Chapter 7: Chapter 4 School
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Ping City No.3 Middle School, the best teaching school in the city and one of the top five in the province in terms of college entrance examination rates, is a prestigious provincial key school.
Although tuition is not very high due to national regulations, all the extra tuition fees, miscellaneous fees, and other assorted charges add up to far exceed the modest tuition.
The early morning air carried a hint of coolness and moisture, with a faint streak of gold emerging in the eastern sky.
A breeze swept by, rustling the leaves of the row of big trees beside the school's teaching building.
After entering the school gate, a white cement path leads directly to the first teaching building, where a large number of students were coming and going in front of the white building.
The ringing of bicycle bells created a cacophony. Occasional distinct roars of motorcycles could also be heard. The school's security guard only allowed small vehicles to enter.
Despite being a high-fee school, most students come from well-off families, and there are no shortages of outstanding ones, it's not as if there are no students with their own cars.
But with this rule in place, many of the wealthier students have simply switched to motorcycles.
In a seat by the window on the first floor of the teaching building, a tall and skinny boy with a slightly pale complexion sat staring blankly out at the garden, his head tilted to one side.
Wafts of fresh, unknown floral scents drifted over from the garden, making for a rather pleasant mood. This person was Lin Fei.
After returning home yesterday, Lin Fei practiced the visualization and Hand Seal of the First Layer of the First Realm of Qi Cultivation again and had figured out the cooldown time for the pattern visualization – two hours.
That is, after successfully visualizing five times, one must wait two hours.
However, the effect was very noticeable, and every time he successfully visualized, Lin Fei could feel as though he had endless energy.
An unceasing flow of energy surged from within his body.
Last night, he slept for only four hours yet woke up full of energy, extremely spirited. The muscle strains on his body had also healed significantly.
Unable to sleep, he had no choice but to quietly practice the Basic Sword Technique footwork at four in the morning, only stopping when it was time to leave for school.
The classroom was noisy, with a girl chasing a grinning boy around the desks and chairs.
Life in senior two was like this. Regardless of gender, at this age when the buds of romance just begin to sprout, everyone was just starting to grasp the concept of relationships, resulting in a naturally ambiguous behavior in daily life.
In his past life, Lin Fei was the archetypal introvert, getting nervous all over at the sight of a remotely pretty girl approaching, and if she greeted him, he'd probably blush on the spot.
Moreover, as his studies were just below average and he had no knack for dressing up or good looks, coupled with a lack of hobbies other than reading novels and watching anime, he naturally did not have many friends in class.
However, he still had a few fellow enthusiasts for novels and anime whom he hung out with, especially anime fans, which were scarce at the time, even though there might have been many novel fans.
The desks and chairs in Lin Fei's classroom were arranged in pairs, with two students sitting together. They would move over one seat to the left every week.
This week, Lin Fei was sitting by the window.
His deskmate was a similarly skinny bespectacled boy named Chen Yun. Pimpled, he had a habit of constantly pushing up his glasses with his index finger while talking and was an exceptionally sly guy.
This guy had an air of being scholarly but loved to talk about rather lewd topics in private. In his past life, Lin Fei was quite good friends with him.
He was generous, too, often treating Lin Fei, who didn't have much pocket money, with a quite understanding attitude.
However, this kid's favorite thing was to tease Lin Fei about his name. After all, the character "Fei" is mostly used by females, so it stands out awkwardly on Lin Fei, a boy with plain looks.
A hand slapped onto Lin Fei's shoulder, and Chen Yun leaned over.
"Feifei, what are you looking at? Trying to look deep so early in the morning?"
"Nothing much. I didn't sleep well last night, worried about the exam results," Lin Fei suppressed the instinctive reflex to counterattack due to the sudden attack on his right arm, and lied casually with a natural face.
Every week, No.3 Middle School conducts weekly tests in all subjects, with the results being posted on Monday behind the door of the classroom, a standard source of comparison among the students.
Upon mentioning test scores, Chen Yun's expression changed as well.
"Don't mention it, I'm worried too. The last math and English tests were just too damn twisted."
He spoke softly, but a girl sitting in front turned her head slightly, her eyes flashing with a hint of laughter and pride.
This girl was Fang Jing, who had a very good figure for her young age, busty and curvy. Even though she could only be considered average-looking and not exactly beautiful, her outgoing personality made her somewhat famous in her own class and the surrounding ones.
"Actually, it wasn't that bad, was it?
By the way, Lin Fei, could I borrow your Walkman to listen to for a while?"
Fang Jing was somewhat vain, and her family wasn't very well-off.
