Since Jiang Ren had memorized all the course materials, Song Qinqin could withdraw from tutoring, but Meng Ting couldn’t.
On Monday after school, before going to submit her application, Song Qinqin asked Meng Ting, “Senior Sister, are you still going to tutor him?”
Senior Jiang had zero foundation; whoever tutored him would suffer. Moreover, with Song Qinqin leaving, Meng Ting would have to tutor seven subjects alone.
Meng Ting nodded, “I promised him.” She said this while lowering her eyes to write an outline.
Meng Ting had found her middle school textbooks and was highlighting key points for Jiang Ren. She wrote very carefully, gradually clarifying the complex knowledge points under her pen.
Song Qinqin couldn’t help but admire her a little.
As the weather gradually warmed up, students often liked to roll up their pant legs during class.
When Song Qinqin’s application was approved, Meng Ting had just finished organizing the key points for the last subject, biology. To save electricity and prevent students from wasting it, the school generally didn’t allow air conditioning in classrooms in May. They had to wait until the hottest months of June and July for centralized air conditioning.
Zhao Nuancheng grumbled, “What’s this? We thought we could use the air conditioning once it was installed, but we still only have two broken fans. The teachers’ offices can use it, that’s not fair!”
The classroom was crowded, making the temperature even higher. As she spoke, she rolled up her pant legs, “It’s so hot.”
Zhao Nuancheng turned to look at Meng Ting, who also had a thin layer of sweat on her forehead. “Tingting, roll yours up like this, it’s cooler.”
Meng Ting smiled and said okay, then bent down and, following Zhao Nuancheng’s example, rolled her pant legs up to her ankles, all the way to the middle of her calves. The cool air seeped in, making it much more comfortable.
Hong Hui’s face suddenly turned red.
Meng Ting wore a pair of white lace-up sandals. Her exposed toes were white and cute. Originally, because of the loose uniforms at No. 7 High School, no one could tell what kind of figure anyone had.
However, due to the heat, one could now see a glimpse of tender calves.
Meng Ting didn’t notice her deskmate’s unusual behavior.
Instead, a few boys behind them noticed and snickered, “Is Hong Hui secretly in love with the school beauty?”
“Look at how timid he is, haha!”
One boy said, “But Meng Ting is fair-skinned.”
Her calves were also very pretty. Slender, fair, and particularly well-proportioned.
When she stood in a crowd, it was as if a beauty filter had been automatically applied. That boy shrugged, “Why pick on Hong Hui? You’re all just sour grapes because you can’t have her. At least he’s her deskmate. If Meng Ting were my girlfriend, I’d be willing to carry her shoes for her.”
The boys burst into laughter.
“Dream on!”
However, as summer arrived, everyone at No. 7 High School discovered a problem—no one had ever seen the school beauty, Meng Ting, wear a skirt. Forget skirts, they hadn’t even seen her in shorts!
The most they could see was just a bit above her exquisite ankles.
Schoolmates occasionally met on weekends, and because H City was scorching hot, girls loved to wear skirts or shorts when they went home.
Shen Yuqing from Class 14 particularly loved wearing skirts.
Her legs were slender and beautiful, so Shen Yuqing always had many admirers at school. Combined with her outgoing personality, she had a constant stream of boyfriends. In a short-sleeved top and short skirt, she was incredibly alluring.
The joke about the school beauty never wearing skirts quickly spread throughout the entire second year of high school.
Shen Yuqing was touching up her makeup at the time and, upon hearing this, sneered, “Either her legs aren’t good-looking, or she has scars on them.”
“How do you know?”
“If your legs looked good, wouldn’t you show them off?”
“That’s true.”
Shen Yuqing’s eyes lit up, “Exactly! She just has a pretty face, her figure must not be good. School beauty? Does she even have the qualifications to be the school beauty?”
During Wednesday’s evening self-study session, Zhao Nuancheng came in from outside looking very upset, almost crying with anger.
“Tingting, they’re saying there’s something wrong with your legs.”
Meng Ting was counting her English homework when she heard this and smiled, “What?”
“Those girls have such nasty mouths. They say you never wear skirts, so either you have scars on your legs or you’re bowlegged.”
Meng Ting’s eyes curved into crescents.
“You’re still smiling!”
