Chapter 17: President Li Returns to School

April 24th, Saturday.

With just over forty days left before the college entrance exam, high school seniors were still attending classes.

In the morning, Li Dong accompanied his parents to the hospital. Taking advantage of their absence, he had a full-body checkup done without their knowledge of what was being examined.

Since the test results wouldn't be available immediately, and his parents' nagging was persistent, Li Dong had to let them continue running their stall in the afternoon.

The contract for Blue Sea Plaza wasn't urgent yet since Li Dong hadn't gathered enough down payment.

The lobster trading business had become routine; payments were handled over the phone, so he no longer needed to be present.

Thus, Li Dong found himself with free time for the first time in days.

Since his return to life, Li Dong had been continuously busy, and now that he had some downtime, it felt a bit unusual.

In reality, there was still something he hadn't done in a while—he hadn't been to school for quite some time.

He had taken a week off from school with Chen Guohua's permission, but it had been nearly two weeks since he last went.

During this time, he had called Chen Guohua to extend his leave, or else Old Chen would have contacted his parents by now. Even with the phone call, Old Chen wasn't pleased.

Thinking about this, Li Dong decided it was time to return to school. After all, his primary role was still that of a student. It wouldn't be right to keep avoiding it, even though he had already missed a lot.

Moreover, Li Dong missed Qin Yuhan. He really felt the "a day apart feels like three years" kind of longing.

...

Li Dong arrived at school around 1:30 PM, when classes had not yet started.

However, he knew that at this time, Old Chen would definitely be in his office, as he generally didn't go home for lunch.

He walked to the teaching building, knocked on the office door, and Old Chen's voice came from inside.

Upon seeing Li Dong enter, Chen Guohua's expression turned sour, almost as if he wanted to throw Li Dong out immediately.

Li Dong knew he was in the wrong, so he put on a fawning smile and an apologetic demeanor.

Chen Guohua was somewhat speechless, his face darkened as he said, "I thought you had forgotten you're a student. What's the occasion? Did President Li come to inspect the school today?"

Li Dong chuckled awkwardly, thinking to himself that he was indeed President Li. It seemed Old Chen had a good eye.

However, he didn't dare say this to Chen Guohua. Old Chen was a responsible teacher.

"Teacher Chen, I'm sorry. I've been terribly wrong and unforgivable…" Li Dong bowed deeply, sneakily handing over a pack of cigarettes. He knew Old Chen had a strong smoking habit.

Chen Guohua's face darkened instantly, and he sternly said, "Who taught you these crooked ways? Take it back!"

"Don't, Teacher Chen. I got this from my dad. You know smoking is bad. I don't smoke, so I can't just take it back and let my dad continue harming himself."

Li Dong knew Old Chen's character and had anticipated his reaction.

He quickly started joking to lighten the mood, and soon managed to ease Chen Guohua's anger.

Chen Guohua, somewhat resigned, said, "So you know smoking is bad and you come here to cause trouble, huh?"

"Of course not. I just felt deeply guilty and came to atone. I didn't want to make you smoke, just hoping to help with your craving a bit."

"Go away, you brat…" Chen Guohua laughed, shaking his head. "Li Dong, you used to be quite resilient, but now you're just unruly. Where did you learn all this?"

Seeing Li Dong laughing and staying silent, Chen Guohua's expression became serious again. "Li Dong, listen to your teacher. Don't take the college entrance exam lightly. This is a critical moment that will affect your future."

"There's not much time left before the exam, and you've been absent for almost two weeks. Do you know what kind of consequences this could have?"

"If you don't come to school today, I plan to visit your home tomorrow to talk to your parents. I want to see if they're concerned about your future!"

As he spoke, Chen Guohua was deeply pained, pointing at Li Dong and not continuing further.

Li Dong breathed a sigh of relief. If his parents had found out he'd been skipping school for two weeks, it would have been a big problem.

It seemed Old Chen had reached his limit. Li Dong quickly promised, "Teacher, don't worry. I'll definitely come to school from now on and won't disappoint you."

"It's not about me being disappointed. You need to be responsible for your own future. Don't regret it later," Chen Guohua said, rubbing his temples. It was very troubling to deal with students like Li Dong during such a critical time.

Chen Guohua knew Li Dong was a bright student and didn't want to give up on him. Although time was short, he believed that if Li Dong focused on his studies from now on, getting into a top college was still possible.

