CH 22

When Lu Rong walked into the classroom the next day, his classmate Niu Yanling sat in his seat, held Guo Jing’s leg on her own, and wiped Guo Jing’s skin above the plaster with a wet towel. There was a washbasin on his desk, and the water was spilled everywhere.

Lu Rong: “…”

Chengnan High School recruited students from all over the city, and children from the surrounding countryside of S city could also enter the school as long as their scores were high enough. In view of the extreme imbalance of educational resources in urban and rural areas, there were not many rural children in Chengnan Middle School. Niu Yanling was one of them, and she could be called an inspirational girl in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai.

While other children were running around in the cram school, Niu Yanling went to the field, herded cattle, and went up the mountain to cut firewood. She was still admitted to the key class of Chengnan Middle School, and her talent was not low. But after entering high school, her grades in the class were similar to Lu Rong’s. It was not that their army was not strong, it was that the enemy army was too strong and the other students were too good.

Niu Yanling wasn’t particularly concerned about her grades. Anyway, she was enrolled in the key science class of Chengnan High School, and she could pass a test no matter what. She didn’t care whoever won the first place and whoever won the second place. A child from a poor family had long been in charge of the family, and her top priority now was to earn enough for her own living expenses.

She had heard early on that the school had a gray industry chain of copying homework for all grades, and she added Li Nanbian’s work WeChat after trying several times, not to buy test papers, but to join the team to help others copy homework to earn some money, but was rejected, however her crazy posture of wanting to work left a deep impression on Li Nanbian. Li Nanbian classified her as a key human resource.

This time about taking care of Guo Jing, Li Nanbian turned to Niu Yanling after talking with Fang Chang. As soon as Niu Yanling heard that there was 40 yuan a day and would not delay her classes, she immediately sealed the deal. Early the next morning, she sat uprightly in Lu Rong’s place, waiting for Guo Jing’s arrival.

Guo Jing staggered into the classroom with a cane, saw Niu Yanling sitting there, and looked up at the class sign.

Niu Yanling: “I’m also in your class.”

Guo Jing said softly, “No, I’m sorry.”

Niu Yanling: “Have you had breakfast?”

Guo Jing said softly and slowly, “Ah… I have.”

Niu Yanling: “Then sit down.”

Guo Jing: “…Eh.”

Guo Jing was wondering why he had to report to Niu Yanling whether he had breakfast or not. He had never spoken to Niu Yanling at all. Sitting in the fourth largest group, the homework was not collected together. But Niu Yanling had already stood up, grabbed his soft and huge arms, and pressed him firmly to the seat without changing expression or showing evidence of a beating heartbeat.

Guo Jing: “(●w●)” Did he have intimate contact with a girl just now?

Niu Yanling went back to Lu Rong’s place, took out the hot water bottle that had been prepared beforehand, and poured some hot water into the washbasin. She brought the hot water bottle from her rented house, she bought the washbasin new, but the towels were not new and had faded blooming peonies printed on them.

Niu Yanling stretched out her hand: “Leg.”

Guo Jing’s voice was as thin as a gnat as he said, “Eh?”

Niu Yanling was a person who paid attention to efficiency. She put the leg on her own lap, and pushed up his pant leg to wipe it. Last night, when she received Li Nanbian’s task and the first payment of 40 yuan, she immediately looked up “how to deal with leg casts” online and made a list of tasks to be done every day. It was very important to clean the skin around the plaster, as it could cause scratches and allergies, since you could not take a bath before the plaster was removed. Niu Yanling planned to wipe Guo Jing’s legs every morning in the future.

When Lu Rong came in, he saw Niu Yanling with rolled up sleeves, pursing her lips, as she rubbed against Guo Jing’s leg in a socialistic steelmaking posture.

Guo Jing’s white and chubby face showed the expression of a bamboo rat when it was picked up by the Huanan brothers. It was weak, innocent, and bewildered, but it felt a little dangerous.

Lu Rong walked to the side of his seat, carrying his schoolbag, staring at the washbasin. He never had conflicts with anyone in the class. Niu Yanling was conspicuous enough. If he quarreled with her now, he would definitely become the focus of the class.

