Volume 1 / Chapter 20: The Guardian by the Podium
With the sound of the morning exercise bell, the brief farce came to an end.
High school morning exercises were different from middle schoolâs, and MĂČ XuÄyĂĄo followed along awkwardly. But the other students werenât much betterâafter all, theyâd only been doing this for a month, so their form wasnât that much more polished than hers.
She barely made it through morning exercises, feeling embarrassed all over, and quickly followed the class back to the room.
Not long after, the bell rang for the first period.
The English teacher entered the classroom with a light, sprightly step.
Theyâd had English class yesterday, so XuÄyĂĄo knew her nameâcourtesy of a little background info from her desk mate, WĂĄng JiÄlĂš .
Her surname was WĂĄng, given name QiÇnyÇ. Just like most English teachers in her impression, she favored a British style of dressâeven her hairstyle had a distinct European flair.
âHmhmhmhm~â WĂĄng QiÇnyÇ hummed softly as she stopped at the podium, then patted LiĂș XiÇowÄi who sat beside it. âGuardian of the podium, did you finish your homework today?â
Guardian?
XuÄyĂĄo blinked, then looked more closely at where LiĂș XiÇowÄi was seatedâand suddenly understood.
He was seated right next to the podium, even closer to the teacher than the front row. That spot was typically reserved for the class troublemakers or underachievers.
From primary school to high school, there was always someone assigned that spot.
In fact, XuÄyĂĄo herself had once been stuck in that exact seat... back in elementary school.
âI didâŠâ LiĂș XiÇowÄi was already half-slumped over his desk, ready to nap. Even sitting beside the podium didnât stop himâhe couldnât chat with others, sure, but sleeping through class was still on the table.
Of course, that was because this was English class. If it were math, he wouldnât even dare.
âIs that so~? If your handwriting looks like chicken scratch, youâll have to redo it!â WĂĄng QiÇnyÇâs tone suddenly sharpened as she put her hands on her hips and gave him a pretend smack on the head. âNo napping todayâthis lessonâs very important.â
âEvery day you say itâs importantâŠâ LiĂș XiÇowÄi yawned lazily. He had seemed wide awake just a moment agoâwhy did he get so sleepy the moment class began?
âIf you know itâs important every day, how do you still have the nerve to argue!?â WĂĄng QiÇnyÇ slapped the desk, pouting. âCanât you be a little more self-disciplined!?â
âBut Iâm just so tiredâŠâ
âDidnât sleep again last night?â she asked, flipping her hair as she casually opened her textbook.
âWas playing PokĂ©mon FireRed. Took me ages to figure out where to get FlyâŠâ LiĂș XiÇowÄi answered without a shred of hesitation, as if he were chatting with a fellow gamerânever mind that she looked like the last person whoâd ever touch a game console.
âOh, thatâs easy. Itâs in Celadon City. Just cut down the tree and enter the little houseâyouâll find it there,â WĂĄng QiÇnyÇ replied coolly.
LiĂș XiÇowÄi didnât even look surprised. He clearly took this in stride. âI didnât notice it at first, so now Iâm wipedâŠâ
"Enough." WĂĄng QiÇnyÇ waved off the topic before it spiraled into a full-on strategy guide. "No sleeping! Shouldn't have played under the covers!
âBut I am tiredâŠâ
âHmmmâŠâ Her eyes sparkled with mischief. Suddenly, she grinned slyly. âHow about thisâif you stay focused and answer questions correctly, Iâll give you a lollipop after class!â
âIâm not a little kid.â LiĂș XiÇowÄi rolled his eyes.
"Too bad! You're getting it. Now-focus!" She pinched his ear hard, smiling as he yelped in pain did she let go, satisfied.
And so, English class officially began.
WĂĄng QiÇnyÇâs teaching style wasnât exactly polished, but her lessons were always lively and fun.
She also seemed to bring little gifts to class every day. If someone won a mini-game, got a tough question right, or otherwise participated well, sheâd hand out one of these little prizes on the spot.
They werenât anything fancy or expensive, but still gave everyone something to look forward to.
Each gift came in a neatly wrapped box, about palm-sized. All the boxes looked identical, but their contents variedâlike a lucky draw.
Honestly, WĂĄng QiÇnyÇ had a knack for capturing studentsâ attention.
The most impressive part? The gifts didnât just include stationery or snacksâthere were also little toys that boys found interesting.
That meant the mini-games werenât just filled with enthusiastic girls anymore.
