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Sixteenth Period (1)
T/N: Translated by Jen on Broken Jinsei! Please do not repost my translations! All translations outside of Broken Jinsei are stolen and reposted without permission!
The homeroom teacher was still standing to the side waiting. Seeing the two of them saying something between them, then fall silent again, he went forward and asked Zhou Jinwei, “Student Zhou, is there a problem?”
Zhou Jinwei looked at Zhou Yanli, his gaze somewhat complicated.
He had that ID card handed back to him, “No, but need a bit of time to organize the documents. I’ll look for you in two days.”
Since he has already said this much, even giving an exact time, the homeroom teacher naturally couldn’t say more.
On the way back to the classroom, he said to Zhou Yanli, “Aren’t you full of surprises, even having this kind of identity.”
Zhou Yanli dryly laughed, casually brushing it off, “I’m a low-key person.”
The homeroom teacher had a bit more appreciation for him. This boy not only was handsome and had a good family background, his character was also modest and reserved, unlike others of his age, who were improper and unserious.
Just, his grades were a bit lacking. In all his years of teaching, it was his first time encountering someone getting 8 points.
When they returned to the classroom, class just happened to be in session. The history teacher was lecturing about the political system of the pre-Qin period in front of the blackboard.
The homeroom teacher stood outside and knocked on the door, cheerfully saying, “Took this student to handle some important business just now. I’ll be handing him over to you now, Mrs. Qin.”
The history teacher put down the chalk and dusted her palms. After seeing Zhou Yanli, her eyes lit up a little.
History class didn’t have many periods in a week. Additionally, she’d also taken a few days off to go with her child to a competition.
Having just returned today, “New student?”
Zhou Yanli nodded, “Just transferred over.”
That nonchalant and easy-going air on him was quite rare in Pingjiang, belonging to the unruly type.
Moreover, he just happened to have relatively sharp features, distinct and well-defined, his bone structure excellent.
After the homeroom teacher left, the history teacher continued the lesson.
TN: All translations outside of Broken Jinsei are stolen and reposted without permission!
Jiang Huihui was timid, not daring to chat in class. She could only pass Zhou Yanli a note.
Upon receiving it, Zhou Yanli unfolded it and took a glance. The paper was flowery and green, even carrying a fruity scent.
It sure enough was the style that girls liked.
The handwriting on there was elegant: Finished with the new student registration?
Zhou Yanli didn’t buy a single thing that was related to studying, for the most part, all swiped from Jiang Huihui.
Using the pen that he’d taken from her, he wrote down a few words and then had the note passed back to her.
Jiang Huihui managed to make out a few words from that messy handwriting.
——All done.
Jiang Huihui relaxed a breath.
–
After history class, class was out, and it was lunchtime.
Jiang Huihui took out from her backpack a pack of that yogurt bread that had gotten disdained by Zhou Yanli previously, planning to have it as lunch.
She got seen by Zhou Yanli again this time. He frowned and snatched it over, throwing it to Qin Yu who was to the side, saying that it was for him.
Qin Yu practically couldn’t be more grateful, repeatedly saying “thank you boss”.
Jiang Huihui pursed her lips, feeling somewhat upset, “That was my…….lunch for today.”
Zhou Yanli had her coat handed to her to put on, “This thing is full of additives. Eating too much of it will make you sick.”
Qin Yu who’d eaten half of it heard his words, silently stopping.
Jiang Huihui put on the coat and followed him out.
“Where are you going?” She had a confused look.
“Going to eat.” Zhou Yanli saw that although she’d put on the coat, the zipper was still wide open.
He lowered his head and aligned the zipper, directly zipping it up to the top.
Half of Jiang Huihui’s face got entirely covered by the fluffy white fur around the collar.
This was the coat Zhou Yanli took her to buy last time.
Zhan Tong just happened to come out of the classroom. Seeing the coat on her, her eyes lit up, “Holy, Jiang Huihui, you’re really pretty today!”
Jiang Huihui got embarrassed by her compliment, her cheeks and ears all blushing.
Zhou Yanli watched from the side, smiling indulgently.
To this easily blush from a random compliment, if she were to start dating, what will she do then?
