Chapter 93

Today, the topic of conversation at Guanglin Middle School is Lei Hu, a problem student from Class 3, Grade 1, because he appeared on the news commentary program "Today's Chat" on Hai Dong Comprehensive Channel last night, with the headline "Student Acts Bravely, Pickpocket Falls into the Net."

Although it was just a short segment in the program, and the host's quick commentary was only a few sentences, Lei Hu's public appearance in the interview caused quite a stir in the school. Parents who saw the news naturally asked their children who this student was, so everyone focused on Class 3, Grade 1.

The short video taken yesterday afternoon was broadcast in the evening news program. Wang Bai believed that Jin Xiaoli's father must have put in a lot of effort. He was happy but also grateful, thinking about how to repay this warm-hearted Uncle Jin in the future.

Once the program was broadcast, Lei Hu's act of bravery was confirmed. Would the school recognize his "outstanding performance" and lift his punishment in advance?

In this process, it would also require the head of the moral education department, Mr. Liu, to submit a proposal to the principal's office, reflecting Lei Hu's situation. Wang Bai found Liu Yan during his free time and asked her to subtly mention the news to Mr. Liu and see if he had any reaction.

"By the way, Liu Representative, it seems you have a lot of free time. Are you interested in joining the volunteer service team?" After handling part of Lei Hu's issue, Wang Bai began to prepare for his next task, persuading three girls to join the volunteer service team.

"What are you talking about? I'm not idle," Liu Yan said, raising her eyebrows and sounding不服气 (unconvinced), "I'm very busy. When I go out with you guys, it's all squeezed time." She kept nagging, the main idea being that she didn't want to join the volunteer service team.

Getting a soft rejection, Wang Bai was not discouraged. Sometimes, indirect methods are more effective than direct ones. He turned to Jin Xiaoli and asked, "Lili, do you want to join the volunteer service team and go with me? This way, I don't have to find others to form a team, and it's embarrassing to trouble the younger students every time."

Once he changed his tone, it sounded very smooth. Liu Yan's ears perked up when she heard him call Jin Xiaoli "Lili." Jin Xiaoli, hearing him invite her to join the volunteer service team and mentioning the younger students, thought: Is Wang Bai inviting us to reduce his ties with Qi Jueying? But he is really enthusiastic, so devoted to being a volunteer?

After thinking for a moment, she said, "I can join the service team for the rest of this semester, but I will have to quit when I enter Grade 3."

"Great," Wang Bai said with a smile, "You are so kind-hearted..." "Hold on, hold on," he hadn't finished speaking when Liu Yan interrupted, "Are you two colluding to gang up on me?"

Then she pouted and said, "Since you've already decided, why did you keep it from me? I'll go, even if I get scolded by my dad again." She didn't want to join the volunteer service team mainly because she was afraid her father would scold her for not focusing on her studies.

In this way, Wang Bai easily persuaded the two girls. He said with a smile, "With three people, we can form our own activities. As long as you officially join, we can all be volunteers together! It's settled, no backing out, I'll go to the teacher to get the application forms for you."

"Alright, we'll follow your lead," the two girls, seeing his excitement, both waved their hands impatiently, then leaned in to discuss, "Do you think he really wants to be a good citizen, or is he looking for an opportunity to be with us?" Liu Yan asked doubtfully.

Jin Xiaoli frowned and thought for a moment, "Probably both... Wang Bai is very helpful. He might feel that it's inconvenient to form activities without a partner, so he's asking us two friends to join. This way, it's easier for him to do things."

"Ah," Liu Yan nodded in understanding, then asked, "When did he start calling you Lili?"

"Um..." Jin Xiaoli hesitated, "Last night... After you said something to him, when we came out of the restaurant, he started calling me that."

Liu Yan looked at Jin Xiaoli, who looked uncomfortable, and asked suspiciously, "Are you hiding something from me?"

"No!" Jin Xiaoli tried to clear her name, her face slightly red, "You're overthinking it. Before you woke up, we just chatted in the park for a while. After that, you were there the whole time."

"What about after that?" Liu Yan felt something was off. Wang Bai and Jin Xiaoli seemed to have made some progress, becoming more harmonious than before, "After you sent me home, did you go together? Did you do anything behind my back?"

Caught off guard, Jin Xiaoli felt a bit flustered, her heart racing, but she still denied it, saying she took a taxi home right away and didn't spend much time with Wang Bai.

