MM | Chapter 1

Jiang Tian

“The cicadas that summer were noisier than ever, and though the branches outside the classroom window grew wildly, they never managed to block out the scorching sun.”

The top floor of Mingli Building at the affiliated high school was always noisy during the big break. The class committee rep of Grade 2 Senior, Class A drifted into the classroom from the corridor, shouting, “Attention—our class is getting a new student!”

“Here comes the little eunuch from the Office of Affairs to deceive us again,” someone teased.

“You’re the little eunuch! I’m serious.”

“It’s not midterms or finals, why would we get a new student?”

“A transfer student.”

At this, everyone in the classroom perked up.

“Boy or girl? Is it true?”

“Absolutely true! I just saw him. He’s a guy, fair-skinned and quite handsome.” The class rep smacked his lips and added, “I don’t know which teacher is so inconsiderate to have stolen someone else’s school heartthrob.”

A wave of teasing ghostly howls erupted in the classroom, and a few girls took the opportunity to glance at the corner of the last row. There, a boy was catching up on sleep with his head on the desk, one hand covering the back of his head, long fingers slightly bent, and his wrist bone prominent.

It was too noisy around him, so he scratched his short hair and turned his head to the other side.

The girls withdrew their gaze, and their voices suddenly softened: “Where did he transfer from?”

The class rep named a school.

“What is that? Is there such a school around here?”

“I haven’t heard of it either, but it must be a provincial key school, otherwise he couldn’t have transferred to our class.”

“Wait, let me check.” The boy speaking sneakily took out his phone from under the desk. “No teachers around, right? Keep an eye out for me.”

He quickly searched and was stunned: “Damn?”

“What is it?”

The boy showed his phone around, and the rest were equally dumbfounded.

After a while, someone finally came to their senses: “He’s from out of province? Transferred from out of province after Grade 1 Senior to Jiangsu? To take the college entrance exam? Is that handsome guy out of his mind?”

The supposedly out-of-his-mind Sheng Wang was waiting for his fate in the academic affairs office.

The cicadas were screeching in the dense shade. He moved away from the window and put on his earphones to hear his dad’s new voice messages. Three in a row, each a minute long, typical of Sheng Mingyang.

“Your Uncle Xiao Chen just called me and said you went upstairs by yourself. Why not wait for him? It’s better to have someone with you in a new place with new classmates—”

“How’s the school’s atmosphere compared to No. 1 High School? Though both are provincial key schools, they’re not in the same province—”

“Did you meet Old Xu—”

The air conditioning in the Political and Educational Office was a bit old, only cooling certain areas, suitable for middle-aged and elderly friends. Sheng Wang stood at the air vent, the slight sweat at the ends of his hair cooling in the breeze. He tapped the screen with his fingers, only listening to the gist of each voice message before cutting it off, rolling his eyes with each one, and by the third, he was a bit confused.

Of course, he knew Uncle Xiao Chen, the driver who brought him to register. Cars weren’t allowed in the teaching area, and the parking lot was far away. Sheng Wang found it a hassle to walk even a step more, so he sent him back.

So…

“Who is Old Xu?” Sheng Wang pressed the send button and asked.

“Did you cut off my voice message again?” Sheng Mingyang replied instantly.

Sheng Wang fanned himself with his collar, pretending the network was down.

Sheng Mingyang called, sounding helpless: “Old Xu is the director of the Political and Educational Office. Not very tall, quite proper-looking, maybe a bit serious. He should have met you. Did you see him?”

Sheng Wang recalled based on the description: “No, I guess not. The teacher who took me upstairs was quite kind, always smiling, just looked like a big mouth monkey.”

And short, barely reaching Sheng Wang’s shoulder, had to look up to talk. He left Sheng Wang here and went downstairs, saying he was going to get new textbooks.

Sheng Mingyang paused: “Oh, close enough, that’s him.”

Sheng Wang: “…”

He thought for a moment and said, “Dad, do I look proper to you?”

Sheng Mingyang wanted to hit him.

As a businessman, he was a master at saying the right things to the right people, but he couldn’t maintain that with his son.

Voices came from outside, and Sheng Wang peeked out: “Monkey—no, Director Xu is here. I’ll hang up now.”

Sheng Mingyang sped up: “Alright, make a good impression on the first day, don’t go giving people nicknames.”

“Okay,” Sheng Wang replied lazily.

“I’ll have Xiao Chen pick you up tonight. I should be home by then. We’ll take your Aunt Jiang out for dinner, like we discussed last time, okay?”

Sheng Wang pressed his lips together.

Aunt Jiang, named Jiang Ou, had a son. He hadn’t met Jiang Ou in person, only seen two photos, and even those he barely glanced at.

He’d been hearing this name on and off for almost a year, from once every two or three months to nearly every day. He was really getting used to it. Sheng Mingyang was a master of pacing, with no flaws to pick. Even when Sheng Wang wanted to get angry, he couldn’t find a suitable point to start.