âOkay, okayâweâve got five minutes left in class, so letâs play a little game!â she announced cheerily. âThis one doesnât have much to do with the lesson. Itâs more to test your reflexes! Raise your hand like this if you want to join~â She waved her hand in demonstration. âTodayâs prize includes something even the boys might like!â
XuÄyĂĄo felt a little tempted.
After all, sheâd never had this much fun in English class before. Though, she couldnât help but wonderâwas the teacherâs salary really enough to afford all this?
Still, WĂĄng QiÇnyÇ didnât look short on money. XuÄyĂĄo didnât know brand names, but she could tell the quality of her clothesâthey werenât cheap.
Maybe she was from a rich family?
âXiÇoyĂĄo, letâs join together?â WĂĄng JiÄlĂš whispered.
âHuh⊠why?â XuÄyĂĄo asked, confused.
âIt's... less nerve-wracking together.,â JiÄlĂš mumbled shyly.
âSure,â XuÄyĂĄo agreed readily. She had been planning to raise her hand anyway.
Now that JiÄlĂš was going too, it made the whole thing feel less nerve-wracking.
âAlright, WĂĄng JiÄlĂš and the girl beside her⊠MĂČ XuÄyĂĄo, right?â WĂĄng QiÇnyÇ pointed them out. âYou two, come on up~â
Then she called up four more studentsâthree girls and three boys in total. Nice and balanced.
She began explaining, hands on hips. âThis game is super simple! It tests your vocabulary, reflexes, and how fast you can write!â
The six students each stood at a section of the blackboard, separated by horizontal lines to prevent cheating. If anyone peeked, theyâd be disqualified from winning.
âIâll say a letter. Your job is to write as many English words as you can that start with that letter. Keep going until I say a new one,â she said. âWhoever writes the most correct words wins a prize!â
âGot it,â the six students answered nervously.
âOkay, first oneâC!â
XuÄyĂĄoâs brain kicked into overdrive. Neat handwriting was out the windowâthis was all about speed.
Everyone else was doing the same. At this pace, no one was writing legibly. As long as the letters could be deciphered, that was enough.
âNextâX!â
X?
XuÄyĂĄo froze for half a second. The first thing she thought of was Xmas. Then⊠what else?
She caught a glimpse of the others pausing, too.
Clearly, this one had stumped them all a bit.
There really werenât many common X-words.
Thankfully, XuÄyĂĄoâs mind was spinning fast. She managed to come up with xylitolâa word she remembered meaning "sugar alcohol."
No time to think of more, though. The next round had already begun.
âNext letterâP!â
Now that brought a flood of words to her mind. She started scribbling like mad.
This time, it dragged on a little longer.
Long enough that XuÄyĂĄo actually started blanking out.
She had been sure she knew tons of words with P, but now her mind was going foggy.
âWhat elseâŠ?â She frowned, then suddenly wrote Panties.
âNextâS!â
âAlrightâtimeâs up!â
They only had about five or six seconds for the S round. XuÄyĂĄo barely managed to write one word.
âOkay, pens down! Letâs take a lookââ WĂĄng QiÇnyÇ started on the boysâ side. The first was ZhĆu YÇng.
âHmm⊠not bad, not bad⊠Wait a second. S-word: ShangHai? Whatâs the meaning of that!?â she laughed, giving his head a light swat.
âTechnically, itâs a wordâŠâ ZhĆu YÇng muttered.
âNice try, but no loopholes allowed! Doesnât count!â
âAw, câmon, just this once?â he grinned sheepishly.
âNope! Next!â
She checked all six studentsâ answers, correcting any misspellings. It was expected that people would make mistakes under pressureâand errors didnât count.
XuÄyĂĄo was the only one who got all her words rightâand the highest number overall.
Second place went to WĂĄng JiÄlĂš.
âCongrats!â WĂĄng QiÇnyÇ beamed, holding out a bag full of little gift boxes. âEach of you, pick one~â
XuÄyĂĄo stared at the identical boxes for a while, then picked one from the edge.
It didnât feel heavy, which made her a little disappointed.
The bell rang just as the two girls finished choosing.
The joyful class had passed all too quickly.
Back at their seats, JiÄlĂš immediately tore hers open.
She got a cute butterfly hair clip that looked pretty high quality.
âXiÇoyĂĄo, what did you get? Open it! I wanna see!â
âUh⊠okay.â XuÄyĂĄo was just as curiousâbut she managed to restrain herself a bit more. She opened hers slowly, savoring the gamble.
âUghâwhat even is thisââ JiÄlĂšâs disappointed voice rang out on her behalf.
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