Chapter 27: There’s an Exam and a Sports Meet
Du Yong’an received a call from the principal’s office and personally went to get Zhou Wanfeng.
Principal Wang Zongping had instructed the political and educational affairs office to thoroughly investigate the illegal and disciplinary violations committed by Peng Zhen and his group, both on and off campus. He required all grade-level homeroom teachers to actively communicate with the students in their classes, especially those who had been bullied, intimidated, or had their money stolen by Peng Zhen and his group. They could take this opportunity to report it to the school. And those who knew some inside information could also truthfully report it to the school.
On the way back to the office, Du Yong’an couldn’t help but look at Zhou Wanfeng. “What did you say to Principal Wang?” He didn’t mention the fight during the lunch break at all, only asking for a thorough investigation of Peng Zhen and his group. This was different from when he had called to report earlier.
Zhou Wanfeng told the truth. “I discussed the future development of Shuangshu Model Middle School with the principal.”
The future development of the school?
Du Yong’an narrowed his eyes and sized up Zhou Wanfeng. He finally understood how much trouble one person could cause. In just that short time, she had managed to get to the principal’s office.
What did she say? What did she do? The principal had asked for a thorough investigation of Peng Zhen and his group, which proved that she had succeeded. Du Yong’an himself had to admire her.
At the fork in the road, Zhou Wanfeng looked at the first-grade teaching building. “Teacher, I’ll go back to the classroom for class now. If you need my cooperation with the investigation or anything, just let me know.” With that, she went back to the classroom.
Zhou Wanfeng passed by the Class Eight classroom. It was math class. Song Zhang was explaining an example from the textbook. He turned his head and saw more than forty pairs of eyes all looking at the front door and the window.
“Zhou Wanfeng,” a boy sitting by the window even called out.
Zhou Wanfeng turned her head with a blank expression and saw the math teacher, Song Zhang, looking at her. She nodded slightly, raised her hand in a wave, and left.
“Wow!” The people in Class Eight saw Zhou Wanfeng nod and wave, and it was as if a fire had been lit in the class.
“Damn, that wave from the class president of Class Nine was so cool and handsome. I really want her to be the class president of Class Eight.”
“Yeah, especially her eyes are so beautiful, cold and deep. When she glances at you, there’s an unfathomable feeling.”
“Ahhh, I want to transfer to Class Nine. I want to be her deskmate.”
Song Zhang tapped the blackboard to attract the students’ attention. “Come on, look at the blackboard. If you guys talk in class like this, you’ll be disciplined by her in Class Nine too.” The news of the lunch break fight had spread throughout the school. The class president of First Grade, Class Nine had stood up to a small gang from the third grade for her classmates. They had cornered her after school but couldn’t beat her. At school, they had smashed her bike and destroyed her things, which had completely angered her.
She had gone to the third-grade teaching building alone and beaten them all up. Even when the homeroom teacher arrived, it was useless. She had continued to beat them. The sound of the slaps could be heard from the second-grade teaching building. Those who had fought back were thrown aside.
Just now, when he saw Zhou Wanfeng, her expression was as usual. Song Zhang thought of one thing: how strong must one’s mentality be to be so calm?
Class Nine was having a politics class. Zhou Wanfeng stood at the front door of the classroom and called out, “Reporting!”
The politics teacher was a woman in her forties, plump, with curly hair. She waved for Zhou Wanfeng to come in.
Zhou Wanfeng walked to her seat and was taken aback. Her desk, which had been hacked and was uneven, was gone. It had been replaced with a new one. Even the politics textbook on the desk was not soaked.
Zhou Wanfeng sat down. The new politics textbook didn’t even have her name written in it.
Tang Yuqing leaned over. “Zhu Junling swapped his desk with you. Jiang Yi gave you his textbook.”
Zhou Wanfeng nodded, opened her politics book, and began to listen attentively to the class. Her expression was focused. Many pairs of eyes in the classroom glanced at her from time to time.
If it weren’t for the classroom rules, the class would have exploded. Everyone wanted to know what had happened. How was the school going to handle it?
They were all curious.
