Chapter Fourteen: The Temporary Squad Leader
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Lu You paused his pen, looking over the completed exam paper, mentally summarizing. Two hours had passed to finish the science exam, but these were all first-year high school topics, so the pace was normal. Biology and chemistry still had details to watch out for—some tricky wording could cause mistakes—while physics was mostly straightforward.
The class bell rang, interrupting his thoughts. The faint murmurs in the classroom gradually faded away.
At the same moment, his deskmate, the chubby kid nicknamed Blackie, put away his phone and looked up at Lu You.
“Whoa!”
Immediately, the whole class turned their eyes toward their seats. Blackie quickly lowered his head, pretending nothing had happened.
Lu You glanced at him sideways, seeing him feign ignorance, so he ignored him and pulled out the answer sheet from his folder, preparing to revise his test.
As he placed the answers on the desk, he felt someone touch him from the left.
Turning, he saw Blackie’s smiling face, who leaned close and whispered, “Hey handsome, let’s get acquainted. I’m Meng Yi, and you?”
Lu You felt the other guy was a bit too close, furrowed his brow, and shifted slightly away before quietly replying, “Lu You.”
Meng Yi was about to say more when a middle-aged man walked into the classroom from the doorway. In that instant, Meng Yi sat up straight, as if nothing had occurred.
Lu You was amazed—it was his first time witnessing a Sichuan opera "face-changing" trick in real life.
The man approached the podium, tapped twice on it with his knuckles to get everyone’s attention, then scanned the room and introduced himself: “Hello, students. I am your homeroom teacher and math instructor for this semester. My surname is Zeng; full name is Zeng Zhi.” He then turned to write his name on the blackboard.
“Starting today, you are officially first-year high school students. High school life and learning are completely different from middle school. The academic workload will be heavier, and unlike middle school teachers, high school teachers will no longer follow you around constantly...”
Hearing this, Lu You lost interest and began to quietly correct his exam paper.
The following minutes were filled with routine advice about high school life—what to do, what not to do, and so forth. Having been a professor in his previous life, Lu You knew such talks were just filler.
Meng Yi lasted a bit longer, listening for about five minutes before his attention wavered. His eyes wandered around the room and landed on Lu You marking his paper with a red pen. Leaning over slightly, he whispered, “Lu, what are you doing?”
Lu You slid the test paper a bit closer, still marking it, and quietly said, “Look for yourself.”
Meng Yi peered at the paper and asked skeptically, “Are you correcting a high school exam?”
“More precisely, I’m grading the test.”
“You didn’t study during the summer, did you?”
“Yeah, slow birds have to fly early. If you don’t study over the summer, how can you catch up to the other top students?”
“Damn!” Meng Yi looked at Lu You like he’d just spotted a rare species. “Why catch up? This is the first time I’ve heard of anyone studying seriously during the summer after the entrance exams. Everyone I know was out having fun; those who say they studied hard were probably just pretending.”
Lu You chuckled lightly without stopping his red pen, replying, “Everyone has different goals. My grades weren’t good before. Now I want to study seriously and get into a good university, so I have to work hard to make up for it.”
“Is that so? How much did you study during the summer? One chapter per subject?”
“Hm...” Lu You pondered a moment, then said, “Basically the entire first-year curriculum.”
Meng Yi gasped.
“So you were lying when you said your grades were bad?”
“Yes and no,” Lu You said enigmatically. His original self’s grades were poor, but now his knowledge base was quite solid, though his actual grades remained to be seen.
“What kind of riddle is that?” Meng Yi was baffled.
“You’ll see after the monthly exam whether my grades are good or not,” Lu You ended the topic.
...
Finally, Teacher Zeng’s lengthy filler talk came to an end.
“...I hope you all have a wonderful high school life going forward.” He took a sip from his water cup, then set it down with a slight clink, waking most of the daydreaming students. He continued, “Now, let’s take attendance. When I call your name, stand up and say ‘present’ so I and your classmates can recognize you.”
“Cheng Xinhua.”
“Present!”
“Good spirit! Sit down!”
...
As the roll call approached the letter “L,” Lu You’s heartbeat quickened, and his focus sharpened.
“Li Womeng!”
The girl sitting in front of Lu You stood up. “Present!”
Many in the class turned their attention to her, but Lu You could only see the back of her head. He wasn’t in the mood to notice if she was pretty.
It was his turn—already? Why so fast?
Without reason, a wave of nervousness surged through him.
Teacher Zeng smiled and nodded, “Your name is as beautiful as you are. Very good, sit down.”
“Lu You!”
“Present!”
Lu You stood up quickly, but once standing, his mind calmed rapidly.
Some murmurs arose in the classroom.
“You look like you could be a celebrity,” Teacher Zeng couldn’t help but compliment.
“Thanks for the compliment,” Lu You nodded politely.
