[Chapter 050]  Teacher Zhang, apologise to Lu YunFei 

“No hurry,” Lu YunFei thought that he could still stand to get some more luck, “there’s still another class period to go.”

Wen MingYi covered his forehead, while Li YuanQing covered his face.

The department head looked at the sight of Lu YunFei and Bian JinYuan holding hands and somehow felt that this picture didn’t seem quite right.

After Lu YunFei had held enough, he let go and turned back to ask the department head: “Teacher, could you guess a literary work with both of our actions as the riddle.”

Department head: ???

The surrounding students looked at each other, how did this situation suddenly become guessing a riddle?

Bian JinYuan was tickled by his antics and lowered his head to laugh.

Li YuanQing looked to Wen MingYi beside him, “Quick, it’s your time to display your ability, humanities student.”

Wen MingYi had nothing to say and pulled Li YuanQing with him to go back, “Let’s go let’s go.”

“Tell me what the answer is!”

The surrounding students also wondered, yea, what was the answer?

The department head looked at how this bunch of students were all craning their necks to wait for the answer and shouted in exasperation, “What are you still standing here for, do you also want to retake the exam?”

This scared the students, and they scattered once more. Nonetheless, they itched to find out, just what was the answer?

“You should go back too,” Lu YunFei said to Bian JinYuan, “Sigh, Since ancient times, lovers have been distressed with parting sorrows. How can we bear the sorrows in such a desolate and clear autumn!^#”

Bian JinYuan chuckled as the department head steered Lu YunFei back into the office by his shoulders, “Go back to class student Bian JinYuan, and student Lu YunFei,” she looked at the person in front of her, “Good luck!”

In the quiet office, Zhang YanRong, Lu YunFei, and Li Li sat still. Lu YunFei had just completed the test, and it was currently in the hands of the department head as she marked it.

It was now 12.05pm, and morning classes were over. Zhang YanRong and Li Li had once more returned to the department head’s office, waiting for the final verdict on the issue of cheating.

The office door was closed. Outside, numerous students surrounded it, waiting for the results as they placed bets on the outcome.

“80 marks,” the department head put down her pen.

Lu YunFei was shocked.

Zhang YanRong let out a delighted laugh. As she was about to drop the final hammer, the department head continued: “It’s 80 marks excluding the essay. I’ve seen his essay, and it’s the same writing style as this month’s test, so it must be from a template that Bian JinYuan made him memorise. During the exam, his essay scored 21 marks, and since they’re similar, this retest essay will also be scored at 21 marks, making the total 101 marks.”

This time, Lu YunFei was truly shocked, “How much? 101 marks?”

“That’s right,” the department head said.

Lu YunFei had never before thought of how gentle and beautiful and dignified the department head was until now. He put on his best tone to ask the department head, “Then teacher, could you please write down my score of 101 please?”

It was no surprise that he would want that, the allure of 101 was too enticing. He had not surpassed 100 marks in so long, and now that he’d finally attained it, Lu YunFei simply couldn’t resist his desire.

“Just write it down please.”

Li Li bent her head to sneak a smile.

The department head found him amusing and wrote down the score of 101 on the paper.

Lu YunFei received the paper back from her and looked at the score on it, feeling a bit woeful, “If only this was the paper used for this month’s exam.”

“Continue working hard. It’ll be the mid-term exams in a few days, try to score above 100 then.”

“I don’t dare to,” Lu YunFei kept the paper, “I’ve already been accused of cheating just because I passed. If I were to score a hundred, then I might be accused of bribing a teacher, wouldn’t you say teacher Zhang?”

Zhang YanRong glared at him and didn’t reply.

Lu YunFei looked at her expression of anger and felt that revenge was sweet. His mood lifted and he no longer felt indignation, as he said happily, “What was our agreement, does teacher Zhang still remember? I look forward to your apology next week during the flag-raising assembly, remember to make it bilingual~”

Zhang YanRong’s facial expression turned and she addressed the department head, “Department head, just see how he talks…”

“Did I say anything wrong? Didn’t you agree to this? What, were you intending to blast accusations and then take them back? Are you setting such an example for us?”

“Lu YunFei!”

“Yes, I’m here,” Lu YunFei smiled innocently, “You’ve got to take responsibility for your actions, if you dare to defame others then you should dare to apologise for it. What’s the use of shouting my name, I’m not the one who has to apologise.”

The department head looked at him, “Lu YunFei…”

“Department head, you know best how this situation came about. Now that it’s progressed to this point, have I ever forced her? No, it was her who had been pressing the issue at every step of the way. I was lucky that I had a good attitude while taking the retest, and scored better instead of worse. If another student had been unjustly accused by her like that, they might score only sixty to seventy marks at the retest. Would they be accused of cheating then?”

“Luck also plays a part in exams. If someone had good luck during his exams and scored higher than usual by ten or twenty marks, then would he be accused of cheating because he had good luck? To catch a thief one must see the goods, to catch a cheater one must see the couple. On what basis is one to accuse someone of cheating when there is no evidence.”

The department head saw how he spat out his arguments like a machine gun and thought that Zhang YanRong was in trouble this time, she not only failed to catch the bird, but was even poked in the eye by it.

“Alright, all we can hear in this office is you,” she looked at Zhang YanRong, “Teacher Zhang, you did unjustly wrong Lu YunFei, please apologise to him.”

Zhang YanRong looked at her in disbelief, “This…”

It was very obvious that she was reluctant to do so. When had a teacher ever had to apologise to their students, if this got out, how could she stay on in First High? How would other people look at her?!

