Chapter 17. Back to School V

 Although they were initially surprised by the preferential treatment Liu Fengying gave to Hua Shu, her classmates eventually found it reasonable. Even if the two weren't close enough to be glued to each other all day, they still had a pretty good relationship. Now that Liu Fengying had recovered, it was understandable that she wanted to share her joy with someone close.

 However, that definitely wouldn't have been the case if they knew Liu Fengying's true character better. For example, Liu Zihan, who had been secretly watching from the slightly open classroom door for about two minutes without anyone noticing, was left in shock after witnessing the last part of Liu Fengying's interaction with Hua Shu.

 'There's definitely something wrong with her head...' Liu Zihan thought to herself. She had never seen her half-sister act so intimately with anyone before, not even with herself.

 Sure, they had hugged countless times, kissed each other on the cheek, and even playfully bitten one another during their scuffles, but all of those actions were innocent—the kind of normal interactions between two sisters. Never had there been such a strange atmosphere between them as there was now between Liu Fengying and her deskmate.

 The others didn't notice, but Liu Zihan was sure that Liu Fengying was deliberately teasing Hua Shu. Honestly, she hadn't expected to find her sister in this situation when she decided to check in and see how things were going.

 Seeing how much of a stir Liu Fengying's transformation had caused and having a rough idea of her plans to fight her father for control of her late mother's inheritance, Liu Zihan had thought Liu Fengying would take this opportunity to increase her influence among the children of other wealthy families in town.

 Instead, not only was Liu Fengying ignoring everyone except Hua Shu, but she had even argued with someone fairly well-connected within the rich kids' social circles for Hua Shu's sake. What was she gaining from this? Could Hua Shu offer her anything? Liu Zihan was fairly certain she couldn't. Even though Hua Shu's father was a respected man, he held no sway over the city's business world.

 So, the only explanation was that Liu Fengying had suddenly developed an interest in Hua Shu.

 'But that doesn't make any sense. Why now? They've known each other for years...', Liu Zihan couldn't wrap her head around it. Though she was fairly certain that Liu Fengying was attracted to girls, she didn't think Hua Shu was her type.

 She couldn't deny that Hua Shu was truly beautiful, but she was also well aware of how absentminded and sharp-tongued she could be.

 'Yeah, Yingying should be into elegant, well-mannered, cheerful girls—not someone like Hua Shu, a walking time bomb ready to explode at any moment...'

 Liu Zihan was about to step into the classroom and go straight to Liu Fengying, thinking it would be easier to figure out what was wrong if they had a conversation. But just as she reached for the door handle, a shadow fell over her.

 "Student, if I'm not mistaken, this isn't your classroom. Class is about to begin, so unless this is a life-or-death situation, I believe whatever you're planning can wait until the next break...", said the middle-aged man standing behind Liu Zihan. With graying hair, a gray suit, and a pair of thick black-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, it wasn't hard for Liu Zihan to recognize him as the math teacher known among students as Professor Lí (Raccoon).

 His words did nothing to calm Liu Zihan. On the contrary, they only made her more anxious. Thinking about the possible complications of an untreated head injury, she began to fear that Liu Fengying might actually be in serious danger.

 But what could she do? Liu Fengying seemed healthier than ever, so no one would believe her if she claimed something was wrong with her half-sister. Moreover, they were currently in a cold war, so her chances of convincing Liu Fengying to undergo a thorough medical check-up were slim. Liu Fengying might even suspect that she was plotting against her to undermine her newfound glory.

 So, Liu Zihan had no choice but to put her plans on hold until the lesson was over. In the meantime, she intended to figure out a way to make Liu Fengying listen to her.

 "Kids these days... Back in my time, when there were only a few weeks left until the final exams, we didn't even take lunch breaks...", the math teacher muttered under his breath as Liu Zihan apologized and hurried back to her classroom.

 What he saw upon entering only deepened his disappointment in the new generation. Not a single student was reading a book or working on an exercise. Some were whispering in small groups, others were glued to their phones, and most striking of all—at the very back of the classroom—Liu Fengying was combing Hua Shu's hair.

 The math teacher took a deep breath, trying to maintain his composure. He wasn't doing this because he feared the students' backgrounds, but because he was concerned for his own health. With his blood pressure on the rise in recent years, there was always a risk that a vein in his head might burst if he got too angry.

 His presence did manage to settle the students down somewhat, but the boredom that quickly spread across their faces made it painfully clear that none of them had any interest in studying.

 "I'm glad you're all so relaxed. You must have already mastered the entire curriculum for the exams. Too bad I can't take a vacation during the last month of school...", the math teacher could no longer suppress his dissatisfaction as he watched his students look at him like he was the ultimate party pooper.

 If anyone had the right to be frustrated, it was him. He was the one being treated as the villain, despite doing everything in his power to ensure that the new generation had enough brainpower if not to propel the country to new heights of development, then at least to preserve the achievements of the previous generations, who had sacrificed their health and dreams to lift the nation out of poverty.

 The students were well aware that their situation was far from as favorable as their teacher sarcastically described, so they quickly buried their noses in their exercise books. They didn't want the math teacher to think they were overconfident about their exam preparation and call them up to the board to test them.

 Everyone except Liu Fengying, who was left with a bitter taste in her mouth after being forced to abruptly stop brushing Hua Shu's hair. It was as if she had been given a large bowl of ice cream but wasn't allowed to take more than two spoonfuls. So she had no intention of pretending to be intimidated by the mention of the final exams just to stroke the math teacher's ego. Besides, for someone who had seen all kinds of things, it would be shameful to be swayed by a teacher's bad mood.

 The math teacher was pleased that he had managed to put the students in their place with just a few words, but when his eyes landed on Liu Fengying, who was sitting relaxed as if she were at the cinema, he was irritated once again.

 In the past, he had had high expectations for Liu Fengying, confident that if she didn't slack off, she could achieve some of the highest math scores in the country. To his disappointment, not only had she stopped being 100% focused on her studies over the past year, resulting in high but not excellent test scores, but she had also taken medical leave with less than two months left before the university entrance exams. If it had been a serious health issue, it would have been understandable for her to take such a long break. But since Liu Fengying now appeared to be in even better shape than before her medical leave, it was clear that she could have returned to school much sooner.

 "Student Liu, it seems you're not too worried about the upcoming exams...", the math teacher said in an accusatory tone. He could ignore someone who had no talent for math, but Liu Fengying didn't fall into that category, and to him, wasted potential was the greatest sin.

 Liu Fengying wasn't particularly surprised that the math teacher had singled her out; from her experience as a leader, she knew that the best way for someone to assert their authority was to go after the person who refused to follow the herd.

 "You're right...", she replied, her voice devoid of emotion. Though she didn't want to get into a conflict with the teacher, she didn't intend to play along with him either.

 The teacher hadn't expected Liu Fengying to be so unaffected by his words. Wasn't it obvious that he was criticizing her?

 "Oh? So you're saying you know how to solve every type of problem that could appear on the exam?", the teacher pressed further. He didn't believe that anyone could claim to have mastered the entire curriculum perfectly.

 "Not exactly, but being stressed wouldn't help the class's morale...", Liu Fengying quickly came up with an explanation for her indifference toward the exams, not intending to reveal the improvements in her cognitive abilities. Since excellence is usually rewarded with even more work, there was a high chance she wouldn't escape the math teacher's constant encouragement for the rest of the school year if she admitted to her full capabilities.

 "What do you mean?", the teacher didn't understand what she was getting at.

 "If I, who have had some of the highest grades so far, were to show fear that I might not get a good score on the exam, how could those who have always scored lower than me still have confidence in themselves?", Liu Fengying said, casting a pitying glance at her classmates, who were pretending not to pay attention to the conversation between her and the teacher in hopes of avoiding being called on next.

 "...", the math teacher was left speechless.

 It was the first time he had ever heard someone present their lack of motivation to study as a sacrifice made for the good of their classmates.