Seeing her deny it, even though Liu Yan was suspicious, she couldn't do anything about it. She pouted and poked Jin Xiaoli's fleshy arm, "Don't lie to me..."

Jin Xiaoli really wanted to tell her but didn't dare to. She said, "I already took the lead, now it's your turn to catch up. Do you dare?" Liu Yan's eyes flickered; she knew Jin Xiaoli meant that she had already kissed Wang Bai, while Liu Yan had only kissed his cheek.

"Just daring isn't enough," she mumbled, "I can't go and beg him..."

Jin Xiaoli thought for a moment, a plan forming in her mind. She whispered something in Liu Yan's ear, and Liu Yan's eyes lit up. She nodded in agreement and said, "Alright, Lili, you're really something..."

On Monday, most of the classes were still focused on analyzing the mid-term exam papers. In Chinese class, Mr. Xu's mood seemed to have improved, no longer as fierce as before. The students finally had the courage to ask questions. After class, Wang Bai followed the homeroom teacher out of the classroom and called out to her, "Mr. Xu, wait, I need to talk to you."

Xu Wushuang's lips curved into a smile, and she turned around, raising an eyebrow and asking, "Oh, what do you need?"

"This is the essay to be submitted today," Wang Bai first handed in the homework she had assigned him, then said, "I also have another matter. I want to ask for two more volunteer service team application forms."

"What for? Are you forming another activity?" Xu Wushuang, hearing it was a serious matter, asked with some confusion.

Wang Bai shook his head and replied, "Not the activity registration form, I want the application form to join the team. I want to introduce two members to join."

"What!" Xu Wushuang's eyes widened, and she looked around before lowering her voice, "Do you think the chaos is not enough? The school doesn't want the volunteer service team to expand. You're actually recruiting people everywhere? I'm just a temporary advisor, I don't want to take responsibility for you!"

Wang Bai didn't expect this, feeling a bit down, and hesitated, "The school just doesn't encourage it, but it's not against it, right? Mr. Xu, after all, this is a good thing. It will be a credit to one's personal record. Can you help? I've already talked to the students, I can't tell them the school won't let them join the volunteer service."

Xu Wushuang felt a headache. This was indeed a difficult thing to say. The school didn't support the expansion of the volunteer service team to focus on students' academic performance, but this could only be implied, not said openly, or it would cause controversy.

"Who do you want to introduce?" She was prepared to compromise but still wanted to know the identities of the people. If their academic performance was poor, she would still oppose it.

"Liu Yan and Jin Xiaoli..." Wang Bai answered. These two were among the top students in the class. Xu Wushuang decided to agree, but when she heard Jin Xiaoli's name, she gave him a meaningful look and said with a half-smile, "Being young and energetic is good, but you need to be careful. If anything happens, don't blame me for not warning you."

Xu Wushuang had crossed swords with Wang Bai a few times and considered him not an easy person to deal with. Compared to his peers, he understood many things. Plus, she had accidentally seen Wang Bai and Jin Xiaoli together on the street yesterday, so she gave him a veiled warning, telling him not to play too much with female classmates.

Wang Bai's face turned red, and he nodded, "Yes, I understand, Mr. Xu. I'll go to your office during lunch break to get the forms... By the way, it would be best to give me three forms. Maybe, I'll introduce one more person..."

"Are you ever going to stop!" Xu Wushuang couldn't bear it any longer, "Do you think the volunteer service team is your family business? You can call anyone you want?"

"The other one is Lu Lu," Wang Bai hurriedly explained. Lu Lu's academic performance was still satisfactory to Mr. Xu, "I haven't mentioned it to her yet. Whether she agrees is still uncertain. I promise, this is the last person, no more!"

Hearing that the third potential member was Lu Lu, Xu Wushuang's anger subsided a bit. She thought this boy was really going to great lengths to do the volunteer service, bringing in the few people with good grades who were related to him.

However, although she agreed, she still set conditions: "I can give you the forms, but only these three people can fill them out. If anyone else fills them out and submits them, I won't approve them. Understand?" She was afraid he would trick her and give the forms to others. "And if I find out you're forcing them to join, humph, you better watch out..."

After saying this, Xu Wushuang left. Wang Bai returned to the classroom, passing by Lu Lu's seat. Their eyes met, and a spark seemed to flash in the air. He immediately looked away, feeling very uncomfortable, and thought: If it weren't for what happened last night, I could still discuss things with her. Now, I don't even have the courage to look at her, let alone ask her to join the volunteer service.

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