Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Qiao Nan was stunned. She could not understand what kind of relationship the Life committee member, Tao Zhenqin, meant. It was only when Qiao Nan saw the ambiguous smile on Tao Zhenqin’s face did she understand what she meant. “All of you have read too much into it. Zhu Baoguo treats me like a younger sister.”
Of course, she treated Zhu Baoguo like a son…
“Younger sister? Are you both related?” Tang Mengran, head of their dormitory, blinked. “Both of you do not look alike. Is he a relative from your mother’s side or your father’s side?”
“No, let me put it this way. My grandpa and Zhu Baoguo’s maternal grandpa have a good relationship. After my grandpa passed away, Zhu Baoguo’s grandpa takes great care of my dad and my family. In fact, the relationship between our families dated back to our grandfathers’ generation.” Both of them were not related, but if she did not give an explanation to these curious young people, news of her ‘puppy love’ with Zhu Baoguo might spread throughout Ping Cheng High School.
“Oh, both of your families have such good relationships.” Sure enough, when Qiao Nan mentioned that the relationship between the two families dated back to their grandfather’s generation and they were old family friends, the people in the dormitory no longer had the ambiguous look when they talked about Qiao Nan’s relationship with Zhu Baoguo.
“We have thought that… It’s a misunderstanding. Qiao Nan, don’t be angry with us.” As good students who were able to study at Ping Cheng High School based on their performance, they were disdainful of students whose academic performance were not as good or those who had messy relationships.
“It’s alright. I am glad that the misunderstanding has been cleared up.” Qiao Nan, who had a good temper, shook her head. After entering the canteen, she took the meal ticket and went to get her meal.
It was not uncommon for people from the same dormitory to sit together and have their meals.
The six young ladies sat together and had their dinner. Even if it was mealtime, there would always be people who could not help but start a conversation. “Qiao Nan, can I ask you a question?” The person who said this was Zheng Lingling, the League committee member and the secretary of the class.
“Go ahead.”
“I heard that you are the top scholar in the middle school examination. Why did you not go to The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China?” If The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China accepted students based on their score, Qiao Nan should be the first student to be accepted and followed by others. Nobody expected that Qiao Nan would study at Ping Cheng High School.
When Zheng Lingling saw Qiao Nan’s name in high school year one class one, she had thought that this Qiao Nan had the same name as the Qiao Nan who was the top scholar in the middle school examination.
“The tuition fee in The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China is more expensive. My family has more than one child. I have an elder sister who is already studying at The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China. Besides, my junior high school is Ping Cheng Junior High School as well.” There was no way she could hide the fact that she was exempted from paying her tuition and miscellaneous fees. Hence, she decided to tell them upfront about her family’s situation.
“Well…” Zheng Lingling was startled. She did not expect that Qiao Nan would be so frank. She was lost for words.
The atmosphere turned awkward in an instant. The six young ladies stopped chatting. They finished their meals at the fastest speed and went back to the classroom to participate in the evening self-study.
“Xiao Qiao, did anyone bully you?” When Qiao Nan sat down, Zhu Baoguo came up to her and asked.
“Don’t worry, everything is good.” Qiao Nan took out her book and started reading. In fact, as long as Zhu Baoguo was absent, she could get along very well with her classmates.
“It’s good that nobody bullies you.” Zhu Baoguo nodded then whispered, “If you are immersed in your books all day long, you will turn into a nerd soon. I don’t know what’s so good about these books.”
“Some of you boys, come with me to get the clothes.” The class monitor stood on the podium and called out two groups of boys.
“Get the clothes? School uniforms?”
“Hey, don’t mention school uniforms, they are so ugly. People who wear them look heavier by ten kilograms. Why must we wear uniforms in high school?”
“It may not be school uniforms. It could be camouflaged suits for military training.”
“Camouflaged clothing? You are right. There is military training in high school!!”
“What do you think our instructors will look like? Will they be fierce?” The most important thing was whether the instructor would be a hunk.
The girls were chatting non-stop. They were like a bunch of sparrows who chirped on the utility pole. Zhu Baoguo had a headache from their chattering. He hated it when the girls chattered throughout the day. Were they not tired at all?
They might not be tired, but he could not stand the noise!
But there was a girl who was quiet and calm unlike them.
Zhu Baoguo sneaked a peek at Qiao Nan and noticed that she had started working on the questions. Zhu Baoguo was bored. He rested his head on the table. What was so charming about the books that Xiao Qiao was so fascinated by them?
Thinking of what Elder Zhu said to him this morning, Zhu Baoguo let out a long sigh.
He had known long ago that he was in the same class as Qiao Nan. Hence, he had intended to go to school with Qiao Nan, but was stopped by Elder Zhu.
Elder Zhu told Zhu Baoguo that if he did not want to bring harm to Qiao Nan and did not want others to badmouth Qiao Nan, it would be better to keep a distance from Qiao Nan in the quad. If there was gossip going around the quad about Zhu Baoguo and Qiao Nan, it would not be good for Qiao Nan as a girl.
Because of this, Zhu Baoguo reached school earlier today than Qiao Nan and did not go to school with her.
Zhu Baoguo treated Qiao Nan like his younger sister. He wanted to protect Qiao Nan and be good to her. He did not understand why there were so many gossip-mongers in the world. Did they have nothing better to do than gossiping about others?
If not for the fact that Xiao Qiao had forbidden him to fight, he would have told his grandpa that he would knock off their teeth if anyone dared to badmouth Xiao Qiao.
If he knocked off every single one of their tooth, they would not be able to gossip about others anymore.
It did not bother Zhu Baoguo that he was the subject of gossip, but he could not stand other people badmouthing Qiao Nan. He knew that he could not stop people from gossiping and that there was no way that he could hit everyone who badmouthed Qiao Nan.
It was better to avoid unnecessary trouble. He was not like those young ladies who needed to go to school and leave school with a group of friends. He did not need for Xiao Qiao to walk with him.
“Do the problem sums and stop daydreaming. Have you done the assignments I gave you for your summer vacation?” Qiao Nan picked a few questions from the new textbook for this current semester and passed it to Zhu Baoguo. “If you cannot get these questions right, you will get it from me.”
“…” Zhu Baoguo curled the corner of his lips. It was enough that Xiao Qiao was a nerd. Did she want to turn him into a nerd as well?
Looking at the familiar notes and content on the notebook, Zhu Baoguo’s tone was full of complaints. However, he looked relaxed and had a sparkle in his eyes. In fact, he was not in a bad mood despite his complaints. “Rest assured. I am very clever. As long as I put my mind to it, these questions are nothing to me.”
“Okay, stop bragging and do your problem sums.” Qiao Nan would not be taken in by Zhu Baoguo. If Zhu Baoguo did not answer correctly for those questions that Qiao Nan felt he should be able to, she would not be lenient with him. In fact, she would be stricter than Elder Lee and Elder Zhu.