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Chapter 588: Chapter 375: True and False
May 27, 2014, Tuesday.
During the long morning recess, Yu Wen said, "Yanan, let’s go out and buy some snacks. I’m craving shrimp sticks."
"Do you want anything, Class President?" she asked enthusiastically. "I’ll bring you back anything you want."
Huang Zhongfei replied, "Thanks, but no need."
Jiang Yanan borrowed a charger from Shen Qing’e, "I need to charge for a bit first."
Her phone, which she had rented from Shen Xu of Class 9, had a terrible battery life—it wouldn’t last long before it died. The long recess when nobody was around provided a perfect opportunity to charge it under the multimedia computer.
After setting up her phone, Jiang Yanan left with Yu Wen.
In the back row.
Wang Longlong, always in the know, said, "Brother Ma, did you see it during early study? Gao Heshuai took a wooden stick into Class 9!"
He gestured with his hands to show its size, "Over a meter long, as thick as a rolling pin!"
Hu Jun was shocked, "Damn, Fatty Gao isn’t planning to hit someone, is he?"
One couldn’t help but feel a rush of excitement at the thought of the burly Gao Heshuai wielding a wooden stick like a dark version of Sun Wukong.
Guo Kunnan clasped his hands together, his face showing sympathy:
"It’s really possible, let’s pray for Class 9."
Cui Yu, ever the jokester, chimed in, "It’s a pity. Fatty Gao should have been the homeroom teacher of Class 11, he’d fit right into a funeral parlor."
Several people laughed at his words. Ever since Gu Tai and Luo Jun of Class 11 had been reported—and thanks to the deliberate spread of gossip by some—a stereotype had formed among all the students of the school regarding Class 11 as the ’Funeral Parlor Class.’
Duan Shigang was resting at Wu Xiaoqi’s desk, which was often empty because Wu Xiaoqi liked to play basketball.
Cui Yu came to him with a proposition, "Brother Gang, have you noticed something off with our Class 8 lately?"
"What’s off?"
"People have started using gifts to suck up to the girls." Cui Yu said seriously, reminiscing about the jade gift from Jiang Ning and how Class President Huang Zhongfei had actually given a fragrance diffuser.
Duan Shigang rubbed his chin beard, pondering, "Shall we follow suit?"
Cui Yu replied, "Good idea, but what to give? And to whom? Who should deliver it?"
He posed the soul-searching trio of questions.
Duan Shigang considered himself experienced when it came to gift-giving. He thought back to his own past endeavors—well, let’s leave the past where it belongs.
After consulting with Cui Yu, they swiftly formulated a strategy.
...
During the third lesson of the morning, math class.
Gao Heshuai entered Class 8 with a big stick, attracting the attention of many students.
Cui Yu heckled, "Mr. Gao is here and still brought teaching aids, how formidably out of place!"
Scattered laughter filled the classroom.
Gao Heshuai showed a smile that was a mix of joy and sinister intent; it was hard to tell whether he was genuinely happy or just sneering.
Jiang Yanan looked at Gao Heshuai with the same mindset as the other students.
Suddenly, she felt a pang in her heart—crap!
"Wenwen, Wenwen, I’m done for!" She whispered in panic, "I forgot to take it back!"
Yu Wen understood instantly and her expression changed accordingly.
Dong Qingfeng, who had also overheard, was quick to react and smart enough to immediately recall Jiang Yanan’s phone charging during the recess.
With any other teacher, there might have been a chance to avoid disaster, but not with Gao Heshuai.
If discovered, Jiang Yanan’s phone would undoubtedly suffer a cruel fate!
She had already had her phone confiscated once by Gao Heshuai before, and it seemed very likely it could happen a second time.
Dong Qingfeng watched Fatty Gao intently, mentally pleading:
’Don’t, please don’t, don’t reach inside!’
If Fatty Gao didn’t use the multimedia equipment this lesson, perhaps Jiang Yanan’s phone might escape the calamity.
However, as the old saying goes, when you least want something to happen, it’s bound to happen.
Gao Heshuai pulled out a flash drive, "This lesson we’ll be learning new material."
He bent down to switch on the multimedia computer.
Closer, ever closer...
Jiang Yanan bit her lip; her normally rosy lips turned pale.
Her usually fair face was full of tension, her eyes filled with disillusionment with the world.
That disillusionment pierced deeply into Dong Qingfeng’s heart.
One could only imagine how distressed Jiang Yanan would be once the phone was actually confiscated.
Dong Qingfeng was frantic, ’No, I have to stop all this, I want to see her warm smile.’
’Think fast, come up with something!’
’I, Dong Qingfeng, can definitely turn this around!’
Time was ticking away, and Dong Qingfeng could only watch as Gao Heshuai inched ever closer to the multimedia computer. The moment he would open the small door of the multimedia box, he’d see Jiang Yanan’s phone.
Dong Qingfeng’s body tensed as if he had been plunged into an icy cellar.
He remembered the last time when Jiang Yanan’s phone ringtone had blared out during class. He had desperately whistled, all to cover for her, yet in the end, he couldn’t change the outcome.
He had already failed once, was he about to fail again?
Memories of the past flashed rapidly through his mind.
"Dong Qingfeng, you’re amazing to have solved that problem," Jiang Yanan once admired during a discussion of a math problem.
"Hey, this pancake is really good. Dong Qingfeng, you’re so nice for helping me stand in line to buy it." That morning’s breakfast had made Jiang Yanan happy all day long.
"Dong Qingfeng, I just realized you’re quite handsome," Jiang Yanan commented after appraising him for a while.
And countless other interactions...
Jiang Yanan, Yu Wen, Shen Qing’e, their every frown and smile flashed through Dong Qingfeng’s mind.
Those beautiful moments, those joys, were engraved in his youth, seared into his soul, to accompany him for the rest of his life.
They also forged the person Dong Qingfeng was today.
’Through all trials and tribulations, I’ll give everything just to protect your smile!’
’So, I, Dong Qingfeng, will never, absolutely never, see you all looking sad again!’
In that moment, his brain worked furiously, his intense thought process making his forehead burn with heat.
Even if it meant giving it his all, even trading his soul, he would stop Gao Heshuai.
