MM | Chapter 30

Closed for the Day

Qi Jiahao was nowhere to be seen for a long time, not even by the end of the break.

After the class leader meeting, Li Yu returned to the classroom with her notebook and pen. Gao Tianyang, ever attentive, called out from his seat, “Xiao Liyu, what did they say at the meeting? Any good news?”

“Why do you care about everything?” Song Sirui, sitting next to Li Yu, craned his neck to look at her notes while teasing Gao Tianyang.

Li Yu, with her good-natured temperament, actually shared what was in her notebook with Gao Tianyang, “They talked about dormitory arrangements, adjustments to the evening self-study schedule, and some changes in our class curriculum, which Teacher He will probably mention later. Also, the City Top Three Students list needs to be prepared.”

Song Sirui told Gao Tianyang, “None of it concerns you anyway.”

“Of course it does! How could it not?” Gao Tianyang thumbed toward Sheng Wang and Jiang Tian, saying, “At least two of us will be on the City Top Three Students list, and I’ll bask in the glory.”

Song Sirui couldn’t believe it, “How can someone be so shameless?”

Just as Gao Tianyang was about to retort, he felt someone press his thumb down.

It was Sheng Wang.

“Calm down, don’t point randomly,” Sheng Wang said, “My future is still uncertain.”

“How could that be?” Gao Tianyang was puzzled, “Don’t be modest. Even if your English score might be a bit disappointing this time, your progress in the weekly and monthly exams is undeniable!”

Sheng Wang realized that he hadn’t mentioned the condition Old Xu gave him about improving by 50 ranks to anyone.

He was about to explain and say that his English score wasn’t that bad when Li Yu came over with two sheets of paper.

“Didn’t you ask about dormitory arrangements before?” She placed one of the sheets on Sheng Wang’s desk, “Here, it’s an application form. Just fill in your student information.”

“Thanks.” Sheng Wang smiled at her and looked down at the form. He habitually twirled a pen in his hand, as if ready to fill it out at any moment.

After a couple of spins, Jiang Tian’s deep voice came from behind, “Are you applying for a dorm?”

Sheng Wang suddenly felt a bit guilty.

“Hmm?” He instinctively denied, “No, I just casually asked the class leader before.”

After speaking, he turned to look at Jiang Tian. Just like when he hid from Sheng Mingyang that night, he didn’t know why he felt guilty, but he wanted to see Jiang Tian’s reaction.

Jiang Tian’s gaze fell on his fingers, and Sheng Wang followed it, noticing the pen in his hand. After a silent moment, he tossed the pen aside.

Li Yu stood by the desk, sensing the atmosphere was a bit tense.

Her intuition told her it wasn’t the right time to continue discussing this with Sheng Wang. So she covered half her face with the remaining paper and quietly moved to Jiang Tian’s side, placing it carefully on his desk.

Both Jiang Tian and Sheng Wang looked at her.

Li Yu regretted it a bit but couldn’t just walk away due to her responsibilities. She gestured to the second form, saying, “Um… Jiang Tian, you mentioned it before too. This is the form. You, uh, both of you can fill it out, and just give it to me by Friday.”

Sheng Wang’s gaze shifted to Jiang Tian’s face.

Jiang Tian didn’t lift his eyes. His eyelids were thin, creating a long and graceful arc at the corners, as he focused intently on the desk.

Li Yu felt like she had stirred up something big and quickly scurried away.

With the outsider gone, the atmosphere became even more subtle. After a long pause, Sheng Wang glanced at Jiang Tian’s hand and asked, “Are you going to fill out the form?”

Jiang Tian immediately put down his pen.

His reaction was almost reflexive, mirroring Sheng Wang’s earlier response.

Sheng Wang suddenly found it amusing. He tried to maintain a serious expression for a while but couldn’t hold it in, leaning on the chair as he chuckled.

“Stop laughing.” Jiang Tian tapped his hand with a knuckle.

Sheng Wang looked up with smiling eyes, seeing Jiang Tian on the verge of laughter, which only made him laugh more.

“Enough already.” Jiang Tian lowered his voice, and finally, resigned to his fate, joined in the laughter.

Gao Tianyang was completely baffled, not understanding why the two behind him suddenly burst into laughter.

“What the heck? Why didn’t you include me?” It was the first time he saw Jiang Tian unable to stop laughing, and he was both curious and bewildered.

Jiang Tian cleared his throat, returning to his usual demeanor, though a hint of a smile lingered at the corner of his eyes.

“It has nothing to do with you,” he said.

Gao Tianyang sat back with a face full of grievance, lamenting how time changes everything. A friendship of over ten years could change just like that.

His obvious distress gave Sheng Wang an inexplicable sense of guilt, even though it made no sense. He still explained, “Really, it’s nothing. Just something awkward.”

“Awkward?” Gao Tianyang couldn’t help but say, “How can something awkward make you laugh like that? Are you two nuts?”

