Chapter 19: Tingting 17

No matter how much self-control she had, at her core, she was still just a sixteen-year-old girl. Moreover, she had always enjoyed reading novels; having gone without them for several months, Tan You was actually feeling quite restless inside.

However, her craving for intelligence points forced her to suppress this restlessness. It was fine—once her intelligence points increased and her studies became easier, she would have more time to play.

By convincing herself this way, Tan You finally managed to calm her mind.

The New Year passed very quietly. The Han family didn't have many relatives to begin with, a situation similar to Tan You's own family, so very few relatives visited during the holiday.

Tan You was happy for the peace and quiet. Even with just her and Han Cunming, she felt this was the happiest New Year she had ever experienced in her life.

Thinking of her own family, Tan Lin and her grandparents were always arguing, especially during the New Year when things never seemed to settle down. Setting aside those unpleasant memories, Tan You served a bowl of soup to Han Cunming.

Coming out to perform missions now had allowed Tan You to see how other families interacted. It was, in a sense, a breath of fresh air, allowing her to briefly escape that oppressive and cold household.

Time flies when one is focused on a task, and soon, the day of the new semester arrived.

This time, Han Cunming accompanied Tan You to school. It was still the familiar Class 3 and the same familiar homeroom teacher. However, after looking around the office, Tan You felt a sense of loss: "Is Teacher Shi not here?"

Wang Lanfeng replied, "Teacher Shi is a high school teacher. She is on maternity leave and will return to teach at the high school next month."

"The high school department?" Tan You was stunned. Does this mean she won't see Teacher Shi anymore?

The Mathematics Department Head patted Tan You on the head. "Why so unhappy? I'll be your math teacher from now on. If you really miss Teacher Shi, just work hard to get into high school, and you can continue to be her student, can't you?"

Perhaps these words touched her, as Tan You pursed her lips to suppress the tears welling in her eyes. "I understand. I like Teacher Qin's class too."

"You don't look like you like me," Teacher Qin said amusedly. "A big girl crying over nothing—if your math grades slip later, I won't go easy on you."

"If I perform well..."

Seeing Tan You's head snap up immediately, Teacher Qin dangled a carrot: "If you perform well, I'll take you to the high school department to see Teacher Shi."

Tan You's eyes lit up instantly. "When? I'm free anytime! Let's go now!"

Teacher Qin didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Even if you're free, Teacher Shi isn't. She's still on maternity leave; she probably won't be back to teach for another month."

Tan You felt a bit of regret but noted the time in her heart. "I understand. Thank you, Teacher Qin."

"Alright, keep working hard in the new semester. You can't let your grades drop once you're under my wing."

Tan You was very serious. "I won't. I won't let Teacher Shi down."

"You'd better," Teacher Qin smiled. "Did you finish the practice papers I gave you before the New Year? Let me see."

"I finished them all," Tan You said, pulling the papers from her bag. "But I found a few questions really difficult. Teacher Qin, could you explain them to me?"

Since Teacher Qin wasn't her homeroom teacher, Tan You sat down beside her. But just as she had finished two problems under Teacher Qin's guidance, a girl nearby let out a cold snort.

Tan You looked up at her. Was she unhappy with her? Upon seeing her, Tan You recognized her immediately: it was Wan Wei, the former top student in the grade, who had been in Teacher Qin's math class last semester.

Now that she knew Tan You was also Teacher Qin's student, was she jealous?

Though Tan You was a bit slow, she could still recognize this drama of "good students competing for favor." She really wanted to say, *You've got it wrong; the one I like most is Teacher Shi, okay?*

After glancing at Wan Wei, Tan You said nothing to her. They weren't in the same class, so there was truly nothing to say.

It took Tan You over half an hour with Teacher Qin to finally understand the problems she had struggled with. As she left the office, she saw Wan Wei waiting in the hallway.

"You won't be able to rank first every time," Tan You heard her say as she passed by.

Tan You gripped the straps of her backpack. "I will work hard to hold that first-place position for as long as possible."

She had a competitive streak. Now, studying was Han Tingting's only chance to change her life, and Tan You also wanted to use this opportunity to make up for the regret of neglecting her junior high studies. Naturally, she hoped to remain excellent.

Having her own harsh words thrown back at her, Wan Wei was understandably in a bad mood. Tan You held no ill will toward her; during student years, how bad could a "good student" really be?

It usually just meant working hard and letting one's grades do the talking.

Entering the classroom, Tan You saw Han Cunming wiping her desk for her, which made her eyebrows twitch slightly. This old man wouldn't even help if an oil bottle tipped over at home, yet now he was actually helping her clean?

Han Cunming had his reasons. "You study in the office, and I'll do this for you so you'll have more time to study later. You have to be ambitious and work hard."

Tan You understood. "I know. One day, I want to be someone that no one can look down upon."

"Good, that's the spirit!" Han Cunming cheered. "Your teachers said evening self-study starts tonight, so I have to head back. Take good care of yourself and ask your teachers plenty of questions."

"Don't worry, I'll take care of myself." Tan You felt a bit sentimental. Although Han Cunming looked fierce, the old man was indeed very good to her.

"Also, those heavy clothes are too much to carry; take them home to wash. They won't dry if you wash them in the dormitory." After thinking for a moment, Han Cunming gave a few more instructions before leaving the classroom.

Looking at the ten yuan Han Cunming pressed into her hand, Tan You carefully tucked it away. Ten yuan was quite a lot at this time, as her three meals were provided by the boarding institution and she had already bought her stationery in advance.

Normally, she only needed to buy daily necessities, and since Tan You was frugal, she usually had half left over by the end of the week.

Since evening self-study didn't start until night, her afternoon was free. After finishing lunch at the institution, Tan You lay on the edge of her bed to preview the curriculum for this semester.

She started with math and physics; as for the other subjects, she wasn't worried at all. The girls around her were whispering to one another, sharing stories of what they had seen and heard during the New Year.

No one spoke to Tan You, mainly because Han Tingting had already set a benchmark as a model student. Her roommates didn't dare disturb her, fearing that if her grades dropped, she might blame them.

Tan You had no interest in these topics about visiting relatives and friends. While previewing alone, she missed Zhou Wen and Cao Xia immensely. Unfortunately, they were in their third year of junior high and had started school early; they were already in class.