After entering the school, Chen Mo first went to the second-year teachers’ office. The experimental class’s homeroom teacher was surnamed Xiang, with the full name Xiang Shenglóng. He taught physics to more than a third of the classes in the entire grade. He was in his thirties, wore glasses, and had a rather scholarly appearance.
“The dormitory slots for our class were already full when the semester started.” Sitting behind his desk, he studied Chen Mo with a probing gaze. “There are still spots in the mixed dormitories. Can you accept that?”
Chen Mo took the two forms and glanced through them. “Either is fine with me.”
“Chen Mo.” The homeroom teacher called his name. When Chen Mo looked up, he continued after some deliberation, “The mixed dormitories might be rather chaotic. The study atmosphere there is also different from that in our class’s dormitories. You haven’t been here very long. Are you really sure you want to live on campus?”
Chen Mo understood the tactful attempt to dissuade him.
He smiled. “Yes. I really do.”
“All right.” Xiang Shenglóng gave in. “If you have no objections, fill out this application form and the commitment letter, then hand them to the class monitor. He’ll follow the proper procedure and take them to the dormitory administration office for the official stamp.”
Chen Mo nodded and was just about to leave when a voice came from the doorway.
“Reporting in.”
When Xiang Shenglóng saw who had arrived, he immediately said to Chen Mo, “Just fill them out here.”
Then he turned and beckoned the newcomer over. “Perfect timing. Help Chen Mo fill out the forms, then make a trip over there and hurry the administration office along so they can finish the process today.”
“Isn’t that your own job?” the newcomer asked.
As he spoke, he had already entered the room and placed two stacks of exam papers on Xiang Shenglóng’s desk. He wasn’t wearing his school uniform. The rolled-up cuff of his shirt brushed Chen Mo’s elbow unintentionally, bringing with it a crisp, cool scent that wasn’t entirely unfamiliar.
After setting the papers down, he rested one hand on the desk and glanced at Xiang Shenglóng’s computer screen. “An academic report from the Institute of Physics? Didn’t that get published in a journal last year? Are they still squeezing every last drop of work out of you?”
Xiang Shenglóng shot him a sidelong glance. “This is a research project led by my own teacher. Do you think everyone is like you, with no idea what it means to respect your teachers?”
Xi Siyan straightened up and scoffed. “I didn’t even say anything. Aren’t you the one who started personally attacking me the moment I walked in?”
“Enough nonsense. Have you collected the phones from your class yet?”
Xi Siyan shook his head. “What’s the point? Who doesn’t have two phones these days? One to fool the school, and another to keep in their pocket. You’d get better results if you spent more time wandering around the back door during self-study periods instead of collecting phones.”
Xiang Shenglóng grabbed a book and threw it at him. “As if I need you to teach me how to do my job!”
Xi Siyan tilted his head and caught it, smiling. Only then did he turn his gaze toward the other person in the room.
Looking at the two sheets of paper in Chen Mo’s hand, he raised an eyebrow. “Moving into the dorms?”
“Mm,” Chen Mo replied.
Isn’t that obvious? Why ask when you already know? he thought.
The next second, Xi Siyan held out his hand toward him.
Chen Mo paused for a moment before handing over the two forms.
But Xi Siyan shook his head and said, “Not those. Come on, hand over your phone first.”
Chen Mo’s deeply ingrained habit of guarding his privacy, developed over the years in his previous life, immediately kicked in. Not only did he make no move to comply, but he also frowned, his eyes revealing his displeasure as he looked at the other person.
“Heh.” Xi Siyan chuckled. “Old Xiang, see that? We’ve got someone here who refuses to cooperate.”
Only then did Chen Mo realize that it was perfectly normal for high school students to be forbidden from using cell phones.
He tried to convince himself, You’re just a high school student now. You have classes and exams to deal with. Oh, and you have to go through the college entrance exam all over again.
Before this headache-inducing reality could fully sink in, he heard Xiang Shenglóng say, “Chen Mo can hold on to his phone for the time being.”
Turning to Chen Mo, he said warmly, “You’ve just moved into the dorms, so give yourself a couple of days to adjust. If you can’t get used to it and want to contact your family, you can call them. As long as you don’t bring your phone into the classroom, you can hand it in next week.”
Xi Siyan immediately scoffed. “What’s with that tone? Are you trying to coax a little kid?”
“Thank you, Teacher Xiang,” Chen Mo said at the same time. “There’s no need to contact my family. These days, I can’t fall asleep at night without scrolling through my phone. I’ll give myself a couple of days to adjust.”
Xiang Shenglóng: “…Electronic devices can be addictive. You should use them less.”
Chen Mo found it amusing, but at the same time, his thoughts drifted elsewhere. After spending two days at the Yang family’s house, he had genuinely forgotten that the reason his high school years had been so difficult to adjust to in his previous life wasn’t just people like Li Rui, the scum of society, or the endless rumors and gossip. It was also the constant, painstaking concern shown by teachers of every subject.
Most people weren’t as straightforward as Director Lai, yet their behavior made him feel even more uncomfortable.
It was true that Yuhuai Village was a poor, remote place, but it wasn’t some isolated mountain region so impoverished that even dirt roads couldn’t reach it. It was also true that the school he had attended as a child was a Hope Primary School built with donations from wealthy people, but at least his middle school and the high school he attended in his first year were both in the county seat.
He had used a cell phone before, even if it had only been a keypad phone.
He knew where the entrance to the amusement park was. He knew that if you gave the security guard at the skating rink ten yuan, he would open the doors for you even in the middle of the night. He even knew that the only two bars in the county seat could pay several hundred yuan for a single night’s part-time work.
And that was all before considering the Chen Mo he was now.
How was he supposed to tell this homeroom teacher, with whom he would have to spend the next two years, that he couldn’t be a model student?
In his previous life, he had barely lived up to that label because studying had been his only way out during the first seventeen years of his life. Later, he had buried himself in his studies and desperately tried to improve his grades because he was angry and unwilling to accept his circumstances. He had been so focused that he hadn’t even learned the names of everyone in his class. His impression of this homeroom teacher had been limited to that of a young teacher who was pretty good at getting along with students.
But now, he had no desire to compete with Yang Shule, nor did he need to prove anything through his academic performance.
He even asked Xiang Shenglóng a question that seemed to come out of nowhere.
“Teacher Xiang, does the experimental class use a rotating-class system?”
“No.” Although Xiang Shenglóng thought this was something everyone already knew, he still explained it carefully. “It used to, but the system was abolished last year. You don’t need to feel too much pressure. We don’t change students in the class without good reason.”
Chen Mo: “…Mm, thank you, Teacher. I don’t really feel any pressure.”
He was simply disappointed that the possibility of being kicked out of the experimental class had come to nothing.
After leaving the office with Xi Siyan, Chen Mo headed back to his classroom, while Xi Siyan needed to go to another office building.
As they were about to part ways, Chen Mo called out to him.
Xi Siyan looked puzzled. “What is it?”
Chen Mo asked, “What floor is Class One, Grade Two on?”
“Are you messing with me?”
Chen Mo raised both hands. “Heaven and earth can bear witness. I’m asking seriously.”
“You have a conscience now?” Xi Siyan stared at him for two seconds, seemingly trying to confirm something. In the end, he said, “Second floor, turn left.”
Chen Mo nodded to show that he understood. “Thanks, Class Monitor. You’re a good person.”
Xi Siyan turned away, tossing over his shoulder, “When you call me a good person, you could at least make your smile a little less fake.”
When Chen Mo found the classroom of Class One, Grade Two, the bell signaling the end of morning self-study had just rung, and the room was noisy.
Some students were getting water, while others were fooling around. But as expected of a top class, most were still buried in their books and working on problems.
The classroom suddenly grew much quieter when Chen Mo entered.
Qi Li’s deskmate looked at the swollen bump on Chen Mo’s forehead. It was a frightening shade of purplish blue.
“How come you haven’t gone over to talk to Yang Shule today?” His deskmate was genuinely puzzled.
Yang Shule’s seat was in the third row from the front, right in the middle—the standard position for a good student. He had been absent for a full half month. Even though everyone had heard something about what happened over the weekend, the moment he returned to school, quite a few classmates still gathered around him to ask after his health and express their concern.
Yet Qi Li, who was usually the closest to Yang Shule, remained seated without any intention of going over.
Hearing the question, Qi Li pulled out a book and answered coolly, “I just don’t feel like going over. Why should I have to?”
His deskmate muttered under his breath, “I was only asking. Why are you getting so worked up?”
“What does it have to do with you?!”
His deskmate hadn’t expected him to suddenly lash out. His voice was so loud that everyone looked over.
Including Yang Shule.
“Shule, what’s going on with Qi Li today?”