“Yes, yes, highly toxic,” Sheng Wang dismissed him and turned back.

Jiang Tian glanced at the uncollected form on the desk and suddenly asked, “Why do you want to stay in the dorm?”

“When I asked the class leader about it, we weren’t on good terms,” Sheng Wang joked half-seriously, “I was afraid you’d get annoyed with me and launch a surprise attack at night. Who knew…”

It hadn’t been long, yet Jiang Tian had become the person he was closest to at the Affiliated High School.

Then again, calling it a close relationship wasn’t entirely accurate. Gao Tianyang talked to him more, joked around more, and was more carefree, fitting the traditional definition of a good relationship, but that was just at school.

In other more personal spaces, beyond exams and assignments, classmates and teachers didn’t exist, but Jiang Tian did.

If he had to define it, it would simply be “special.”

Jiang Tian was the most special person he met at the Affiliated High School.

“So, are you still planning to apply?”

Sheng Wang snapped back to reality, hesitated for a moment, and said, “Probably not, I haven’t thought of a new reason.”

He spoke with a refreshing smile, his youthful spirit shining through, like a bird hopping on a summer treetop, always brightening those around him.

Jiang Tian listened, and after a moment, nodded.

“What about you?” Sheng Wang asked, “Did you also ask the class leader a while ago?”

“Yeah,” Jiang Tian replied.

“Are you still planning to apply?” Sheng Wang asked again.

This time Jiang Tian didn’t answer immediately. He looked down at the form, the black pen somehow back between his fingers, spinning it with a flick.

After a long pause, he said, “I probably will fill it out later.”

Someone in the classroom had opened a window, letting in a breeze that carried the remnants of summer heat, stifling and hot. Sheng Wang suddenly felt thirsty, so he reached into his desk for a can of Coke, popped the tab, and took a sip.

When he bought it in the morning, the can was frosted. After two classes, the frost had melted, leaving a wet patch in the desk. The drink was no longer cold, neither refreshing nor thirst-quenching, just sweet and cloying.

Sheng Wang held the can in silence for a moment, then said, “Oh.”

*

Qi Jiahao returned just as the class bell rang, and for the rest of the morning, he didn’t speak to anyone. Gao Tianyang and the others were puzzled, discussing it among themselves, but no amount of teasing could cheer him up.

It wasn’t until the English papers were handed out in the afternoon that they understood why Qi Jiahao was so down. Among the three English giants of Class A, he had done the worst, so much so that others didn’t even know how to comfort him.

“This wasn’t what I prepared for,” Gao Tianyang said to Sheng Wang, “I always thought you’d need comforting. I even prepared a speech, but you scored 110?”

“Impressive!” Song Sirui was in awe.

“You, your listening was off, yet your English score is 8 points higher than mine?” Gao Tianyang was utterly defeated, “Did I learn English with my feet?”

“Just amazing!” Song Sirui repeated.

“Get lost.” Gao Tianyang kicked him away, saying, “No wonder Qi Jiahao had to shut down. Who wouldn’t in his position?”

Sheng Wang’s score would make anyone laugh, yet he himself was calm about it. Not just calm, he seemed… not in the best mood.

Not only was he acting strangely, Jiang Tian was too. He had the highest score in four out of five exams, yet looked as if he’d dragged down the entire grade.

The afternoon P.E. class was taken over by Teacher He Jin for the first formal class meeting of September.

“What’s going on? Everyone seems a bit down,” He Jin noticed the lethargy in Class A as soon as she entered. She spread her notebook on the podium, pressing it flat with her hand, “Cheer up a bit. Technically, this is the start of the school year. New semester, new atmosphere. At least give your homeroom teacher some face, right?”

The class responded with scattered laughter, bringing some life back.

“I’ll go over a few things briefly.” He Jin glanced at her notebook, “First, about the competitions, starting this semester—don’t give me that sarcastic look. I know you’ve been in class for a month. Just play along a bit.”

Song Sirui led the applause, and a group of boys, with fake smiles, said, “Finally starting school. So happy. Please continue, teacher.”

“Alright!” He Jin waved her hand dismissively, “Anyway, this semester, the preliminaries for the math, physics, and chemistry competitions will kick off one after another. As usual, since we’re Class A, also known as the competition class, everyone must participate. No exceptions. Those who pass the preliminaries will have some training during the winter and summer camps, and then participate in the semi-finals.”

“Based on past experience, many universities require a second prize for early admission qualifications. Remember, it’s a second prize. Don’t listen to Director Xu from the Political and Educational Office exaggerating. Schools that accept a third prize are rare, and I doubt you’d be satisfied with those.”

The high pedestal Old Xu had built outside was dismantled by He Jin behind closed doors. Every teacher in Class A was well-known in the city and feared no school leader.

