"I'm here to learn from Teacher Nian and all my classmates. My history grade is poor, so I hope Teacher Nian and everyone can help me so my history score can improve by leaps and bounds. I also hope this will allow me to change my personal fate in history. Thank you!"
Unexpectedly, Xia Pengfei's speech was so modest, calm, and concise—no formal address, no stirring words, no elaborate buildup, no passionate conclusion, yet it was undeniably sincere, practical, and struck directly at the heart of the matter.
So even calmness can have such a soul-shaking power…
Leng Siyu couldn't help lifting her head. Her watery eyes happened to meet the gaze Xia Pengfei had yet to withdraw…
Nian Wentian took the lead in applauding, and Leng Siyu along with the rest of the class followed…
The applause stopped at Nian Wentian's gesture. "Ye Zhiqiu is sitting alone. Xia Pengfei, you can sit with Ye Zhiqiu."
A faint smile appeared on Ye Zhiqiu's lips.
But unexpectedly, Xia Pengfei said unhurriedly, "Teacher Nian, I want to sit with Leng Siyu!"
That one sentence instantly turned the classroom into a large-scale disaster scene, triggering mudslides, a Category-12 typhoon, tsunamis, volcanoes, earthquakes, nuclear explosions…
"Ahahaha, the top student has ideas about the ice-beauty?"
"A blatant confession!"
"The follow-up to that intimate moment on the sports field!"…
Leng Siyu and Ye Zhiqiu's expressions changed on the spot.
"Quiet!" Nian Wentian's gesture stilled the chaos.
"Teacher Nian, I don't want to sit with him," Leng Siyu refused outright, leaving no room for face.
Historians value facts and motives, and Nian Wentian was no exception. He pushed up his glasses, looked between Xia Pengfei and Leng Siyu with a probing gaze, and softly said three words: "Give a reason."
Xia Pengfei looked straight at the ice-beauty and spoke with composure: "Leng Siyu has the best history grade in the entire grade. Sitting with her makes it convenient for me to ask her questions at any time."
"Sorry, I neither have the time nor the patience to teach a student like you," Leng Siyu said coldly.
"Leng Siyu, what's your real reason?" Nian Wentian asked.
Leng Siyu put away her politics homework, took out her entrance exam history paper, and said with a frosty face, "The real reason is exactly that—I have neither time nor patience."
Ye Zhiqiu finally couldn't hold it anymore. She took a deep breath, trying to speak as calmly as possible: "Xia Pengfei, although my history grade isn't as good as Siyu's, it's still decent. I should be able to help you too."
Nian Wentian turned to Xia Pengfei. "Since Leng Siyu is unwilling, you should sit with Ye Zhiqiu for now. After all, whether she helps or how she helps is up to her. We can't force a student."
Xia Pengfei glanced at the icy back of Leng Siyu in the front row, said nothing more, and carried his bag to sit beside Ye Zhiqiu. Ye Zhiqiu slid inward and moved her books to make space.
"We'll begin class now." As Xia Pengfei sat down and stared at Leng Siyu's cold back, Nian Wentian began the lesson.
"Today we'll go over the entrance exam history paper. First, a brief analysis of the results. The highest history score in the grade is 86, from our class's Leng Siyu. The lowest is 16—I won't name names—"
"No need to guess, it must be Wang Xiaobao," one athlete student laughed. "He's always at the bottom. No one is as consistently stable as he is."
"Zeng Zhiwei, don't laugh when you're just fifty steps ahead—you never score more than 200 in total for all six subjects. You're just as consistently stable."
The class burst into laughter.
"The difficulty level of this history exam was rather high. The grade average is only 46.2. Our class average is 55.8. Eight students in the grade scored above 80, and we have five of them. Students who made significant progress include Liu Xudong, Ye Zhiqiu, Zhou Yang, Xiao Tianhao, Chen Mingli, Shu Daiyun…"
…
Tianxiang Middle School Affiliated Kindergarten, mid-class group, during free activity time. Zhao Hongxia picked up her phone and started chatting with her boyfriend.
A group of children surrounded Leng Yuanyuan, admiring her unusual hairstyle.
A little girl, Zeng Aojiao, tugged at one of Yuanyuan's mini-braids and said smugly: "Yuanyuan, your hairstyle is super ugly today!"
Another little girl, Ma Lishu, echoed, "Yeah, so ugly! If you can't do hair, shave it all off—it'd be easier."
"So what if it's ugly? I tied it myself! Your hair is tied by your moms, so what are you bragging for?" Little Yuanyuan retorted confidently. "If you're so capable, tie one for me right now."
Yuanyuan was always one for action. She rushed up to Zeng Aojiao and Ma Lishu and yanked off their hair ties. "Go on then—tie one for me now!"
The two girls instantly deflated, lowering their heads without a sound.
Yuanyuan had long trained in verbal battles and strategy by sparring daily with her big sister. Her combat power utterly crushed Zeng Aojiao and Ma Lishu. Seeing them behave, she proudly said, "People with no ability have no right to laugh at others!"
"Leng Yuanyuan, that hairstyle is so ugly—how do you even have the face to come out?"
Just as Yuanyuan was feeling triumphant, another little boy jumped in. He was chubby and fair-skinned, his arms looking like plump pig trotters.
Little Chongchong knew this was his moment to shine. He stepped forward and stood in front of Yuanyuan. "Cao Batian, so what if her hair is ugly? You're making fun of someone's hairstyle? Your heart is uglier than her hair! My brother said there's nothing more disgusting than an ugly soul."
"Oh, Summer Chongchong, a few days without beating you and you forget who I am? You dare mock me? I'll beat you up!"
Cao Batian rushed forward, grabbed Chongchong around the waist, and with a bit of force pinned him to the floor, sitting on top of him.
Yuanyuan tried to help by pulling Cao Batian away, but she was too weak—so she switched to Plan B: she grabbed one of his ears with each little hand and stretched them hard.
Cao Batian yelped from the pain and had to release Chongchong, standing up to punch Yuanyuan.
Yuanyuan lost her balance and fell back, her head hitting the floor with a thud. A bump rose immediately on the back of her head.
She touched it—it hurt so much she wanted to cry. But she clenched her teeth and held back.
"Crying's useless. You can cry in front of your sister, but never in front of outsiders. In front of outsiders you must act like a superhero—invulnerable! Like a mountain—unshakable!" Yuanyuan remembered what Leng Siyu once told her.
Chongchong hurried over, helped Yuanyuan up, and pulled her toward Zhao Hongxia. "Teacher Zhao, call Yuanyuan's sister now. Yuanyuan is hurt—she needs to go to the hospital."