Physical education class was after the break. Although studying was the most important task in our third year and some parents even said that physical education should be abolished, but the National Education Commission made physical education mandatory for the high school entrance exams. It now accounts for more and more weight of the total score, so not only did we not reduce physical education in our third year, but we have at least three physical education classes a week and even have homework.
The physical education exams for the high school entrance exams are held between March to April in Dong Shan city. It was currently September and a great time to train our stamina. The PE teacher, Li DaYong, would take our entire class running whenever he got the chance and his mouth basically never left the whistle.
I, who was temporarily stripped of my PE committee member position, didn’t participate in PE class.
If I could cure my heart disease, there would be no reason for me to participate in training for the exams.
If I couldn’t cure my heart disease, then it’s useless for me to participate and I might even fall down in the middle of class.
Xiao Qin said she had anemia and also excused herself from PE class. The two of us both excused ourselves from PE and ended up staying in the classroom.
But we weren’t the only two here, Gong CaiCai and Zhuang Ni were also here.
It was Gong CaiCai’s first day of school and she twisted her foot while walking because her bag was too heavy, so she had to skip gym class.
Zhuang Ni, on the other hand, simply hated PE class. She especially hated the PE teacher, Li DaYong, who had a crew cut and always flaunted his tanned muscles.
Zhuang Ni was also excited she could accompany Gong CaiCai. She moved to the front row to sit next to Gong CaiCai and do lesson prep along with her.
She made sure to sit on Gong CaiCai’s right side because a girl sat there and she wouldn’t be able to handle a boy’s seat.
Gong CaiCai injured her ankle and she already admitted she was too weak, so her grades would be poor even if she trains. That’s why she’s studying even harder and hopes her grades in the other aspects would make up for her poor PE exam grades.
“You’ll get exhausted studying like this.” Zhuang Ni held a pencil and said next to her, “What’s the point of the high school or college entrance exams? Do you even need to work so hard with your family’s background.”
Gong CaiCai stopped writing for a moment, “If, if I don’t study, then my mom and dad will think I’m a bad child…”
“How many good kids are there? Why study hard because of your parents? Why don’t you marry me in the future, I’ll raise you…”
Gong CaiCai’s naturally curly hair trembled slightly.
“I, I don’t want to be raised… also you’re lying, we’re all middle school students, you can’t even raise yourself let alone raise me.”
Zhuang Ni smiled, “Did you not hear me say in the future? Even now, I can think of ways to raise you. There are many people who are interested in witchcraft and things like that. If I agree to some women’s request to help them preside over a black mass, I can still get a lot of money.”
Damn, it looks like Zhuang Ni is actually acquainted with real evil cults. I heard that in foreign countries, Satanic cults hold human sacrifices, and there are many female members who are known as “witches” and “high level witches”.
Gong CaiCai shivered when she the ominous term “Black Mass”.
“Zhuang Ni, it’s not good to participate in cult activities, why don’t you come listen a Happy Science lecture with me…”
The cults are trying to undermine each other. I can’t believe Gong CaiCai has the gall to say “it’s not good to participate in cult activities”. What do you think Happy Science does? They call it a conference, but they are actually an evil cult.
The sound of insects suddenly came from the open window of the classroom. We were on the third floor, but we could still hear the insect sounds loud and clear.
Gong CaiCai was attracted to the sound of insects, she didn’t seem afraid since she couldn’t see the ugly insects and only heard them.
“It’s like they are singing a chorus…” Gong CaiCai said, “It’s like I can hear the aroma of grass and earth from the sound of insects, it’s in perfect harmony with nature…”
Zhuang Ni, who specialized in destroying the mood, really lived up to expectations and said:
“Insects make sounds by rubbing their wings, they don’t sing at all. The only reason they make sounds and risk being preyed on by natural predators is because they want to find a mate and reproduce.”
“So these insect calls, translated to human language, would be: ‘I want to mate,’ ‘I want a woman,’ ‘Someone, come and have babies with me. ‘ ‘Women, women,’…”
“Stop it.” Gong CaiCai received a big blow and covered her ears with both hands, “It’s all your fault, I can never listen to the sound of insects again.”
Zhuang Ni looked at the pale Gong CaiCai with a look as if to say “this is growth” and patted her shoulder.
“Now you can understand how nasty men are. Even if they become bugs, their desires still don’t change. Remember to stay away from them!”
“Those bugs won’t fly up here, will they.” Xiao Qin asked.
I knocked on the window on my left hand and it made a clang sound.
“You don’t have to be afraid, our window isn’t open. Even if they fly up, they will fly in through the front window and attack Gong CaiCai first.”
“Ah, then I’m relieved.” Xiao Qin took a long breath and patted her chest.
“Can you not find pleasure in someone else’s misfortune? If there were bugs that flew in, are you just going to sit here and watch Gong CaiCai get chased around by bugs?”
“I don’t think it will be a problem. Zhuang Ni will probably help Gong CaiCai chase away the bugs, just like how you will help me chase away the bugs, right?”
“Well… if bugs did fly inside, I’ll probably help you chase them away, but have you never thought about helping Gong CaiCai chase away bugs to earn a gold star? I’ll award you a gold star if you challenge things that you’re afraid of.”
I threw out the temptation of the stars.
“And you already have four gold stars, so if you get one more, I’ll keep my promise and buy a phone for you. Aren’t you looking forward to getting my gift?”
Xiao Qin frowned and thought about it for a while, then finally shook her head.
“No, I’m still afraid of bugs, especially black beetles. If a large beetle flew inside, I won’t be able to deal with it no matter what. I hope that you can protect your childhood friend, or I will die a tragic death from the beetle’s pincers…”
“Are you talking about beetles or aliens? I don’t even know how many beetles you killed back when you pretended to be a boy.”
“That’s before and now is now.” Xiao Qin said, “I didn’t find beetles scary before, but after deciding to learn to be a girl, it now feels like beetles look hideous. They are too scary and I can’t look straight at them…”
“Now, I can’t help but shiver when I hear the word ‘beetle’…” Xiao Qin gave me a pleading look, “Can we not call them ‘beetles’ in the future, but replace it with a less scary nickname?”
“What’s scary about the word ‘beetle’? What word do you want to use instead?”
“Let’s use ‘Wim’.”
“What is that, it sounds a bit familiar, but I can’t remember where I heard it…”
Xiao Qin lowered her voice and said angrily: “When my cousin was playing a game and met a beetle monster, he purposely called me over to hear me scream. I remember he was fighting a boss called Wim, it was a giant round beetle…”
Ah, I remember. Xiao Ding used to play WoW before playing Dota. I remember it was in a dungeon called Temple of Ahn’Qiraj and Wim was one of the bosses.
“Then after you find Wim, make sure to protect me, or at least to warn me beforehand.”Xiao Qin said to me seriously.
“How would I warn you, by shouting: ‘Wim is coming’?”
“Yes, I’ll be slightly less frightened and it’s better than ‘a beetle is coming’.”
“Don’t you think it’s slightly childish, and players who have played that dungeon will think I’m an otaku, right?”
“If you think it’s humiliating, I’ll give you compensation.” Xiao Qin said excitedly, “If you shout Wim and get looked down on by other boys, I can jump in your arms and let them know that you have a girlfriend and you’re not an otaku who plays games all day long.”
“Hey, who told you otaku don’t have girlfriends, apologize to all otaku around the world!”
“Well, my cousin doesn’t have a girlfriend…” Xiao Qin looked up at the ceiling.
I’ve seen Xiao Qin being chased by beetles everywhere multiple times, so it wasn’t a lie when she said she was afraid of beetles. Maybe it really was important for her to call beetles Wim.
“Alright, I’ll call them Wim for the time being. It’s already autumn and the Wim will soon be less active.”
PE class soon ended.
At the end of the school day, Zhuang Ni called Gong CaiCai to stay with her and draw some chalkboard art for the beginning of the third year. Although they had both done this before and it was not unusual, it still made the class leader uneasy as she was unsure what Zhuang Ni would do to Gong CaiCai.