Part 2
Before leaving, Luo Shizhen, his eyes dark and bright, thanked all the teachers who had strategized for him. He walked out with steps much lighter than before.
Watching his retreating figure, Gao Xi felt a mix of emotions. “I wonder if that child will be bullied when he enters society.”
“He definitely will be. That child is too honest. In today’s society, honest people are the ones who get bullied,” Mr. Ma said, looking pained.
Mr. Wang, the PE teacher, also sighed. “He’s strong, and his reaction time isn’t bad, but he learns things too slowly. Otherwise, practicing sports would have been good.”
Mr. Ma: “Being strong is a good thing. At least if people bully him later, he won’t get beaten up.”
Mr. Wang felt doubtful. “He won’t make it. If people hit him, he wouldn’t even know to hit back. No, I have to teach him how to fight before he graduates.”
Gao Xi’s eye twitched. “Who teaches people how to fight? The child is very well-behaved; don’t lead him astray.”
Mr. Wang shook his head. “Being well-behaved in school is fine, but being too well-behaved in society won’t work.”
“In this world, if you’re too well-behaved, you get screwed.”
Gao Xi thought about it and agreed. She sighed again—she had sighed more today than in a whole week.
“I saw he really liked the idea of being a chef. He should be going to Hongxi Zhanguang Culinary School. I have a cousin’s aunt who teaches there. I’ll talk to her and ask her to look out for him.”
Another teacher added, “I know the vice principal of Zhanguang. I’ll say hello too. At the very least, he needs to learn the skills.”
Luo Shizhen, the object of the teachers’ worries, was actually quite happy. He felt he had found a new route in life.
As he walked toward the classroom after leaving the office, he bumped into someone.
“Ah!”
Luo Shizhen wasn’t hurt, just startled. He looked up in confusion at the person he had bumped into.
“Chu Xiao? Why are you here? Did your teacher call you?”
Chu Xiao was the grade’s top student who had tutored Luo Shizhen day and night. If Luo Shizhen was the universally acknowledged poor student, then Chu Xiao was the top student in everyone’s eyes.
He had good grades and good looks. Compared to Luo Shizhen, he attracted attention wherever he went.
If Chu Xiao was called by a teacher, it was definitely to be praised.
The tall, handsome top student, however, had a cold expression on his face.
“I heard what the teacher said. Luo Shizhen, you’re not taking the college entrance exam?”
Luo Shizhen’s disappointment about not attending college had already been overshadowed by the bright future of being a chef. Hearing Chu Xiao ask, he smiled somewhat sheepishly.
“That’s right. I want to be a chef. Maybe I can work at the Hongxi Grand Hotel in the future. Chu Xiao, you’ll definitely get into university. Later, when you’re in college and come back to our hometown, I’ll cook for you.”
He happily shared his future outlook with Chu Xiao, only to see Chu Xiao’s face turn even uglier than before. His voice involuntarily grew quieter.
“If… if you don’t want to eat it, that’s okay too.”
Chu Xiao took a deep breath. “You won’t try anymore? You’re content just being a chef for the rest of your life?”
Under Chu Xiao’s gaze, Luo Shizhen’s excitement slowly dampened.
Chu Xiao had the right to say this. They were from the same town and had grown up together. Since elementary school, Chu Xiao had been helping Luo Shizhen with his schoolwork.
The reason Luo Shizhen could even attend high school was that Chu Xiao, the scholar, had watched over his studies constantly during junior high. The notes specifically written for him had piled up into a thick stack.
If not for Chu Xiao, Luo Shizhen would probably have washed out in junior high.
It was just that in junior high, Luo Shizhen could barely keep up with Chu Xiao’s help. But in high school, he really couldn’t keep up. Even ten Chu Xiaos put together wouldn’t work.
He explained softly:
“I tried, but it’s no use. You know I’m stupid and just can’t learn it. I can’t keep repeating grades forever. It’s better to learn a skill now, find a job, and have a stable life later.”
The last sentence was copied verbatim from the teachers’ analysis.
Seeing Luo Shizhen looking a bit down, Chu Xiao’s grim expression gradually softened. He lifted his hand, rubbed Luo Shizhen’s head, and his tone became gentler.