While wiping, Niu Yanling asked Guo Jing, “Are you going to cook your own breakfast in the future?”

Guo Jing: “Yes (ェ.)”

Niu Yanling: “What about lunch and dinner?”

Guo Jing: “I will ask Lu Rong to help me to lunch (ノw,)”

Lu Rong: “…” Why don’t I know about this thing.

Niu Yanling: “I will help you.”

Guo Jing: “(●w●)”

Niu Yanling: “What about dinner, you will go home by yourself?”

Guo Jing: “Mom, mother will make it for me.”

Niu Yanling: “Got it, you have something to call at school.”

Niu Yanling put down his leg, took the washbasin down and put it on the ground, took the same towel to wipe Lu Rong’s table clean, and threw the towel into the washbasin, holding the hot water bottle with one hand, while holding the washbasin in one hand, then she turned around and wanted to leave.

Guo Jing: “…May I ask why you…” suddenly started taking care of me?

Niu Yanling: “No.” She signed a confidentiality agreement with Li Nanbian and could not disclose this matter.

Lu Rong: “…”

Lu Rong took out a tissue, wiped his desk again, and sat down amidst the smell of Guo Jing’s feet.

Guo Jing said in a soft voice, “Lu Rong.”

Lu Rong hummed slowly, showing that he was listening.

Guo Jing: “You said Niu Yanling, does she like me? (●w●)”

Lu Rong: “…Maybe.”

….

After class, Niu Yanling moved a chair and sat next to Lu Rong, waiting to serve Guo Jing tea and water, and help him go to the toilet. After going to the toilet three times, Guo Jing thought he had a puppy crush, and everyone in the class also thought that Guo Jing and Niu Yanling had a puppy crush. Everyone talked a lot, the first pair in the class turned out to be two fringe characters, the male was tall and fat, and the female was black and strong, making people not even interested in gossip, especially since Niu Yanling helped Guo Jing to paddle to the toilet with a cane. The back view of them walking together was like watching ten episodes of rural love stories, or the middle-aged and elderly relationship centered on Xie Dajiao, seeing this the entire Class 8 lost their yearning for love inexplicably.

Taking advantage of Niu Yanling helping Guo Jing to go to the toilet, Fang Chang came to Li Nanbian: “You should return the money to the class. You see, now that Niu Yanling is taking care of Guo Jing diligently, Lu Rong just sits among them and acts as a light bulb. The money is also given to Niu Yanling.”

Li Nanbian: “I have already given the money to Niu Yanling.” Boss Lu was even more expensive than him, how could he take care of Guo Jing?! They took over the work from Fang Chang and immediately outsourced it.

Fang Chang: “…” Was free trade so prosperous in this class?

Li Nanbian: “She is poorer than Lu Rong.”

Fang Chang: “…well – is this not puppy love?”

Li Nanbian: “It’s hard to say. Guo Jing thinks so, Niu Yanling doesn’t.” Li Nanbian pulled Guo Jing away and inside the drawer, there was a love letter written by Guo Jing to Niu Yanling. Fang Chang glanced at it and couldn’t bear to read it, Guo Jing’s handwriting was really ugly.

Fang Chang: “Should we tell Guo Jing that Niu Yanling was actually hired by us?”

Li Nanbian: “You hired him.”

Fang Chang: “…”

Li Nanbian put the love letter in front of his eyes: “Do you have the heart to tell him?? Do you want everyone in the class to know that you paid class fees to hire people for Guo Jing?”

Fang Chang: “I can understand the love letter. If we let everyone in the class know that we paid class fees to hire people for Guo Jing, what’s the problem?”

Li Nanbian: “Will the state announce the purpose of each tax collection to taxpayers?”

Fang Chang: “That’s true.”

Li Nanbian: “Let’s go with the flow.”

Niu Yanling helped Guo Jing back, Fang Chang whistled, Li Nanbian slipped away, and Lu Rong, who had been watching the whole scene, played with the pencil box with his eyes open. Guo Jing took out his love letter, lay down on the seat and daubed it, and Niu Yanling went to the water dispenser to pour water for him. Guo Jing wrote so fascinatedly that he didn’t even notice that Niu Yanling had returned, until Niu Yanling cast a shadow over his head.

