Chapter 623
: Question set
The physical education class ended with a long, drawn-out bell.
The bell rang out like ripples on water, crossing the playground, passing through the corridors, and finally disappearing behind the glass windows of the teaching building.
The crowd gradually dispersed, and the noise of the stadium was blown away by the wind, leaving only scattered footsteps and the sound of desks and chairs being dragged from the classrooms in the distance.
"Are we going to have a mock exam next class?"
Han Zhou and Mo Yixia walked side by side, his coats carrying the scent of sunshine and a faint fragrance—Mo Yixia's scent. However, he didn't think much of it, focusing instead on the sounds of the tables and chairs being dragged along.
Senior year of high school is undoubtedly the most arduous year of one's entire high school career. There are small tests every three days, big tests every five days, and countless classroom quizzes. He was so tired of hearing these kinds of sounds during his senior year that his ears were practically calloused.
"It seems like there's an exam coming up."
Mo Yixia was only wearing a mask, her long hair was draped freely behind her, and her voice was lazy, as if she didn't care at all.
The winter sun was thin, slanting down from between the clouds, cutting the path leading to the classroom into fragments of light and shadow, like a mottled ribbon of light.
The wind had subsided a bit, but it was still restless, occasionally lifting her long hair and brushing against her profile.
"Is volleyball fun?" she suddenly asked.
"It's alright," Han Zhou said with a smile, "but it's more fun when you're around."
"rhetoric?"
"Sincerely."
Mo Yixia pondered for a moment, then raised her hand to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear: "So, can I take that to mean that you prefer to toy with me to volleyball?"
Han Zhou's lips twitched, but he didn't reply. Instead, he changed the subject, saying, "Your homeroom teacher should be at school by now, right? I'll go find him first to apologize on your behalf, and then wait for you outside the school gate after school."
Since he's not a student at the school, it's not appropriate for him to wander around the school grounds. It's safer for him to stay outside the school gates.
After all, he is now Yixia's cousin, and to a certain extent, he represents Yixia's reputation. If he causes any trouble, people will easily gossip about him behind his back.
"And after school?" Mo Yixia asked.
"I'll apologize to you properly after school." Han Zhou said sincerely, "I'll tell you everything about what happened between me and Senior Wang Lengqiu."
He paused, then added seriously, "But you should be mentally prepared."
"Mental preparation..." Mo Yixia said thoughtfully, "Are you prepared to lose your virginity?"
Han Zhou nearly coughed up blood, and said with difficulty, "That's not what I meant by being mentally prepared..."
Mo Yixia remained noncommittal, only saying calmly, "Then do you still remember how to apologize to me?"
“I remember…” Han Zhou hesitated for a moment, “But are you serious?”
“You were serious back then, and I’m serious now,” Mo Yixia said in a matter-of-fact tone. “You weren’t serious back then, and I’m serious now.”
She paused, then, as if suddenly remembering something, said, "Speaking of which, you bought a condom..."
Before she could finish speaking, Han Zhou covered her mouth, startling Zhang Meng who had just walked over.
"you……"
Although Han Zhou moved quickly, Mo Yixia hadn't lowered her voice, so Zhang Meng heard it clearly. She was stunned and froze on the spot.
Han Zhou felt a chill run down his spine and hurriedly explained, "Zhang Meng, listen to me, it's not what you think!"
“No need for explanations, explanations are just cover-ups.” Zhang Meng held two bottles of hot drinks, her expression forlorn. “I always thought that, given Mo Yixia’s personality, she wouldn’t go down this path…”
She looked at Mo Yixia with a sorrowful expression, "I never thought that even you would walk the path of the King of Scrolls?"
"This...you...ah?"
Han Zhou was bewildered and asked blankly, "What Path to the King of Scrolls?"
Am I out of touch with the times? Are high school students these days even competing to tell dirty jokes?
"No need to hide it anymore. Didn't Mo Yixia just ask you to buy a set of practice questions?"
Zhang Meng was heartbroken, but quickly regained her composure, "It's alright, since she wants to be the 'Queen of Papers,' then I'll be hers too—"
"Cousin, whatever kind of practice test you buy for Mo Yixia, buy me one too! I'll pay for it!"
Han Zhou's lips twitched, and he had no choice but to release his hand covering Mo Yixia's mouth, letting her explain herself.
Mo Yixia was very honest: "We were talking about the trap and you..."
