Push Me Away When I Come, Don't Hold Me Back When I Leave - Chapter 6

Chapter 6: You Should Study Hard Too

***

“Huff… huff… Sis, why are you walking so fast? I can’t even catch up with you running. Running so fast after eating, aren’t you afraid of gastroptosis?” Heavy breathing sounds came from behind, it was Ji Chuan, panting heavily. If this were a phone call in the middle of the night, such sounds might cause some inappropriate misunderstandings.

“I’m in a hurry to study. There’s only one month left and not much time. Don’t we need to work hard to get into a good university?” Xia Ruoming looked at Ji Chuan behind her and said expressionlessly.

“Huh… huh?” Ji Chuan looked at her in bewilderment. Xia Ruoming indeed loved studying, but wasn’t that to catch up with Xu Fengwu? She had already decided not to pursue anymore, so was there still a need for this? Besides, didn’t Xia Ruoming say something earlier about playing DOTA tonight and watching her dominate the opposing team? Was it appropriate to say such things now? Had she no shame?

“Sis, you’re not planning to pursue Xu Fengwu anymore, so why still work so hard? It’s not necessary, right?”

“Who said I’m studying for her? Not just me, you need to come study too, otherwise I’ll tell Auntie Zhong about your slacking off at school.” Xia Ruoming said with a mischievous smile, somewhat threateningly. Ji Chuan’s talent wasn’t actually bad, he just didn’t like studying. If someone pushed him, getting into a top 10 university might be difficult, but getting into a good school would be no problem. She didn’t want to see Ji Chuan have a relatively unsuccessful life.

“You wouldn’t dare! If you dare, I’ll tell Auntie Liu about your drinking!” Ji Chuan fought back immediately.

“Alright, then it’s settled, it’s a deal.” Xia Ruoming turned and walked straight toward the teaching building.

“No — sis! You’re my dear sister! Fine, I’ll study!” Ji Chuan’s miserable cry came from behind. Xia Ruoming’s lips curled into a smile, she knew Ji Chuan would give in.

During lunch break, the classroom was always tacitly quiet. Some would choose to nap, otherwise they’d be drowsy during afternoon classes. Others would force themselves to stay awake and continue studying, hanging their heads and pricking their sides with awls. To avoid disturbing those resting and studying, no one would speak loudly in the classroom, and there was very little communication.

There was an exam in the afternoon. Xia Ruoming didn’t force Ji Chuan to cram right now, she just gave him a small warning to stop playing around so much in the future.

Xia Ruoming continued studying her “5 Years of College Entrance Exams, 3 Years of Prison” at her seat. Although her current grades should be enough to get into Sichuan University like in her previous life, she still wanted to try for Zhejiang University. This time it wasn’t for Xu Fengwu, but because there were several people at Zhejiang University who would be important for her planned career.

Because she had traveled back in time, although she didn’t know if her actions would change the timeline, she knew the major developments of the future like the back of her hand. Using this information advantage to lay out her plans, it would be hard not to succeed. Plus, with the experience from her previous life dealing with various influential people, she knew who was reliable. There were several trustworthy and important people at Zhejiang University in the future, but because she hadn’t gotten into Zhejiang University in her previous life, she was only acquainted with these people and their relationship wasn’t particularly deep.

Soon the lunch break ended, and homeroom teacher Xiao Qinghan entered the classroom carrying a stack of test papers.

Xiao Qinghan was considered a beauty, twenty-six years old, and had a very good temperament. In three years of high school, she had only gotten angry at students once, and that was because a student had accidentally cut their leg badly, she got angry only because she was worried about the student. Wearing black-rimmed glasses, she had the air of a well-bred young lady. Her lectures weren’t boring or rigid either, she would occasionally tell jokes and get along well with students. It was rare to see such a teacher who got along well with students in high school, but when Xia Ruoming later visited her at school, after the passage of time, she had also become the kind of old-fashioned teacher in students’ eyes, with an unchanging deadpan expression that rarely showed a smile.

Her eyes swept across the classroom, and she quickly saw Xia Ruoming in her seat, with tangled messy hair and looking somewhat haggard. She felt somewhat disappointed. Xiao Qinghan had seen Xia Ruoming more than once today and had also heard the rumors about her failed confession. She didn’t really care about love affairs, these eighteen or nineteen-year-olds, could teachers really control their underground relationships? She just felt it was a pity that in just one night, the previously sunny and youthful girl had become like this. She had seen Xia Ruoming’s previous efforts, a student who barely got in, gradually climbing from the bottom to the top 50. Although this might not count as outstanding in this country, only teachers knew what kind of effort she had put in.

Just because she made a wrong choice before the college entrance exam, she became confused, lost, and indecisive, possibly wasting three years of effort. How could this not pain Xiao Qinghan?

Taking her gaze away from Xia Ruoming’s face, Xiao Qinghan let out an almost imperceptible sigh and said to a female student, “Class monitor, please distribute the test papers.”

A frail girl stood up, saying “okay” softly, then took the test papers and began distributing them to other students.

When passing by Xia Ruoming, the class monitor seemed to trip on a chair, her body leaning forward about to fall to the ground. Xia Ruoming quickly caught the class monitor, then whispered in her ear, “Be careful, Class Monitor Chu.”

Perhaps due to a one-sided suspension bridge effect, Chu Suhe’s face immediately turned red. She nodded at Xia Ruoming, then continued distributing papers in a flustered manner.

Looking at this introverted, frail girl with bangs half-covering her eyes, a warmth rose in her heart. In her previous life, it was this unremarkable girl who had helped her considerably when she was down and out. If it wasn’t for her, she might not have held on until capital investors supported her. Although Chu Suhe had to repeat a year due to some accidents, she still later got into Sichuan University and became her junior. It wasn’t until university that Xia Ruoming learned just how beautiful and charming she really was.

Gentle and virtuous, with a heart as pure as an orchid, it seemed all the beautiful words in the world existed for her.

However, seeing Chu Suhe’s silk glove on her left hand, she remembered Chu Suhe’s background, and Xia Ruoming’s face immediately darkened. In her previous life, she learned that Chu Suhe was abused by her father daily, and later her father ran away with his mistress, leaving Chu Suhe and her mother Chu Yu to depend on each other. Chu Suhe wouldn’t even eat well, just to save money for the family. Later, Chu Yu also passed away from cancer, leaving only Chu Suhe alone.

In this life, Xia Ruoming would not allow such things to happen.

Return kindness with kindness.

The papers were quickly distributed. Xiao Qinghan rolled up her teaching materials and tapped the desk, then began speaking to the class: “Two months, less than two months left. This is the most important moment in your lives. I know you’ve heard things like there are many opportunities to change your fate, that the college entrance exam isn’t absolute. Yes, there are many opportunities to change your fate, but for determining your fate, there’s only this one chance. I hope you can all put aside other things in your hearts and focus on the college entrance exam. Don’t let your more than ten years of effort go to waste because of other things. For this mock exam, I also hope everyone can take it seriously and find their weak points.”

“Early discovery, early treatment,” Xiao Qinghan humorously used an advertising slogan. “If you discover you don’t know something during the college entrance exam, it’ll be too late to regret. Do you all understand?”

“We understand!” the students below shouted in unison.