Since Zhao Meimei entered the classroom, her eyes had been darting around all the female classmates’ faces, trying to guess which one was the "average-looking, big-eyed, and good student Wang Jiayue" that Da Bao mentioned.
"My name is Wang Jiayue, I come from....."
Zhao Meimei didn’t pay attention to what Wang Jiayue was saying; she was just craning her neck, trying hard to get a clear look at Wang Jiayue’s face.
Wang Jiayue was an extremely pale-skinned girl with a small face and big eyes; she spoke with her head slightly bowed, her back unconsciously hunched forward, presumably a very introverted person.
Wang Jiayue’s voice was very soft, like a mosquito’s hum. Many people in the class would only take a second look when they encountered someone they were interested in, so not many people noticed her.
After Wang Jiayue finished her introduction, she quietly sat down. Zhao Meimei looked at her delicate figure and sighed inwardly.
No wonder she didn’t think much of Da Bao; the two of them really didn’t make a good match.
Just when Zhao Meimei was staring blankly at Wang Jiayue, lost in thought, someone suddenly poked her lightly in the back twice. She turned her head and met a pair of cold eyes; the gaze was icy and indifferent, with no warmth.
Zhao Meimei’s narrow eyes slowly widened as she looked at the other party blankly: "What’s up?"
Zhang Zhao asked, "What did you say your name was just now?"
Zhao Meimei frowned: "Zhao Meimei."
Zhang Zhao thought for a moment and asked again, "Is it because you were pretty when you were young?" His tone carried a clear hint of doubt.
Zhao Meimei’s sensitive teenage heart felt as if it had been stabbed. She gave him a sideways glance with her thin eyelids, exuding her inherent bravado, and glanced at him with an air of defiance, coldly snorting: "No, I was actually really ugly when I was young... Then your name is Zhang Zhao; is it that in the future your boss will be very dark and also named Bao?"
After Zhao Meimei finished speaking, she turned around.
Zhang Zhao stared steadily at the hair accessory on top of Zhao Meimei’s head, then suddenly burst into laughter. Before his smile could fully unfold, a boy sitting next to Zhao Meimei suddenly turned his head, his gaze guarded and hostile towards him, implicitly warning him.
The boy was quite handsome, even prettier than most girls, with thick eyebrows, big eyes, and fair skin.
Zhang Zhao frowned, one corner of his lips slowly curling up, and a faint hint of sarcasm appeared instantly.
The two locked eyes and simultaneously snorted coldly, both turning their gaze away.
After everyone had introduced themselves, Robber Hao roughly went over the school’s rules and regulations, and finally, with a wave of his large hand towards Zhao Meimei: "Zhao Meimei, weren’t you the class monitor in junior high? Now you can continue being the temporary one. We’ll hold another election after the mid-term exams. Lead the class to clean up the classroom, and once it’s satisfactory, you can all go home."
Zhao Meimei stood up and agreed. After seeing off Robber Hao, she started assigning tasks with the familiarity of an old hand.
Having a good memory since childhood, Zhao Meimei went around the class with the roster and matched names to faces, managing to remember more than half of the students.
Zhao Meimei’s method of assigning tasks had always been fair. The girls did the lighter and more detailed work, while the boys were responsible for fetching water, mopping the floor, and taking out the trash. After the experience of sprinting for the high school entrance exam, everyone’s rebellious angles had been honed down; they were all half adults now, and no one bristled easily.
Everyone cooperated well with Zhao Meimei’s work, partly because they had a good impression of her and partly because they all wanted to finish cleaning and go home as soon as possible.
After assigning tasks, Zhao Meimei had nothing to do, so she picked up a small rag and sidled up to Wang Jiayue, who was cleaning the windows.
She noticed that Wang Jiayue was indeed as Da Bao said, quite out of place. Other girls were mingling in twos and threes, quickly becoming familiar with a few words, but Wang Jiayue stood by herself, not talking to anyone, working with her head down. Her technique in cleaning the glass was quite unfamiliar, suggesting that she didn’t do much housework at home.
Zhao Meimei greeted her, "Hi, Wang Jiayue."
Holding the rag, Wang Jiayue suddenly stopped wiping the glass, turned her head in surprise, and her big, bright eyes widened, her gaze full of obvious astonishment.
Zhao Meimei was taken aback by her stare, blinked her eyes twice, then finally remembered what she wanted to say. She smiled and said, "My name is Zhao Meimei, nice to meet you."
Wang Jiayue glanced at her, nodded slightly, turned back around, and continued to face the glass, showing clearly she had no intention of continuing the conversation.
Zhao Meimei hit a soft but firm wall; she squinted her eyes, feeling this Wang Jiayue wasn’t very likable.
Just as Zhao Meimei was about to bring up Da Bao, she heard a female classmate call out, "Class monitor, the glass up there is too high; we can’t reach it."
Zhao Meimei looked up and saw that it was indeed very high. She estimated the height and then called to the tall figure rinsing a mop by the back door: "Hey! Zhan Zhao! Come over here!"
The whole class collectively looked in the direction Zhao Meimei was gesturing and saw Zhang Zhao raising his head with a bewildered expression.
Poof! Everyone burst into laughter!!
Zhao Meimei grinned at him, "Come here, this glass up here is too high, the girls can’t reach; you step on a chair to help us wipe it. We’ll hold the chair for you."
Zhang Zhao hesitated for a moment, then casually tossed aside the mop, walked over, and when he got close, said in a muffled voice, "My surname is Zhang."
Zhao Meimei chuckled twice, familiarly patting his arm, "Just joking with you! Hey! Could you lend us a hand? You’re the one with the clear advantage here!"
Zhang Zhao looked at the glass and frowned, "Me? What advantage do I have?"
Zhao Meimei giggled, "Long legs! You’re the one in our class with the longest legs!!"
Zhao Meimei handed him a rag and instructed the other two female classmates, "Come on, help stack up the chairs."
Zhang Zhao stopped them: "No need!" After speaking, he directly lifted his leg, stepping onto a chair and standing on the table, extending his arm just enough to reach the highest part of the glass.
Zhang Zhao was wearing a pair of sweatpants, which usually looked loose, but when he stretched his arm to clean the glass, his thighs, due to standing on tiptoe, tensed into firm lines. His T-shirt was pulled up, revealing a section of his fit waist. It seemed his pants waist was a bit loose, as the curve of his back became increasingly exposed, almost escaping into a round bulge.
The girls standing below awkwardly glanced around, not knowing where to look, their hearts fluttering.
Zhao Meimei also noticed and kindly tapped Zhang Zhao’s thigh, "Hey!"
Zhang Zhao withdrew his arm, turned, and looked down at her.
Zhao Meimei pursed her lips.
Zhang Zhao frowned, obviously not understanding.
Zhao Meimei reminded him, "Your pants are about to fall!"
It wasn’t until then that Zhang Zhao noticed the awkward stares from the girls nearby. He quickly reached out to pull up his pants; just as he was about to speak, he saw Zhao Meimei had already turned to supervise the other students in their work.
Zhang Zhao looked at her back, pursed his lips, and turned back to continue cleaning the glass.