In the classroom of Class 4, Grade 2, the words “Eat bitter, endure bitter, and you will become a better man” were carved into the desk at the far right of the first row.
During the first session of evening self-study, Zhu Zhaoyang was diligently solving math problems in the reference book, preparing for tomorrow’s final exam. Despite already excelling in math and consistently scoring full marks, he genuinely enjoyed solving challenging problems, finding it a source of pleasure rather than just preparation for exams. Therefore, he dedicated his final moments before the exam to math. As for the other subjects – physics, chemistry, and biology – he was confident of scoring full marks in all of them. For the remaining three subjects – Chinese, English, and politics – he felt equally confident, already having a solid grasp of the upcoming exams.
Suddenly, a pair of hands slammed on his desk, startling Zhu Zhaoyang from his math exercises. Looking up, he saw a short-haired girl with single eyelids glaring at him coldly.
Zhu Zhaoyang retorted, “What’s gotten into you, Ye Chimin!”
“Lao Lu wants to see you.” Her eyes carried a provocative expression as she coldly delivered the message.
Zhu Zhaoyang stood up, returning her stare with the same intensity. However, he quickly backed down, as he was the shortest boy in the class, and Ye Chimin was taller than him. Meeting her gaze would require him to tilt his head slightly upward, which would be quite embarrassing.
With a disdainful snort, Zhu Zhaoyang discreetly let out a fart, taking advantage of his intestinal movements. After a few seconds, he dramatically covered his nose and exclaimed, “Ye Chimin, you didn’t even give a warning before letting out that stinky fart?”
Ye Chimin furrowed her brows and retorted, “Idiot!”
Zhu Zhaoyang chuckled, mocked Ye Chimin a few more times with funny faces, and then straightened up, swaggering towards the office. However, as soon as he entered, his confidence vanished.
Their class teacher, Teacher Lu, was a woman in her forties, tall and slender, seldom smiling, and almost all the students were afraid of her. Zhu Zhaoyang was no exception, despite his good grades. However, English was relatively weaker for him, and it happened to be taught by Teacher Lu. What’s more, at this moment, Teacher Lu’s face was filled with the indignation of menopausal syndrome.
Zhu Zhaoyang sensed something was amiss just from her expression. The confidence he had shown in front of Ye Chimin disappeared entirely, and he instinctively shrunk his neck like a turtle, nervously asking, “Teacher Lu, did you want to see me?”
Teacher Lu pursed her lips and continued to grade the papers in her hands, appearing indifferent. Zhu Zhaoyang rubbed his pants anxiously, feeling uneasy. He racked his brain, unable to recall doing anything wrong recently. What was wrong with Lao Lu? Deaf? Stuffed? Divorced? He waited for five or six minutes as Teacher Lu finished grading the stack of papers in her hand before finally raising her head and giving him a glance, her tone devoid of any fluctuations, “Why did you break Ye Chimin’s digital camera lens?”
Ye Chimin was a reporter for the school’s broadcasting station and often brought her camera to school.
Zhu Zhaoyang furrowed his brows, utterly perplexed, “What… what camera lens?”
“Did you intentionally break her camera lens?”
Zhu Zhaoyang was completely bewildered, “When did I touch her camera? I’ve never touched it!”
“You still won’t admit it?”
“I… I didn’t.” Zhu Zhaoyang exaggeratedly distorted his face to demonstrate his innocence.
“Don’t lie!” Teacher Lu’s expression changed suddenly. “Ye Chimin saw you take her camera from her desk and hit it against the wall. She grabbed it back, but the lens was already cracked.”
“It’s impossible! Why would I touch her camera? I’ve never touched it before.” Zhu Zhaoyang felt the conversation was utterly nonsensical. Why was the topic suddenly about a camera lens?
Teacher Lu glared at him disapprovingly, “Stop lying. Ye Chimin said she doesn’t want you to compensate her. She’s being very magnanimous, yet you still want to lie!”
“I… I…” Zhu Zhaoyang was unjustly accused and on the verge of tears. This was completely fabricated. He had been doing exercises all day and had never touched Ye Chimin’s stupid camera. What was going on?
Teacher Lu glanced at him several times, her expression gradually softening, “Go back to self-study. There’s an exam the day after tomorrow. Let’s put this matter to rest for now. In the future, don’t touch other students’ belongings.”
Zhu Zhaoyang wanted to argue for himself, but he gave up when he thought about it. This was completely inexplicable. He couldn’t make head or tail of it. What was the point of arguing with Lao Lu? He could only go back first and greet Ye Chimin, the nasty woman.
