The first day of the new sester ended successfully.
Although he had four major classes today, Zhou Li didn't feel tired at all. Instead, he felt quite fulfilled.
It feels great to study seriously.
He felt as if he had returned to two years ago. Back then, as a consistently diocre student, he had started to review seriously in his senior year of high school, aiming to get into a decent university. To achieve that, he significantly reduced the amount of ti he spent daydreaming in class.
If this continued, he felt the likelihood of becoming a top student this sester was very high, and he might even get a scholarship.
Baozi got a scholarship every year.
What an honor that was.
Of course, the scholarship wasn't the most important thing. The best part about being a top student was being able to stay cool during exams, just like Baozi, and enjoying the thrill of being adored by the underachievers.
That was a true mark of the strong.
It was 9 PM.
The dormitory was very quiet. Chang Xiaoxiang had gone out on a date and hadn't co back yet. Chen Yang was in the shower; the sound of splashing water could be heard. Liu Zhengming was playing Ultra Rapid Fire with his headphones on; he'd heard the mode was expiring in a few days, so he wanted to make the most of the ti left. The headphones were crowdfunded by his roommates, costing a dozen bucks from a flea market—specifically, 'authentic esports headphones from a senior.'
Only Zhou Li was the most diligent—
Having absorbed knowledge all day, he didn't relax. He was studying spells while chatting with Brother Nan. The difficulty of the spells far exceeded the morning's biochemistry class, so he almost always maintained a furrowed brow. While in this state, he also had to manage his relationship. His ntal state was roughly as follows: when reading, his brain was tense, and he was serious. Then, he would pick up his phone and quickly relax, needing to adopt a light-hearted deanor to converse with Brother Nan. Inevitably, he'd be amused by the silly Brother Nan. He was multitasking, seamlessly transitioning between the two states. This ntal training was no less demanding than Chang Xiaoxiang juggling conversations with five or six girls at once.
As a result, Zhou Li didn't even have ti to pet Tuanzi.
POP.
Huai Xu appeared beside him, hanging on the ladder, staring intently at him.
"Oh wow, you're so studious? Not forgetting to study even while dating."
"I've decided to study seriously."
"Haha..."
"Don't underestimate !"
Zhou Li stared seriously at her before quickly averting his gaze, whispering, "Finally done acting like Baozi?"
"h~~"
Huai Xu, nonchalant, began crawling onto the bed and squeezed next to Zhou Li to lie down, "After all, so many people were watching today, right? It'd be embarrassing to keep using this body. What if soone recognized tomorrow, right?"
"You're quite the character..."
How about acting like a person for once?
Huai Xu, now appearing as an intelligent and gentle older sister with snow-white skin, was in no way gentle or intelligent in her actions. She lifted her chin at Zhou Li, adopting a teacher's tone, "If there's anything you don't understand, ask !"
Zhou Li remained silent, pretending there was just a log lying beside him.
Then his phone buzzed again.
It was a ssage from the class teacher—
Zhou Qianqian: I played table tennis with the Vice Dean this afternoon, and the Dean reported to that a couple in our class—they're very good-looking—well, the girl was sleeping during the first class and playing with her phone during the second, plus they were whispering. He wants to address the class's atmosphere and discipline.
Zhou Li: Who are they?
Zhou Qianqian: What do you an, 'who'? It was you two, of course.
Zhou Li: I ant, who was playing table tennis?
Zhou Qianqian: The Dean and two other teachers.
Zhou Li: Who won?
Zhou Qianqian: Don't try to change the subject.
Zhou Qianqian: Take good care of your girlfriend. Show so respect for the teachers during class, especially during Vice Dean Liu's lecture. If you really need to sleep or use your phone, sit at the back in a corner.
Zhou Li: Got it.
Zhou Qianqian: I an it, you guys should study seriously. Don't think just because you're rich kids you can ss around. Rich kids need substance too.
