MM | Chapter 26

Standing Up

The bell rang, and the proctor started collecting the exam papers one by one. When he reached Sheng Wang, he paused for a few seconds, probably curious to see what kind of mess this latecomer had made.

“You might as well have chosen all C’s. At least you’d get a few right. If you end up with zero points from this random scribbling, you’ll be crying,” the proctor couldn’t help but comment as he took the paper.

“Are you an English teacher?” Sheng Wang, who had face blindness, didn’t recognize teachers from other classes.

“No, I teach Geography,” the proctor replied.

“Have you seen the answer key for this paper?”

“No.”

“That’s good then,” Sheng Wang said with an “oh.”

The proctor was speechless.

The student in front of Sheng Wang chuckled but quickly straightened up under the proctor’s glare.

The proctor glared at Sheng Wang and said, “No matter the reason, don’t be late for the exam next time. Take responsibility for your efforts, and don’t waste them over a minor illness.”

“I won’t, thank you, teacher,” Sheng Wang replied.

The other exam rooms finished collecting papers quickly, and the hallway filled with voices like a flood. Gao Tianyang, who had improved significantly in the weekly exam, jumped fifty places and moved from Class 3 to the end of Class 1, just a wall away from Sheng Wang, near the stairs.

He rushed out of the classroom early and waited at the stairway, but even after Jiang Tian arrived, Sheng Wang was nowhere to be seen.

“Where is he?” Jiang Tian asked, looking towards Class 2.

Gao Tianyang shrugged, “I don’t know, their class is so slow at collecting papers. The door hasn’t even opened yet.”

Just as he finished speaking, the door to Class 2 opened. The proctor walked out with the collected exams, followed by a wave of students buzzing with conversation like a hive of bees.

“Wow, he dared to skip the English listening section, that’s 20 points.”

“Impressive.”

“Didn’t he almost get a perfect score in English last time?”

“Yeah, something like 117 or 118.”

“Well, he’s doomed this time, dropping 20 points.”

“Not necessarily, he might have guessed some right.”

“Didn’t you hear the proctor joking that he should have filled all C’s? He probably wrote something like AABCD randomly. Maybe he’s inexperienced at guessing English questions.”

“Stop whining. Even if he drops 20 points, his English is still higher than mine. I’m going to shut down.”

Gao Tianyang hissed and nudged Jiang Tian, “Hey, why does this sound off to me?”

The group was chatting enthusiastically as they walked towards the stairs. Jiang Tian recognized one of them and tapped him on the shoulder, “Who dropped 20 points?”

“Whoa, you scared me.” The student clutched his chest, “God Jiang, what are you doing here, Yang-ge!”

He greeted Gao Tianyang as well.

“We’re waiting for a lunch buddy,” Gao Tianyang asked, “Who were you talking about?”

“That guy in your class who jumped over a hundred places in the weekly exam, Sheng Wang.” The student thumbed back towards the classroom, “He was late for the English exam and missed the entire listening section.”

“Late?” Gao Tianyang exclaimed in surprise, “How is that possible! Tian-ge, were you guys late this morning?”

“No,” Jiang Tian said, “We arrived at 7.”

The student was confused. He couldn’t understand why Sheng Wang was late, yet Gao Tianyang needed to confirm with Jiang Tian. Other classmates urged him, and he quickly said goodbye and left with his friends.

Gao Tianyang was incredulous, “This is English, Sheng-ge’s strongest subject. How could he be so careless and be late?”

Jiang Tian looked towards Class 2. Most of the students had left, and the classroom was empty. From this angle, he could see Sheng Wang’s profile as he stuffed his school jacket into his backpack, his expression unreadable.

Jiang Tian nudged Gao Tianyang towards Class 2.

“What?” Gao Tianyang took a couple of steps.

“Go ask,” Jiang Tian said.

“…”

Do you have double-sided tape on your lips? Gao Tianyang wanted to ask his childhood friend. But in the end, he didn’t dare and obediently went into the classroom.

“Sheng-ge!” Gao Tianyang’s voice was loud, not knowing how to lower it. His shout made all the students left in the classroom look up from their snacks.

Sheng Wang was trying to roll the dirty side of his jacket inward to avoid dirtying his backpack. Seeing Gao Tianyang and Jiang Tian coming in one after the other, he stopped fussing and stuffed it in, zipping it up.