Zhan Tong leaned in closer to her, saying mysteriously with a smile, “This will surely make Ye Shuting be infatuated to death.”
Jiang Huihui had a flustered look, hurriedly letting her stop saying nonsense.
Zhan Tong said that she wasn’t saying nonsense, “Didn’t Ye Shuting(叶疏霆) ask you to go to the library together to study previously? Did you agree?”
Jiang Huihui shook her head, “I already turned it down.”
Zhan Tong had a disappointed look, “How come you turned it down!”
“Yeah.” Zhou Yanli suddenly chimed in from the side, questioning her together with Zhan Tong, “How come you turned it down?”
It was rare for someone to voluntarily ask her out.
She was just too introverted, which was why she didn’t have any friends. And because she didn’t have any friends, it caused her to become even more introverted.
Thus, she fell into a vicious cycle that she couldn’t escape from.
Zhou Yanli immediately helped her make the decision, “You should go out more and expand your circle. That uhh….Ye Shuting(叶舒婷)[1], since she voluntarily asked you to hang out, you should go.”
Jiang Huihui hesitantly wanted to say something, “But…..”
“No buts.” Zhou Yanli didn’t give her the chance to refute. Right now, he was just like that kind of parent who couldn’t stand seeing their children coop up at home all day, thus forcing them to go out and socialize, “Only by making more friends will you start to open up more.”
Regardless of what Zhou Yanli said, Zhan Tong all nodded along in agreement.
“Right.”
“The transfer student is right.”
“Yeah, that’s how it should be.”
Seeing someone support him this much, Zhou Yanli glanced in her direction.
And just happened to meet the other party’s tender and affectionate gaze.
“…….”
He furrowed his brow and shivered, inwardly cursing.
F#%$, don’t look at me like that. I’m your big nephew; we’re of different generations.
Jiang Huihui in the end still agreed to Zhou Yanli’s suggestion, “Alright then, I’ll go tell them later.”
Zhou Yanli nodded in satisfaction, “Good girl.”
After Zhan Tong left, Jiang Huihui followed behind him for a while.
Seeing how he was about to go into that building across from theirs, she stopped in her tracks, refusing to go further, reminding him, “We can’t just freely go into this building.”
“It’s fine.” Zhou Yanli was unconcerned, pulling her hand and walking inside.
The dining hall was on the third floor, needless to take the elevator.
Additionally, Jiang Huihui indeed needed to exercise more, so Zhou Yanli took her to take the stairs.
While still holding Jiang Huihui’s hand, a man’s voice came from the stairwell around the corner in front, his cheerful tone mixed with excitement, “My god! Zhou Jinwei, you really are f@#ing incredible. How did you know that stock would profit? I followed your advice a few days ago and made over two hundred. It can’t be that you have some inside information?”
Compared to his excitement, the male voice that followed was calm and somewhat cold, his tone deep and clear, “The stock market index is for people to look at, not just a decoration. Use your brain more.”
The footsteps gradually approached, stopping by the stairway in front.
Two boys wearing the school uniform came over. The one on the left was a bit chubby, while the one on the right was dressed meticulously, the air around him cold and aloof. That pair of slender peach blossom eyes always seemed to carry a bit of indifference when looking at others.
It gave others a kind of innate sense of arrogance.
Jiang Huihui’s and Zhou Jinwei’s eyes met.
She felt somewhat uneasy.
It was still okay outside of the school, but running into him inside the school, she was a bit scared of him.
Sun Ju looked at the two before him who didn’t belong here and smiled, having an understanding inside, thus didn’t stay to disturb them.
“Then I’ll be going first.”
Before leaving, he even greeted the other two. Zhou Yanli casually lifted his chin, somewhat giving a response.
Jiang Huihui, on the other hand, earnestly and politely said goodbye to him.
Sun Ju inwardly pondered as he walked away. Looks like this new student really does have some sort of blood relationship with Zhou Jinwei.
The two of them not only look alike, that arrogant and condescending demeanor was also quite similar.
Zhou Jinwei casually walked down, “Looking for me?”
Zhou Yanli bluntly retorted, “What do you think?”
He slightly frowned, “Can’t you talk properly?”
Zhou Yanli sneered, “This is just how I talk normally, who let me inherit from the wrong person.”