Han Zhou quickly covered her mouth again and said with a dry laugh, "Zhang Meng, we really have something important to talk about right now. Could you please excuse us for a moment?"
"All right……"
Although she really wanted to hear what the two were saying, Zhang Meng obediently left, stuffing a bottle of hot drink into Han Zhou's hand before she left.
This hot drink was actually for Mo Yixia. She had given him many things in the past, but Mo Yixia had never accepted them. This time, she wanted to try her luck through her cousin.
Only after Zhang Meng had walked away and he was sure no one was around did Han Zhou let go of her hand, saying with some helplessness, "How could you say those things in front of your classmate?"
"What kind of thing?" Mo Yixia calmly adjusted the edge of her mask.
Han Zhou was speechless for a moment, and after a long while he managed to stammer out, "Anyway, it's something we don't need..."
"Ok?"
Mo Yixia turned her head and looked over.
Han Zhou's heart skipped a beat, already anticipating what she was about to say, and he quickly interrupted, "That's not what I meant!"
Mo Yixia seemed to sigh: "I haven't said anything yet."
Han Zhou was taken aback, then realized that he might have misunderstood her. He relaxed a little and tentatively asked, "So what were you trying to say just now?"
Mo Yixia remained silent for a moment.
"Was it unprotected?"
Han Zhou's vision went black.
“Everyone has the right to speak freely,” Mo Yixia said calmly. “If you want to deprive me of my right to speak, then you must first take away my freedom to speak.”
Han Zhou didn't want to answer, but seeing Mo Yixia staring at him intently, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and ask, "Then... how can I take away your freedom?"
"kiss Me."
The wind stopped just then. The world seemed to be muted; even the noise from the distant school buildings receded instantly, leaving only the thin afternoon light, which slanted across the girl's slightly upturned eyelashes, casting a small shadow.
It wasn't until the sound of the wind blew in his ears again, and the girl's hair fluttered, that Han Zhou came back to his senses. His Adam's apple bobbed as he said, "Let's talk about it tonight."
Mo Yixia paused for a moment as she raised her hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, but quickly concealed the emotions in her eyes.
"By the way, do you know why I haven't worn the gloves you gave me?"
Han Zhou was taken aback. In fact, he had been curious about this question all along, but he hadn't dared to ask it at the time. Now, after thinking about it for a long time, his expression gradually became strange.
Seemingly sensing his thoughts, Mo Yixia said calmly, "Whether I like it or not, safety measures are necessary."
"That's not what I meant..."
"I didn't say anything either."
Han Zhou was momentarily speechless, then guessed again, "So you want me to help you put on your gloves?"
"You can do this yourself, why do you need someone else to do it for you?"
Mo Yixia glanced at him, paused, and said in a matter-of-fact tone, "I won't help you wear it anymore."
Han Zhou's lips twitched, and he threw out a few more guesses, but without exception, none of them were the correct answer.
Mo Yixia didn't bother to explain, and instead said, "The next class is our homeroom teacher's class. If nothing unexpected happens, he should arrange for us to take the exam first, and then wait for you in his office. You can just wait at the door."
For some reason, Han Zhou felt that Mo Yixia's gaze was somewhat subtle, and asked nervously, "What if something unexpected happens?"
"If something goes wrong, you'll be responsible for it yourself."
Mo Yixia glanced at him, took off the baseball cap from his head, put it back on her own head, and then walked slowly towards the classroom.
Just as she was about to enter the classroom, she seemed to suddenly remember something, stopped, and looked back.
"By the way, do you like girls with wire-rimmed glasses?"
Han Zhou was startled. Had Mo Yixia's mind-reading ability become so terrifying that she could even see through such a secret fetish?
But what is the underlying principle?
Does my attraction to girls with wire-rimmed glasses look like it's written all over my face?
He didn't turn on his phone again from the volleyball court all the way to the classroom door, so he naturally didn't know the principle behind it.
Fortunately, no accidents occurred in the following period.
Just as Mo Yixia had predicted, the homeroom teacher of Class 3, Grade 12, first arranged two class periods for an exam, and then took Han Zhou to the office.
If there's anything surprising about this, it's probably that the middle-aged male teacher also wears a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on his nose.
The conversation went smoothly, even more easily than he had imagined. After all, he was just there to go through the motions, and the reason Mo Yixia hadn't told him the details was purely to scare him.