When Lin Fei first got into No.3 Middle School, his father, Lin Jianguo, had rewarded him with a Sony cassette Walkman with remote control and LCD screen, which Lin Fei treasured greatly.
However, after starting school and sitting in front of Lin Fei, Fang Jing, being outgoing, would chat with him from time to time, becoming familiar.
After seeing other classmates with their own Walkman, controlling it with a satisfied expression, she naturally couldn't help but borrow Lin Fei's a few times.
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Lin Fei originally belonged to the type who couldn't help blushing when a girl talked to him, and naturally, he had no resistance to their requests.
Although the Lin Fei of today is no longer the person he used to be, he still wouldn't refuse such a small request. He fished out a black portable music player with wired control headphones from his desk and handed it over.
"I'll need it back before the afternoon, as I'll be using it then," he said.
"Um... okay," Fang Jing took it with slight surprise, gave Lin Fei a careful look, then turned her head away.
During the previous times she had borrowed it, this boy had been all flushed, barely able to speak clearly, and his eyes darted around, refusing to meet hers, nothing like the composed and calmly assertive figure who now set a return time in advance.
After Fang Jing turned back around, Chen Yun smacked Lin Fei's shoulder with a forceful pat.
"Look at you, you've gotten so brave now!"
"Tch, what bravery or lack thereof," Lin Fei dismissed the notion as beneath him. He was, after all, no longer young; and if he didn't even have this basic level of composure and resolve, wouldn't all those years lived have been a waste?
His mention of needing it in the afternoon was indeed honest; having been reborn, he couldn't afford to waste time idly.
With the energy Qi Cultivation now provided him, it was unthinkable not to make an effort to enrich himself.
He had passed the English Level 6 test during his university days, but that certification was hardly above Level 4 proficiency, competent in reading and writing, but his listening and speaking skills were dismal. Now having returned to the past, he had to make up for it no matter what.
Although language is but a tool, mastering it would greatly expand his future scope of knowledge absorption. After all, reading foreign professional texts in their original language is always superior to relying on translations.
"Duuuu~~~~~" A somewhat jarring bell sounded. The students hastened back to their seats, pulling out their English textbooks for morning reading.
A few individual students were still hastily stuffing breakfast pastries into their mouths.
A middle-aged man, slightly overweight and wearing glasses, walked into the classroom with a stern face, almost exactly timed with the school bell.
He was the class teacher, and the English teacher, Wu Zhong.
Wu Zhong was known for being serious and strict, liking to wield rules and regulations over students. He often intimidated the students with threats of disciplinary action, making him quite unpopular.
"Ahem~~ The results of this test are in," he said, his gaze sweeping over the students with a somber look.
"This quiz basically reflects the current distribution of grades in our class, and while I acknowledge the difficulty of the questions, I cannot accept such results," he continued.
Then he started calling out names and their corresponding grades.
"Fang Xiao, 121 points, first place."
"Cheng Dekai, 119 points, second place."
"Zhao Chuanfang, 118 points, third place."
"......."
"......"
"...."
"....."
As each name was called, the students, now accustomed to Wu Zhong's methods since they had just begun their sophomore year, only visibly embarrassed when those with lower scores were named.
In this day and age, a poor grade could make one feel inferior even when speaking amongst peers.
"Lin Fei, 82 points, rank thirty-ninth."
Lin Fei suddenly felt more than a dozen gazes drifting towards him. Out of 150 points, ninety was a pass, and his score hadn't even reached the passing mark.
Following the last few names, Wu Zhong severely chastised the lowest scorers, growing even more solemn afterward.
"This test's results are not what matter, but rather!" he said, changing the subject and scanning the classroom with his gaze, raising his voice.
"This weekend, the school will organize a large English test to select ten students for an exchange program in the United States.
Moreover, our foreign language classes have also been scheduled. If you continue to perform at this level, it's likely that our guest teachers, Park Xiuya and Stephen, would refuse to teach our class.
You are all nearly adults now, with your own ideas, and should understand how precious these opportunities are to you.
Especially considering both foreign teachers have priority recommendation spots for exchange students. Moreover, they still have contacts within their home countries' schools.
If you manage to earn their approval, securing a spot as an exchange student to South Korea or the United Kingdom is also quite possible," he declared.
Leaving these words behind, Wu Zhong strode out of the classroom.
South Korea, the United Kingdom—these two terms suddenly ignited everyone's passion. Opportunities like these, typically only available in provincial key schools, were undeniably precious. That is, of course, to everyone but Lin Fei.
Opening the English textbook on his desk, Lin Fei began the study steps he had planned in advance, completely undisturbed. His time was very valuable.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone