CH 15

Haishi Number One High School highly focuses on their student’s elective classes and activities. The school not only offers specialty classes but also often organizes competitions every year.

This year the sophomores would launch an English speech contest. Each class must register two students, and the student that placed first will have an additional 20 points added to their final exam grade.

The homeroom teacher, Lin Yue, announced this news in class and said those that are interested could ask Cheng Chu to register after class.

But most students weren’t interested in the competition, and till the end of the class period, there was still no one.

The Haishi City in December was a cold winter period for everyone, and the sycamore trees outside the classroom were bleak and bare of leaves.

When Cheng Chu returned to the classroom for her afternoon classes, there were a few people scattered in the room.

The girl sitting in front of Cheng Chu looked around and turned to her and said, “Cheng Chu, I want to sign up for the English speech competition.”

“Okay.” Cheng Chu nodded, took out the registration form, and added her name.

The girl’s name was Song Xinyu, who was Lin Luo’s deskmate and was also a member of her small friend group.

Cheng Chu didn’t know them well, and neither does she want to. After adding Song Xinyu’s name, she silently looked down to work on her afternoon homework.

But Song Xinyu wasn’t finished yet.

""

“May I help you?” Cheng Chu asked.

Song Xinyu shook her head, but then nodded hesitantly right after, and whispered: “Well, I wanted to ask you, besides me, who else has signed up?”

Cheng Chu looked at the empty registration form and said: “No, you are the only one.”

The corners of Song Xinyu’s mouth curled up slightly, and there was a hint of joy on her plain face: “Alright, thank you.”

Seeing her turning her head back, Cheng Chu let out a sigh of relief.

The speech contest will be held next week, and the manuscript needed to be written by the speaker and then handed over to the teacher for editing, so time is limited.

After school that day, Cheng Chu was called into the office by Lin Yue.

“Only one person has registered for our class?” Lin Yue frowned as she looked at the empty registration form.

She wore oval black-rimmed glasses, her black hair was meticulously combed. And when she frowned, she looked like a harsh and intimidating mother ready to teach her mischievous children a lesson.

Cheng Chu was a little startled but nodded in reply.

“What’s the matter?” Lin Yue pursed her thin lips: “There must be two people registered from each class. Why don’t you register for the remaining spot?”

[? ! ? ! ? !]

Cheng Chu was shocked and immediately refused: “Teacher, I can’t do it. I will be nervous in front of so many people. You should find someone else.”

She has no interest in participating in the English speech contest. Her schedule was already full of studying and practicing the piano every day. There was no way she could squeeze in time for the competition.

At this time in her last life, she had already returned to the Special Class. Her classmates there were very proactive about this competition, so they didn’t need her at all.

It was after-school, and most of the teachers in the office had already left. Lin Yue curled her fingers and harshly knocked on the desk.

“You used to perform the piano in front of the whole school, so don’t say you have stage fright.” Lin Yue said calmly: “The class needs you, plus you are the English class representative. You have all the right to join this competition.”

Staring at Lin Yue’s solemn face, Cheng Chu fidgeted with her fingers, and just as she opened her mouth to refute, she was interrupted.

“Alright, it’s decided. You and Song Xinyu must finish writing the draft before Thursday and give it to me. After I finish the edits, you should use this weekend to practice your public speaking skills.”

“It’s getting late now, you should go home.” Lin Yue said.

Cheng Chu knew that she couldn’t refute her anymore, so she nodded resignedly.

The next day, Cheng Chu told Song Xinyu about the deadline for the manuscript draft, but her expression was strange.

The girl stared at her, her eyes angry and resentful: “Didn’t you say that I was the only one signing up?”

Only then did Cheng Chu understand. She explained: “It’s true that you are the only one that signed up, but we needed one more student. Teacher Lin asked me to fill in the spot.”

Song Xinyu didn’t say a word. Her big and teary eyes glared at her, then she bitterly turned back, and whispered: “Whatever.”

Cheng Chu was a little bewildered. She was showing such a pitiful appearance as if Cheng Chu just bullied her and wronged her, even though she merely told her the truth.

The classroom in winter was gloomy and cold; but in comparison, Cheng Chu had a fiery flame burning in her heart. She took a few deep breaths, looked down at the textbook, and forcefully suppressed her anger.

The surroundings were peaceful and quiet, with the occasional sound of flipping book pages.

“Don’t be bothered by her.”

Cheng Chu raised her eyes in surprise.

In the warm winter sun, Gu Miao’s dark eyes shone brightly.

He seemed to be embarrassed making eye contact with her. He lowered his eyes as if avoiding her lovely eyes, clenched his hands, and said, “Y-You, d-don’t be b-bothered by her.”

The frustration in Cheng Chu’s heart dissipated, and a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth, and her clear voice was filled with joy: “Mmhm, I know.”

The girl’s voice was crisp and beautiful, causing Gu Miao’s ears to automatically turn red.

He nodded in a flustered manner, then turned to read the textbook on his desk.

But a few minutes passed without him turning a single page.

After getting to know him, Cheng Chu knew that the future intimidating CEO was a shy boy at heart, who’s easily flustered and stuttered a little.

He couldn’t help but be embarrassed whenever he said a few words to her. He would be so flustered that he doesn’t know what to do with his hands and feet.

Cheng Chu turned her head and stopped teasing him. She was afraid that if she continued, his face would burst into flame.

***

Cheng Chu has a lot on her plate. For the past two days, she was busy writing her speeches and practicing her piano.

After she handed in the manuscript, she realized that the class atmosphere felt a little wrong.

The people who used to be close to her in class were gone, and the people who always ask her to meet after class were also gone.

Cheng Chu didn’t care at all. But when she left class to fill her water bottle, the girls sitting in front of her fell silent when they saw her coming. One of them sneakily glanced at her, leaning toward her friends, and whispered quietly.

They acted as if Cheng Chu wouldn’t know that they were gossiping about her.

Back in class, Cheng Chu turned her head and asked Luo Qian Qian: “Were there any gossip about me?”

“Huh?” Luo Qian Qian’s eyes were wavering, and she didn’t dare to look at her.

Cheng Chu got her answer and asked Zhou Ran: “Do you know?”

""

Zhou Ran awkwardly replied: “How would I know about girls’ gossip.”

Gu Miao turned his back to them, his fingers stiffened, but his ears perked up.

He was always left out and given cold shoulders by other people. Originally, only Cheng Chu was willing to approach him, but recently Zhou Ran and Luo Qian Qian have also been friendly with him.

So if the three of them didn’t talk to him; he knows almost nothing about the gossip in the class.

When class was over, the classroom was noisy with students bustling around. Cheng Chu said seriously, “I know that you know. So tell me. I have the right to know.”

“Umm.” Luo Qian Qian muttered, looking at Cheng Chu’s cold eyes, and cautiously began: “Chu Chu, we both don’t believe what others say.”

“Right, right, right.” Zhou Ran nodded, “You know that Song Xinyu and Lin Luo’s small group always likes to gossip, nothing is going on.”

Cheng Chu nodded: “So Song Xinyu and Lin Luo are talking bad about me?”

She rejected Lin Luo’s question before, and now she offends Song Xinyu. It’ll be strange if they didn’t speak ill of her.

The seats in front of her were empty, and the two instigators who had bad-mouthed her were nowhere to be found.

Cheng Chu sighed, looked at the dead branches outside the window, and said nothing.

When she looked back, she found that Gu Miao, who was sitting next to her, was not there.

The cold winter wind was howling loudly. Not many people were in the corridor, most of the students chose to stay in the classroom after class.

Gu Miao shook the plastic water bottle in his hand; his dark eyes growing colder like the howling wind outside.

He walked through the corridor and saw Lin Luo and Song Xinyu’s backs.

The two girls were not really tall, and they looked bloated with their school uniforms and winter coats.

The two of them stood side by side. Song Xinyu leaned her head on Lin Luo’s shoulder and was chatting happily.

Gu Miao felt that their smiles were too malicious, and they must be planning something evil. He quietly approached, listening to the conversation between the two.

“I think no one but Luo Qian Qian talked to her today.”

“She deserves it. Who told her to be such a b*tch! She signed up and lied to you and said she didn’t.”

“Hey, maybe she was really added by the teacher?”

“Don’t tell me you believed it? Yuyu, you are too naive.”

Song Xinyu frowned, blinked her watery eyes, and whispered, “But, in the first place, her grades are better than mine. She would probably win this competition.”

Lin Luo unscrewed the lid, put her bottle under the warm water tap, and said without looking back: “She only does well in test-taking. The exam doesn’t test oral English speaking; I personally believe that your  English speaking is pretty good. You’re definitely much better than her.”

“Really?” Song Xinyu asked in surprise.

“Of course! I can’t wait to watch her face when she loses the competition.” Lin Luo closed the faucet and was about to close the bottle lid when she was hit hard on the shoulder.

The bottle in her hand was flung away, and the hot water was poured onto Song Xinyu’s cotton jacket.

“Ah!” Song Xinyu screamed in fright.

Lin Luo was also splashed with water. She raised her eyes angrily and was about to curse when she saw Gu Miao coldly looking into her eyes.

In the cold winter, the young boy’s bottomless eyes felt colder than the frigid wind, like a cold poisonous snake, icy and dreary.

He looked at the girls as if looking at dirty trash piling on the ground.

Lin Luo’s curses were stuck in her throat. She had never seen Gu Miao acting so cold.

The silent teenager in her memory would always indifferently sat in the corner of the class. Even if he was taunted and teased by a few boys, he wouldn’t react at all.

This was the first time she has seen such a scary side of him.

He was more frightening than before, looking as if the evil spirits crawling straight out of hell were standing right behind him.

The cold bitter wind continued to howl, and the warm water in Lin Luo’s hand had turned cold. She couldn’t help shivering from the cold.

Frightened by Gu Miao’s eyes, Song Xinyu grabbed Lin Luo’s hand and whispered, “Hurry up and let’s go.”

Lin Luo jerked awake and glared at Gu Miao before being dragged away by Song Xinyu.

After sitting in the classroom, Lin Luo was still terrified. She thought back to the look in Gu Miao’s eyes.

Wicked and vicious, like a slimy viper spitting out its tongue.

As if to warn her that next time he hears them, it wouldn’t end as simply as spilling hot water.