Zhou Li: Who said I'm a rich kid?
Zhou Qianqian: I'm not blind.
Zhou Li: …
Zhou Li exited the chat with her and clicked on Baozi's profile.
Zhou Li: Baozi, send a screenshot of your Huabei balance, as well as your Alipay and WeChat balances. I need to pretend to be poor.
About two minutes later—
Baozi: [Image]
Baozi: [Image]
Baozi: [Image]
Such a great Little Cousin.
Co to think of it, she might be poor, but her Huabei limit is quite high.
Zhou Li: Thanks, very satisfied.
Baozi: Oh, co on, Cousin.
Zhou Li didn't see this ssage and sent the screenshots directly to Zhou Qianqian.
Zhou Qianqian: I can't be bothered to argue with you.
Zhou Qianqian: I'm logging off. Going to play gas with Brother Nan.
Zhou Li: …
Zhou Li: Then why didn't you just tell Brother Nan directly?
Zhou Qianqian: I'm afraid he'd get upset and then he wouldn't carry in ranked gas or play chess with .
Zhou Li: …
Zhou Li: So who won, really?
No reply.
How rude.
Zhou Li logged off WeChat and switched to QQ.
Zhou Li: Did Zhou Qianqian look for you to play gas?
Li Daimao: How did you know?
Zhou Li: Just go and play, don't stay up too late.
Li Daimao: Don't you want to chat with Brother Nan anymore? [Angry emoji]
Zhou Li: I wouldn't dare!
Li Daimao: What are you up to then?
Zhou Li: It's late, I'm going to take a shower.
Li Daimao: [Emoji]
The emoji was an angry cartoon figure with two lines of text: 'Video call ! If you're not going to video call, why the hell say you're taking a shower?'
Zhou Li shook his head and sent a goodnight.
「12th, Friday.」
His zeal to strive faded rapidly, and he was about to enter a cooldown period that would last half a year.
Zhou Li clearly felt listless during class. He would unconsciously drift off, thinking, Drifting off feels so comfortable…
Sotis he would suddenly beco alert and remind himself this wasn't okay and that he needed to perk up. He would then start to listen intently. However, a few minutes later, the contrast only made letting his mind wander feel even more comfortable.
His confidence in becoming a top student and winning a scholarship at the end of the term now seed quite shaky and precarious.
Fortunately, his passion for spells remained firm. He read for over two hours every day and sotis practiced them for an hour or two as circumstances allowed.
「Afternoon.」
At the table tennis tables in front of the administration building, teachers who had just finished work were fiercely competing.
The principal ca by, holding a water cup and swaying slightly. He had planned to go grocery shopping after work, but seeing the ga, he found the urge to join irresistible.
The principal had a sharp eye and quickly noticed sothing unusual about today.
"Hey! Teacher Xiao Zhou isn't dominating today, huh?"
"Vice Dean Liu is on a roll today."
"Old Liu? With his skills, he can beat you?"
"Vice Dean Liu monopolized the table today. The way he played made us lose all interest in playing against him; we couldn't muster the energy."
"Really? When did this start?"
"It's been like this for a few days."
"With Old Liu's usual skill level?"
"You'll know if you try."
Zhou Qianqian's words were full of aning.
The one now facing Vice Dean Liu was a young teacher whose table tennis skills weren't great, and he quickly lost the match.
The middle-aged teacher who was in line behind him quickly said, "Principal, you go ahead."
"No." The principal did not agree outright. Instead, he looked around and asked, "Who's next? Who's the last one? I'll line up behind him."
"This is the last one."
"Hey! Then I ca just at the right ti!"
The principal put his water cup in the corner of the table and picked up a paddle.
Vice Dean Liu smiled embarrassedly. "I've just been a bit lucky lately..."
"Hey! Why be modest?"
"Ready?"
"Let's go."
The serve ca over, very gently. The principal received it easily. But Vice Dean Liu's form as he returned the ball was clearly poor; it looked like the ball would likely go wide.
