Ch9 - Ha Ha Ha

Edited by Zaki

As everyone knew, Senior Grade 2 – Class 18 was a notoriously bad class. Inside the class, the students slept, chatted, and played with mobile phones. They didn’t pay any heed to the teacher at all. 

In this chaotic learning environment, only Qi Linqing was sitting upright and listening carefully throughout the whole lecture, and kept his head buried to take notes carefully.

Actually, he was practicing writing.

Since crossing over, Qi Linqing had been silently observing other people’s writing posture and methods, trying to learn.

Due to the hardships he went through in his previous life to make a living, his imitation ability was considered very strong, but being used to soft brushes and ancient styles, it was really difficult for him to suddenly write simplified characters with this kind of hard pen. The characters he wrote were distorted, like some strange symbols. 

The teacher was a little relieved to see this scene. After all, there was at least one student listening to the lecture.

So the teachers frequently called on Qi Linqing to answer questions.

However, Qi Linqing would usually answer back ‘I don’t know’ or he would force out some shocking answers, which were similar to that of the Chemistry class catheters used to drink milk tea and other such thunderous responses.

Students: Hahahahahah

Teacher: I’m so distressed.

Even Zhong Chen, for a few moments, was attracted by this diligent new classmate who seemed very eager to learn . He turned his head slightly and from his peripheral vision, glanced at the exercise book on Qi Linqing’s desk. And saw from the so-called notes that the other party was diligently taking were all strangely shaped scribblings.

Zhong Chen: “………”

Chinese class. 

The Chinese teacher also couldn’t help calling the only student who was listening:

“Student Qi Linqing, can you recite the full poem “Nostalgic Full Moon” by He Wenhao? If you can’t recite it, you can read it.”

The students in Class 18, after hearing this, looked at Qi Linqing one after another, waiting for an entertaining answer.

“I would say that Qi Linqing has almost become a source of joy for me.” Jiang Bai laughed with a shrug of his shoulders. 

Luo Xing: “Who isn’t?”

Qi Linqing flipped open his textbook and was surprised to find that he recognized the poem.

The author had once asked him to make a painting related to this poetry.

He Wenhao was a former patron who worked in the Imperial Academy of the Imperial Palace in his last life. He was fond of writing poems and was keen on collecting paintings that were customized to match his poems. 

However, He Wenhao’s official position was low. His monthly salary was barely enough to get by in the Capital, where prices were soaring, so he could not afford to hire a painter.

Later, He Wenhao got to know him by chance and was attracted by his high-quality and cheap painting pricing. From then on, he also became one of his loyal customers.

Thinking of this, Qi Linqing couldn’t help but sigh.

Thousands of years had passed, and things had long changed. 

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

Qi Linqing nodded, stood up again and read solemnly, “The writings spread  rapidly like the ships moored at night, provoking an emotional lingering and feeling of self-pity…….  the bright and clear moon surrounds the dust and smoke, but see the trace of wind… Blowing lightly to the south.”

Cr rbbc jr atf nblmf rabqqfv, atf Jtlcfrf afjmtfg abbx atf ifjv lc mijqqlcu: “ubbv, ubbv, Vaevfca Hl gfmlafr nfgs jgaoeiis!”

Hl Olcdlcu rja vbkc jcv mbcalcefv ab qgjmalmf tlr kglalcu.

Ktf reggbecvlcu raevfcar ofii lcab jc ffglf rlifcmf. 

A moment later.

Aljcu Djl ibkfgfv tlr nblmf: “Ktlr qbfw… P gfwfwyfg la kjr lc atlr qijmfwfca afra, gluta?”

“Yes, yes, I remember too!” Luo Xing agreed.

Another small detail. 

The man with glasses on one side said slowly, “Then there is only one truth –”

“Qi Linqing knew the answer but deliberately didn’t write it. He really came for Brother Zhong!”

Everyone subconsciously cast their gazes on the two people sitting in the back row by the window.

The window was slightly open, and the breeze blew in slowly through the gauze curtains. 

The blond young man’s head was lowered as he wrote and drew on the exercise book on the table, while the black-haired young man next to him was looking at the squirrel leaping among the branches and green leaves outside the window.

This scene was inexplicably a little harmonious. What was going on?

Everyone: No, I must be blind.

——– 

As soon as the bell rang for the last class in the morning, before the teacher could say “class is over”, the students of class 18 rushed out collectively. Like a typhoon whizzing through the border, there were now only a few people left in the class.

Qi Linqing was stunned and looked at Zhong Chen who was still sitting in his original position. He was puzzled: “What are they going to do?”

Zhong Chen: “What else? To eat.”

Qi Linqing: “They look so anxious.” Like the reincarnation of the hungry ghost. 

Zhong Chen glanced at him and used the famous sentence he had learned recently: “If you don’t rush to eat, you have a problem in your brain.”

Qi Linqing was dumbfounded. It turned out that if he didn’t rush to eat in the future, he was mentally retarded in the eyes of other people?

He unscrewed the thermos cup and decided to take a sip of tea to suppress his shock.

The tea was already cold, and he thought to himself that he should go somewhere to pour some hot water later. 

“Then why don’t you… Uh, eat?” Qi Linqing suddenly asked.

