Chapter 109

Chapter 109: Just Pass Through Our Side

The next day, Class 9 rearranged their seating positions. Since Mei Fang and Lin You Xi were still in the same group, they remained close to each other but switched their front-back positions.

Mei Fang’s deskmates kept changing; most were boys who were good at studies and liked to play. This time, he got a new deskmate named Tang Yu, a boy from the countryside who came to study in the city. He had no friends from elementary school and always studied hard, not interested in the boys’ playful activities.

As more desks were added, the new transfer students were seated in the middle group. Li Shibing adjusted the layout, increasing the number of desks from four to five in the middle row. To help them integrate quickly, Li Shibing placed them right in the center.

Guo Yun was also assigned to sit beside Mei Fang. She was separated from him by Tang Yu, her new deskmate. Guo Yun belonged to Zhang Ming’s group on her side, with two girls, Yu Lin and Li Danni, as her groupmates.

Guo Yun was Mei Fang’s deskmate when he was in junior high. Because she was quite overweight and had many acne spots, she was often teased and given nicknames by some classmates, leaving few willing to befriend her.

In his previous life, Mei Fang and Guo Yun weren’t particularly close. They didn’t talk much, but he never disliked her. At least, he never commented on her appearance or body. He treated her as a normal classmate and even lent her money for lunch once, which she later repaid with an extra bottle of milk.

Guo Yun didn’t stay long in the class. She transferred away before she moved up to third year. Before leaving, she wrote a letter to Mei Fang, saying he was the best friend she had in the class.

Back then, Mei Fang was a young boy who had no feelings or understanding of romantic matters, focusing solely on studies and video games. However, receiving her letter had a significant impact on him, as he didn’t think he had done anything special for her, yet she considered him her best friend.

When he encountered Guo Yun again in this life, apart from marveling at the serendipity of fate, Mei Fang wondered if she left after just one semester due to the pressure and rejection she faced in the class.

Her homeroom teacher then, Huang Lian, was a troublesome person who liked to criticize. Although Guo Yun didn’t give Huang Lian any reason to pick on her, Mei Fang remembered that Huang Lian wasn’t fond of her either.

The difficulty of physics increased dramatically in the next semester. Xia Yuan felt dizzy from solving physics problems every day. Riding home with Mei Fang and helping him push his bike back to the neighborhood became her rare moments of relaxation. Since Mei Fang stopped going to Xia Yuan’s house to do homework, Xia Yuan would pull him to a small pavilion in the neighborhood to chat and naturally ask for an “Afang Super Energy.”

Xia Yuan’s rapid growth surprised Mei Fang. Despite being only thirteen or fourteen, she showed great potential.

Although he hinted that they should be mindful not to be too intimate since they weren’t children anymore, Xia Yuan seemed not to understand and paid no heed. Of course, Mei Fang couldn’t outright reject Xia Yuan’s advances; finding the right balance was tricky for him.

“Physics is really hard, Afang…”

Xia Yuan hugged Mei Fang, looking dejected. “If I become Minister of Education someday, I won’t make middle school students study physics.”

“Don’t worry, it will be better in high school. There are liberal arts and science classes. You can choose the liberal arts class, where you excel in politics, history, and geography. Then you can completely avoid this difficult subject.”

“But if we split into different classes, we won’t be in the same class.”

Xia Yuan tilted her head and asked Mei Fang, “Then Afang, you’ll still be in the science class, right? I don’t want to be separated from you.”

Now, Xia Yuan sometimes made direct hints, but many of these hints were ambiguous, falling between being childhood friends, friends, or lovers. As long as Mei Fang didn’t overextend these topics and make Xia Yuan aware of his feelings, he wouldn’t cause trouble.

“Don’t be so sure. There are twenty-five classes in Bai Mei No. 1 High School. Whether we end up in the same class is uncertain.”

“My mom said our school’s advanced class is established to prepare us for the science experimental class at Bai Mei No. 1 High School,” Xia Yuan muttered. “Actually, if both of us can get into the science experimental class, we’ll be guaranteed to be in the same class.”

After saying this, Xia Yuan deflated. “I know you and You Xi can definitely get in. But my grades in the advanced class are at the bottom, relying entirely on Chinese and English to keep me afloat…”

“I don’t think it matters too much whether we’re in the same class or not. How could I neglect you or stop contacting you just because we’re not in the same class?”

Mei Fang patted Xia Yuan’s head. “I hope you choose your future academic path based on what’s best for you. If physics is so painful for you and you neither like nor excel at it, I think it’s better not to take it. Liberal arts might suit you better.”

Xia Yuan hastily corrected herself. “I just… I just find physics hard, not that I hate it entirely. We’ll have chemistry and biology as main subjects in the future. I don’t know about chemistry, but I quite like biology.”

After loosening her embrace, Xia Yuan circled around and looked up at Mei Fang. “I still want to work hard in the advanced class… I don’t necessarily have to switch to liberal arts, right?”

“As long as this is what you truly want, I support you.”

Mei Fang continued, “But I don’t want you to force yourself to stay in the same class just to be with us. It would break my heart.”

“There’s no forcing, no forcing! Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing, and I’ll take care of myself.”

Xia Yuan smiled and then pushed her bike to bid farewell to Mei Fang.

Though she claimed there was no pressure, Mei Fang didn’t believe her for a moment.

But he hoped Xia Yuan would make her own choices regarding her future plans. He wouldn’t interfere forcibly, as that would be disrespectful and likely lead to Xia Yuan’s dislike and resentment.

For a month, Guo Yun and Mei Fang hadn’t interacted much. She was part of Zhang Ming’s group, so after class, she would leave from the girls’ side. However, Mei Fang noticed she often sat alone. Sometimes, he saw her eating with Zhang Ming in the cafeteria, but more often, she ate alone in a corner.

During meals in middle school, companionship could reveal a lot about someone’s personality and social circle. While it wasn’t necessary to have a large group, having at least one or two companions was common. This suggested that integrating into the class wasn’t easy for Guo Yun.

However, if someone could live well alone, there was no need to endure social interactions. Many people now found solitude more liberating than dealing with difficult people.

Yet, life was never that simple. Conflicts were always present.

During the break after class, Mei Fang noticed Guo Yun facing a conflict.

Guo Yun gently nudged her deskmate, Yu Lin, on her left, asking to move her seat. Yu Lin woke up in anger and complained, “Why do you always need to go to the bathroom during class? It’s annoying!”

“This morning… was the first time, right?”

Yu Lin turned back to sleep, leaving Guo Yun feeling awkward and helpless.

At this moment, Mei Fang spoke beside her.

“Guo Yun, you can pass through our side. We’ll make room for you.”

This was the first time Mei Fang had spoken to Guo Yun directly.

(End of Chapter)