Chapter 141

Chapter 141: Trial Classes and Clubs

Recently, Mei Fang always had the feeling of constantly meeting new head teachers.

His new head teacher, Dong Zhongying, was an English teacher, a middle-aged man with a full beard and a receding hairline, who was also quite tall.

Even though he always wore a smiling expression, it gave people a very frightening first impression.

During his self-introduction, he also showed the unique qualities of a teacher at Jiangcheng No. 1 High School.

“Students studying at our Jiangcheng No. 1 High School must be top talents who read extensively.”

“Those familiar with the Three Kingdoms should know that Dong Zhuo from the Three Kingdoms period had the courtesy name Dong Zhongying. So, I have a nickname. Can anyone guess what it is?”

Immediately, a student raised their hand to respond:

“Devil King!”

“Heh, those who say Devil King probably play too much of either ‘True Musou’ or ‘Three Kingdoms Kill.’ But no, students in previous years called me this… ”

Dong Zhongying wrote his nickname in English on the blackboard.

“Everyone, let’s say it together: tyrant.”

“tyrant.”

“t-y-r-a-n-t, tyrant.”

“tyrant!”

“Does anyone know how to translate this word?”

Another new student raised their hand: “tyrant?”

Hearing the student’s response, everyone wore a worried look, except for Dong Zhongying, who still smiled.

“Yes! But not entirely.”

Dong Zhongying continued to explain:

“The basic meaning of the word is indeed ‘tyrant,’ referring specifically to autocratic rulers and oppressive leaders. It can also refer to bosses, head teachers, or any superior who makes you feel uncomfortable. You can use ‘tyrant’ for all of them.”

“But there’s another layer of meaning why previous students call me ‘tyrant.'”

“‘Tyrant’ is sometimes used with ‘local’ to refer to influential and wealthy people in the area. I am one such person in Jiangcheng, a local tycoon!”

“If any of you run out of money on your meal cards or can’t afford food, just come to me! I’ll make sure you’re well-fed. Come as many times as you want!”

Dong Zhongying’s humorous words made everyone laugh, especially Xiang Bingbing, who sat behind Mei Fang. She didn’t have a loud voice but kept slapping the table.

Mei Fang, sitting behind her, was concerned that her desk might break and felt a bit heartbroken.

“For example, many of us carry phones like the ‘Local Tyrant Gold,’ which we usually translate as ‘rich man’s phone,’ for the same reason.”

“Of course, I’m mentioning this to remind you to keep your phones safe. I won’t confiscate them on the first day, but—”

Dong Zhongying suddenly became serious as he continued laughing:

“Anyone caught playing with their phones during class will have them smashed on the spot—do you hear me, Wan Chaoxiong?”

Prompted by Mei Fang, Wan Chaoxiong hurriedly hid his phone in his pocket and stood up.

“Yes, sir!”

“Teacher worries you might not understand, so you’ll stand with me a little longer.”

Dong Zhongying continued speaking to the class:

“Of course, since I’m a local tycoon, if you think smashing your phone is unfair, I can compensate you. I have plenty of money.”

“As long as you bring your parents, I guarantee to give you brand new imported phones.”

“After all, none of you can claim your iPhone 4 was bought with your own money rather than your parents’ hard-earned cash, right?”

Indeed, Dong Zhongying was an impressive new head teacher, handling matters with his own unique approach, which Mei Fang found reasonable.

After the head teacher’s self-introduction, there wasn’t the usual round of self-introductions. Dong Zhongying said they would wait until they got to know each other better before doing so.

Next, Dong Zhongying arranged for a study session, where the main content was reading the Student Handbook.

The Jiangcheng No. 1 High School Student Handbook was nearly fifty pages long, detailing school rules and privileges, making it like a walking encyclopedia of the school.

While Mei Fang carefully studied the handbook, he suddenly began to miss the hugs from Yuan Yuan and the cuddles from You Xi.

They weren’t using his energy every day, and recently, they were spending most of their time cuddling, even going shopping in the city center without him.

Although he understood their feelings, he still felt a bit lonely…

So yesterday, Mei Fang took advantage of the last days of summer vacation to urge Zhang Ming to finish his work.

Mei Fang noticed that after the new semester started, there was a 30-minute break between two evening self-study sessions, which he could use to take them for a walk.

Through research on Tieba, Mei Fang learned that the huge playground at Jiangcheng No. 1 High School, like those of other high schools, had special functions.

At night, it became a place for runners preparing for exams and couples kissing under dim lights, enough to hide any rule-breaking behavior.

Of course, couples couldn’t think about recharging their energy, but just walking together was still nice.

But before that…

As soon as the bell rang, Mei Fang rushed out of the classroom to go upstairs and meet Xia Yuan and Lin You Xi, only to bump into them at the stairway.

“What are you two doing?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

Xia Yuan asked Mei Fang with her hands on her hips, “What about you?”

“Same thing.”

Mei Fang smiled slightly, “Wanna chat? I’m in the same class as Xiang Bingbing.”

Xia Yuan and Lin You Xi both looked startled, “Why do you two always run into each other? Did you become desk partners again?”

“No, we’re front and back row now.”

“Front and back row is also dangerous.”

This time, it was Lin You Xi who spoke, as front and back rows had been their private communication channel before.

“I thought you didn’t mind…”

“Oh, right, A Fang, I wanted to tell you, there’s a girl in our class who transferred from Bai Mei County like us. She’s quite pretty!”

“Why mention her looks? I don’t get interested just because someone is good-looking.”

Mei Fang rolled his eyes at Xia Yuan and then paused, “Isn’t she from Shiyan High School? We’re not really close, but she went to the same kindergarten as us, though in a different class.”

“How could I remember kindergarten stuff…”

“But she said she remembers you wiping her butt in kindergarten, and she watched when you did it.”

“How does everyone remember this!”

Mei Fang clenched his fists.

The three chatted as they arrived at Mei Fang’s class. Xia Yuan greeted Xiang Bingbing and hugged her, while Lin You Xi stayed by Mei Fang’s side, chatting.

“Are you also reading the Student Handbook in your first class?”

“Yeah, why?”

Lin You Xi put her arm around Mei Fang, “There’s a 30-minute break between the first and second evening self-study sessions.”

“We can go out for a walk then, maybe even go for a stroll on the playground.”

“That’s great! I was thinking the same thing. With the schedule packed, we barely have time to discuss future plans…”

“No, we shouldn’t discuss work at that time.”

Lin You Xi reminded him, “I meant recharging energy. Isn’t it inconvenient at home?”

Mei Fang was surprised, “That’s getting more and more… intense. How am I supposed to handle this?”

He quickly waved his hands, “It wouldn’t be appropriate for just the two of us to walk. We should include Yuan Yuan…”

“You misunderstand, it’s not just the two of us.”

Lin You Xi smiled, “Of course, we should include Yuan Yuan.”

“Three of us?”

Lin You Xi nodded, “Yuan Yuan and I discussed it. At home, it’s inconvenient, and it’s too late outside. The safest place is the school.”

“After you two became desk partners, you’ve been distracted in class…”

Lin You Xi seemed enthusiastic at first, but seeing Mei Fang’s lack of enthusiasm, she suddenly became expressionless.

“Are you unwilling? If you are, it’s fine.”

“Not really.”

Mei Fang knew she was ready to pinch him.

So he quickly stated his stance, “Mutual encouragement among childhood friends, I need it too!”

“That’s good. The first 10 minutes are for Yuan Yuan, the next 10 minutes are mine. Walking to the playground and back takes a few minutes, plus chatting, it adds up to exactly 30 minutes.”

Wow, calculating down to the minute…

At this moment, Xia Yuan returned and joined the conversation. She seemed a bit shy, gently patting Mei Fang’s shoulder and asking You Xi,

“Have you two settled things for tonight?”

Lin You Xi nodded.

This plan was initially proposed by Xia Yuan, but she didn’t want to appear too aggressive, so she presented it as a suggestion.

“This isn’t just about moving forward; recharging energy has always been something childhood friends do. Anyway, we’ll split the time evenly with A Fang. If You Xi wants to hug with A Fang to recharge, I think he’d be willing…”

“Sure.”

Lin You Xi agreed without hesitation.

“That’s great! We’ll talk later… But, I wonder if A Fang will agree…”

“After all, Tieba says the playground is full of kissing couples. A Fang is so conservative, he might think our intentions are impure.”

“If you’re uncomfortable, I’ll talk to A Fang.”

“Great, You Xi is reliable!”