She observed the students’ expressions and smiled, “I mentioned the second prize, and some of you turned pale. Let me share some stats—”

“I’ve taught six Class A batches. If I remember correctly, every year, 90% get a second prize in the provincial competitions, and 9.99% get a first prize.”

The class was momentarily stunned, followed by a commotion.

“Notice anything?” He Jin asked, “Yes, I’ve only seen two people get a third prize. What does that mean? It means that after our series of training, getting a third prize is harder than getting into Tsinghua or Peking University. Whoever gets it is a rare treasure.”

The whole class erupted in laughter, even Sheng Wang joined in.

In the midst of the noise, He Jin winked at him before continuing, “So, keep it up, boys.”

“No problem,” the entire Class A drawled.

“These three competitions are our focus in the second year, so starting this semester, the last period every afternoon will be a competition tutoring class. Mondays and Tuesdays are physics, Wednesdays and Thursdays are math, Fridays and Saturdays are chemistry. Special teachers will be arranged, and I’ll distribute the schedule and teacher list shortly, so you can prepare.”

“The second thing is the City Top Three Students list.” She divided the schedule into five copies, letting the first student in each group pass it back, then picked up a stack of blank slips, “As mentioned before, one based on grades, one recommended by the class committee, one based on progress, and one by democratic election. Fill it out now, and let the class leader and committee count the votes. We’ll finalize the list today, alright?”

Democratic elections can be influenced by the day’s mood, and different days yield different results.

Most students in Class A were straightforward, but they had their considerations—

Many classmates were well-liked, but Jiang Tian was nailed to the top of the grade, Sheng Wang’s progress was astonishing, and Gao Tianyang, Li Yu, and Song Sirui were in the class committee, which was another competition. So the democratic vote focused on those who weren’t in any particular category.

Like the approachable Lone Wolf Boss Xiao Lajiao, the good-natured Small Mouth Xu, and Qi Jiahao, who fought his way from a regular class, a bit greasy but with no major flaws.

The votes were fiercely contested among these three, and in the end, due to Qi Jiahao’s particularly miserable day, he garnered some sympathy votes and narrowly won over Small Mouth Xu.

With that, Qi Jiahao finally smiled for the first time today.

“Alright, the first City Top Three Students is basically decided.” He Jin led the applause, saying, “Let’s congratulate our English class representative. Do you want to say a few words on stage?”

“No, no.” Qi Jiahao grinned, waving his hands, but was pushed onto the stage by Song Sirui.

He stumbled a bit, cleared his throat on stage, and said, “Well, I didn’t expect to get this spot. Thank you.”

At this point, he finally showed a bit of pride, his 92 English score forgotten, and Yang Jing’s words became irrelevant. He scanned the room, most were happy for him, except for two—

One was Sheng Wang, casually clapping while his gaze lingered on the desk, seemingly studying the competition schedule, though there wasn’t much to see.

The other was Jiang Tian, who didn’t clap at all, just leaned back in his chair, watching him coldly.

Qi Jiahao’s heart skipped a beat, but his smile quickly returned.

Regardless, he had secured a spot in this competition, and the rest? It didn’t matter.

Amidst the commotion, he returned to his seat, and He Jin finished discussing other matters, finally distributing what most students were concerned about—the monthly exam score slips.

The first student in each group received the slips and passed them back.

Sheng Wang was studying the competition schedule. They would have two weeks of physics extension classes starting next Monday, with the teacher’s name marked beside it, Zhao Xi, the same name as the boss of “Those Years” BBQ.

As he pondered this, Song Sirui, standing beside him, let out a low “ah.”

“What’s wrong?” Sheng Wang looked up.

Song Sirui handed him the score slip, saying, “Impressive, your total score went up by over 40 points. Physics and chemistry converted to A levels, and your grade ranking rose by 47.”

As Sheng Wang expected, the higher the rank, the harder it was to jump.

Song Sirui continued calculating, “If you hadn’t missed the English listening test, you’d have gained another 7 points… Let me think, I saw Chen Cheng’s score slip earlier, he’s 4 points higher than you, with a tied ranking. I guess with those 7 points, you could jump eight or nine more places.”

But there are no ifs in the world.

The fact was he worked hard for a week but didn’t meet Old Xu’s requirement of improving by 50 ranks, missing out on the City Top Three Students spot.

He wasn’t concerned about the spot itself, he just didn’t like the feeling of wasted effort.

That night, Jiang Tian, who rarely checked WeChat moments, noticed a small red dot at midnight. He clicked it, and the screen spun for a few seconds before refreshing. At the top was a new status from the person next door, posted a minute ago.

It read: “Today, everything went wrong.”

Jiang Tian clicked into the chat, and the other person’s avatar changed from a red can to a black one, with the WeChat name “Closed for the Day.”

Jiang Tian sent a question mark, waited twenty minutes, but got no response…

Really closed.