Half a month had passed, and the new semester had begun.
Chiang Xiao, carrying the backpack she designed herself and sewn by her grandmother, stepped into the school just as the gates were closing. It’s boring to arrive too early.
Chiang Xiao was assigned to the first class of senior year one, and as she entered the classroom, all the students’ gazes brushed toward her in unison.
"A warm welcome to the youngest genius of our class, Student Chiang Xiao!" a resonant voice rang out, and all the classmates began clapping enthusiastically.
Chiang Xiao was surprised for a moment but then smiled and waved her hand, "Thank you, thank you! So, from now on, please take good care of me, my older brothers and sisters!"
Chiang Xiao’s name had already spread among teachers and students of various schools during the summer vacation; she was quite well-known.
These classmates had originally thought she would be a nerdy bookworm or perhaps a haughty top student but did not expect her to be so down-to-earth; the atmosphere instantly became even warmer.
"Taking care of you is no problem at all!" a tall boy said, "But we only have one request!"
Chiang Xiao raised an eyebrow, "Please tell me."
"You can’t skip grades anymore! You must stay with us for three years!"
"That’s right, that’s right. My brother is in Second Year, and after finding out I was in the same class as you, he even made a bet with me, saying you might skip grades soon and become his classmate!"
"Your brother in Second Year doesn’t count for anything! My sister is in Third Year, and she thinks that Chiang Xiao will probably feel that we First Years are too weak and might apply to jump directly to Third Year tomorrow! Chiang Xiao, my sister also asked me to tell you that if you skip to Third Year, she’ll make breakfast for you every day, and you won’t have to queue up!" a sweet-looking girl said.
"Hahaha, that classmate, your sister is cheating!"
The others laughed as well.
Chiang Xiao knew that unlike the first and second middle schools where many students from the town’s middle schools came up directly, Third Middle required an exam.
However, she had never felt such a warm and relaxed atmosphere when she was in high school before.
Even though her classmates from the town middle school were quite nice, she had only stayed there for one year, and since it was a graduating class for the ninth year, the academic pressure was pretty high. She also looked pretty young, so even though the atmosphere was good, it was nowhere near as enthusiastic as her current class.
Chiang Xiao laughed along.
"As for skipping grades, I can’t guarantee that right now," Chiang Xiao said.
She really couldn’t make any promises, but she probably wouldn’t skip two grades; she had prepared a year’s flexibility because of Tyrant Meng.
Tyrant Meng probably still thought she went to a high school in the city.
When he came back and found out she was attending high school in the county town, who knows whether he would be so angry that his face turned black.
Thinking this, Chiang Xiao felt that she was indeed poisoned; the guy hadn’t even returned yet, and she was already preparing a year in advance to soothe him.
"Oh no, seems like Student Chiang Xiao has considered skipping grades after all!"
The same tall boy who spoke first said, "What’s there to fear? We’ll just study harder, and we can skip grades together when the time comes—who dares?"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a familiar voice came from the doorway, "Nonsense! What are you trying to do here? Do you think skipping grades is something you can do whenever you feel like it? The first diagnostic test at the end of the month, if all of you perform well and I don’t have to slap your palms, that’s the proper thing to worry about!"
Chiang Xiao whirled around abruptly.
The man walking in from the door seemed both strange and familiar!
At the age of about forty-seven or forty-eight, with slightly graying temples, wearing old-fashioned glasses, a pronounced "chuan" character wrinkle, and a face that always seemed a bit weary—wasn’t it her teacher, Liu Guoying?