Seeing the students’ reactions, Teacher Zeng had a good idea. “Lu You, why don’t you serve as a temporary class monitor? Li, you’ll be the temporary assistant monitor. In two weeks, we’ll hold a class meeting to elect the official monitor.”
“Huh?” Lu You was stunned. It was just roll call—how did he become temporary class monitor? What was going on?
Thinking about the tedious chores that came with being monitor, Lu You immediately refused, “Teacher, this is too hasty. I think other students might object.”
“Do they? If someone volunteers, I can let that person be the temporary monitor.”
The whole class went silent, the atmosphere as quiet as a library.
“You see? No objections.”
Lu You gritted his teeth, forced a smile, and said, “Then I hope everyone will be understanding.”
“All right, sit down.”
After sitting, Meng Yi leaned over and whispered, “How does it feel being temporary monitor?”
Lu You tentatively asked, “Why don’t you tell the teacher you want to take over?”
Meng Yi straightened up immediately. “Teacher’s almost done calling names. Don’t say a word.”
Damn!
Soon, the entire class roster had been called.
“The roll call is complete. Now for today’s arrangements: The monitor will lead about twenty boys downstairs to move books; the assistant monitor will organize the rest of you to clean the classroom.”
“Also, regarding military training—it starts next Monday. A bus will take you to the training base, and I will accompany you. Details will be sent out tonight. Boarding students should call their parents; day students must have their parents review and sign the notice.”
“Now, I invite the two temporary monitors to come up.”
Lu You resigned himself to his unfortunate fate and, alongside the girl named Li, mechanically walked onto the podium.
They faced the class. Li Womeng smiled sweetly and looked kindly at the students, while Lu You showed no expression, his gaze drifting aimlessly.
“That monitor seems pretty cold,” some whispered.
In truth, Lu You’s thoughts were: I’m doomed. Being elected monitor means I’m dead meat.
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Sadly, these thoughts remained only in his mind. Lu You quickly scanned the classmates and said, “I’ll start by calling up some students to go downstairs and move books.”
After selecting twenty people, he continued, “Those called, please head to the corridor; the rest stay in the classroom and follow the assistant monitor’s cleaning arrangements.”
He nodded at Li Womeng, who nodded back in acknowledgment, then Lu You left the classroom.
...
They arrived on the first floor. The books hadn’t arrived yet; other classes were also waiting.
Blackie, Meng Yi, came up beside Lu You and quietly asked, “What do you think of the girls in our class?”
Lu You replied expressionlessly, “Didn’t look, didn’t pay attention.”
“Huh? Didn’t you look during roll call?”
“No.”
Meng Yi felt a bit deflated but persisted, “What about Li Womeng? You two stood on the podium together. What do you think of her? I think she’s the prettiest in the class, probably the whole grade.”
Lu You glanced at Meng Yi, making him uneasy, and simply said, “If you think so, then so be it.”
“Oh, come on, why so boring? Looking at girls helps relax your mind, which is good for studying,” Meng Yi chided.
This time, Lu You didn’t even glance at him, calmly replying, “No need. Everyone has different thoughts. For me, reading with complete focus is enough.”
Then, seeing a white van approaching from afar, he told the boys, “The truck is here; get ready to unload the books.”
Meng Yi sneered and muttered, “Fake serious,” before going off to chat with another boy.
...
At 4:30, Teacher Zeng dismissed the class. Those cleaning started cleaning; those moving books quickly left the classroom—anywhere but here, so as not to disturb others.
Lu You wanted to slip away too, but with his position, he had to contribute to the class.
“Monitor, could you help me get a dustpan? Thanks.”
“Monitor, please pass me the cleaner on the desk. Thank you.”
“Monitor, can you open this trash bag?”
“Monitor...”
“Monitor...”
...
Lu You felt like he was about to crack under the constant calls, needing to move every few steps. But he wasn’t the only one suffering; the assistant monitor was just as busy running around.
Leaning against the hallway railing, both drenched in sweat, the class work finally settled into a rhythm, allowing them a brief rest.
“Thanks for your hard work, Monitor Lu. Helping with both moving books and cleaning,” Li Womeng turned to Lu You with gratitude.
Lu You just watched the bustling students and replied calmly, “It’s my duty. If I had a choice, I wouldn’t do this.”
Li smiled, “I thought you were a warm-hearted person.”
“Warm-hearted?” Lu You sneered, “To me, it’s like sitting at home and a pot falls from the sky.”
Standing up straight, stretching his arms, he asked Li, “Can you handle what’s left on your own?”
She nodded, “No problem. It was supposed to be my job anyway. Sorry for troubling you.”
“Okay, then I’m off. See you at self-study.” Without looking back, Lu You vanished by the stairs.
Li Womeng stared after him for a moment, then shook her head and went back inside to finish the remaining tasks.
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