Chapter 323: Chapter 316 Problematic Girl Chapter 323: Chapter 316 Problematic Girl Zheng Tan indeed hadn’t visited Little Youzi’s school for some time; after returning from Beijing, he had continuously slept in for a few days. He hadn’t accompanied Little Youzi and Jiao Ma out in the mornings, and by his calculations, it had already been over a month since he last visited.

Over a month—indeed, enough time for many unexpected things to happen.

As Zheng Tan ran home, he pondered over the events of the past few days since his return from Beijing.

Something wasn’t right. Little Youzi seemed normal these past few days. After coming home, she mostly did her homework, as the end-of-term exams approached—which was understandable. Her routine for eating and sleeping was without any irregularities. If it were as those two junior high students had said, Jiao Ma would have surely shown some reaction. Yet, Zheng Tan felt persistently troubled inside.

Jiao Ma might not know, after all, not all news circulating among students reached the teachers’ ears.

In the evening, Zheng Tan paid special attention but still didn’t notice anything unusual about Little Youzi.

Therefore, Zheng Tan decided to get up early the next day and go out with Jiao Ma and Little Youzi.

This year’s winter seemed to be colder than usual. Zheng Tan shivered as he left the house, then jogged along after Little Youzi and Jiao Ma, finding it less cold as he ran.

Jiao Ma rode her electric scooter to school first, while Little Youzi met up with her classmates at the courtyard in West District. Then, the three girls rode their bikes to school together.

The three little girls, wearing hats and scarves and with thick gloves on their hands, didn’t let the cold dampen their mood for chatting. Zheng Tan ran nearby, all ears for the conversation among the trio.

At first, they talked about a TV series. Zheng Tan had seen a few episodes and didn’t find it very interesting, though its male lead was quite popular among the girls. When they were nearing the school, Xie Xin paused and said to Little Youzi, “Youzi, should we really ignore those rumors? They’re getting more outrageous as they spread.”

Zheng Tan, who had been somewhat bored and looking around, perked up his ears at Xie Xin’s words, focusing his gaze on Little Youzi.

“Don’t bother with them, let them talk,” Little Youzi replied indifferently, seemingly unconcerned, which relieved Zheng Tan quite a bit—apparently, it was just a rumor.

According to Xie Xin, someone was apparently discontent with Little Youzi’s top ranking in the midterm exams, which led to the spread of rumors. However, as Zheng Tan glanced at Little Youzi, he noticed how the little girl from before had transformed into a young lady, quite pretty and importantly, academically excellent. During middle school, those with good grades were especially favored by the opposite sex.

Deep in thought all the way to school, Zheng Tan watched as Little Youzi and her friends parked their bikes and walked into the teaching building to sit down in their class. Though Little Youzi had told him to head back since it was cold outside, Zheng Tan didn’t leave right away. Instead, he stood on the nearby wall for a while and noticed a few boys looking at Little Youzi with annoying expressions, but none seemed particularly close to her—it was evident from Little Youzi’s attitude.

As the glass windows gradually fogged up, Zheng Tan decided not to wait any longer. He walked along the wall, planning to listen to what other classes had to say about the matter during the break.

Zheng Tan walked past the teaching building area, passed by the canteen, and then reached the sports field.

At that time, there weren’t many people on the field, especially with the cold weather and the approach of the end-of-term exams—there were even fewer people running outside, with hardly any students or teachers to be seen.

Walking along, Zheng Tan felt something hit his head—it wasn’t painful, like being hit by a wad of paper.

The paper ball bounced off Zheng Tan’s head and fell to the ground, carrying with it the scent of pan-fried buns.

Looking in the direction from which it came, Zheng Tan saw a familiar face.

“Heitan?!”

The newcomer ran over to Zheng Tan with a radiant smile and then crouched down at the foot of the wall, gesturing to Zheng Tan to come over.

Zheng Tan stared, wondering how this girl could be here. Wasn’t she still in elementary school just a couple of months ago, and now suddenly in middle school?

The person was Xiao Jiu, who had been accompanying the blind old man Mr. Kun. However, Zheng Tan had always thought Xiao Jiu was still in elementary school. Due to a tragic past, she should be quite behind Little Youzi in schooling—just a couple of months ago, she was said to be still in elementary school, but now she was here, dressed in the middle school uniform and carrying a backpack.

Jumping down from the wall, Zheng Tan sat next to Xiao Jiu, listening to the girl talk.

Xiao Jiu, now looking much more cheerful with her shoulder-length haircut and a pink butterfly clip in her hair, usually seemed rather well-behaved. But those who had seen her fight knew she had a fierce streak. Zheng Tan had once met Xiao Jiu near the overpass and walked with her for a while—there was a vendor who was loud and dishonest, trying to cheat children out of their money. When Xiao Jiu confronted him, the vendor couldn’t even meet her gaze.

Perhaps because of her past experiences, Xiao Jiu’s attitude towards life differed from her peers, and she was always satisfied with the arrangements made by Mr. Kun.

Initially, the blind old man Mr. Kun might have recognized Xiao Jiu’s tenacity, which is why he agreed to take her in. Indeed, many blind people can see with their hearts, even if not with their eyes.

Xiao Jiu talked a lot after seeing Zheng Tan, often speaking incessantly while Zheng Tan just listened by her side.

