Chapter Six: Offending Two Future Campus Belles

An hour passed quickly, and Teacher Zhao Gang returned to the office.

Two sets of exercises were handed to him at the same time. The grading went swiftly, and anyone could see the satisfaction on Zhao Gang’s face.

“Jiang Xiwen, you did very well today—got everything right. That’s a big improvement. Ning Yan, you’ve done well too. Last time you got five wrong, this time only two.”

“Hm?” Ning Yan’s brow furrowed even more. She simply couldn’t figure out how Jiang Xiwen managed to finish all the questions in ten minutes and get them all correct. She recalled how, in math class, Jiang Xiwen spun his pen with one hand while rapidly solving problems that only the math prodigies could handle. It was truly unbelievable.

“What is it, Ning Yan? Not feeling well?” Zhao Gang asked with concern.

“No,” Ning Yan relaxed her brow and answered earnestly, “Jiang Xiwen finished these exercises in just ten minutes and then started reading. I thought he was going to cheat, but it turns out I was mistaken.”

“Is that so?” Zhao Gang looked at Jiang Xiwen with delight. “Good job, kid.”

What’s going on today? First, Zhang Ya, the class monitor who normally looks down on me, actually showed concern. And now, Ning Yan—who ignores everyone and is bound to be the school beauty—speaks to me so sincerely. It seems the old Jiang Xiwen was truly unpopular.

It’s true, beauties favor heroes. If only Su Lai and I were classmates now, how wonderful that would be.

Jiang Xiwen drifted off for a moment, and Ning Yan once again saw that familiar look in his eyes. This time, however, she was somewhat immune to it, and since Jiang Xiwen’s gaze quickly returned to his book, she wasn’t angered.

Zhao Gang smiled gently and said, “Jiang Xiwen, what are you thinking about? Don’t get cocky just because you did well once.”

“I understand, sir. I have a request. I’d like to stop coming for extra lessons. I plan to finish the high school textbooks on my own and start teaching myself English. If I have any questions, I’ll come ask you. Is that all right?” In just a few hours since his rebirth, Jiang Xiwen had already mastered switching between wild fantasies and normal conversation.

Given Jiang Xiwen’s level in English, there was no need for him to waste time on junior high content. His main weakness now was spoken English; he needed to expand his vocabulary and practice conversing more. He recalled how, in the past, when he spoke with high-level Americans, he would stammer as soon as the vocabulary became advanced. It had been somewhat embarrassing. Fortunately, his programming skills and familiarity with technical English for computers had kept his poor English from becoming a serious obstacle at work.

Just now, he had spoken with Zhao Gang entirely in English. This level of conversation was well within his capabilities and, in fact, was the real reason he attended the tutoring session today.

Zhao Gang stared wide-eyed at Jiang Xiwen, astonished. A student who had always been bad at English suddenly seemed to understand everything. Anyone would have been shocked.

Ning Yan felt the same, though her expression remained calm. Since the recent fight, she had been working hard to control her emotions—apart from the fleeting irritation caused by Jiang Xiwen’s earlier gaze.

Although Ning Yan didn’t quite understand what Jiang Xiwen had said, her intuition told her he was absolutely correct. She softly called “Teacher” a few times before Zhao Gang snapped out of his daze.

“Very well. If your English is really at the level I imagine, I’ll agree to your request.” Zhao Gang was worried that Jiang Xiwen had memorized everything in advance, so he replied in English as well.

“Of course, Mr. Zhao. You’re the teacher I respect most. There’s no need for me to deceive you. I know what I’m talking about. As for my mother, I’ll explain everything to her. Please have faith in my ability to study on my own. By the way, during English classes, I may do other things, but I guarantee my exam scores won’t be low.”

Arrogant, Zhao Gang thought, but he liked this kind of arrogance. Jiang Xiwen’s extended conversation in English had convinced him of the boy’s ability.

Leaving Zhao Gang’s office, Ning Yan hesitated to speak several times. Jiang Xiwen knew what she wanted to ask but deliberately kept silent.

“Jiang Xiwen, what did you and Mr. Zhao talk about just now?” Ning Yan finally couldn’t hold back.

“I’m giving you a chance to improve your English,” Jiang Xiwen replied solemnly.

“Huh?”

Jiang Xiwen recited a passage in English, pausing between each word, then added, “Remember what I said. Look it up in the dictionary when you get home. I’m off.”

The English he recited for Ning Yan was not the same as what he’d said to Zhao Gang. He put on a stern face, but inside he was amused. He had always thought Ning Yan was unflappable, but now it was clear she was still just a young girl, unable to hide her curiosity.

Not until Jiang Xiwen had walked far off did Ning Yan come back to herself. Though her face remained expressionless, she kept quietly repeating the English Jiang Xiwen had left her, afraid she might forget.

During the afternoon classes, Jiang Xiwen still paid no attention to the lessons. He flipped casually through textbooks from all subjects—everything seemed so simple.

Zhang Ya had returned to her old ways, never speaking to Jiang Xiwen unless absolutely necessary. Yet her expression betrayed her: all afternoon, she wore a look of barely suppressed anger.

Finally, in the last self-study period, with the teacher gone and the room in an uproar, Zhang Ya could no longer hold back. She muttered furiously under her breath, “Jiang Xiwen, you may be a failing student, but if you apologize now, I’ll still forgive you!”

Jiang Xiwen was deeply focused, writing the outline for a novel in his notebook—a story he planned to publish for free in a few years. He wasn’t using too much creativity; he intended to lead the trend of online novels, one book at a time, not all at once.

Although Zhang Ya’s voice was soft, it startled him. He was especially impatient with her superior tone.

“I was in a hurry to ask you about the date. It was my fault. Didn’t I apologize already?” Jiang Xiwen replied without even looking up.

“No wonder your grades are bad. You have such poor comprehension. I wasn’t talking about that. I meant when I warned you about Liu Fan after school, and you just laughed it off.” Zhang Ya’s tone was sharp. “If you apologize now, I’ll forgive you.”

Her condescending attitude only made Jiang Xiwen more annoyed. He still didn’t look at her. “Is your forgiveness worth anything?”

“What?” Zhang Ya seemed not to have heard him, or perhaps she couldn’t believe her ears.

Jiang Xiwen kept scribbling in his notebook. “I said, your forgiveness isn’t worth anything. Why should I want it?”

There was half a minute of silence before Zhang Ya’s voice came again, through clenched teeth: “My dad was right—someone like me shouldn’t have to sit with a failing student like you. People like you are destined to be society’s trash. I’m the class monitor. If you have any guts, don’t stay in our class. Otherwise, you’ll regret it!”

Her voice was so low that only Jiang Xiwen could hear. Clearly, she didn’t want to draw attention.

When Jiang Xiwen finally turned his head, Zhang Ya felt a surge of triumph. Let’s see if you’re still so tough—one threat and you’ll apologize.

But her satisfaction lasted only a few seconds before her face froze. There was a cold, fiery light in Jiang Xiwen’s eyes—something she had never seen before. It was as if… as if he wanted to kill her.

“You… what are you planning to do?”

“What do you think I’m planning?” Jiang Xiwen withdrew the fierce look and replaced it with a cold sneer.

Zhang Ya was still just a fifteen-year-old girl, but her constant self-righteousness, coupled with these words—so much like what Lin Zheng had once used to provoke Jiang Xiwen into resigning—turned his irritation into outright disgust.

Jiang Xiwen’s shifts between menace and coldness made Zhang Ya deeply uneasy. Never before had anyone made her feel so aggrieved. She stood there, speechless, growing more upset until her nose tingled and she nearly burst into tears.

Just then, the dismissal bell rang. Jiang Xiwen packed up his bag and tossed out, “Don’t hold it in. If you want to cry, just cry. But stay away from me in the future, or this will happen every time.” With that, he left his seat.

“Jerk!” Zhang Ya could no longer cry after his words. She stared at his retreating back, grinding her teeth once again.