He was about to say, “Let’s go eat,” when Gao Tianyang, in the tone of a eunuch announcing an imperial decree, said, “Tian-ge asked me to ask you, did something happen this morning?”

Jiang Tian, who was a few steps behind, stopped in his tracks and stared at the back of Gao Tianyang’s head.

If looks could kill, Gao Tianyang would be dead.

Sheng Wang looked over at him.

“Don’t listen to him,” Jiang Tian denied without hesitation.

After a few seconds, he pinched his nose in resignation, “Forget it.”

This reaction was a bit amusing for him, and Sheng Wang couldn’t help but laugh, his morning’s anger dissipating instantly.

“Let’s go, I’m starving,” he said, slinging his backpack over his shoulder and pushing them towards the door, “I don’t want to hold a press conference.”

They arrived late, and most students were already eating in the cafeteria. The sea of heads was dotted with a few empty seats, but there were hardly any complete four-person tables.

As they looked around, someone waved at them, “Old Gao, over here!”

It was Song Sirui, sitting with Qi Jiahao and Small Mouth Xu. They occupied a long table for eight, with exactly three seats left.

Gao Tianyang, experienced, chose a fast-serving window, and soon they had their food.

As Sheng Wang sat down, Song Sirui asked, “Sheng-ge, I heard you missed the listening section this morning. What happened?”

Gao Tianyang sighed, opened a cold cola, and took a few gulps, “We’re just asking him. So, what happened?”

“I got set up,” Sheng Wang, who had been complaining about being hungry, wasn’t in a rush to eat. Instead, he picked out carrot strips one by one.

“What do you mean?” Gao Tianyang stopped gnawing on his ribs, eyes wide, waiting for him to speak.

“Someone told me Sister Jing wanted me to get the competition practice sheets, so I went,” Sheng Wang said, moving the pile of carrots to the corner of his tray and starting on the green pepper slices, “But when I got to Xiushen Garden, I got ambushed.”

“Damn? Who ambushed you?”

“I don’t know, some thugs from outside the school, probably some idle punks from the street.”

“Did you fight?” Small Mouth Xu asked.

“What else? Were they there to wish me a happy new year?” Sheng Wang said, “Anyway, they held me up for a while. By the time I got back to the classroom, the listening section was over.”

Qi Jiahao asked, “How did you get back? Did you beat them up?”

“No,” Sheng Wang pointed to the cut on his face, playing the victim, “How could I fight them? See, I’m injured, and my school uniform got muddy, so I stuffed it in my bag. I only got away because I ran fast.”

“Stop!” Song Sirui said, “Are you going to say you’re weak again? Ask Zhai Tao if he agrees.”

Sheng Wang said, “Even if he doesn’t agree, I’m still weak. I rely on my backpack. See, I didn’t have it this morning, and it didn’t work.”

“Speaking of that idiot Zhai Tao—” Gao Tianyang thought for a moment, “Do you have any grudges with outside thugs? No, right? So why would they come to school to mess with you? It doesn’t make sense, right? So it must be that bastard Zhai Tao.”

Everyone agreed it was likely, except Small Mouth Xu, who added, “I’ll go talk to my dad later, see if we can make up the listening section for you.”

“Will your dad agree?” Qi Jiahao asked worriedly, “I think it’s unlikely. Should we all go?”

“No, my dad hates group tactics. I’ll ask, just in case,” Small Mouth Xu said.

Sheng Wang was taken aback.

Usually, Small Mouth Xu was like a mouse in front of his dad. Asking him to talk to his dad was like asking for his life. But today, he offered to help.

“Thanks,” Sheng Wang joked, clasping his hands in mock gratitude, “But let’s not bother your dad. First, he’ll definitely ask about the fight, and I’m still in a sensitive period. It’s better to stay low-key. Second, there’s no surveillance in Xiushen Garden. How can I prove those two ambushed me?”

“True, if there were surveillance at Magpie Bridge, all the couples would have flown away by now.”

Small Mouth Xu hesitated for a moment, then relented, “Okay, I won’t tell my dad for now. Let’s see how it goes.”

Everyone felt a bit frustrated.

They soon launched into a heated discussion about Zhai Tao, which amused Sheng Wang. As he moved the last clump of minced garlic aside, he suddenly heard Jiang Tian across from him ask, “What did the thugs look like?”

His voice wasn’t loud, and the others, caught up in their fervor, didn’t notice. Only Sheng Wang heard.