“Being a chef is fine too. I should be going to Luoxia City for college. Once I establish myself in Luoxia City, you can come over too.”
He planned aloud: “I saved some money taking tutoring jobs online. I’ll have more time in college, so I should be able to take more orders. Then I can open a small shop for you, so you don’t have to work for others and look at their faces.”
Luo Shizhen was very touched that Chu Xiao wanted to invest in him so soon, but he still remembered the plan the teachers had just made for him.
“No need to open a shop. I think working for someone else is fine. Besides, rent in Luoxia City is so expensive. You’re going there to study; what would I go there for? I’ll just work hard in Hongxi. Mr. Ma said I could work at his great-aunt’s restaurant. I could make three or four thousand a month.”
He earnestly planned his future according to the route given by his grandmother and teachers. “Grandma left me some money and told me to buy a house. If I work for five years, I can scrape together a down payment for a place in the city. By then I’ll be twenty-four or twenty-five. I can find a partner, have a child, and then…”
Luo Shizhen couldn’t continue because he discovered that Chu Xiao’s face had turned ugly again—much uglier than before.
“Chu Xiao, what’s wrong? Is your leg hurting again?”
Chu Xiao had accidentally fallen and injured his leg while participating in a competition last week and was still using a crutch. But he was so excellent that even a broken leg hadn’t stopped him from getting a good score on the second mock exam. Luo Shizhen admired him even more for it.
But for some reason, after he expressed concern, Chu Xiao’s face turned darker by several degrees. His eyes became fierce, staring straight at Luo Shizhen.
Luo Shizhen was bewildered by the stare. “Why are you looking at me like that? Did I do something wrong?”
Chu Xiao’s usually cold, handsome face was now filled with gloom. Staring at Luo Shizhen, he squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth:
“You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Hearing he wasn’t wrong, Luo Shizhen immediately relaxed and cheered up.
“Chu Xiao, in the future when I get married, can my child recognize you as a godfather? You’re so amazing, you’d definitely be better at being a dad than me, hehe.”
Crack.
The sound of something splintering rang out.
Luo Shizhen’s eyes went wide. “Chu Xiao! Your crutch cracked!!!”
Chu Xiao looked down at the crutch, which had developed a fissure under his grip, his expression blank.
“Bad quality.”
He tossed the crutch to Luo Shizhen. “Luo Shizhen, help me back to the classroom.”
“Okay, I’ll help you. Where did you buy this crutch? The quality is too poor. What if you fell?”
Luo Shizhen muttered worriedly as he supported Chu Xiao toward the classroom. Chu Xiao used the leverage to rest his slender fingers on Luo Shizhen’s wrist, closing them gently.
Feeling his hand being held, Luo Shizhen was puzzled. “What are you doing?”
Chu Xiao: “I’m afraid you won’t support me well.”
Luo Shizhen let out an “oh.” Although he didn’t know why holding his hand would help support him better, he still earnestly tucked Chu Xiao’s broken crutch under his arm, freed up one hand to firmly support the person, and carefully watched the ground as they walked, terrified of dropping Chu Xiao.
He remembered to continue the previous topic. “You haven’t said if you agree yet. When I have a kid, can you be the godfather?”
Chu Xiao closed his eyes. “Luo Shizhen.”
“Huh?”
“Walk seriously. Don’t talk.”
“Alright.”
Luo Shizhen shut his mouth obediently, feeling a bit disappointed.
Chu Xiao usually answered every question. Acting like this now meant he didn’t want to answer.
Did he not want to be the godfather of his future child?
Zhang Chuan said that no matter how good friends are, once everyone graduates and gaps open up between them, the friendship will fade, leaving nothing behind.
Luo Shizhen thought, If Chu Xiao and I really aren’t friends anymore by then, it’s okay. As long as everyone is doing well.
Maybe ten or so years later, when Chu Xiao became a big boss and appeared on TV, he could still tell his chef colleagues that this was his high school classmate, and they used to be good friends.
Thinking about this, Luo Shizhen became happy again.
He started to look forward to it. He could cook now. Although he wasn’t very talented, it definitely wouldn’t be like studying where he couldn’t learn no matter what.
He would definitely be able to become a chef!
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