I'm A Math Idiot, So What? - Chapter 19

Piecing together Xu Zheng’s scattered and fragmented account with my own memories from back then, I managed to assemble a side story that most closely aligns with what actually happened. At that time, Principal Wei, in his quest for fairness, decided to have classes pair up and mix during exams. Our class was paired with Class 12. In the morning, we had politics, history, and geography exams. I felt a sense of accomplishment from helping others cheat with my skills, like a young hero reveling in glory, so inflated with pride that by the afternoon, I recklessly extended my “buy one, get one free” service to the afternoon’s physics, chemistry, and biology exams as well.

After the chemistry exam, Little Fatty called me outside. Being very practical, he said, “You got all the multiple-choice questions for physics and chemistry wrong. I advise you not to harm others. They might get a few right by guessing.” I was utterly shocked—for one, astonished that my supposedly concealed cheating method had been figured out on the spot, and for another, incredulous about my own false confidence when I assumed the physics and chemistry questions were easy. How could I have gotten everything wrong?!

Like bronze setting out with seven ‘pieces of scrap metal,’ the situation had catastrophic consequences. In order to minimize the damage, I sought assistance on the spot, asking him if he could use the same method to relay answers for the last part of the biology exam, offering money as compensation. He righteously refused my offer.

I guess Huang Tao was following me at the time and overheard the mention of money, mistakenly assuming Little Fatty was threatening me. Consequently, Huang Tao attacked Little Fatty on his way home. Although Huang Tao was one of the “seven dwarfs,” he was no small figure in reality.

He had grown into a tall, muscular one-meter-eighty (almost 6 feet) individual in high school, seemingly capable of twisting off a bottle cap for his girlfriend with one hand (if he had one) and knocking open the skull of a suitor with the other. Even Lei Chuifeng was somewhat wary of his Lu Zhishen-like appearance.

As expected, the strength mismatch resulted in Little Fatty being overwhelmingly defeated. Surprisingly, he didn’t retaliate and took many days off, possibly intimidated by Huang Tao’s formidable presence, and didn’t report the incident to the school.

Eventually, the matter faded away, but Huang Tao, who wasn’t too deeply involved in mob-like activities, was quite frightened by the ordeal. He confided in Xu Zheng, his friend, but possibly to spare me worry or prevent any backlash against me, never mentioned a single word about it to me.

I was furious with Huang Tao and interrogated Xu Zheng about Huang’s whereabouts, intending to confront him. Xu Zheng mentioned they hadn’t been in contact for a long time, but based on his social media updates, Huang Tao was in Beijing practicing boxing—the kind that could deliver a knockout punch.

I thought about it and decided to let it go. As for the faint image of Little Fatty in my mind, he turned out to be the new arch-enemy I had been searching for: Fang Congxin.Last night, before falling asleep, I turned over in my mind countless times why Fang Congxin would report me, and I still couldn’t understand his reasoning. He didn’t have the typical look of a Discipline Committee member, and I wasn’t the only one cheating in class. Besides, it wasn’t even a formal exam, and I was kindly sharing answers with him. Normally, someone would turn a blind eye even if they held the moral high ground. So why did he have to blow it out of proportion and turn it into a feud? What’s hidden behind this is an unknown truth. Perhaps, as the leader of this small group, Fang Congxin always believed it was I who incited Huang Mao to act.

He has transformed, emerging like Lin Pinru confronting Aili, or like Niohuru Zhen Huan dealing with Bai Jing from Ganlu Temple. He’s come for me! No, it was more like I sought him out! It’s as if a thief stumbled upon undercover police, set up a stall right in front of urban management, or drove under the influence straight to the Traffic Police Center. I practically offered myself up, dug my own pit, and jumped right in.

If he doesn’t take this opportunity to bury me, it would be a waste of my self-propelled demise! Cheating feels great momentarily, but getting caught is like facing a crematorium! A song, “Tears of the Iron Window,” for my present self. A song, “Bracing the Chill,” for my future self.

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