Last month, Sheng Mingyang said he’d be twice as busy in the second half of the year, hardly home, and mentioned a change in Jiang Ou’s situation, making her house unlivable. So he wanted Jiang Ou to move in, providing a place to stay and someone to look after Sheng Wang.

But the truth was, the care was fake; there was already a housekeeper for cleaning and cooking. The change might not even be real, just an excuse. Once they lived together, it wasn’t like they could just leave, right?

This matter was said to be a discussion, but without Sheng Wang’s nod, new items were already appearing at home, all preparing for that woman’s arrival. Oh, and her son too.

Whether or not they had dinner tonight, there was only one outcome.

Hearing no response from Sheng Wang, Sheng Mingyang called his name on the phone.

The director, who looked like a big mouth monkey, happened to walk in, and Sheng Wang paused to hang up.

After all, as a new student, Director Xu of the Political and Educational Office could still maintain basic kindness: “Talking to family? No worries, don’t rush to hang up, it’s only right to say a word.”

Sheng Wang turned his head, smiling with youthful energy: “Thank you, teacher, we were almost done talking anyway.”

Director Xu pointed at him and nodded to the teacher behind him. He had already said downstairs that this new transfer student, despite having a face that could charm the girls, looked like a well-behaved student who wouldn’t act out.

“Come, sit.” Director Xu pointed to a small stack of newly brought books. “These are the textbooks you’ll theoretically need this semester. You can take a look.”

What did he mean by theoretically?

Sheng Wang didn’t quite understand. He picked up the chemistry book on top and flipped through a couple of pages. The content seemed to connect with what he had studied before, not too different, so it shouldn’t be too hard to catch up.

“I’ve seen your previous records. You’ve transferred schools several times?” Director Xu asked.

Sheng Wang nodded: “Yes, a few times.” Mostly following Sheng Mingyang around.

He attended elementary school in Jiangsu, transferred twice between Junior Grade 1 and Grade 1 Senior, and this was the third time. Thanks to these experiences, he didn’t have much attachment to any place and never stayed long.

“I’ve also seen your transcripts. You’re an excellent student, rarely out of the top three in your grade. You have the aptitude, but there might be slight differences in course arrangements and progress between the two schools.” Director Xu gestured with his fingers, indicating a small gap, and reassured, “Transferring always comes with these issues. Just put in a little effort, and you’ll catch up, don’t be afraid.”

Sheng Wang had always been smooth sailing, never intimidated by academics. Fear wasn’t an option. But he couldn’t appear too arrogant, so he had to lower his raised tail: “I was mentally prepared before coming. I’ll try to keep up.”

Director Xu looked even more kindly: “Did you have a preliminary subject division in Grade 1 Senior?”

Sheng Wang said, “No, the school tried a class-shifting system for one semester.”

“Oh.” Director Xu nodded, “We also have a class-shifting system, just a bit special.”

Sheng Wang was puzzled: “Special? How special?”

“The A class you’re about to join is the Grade 2 Senior Science Intensive Class. We shift classes every half semester. There are two major exams, midterm and final. The last three students in each exam move to Class B, and the top three are brought in. That’s our class-shifting system.”

Sheng Wang: “…”

In short, other places shifted classes by choice; here, they shifted by elimination.

After scaring the little friend enough, Director Xu finally decided to be a decent person.

He led Sheng Wang through the flower corridor toward Mingli Building. Passing by an honor wall, Sheng Wang couldn’t help but glance more because the wall of expressionless “ID photos” looked too much like a wanted list.

This school’s aesthetics were unique, he thought.

Director Xu, however, stood on tiptoe, performing a peacock display on the spot. He said proudly, “There aren’t too many competitions in Grade 1 Senior, but we did quite well. Most of the people on this wall will be your classmates. You can recognize them in advance.”

Sheng Wang was face-blind and not interested in recognizing classmates in advance. He remembered only one.

Firstly, this person appeared too often, turning the honor wall into a link game; secondly, his surname was Jiang, named Jiang Tian.

The emphasis was on the second point.

Sheng Wang believed that if he were emperor, he’d be a foolish one, fond of implicating others. Petty as he might be, he was annoyed by anyone named Jiang lately.

Director Xu admired the wall for the thousandth time but suddenly pulled a long face. He leaned closer to Jiang Tian’s photo, wiped it twice, and angrily said, “Who drew hearts on the honor wall? No manners!”

Sheng Wang added fuel to the fire: “More than one person drew.”

The school’s photographer had a wild style, but the person in the photo still retained a certain quality. In Director Xu’s words, he could charm the girls anywhere. But Sheng Wang felt that this type of cool guy was probably a Bking.

He prayed to stay away from this person in the future, lest they end up fighting one day.

But no more than five minutes after making this wish, he was placed next to the real-life Bking by Director Xu. The reason was that catching up would be challenging at first, and the best solution was to ask his desk mate for help.

Director Xu said, “In the entire grade, you probably won’t find a more suitable desk mate than Jiang Tian.”

As soon as he finished speaking, forty pairs of eyes in the class turned to him with suffocating stares.

Sheng Wang dryly glanced at the big mouth monkey, thinking, “You must be kidding me.”