…

Thus, things progressed to this point.

After briefly meeting with his two childhood friends during the break, Mei Fang started his first day of classes.

On the first day, according to the official schedule, music was music, PE was PE, and politics and history were taught seriously as main subjects.

Special county students hadn’t experienced such a focused atmosphere in liberal arts learning in their junior high schools, so they found it quite novel, and the classroom atmosphere was lively. There was no real pressure yet.

The last class on Mondays was a special experience class, and today they were learning about tea ceremony.

Mei Fang originally thought this class would be like the one he took in his second-tier university, involving only a few selected students. However, the actual experience was quite comprehensive.

Everyone had the opportunity to experience the entire thirteen-step tea ceremony process and drink professional tea made by the teacher in the tea room.

Wan Chaoxiong, unrepentant, secretly took out his phone to record a video, while Xiang Bingbing enthusiastically tasted several pots, even surprising the teacher.

After the new semester began, stalls started appearing on the path leading to the morning assembly square, indicating that clubs were recruiting new members.

Mei Fang’s former high school, Bai Mei No. 1 High School, had once considered establishing a club. He had enthusiastically persuaded his deskmate to sign up and establish a gaming culture club.

However, after receiving a list and announcing the club, it never had any follow-up activities.

The school neither provided room support nor extra club activity time, essentially treating it as a mere formality to appease higher-ups.

Mei Fang still remembered the sadness of his initial enthusiasm being let down, and he had been heartbroken for a long time.

While he was admiring the various student clubs at Jiangcheng No. 1 High School, someone suddenly covered his eyes from behind.

“Did you run over here? We spent ages looking for you. Why didn’t you stay downstairs and wait for us?”

It was Yuan Yuan’s indignant voice.

“Oh… I thought we wouldn’t eat together today since we’re so far apart. I thought I explained it clearly.”

“Especially on the first day, we should definitely eat together. Didn’t I say I wanted to introduce a friend from Bai Mei County to you?”

“Don’t you bring more friends into the circle? Don’t you worry about You Xi’s feelings?”

“As long as it doesn’t affect our classes, pick-up times, or cuddling, You Xi won’t mind! Besides, she’s not just my friend; she’s close to her too. See?”

Xia Yuan moved Mei Fang’s head towards the end of the road, where Lin You Xi was chatting happily with a short-haired girl.

Her hair was a bob cut with bangs, though her ears were visible.

Walking next to the tall Lin You Xi, she looked petite, almost like a sister.

Xia Yuan circled Mei Fang’s neck and waved vigorously at the two, and Lin You Xi led the girl over.

“A Fang, A Fang, let me introduce you. This is the fellow townsman I mentioned earlier.”

“Oh, oh, running into a fellow townsman here is rare! Nice to meet you, nice to meet you. Ah… it’s still comforting to speak our hometown language.”

The girl walked up, smiling and waving at Mei Fang, “By the way, I’m Liu Xiaoyu. Are you Mei Fang?”

“…”

“A Fang? What’s wrong? Why haven’t you reacted since just now… what are you spacing out for?”

Under Xia Yuan’s urging, Mei Fang gradually regained his composure and simply smiled and waved at Liu Xiaoyu.

“Just thinking about something, sorry… nice to meet you.”

…

After saying this, Mei Fang didn’t continue as usual, making Xia Yuan and Lin You Xi feel a bit awkward.

“Then… shall we go to the cafeteria to eat and talk?”

Lin You Xi nodded, “Sure.”

And Liu Xiaoyu had been pondering something ever since she met Mei Fang.

As they walked, she suddenly stopped Mei Fang, who had been walking closely with Xia Yuan, seemingly trying to distance himself.

“By the way, Mei Fang, have we met somewhere before? You seem familiar… ah, I’m not talking about the kindergarten incident.”

Mei Fang stopped and turned to look at Liu Xiaoyu, and Xia Yuan and Lin You Xi noticed his change in expression almost simultaneously.

This was the first time in over ten years they had seen him look so flustered.

Although I have repeatedly emphasized that this is a dual-female protagonist story, I still need to stress it again for the new character’s introduction. After all, this new character wasn’t written casually like Bingbing; she was built up over a long period. Of course, I will take everyone’s opinions into account and try to focus mainly on Mei You and A Fang to avoid creating new unresolved issues.

End of Chapter