“One had a crewcut, the other short blonde hair,” Sheng Wang tried to recall but only remembered these features, “I have face blindness. I forget faces as soon as I turn away.”

Jiang Tian thought for a moment and said, “Okay.”

Sheng Wang paused, suspiciously looking at him, “What are you going to do?”

“What do you mean?” Jiang Tian asked.

Sheng Wang wanted to say, “Are you going to get back at them for me?” But saying it out loud might seem self-important, and someone as proud as him couldn’t afford to embarrass himself.

Besides, rationally speaking, a crewcut and blonde hair aren’t much to go on. There are plenty of people with those features, and Jiang Tian didn’t seem to want more details. It was probably just a casual question.

“Nothing, let’s eat,” Sheng Wang said.

While others had eaten most of their food, he was just starting his first bite, showing that Boss Zhao at Xi Le was still lenient.

Sheng Wang used to think the cafeteria food was decent, but after tasting Old Man Ding’s cooking, he found it hard to swallow the big iron tray meals.

The hollow heart vegetable was too garlicky, the knife that cut the watermelon slices had definitely cut onions before, the beef was too tough, and the tendons were chewy. The young master had a hard time eating, and in the end, didn’t eat much.

After they returned their trays and headed back to Mingli Building, Jiang Tian pointed towards the sports field, “I’m going to Xi Le.”

Sheng Wang immediately looked up at him, and Gao Tianyang asked, “Why are you going to Xi Le now?”

“To buy a bottle of ice water,” Jiang Tian said, shaking his phone, “and pick something up.”

Sheng Wang remembered Boss Zhao sending Jiang Tian WeChat messages, often asking him to pick up watermelons or something else. But Sheng Wang had never seen him bring anything back, probably taking it to Old Man Ding’s place.

In the afternoon, they had physics and chemistry exams. Jiang Tian found it hard to lose points, so there was no need to cram. They waved goodbye to him and went upstairs to their respective exam rooms.

No one was around on Road No. 3 during lunchtime, making it the school’s quietest time. Jiang Tian crossed through Xiushen Garden, glancing around as he went, then circled the sports field and entered Xi Le Convenience Store.

The doorbell chimed as Boss Zhao took off his reading glasses and looked up from behind the counter, “Aren’t you supposed to be taking exams? Why are you here at noon?”

“Buying water.”

Jiang Tian went straight to the fridge, grabbed a bottle of ice water, and at the counter, he also picked up a box of band-aids from the nearby shelf.

“Uncle Zhao, are the store’s cameras still working?” he asked.

“Of course, they’re working. It’s a small business, but we still get thieves. Who can stand that?” Boss Zhao said.

“What about the two outside?” Jiang Tian pointed towards the door with the water bottle, “The ones facing Xiushen Garden and the wall.”

“They’re working! Thieves love climbing in from there.”

Jiang Tian said, “Can you pull up the footage from 6-8 this morning?”

“Huh? Why?”

“Looking for someone.”

*

The afternoon exam started at 2 PM, and Sheng Wang arrived at the classroom just after 12. He spent half an hour reviewing his physics notes. Seeing there was still time, he lay down on the desk to catch up on sleep.

Sleeping in the classroom was usually light, and any noise could wake him.

Sheng Wang felt like he’d only dozed off when he heard the soft sound of a window being slid open. He scratched his head, squinting as he lifted it from his arms, and saw Jiang Tian standing outside the window. His blue and white school uniform sleeves rolled up to his elbows, the midday sun blazing behind him, dazzlingly bright.

Sheng Wang instinctively glanced at the clock. There was still over half an hour until 2 PM. Most of the students in the classroom were asleep, and those who weren’t were buried in their notes.

The whole Mingli Building was quiet, the kind of quiet unique to a campus during lunch break.

“Hmm?” He hadn’t shaken off his drowsiness, and his voice was a lazy rasp.

Jiang Tian’s slender fingers reached in, placing a box of band-aids on the windowsill.

“Just something I picked up,” he said, then walked down the corridor with his ice water, disappearing around the stairwell corner.

That evening, Sheng Wang heard a piece of gossip from Song Sirui and Gao Tianyang. They said two troublemaking thugs had been caught at Zhao Xi’s BBQ place, beaten up, and then handed over to the police with bruised faces.

The gossip also said that the two thugs had sneaked into the Affiliated High School that morning and were caught on Xi Le Convenience Store’s cameras.