And it did.
The principal, with his old bones, didn't bother trying to return it.
Huh?
It was an edge ball.
The principal saw Old Liu's awkward smile from across the table and smiled back. While picking up the ball, he said, "Co on, show your real skill. I don't believe you beat Xiao Zhou with that kind of play."
Vice Dean Liu, looking even more embarrassed, replied, "Luck, just pure luck."
The principal, chuckling, said, "There's no way you can win by luck alone..."
But he didn't notice that the teachers watching around them all wore peculiar expressions and looked at them expectantly.
The second ga began. This ti, they exchanged three shots without anything unusual happening. Even the last shot, though it landed near the edge, was definitely not an edge ball by the principal's experienced judgnt.
Suddenly, a bizarre gust of wind swept through—
WHOOSH...
Sand swirled and cherry blossoms fluttered.
The yellow table tennis ball actually shifted sideways by twenty centiters.
"That's strange!"
Vice Dean Liu quickly said, "Must have been that weird gust of wind, right? The wind here by Dian Lake is really strong!"
"Old Liu, you didn't do that on purpose, did you?" The principal wasn't angry, just curious. "Have you learned so sneaky trick or sothing?"
"No, no... It won't happen again!"
"I don't believe you'll hit the edge again."
"Eh..."
A minute later—
Score: 0-3.
Principal: "Old Liu, you're incredible."
...
Score: 0-4.
The principal began to doubt his life.
Vice Dean Liu, all smiles, explained, "It's like there's a ghost or sothing. I don't know why, but whenever I get to the table this week, there's always an edge ball. I even wondered if a joint went bad and my hand is crooked, causing the ball to go astray..."
...
Score: 0-5.
The principal dropped his paddle, picked up his thermos, and after staring at Vice Dean Liu for a while, concluded, "Old Liu, that was underhanded of you."
"It's really just luck..."
"Who would believe that?"
"Let tell you..."
"Stop there, Old Liu."
Old Liu was an old table tennis buddy. For Old Liu to treat him like this, the principal was heartbroken.
Subsequently, despite everyone's efforts to keep him there, the heartbroken principal still waved them off, "No more playing for . I'm going back to cook for my grandson. If I go back late, my old lady at ho won't stop nagging..."
His white hair receded into the distance.
Other teachers reluctantly played a few more gas—so friendly, so out of obligation—but they too eventually found it unbearable and gradually excused themselves. Their excuses for leaving varied widely.
Only Zhou Qianqian, stubborn as ever, refused to believe it was just bad luck and kept taking on the challenge.
This unexpectedly earned her the Vice Dean's favor.
Well, Teacher Xiao Zhou has perseverance, determination, and patience—qualities all educators should have!
The Vice Dean was incredibly moved.
"By the way, Teacher Zhou Qianqian, the student inattentiveness issue reflected by those two students I ntioned a few days ago, how's that being handled?"
"Oh, that. I've given them a verbal reprimand and plan to use them as an example. I'll address this pointedly in next week's class eting. The issue of university students not taking classes seriously or respecting teachers has indeed been a persistent problem that needs to be tackled firmly."
That night of playing Ultra Rapid Fire with Brother Nan until the wee hours had been absolutely joyous.
Another edge ball.
Zhou Qianqian, keeping an eye on the Vice Dean's technique while bending over to pick up the ball, was deep in thought—
Once she mastered this trick, who the hell could beat her?
And in the Vice Dean's eyes, her determination was even more moving. He nodded vigorously. "Teacher Zhou Qianqian, your work efficiency is very high! I think our departnt really lacks teachers with your kind of positive work attitude... I must ntion this to the Dean."
"You're too kind, you're too kind..."
Zhou Qianqian responded perfunctorily, her mind still trying to figure out how the Vice Dean hit those shots. She, too, wanted to master that impressive-looking technique.
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