Chapter 3 High School

  The biggest difference between high school and junior high should be that the books on the desk are much thicker than before. With the development of society and progress of the times, there is another difference between today's high school and previous high schools - using thick textbooks to block them from playing with their mobile phones.

  Xiang Xiao Tian's seat was in the last row, by the window. In academic terms, this clearly meant that he had already been given up on by the teacher, while the top students were all at the front eating chalk dust. And no matter what the reason, the person who always sat next to him was that clean and elegant, sweet-smiling girl. Although Qi Xiao Nan wasn't a beauty, she could be considered a popular type, so Xiang Xiao Tian, with his very lecherous moves, hadn't failed to drive away those "students" who came to flirt with her.

  High school is not like junior high, it's all about mutual recognition and taking care of each other. However, here there isn't any special treatment, so he naturally became Xiao Tian's guardian, even though he didn't want to at all!

  "Little brother is quite handsome, and I like you too. Why don't you just agree? Why do I always have to be the bad guy every time, it's affecting my normal thinking about life philosophy." Xiang Tian had said this sentence countless times to Qi Xiao Nan.

  "Go die!" This was Qi Xiaonan's response every time, which made Xiang Xiaotian feel depressed each time. "I'm doing this for your own good, a woman who has been single for too long is prone to mental illness!" Of course, he didn't dare say that out loud!

  "Hey, Xiao Tian! In a few days, we'll be submitting our college applications. Apart from your uncle's school, do you have any other second choices?" Qi Xiaonan asked Xiao Tian while pushing her white-framed glasses up the bridge of her nose. As she grew older and her body developed, she seemed to have a hint of a university senior about her.

  Xiang Xiao Tian lay on the table, without lifting his head, glanced at Qi Xiao Nan with his eyes and continued to look at the ceiling fan, saying: "What's the point of volunteering? He's from a normal school, don't forget that I want to be a landlord, and I should go to an economics school. With my brains, I'll definitely be able to make a name for myself in the business world, have thousands of acres of good land, spend my days idling away without learning or skills, and when I'm bored, take a few servants with me to tease virtuous women on the street, heh heh!" Thinking about this, Xiang Xiao Tian couldn't help but start chuckling again, and even drooled a bit.

  "Alright, alright, you're still a landlord, I think your current grades can barely get you into a vocational school. You still want to go for finance and economics? Dream on, it's already senior three. If it weren't for me, you'd probably still be re-taking first year of high school!" Qi Xiaonan said with disdain.

  Apart from in front of Xiao Tian, Qi Xiaonan is usually as difficult to talk to as Xiao Tian's grandmother, the type who rarely leaves the house. Yet every time she renders Xiao Tian speechless, he thinks about how she normally gives people a weak and fragile impression, and his thoughts are: "Women, indeed they're all unpredictable, it's better to not provoke them."

  "Cough... cough... actually, this isn't important. To be honest, it's still quite easy for me to get into a good university. Actually, Xiaonan, do you know? That idea has been with me for three years now. I just can't shake it off, I really don't want to join the army. As I grow older and see more of the world, I've come to realize that joining the army would be a waste of my life - I wouldn't earn any money, and I wouldn't gain anything from it either. My personality is already set in stone, and it's not something that can change overnight. And since I started boarding school, I haven't even been running anymore... if I go to the army, they'll probably work me to death! But what you said three years ago made a lot of sense too. I don't want to disappoint Grandpa, because I'm afraid of losing him at any moment, and that would be something I'd regret for the rest of my life." At this point, Xiaotian's eyes were no longer blank, but filled with confusion.

  "Look at you, you're so useless. Don't talk to me again, I'm cutting ties with you. I thought you'd come up with some earth-shattering reason, but in the end it's just because you can't take the hardship. Just because of this, you've lost the right to be a grandson. Your grandfather could have lost a leg protecting his comrades, but now you're saying you want to give up on something that might be precious to you for the rest of your life just because you're afraid of running? It's infuriating!" Qi Xiaonan was truly angry, her voice even attracting the attention of the whole class. Luckily it was during recess, so it didn't cause a commotion.

  It's been over a decade, but this is the first time Xiao Tian has seen Qiao Xiaonan like this. However, he seems to have completely inherited his father's lukewarm personality and continues to lie on the table without making any unusual movements. In reality, he might not be thinking that way in his heart, but since things have already been said, silence is equivalent to admitting one's own incompetence. Refuting her would probably make her even angrier. Qiao Xiaonan's importance in Xiao Tian's heart seems to have surpassed everything else, yet he dares not admit it. At this moment, seeing Qiao Xiaonan being so angry at him, that usually annoying and troublesome girl, her emotions seem to be deeply affecting him - "She's actually that important to me!"

  "When we were young, there was a dog at your doorstep that scared you so much you didn't dare to go out. I used rocks to coax it, but ended up leading it to me instead, and since I couldn't run away, I had no choice but to bite it back when it bit me; in the end, I managed to chase it away by biting it. Later on in elementary school, every other kid's parents would pick them up after school except for us two, so I'd help you carry your backpack, and that went on for six whole years. When we entered junior high, Dad wanted to buy me a bike, but I refused; instead, I promised him that if he didn't give me any allowance for three years, I'd use the money to buy you a bike - not just because I wanted to give it to you, but also because all our classmates had spending money except for you, and this way we could be hungry together. In high school, maybe due to being boys, math and science came easily to me; my brain would turn a few times and the answers would come to me, but seeing how hard you struggled with your studies, I advised you to switch to liberal arts, which you refused to do. So all I could do was stay by your side without studying myself, secretly bringing down my grades because I didn't want to surpass you - all for us to attend the same university together and make you work so hard. From young till now, everyone in our village knows that it's me who has been protecting you, but they don't know the truth. If it weren't for your constant care, support, encouragement, and motivation towards me over these years, with my personality, I might have dropped out of school to become a street thug long ago due to lack of parental guidance. The accumulation of all this time has made it impossible for me to leave you now. But if you really wish so, fine! I'll agree to your request - but only if Grandpa tells me to join the army! However, there's one condition: we must first get accepted into the same university together." Xiao Tian still had his head on the table, smiling with tears in his eyes as he spoke to Duo Qi Xiaoyan.

  Qī Xiǎo Nán had already buried her head in her arms on the desk and was crying so hard she became a tearful person. At this time, they all didn't notice that except for the sound of crying, the classroom was quiet to the point where even a needle dropping on the ground could be heard.

  In June of the same year, after the college entrance examination season ended, Xiang Xiaotian: 524 points, Qi Xiaonan: 564 points.

  At the same time, admission letters from North China Normal University arrived in their hands.