Chen Guohua continued, "The school will have the final mock exam during the May Day holiday. Make sure to perform well. Study hard, or I really will call your parents."

...

Li Dong left the office with a grim expression. It would be really embarrassing if his parents were called in.

He was confident about the college entrance exam, but the mock exams were another matter. Even if he performed well in mock exams, it wouldn't matter much.

Unfortunately, Old Chen didn't give him a chance to argue and directly sent him out. It seemed he really needed to study hard in the coming days.

On his way back to the teaching building, Li Dong intentionally took a detour past Qin Yuhan's classroom. Although classes hadn't started, most of the students were already there.

Qin Yuhan was sitting by the window in the third row. This position wasn't the best, but she liked it, and with her excellent grades, the teacher allowed her to sit there.

Li Dong sneaked up to the window and tugged on Qin Yuhan's ponytail. Without looking up, Qin Yuhan said sharply, "Li Dong, can you not be so annoying!"

Li Dong was taken aback. Did Qin Yuhan have some sort of special ability? He pulled her ponytail again, and this time Qin Yuhan was really angry, gritting her teeth and saying, "Li Dong, do you believe I'll expose your embarrassing secrets?"

Li Dong's mouth twitched. Besides being called "bald bird," what embarrassing secrets did he have?

Qin Yuhan was quite fierce. Li Dong was a bit frustrated, "How did you know it was me?"

He was genuinely curious. In the past, he never came to Qin Yuhan's class and generally cornered people in alleys.

This was his first time coming this way, and he didn't expect Qin Yuhan to guess it was him without even looking.

Qin Yuhan looked up, wrinkling her delicate nose, and said half angrily, "Who else would be so childish? Only elementary school kids like to do this. We're adults now."

What she didn't say was that no one in her class dared to do such things, and the feeling of having her ponytail pulled was too familiar—Li Dong used to do it often in middle school.

Three years had passed, and besides Li Dong, no one else had bullied her.

"Am I childish? Am I an elementary school kid?"

Li Dong was irked, but when he looked into Qin Yuhan's clear eyes, he instantly softened.

He chuckled awkwardly and changed the subject, "Alright, you're right. It is quite childish. Yuhan, how about going out for a walk tonight?"

"I don't have time…"

Qin Yuhan glanced at Li Dong, and seeing his hopeful expression, she blushed and said, "I'll think about it. Let's talk after school."

Li Dong eagerly rubbed his hands. When a girl says this with such a look, it clearly means she agrees.

He wasn't sure if this counted as a date, but given that he had hugged her the day before, if she didn't have those feelings, she wouldn't agree or speak in such a tone.

As the class time approached, students in the classroom began to look at them oddly. Qin Yuhan, slightly embarrassed, said, "Hurry up and go. We'll talk more after school."

Li Dong nodded quickly, giving a challenging glance to the boys who looked like they wanted to eat him up.

What are you staring at? Even if you keep staring, she's still mine!

In a good mood, humming a tune, he walked into Class 8 of the senior year, almost at the same time as the math teacher.

The math teacher, Wu Hao, was a young man in his early thirties, wearing glasses. Since he wasn't the homeroom teacher, he wasn't too strict with Class 8.

Wu Hao had a good relationship with Li Dong and, seeing Li Dong enter the classroom right after him, joked, "Dongzi, have you returned from your world tour?"

"Ahem…"

Li Dong cleared his throat and said seriously, "Teacher Wu, class time has started. Let's discuss personal matters privately."

"Haha, you brat, go back to your seat and pay attention in class," Wu Hao laughed, realizing the students were

 watching them, and smiled as he let Li Dong go.

Returning to his seat, Li Dong saw Wang Jie looking at him with admiration and whispered, "Dongzi, you're amazing. Skipping class for two weeks and still not getting scolded."

"Just average. I've got a halo protecting me, of course, I'm different from you ordinary folks!" Li Dong was in a good mood and didn't mind chatting with his classmates.

Just as they were chatting, Yuan Xue in the front row scolded quietly, "Stop talking during class. If you don't want to study, don't disturb others!"

Her tone was harsh, as if he owed her a lot of money.

Li Dong, feeling guilty, didn't argue. He shrugged at Wang Jie and started to focus on his books. The May Day mock exam was approaching.