But a week passed, and there was no news from the school. The third, second, and first years were all gossiping like crazy. Why was there no news? What was the outcome?
It wasn’t until the end of morning self-study on Monday that all the students gathered at the small playground. Many of the school leaders stood around the podium, in suit pants, white shirts, and neatly tied ties.
They had never seen so many school leaders and teachers present at a regular morning assembly. With such a grand formation, all the students in the grade knew that the results of the lunch break fight were about to be announced.
Immediately, the student formations began to buzz with discussion.
Zhou Wanfeng stood in the Class Nine line, ignoring the countless scrutinizing gazes from all around, her back straight.
The long opening speech in the front was the usual content.
Until “…On XX month XX day, XXXX year, a fight occurred during the school’s lunch break, seriously violating the school’s management system. Especially after the school’s in-depth investigation and real-name visits, it was found that Peng Zhen, Ruan Tao, and Liang Shuai from Third Grade, Class Five, Fan Dayong from Third Grade, Class Three, and… the above students have seriously and repeatedly violated the school’s rules and regulations. It has been confirmed by the joint report of many students that their small gang has repeatedly smoked in the school restrooms, destroyed other people’s property, ganged up to beat people, extorted money, and forced others to pay protection fees. They have also ganged up outside of school to intercept other students, beat, intimidate, and rob them. The school will not tolerate such egregious behavior. After many internal discussions, in order to maintain the normal education and living order of the school, and to create a safe, civilized, and orderly campus environment, the above students will be expelled…”
“At the same time, we once again declare to all students that the school will not shield any student who violates the law and discipline, nor will it wrong any victim. Shuangshu Model Middle School will always put the students first. For those who fight, cause trouble, and threaten other students, once discovered, they will be severely punished.”
“As for classmate Zhou Wanfeng from First Grade, Class Nine, the school will both praise and criticize her… We also hope that other students who encounter similar situations can tell their teachers in the first instance and let the teachers handle it.”
Zhou Wanfeng couldn’t help but laugh. Praising and criticizing, they had said it all.
With that, the lunch break fight incident had come to a conclusion. It involved medical compensation, but Zhou Wanfeng’s losses were not small. After the school’s mediation, the two sides had cancelled each other out.
Shuangshu Model Middle School had suddenly expelled several students. Such a big commotion had also been heard by other schools. Especially after the students of Shuangshu went home, they couldn’t help but talk about it. And so, it spread, from one to two, from two to ten, and completely spread out.
Zhou Wanfeng’s heroic feat of taking down a group of people by herself also spread…
After the announcement of the punishment, almost all the students in the grade knew that the class president of First Grade, Class Nine was named Zhou Wanfeng, and that Peng Zhen and his eight-person group had cornered her on their way home from school, only to be beaten away by her alone.
With such strength, it was no wonder she had dared to go to the third-grade class to hit someone by herself.
While Zhou Wanfeng was being praised for her strength, some other rumors inexplicably spread. For example, that Zhou Wanfeng lived in South Lake Mansion, that her family was rich and powerful, and that the reason she hadn’t even received a demerit this time was because of her family. That her family was related to the school leadership.
The rumors became more and more outrageous. But Zhou Wanfeng didn’t deny them. She let them say whatever they wanted.
Zhou Wanfeng’s bicycle was destroyed. She took it back and had Old Dong sell it for scrap. Jiang Yi gave her a ride to and from school for a few days, but it was inconvenient. So on Saturday and Sunday, Zhou Wanfeng went to the city and bought a new bicycle.
The new bike was very cool. When asked about the price, Zhou Wanfeng held up one hand, and her classmates were stunned.
“Schwinn brand bicycles are expensive to begin with,” someone who knew their stuff said.
Zhou Wanfeng smiled. “It’s good that it’s expensive. If anyone smashes it for me, they’ll have to compensate me with an identical one.”
Zhou Wanfeng’s bicycle was locked up in the bike shed. No matter how crowded it was on either side, there was always space on both sides of her bike. Almost the whole school knew that Zhou Wanfeng’s family was rich, and that the bicycle she bought was an imported brand. There were already all sorts of rumors about her at school, and now that she was riding her beautiful bicycle every day, the rumors became even more outrageous.
However, no matter how outrageous the rumors were, if the person involved didn’t respond, they would slowly die down. There were always new things happening at school.
And now, the new school uniforms for the first grade had arrived. The homeroom teachers of each class organized the students to go to the dean’s office to collect them.
Sun Mulan still had a psychological shadow from the incident with collecting the books at the beginning of the school year. She directly told Zhou Wanfeng to organize the class.
Zhou Wanfeng went back to the class and went straight to the podium. “The school uniforms are here. Boys and girls who have nothing to do, go and help move the school uniforms.” She didn’t specify whether it was for boys or girls. There were also girls who wanted to join in the fun, like Tang Yuqing, whose arm was almost in her face.
With that, Zhou Wanfeng took the lead and walked to the dean’s office. The boys in the class were much more proactive now. Zhu Junling, Ding Gaoming, and Chen Yisen stood up and followed.
Tang Yuqing went to pull Zhang Xi and ran to chase after Zhou Wanfeng.
A group of boys, including Chen Hao, followed behind, and a few girls also went.
The tracksuits and track pants were in boxes, arranged by size. A few people were responsible for carrying a box, pulling and dragging it back to the class.
Zhou Wanfeng went back to the class to take inventory. She marked the boxes on the blackboard according to size and had people come up in order to collect them.
“Take the size you submitted before. Don’t be picky. If there’s a problem, come and register. If you want to exchange, register,” she said, and one by one, they rushed up to get their school uniforms.
The whole classroom was like a market. As soon as they got their school uniforms, they immediately put them on, complaining that the sleeves and pant legs were too long.
Some also complained that the school uniforms were ugly and too plain.
By the time everyone had gotten theirs, Zhou Wanfeng took her own from the box.
“Ah, the school uniform is a size bigger than what I usually wear. Look how baggy this is. I want a size smaller.”
“I’m a size L, but I want a size S. It’s too big, it looks like I’m in a play.”
“Me too. Look how loose this is. It’s so ugly.”
“Who’s a size S? Who wants to trade with me?”
“What’s there to trade? We have to wear this school uniform for three years. Aren’t you going to grow?”
…
After they got their new school uniforms, the school stipulated that they had to be worn to school. After morning self-study, they had to start learning the broadcast exercises. Even the much-loved physical education class had to practice the broadcast exercises.
Class Nine’s class points were being deducted severely. Zhou Wanfeng basically didn’t care about this. Her main principle was that class was for class. She wouldn’t care if you shouted your lungs out during the break. But if you disturbed her in class, her face would turn dark, and she wouldn’t even say a word. A single glare from her would be enough to silence the class.
The broadcast exercises were learned in a fragmented way. Apart from not being in sync, they could basically do the movements. Unsurprisingly, First Grade, Class Nine came in last in the broadcast exercise competition.
In the eye exercise competition during the break, First Grade, Class Nine came in last.
In the class points assessment, First Grade, Class Nine came in last.
During the homeroom teacher meetings, the grade director would directly skip over Sun Mulan and talk to the second to last place. It was as if First Grade, Class Nine’s results were normal, and there was no need to ask.
And so, after a period of time since the start of the school year, Sun Mulan returned to the classroom after a new grade-level meeting, mainly to announce a few things.
“It’s been a while since school started. In order to test everyone’s learning progress during this period and whether your foundation is solid, the school is preparing to hold an exam. It will be next Thursday and Friday. The learning progress will not stop. I hope everyone will make full use of their spare time to review the content they have learned before. Chinese, math, English, biology, geography, politics, and history will all be tested. And this time, the results will be ranked throughout the school. I hope everyone will take it seriously.”
“Ah, there’s a monthly exam! So soon!”
“Is it that soon? It feels like it’s not long since school started.”
“I’ve forgotten everything I’ve learned. How am I supposed to take the exam? Teacher, is it an open-book exam?”
Zhou Wanfeng lowered her head and did her homework. She had already been reviewing for the past two days. The day before yesterday, Yun Jingya had asked her, “When is your monthly exam?”
“Monthly exam?” Zhou Wanfeng had almost forgotten that there were monthly exams in junior high. Unlike elementary school, where there were only mid-term and final exams, junior high schools would organize their own exams, basically once a month, referred to as monthly exams.
Yun Jingya’s school was preparing for a monthly exam. The competition in her key class was fierce. For the past two days, she had been studying until midnight. It was clear that she took it very seriously and was also a little nervous.
“There are only four key classes in our school. Those with good grades are terrifying to look at. They’re all like monsters. They’re always thinking about playing, and they just do their homework perfunctorily. But when it comes to exams, they’re always in the top few in the grade. And Wanfeng, did you know? Our homeroom teacher said he would buy a piece of red paper and post the monthly exam results on the classroom wall.” After saying this, Yun Jingya took a deep breath and went back to her studies.
Even so, she still had Zhou Wanfeng copy the test papers that the experimental middle school had recently distributed, which she had already done and corrected, and said that the test papers were made by the school’s teaching and research group, and that even their substitute teachers had said the test papers were very good.
Zhou Wanfeng could feel the pressure she was under. Yang Yijun was very concerned about her studies, and she would not allow herself to do poorly on the exam.
There were also two key classes in the first grade of Shuangshu Model Middle School, Class One and Class Two. This was what Sun Mulan had told Zhou Wanfeng in private. The homeroom teachers and substitute teachers had all been carefully selected, and these two classes would have an extra half-day of classes on Saturday mornings. The school had high hopes for the students in these two classes.
Like Yun Jingya, Zhou Wanfeng studied until midnight every day. She also took the first monthly exam of junior high very seriously. Chinese, math, and English were each worth 120 points, and history, geography, biology, and politics were each worth 100 points, for a total of 760 points. The entire grade would be ranked according to the total score. What would her score be? What would her rank be in the entire grade?
It didn’t show on her face, but during the break, Tang Yuqing had noticed that her deskmate was even busier. She was constantly doing test papers and workbooks she had never seen before. She stole a glance and saw that they were from Yunhai City Experimental Middle School…
But at this juncture, Sun Mulan said something else in class during the evening self-study, her expression clearly not right. “There’s something I need to tell everyone. The 13th Yunhai City Youth Track and Field Games is about to be held, promoted by the Yunhai City Municipal Committee and Municipal Government to promote competitive sports. It advocates the concepts of ‘health lies in sports’ and ‘sports transmit health,’ to promote the active participation of young people in sports activities and to set off a youth sports craze. It will be held for three consecutive days, next Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, at the Yunhai City Sports Center.”
The students in the class didn’t understand and craned their necks to ask, “Does the sports meet have anything to do with us?”
“Each district and county in Yunhai City will form a representative team to participate. There are participants from all grades. As one of the few middle schools in the south of the city, each school will submit a list of participants. Our school’s teaching group has considered it from many aspects. Because the track and field meet is just before the monthly exam…”
Sun Mulan was still thinking about how to phrase it when Ding Gaoming in the back row shouted out, “What ‘many aspects’? Isn’t it just because the other classes have to review and study, and they’re afraid of affecting their grades, so the school is planning to give all the participation slots to us, to let us go to the damn track and field meet? Anyway, we don’t want to study, so we’re not afraid of being delayed, right?”
First Grade, Class Nine was indeed at the bottom in all aspects of the first grade. The grade director had found her and hoped she could understand the school’s situation. He had also said that it was the same for the other schools. With a sports meet at this juncture, no one would send their school’s top students to participate in a track and field meet. They didn’t even have enough time to study.
But since it was led by the municipal committee and municipal government, and was also strongly promoted by the municipal sports bureau and the municipal track and field management association, the schools couldn’t just not respond.
Although Sun Mulan was not very comfortable with it, this was a task assigned to her by the school, and she had to carry it out. She said with a smile, “The competition events include short-distance, middle-distance, and long-distance running, long jump, high jump, men’s and women’s relays, shot put, and so on. If you can win an award, not only will there be a reward from the district, but the school will also have a reward. I hope everyone will participate enthusiastically.” With that, she looked at Zhou Wanfeng in the third row with an expectant expression, hoping she would take the lead.