a new student this year, let's have the new student introduce himself, then we'll arrange the seats.'"

  Xuanyuan Rou walked up to the podium, speaking in a clear and round tone: "My name is Xuanyuan Rou, you can call me Xuanyuan. As for my personality and hobbies, you'll get to know them as we spend more time together, that's all, thank you. Teacher, regarding the seating arrangement, I have a request, in this class, I don't know anyone except Nan Xixi, can I sit with her?" He smiled slightly at the teacher.

  Mr. Xü said with a smile: "Xuanyuan has just joined this class and still has many things to get used to, while Nan is already an old student in this school for two years. According to Mr. Fan, Nan's academic performance is excellent and he is also willing to help others. Xuanyuan's grades are also very good, so if he has difficulties, Nan should be happy to help him."

  Xuanyuan Ruo said, "Teacher, Nan classmate just promised to take care of me. Don't worry, teacher, I'll adapt as soon as possible." This time he even smiled and showed eight white teeth. How do I feel like this new teacher and Xuanyuan Ruo are in cahoots? I smell a conspiracy! It's clear that they're trying to trap me, digging a pit for me to jump into. As the saying goes, "Heavenly retribution is still survivable, but self-inflicted retribution is not." Why did I have to go and boast about taking care of him earlier?

  I gritted my teeth and said, "Okay, teacher, I'll take good care of Xuan Yuan." I emphasized the two words "good" a bit, seemingly intentionally yet unintentionally.

  Xuanyuan Ruo pretended to be unaware of my intention and said, "We're so familiar with each other now, no need to call me Xuanyuan classmate, just call me Ruo, that's what my family members call me."

  "Hey, who's so familiar with you? You're making it sound like we're close friends or something. It's really annoying. Your family members call you that, but I'm not your relative, so stop being so pretentious. I forced a laugh and said, "Hehe, I'm not used to it, from now on I'll just call you Xuan Yuan, and automatically drop the 'classmate' part." Xuan Yuan didn't mind, nodded in agreement. I'm still the shortest in our class, but Xuan Yuan isn't very tall either, so we sit in the second group of the second row, which is still pretty front-row."

  In the class, of course, boys are in charge of leading, and girls are in charge of taking notes. Who let boys have more strength? In fact, even in third grade, there wasn't such a big difference. It's just that boys always like to show off their strength and abilities. It can also be said that boys and girls work together without getting tired. The final highlight is the election of class cadres. When we were in elementary school, everyone wanted to be a class cadre, feeling that it was a very glorious thing. There is demand in the market, and everyone competes fiercely. Apart from those old class cadres, many new forces emerged, such as twin brothers Shuang and Hao, even Wang Di went up for election. Originally thought it would be Wu Hanwen's turn again, but this time it was Xuan Yuanrui.

  I thought to myself: This guy doesn't even care whose territory this is, and isn't afraid of losing too badly. But then I saw Xuan Yuan Ruo's clear eyes, confident expression, and articulate speech as he presented his campaign promises and qualifications. He even casually threw in the phrase "A soldier who doesn't want to be a general isn't a good soldier", which was exactly what I used when I ran for propaganda minister in high school - although I ended up losing miserably, it's not worth thinking about now. Hmm, indeed, someone without two brushes wouldn't dare come out and play. This time, the class monitor and vice-monitor will probably be chosen from between Wu Hanwen and Xuan Yuan Ruo. To be honest, I still hope Wu Hanwen wins - after all, he's a sunny boy who is easy to talk to. But Xuan Yuan Ruo...I just can't read this guy, I really suspect that he might not even be a third-grader, always going against me and having the potential to be a hidden villain.

  Half an hour later, the final result was announced. Xuan Yuan Ruo is the class monitor and Wu Han Wen is the deputy class monitor. Indeed, outsiders are good at chanting scriptures. Seeing Xuan Yuan Ruo laughing so happily, I turned my head to see Wu Han Wen slightly disappointed. I smiled at Wu Han Wen, who also smiled back, indicating it was nothing. He then glared at Xuan Yuan Ruo, who didn't mind and said: "Deskmate, let's take care of each other from now on."

  Who wants to take care of you, who else will take care of you? Humph, ignore him, listen to the teacher, looking forward to going home soon.