Whenever the two of them met, it was just like this. Jiang Huihui, who got caught between them, was constantly worried, feeling scared all day, fearing that they will start fighting all of a sudden.
Recalling Zhou Yanli’s battered face from last time, she had a newfound understanding of Zhou Jinwei.
——-Though he seemed refined and elegant on the outside, he was also quite ruthless when fighting.
Jiang Huihui desperately tried to change the subject as she pulled Zhou Yanli’s arm, “Just now, you said…..said that you wanted to come over for something?”
Zhou Jinwei also looked towards him.
Zhou Yanli slightly lifted his chin, his tone incomparably cocky, “It’s lunchtime, what do you think we’re here for? Naturally, it’s coming over to eat.”
Zhou Jinwei: “….”
The chefs here weren’t arranged by the school, but were hired by the students themselves.
Because they couldn’t get used to the food in the school, and the food outside, they further felt it was dirty.
But, going back and forth between the school and their home several times every day was truly too troublesome, so they simply just hired a chef for each of the different types of cuisines.
In the dining hall on the third floor, Jiang Huihui sat upon a cushioned chair with a backrest. Around her was the pleasant and soothing sound of the piano. The girls at the table next to theirs were elegantly using the knife and fork to cut the steak on their plate, happily chatting and laughing. Occasionally, they would also glance in their direction.
Until this moment, Jiang Huihui finally experienced firsthand the true meaning of that saying that her homeroom teacher often repeated, “Don’t compare yourselves with the students in that other building. Studying, for them, is just icing on the cake. Regardless of whether they can study well or not, when time comes, they’ll all go overseas to add a layer of polish. Then, when they come of age, they’ll just smoothly take over their family business. But, you all are different. Studying is your best way out. If you all study hard and properly study, in the future, you similiarly can surpass them!”
But these words were just for show and should only be treated as motivation.
Ten years of hard studying can’t compare to three generations of business. That was an industry accumulated by their ancestors over the generations. Even in the capital city, they were all people at the very top of the pyramid. How could they get surpassed by them?
The chef brought over the freshly prepared dishes.
The dishes were all chinese-style, because they were worried that Jiang Huihui won’t be able to get used to the other types.
None were spicy, each one all very nutritional.
Zhou Yanli separately served her a bowl of soup, “In the future, eat less of those things that have a lot of additives. That kind of thing is bad for the body.”
Right now, he didn’t ask anything else of Jiang Huihui, just watching her food intake and keeping her active, letting her eat less unhealthy junk food and exercise more, so as to strengthen her immune system.
Jiang Huihui nodded and slowly started drinking the soup.
Taking the first sip, she just felt as if her taste buds had been awakened. The soup seemed to not have any color, plain like water, yet it was unexpectedly delicious.
She wasn’t good at controlling her expression. Usually, whatever she was thinking inside, it will immediately show on her face.
Zhou Jinwei noticed her expression and could tell that she liked it very much.
Seeing Zhou Jinwei not moving, Zhou Yanli asked him, “You’re not hungry?”
Zhou Jinwei expressionlessly replied, “No appetite.”
That look, in addition to those words…….
It was just short of directly saying——–Seeing this face of his just made him lose his appetite.
The f@#$!
Zhou Yanli burned with anger inside. He should be glad that he was his dad. If it was someone else, he would’ve long beaten them up.
Since he had nothing to say to Zhou Jinwei, he naturally could only talk to Jiang Huihui.
He started caring about the development of her new friendship, “You and that uh something Ye….Ye Shuting, which day did you agree to meet up?”
Jiang Huihui lifted her head and recalled for a moment, “They asked me to go during the weekend, but at the time, I’d turned them down, so might need to find another time where we’re both free.”
Then might as well pick today, “How about today? In any case, there’s nothing to do in the afternoon. I’ll take you there later.”
[1] Ye Shuting(叶疏霆), from the characters of his name, is a relatively masculine name, but the pronunciation of it makes it sound feminine, hence the misunderstanding, not to mention the pronouns he and she are pronounced the same in chinese. Zhou Yanli assumed it’s 叶舒婷 which is pronounced the same but the characters that make up it are more feminine.
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