Chapter 1108: Chapter 629: Stronger People
Lunch break.
Bai Yuxia was getting ready to go to the pedestrian street. Her keychain had broken, and she planned to buy a new one.
The twins decided to join her for a look around; after all, buying small accessories is something most girls enjoy.
"I’ll have my dad pick me up at the intersection. You two can come home with me, and once I’m ready, we’ll head to the pedestrian street together," Bai Yuxia planned.
"Okay, okay," the twins eagerly agreed.
On their way out of the school gate, they ran into Zhang Chi and Yan Tianpeng.
Zhang Chi waved at her; after all, they were classmates, so Bai Yuxia returned the gesture.
Zhang Chi was planning to go to the city to buy some talisman paper. He wanted to conduct the Evergreen Liquid invitation draw tonight. Last time, he drew a marathon slot after burning some talisman paper, and it worked.
So this time, he couldn’t skip the talisman burning process.
Yan Tianpeng, hoping to sell the invitation after getting it, decided to give Zhang Chi’s method a try, taking his chances.
The two of them watched from a distance as Bai Yuxia and her friends got into a BMW car.
Yan Tianpeng envied, "Wow, they must be really rich!"
Zhang Chi was equally envious, but upon noticing Yan Tianpeng’s expression, he quickly put on a dismissive look and said, "It’s just a BMW, I’ll be driving one sooner or later too."
"Oh, ever since Zhang won an iPhone, he’s been talking differently?" Yan Tianpeng teased.
He then asked, "How are we going to buy talisman paper today? It’s not close!"
Zhang Chi said calmly, "Don’t worry about it, leave it to me."
He had a big boss demeanor at this moment, using money to overpower Yan Tianpeng. And he had to admit, seeing Yan being so respectful made Zhang Chi feel quite good.
Zhang Chi’s back was straighter than before.
Yan Tianpeng rubbed his hands, "That’s great! Zhang is really generous!"
Five minutes later.
Zhang Chi: "I’ll pay this time."
Yan Tianpeng didn’t want to be overshadowed by Zhang Chi, so he offered to pay first: "Zhang, let me, let me!"
Zhang Chi: "I insisted because last time at the barbecue place you paid, so I have to return the favor!"
Saying this, he took out his wallet, ready to pay.
Yan Tianpeng pushed his hand away and scolded, "This is my turf, how could I let you pay?"
The two continued to argue over who should pay.
"Yan, you’re not giving me face, huh?" Zhang Chi’s face fell.
Yan Tianpeng: "It’s not about face, it’s just that I have to treat today!"
He truly didn’t want to be outdone by Zhang Chi.
The driver in the cab couldn’t stand it anymore and scolded, "Man, are you two done yet? Hurry up and put in your tokens! People are waiting to get on the bus!"
In the end, they each paid their own fare and got on the bus.
...
Unlike Yan and Zhang on the bus, Bai Yuxia’s BMW ride was exceptionally smooth and comfortable.
The backseat of the BMW 5 Series was spacious, and the three girls didn’t feel crowded at all.
While chatting with the twins, Bai Yuxia’s dad was driving in the front. Along the way, Chen Siyu was thinking about her blunders at the dinner table, feeling she had to come up with a spectacular way to turn the tables.
Previously, she had asked Bai Yuxia, why are you so smart?
Bai Yuxia replied it runs in the family.
Chen Siyu didn’t believe it and was convinced that intelligence could be developed. One day, she believed she could surpass Bai Yuxia.
Just then, a small child, laughing, dashed across the road not caring about the danger.
If it weren’t for Bai Yuxia’s dad’s steady driving and his habit of observing his surroundings in advance, he would have had to brake suddenly.
Mr. Bai simply slowed down, and once the child was safely across, he still didn’t speed up.
"Hold on tight, girls," he reminded.
Bai Yuxia asked, "Dad?"
Just as the car was about to reach the spot where the child had run across, another child suddenly dashed out.
Mr. Bai tapped the brake, avoiding perfectly.
The twins couldn’t figure it out.
Bai Yuxia asked, "Dad, you seemed to know there was another child ahead."
Mr. Bai said, "The first child was running and laughing, likely playing tag with someone."
Chen Siyu, upon hearing this, felt her mind go blank, thinking, ’Could she really have inherited that?’
...
In the afternoon, before class, quite a few students gathered at the back of the classroom.
Zhang Chi was flaunting his talisman paper, boasting that during evening study he would definitely win an invitation, with such confidence that it made him seem punchable.
"What, you all unconvinced? Bet 50 bucks if you dare?"
He was so arrogant and swaggering.
You couldn’t deny, no one dared to gamble with him.
Firstly, because Zhang Chi’s luck was indeed mysterious. He had won a rare marathon slot just out of the blue.
Later, he even won an iPhone 6 plus from the One Dollar Treasure, his luck was otherworldly, incredibly daunting.
What if he really got the invitation? The 50 bucks would be gone!
The second reason was more important, they were worried Zhang Chi wouldn’t pay up, since his reputation was well known.
Zhang Chi continued bragging, but no one from the back responded, so he headed to the front looking for a bet. Dong Qingfeng was in a bad mood and upped the stakes to 100 bucks, asking the current class monitor, Xin Youling, to mediate, with each side handing 100 bucks to him.
Xin Youling, usually so just, would never, ever allow such things to happen in his class, since whoever lost would be upset anyway.
Zhang Chi claimed that if she wasn’t willing, he would go to the former class monitor, Huang Zhongfei.
Xin Youling reluctantly agreed.
Zhang Chi, full of confidence, also found Chai Wei, and managed to get another 50 yuan from him.
He initially wanted to find Jiang Ning because of his special status in the class. If Zhang Chi could win money from him, it would be equivalent to defeating him.
