Chapter 43: Chapter 42: “Is the Bike Broken?

Wan Youping and Fu Jun were both boarding students, so after moving the items to Teacher Wu’s office, they went straight back to their dorm.

That left the three day students—Xu Su, Rao Lu, and Xi Zirong. They all biked to and from school, so they took the same route to the school’s bike shed.

As Xu Su wheeled out her own rusty, dilapidated bicycle from the shed, she felt no sense of inferiority looking at Rao Lu and Xi Zirong’s brand-new bikes.

She had known for a while that most local students in Chang City came from well-off families. Families with circumstances like hers were a small minority.

Especially a girl like Rao Lu, who could afford piano and dance lessons. In this day and age, her family’s financial situation was definitely good.

As for Xi Zirong’s family, Xu Su hadn’t heard anything. But from his usual words, actions, and the way he treated people, she could tell he wasn’t raised in an ordinary household.

She calmly said goodbye to the two of them and rode her bike home.

When she got home, Xu Su didn’t review her schoolwork. Instead, she took out her ledger to first settle the accounts for the shopping trip.

’This is the whole class’s money, I can’t be careless.’

The snacks and fruit cost 310 yuan. The candy was the main expense; she had bought milk toffees, fruit-flavored soft candies, and even some chocolate.

The items for decorating the classroom weren’t expensive, totaling 45 yuan after haggling. The round-trip bus fare for the five of them was 10 yuan.

In total, they had spent 365 yuan.

Xu Su counted the remaining money she had. It was 315 yuan.

’It adds up.’

She breathed a sigh of relief. After all, her pocket was full of loose change collected from so many classmates. She had been worried the entire way that she might have dropped a bill or two without realizing it. It was good that the numbers matched.

All that was left was the money for the Jianlibao. The current retail price for Jianlibao was 2.50 yuan a can. Even with a bulk purchase, the price wouldn’t be much lower, which was considered quite expensive for the time.

According to Xi Zirong, many students in the class had unanimously requested this particular drink. Since it was a rare event, they decided to go for it.

After counting the money, Xu Su put it in her school bag for safekeeping.

On Monday, as soon as she got to the classroom and before morning self-study began, Xu Su found Xi Zirong. She gave him the ledger she had prepared the day before, along with all the remaining money.

“Check the accounts. The only thing left to buy is the Jianlibao. During the lunch break, you should get a few classmates to go buy it. The money’s all here. I won’t be going.”

Xi Zirong took her small ledger, opened it for a quick glance, and nodded. “Alright, I’ll take some people to buy the sodas.”

Xu Su added, “When the time comes, you can calculate the leftover money and distribute it back to the students. I’m not handling it anymore, okay?”

Xi Zirong glanced at her and let out a soft chuckle. “Okay.”

…

Many students in the class were curious about what had been bought, but they didn’t dare go to Teacher Wu’s office to look. Instead, they asked the few classmates who had gone to the wholesale market the day before.

It was said that almost all twenty-six first-year classes were holding a New Year’s party. The second-year students would cast envious glances whenever they passed by.

As for the third-years?

The third-year students had no time for envy.

Starting on Monday, Rao Lu used the lunch break to start drawing on the back blackboard. The words “Happy New Year” were essential, drawn in a cute font and outlined with different colored chalk.

She also took out the balloons, colorful ribbons, and other shiny decorations they had bought, sticking them up with double-sided tape.

By Tuesday’s evening self-study session, the whole classroom was filled with a festive, celebratory air. Only a large empty space in the very center of the back blackboard remained.

Rao Lu called Xi Zirong over to write an essay titled “The Meaning of the New Year” in that space.

In Rao Lu’s words: “The class president can’t just do nothing. You have to leave some of your handwriting on the blackboard for students from other classes to come and admire.”

By Wednesday’s evening self-study, all the students’ desks had been moved to the sides and placed against the walls, clearing a large open space in the middle of the classroom.

Xi Zirong and the vice class president, Fu Zichen, were organizing people to distribute the food.

The fruit was fixed: one apple and one orange per person. If there were any extras after distribution, students could go get more themselves.

Sunflower seeds, candy, and haw flakes were distributed by the handful. Each person got a share in the first round, and the rest was placed on Teacher Wu’s lectern for everyone to help themselves.

They had bought a total of seventy bottles of Jianlibao, one for each student. The remaining ones were for any subject teachers who might stop by to join the fun.

The “Rocket Class” had never been this lively since the start of the school year.

Teacher Wu was especially approachable today, smiling all evening. Wan Youping and the others even dared him to sing a song, and he didn’t refuse.

He chose the song “Suddenly Myself.”

Don’t be fooled by Teacher Wu’s usual strictness, which made him seem like an old-fashioned scholar. In reality, he was still a young man in his early thirties who had dedicated many years to teaching and had not yet started a family.

Now, as he sang this pop song, no one found it out of place.

Midway through, the language arts teacher dropped by. His class, Class One, was also having a New Year’s party. He popped over to take a look and was pulled in by the students to sing a song before they let him leave.

After both teachers had performed, the atmosphere grew more and more relaxed.

Many students who had been a bit reserved at the beginning completely let loose, starting to belt out all sorts of love songs.

Two boys were even fighting to sing songs like “Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” and “That Night.”

The lyrics of the latter song, in particular, made many of the girls cringe.

During the party, Huang Feng also dragged Xu Su and Qian Jia up to sing “Don’t Wanna Grow Up.”

The excitement only started to wind down after every single song on the three CDs Chen Hao had brought had its turn.

A glance at the time showed it was almost ten o’clock.

The party had lasted just over three hours, but it seemed to have strengthened the bonds between the classmates. The day students had to go home, so the boarders took on the task of cleaning up.

Tonight was also the happiest night Xu Su had experienced since her rebirth. The atmosphere at school relaxed her. Seeing her classmates’ youthful, carefree smiles was truly infectious.

This happiness didn’t last long before it was shattered by an accident.

Still smiling, Xu Su had just ridden out of the main gate of First High School when her bicycle chain snapped.

The chain on this old, worn-out bike had already fallen off several times over the first few months of school, but this time seemed different.

Xu Su’s mood soured instantly as she stared at the broken chain.

’If the chain had just fallen off, it would have been better. I could just put it back on. I’ve gotten pretty good at that by now. But it completely snapped. What am I supposed to do?’

’Push the bike home?’

It took over twenty minutes to bike home. If she had to walk, it would take at least an hour. The thought of walking alone for an hour late at night was a little frightening.

Although there were streetlights the whole way and some cars would pass by on Chang City’s roads at night, what if something happened to a young girl walking alone? ’What if?’

Xu Su had at least that much of a sense of self-preservation.

Just as she was wondering if she should just go to the dorm and squeeze in with Qian Jia for the night, a bicycle screeched to a halt beside her.

Xi Zirong planted a foot on the ground. After confirming that the person squatting down was Xu Su, he got off his bike.

“Did your bike break?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep