NOVEL WEB
Chapter 22
The days after the college entrance examination were not calm.
On June 19th, Lin Jianzhi returned to her alma mater to collect her high school diploma. It was the last time that the students of Class 2 Senior Year 3 would gather together.
Today was the day to hand out graduation certificates.
Class advisor Hu Tan's eyes were red. He gave each student their certificate, speaking words of encouragement and blessing every student's future life to go smoothly.
Stepping out of high school meant truly becoming an adult!
Lin Jianzhi sat by the window, staring blankly at the campus scenery outside.
Over the past few days, she had emerged from the emotional pit of losing Zhu Liheng.
The month leading up to the college entrance exam had been like a dream.
Of course, it had also seemed like she was cheating.
After finishing the foreign language speaking test, Lin Jianzhi went to estimate her score. The number was unbelievable, making her afraid to believe it and only able to silently wait for score release day.
Zhu Liheng had already given her so much, enough to change a life.
The chat box was still without movement. Zhu Liheng had not appeared again after that day.
Lin Jianzhi didn't dare rashly send a message either, only able to watch the days go by, waiting.
She didn't end up waiting for anything.
"Lin Jianzhi!" Hu Tan called out her name.
Lin Jianzhi got up and walked over to the podium to receive her diploma.
Unexpectedly, she didn't cry but Hu Tan suddenly burst into tears!
"Lin Jianzhi ah! Teacher will miss you most!" Hu Tan said while heavily patting her shoulder, "No matter how you did on the test, don't worry. You'll always be teacher's best student. You have to come back and see me in the future, you hear!"
Bring Zhu Liheng back with you.
Lin Jianzhi was bewildered as she blankly watched her homeroom teacher break down in tears in front of her.
She suddenly discovered a rule for not crying.
If someone else cried, she didn't want to cry anymore.
That was great!
Oh, no...
That was cruel!
She began to comfort Hu Tan, promising to come back often to see him.
Students were also very grieved below the podium. Many had huddled up together, crying loudly.
Class president Lang Shu wiped a tear just then and shouted: "Don't cry! We're going to pull an all-nighter together tonight!"
Jiang Jingyi: "All-nighter! All-nighter! Teacher Hu, come with us! Let's eat first then sing!"
Other students also voiced similar statements, pulling Hu Tan to join them.
Quan Kaiji suddenly asked: "Teacher Hu, we're splitting the cost. No treating."
Crack!
The sorrowful atmosphere of the class instantly crumbled into awkwardness, not knowing what to do.
Hu Tan was also someone who wore his heart on his sleeve. He waved his hand grandly: "Teacher will treat you all!"
Suddenly, the whole class erupted.
"Ah! Our teacher is the best!"
"Let's go, eat!"
"There are so many of us. Won't it be too much of a financial hit?"
Hu Tan stuck out his chest, barely hanging on.
Class president Lang Shu then spoke up: "It's fine. There's some class funds left over. Teacher Hu only needs to chip in a little."
Last time, because Lin Jianzhi didn't attend, there weren't enough people so they didn't use the class funds.
When Hu Tan heard this, he instantly regained his confidence!
And so, the whole class began deciding on a gathering location. As expected of the class president, Lang Shu's organizational abilities were superb. He made reservations and haggled prices very impressively.
Hu Tan went back to the office to tidy up. The students hugged each other as they walked out of the school gates, planning to take the same bus over together.
As always, Lin Jianzhi walked at the very back by herself. Her mood had lightened up quite a bit.
Sometimes, after losing some things, there would still be other joys that filled your heart.
At this time, someone from the neighboring class walked out. Seeing Class 2 Senior Year 3 mobilizing altogether, many stared blankly.
The class president of Class 1 Senior Year 3, Chen Jingman, also saw them. She furrowed her brows and asked: "Your class is having another outing?"
Class 2 would have frequent get-togethers at the drop of a hat. Many classes envied them a lot.
Lin Jianzhi smiled and nodded: "Mm, Teacher Hu is also joining us today."
Chen Jingman glanced at her and said coldly: "I wasn't asking you."
Lin Jianzhi's heart instantly squeezed tight as she lowered her head without speaking again.
Mu Yin angrily ran from the front to the back and shouted loudly: "What's it to you! What kind of class president are you, your class never hangs out!"
Chen Jingman glared at Mu Yin but ignored her, flipping her hair and walking away.
Lang Shu also rushed over, pulling Mu Yin behind him: "What happened? She causing trouble again?"
Mu Yin stamped her foot: "She was being passive aggressive again."
Lang Shu rolled up his sleeves: "She really pisses me off!"
Seeing their reactions, Lin Jianzhi sensitively noticed something amiss. She asked: "Did something happen before? Did she say something?"
Mu Yin: "Aiyah! Don't ask!"
Lin Jianzhi followed the main group while scanning her phone as she walked.
In order to make that final push for the college entrance exam, she had blocked all outside commentary and even deleted the school's forums. She only just remembered now that she should check them.
After looking, she discovered that her affair with Zhu Liheng had topped the rankings for twenty-something days straight!
It was still the hottest topic even now. Not only that, but the content was...
[Congratulations Zhu Liheng and Lin Jianzhi! Happy break up!]
The original poster was none other than the class president of Class 1 Senior Year 3, Chen Jingman.
In the post, she had calmly yet logically analyzed the situation.
She had depicted Lin Jianzhi extremely poorly, and even wildly speculated many overly interpreting guesses, loudly proclaiming the fact that Lin Jianzhi wasn't good enough for Zhu Liheng.
Underneath the post, the number of comments already exceeded nine hundred discussions, still increasing even now.
Everyone in school had participated in the discussion, all kinds of analyses and conjectures.
But unanimously, they all believed that Zhu Liheng absolutely wouldn't even look Lin Jianzhi's way. It must have been Lin Jianzhi forcing herself onto him!
Lin Jianzhi's emotions crumbled right then!
She really hadn't expected that this matter would become a hotly debated issue with the participation of the entire school while she was heads down sprinting towards the college entrance exam!
She also saw Lang Shu and the others' fierce counterattacks, but they were completely overwhelmed by the masses and repeatedly beaten back in arguments.
In the end, Lang Shu and the others announced they would quit the school forums and cease interacting with other classes.
But even so, it did not stem the influx of follow up posts continuing the discussion.
There were even people closely tallying up that Zhu Liheng had disappeared for however many days already, even more precisely than Lin Jianzhi herself!
The rest of the class laughed and joked as they walked forward, only Lin Jianzhi hiding behind a tree, sobbing her heart out.
When Lang Shu did a headcount and discovered she was missing, he hurriedly called her cell phone.
Lin Jianzhi repeatedly declined the call, stifling her mouth and nose as she curled up in the corner.
She felt awful enough to die!
She had explained!
She said they weren't dating!
Why would it become like this...
Just as Lin Jianzhi felt her sanity crumbling and didn't even want to attend the class gathering anymore,
her phone screen lit up with a WeChat notification.
'Zhu Liheng: Are you in Jingyi City?'
Lin Jianzhi was shocked and overjoyed. Her crying paused with a hiccup.
She hurriedly began to reply.
'Lin Jianzhi: I'm here!'
'Zhu Liheng: That's good.'
Lin Jianzhi was puzzled, but also didn't dare ask any questions.
That's good?
Good what?
How strange!
Just then, Lang Shu called again.
Lin Jianzhi hurriedly wiped her tears and picked up: "I'll be right there! I went to the bathroom!"
Lang Shu faltered before urging: "Hurry hurry! The bus is almost here!"
Lin Jianzhi: "Coming coming!"