Chapter 9

Driver Wang Huasheng is a tall and robust African-Chinese, a third-generation immigrant, and a typical melon seed person. He speaks fluent Beijing dialect and loves to sing the "Empty City Stratagem," making him a seasoned opera enthusiast. After graduating from the largest Feihong Martial Arts School in China, he soon came to the Su family to work as a driver and bodyguard. According to Qiao San, he once won the Chinese Sanda Golden Belt. In a world martial arts competition, he accidentally injured the first martial monk of Shaolin while competing for the championship and subsequently left the martial arts world.

Cheng Xiaoyu vaguely remembered that when he first arrived in China, he saw a huge billboard at the airport featuring the kung fu superstar Li Dalong advertising for Feihong Martial Arts School: "Which kung fu school in China is the strongest? Feihong Martial Arts School is the king of kings." Feihong Martial Arts School is precisely the martial arts school under the Shaolin Group.

Wang Huasheng parked the car in the underground parking lot of the Zhongjin Building next to Fudan High School. This was Su Yuxi's request; she was already tired of the envious or jealous looks from others. Moreover, Fudan High School is not Gezhi Private School; most of the students here are academically excellent but from ordinary families. Su Yuxi felt that she was already far enough from their world and didn't want to add an unbridgeable gap. Therefore, for the past two years, Wang Huasheng has been dropping her off here and picking her up from here.

Cheng Xiaoyu didn't care much; there was really nothing to show off in front of a bunch of immature high school students. He now found Su Yuxi's pride a bit childish, though she indeed had the capital to be proud.

At the entrance of Fudan High School, students wearing red armbands as members of the student council's discipline committee stood guard. Students not wearing the school uniform were not allowed to enter the school, and those not wearing the school badge would be recorded and points deducted from their class. Skirts had to be below the knee, and many female students, to look pretty, would pin their skirts short and then let them down at the school gate. Male students were prohibited from having long hair or long nails.

The girls' school uniform at Fudan High School is a dark blue double-buttoned blazer, with a beige cardigan and a white shirt with a red bow inside. The skirt is a red plaid Scottish skirt, and in this season, they usually wear white knee-high socks. Shoes cannot be high heels, but otherwise, they are casual.

Looking at the vibrant young students, Cheng Xiaoyu had a sense of being transported to Japan. This sudden happiness was overwhelming, and he couldn't help but sigh, remembering the old and shabby sports uniforms from his previous life, which made him almost tear up.

On the first floor of the teaching building, each student has a dedicated storage locker. Students must change into indoor shoes to enter the classroom. When Su Yuxi opened her locker, a pile of letters fell out. She was clearly prepared and caught them all with her backpack, neatly stacking them and putting them into the black backpack's inner pocket. Then she changed into white indoor shoes. Of course, these letters would not be opened and would be thrown into the trash bin on the second floor.

Cheng Xiaoyu and Su Yuxi's classrooms are two floors apart. Cheng Xiaoyu, with a thick face, greeted Su Yuxi and then turned to walk in another direction; his locker was on the other side.

This was seen by Su Yuxi's classmate Fan Jiaying, who was walking by. She asked curiously, "Isn't that fat guy the rich kid who hit someone with a Ferrari? Do you know him, Su Yuxi?"

Su Yuxi, sensing the burning curiosity of Fan Jiaying, who is known as the school's gossip queen, lowered her head and whispered, "Yes, I know him," and then turned to walk up the stairs. No one in the school knew that this pair, who seemed to have no connection, were actually siblings.

Fan Jiaying, who hadn't changed her shoes, quickly said, "Class president, wait for me, I still have a math problem to ask you!"

Su Yuxi, seeing the focused gazes around her, felt a headache and pretended not to hear, walking upstairs directly.

Cheng Xiaoyu, carrying his backpack, panted as he climbed to the fifth floor, where the graduating classes were located. He was in Class 3-2, the second room on the left of the stairs. As soon as Cheng Xiaoyu's head appeared at the classroom door, the entire classroom fell silent. Then, thunderous applause broke out, mixed with the lecherous shouts of some students. Cheng Xiaoyu had completely forgotten that he had already become famous online, with various PS images of him becoming popular internet memes.