Through Xiao Jiu’s words, Zheng Tan learned that Xiao Jiu had indeed been studying elementary school books two months ago, but she had already passed the exams at the level required for elementary school advancement, so there was no need to wait another half year. Consequently, she was directly enrolled in junior high school here. Apart from Xiao Jiu, there were two others she knew from past tutoring who were also in this school, one in the eighth grade and the other in ninth, but they didn’t go to school together on regular days, so no one else knew they were acquainted.

With Mr. Kun’s capabilities, it wasn’t difficult to get Xiao Jiu into the school at this time. And as a transfer student arriving right after Zheng Tan had left Chuhua City, it was no wonder he was unaware of it.

Xiao Jiu also spoke about Little Youzi. Because they were in different classes, one on the first floor and one on the second, Xiao Jiu hadn’t sought out Little Youzi. Initially, she didn’t know which class Little Youzi was in, and after finding out, she had beaten up a few girls spreading rumors the next day. She felt it wouldn’t look good to seek Little Youzi out immediately. She wanted to observe those girls for a while first; otherwise, she was afraid she might cause trouble for Little Youzi.

Xiao Jiu was ruthless when it came to fighting, and Zheng Tan could imagine what it must have looked like when Xiao Jiu took those girls down. Xiao Jiu didn’t say she fought because of Little Youzi; those girls probably didn’t even suspect Xiao Jiu knew Little Youzi. They spread rumors just for the sake of it; however, they had unwittingly guessed partially right by chance.

A boyfriend she did not have, but a “problem girl” she did.

Xiao Jiu decided to find Little Youzi after the final exams were over to talk things over, so for now, she wouldn’t worry Little Youzi.

“I’ll go ‘communicate’ with a few more of those rumormongers tomorrow,” Xiao Jiu said, rubbing her fists.

During middle school, many students fought in secret, regardless of gender, Zheng Tan thought. Boys’ fights could be bloody, but girls often slapped faces and pulled hair. However, if Xiao Jiu got involved, it was a different story.

Xiao Jiu wasn’t the type to bully others using her status. If she really got into a fight, those people must have been particularly despicable, and Zheng Tan had faith that Xiao Jiu had restraint. Raised around Mr. Kun, she wouldn’t rashly stir trouble like those hooligans; on the contrary, at many times, they were quite low-key, otherwise Little Youzi would have known long ago that Xiao Jiu was in the same school.

Back during the “Triad” era, the influence of gangster hooligans on middle school students was far greater than that of wealthy elite, especially among middle schoolers. They could easily imagine a hooligan as some powerful triad figure—super impressive. Although this had faded with time, and it had been some years since that era, the underlying impact still existed. When brought up, there was a mix of contempt and awe in their tone, and if connected to an honor student, there was even more for gossipmongers to dwell on, no wonder the students would choose the “triad” for spreading rumors.

Zheng Tan had intended to personally teach those rumormongers a lesson, regardless of whether they were boys or girls, but now with Xiao Jiu around, Zheng Tan didn’t have to trouble himself looking for them anymore.

“Oh no, time’s almost up. I have to go to class in five minutes when it ends!”

Xiao Jiu slung her bag toward the wall, then stepped back a few paces, sped up, and with the help of a nearby tree, vaulted over the wall. Zheng Tan watched, his eye twitching—she was definitely a seasoned offender!

As Zheng Tan climbed over the wall, he noticed a figure on the school’s side of the wall not far from where Xiao Jiu landed, looking cold and wearing an armband, clearly a teacher on duty this week, guarding against disobedient students who might climb over the wall or do something bad somewhere in the school.

“Cough, good morning, Director Wang,” said Xiao Jiu, picking up her bag and dusting it off before politeness greeting Director Wang who wasn’t far away.

Director Wang’s face twitched. Five days a week at school, four days this girl barely made it on time, and the remaining day it could be a late arrival or an early one. Why “could be”? Because on several occasions, classroom teachers reported lateness, but the people on gate duty had no records of it.

If it were a boy, it would be easy to handle; there were plenty of such problem boys in middle school, and there were means to deal with them. But it just had to be a girl who, aside from being occasionally late, was reasonably behaved during class. As a transfer student, her grades weren’t great, but she wasn’t at the very bottom either, just a little below average—not the teachers’ main concern. Yet it was this girl who was causing such headaches for the morning duty staff.

Director Wang carefully considered his words, thinking about how to counsel her. This morning, soon after he began his duty, he saw a bag tossed over the wall, followed by a nimble figure flipping over and landing steadily. When he saw who it was, Director Wang’s eyelids twitched involuntarily.

Before Director Wang could speak, Xiao Jiu hung her head and said, “I was wrong.”

Her straightforward admission left Director Wang with no immediate response.

“What did you do wrong?” Director Wang asked sternly.

“I shouldn’t have climbed the wall,” Xiao Jiu replied.

“And?” Director Wang pressed, gazing at Xiao Jiu, “Why are you late again?”

That “again” made Zheng Tan’s whiskers twitch.

Xiao Jiu tilted her head as if to ponder, then suddenly said, “Oh, I saw an old lady get hit by a car this morning. I took her to the hospital—that’s why I was late.”

Director Wang, Zheng Tan: “…” Could it get any faker?

But the next moment, Xiao Jiu pulled out several documents from her bag—hospital certifications, police paperwork, and statements from the patient’s family, all confirming Xiao Jiu’s story with official seals and hospital notes. Zheng Tan thought carefully, and he did indeed recall a lingering hospital scent on Xiao Jiu just before.

As the bell rang for the end of the period, Xiao Jiu ran towards the teaching building, leaving Director Wang holding the documents in the disheveled wind. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep