8 Self-Study

Teacher Gao was almost amused with anger. Chen Ran was quite particular about how he fought; despite Sun Ze’s bruised and battered appearance, it seemed he hadn’t suffered any serious injury. “Chen Ran, Sun Ze, come with me to the office. The rest of you, continue studying quietly,” Teacher Gao instructed.

Chen Ran’s classmates held him back tightly, fearing he might charge at Sun Ze again. Everyone in the class knew that Chen Ran’s father had just recently passed away, the grief still fresh. Sun Ze had run up and insulted him, saying his mother had remarried and calling Chen Ran a fatherless child. Even though their fathers didn’t get along, Sun Ze’s words were particularly cruel. No wonder Chen Ran was so furious—anyone would be in his place.

Yet, they were all shocked to see the usually quiet Chen Ran unleash such fierce violence. His eyes were red, and his demeanor held a merciless edge. Some classmates who liked to tease others or bully the weak silently resolved never to joke around with Chen Ran again—better to keep their distance. When this guy got serious, he was truly terrifying. Even if they tried to intervene, they probably wouldn’t fare well. It wasn’t worth it; Chen Ran was just too relentless.

Though he often appeared easy to bully, they never would have guessed he was not someone to mess with. After all, they knew his father was a police officer. Even if they considered extorting Chen Ran, it was only in their minds. If his father found out, they’d be taken to the police station—no one wanted that. Occasionally, they would say a few words to provoke Chen Ran, but he never cared to argue. They hadn’t expected such a strong reaction today when Sun Ze mentioned Chen Ran’s father.

“He was really scary today,” one classmate whispered.

“I think it’s understandable. His father just passed not long ago. And Sun Ze, seriously, why insult someone’s parents?”

“Sun Ze is just ruthless.”

Chen Ran remained silent, his eyes red as he followed Teacher Gao out of the classroom. After being beaten, Sun Ze kept his distance, stunned and unable to react at first. When he finally wanted to fight back, he had no strength left. He could only watch Chen Ran looking down on him with disdain as he landed blow after blow.

In the office, Teacher Gao sat down while Teacher Liu scrutinized Chen Ran and Sun Ze. Teacher Liu clearly favored Chen Ran; few teachers liked the slick-talking Sun Ze, especially since Sun Ze’s father was notoriously a troublemaker who didn’t care about his son’s grades. The teachers hoped Sun Ze would study seriously, but he only promised verbally and continued to hang out with a rough crowd. With so many students to manage, the teachers had little time to supervise Sun Ze, and over time, everyone except Teacher Gao thought Sun Ze was a lost cause.

Only Teacher Gao still hoped to steer this wayward student back on track. Standing before him were two classmates, keeping their distance from each other. Teacher Liu snorted coldly, “What happened this time?”

Teacher Gao sat, looking at both boys, “Who wants to explain what happened first?”

Though Gao was a relatively new teacher, he carried himself with authority. Sun Ze was startled, rubbing his sore cheek. “Teacher Gao, Chen Ran hit me.”

Teacher Liu interjected, “Would Chen Ran hit you without reason? Did you think I couldn’t see you bullying him in math class?”

Sun Ze wanted to argue, but Teacher Gao looked at Chen Ran gently. “Chen Ran, tell me what happened.”

Chen Ran kept his head down, silent.

Teacher Gao spoke softly, “If something’s bothering you, tell me. I’ll stand up for you.”

“He…” Chen Ran whispered, “He said I’m fatherless, and he said… bad things about my parents.”

Teacher Gao slammed his hand on the desk. “Sun Ze!”

Sun Ze flinched at the sudden sharp tone.

“Chen Ran, you can go back now.”

“Sun Ze, you stay.”

“Yes, Teacher.”

Chen Ran bowed slightly. “Thank you, Teacher Gao.”

Teacher Liu watched Chen Ran leave, then coldly eyed Sun Ze.

Teacher Gao struggled to contain his anger. “Sun Ze, you know Chen Ran’s father just passed away not long ago. How could you say such things? He’s your classmate. Don’t you think this is too much?”

“But Teacher, Chen Ran hit me.”

“Imagine if someone insulted your parents, especially right after they passed. Wouldn’t you be angry?” Teacher Gao said with restraint. “Sun Ze, you need to change this behavior.”

“Yes.” Sun Ze lowered his head, lost in thought. Teacher Gao continued, “If you keep lying or bullying Chen Ran again, I’ll have to call your parents.”