The homeroom teacher was also very talkative and soon began to talk at length about Mo Yixia's rise to prominence. He even tried to interview this "cousin" to find out how Mo Yixia had made such great progress in such a short period of time.
Han Zhou certainly knew the reason.
Rather than saying that Mo Yixia's current achievements are a rise, it would be more accurate to say that she has finally returned to her "throne". Previously, due to family reasons, she was unwilling to achieve good grades. Now, she is willing to "make progress little by little", which is ultimately all because of him.
Therefore, in a sense, Mo Yixia's progress is related to her having a romantic relationship.
However, it is obvious that discussing this kind of thing with a middle-aged homeroom teacher on a high school campus is tantamount to courting death.
Not to mention that he is now Mo Yixia's cousin.
Therefore, he could only give vague answers, attributing everything to talent and hard work.
This sounds like a pointless statement.
In fact, this is indeed a pointless statement.
After all, in this world, success always depends on these two factors.
Unlike most people, Mo Yixia's success is due to 99% talent and 1% hard work.
However, in the homeroom teacher's view, Mo Yixia must have put in 200% effort. After all, if she really had talent, her grades in the first and second years of high school would not have remained in the lower middle of the class.
That's why he was even more satisfied with Mo Yixia as a student, and even began to help her plan her future: "There are only six months left until the college entrance examination. Have you thought about which school Mo Yixia should apply to?"
Han Zhou knew, of course, which school Mo Yixia was going to apply to. He was at Linda University, so she would naturally be there too. But he didn't reveal this to his homeroom teacher beforehand. He just smiled and said, "We respect all of Yixia's decisions."
"is it?"
The homeroom teacher breathed a sigh of relief. He had met Mo Yixia's mother before and knew that she was a very obsessive woman. He thought that this family had a strong desire to control their child, but he did not expect them to be so open-minded.
He pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses and pondered, "With Mo Yixia's grades, she is fully capable of applying to any school in the country, so I won't offer any further advice. You just need to keep that in mind."
"This last period is crucial. As parents, you must create a good learning environment for Mo Yixia. I know that Mo Yixia is a down-to-earth and hardworking child, even a bit stubborn, but adolescence is a time when she is inevitably influenced by the external environment. The school will try its best to prevent certain phenomena from occurring, and I hope that you parents will also pay attention."
Han Zhou felt a little embarrassed. The "certain phenomena" mentioned by the homeroom teacher obviously included dating, and he was undoubtedly the source of this phenomenon. But at this moment, he could only force a smile and agree.
But then again... how exactly were these conclusions about being "down-to-earth," "hardworking," and "single-minded" reached?
After another enthusiastic conversation, Han Zhou finally left the office.
As he stepped out of the office, a cold wind rushed towards him. He rubbed his face and gradually wiped the smile off his face.
Although he said he would respect all of Mo Yixia's decisions, it was only his personal decision, and Mo Yixia's family obviously didn't think so.
It's important to know that Mo Yixia's mother always focused on results. Before the college entrance examination, she tried every means to improve Mo Yixia's grades and saw the results. So, on the day of the college entrance examination, she was bound to see her daughter get into the best university.
This is the result she wanted; the process is not important.
While Linyi University is among the prestigious universities, it is not considered the best.
Even if Mo Yixia had a perfect plan and deliberately controlled her score on the day of the college entrance examination, just enough to put her score at the admission line of Linda University, she might not be able to get into the university and might even be forced to repeat a year.
With Mo Yixia's shrewdness, she might be able to navigate the situation and achieve the result she wanted, but Han Zhou didn't want to see her face this domineering mother alone.
If Yixia has to shoulder everything alone, then what's the point of having him?
It seems I need to find some time to visit Yixia's house again...
While he was thinking, Han Zhou had already arrived at the school gate.
There are plenty of milk tea shops near the school gate, so he randomly picked one and sat down to wait for Mo Yixia to get out of school.
Even then, he didn't take out his phone, still pondering how to communicate with Mo Yixia's mother.
She was a very controlling mother, and persuading her would obviously be difficult. But if we look at it from a results-oriented perspective, perhaps the matter isn't so complicated; all we need to do is give her a more perfect outcome...
It wasn't until he took the milk tea and pulled out his phone to pay that Han Zhou felt as if he'd been struck by lightning, cold sweat pouring down his back. (End of Chapter)