Faced with this overwhelming welcome, Cheng Xiaoyu was a bit taken aback. Despite his forty years of life experience, he could only awkwardly retreat to the corridor and enter through the back door, sitting in his designated seat at the back of the classroom by the window. This seat was familiar to him; it was usually reserved for underachievers.

Fudan High School is, after all, a school for top students, and this is a graduating class. After a brief commotion, no one paid attention to this fat student who was at the bottom of the class. They all started reviewing their lessons and doing problems.

Cheng Xiaoyu looked up at the timetable; the first class was Chinese. He took out his Chinese textbook and looked at the pages filled with traditional characters, which made his head spin. Recognizing the characters wasn't difficult for him, but writing them was. Having grown up in the United States and in China, he could recognize but not write them. He glanced at the table of contents, which included poetry appreciation, classical Chinese appreciation, and excerpts from famous Chinese and foreign works, none of which were too difficult.

Cheng Xiaoyu started reading from the first lesson, "The Battle of Qin and Jin at Xiaoguan." He didn't recognize the character "Xiao" and couldn't write "zhan." He took out a dictionary from his backpack to look up "Xiao" and then wrote "The Battle of Qin and Jin at Xiaoguan" several times in his notebook to reinforce his memory. He then began reading the main text. For the homebody Cheng Xiaoyu, this level of classical Chinese was extremely difficult, but with the skills of a music director, it became easier. He read and wrote until the duty student called for everyone to stand and salute.

The Chinese teacher, Jiang Wenhua, was a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties wearing glasses. "Today we will study three poems," he said, writing beautifully in regular script on the blackboard: "Moonlit Night" by Du Fu: "Tonight, the moon over Fu Prefecture, in the inner chambers, only you can see it. I pity our young children, who do not understand the longing for Chang'an. The fragrant mist wets your cloud-like hair, the clear light chills your jade-like arms. When will we lean against the curtain, and the moon will dry our tears?" After writing, he recited it with a rhythmic voice and asked, "You were asked to preview this poem yesterday. Who knows what this poem expresses?" Raise your hand if you know.

Cheng Xiaoyu hadn't read this poem before, but he could roughly understand that it described Du Fu's longing for his wife. Jiang Wenhua scanned the classroom and said, "Cheng Xiaoyu, who is Cheng Xiaoyu, stand up and answer." Before Cheng Xiaoyu could stand up, the classroom burst into laughter.

Cheng Xiaoyu, not embarrassed, stood up and said, "Teacher, I didn't raise my hand!"

Jiang Wenhua saw the fat Cheng Xiaoyu wobble as he stood up from the back row and couldn't help but laugh. "No problem, I just wanted to see who you are. You can sit down!" As a teacher specializing in graduating classes, he had only been teaching for a little over two months and hadn't remembered this ordinary student.

Cheng Xiaoyu sat down amidst another round of laughter.

Cheng Xiaoyu remained unperturbed by the ridicule. Jiang Wenhua then called on the class representative, Gu Manting, to answer. Gu Manting, the class beauty of Class 3-2, though not as stunning as Su Yuxi, was still a beautiful and graceful Jiangnan girl. Gu Manting, clearly having previewed the lesson, answered in a clear and melodious voice, "This poem expresses the poet's longing for his wife and his affection for his children through the imagery of the moon."

Jiang Wenhua nodded and gestured for Gu Manting to sit down. "Well said. Let's all recite the poem together, and then we will analyze it word by word, and briefly introduce the background of Du Fu's creation of this poem."

Cheng Xiaoyu joined the class in reciting the poem, feeling a strange emotion welling up inside him.

The familiar scenes of the past overlapped with the present. He quietly turned his head to look out the window, seeing students running laps on the playground, with the faint sound of a whistle. The clear reading voices, accompanied by the warm sunlight, filled the classroom. The fluffy clouds in the sky drifted slowly and silently, and the camphor trees with yellow leaves swayed gently in the breeze, spreading a faintly intoxicating youth throughout the campus. This peaceful and stable time flowed on the desks, flipping through the new and old textbooks, the messy notes, the naive love letters, and the fragmented youthful days.

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