"Of course not. Stop talking nonsense," Lin Jinran leaned forward, covering the test paper with both hands to block Su Qinian's view. She glared at him fiercely. "Can you please listen to the class carefully, dear monitor?"
The girl's voice rose slightly at the end. Her eyes were wide open, looking as cute and lively as a kitten.
That "dear monitor" passed through his chest and struck the very center of his soul. It was as if the world became extremely bright in that instant, and every breath took on a new meaning.
Su Qinian was slightly distracted. He lowered his eyes and looked at Lin Jinran in front of him. His eyes were filled with her stubborn look. Then he curled his lips and smiled faintly.
"What are you smiling at?" Lin Jinran asked suspiciously. She took out one hand and waved it in front of his eyes. Su Qinian remained unmoved. She sighed and continued resignedly.
"Okay, I know the past perfect tense and the present perfect tense are very simple, but I just can't tell them apart. Don't laugh at me because of this. Do you hear me, Su! Qi! Nian!"
"I won't laugh at you," Su Qinian said with a suppressed smile. "Since you didn't understand, why didn't you ask the teacher? She's asking if there's anyone who didn't understand."
This...
Lin Jinran glared at Su Qinian again. Su Qinian blinked innocently, as if asking, "What's wrong?"
"I just don't want to waste everyone's time," Lin Jinran muttered. "Everyone else understood. I'm the only one who didn't. It's okay. I'll just go to the teacher's office after class to clear up my doubts."
"It's no big deal. It's okay," Su Qinian said. He looked up at the English teacher standing next to the podium, raised his hand, then stood up and asked his question.
"Teacher, I didn't understand the last question in the cloze test. Why is it the past perfect tense instead of the present perfect tense? Can we have a more detailed distinction between the two?"
"And also the present perfect continuous tense and the past perfect continuous tense. I often get confused between the two. The definitions of their differences aren't very clear."
The moment Su Qinian stood up to speak, the hem of his simple black-and-white school uniform gently brushed across Lin Jinran's forehead, like a snow-white feather fluttering by in a flash.
It was so brief that Lin Jinran was a bit dazed and didn't even realize what it was.
She looked up at the boy's face. It was almost mid - morning, and the sunlight outside was too strong and intense. Su Qinian stood in that beam of light, shining brightly as he spoke calmly.
When she heard his first words, Lin Jinran's eyes widened slightly. Surprise and astonishment poured out of her eyes one after another, and her mind went completely blank at that moment.
Was Su Qinian... asking the question for her?
And also expanding on it?
Was he afraid she wasn't clear about the distinction between the continuous tenses?
It wasn't until she heard the English teacher's slightly teasing voice that Lin Jinran's consciousness gradually returned. She looked at the English teacher.
The English teacher said, "I didn't expect there would be a question you, Su Qinian, didn't understand. This is really rare. Since there's still someone who didn't understand, I'll explain it one more time. Everyone, listen carefully."
"The monitor actually has questions he doesn't understand?"
"That's not right. His English grades are excellent. He can't not understand."
"Then why did he ask the question?"
"..."
In the distance, Xie Wanyu covered her mouth and smiled with her eyes bent. She turned her head and glanced at Lin Jinran, knowing everything in her heart.
Tao Wan was closer. She turned her head and gave Lin Jinran a meaningful smile.
At the very back, Lu Youchuan laughed cheerfully and nodded in satisfaction, thoroughly enjoying himself.
Lin Jinran was so immersed in Su Qinian's sudden stand - up that she didn't pay much attention to the more or less inquisitive looks around her.
"Quick, listen. The English teacher is starting to explain," seeing Lin Jinran in a daze, Su Qinian anxiously nudged her with his elbow. "What if you don't understand again?"
"Okay, okay," Lin Jinran was in a complete mess. She nodded randomly, not daring to look into the boy's eyes that were so bright they almost burned.
Just now when he nudged her, a bit of warmth remained on her skin, much hotter than other places.
Her face also seemed warmer than usual.
Until the end of the class, Lin Jinran didn't turn her head to look at Su Qinian. She pretended to be busy doing her homework, out of both shyness and embarrassment, which was very different from the indulgence at the KTV last time.
"Hey, Lin Jinran, did you understand?" Su Qinian leaned against the back desk and asked lazily.
"Yes, I did. Thank you, Su Qinian," Lin Jinran replied without turning her head.
"Hey, is the bump on your forehead gone? I don't see it," Su Qinian said deliberately.
Lin Jinran subconsciously turned her head and asked again, "Really? It's gone so soon? It's only been two days. The bruise on my knee has mostly healed."
Su Qinian stared seriously at her forehead and said nonsense seriously, "I guess I was wrong. It hasn't completely disappeared."
"Su Qinian, you lied to me!" Lin Jinran glared at him and accused.
She was so happy when he seemed to be complimenting her, but it turned out he was just talking nonsense.
"Hey, you're so busy with your studies that you don't even have time to look at me. How can you be like this? You use me and then just leave me aside," Su Qinian complained, looking exactly like a resentful woman in a deep boudoir.
This look made Lin Jinran laugh. Her eyes were bent with laughter, and the previous embarrassment disappeared in an instant.
She scolded with a smile, "No, I'm not. Can't you see I'm organizing my wrong - answer questions? We're having an exam next week, and I'm not familiar with the way your No. 1 Middle School sets the questions."
"If I don't do well, there'll be a bunch of people laughing at me," Lin Jinran said helplessly, shrugging her shoulders. The pen in her hand happened to run out of ink, so she took out a new refill and put it in.
"I see," Su Qinian said thoughtfully.
"Hey!" he called out.
"What is it?" Lin Jinran asked, still writing in her notebook with her head down, showing her fair and slender neck, looking like a fragile lotus flower in the middle of a pond.
"Lin Jinran, where do you want to go to college?" Su Qinian asked.
This was the simplest question, but also the most difficult one to answer, as it was closely related to one's future life.
Some people cared, some people expected, some people were casual, some people were disdainful, and some people just dealt with it.
A new mark appeared in the wrong - answer notebook, just like the split in life many years ago. From then on, everything was different, and she had embarked on a different life path.
Lin Jinran stared at that mark and was in a daze for a long time.
Qingbei University was a sacred and inviolable symbol in the hearts of all students. It was also the ultimate goal that all students strived for.
Nothing could refuse endless sweat, and nothing could replace the light of a dream.
For countless days and nights, the only thing that accompanied her was a lamp.
When she lowered her head, there was a sea of questions; when she looked up, there was a bright future.
"I'll tell you when I get closer to my goal," Lin Jinran replied clearly.