Chapter Fifty-Five: With Whom Did the Principal Speak on the Phone

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“Wei Xiaofan, my old friend, are you still worrying about not being chosen?” Wei Xiaoping asked.

“I was thinking about what we discussed in the cafeteria with Zhang Liying and the others. I believe the woman you mentioned, the one with Li Bufan, is the same woman who bumped into me at noon,” Wei Xiaofan replied.

“Even if the woman I saw and the one who hit you are the same, and even if Li Bufan brought her to stir up trouble, what would his purpose be? We can’t figure out why Li Bufan would do such a thing!”

Wei Xiaofan moved closer to Wei Xiaoping and whispered, “I suspect Li Bufan did all this to help Li Chaoqian win the award!”

“What’s your reasoning?” Wei Xiaoping looked at him, puzzled.

“First, Li Bufan and Li Chaoqian are very close friends. In fact, I think Li Bufan listens to Li Chaoqian. Do you remember the time we ran into them at that restaurant?”

“Yes, it was Li Chaoqian who noticed us first, and he greeted Zhang Liying.”

“And do you recall that when Li Chaoqian found out about our misunderstanding with Li Bufan, he told Li Bufan to treat us to a meal as an apology?”

“Yes, I remember. Li Bufan agreed without even thinking about it. It was just that we didn’t accept.”

“At that moment, I saw how submissive Li Bufan was to Li Chaoqian—like a eunuch serving the emperor in a TV drama!”

“Haha, Wei Xiaofan, when did you start coming up with such analogies? Comparing Li Bufan to a eunuch is one thing, but calling Li Chaoqian the emperor gives him way too much credit!”

“You’re right! That analogy is actually far too flattering. I ought to come up with something even more contemptible for the two of them!” Wei Xiaofan said, a trace of anger in his voice.

Watching his friend’s indignation, Wei Xiaoping thought to himself: Wei Xiaofan came from a poor rural family to study in the city, managing to attend such a good school and achieve such excellent results despite his difficult circumstances—no easy feat. He’d hoped that by winning this competition and securing the first prize, he could get the thousand-yuan award and temporarily improve his family’s finances. He’d already ranked first overall, and everyone thought the title of Model Student was a sure thing—yet, unexpectedly, something like this happened. The judges, knowing nothing of the real situation, stripped Wei Xiaofan of the award he was likely to win—even the second prize was gone. The hope Wei Xiaofan had once held plummeted into despair. Not winning the award might not be the worst of it. The most infuriating part was that others might now see him as an irresponsible, dishonest student. Moreover, the school had already published the rankings, and everyone knew about Wei Xiaofan’s outstanding performance and writing. Tomorrow, when the awards are handed out and his name is missing, what will the students think? What about the other teachers? Outwardly, Wei Xiaofan might seem calm, but when the awards are actually handed out tomorrow and he sees others take the stage while he, despite his excellent results, gets nothing—how much more painful will that be?

With this in mind, Wei Xiaoping glanced again at Wei Xiaofan, who still seemed lost in thought over his disqualification.

“So much misfortune has happened these days—Wei Xiaofan has had too much on his mind! Since today’s the weekend, maybe I should get him outside for a walk, see if something cheerful happens and help shift his mood!” With that thought, Wei Xiaoping spoke up:

“Wei Xiaofan, it's the weekend tonight, and we’ve been through so much this week, thought about too many things. Let’s go outside for a stroll, relax and let go of all this tension. What do you say?”

Wei Xiaofan considered it. He agreed—the week had been full of troubles and worries, and since what’s done is done, and his disqualification is now a certainty, there’s nothing more to be gained by dwelling on it.

He might as well go out, take a walk, and unwind.

So, Wei Xiaofan and Wei Xiaoping headed out together.

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The two made their way to the little convenience shop outside the school gates, where Wei Xiaoping bought a packet of sunflower seeds. They walked aimlessly, cracking seeds as they went.

After about half an hour, Wei Xiaofan began to feel a little tired and suggested they find somewhere to sit.

They found a stone bench by the roadside and sat down, continuing to chat and snack on sunflower seeds.

By now it was already past seven in the evening. Night had fallen, and the streetlights were gradually flickering on.

Wei Xiaofan and Wei Xiaoping were talking about when they should visit Wei Xiaofan’s home.

Just then, they heard the voices of two or three boys nearby, speaking not far from where they sat.

Looking around, they spotted three boys from another class sitting on a bench two or three meters to their left.

Since they didn’t know these boys, Wei Xiaofan and Wei Xiaoping continued their conversation about visiting Wei Xiaofan’s home and discussing the idea of becoming sworn brothers with his father.

Suddenly, Wei Xiaofan gestured for Wei Xiaoping to stop talking.

Wei Xiaoping saw his friend’s gaze fixed on the ground, but his entire attention was clearly focused on listening.

Wei Xiaoping, too, fell silent and listened intently.

It turned out the three boys were talking about the award ceremony taking place the next day.

“Do you know who in our ninth grade is going to win the Model Student award tomorrow?”

“Isn’t that obvious? Who else but Wei Xiaofan?”

“Exactly! His score is way ahead of the second place. Who else could it be?”

“The whole school knows it already—there’s no need to guess. Let’s talk about something else!”

“Want to bet? If Wei Xiaofan doesn’t win the award tomorrow, you owe us a bag of sunflower seeds, haha!”

“Fine! I’ll take that bet. I just happen to have five yuan in my pocket. If Wei Xiaofan doesn’t win after the ceremony tomorrow, I’ll spend it all buying sunflower seeds for everyone, and go home for more food money in the afternoon.”

“Haha, you’re bound to lose!”

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“You sound so certain. Is there really going to be an accident? Was someone’s score miscalculated and later corrected, so they surpassed Wei Xiaofan?”

“No.”

“Then who is it? Stop keeping us in suspense!”

“Yeah, stop being mysterious! If you don’t spill it soon, we won’t care anymore, and you can keep your secret to yourself until it turns into something you flush down the toilet in a day or two!”

“Haha! He’s right—if you don’t tell us, we’ll lose interest, and you can keep it to yourself until it goes moldy!”

“You two have no manners! Fine, I’ll tell you. If I don’t, I won’t get any sunflower seeds tomorrow!”

The boy who claimed to know who would win the ninth-grade Model Student award tomorrow continued:

“Yesterday, I had some business at the office building, and as I passed the principal’s office, I overheard him on the phone with a Deputy Mayor Zhang from the City’s Harmony and Progress Committee. They were talking about our school’s Model Student award!”

“What does the city government have to do with our school’s awards? Don’t try to fool us!”

“Yeah, you’re talking nonsense. Looks like I won’t get to spend my five yuan after all.”

“Isn’t the second-highest scorer in our ninth grade a girl named Zhang?”

“That’s right. So what?”

“The Deputy Mayor Zhang who was on the phone with the principal—she’s also surnamed Zhang, isn’t she?”

“Oh! So what you mean is—haha, looks like you really will be buying those sunflower seeds!”

“I figured it out! You mean that tomorrow, the one who’ll get the grand prize in ninth grade is Zhang Liying, right?”

“Exactly! Want to know why?”

“You sure like to drag things out. Just say it already! Stop keeping us hanging or you’ll have to keep it to yourself until you’re in the bathroom tomorrow! Hahaha!”