It was a joke to think his father would care. Despite the bruises, his father never paid him any attention. His mother had long since left, so she wouldn’t either. But since he was still in middle school, he feared his teachers somewhat.

“Write me a letter of guarantee. If you continue to lie or bully Chen Ran, you’ll bring your parents here. Have them educate you properly before coming back.”

“Yes.” Sun Ze kept his head down, his expression unreadable. Teacher Gao sighed, “You may go now.”

Sun Ze left the office. Teacher Liu said, “Teacher Gao, I think Sun Ze is hopeless.”

Teacher Gao smiled awkwardly. “Teacher Liu, you’re experienced. He just started middle school; maybe there’s still hope.”

“Hmph,” Teacher Liu snorted. “He’s been bad since he was little, learning all the wrong things from his father. If only he studied well, but no—he’s disruptive in class.”

“Well, Teacher Liu, please calm down,” Teacher Gao said. As homeroom teacher of Class Five, though it was an ordinary class, Gao hoped to help some students get into high school.

She didn’t want to give up on any of them. But Teacher Liu, with over a decade of teaching experience, saw Sun Ze as hopeless.

“Forget it, Teacher Gao,” Teacher Liu said, shaking her head. “As long as he doesn’t cause trouble in class, I won’t complain.”

When Sun Ze returned to the classroom, Chen Ran had neatly arranged his chair and was reading an English book. Teacher Gao entered behind him. “Sun Ze, sit next to Li Tong.”

“Wang Weidong, switch to sit by Chen Ran.”

After a flurry of chair sounds, Sun Ze glared at Chen Ran, who looked back with a cold, mocking smile.

No matter how much of a troublemaker Sun Ze was, he was still just a kid. Feeling Chen Ran’s fierce gaze, he instinctively shivered and tried to put distance between them. Without looking back, he walked away. Wang Weidong, tall and known for pranks, was now sitting beside Chen Ran, but he usually didn’t cause serious trouble. Because of his size, no one dared mess with him. Besides sleeping in class, he rarely did anything else.

Wang Weidong lay his head on the desk, asleep. Chen Ran didn’t know him well, only that they came from the same neighborhood.

Chen Ran flipped through the English book quietly as Teacher Gao lectured. The English curriculum was relatively simple in first semester of middle school, so Chen Ran finished half the book quickly.

The math competition was on the weekend, and Chen Ran wanted to study math. During morning study sessions, students usually read Chinese or English, and studying math might be mistaken for unfinished homework.

The bell rang. Teacher Gao left the office while Chen Ran closed his English book and opened his math textbook. He had reviewed the earlier sections the night before and found the material quite understandable. His good comprehension and memory allowed him to read quickly, flipping several pages before class began.

The first class was Chinese. Chen Ran stacked his books on the desk, with the Chinese textbook on the left and math on the right. He needed to master all middle school math quickly. His plan was to finish all the middle school math courses within the week.

Math competitions usually covered middle school topics. As long as he finished the textbooks, his memory and understanding should make the competition manageable.

Teacher Gao lectured at the front while Chen Ran buried his head in the math book. He aimed to master the first semester’s math today. In the next few days, he planned to buy more math books from a used bookstore and ask his mother for some money. Used books wouldn’t cost much—ten yuan should be enough, he thought.

The bell rang again. The class monitor called out, “Stand up.”

“Goodbye, Teacher!”

Chen Ran stood and bowed to Teacher Gao.

After the teacher left, Chen Ran sat down and continued studying math. A classmate in front turned around, curious. “What are you reading?”

“Math.” Chen Ran didn’t even look up. Except for Sun Ze and his gang who liked to bully, Chen Ran got along well with the rest of the class. If not for his father’s sudden death and the daily taunts from Sun Ze’s group making him insecure, his relationships with classmates would be quite good.

Now that Sun Ze had been beaten, no one dared provoke him, much less isolate him. Everyone kept a wide berth, aware of Chen Ran’s fierce reputation. Some probably laughed secretly at Sun Ze for getting beaten after starting trouble.

“Wow?” a classmate whispered. “Can you really understand math?”

Chen Ran looked up, puzzled by the surprised look. “It’s pretty easy. What don’t you understand? Let me see.”

The classmate craned his neck, eager to see how far Chen Ran had gotten in his self-study.