The department head saw her expression and, knowing that she cherished face, understood that she would rather quit her job than to apologise in front of the entire school. She didn’t want to make things difficult for Zhang YanRong, and also didn’t want her to pick on Lu YunFei because of this, so after some thought, she advised Lu YunFei, “Teacher Zhang was in the wrong and should apologise to you. However we don’t have to wait until Monday, just let her apologise to you now, and we can wrap this up.”

Lu YunFei refused, “I wasn’t the one who brought up doing this in front of the whole school, it was teacher Zhang herself. Since she made such a request, how could I refuse as a student.”

“Zhang YanRong looked at Lu YunFei, disbelief at his refusal of goodwill and amity.

“Lu YunFei, just treat it as giving me some face to allow teacher Zhang to apologise to you now, and then we’ll have a meal and consider it over, please?”

Li Li heard this and nudged Lu YunFei, advising, “How about agreeing to that, let’s not hold it against teachers.”

Lu YunFei was amicable towards his homeroom teacher Li Li. If not for the fact that she had stood by him and never suspected him when this situation unfurled, and so he thought that she had a good character. And so he decided to give face to her.

“Alright then, since department head and teacher Li said so, I’m also not petty, and won’t press for an apology at Monday’s assembly.”

Seeing this, the department head finally let out a smile, “Teacher Zhang, your apology to Lu YunFei please.”

Lu YunFei turned to look at Zhang YanRong, and even smiled benignly. Zhang YanRong was incensed as she looked at the smile on his face, but her circumstances preceded her stubbornness, so she could only clench her fists and force an apologetic tone, “Lu YunFei, it was teacher in the wrong this time, teacher wrongly accused you. I’m sorry, teacher apologizes to you.”

Lu YunFei nodded, “As we agreed, Chinese and English. Even if you didn’t hit eight hundred words, you should still have it in English. My English isn’t good, your English would be much better than mine.

“Lu YunFei,” Who was the one who claimed that he was not petty, Zhang YanRong thought angrily as she clenched her jaw.

The department head was tickled by his request for a bilingual apology, yet couldn’t help but advise once more.

Lu YunFei saw how Zhang YanRong’s face twisted and flitted through so many expressions, as if she was experiencing a huge amount of shame, and couldn’t be bothered to continue arguing with her.

“Teacher Zhang, there’s an essay in the Language textbook that tells of seeing someone in a new light after three days^★. Even though you teach English, I think that you should also take some time to read more Language works.”

Zhang YanRong clenched her fists so hard that her nails cut into her flesh.

“May I leave now?” Lu YunFei asked as he picked his test paper and stood up.

“You may,” the department head thought that he should have left earlier. This kid could sure talk, why was he in the Science major, he could go to Humanities and become a lawyer too, that wouldn’t be a bad choice.

Lu YunFei walked to her and put his hand out to ask, “My revision materials, the ones that Bian JinYuan handed over earlier.”

The department head passed them to him and didn’t forget to advise, “Study hard.”

“Don’t worry, perhaps I’ll score 120 in the next exam and have to see you in here again.”

“Go,” the department head didn’t know whether to be angry or laugh at his retort and could only shoo him away.

As Lu YunFei opened the door, he saw a bunch of people who were startled like little sparrows in the winter. He closed the door behind him and waved the test paper in his hand, “The retest is over. 101, what else do you want to know?”

“101?!” The little sparrows exclaimed.

Li YuanQing who was standing outside the door also looked at him in disbelief.

Lu YunFei smiled gleefully as he showed off his paper, “The department head personally marked this sole copy. Sigh, if only this was used in this month’s exam.”

“Then, Zhang YanRong?” Wen MingYi’s eyes went towards the closed door.

“Losing the grain in a failed attempt to steal the chicken^⩛. She tried to frame me, but am I that easy to frame? In the end she had to apologise to me. Annoying.”

Li YuanQing hugged him, “Sigh, our Fei Fei is just different. Let’s go, gege will treat you to a meal to dispel the bad luck.”

Lu YunFei took his hand off him and walked to stand beside Bian JinYuan, who had been silent the entire time, “Why are you also here instead of at your part-time job?”

“Is everything alright?” Bian JinYuan asked.

Lu YunFei smiled as he handed the revision materials and test paper to him, “Of course it couldn’t go better! How could I fare badly when you had lent me so much luck.”

Bian JinYuan smiled ever so slightly. He had never thought himself to be a lucky person. It was a good thing that Lu YunFei had managed to borrow only good luck from him.

“Let’s go,” Lu YunFei put his arm around him, “Let’s eat with us since you’re not working. I’ve always wanted you to join us for lunch. It’s great that Li YuanQing is treating us, we can eat something expensive.”

Li YuanQing: ???

Li YuanQing looked as Wen MingYi beside him, “Is he fucking speaking human words?”

“Don’t ask me,” Wen MingYi said candidly, “I’m also prepared to eat something expensive.”

Li YuanQing: … What kind of friends are this, such superficial friends, unfriending!

Lu YunFei can you please take a moment to hear yourself likening you and Bian JinYuan to lovers!!!

# Lu YunFei is quoting from this Song dynasty poem《雨霖铃·寒蝉凄切》(translated as Lyrics to Tinkling Heavy Rain – full translation here), which is about lovers who held hands like himself and Bian JinYuan as they parted ways.

★ Lu YunFei quoted the idiom “士别三日，刮目相待” (shì bié sān rì，guā mù xiāng dài), “after a span of three days, seeing (someone) in a whole new light”.  It is used to mean that people can make vast improvements.

⩛ This is another idiom 偷鸡不成蚀把米 (tōu jī bù chéng shí bǎ mǐ), which literally means to fail in stealing a chicken, and what’s more, losing the grains you brought to lure them too. It means to fail in a bad deed and coming out of it worse off than when you started. Pretty sure there’s an English saying that’s equivalent, but I can’t for the life of me think of it right now!