Chapter 96

Chapter 96 – Commemorative Water Cup

When Mei Fang returned with the water, Xia Yuan was squatting by the bucket, wringing out a mop. They exchanged smiles, and then Xia Yuan suddenly splashed some water at Mei Fang, who dodged repeatedly.

“Hey… What are you doing?”

“You stinky Ah Fang, you made our corridor all wet, now we have to clean for how long!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Mei Fang laughed joyfully. “I’ll help you clean it up.”

“Who needs your help? I was just kidding… We can do it ourselves.”

Xia Yuan joined in laughing too. “Ah Fang, you were so cool just now, even our head teacher couldn’t do anything about you.”

“That’s right!”

Peng Xue quietly slipped out of the classroom, running over to pat Mei Fang on the shoulder. “Hearing Yuanyuan talk about how great you are isn’t enough; now I understand why Yuanyuan likes you so much.”

“Little Snow… W-what are you saying!” Xia Yuan waved her little fists in protest. “Quick, take your hands off Ah Fang!”

“Hehe, I won’t!”

Xia Yuan let out an adorable sound that couldn’t be described in Chinese, dipped her hand in water, and splashed Peng Xue. The two of them played happily, and Mei Fang watched with a smile. Suddenly, someone behind him grabbed his shoulders forcefully.

“Mei Fang… I asked you to get water, why haven’t you returned the bucket to me?”

Oh man, I completely forgot.

Mei Fang quickly handed the bucket to Zhang Ming. “Work hard and get things done. I’ve already messed up Class 8’s floor as you instructed. If we don’t win the Health Team award this time, you’re going to bear the brunt of it.”

Zhang Ming: “???”

After dealing with the minor commotion, Mei Fang went to find Lin You Xi, who was waiting by the flower bed, to have lunch together.

Throughout last year, Mei Fang had mostly eaten with male friends like Zhang Ming at school, while Lin You Xi either followed Yue Xinyi or Xia Yuan.

However, after being promoted to second year, Lin You Xi asked Mei Fang for Friday afternoon to have lunch together. Due to supplementary classes compressing their time, their usual moments alone became very brief.

Yue Xinyi naturally supported this, even showing a happy face despite feeling abandoned.

As they spent more time at school, Mei Fang and Lin You Xi’s close relationship became common knowledge among students. Having lunch together showed a higher level of intimacy, and it was only a matter of time before others noticed and spread the word.

Just as Xia Yuan had handled things before, Mei Fang was also glad to see this development. After all, You Xi’s charm had become more apparent as she grew older.

On their way to eat beef noodles, Mei Fang told Lin You Xi about today’s incident. Lin You Xi sighed deeply:

“This head teacher has really gone too far. And from what you say, Peng Xue must cut her hair next week, right?”

“With Peng Xue’s love for beauty, I guess she won’t back down…”

“Mm-hm…” Lin You Xi nodded. “But I think it’s admirable that she stands firm in her beliefs.”

“Huh, it sounds strange coming from you, Lin班长.”

“Does it sound out of place?” Lin You Xi tilted her head.

“Not really about the values…”

Mei Fang smiled slightly. “It sounds like you’re defending Peng Xue.”

“…”

Lin You Xi frowned slightly. “What does defending Peng Xue have to do with this? I’m just stating facts… But if she has any questions about studies, I can help her.”

“Remember to tell Yuanyuan yourself; she’ll be very happy to hear it,” Mei Fang said softly.

“Mm-hm…” Lin You Xi sighed again. “Compared to Peng Xue, I’m more worried about Yuanyuan.”

“What’s wrong with Yuanyuan?”

Lin You Xi explained, “Yuanyuan tends to trust others easily. If Peng Xue continues to defy the head teacher, Yuanyuan might eventually stand against the teacher to support Peng Xue. It’s not necessarily wrong, but… once Yuanyuan trusts someone as a friend, she always gives her heart unreservedly, even risking herself.”

“Regardless of whether Peng Xue will do this, if her sincere feelings are ever betrayed, I can hardly imagine how devastated she would be.”

“Why did you bring up such a distant topic…”

Mei Fang felt a bit uneasy. Following the previous lead, You Xi should be talking about the sincerity between friends. This shouldn’t be hinting at something else, right?

Probably…

Meanwhile, the cleaning work was nearing its end. Since Mei Fang was bringing beef noodles, Peng Xue and Xia Yuan asked other duty students to go eat first. “We’ll stay here and wait for the health inspection team.”

The inspection team usually consisted of hygiene representatives from each class, and they could only put down the chairs after the inspection was over. Therefore, there were only Xia Yuan and Peng Xue left in the classroom.

They checked the ground for any remaining paper scraps or debris, which would be points deducted during the inspection.

“I’ve checked mine, what about you, Yuan Yuan?”

Xia Yuan gave Peng Xue an ‘OK’ gesture. “Mission accomplished.”

“Then go wash your hands, I’ll wait for the inspection team.”

“Okay, I’ll go to the restroom.”

Xia Yuan ran toward the restroom, hoping Mei Fang would bring her the delicious beef noodles soon. She noticed the inspection team had arrived at the neighboring Class 7, thinking they would be there shortly.

However, she started worrying about another issue.

Teacher Huang insisted Little Snow cut her hair… Although middle school students should dress appropriately, there’s no rule against keeping a fringe… A sudden new rule was really annoying.

But if Little Snow continued to cause trouble, like Ah Fang said, even if the teacher was repulsive, it wasn’t worth jeopardizing her own future.

Little Snow’s grades had already dropped significantly; continuing this way would only harm her. Better to transfer Little Snow than to let this drag on.

Should I be more resolute and persuade Little Snow to stop arguing with the head teacher?

But cutting her hair would be extremely difficult for Little Snow.

Sigh, it’s so complicated!

Xia Yuan, somewhat depressed, left the restroom. When she returned to the classroom, she saw Peng Xue sweeping something with a crisp glass clinking sound.

Xia Yuan hurried over to check and found Peng Xue sweeping the head teacher’s glass teacup, which was now shattered on the floor.

Her expression showed surprise: “Little Snow, did you knock over Teacher Huang’s cup?”

“Oh, how could it be me? I wouldn’t be so bored.”

Peng Xue smiled and shook her head. “The inspection team said we didn’t clean properly and would be deducted points. I chased them and argued until they agreed not to deduct our points. When I came back, the cup was already broken. Who knows who did such a brave thing… But what’s done is done, how much is a cup worth? Blame Huang Lianpo for not taking care of it properly.”

“That teacup… was a commemorative water cup Teacher Huang received when he was selected as a Model Teacher in the province.”

Xia Yuan’s expression turned serious. “She cherished it a lot, so… that means…”

“We might be in big trouble.”

“Don’t worry, Yuan Yuan, don’t be afraid!”

Peng Xue patted Xia Yuan’s shoulder to reassure her. “We just need to explain the truth. It wasn’t us who broke it, so how could she blame us?”

(End of Chapter)