Meng Ting thought their imagination was quite rich. In her previous life, thirty percent of her body had been burned, and her legs were indeed ruined. However, in this life, there was nothing wrong with her legs. She didn’t wear skirts because when she was young, all her skirts were handmade by Zeng Yujie. After Zeng Yujie passed away, her eyes weren’t convenient, and she often bumped into things. Wearing pants was much more convenient, protecting her from scratches, suitable for both winter and summer and saving money.
The only skirt she had now was her dance costume, plus two skirts handmade by her grandmother.
However, the old lady was conservative, and the skirts she made only reached the calves. It was a clean and beautiful Republican-era style.
She didn’t have any short skirts or shorts.
After scolding that group of malicious speakers, Zhao Nuancheng was also curious, “Why don’t you wear them, Tingting?”
Meng Ting honestly replied, “I don’t have any skirts.” The ones from before she was fourteen no longer fit.
“…”
Meng Ting’s poverty was imminent.
She had never thought about comparing clothes with the girls at school; Mr. Shu didn’t earn money easily. In this world, no one is obligated to sacrifice for anyone else. Their guesses and gossip wouldn’t have any impact on her life.
It’s not like her legs would become ugly just because others guessed they were.
Meng Ting truly didn’t care, but Zhao Nuancheng was fuming.
How infuriating!
Yet there was nothing she could do about them.
Zhao Nuancheng wanted Meng Ting to wear a short skirt one day and stun everyone, slapping those people’s faces with a resounding smack, but the protagonist wasn’t cooperating.
The protagonist happily finished calculating a ten-point math problem, packed up her schoolbag, and prepared to go home.
Zhao Nuancheng linked arms with her, remembering those sour comments she had heard, “Tingting, Tingting, when will you wear one? They’re so mean!” She became childishly unreasonable, “I won’t let you leave unless you wear one.”
Meng Ting’s eyes were filled with laughter, “Do you want to see?”
Zhao Nuancheng nodded.
“Then come to my dance competition on Friday night, okay?” Meng Ting was also quite helpless; she only had that one short skirt. And it was an extremely short, puffy skirt type—a ballet dance costume that would reveal the proportionate and slender lines of her thighs.
“…” It took Zhao Nuancheng a long time to find her voice, “I’ll come!” She hadn’t imagined that Meng Ting could dance, let alone compete in dance competitions.
Zhao Nuancheng felt that the serious, studious school beauty Meng Ting she knew, who seemed to have no other talents, wasn’t the real Meng Ting at all! Wuwuwu!
She could even dance!
Zhao Nuancheng asked lightly, “Besides dancing, what else can you do?”
Meng Ting thought for a moment, “Play the piano, a bit of violin, a little Chinese painting, and chess.” As well as simultaneous interpretation.
In her previous life, after being burned, she had mainly focused on English to make a living.
Zhao Nuancheng: “…” Her worldview of the past year and a half was about to be overturned. Damn, Tingting was practically an all-rounder! She almost wanted to drop to her knees. Is there anything you can’t do, fairy?
Meng Ting wasn’t very lucky; because there were so many people in the preliminary round, her competition time was drawn for Friday night.
Meng Ting could only ask for leave to attend the competition.
Zhao Nuancheng was also stubborn. As a girl, just to see Meng Ting dance, she had already planned her strategy. She decided that on Friday night, she would groan and moan while clutching her stomach; the teacher on duty would let her leave.
However, Friday night’s self-study session was when she tutored Jiang Ren.
So on Thursday afternoon, before the evening self-study class, as the setting sun’s crimson clouds dyed the edge of the sky, Meng Ting went to the vocational high school to find Jiang Ren for the first time.
She planned to give him the tutoring lesson in advance, tell him she had something to do on Friday, and see if he could make it on Thursday instead.
The environment at the vocational high school was much better than No. 7 High School, with excellent landscaping.
Upon entering the school, there were two rows of willow trees. The summer willows had fully unfurled their leaves. There were also several tall white poplars with lush branches and leaves.
The vocational high school’s evening self-study was quite lax, reportedly just a time for everyone to gather and play. Because class hadn’t started yet, the campus was full of people playing basketball, chatting, and openly hugging and cuddling.
Meng Ting had never been to the vocational high school during this lively time; when she practiced piano, it was after they had all gone home.
Naturally, the vocational school students had never seen her at this time either.
She sent Jiang Ren a text message and stood waiting under a small white poplar.
At first, what attracted attention was her clothes; No. 7 High School’s uniform was ugly and eye-catching.
But later, people noticed that she was very pretty.
A seventeen-year-old girl, fair-skinned and beautiful, with the crimson clouds of sunset shining beside her, making it impossible to look away. It wasn’t just her beauty, but also her outstanding temperament. Many of the vocational high school girls liked to dye their hair and pierce their ears, appearing much more mature and charming than their peers. They weren’t unattractive, but rarely did they have such pure and lively beauty. She simply stood there, and many people secretly looked at her.
Damn, she’s so pretty! And she looks like such a good student too.
Jiang Ren didn’t respond to the text message; he was working on the math problems Meng Ting had assigned him.
It was He Junming who took a glance.
Just one look, and he almost laughed himself silly, “Damn, hahaha, Ren-ge, what kind of contact name is this? So mushy.”
Jiang Ren lowered his gaze to the phone screen in his desk drawer.
Sender—Darling.
Jiang Ren doubted he had seen it correctly. However, the unique contact name told him he hadn’t made a mistake. He curved his lips and smacked He Junming on the back of the head, “What’s it to you? I like it.”
After reading the message, he didn’t stay a moment longer and walked towards the stairs. As he walked, he started to run.
The late May wind brushed against his cheeks. There were still fifteen minutes until class started.
The setting sun dyed half the sky red as he ran across the playground and through the tree-lined path. He spotted Meng Ting at a glance.
She was waiting for her in the music teacher’s office.
Hanging plants cascaded down from the third floor, and the white poplar stood tall. A boy was standing in front of her, talking to her.
She pursed her small mouth and shook her head.
But the boy was reluctant to leave.
The rosy glow of light fell on her porcelain-white skin, making Meng Ting exceptionally eye-catching.
Jiang Ren was incredibly displeased.
However, he hadn’t thought that from a certain perspective, that boy was just like his own thick-skinned self. They were both shamelessly pursuing love, essentially no different.
Jiang Ren didn’t show any courtesy at all. In a few steps, he grabbed the boy’s collar and sneered, “What are you saying? Let me hear it too.”
The boy, grabbed by his shirt collar, cursed, “F*ck!” He was about to get angry when he recognized who it was and stammered, “Ren-ge…”
The reputation of the school bully wasn’t unfounded.
In the entire vocational high school, there might be people who didn’t know the principal, but there was no one who didn’t know Jiang Ren.
Meng Ting saw Jiang Ren lose his temper and felt quite a headache.
Why did he always get angry at the slightest thing? His temper was so bad. In the sunset, the wind blew gently, ruffling the strands of hair on her forehead.
The young man’s figure stood in front of her, shielding her completely. Meng Ting, behind Jiang Ren, hesitated before reaching out her small hand and gently tugging at the hem of his shirt.
Can’t you behave yourself?
Jiang Ren wore a black shirt with a simple white letter “J” on the right chest.
The little force on the back of his shirt was as light as a feather, like the strength of a little kitten, but Jiang Ren was stunned. It felt like something exploded in his brain, and his heart began to race uncontrollably.
In a place where no one else could see, the young girl’s small hand gently shook.
Originally, not many people were paying attention to this area because class was about to start. However, Jiang Ren came over looking fierce. Now there were several onlookers. They didn’t dare to look openly, all secretly peeking.
Jiang Ren was both fierce and wild, and he didn’t have a kind face to begin with. If this scene were in a TV drama, he would look like a bully.
Jiang Ren was that bad guy.
Meng Ting thought he hadn’t felt it, so she shook it again gently.
Meng Ting wanted to remind him that people were watching and that he should stop, you jerk.
Her little force was weaker than even the summer breeze. Yet it was like a feather scratching his bones.
Starting from that spot, a strange feeling spread, making Jiang Ren’s tailbone tingle.
Was she… acting coquettish with him?
The boy couldn’t see Meng Ting’s actions. He was on the verge of tears, “Ren-ge, I didn’t mean to, I was just passing by. Class is about to start, can you let go?”
Then, as if he had seen a ghost, he watched as their school’s notorious bully, who seemed ready to punch a hole in the sky, with an odd expression and his mouth twitching as if about to smile, actually… let go?