Niu Yanling stared at his love letter. A blush appeared on Guo Jing’s chubby face. When the bell rang, Niu Yanling stretched out her hand and took Guo Jing’s love letter away neatly.

Guo Jing asked Lu Rong in a low voice: “What does she mean?”

Lu Rong’s hand originally picked up the pen to take notes, but now he had to put it on the pencil case.

Guo Jing poked at the rotten girl at the front table: “Hey——I wrote a love letter to…the person I like, and she took it away before I finished writing it.”

The rotten girl said coldly without turning her head: “BG, fuck off.”

Guo Jing: “qaq”

After this class, Niu Yanling came back with a brand-new love letter, quickly opened Guo Jing’s desk and hid it in, and said, “Take a good look.”

Guo Jing read Niu Yanling’s delicate handwriting and beautiful and smooth sentences and couldn’t help being excited. Compared with Niu Yanling’s love language, what was his writing?

Guo Jing smacked the back of the rotten woman in front with a love letter, and said in a low voice, “Hey, she wrote back, we are flirting.”

The rotten woman: “Get out, this is not flirting.”

Report to Li Nanbian the record of today’s Guo Jing incident.

1. Wipe his feet before class;

2. Fetch him water 4 times (he can drink water better than my cows);

3. Help him go to the toilet 3 times (drink more and sprinkle more);

4. Help him cook once;

5. Answer his study questions 7 times (a bit annoying);

6. Help him revise a love letter.

Li Nanbian: “Uh… a love letter?”

Niu Yanling: “His Chinese is so bad that you can’t even read a love letter when he writes it. He even wrote it on the back of the biology test paper. It was in a mess. I changed a piece of paper for him and revised the sentences, then I polished up a bit, language is my strong point.” In fact, if Li Nanbian had read it, he would know that Niu Yanling had rewritten it.

Li Nanbian: “…Okay, keep up the good work.”

Li Nanbian: [Red Envelope]

Niu Yanling: [Caught]

….

Since Niu Yanling settled down with Lu Rong in order to take care of Guo Jing, Lu Rong thought it was time to solve his hair problem. He gave Liang Wendao a secret instruction. Liang Wendao and Ji Wenfeng were in the same class.

Ji Wenfeng heard Liang Wendao say in the aisle next door during recess that day: “The class grass of Class 8 has been replaced. Wasn’t it the one named Sheng before? Now I heard that it has become the one named Lu.”

Ji Wenfeng stopped his pen.

Classmate a: “No way, Sheng Yu is super handsome—who is the surname Lu?”

Liang Wendao said: “Lu Rong.”    

Classmate A: “I haven’t heard of it.”

“The girls in class 8 have gone crazy, and it is said that someone moved a chair to sit beside him in order to pursue him.”

The pen in Ji Wenfeng’s hand across the aisle broke with a “snap”.

Liang Wendao, classmate A: “…”

Ji Wenfeng finished his lunch and went upstairs from the second teaching building, bypassing Class 8 to go back to the classroom. The girls in Class 8 went crazy again and rushed out to watch him. He glanced at the empty classroom through the window, and the threesome in the back row of the classroom were very eye-catching: Guo Jing, a tall and fat man with his legs crossed in plaster, and Lu Rong who was sitting next to Guo Jing, who was doing his homework seriously, and in the aisle next to Lu Rong, there was a girl sitting there. Although she was black and strong, the way she stared at Lu Rong made Ji Wenfeng very upset.

Under the background of Guo Jing and Niu Yanling, Lu Rong was thin and fair, and with the perm of a handsome Korean man…

Ji Wenfeng took out his phone with a gloomy face.

Three seconds later, Lu Rong in the classroom took out his mobile phone from his trouser pocket, and Ji Wenfeng sent him a message: Get your hair redone after the wedding.

Lu Rong raised his head and looked out the window. Ji Wenfeng was standing in the sun with his trouser pockets in his pockets, with bright red beats earphones hanging around his neck, squinting at him.

Lu Rong: Plan successful.

He knew that Ji Wenfeng’s distorted personality would have a distorted possessive desire for his own things, so he couldn’t see him being very popular.

The rotten girl in the front seat was writing her homework without raising her head as she said, “This is flirting.”