“Yeah, he’s acting really strange.”
Someone glanced toward the person who had just entered through the door and said, “What else could it be? That Chen Mo beat him up so badly. It’d be stranger if he were in a good mood.”
Yang Shule remained seated.
He watched Chen Mo enter the classroom and look around, as if searching for something. Only after a classmate in the front row pointed it out did Chen Mo finally head toward his own seat.
That seat was beside the podium. It was separate from the others, the only desk of its kind.
Other people might not know, but Yang Shule did. As far as the teachers were concerned, that seat represented special consideration. Yet it also made whoever sat there the easiest person to notice. Chen Mo had made his presence felt enough at home over the past two days. Would he really be able to sit there so unconcernedly?
Unfortunately for Yang Shule, Chen Mo neither sat down calmly nor showed any sign of unease.
He moved his desk.
Chen Mo knew plenty of people were watching him, but so what? Remembering those two months in his previous life when he had felt as if thorns were pricking his back, he would have to be crazy to keep sitting there.
He carried his desk to the very back of the row near the windows and set it down with a bang.
Immediately, the surrounding discussions erupted.
“What is he doing? Did Teacher Xiang tell him to move?”
“Who knows? He’s just trying to make himself look special. He dares to beat someone up without even batting an eye, and getting into our class with money is probably a piece of cake for him. What’s changing seats to him?”
“Uh, putting everything else aside, I heard his grades actually aren’t that bad.”
“Whether they’re good or bad, the monthly exams are coming up soon. It’ll be hilarious if his results turn out ugly.”
Just then, Gou Yiyang and the two boys who had met Chen Mo last Friday entered through the back door.
Gou Yiyang spotted him at once. “Young Master Mo, what are you doing? Why are you sitting in my dream seat?”
The boy with his arm slung over Gou Yiyang’s shoulder was named Jiang Xu. He chimed in with a laugh, “You shameless bastard. Isn’t Old Gou’s dream seat the cleaning corner at the back? He can play games in the garbage room, and not even a dog would find him.”
The students in the last few rows burst out laughing.
The front and back of the classroom seemed to have become two separate areas, divided from each other.
Chen Mo paid no attention to the subtle atmosphere. He simply replied to Gou Yiyang and the others, “I don’t mind. We can hold hands in the garbage heap. Whoever crawls away first is the dog.”
“Who said anything about holding hands with you? Besides, this seat is so far from the garbage room.” The group crowded around the desks in front of Chen Mo and sat down. Gou Yiyang turned around and asked, “But seriously, man, Old Xiang said no one was allowed to sit here. How’d you convince him?”
Chen Mo busied himself organizing the mess of things on his desk.
Pens, rulers, and other items—none of them brought back even the slightest familiar feeling of having used them before.
He replied casually, “I didn’t say anything.”
“…You’re really that bold?”
Chen Mo glanced at the single desk near the door, positioned symmetrically opposite his own, and raised an eyebrow. “Why isn’t anyone allowed to sit in this seat?”
Jiang Xu squeezed past Gou Yiyang and imitated Xiang Shenglóng’s tone. He grabbed Chen Mo’s ruler and slapped it onto the desk.
“Do you all think you’re the next Xi Siyan? There are only so many people in the experimental class. Is there really no room for you at the front?”
So the solitary desk belonged to the experimental class’s class monitor.
Chen Mo didn’t remember that.
All he remembered was how intense the studying had been back then. They changed seats after every monthly exam, and aside from the first two months, the classmates who had sat beside him had come and gone. Yet he couldn’t recall more than a few faces.
The first class was Chinese.
The Chinese teacher was an old man. He didn’t seem curious about why the desk beside the podium had disappeared, nor did he ask where the person who had occupied the other empty seat at the back had gone.
Instead, he rocked his head as he recited, “Have you not seen the waters of the Yellow River descending from heaven, rushing toward the sea, never to return? Have you not seen the bright mirrors in the high hall…”
Eventually, he called out, “The student in the last row at the back, stand up and translate this passage.”
There was no response.
The old man repeated himself. “The student at the back.”
The entire class turned to look.
The person who had been accused before class of making himself special and buying his way into the school was now demonstrating exactly what it meant to have bought his way in.
The morning sunlight streamed through the glass windows, falling across the young man’s slightly disheveled hair. With one hand resting behind his head, he had his head down and was sleeping so deeply that he no longer knew what day or year it was.