Unfortunately, Jiang Ning hadn’t arrived yet, so Zhang Chi had to give up on this idea.
Seeing Zhang Chi going around the classroom looking for people to bet with, Guo Kunnan said, "He’s really confident, makes me want to try buying a piece of talisman paper after school this afternoon."
"That store is quite far, it takes twenty minutes by bus," Wang Longlong said. "And on that bus, there are a lot of old men and women, you might not even get a seat."
Talking about this, Guo Kunnan was speechless: "Last time I took that bus, it was all old men and women, all their damn [senior cards] were beeping."
"I was sitting there comfortably, when an old lady with a cane came on and leaned towards me. I was really tired that day and didn’t give up my seat at first, and she poked me with her cane."
In the front row, Lu Qiqi turned around, sharing the sentiment, as she had been disgusted in the same way.
She unlocked her phone, opened the photo gallery, and showed it to Guo Kunnan and the others.
In the photo, there was a supermarket opening event giving away ten eggs, with a long queue entirely of elderly people.
Lu Qiqi liked to create opposition. Any group that infringed on her interests, she hated all of them. She complained:
"They can stand in line for half a day to grab eggs, but as soon as they get on the bus, they start trembling. If you don’t give up your seat, they stare daggers at you."
"I just don’t get it; why do they only appear so weak on the bus?"
Ma Shicheng said, "Because standing in the supermarket during sales is exhausting."
Lu Qiqi: "..."
She choked back her words, having nothing to say.
In the midst of the chatter, Wang Longlong’s eyes glinted as he whispered, "Old Wang is here, quickly hide your phone."
Lu Qiqi swiftly put away her phone and gave Wang Longlong a grateful look.
The students in the back row might be cursing, but when it comes to important matters, Wang Longlong never messes around with them.
So, even though Lu Qiqi had quarreled with them countless times, they could still chat and joke around, unlike with Chai Wei, who would go all out against the opponent.
After putting away the phone, the discussion was not yet over. Meng Gui spoke up:
"From now on, elderly people over 60 in Yuzhou are prohibited from using senior cards to take the bus from 7:30 to 9:00 in the morning, and from 4:30 to 6:30 in the afternoon, to ensure that young people can commute to work smoothly."
Lu Qiqi looked at Meng Gui in surprise: "Is there such a regulation in our city?"
Meng Gui: "No."
Lu Qiqi: "Where did you hear that from?"
Meng Gui honestly said, "I made it up myself, just to enjoy the authority."
...
After Shan Qingrong entered the classroom, he showed concern for Xue Yuantong’s rest and handed over snacks that he bought from a small shop.
Then, he stopped disturbing and went to the corridor outside.
He came to Class 8 not only to care for the top students but also for another reason.
Recently, Gao Heshuai and Class 1’s homeroom teacher, Hu Hou, had approached him several times.
Gao Heshuai expressed that if you don’t discipline Wu Xiaoqi, I’ll stop being the math teacher of Class 8; from now on, anyone can teach your class.
Hu Hou, on the other hand, commented that Wu Xiaoqi kept coming to their classroom door and disrupting their students’ learning, causing the average score of Class 1 to potentially drop by one point, so they should quickly hand over Xue Yuantong to balance things out.
Shan Qingrong was having a headache. Wu Xiaoqi’s father was a big shot in educational material in Yuzhou, with nearly 90% of the large and small bookstores in Yuzhou getting their stock from him.
The man has been in business for years, deeply interconnected, and Shan Qingrong wondered if he could manage his son.
Gao Heshuai and Hu Hou were only coming to him because they found him easy to bully; why didn’t they directly find Director Yan to expel Wu Xiaoqi?
It’s because they didn’t dare!
One by one, they’re all crafty people!
Caught in the middle, Shan Qingrong was in a quandary. Sometimes he genuinely envied Chen Haiyang for his outstanding teaching skills and the fact that he was Qingfeng’s former teacher, which made others dare not touch him.
Ultimately, Wu Xiaoqi was still a student of Shan Qingrong’s class, and he should manage him. This time, he came to give Wu Xiaoqi a bit of a lesson.
Otherwise, it would seem that he, as the homeroom teacher, lacked authority.
Shan Qingrong not only had to manage Wu Xiaoqi but also planned to give Wu Xiaoqi’s father a bit of a warning.
...
In the classroom.
Xue Yuantong tidied up the pile of snacks on her desk, raised her charming little chin, and gave Jiang Ning a proud side glance to show him how awesome she was.
Jiang Ning continued playing with his phone, ignoring her.
Xue Yuantong, with nothing to show off, felt a bit itchy inside.
She usually eats his snacks, but today she wanted to return the favor to Jiang Ning and tell him that she’s not useless.
Chen Siyu peeked her head out from the back and said, "Tongtong, do you think the Evergreen Liquid invitation will be given directly to you by the school?"
"After all, you’re number one in the school."
Bai Yuxia chimed in upon hearing this, "It’s highly likely. Normally, the school should proactively give her one to motivate all students’ enthusiasm for studying."
It’s said that the invitation quota is directly given to the Fourth Middle School by the Evergreen Liquid Headquarters, and the school has some autonomy.
"Even if the quota is limited, there’s always enough for the top student in each grade."
Xue Yuantong denied her words, claiming, "I’m not the top of the grade, I’m second in the grade."
Bai Yuxia reacted, "Confused, aren’t you?"
Chen Siyu asked, "If you’re second, then who is first?"
Xue Yuantong glanced at Jiang Ning again, finally seeing him turn his head.
With a small smile and half a serious face, Xue Yuantong slowly and evenly said, "It’s the serious version of me."
Bai Yuxia was taken aback, thinking, ’As expected from you, pretending to be modest.’