Chapter 26: The Iron Triangle Was Broken Up
The third period was English class.
Zhao Jing stood at the podium holding a book. She wore black-framed glasses, her hair was in small curls, and she had on a light brown trench coat, giving her an intellectual vibe.
She spoke in standard Mandarin, “Everyone has seen the scores. The questions were difficult this time, and the whole grade didn’t do well, which is understandable. But this type of question is similar to what you’ll face on the college entrance exam. If your scores are at this level, you’ll basically have no chance of getting into a good university.”
“Students should still make time for English. No matter how well you do in math and science, if your English is weak, your total score won’t improve.”
Most students in the science class struggled with English.
She spoke for a few more minutes, then continued, “This class is for regular lessons, but we’ll go over the test during evening self-study. I assigned a dictation last week. Has everyone studied it?”
At times like this, the entire class would answer in unison, “Yes.”
Of course, many students were just trying to get by.
Having been a teacher for so many years, Zhao Jing could see through these little tricks. “Alright, I’ll call on three students to come to the front and write the dictation.”
As soon as the roll call was mentioned, the class, except for a few top students, became like ostriches with their heads in the sand. Liu An’an almost wished her head could disappear under the desk.
“Please don’t call on me, don’t call on me, don’t call on me.”
Wen Xia glanced at her and couldn’t help but smile. Without intending to, her eyes met Zhao Jing’s, and she had a strong sense of being picked.
“…”
Sure enough, the next second, Zhao Jing called her name, “Wen Xia, Guo Qiang, Ren Jia.”
Liu An’an let out a sigh of relief, then gave Wen Xia a sympathetic look as if saying, “Good luck.”
Guo Qiang and Ren Jia sat on either side, leaving the middle seat for Wen Xia.
Wen Xia walked up to the podium, picked up a piece of chalk, and stood in the center of the blackboard. Perhaps it was because she was used to teaching, but she instinctively rubbed the chalk under the blackboard.
Zhao Jing picked up the textbook and said, “analysis, analysis, analysis.”
Her gaze was fixed on Wen Xia. She was a bit surprised that Wen Xia had scored 90 in English this time.
Wen Xia didn’t hesitate and quickly wrote down the word and its meaning. Her handwriting was neat and orderly, pleasing to the eye.
Zhao Jing continued, “obvious, obvious, obvious…”
…
Five brief minutes passed, and after finishing the twenty words, Zhao Jing began to announce the correct answers.
She looked at Wen Xia with a kind expression. “Ren Jia made three mistakes, and Guo Wen made eight. Guo Wen will have to write the words from this unit twenty times. No matter how good your math is, if your English is weak, it’ll pull down your score.”
“Wen Xia got them all correct. Her handwriting is also very neat. Everyone should learn from Wen Xia.”
The whole class gasped in surprise, but they saw for themselves that Wen Xia hadn’t cheated.
Zhao Jing took out a new notebook and handed it to Wen Xia, encouraging her, “Wen Xia, keep it up. I have high hopes for you.”
In English dictation, a perfect score came with a reward, which Zhao Jing had bought with her own money.
Wen Xia took the notebook with a sweet smile, saying, “Thank you, Teacher Zhao.”
Zhao Jing smiled gently.
…
Ten minutes before lunch break, Cao Jun arrived early, holding a list of the class rankings.
He glanced around the classroom and noticed that about four or five students were absent. He didn’t bring up the seating arrangement and instead began summarizing the results of the recent monthly exam.
“The results of this month’s exam weren’t ideal. Don’t think just because you’re only in the second year of high school that you can relax. If you wait until the third year to work hard, it’ll be too late.”
“Students may think that the college entrance exam isn’t that important right now, just a small episode in life. But as someone who has been through it, I can responsibly tell you that a large part of your future will depend on the college entrance exam,” Cao Jun said.
“At this point, some of you might wonder, ‘How important can the college entrance exam really be? It’s just a test.'”
At this point, he made a joke. “If any of you come from a family that owns a mine, of course, you can think that way. But for those who don’t have a mine to inherit, don’t think that way. If you don’t study, you’ll probably just end up ‘moving bricks’.”
The students in the class didn’t fully grasp the meaning behind this, or maybe they just didn’t realize the harsh realities of society at their age. They took Cao Jun’s words as a joke, laughing in unison.
Wen Xia, in the past, would have laughed it off too. But after going through it herself, she realized how real Cao Jun’s words were. During her university graduation job search, she was rejected many times due to her educational background, constantly facing obstacles. She was in a state of self-doubt, even regretting it.
She regretted not studying hard in high school.
If she hadn’t met Qin Mo, perhaps she would have become the “brick mover” that Cao Jun referred to.
Cao Jun spoke for another seven or eight minutes, and by the time all the students had arrived, he brought up the seating rearrangement.
“I mentioned last week that we would change seats after the exam. Everyone will go to the balcony, and I’ll call one person at a time to come back in.”
The class became a bit noisy, with most of the students unwilling to move.
But no matter how unwilling they were, they had to obediently go out.
Liu An’an winked at Wen Xia and Jiang Yan. “Old rule, my throne depends on you two.”
In the past, Jiang Yan was the best student among the three, so she usually helped secure the best seats.
Jiang Yan and Wen Xia nodded.
This time, Wen Xia ranked in the top ten of the class, so she had plenty of options for seating. When she heard Cao Jun call her name, she still walked toward her original seat.
That spot was convenient, quiet, and didn’t obstruct her view.
“Wen Xia, sit next to He Sheng,” Cao Jun said, noticing her intentions.
Wen Xia was about to sit down but froze when she heard this. She then asked in confusion, “Didn’t Teacher Cao say we could choose our own seats?”
“This time, your math score is relatively weaker than in other subjects. Teacher Liu said you had some issues with him, so I have to give him an explanation,” Cao Jun replied, pointing to the seat next to He Wen, signaling her to sit there quickly.
He Sheng had a good math score, over 130, but his English was weak.
This time, Wen Xia’s English performance was praised by Zhao Jing in the office, who said her composition was particularly well done.
Wen Xia and He Sheng would complement each other in their strengths and weaknesses.
All six subject teachers had suspected Wen Xia of cheating and even analyzed her answer sheets together, concluding that her work was legitimate.
Hearing this, Wen Xia glanced at Jiang Yan and Liu An’an by the window, silently asking what to do.
In truth, she didn’t really want to sit next to a boy, as there were always a few days when it would be inconvenient.
“Stop looking,” Cao Jun interrupted their silent exchange, “You three, the iron triangle, will definitely be split up this time.”
The three of them had been “nominated” by various teachers more than once, and this time, Cao Jun was determined to separate them and see how they would react.
Wen Xia sighed inwardly.
The way forward was blocked.
She had no choice but to sit next to He Sheng. There were four rows between them, with He Sheng on her left and Xu Min on her right.
Surrounded by the top two students in the class, it felt like the air had thickened around her. She nervously pursed her lips.
As Cao Jun had said, Liu An’an and Jiang Yan were also separated, with each of them placed in different rows. Now, they would have to shout to communicate.
It wasn’t just the three of them. Some other students were also separated by Cao Jun. On the surface, it seemed like a free seating arrangement, but in reality, it was still under Cao Jun’s control.
