Chapter 112
When Jiang Yan and Song Li'an returned, the students had all gone to the cafeteria for lunch and hadn't come back yet, leaving the classrooms empty.
They each went back to their own classrooms to put away their things, with Song Li'an saying he'd come find her in a bit.
As soon as Jiang Yan got back to her seat, she felt hungry. She pushed open the window next to her, opened her lunchbox, and prepared to eat while waiting.
Who knew fate could be so coincidental? Their dear director was on duty today, leisurely inspecting the electrical switches from one end of the corridor.
Jiang Yan was just biting her spoon when she suddenly heard a sound. Her brain raced: What day of the week was it? Who was on duty again???
With surprising reflexes, she quickly ducked down.
The jingling of keys on the director's waist grew louder, indicating he had entered the classroom.
Jiang Yan cowered under the desk, still clutching her spoon, utterly unsure whether the director had spotted her or not.
The classroom stayed quiet for a moment. Just as Jiang Yan was anxiously praying for the director to be nearsighted, she suddenly heard him sniff.
The director said, "Come on out. I can smell the sweet and sour pork from here."
...
After an awkward silence, Jiang Yan from Class 7 obediently crawled out from under the desk. Their school didn't allow food to be taken out of the cafeteria, let alone having parents deliver meals. It was always done in secret.
The director was familiar with Jiang Yan, often seeing her writing attendance numbers on the blackboard during class inspections.
So he confiscated her lunchbox and lectured her with exasperation, "Sigh, in all my years as director, I've never seen a vice class monitor eating in the classroom..."
Well, now you have.
Jiang Yan pressed her lips together as she followed behind the director, only grumbling in her heart. Yet she had a vague feeling that she had forgotten something.
The director loved to pontificate, gesturing back and forth with his hands, his keys jangling rhythmically at his waist. Then, he walked out of Class 7's classroom door.
For the first time, he also witnessed a member of the student council, Song Li'an, running this way with a lunchbox in his arms.
Then, upon seeing the situation here, he came to an abrupt halt.
Another eye-opener. Jiang Yan silently speculated on what the director must be thinking.
...
The names of Jiang Yan, vice monitor of Class 7, and Song Li'an from Class 1 appeared together on the notice board. They each had two points deducted as a warning and were required to write self-criticism essays.
During the lunch break, the two of them were detained in an empty office to write their essays.
Song Li'an, who hadn't eaten a single bite, felt wronged. He slouched with his long legs crossed, his lean arms resting on the chair's armrests, supporting himself motionlessly. His usual image of a well-behaved, studious student was completely ruined.
With a dejected expression and a wilted demeanor, he tilted his head to look over, resembling a small dog whose bone had been stolen halfway down the street.
Jiang Yan gently patted Song Li'an's arm to comfort her little brother while secretly cursing the director to get a hundred canker sores in his mouth.
Who could possibly write a five-thousand-word self-criticism essay?
In the end, it was her little brother who came through. After enjoying his big sister's comfort, he diligently helped her write the conclusion of the essay.
They had practiced calligraphy together since childhood. Song Li'an's handwriting was more restrained, neat, and proper, while Jiang Yan's was more expressive, sharp, and flowing.
They had done plenty of homework help and signature forging for each other before.
But the matter wasn't over yet. Just after submitting the essay in the afternoon, Jiang Yan was called away by her own homeroom teacher.
Class 7's homeroom teacher was an old fogey, stubborn and inflexible, who cared a great deal about male-female relationships. Upon hearing about this incident, he felt something was amiss.
Fortunately, Jiang Yan's explanation held up. She said they were just siblings who had grown up together, and both sets of parents knew each other well.
Their old-fashioned homeroom teacher was very strict, but also quite interesting.
At first, he strictly required distance between boys and girls, threatening various punishments like point deductions, suspension, and calling parents...
But it didn't work. Later, he told all sorts of stories to make students realize the mistakes of love during adolescence, trying to get young couples to see the error of their ways...
But it still didn't work. The old teacher was also discouraged. The next time he talked about this issue, he flexibly changed his attitude, sternly instructing the students: "Those of you dating, just keep it casual, you know? Just play around, don't take it seriously..."
...
Lu Beibei couldn't stop laughing: "Our old teacher is really something else, going from threats and persuasion, strict prohibition, to finally teaching students how to play with feelings..."
That was already in their senior year. When Song Li'an heard about this incident, he was greatly shocked and once again killed the idea of seeking early romance with Jiang Yan. What if he ended up being played?
He didn't want to be played.
Even if she was a treasure, it wouldn't do.
Really.
...