Zhong Chen said: “Because someone brought me food.”

Qi Linqing: “Oh.”

Zhong Chen: “……” 

Awkward conversation, let it end here.

Zhong Chen inexplicably felt that the character of this person next to him was actually not quite the same as in the book. He could not see any viciousness, but rather this person was like a dull wood.

————-

Du Yuanbai rushed over to Class 18 after class, and planned to ask Qi Linqing to eat together with him. 

As a result, as soon as he stepped through the door, he saw Qi Linqing and Zhong Chen sitting side by side in the last row by the window, wearing the same white shirt and school uniform of Junior High School. The scene was more like a sweet campus love drama.

In front of Zhong Chen, Du Yuanbai did not dare to reveal anything, but once he left the building, walking on the shady path under the greenery leading to the cafeteria, he was like a wild animal in a melon field, excited: “I really couldn’t guess it! You are so scheming!! How does it feel to be at the same table with Brother Zhong?”

Qi Linqing knew that in the novel, the original owner had written a love letter to Zhong Chen, which was mistakenly read out publicly by the broadcasting station, so the whole school knew about his love for Zhong Chen.

He couldn’t explain the fact that he didn’t like the other party, so he casually circumvented it by saying a few words: “En, En, not bad.” 

Du Yuanbai: “Don’t act, I think you’re already happy in your heart, right?”

Qi Linqing: “En.”

Du Yuanbai: “Why are you reacting like this?”

Qi Linqing didn’t really listen much and responded, “En-En, En-En.” 

Du Yuanbai: “……”

Not only did he not feel any semblance of joy in the other party’s emotions, he could even detect a fairly visible perfunctory response.

The Junior High School cafeteria was divided into three floors. The higher up the building, the more expensive it was and  the food was quite good.

Du Yuanbai and Qi Linqing came to the third floor and ordered a few small side dishes. 

Du Yuanbai ate snacks in the morning and had no appetite, so he casually moved his chopsticks a few times and then stopped eating

But Qi Linqing ate everything, even the last soybean on the plate and asked Du Yuanbai: “I see you have untouched meat in your bowl, can I eat it?”

Qi Linqing lived in poverty in his last life, and with the lack of supplies in ancient times, he rarely tasted these delicacies.

Du Yuanbai: “… You eat.” 

How could this be?

Perhaps the other party has seen through the dazzling vanity of the colorful world and returned to simplicity again.

To be honest, Du Yuanbai preferred the Qi Linqing now.

When he looked back, he saw a sticker on the wall of the canteen: Who knows what is on your plate, every grain of food is hard work. 

Hey, I heard that Qi Linqing had also farmed in the countryside, maybe because of empathy.

Immediately Du Yuanbai felt a sense of shame. En, he wouldn’t waste food next time.

It was PE class in the afternoon.

Junior High School took the international route. There were more than a dozen sports that the class could choose for the PE class. 

When everyone in Class 18 came to the playground, the PE teacher was reading the list of students who signed up for the various sports:

“Jiang Bai, basketball. Pang Zinan, basketball. Luo Xing, basketball. Lu Tutu, volleyball…”

Jiang Bai, Luo Xing, Pang Zinan and others were Zhong Chen’s followers in the class. Zhong Chen’s basketball skills were top-notch, and they all decided that Zhong would definitely sign up for basketball, so they followed closely.

But unexpectedly, the PE teacher reported: “Zhong Chen, archery.” 

Jiang Bai and the others were frantic inside: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Before they recovered from the depression of being abandoned by their eldest brother, they heard the PE teacher immediately say: “Qi Linqing, Tai Chi.”

Everyone: “……”

Never been so speechless in life. 

“Our school also has elderly exercises like Tai Chi?” Jiang Bai wondered.

The PE teacher closed the list and said: “There is nothing the school can’t do, only you can’t think of it.”

———

It was hot today, and all the students went to the locker room to change into short sleeves. 

However, Qi Linqing was not used to this kind of clothes which revealed the arms and insisted on wearing long sleeves.

When he arrived at the classroom, he realized that there were only a few students other than himself who had signed up for Tai Chi.

Moreover, they had not voluntarily joined. They were moved from other classes where the applicant’s enrollment was full.

“Why is Qi Linqing here?” 

“He actually signed up for Tai Chi…”

Several girls who were transferred began to whisper in a group.

As a Junior High Schooler and a little star, Qi Lele looked like a doll, delicate, gentle and noble, and was popular with girls. Qi Linqing, who was not related to him and the real young master, had become the opposite and was resisted by everyone.

At the moment, Qi Linqing was standing under the tree, and his body was straighter than the tree trunk. His black eyes were like grapes just taken out of the refrigerator, suffused with cool water vapour. 

Even the button of the long-sleeved school uniform was strictly buckled to the top one, inexplicably revealing the atmosphere of gentle abstinence.

“I feel that Qi Linqing seems to be much better looking in real life than in “Metamorphosis Meter”,”  A curly-haired girl opened her mouth weakly and said.

Girl B: “Actually, I also…”

Girl C: “Me too…..” 

Girl D took out her mobile phone and took a secret photo of Qi Linqing.

There are no eternal enemies, only eternal Yan Gou .