In the classrooms, students clustered around their respective subject teachers.
This was likely their last time seeing many of them.
Only the homeroom teacher would likely appear again when it came to viewing exam results and filling out college applications.
Shen Yi, the math teacher, was laughing and chatting with Zhang Peng and a few other boys.
“Old Shen, I’ve always wanted to ask you something,”
Zhang Peng’s characteristic smile spread across his face as he suddenly spoke.
The boys around him looked at him with curiosity.
Teacher Shen, who knew Zhang Peng well, immediately tried to stop him, saying, “Can you not ask? I don’t want to hear it.”
“No way!”
Zhang Peng grinned and asked, “Old Shen, honestly, all that bragging you did about girls liking you when you were studying – that’s all lies, right?”
“Nonsense, do you think I’m like you? I never lie, alright!”
Shen Yi denied it with a serious expression.
“Come on, Old Shen, your son is still in elementary school, right? Judging by your age, you got married at least at thirty. You were that popular? And got married so late?”
Zhang Peng asked with great interest.
The boys around them nodded in agreement.
Shen Yi’s eyes widened. “What? Is that not allowed? Who says being popular means you have to get married early?”
“Old Shen, why bother? It’s our last chat, can’t we be honest?”
Zhang Peng said, patting him on the shoulder.
“Yeah, Old Shen, you’re not being honest at all.”
“Speak the truth, speak the truth.”
Several boys immediately chimed in.
Shen Yi’s eyes twitched slightly. He looked around, then lowered his voice. “Alright, I’ll tell you the truth. When I was your age, I was a bookworm, the kind with no presence whatsoever.”
Zhang Peng and the others exchanged glances, their faces showing a hint of surprise.
They had suspected that Teacher Shen was bragging before, but they never imagined he would have been a bookworm.
“Teacher Shen, a bookworm? You don’t seem like it at all!”
Qian Sheng, standing beside Zhang Peng, expressed his doubt.
“That was after I met your teacher’s wife. My personality gradually became much more outgoing.”
Shen Yi said with a hearty smile.
“Ugh…”
The boys let out a collective sound of disgusted amusement.
Shen Yi gestured with his chin towards Qin Tian’s direction and advised in a tone of experience, “I was just too young back then. Like you guys, if you’re not as handsome as Qin Tian, nor as talented, you should start dating as soon as you can in college. Otherwise, it’ll be even harder to find someone after graduation. Be careful you don’t end up single for life!”
As soon as he said this, Zhang Peng and the others erupted.
“Old Shen, that makes me want to hit you.”
“That’s too much, Old Shen. You found your wife, why can’t we?”
“Are you kidding me? At the very end, you’re still cursing us?”
“Tian Ge’s talent is undeniable, but when it comes to looks, I refuse to accept that!”
Zhang Peng pressed his hands to his forehead and ran his hair upwards.
The surrounding area suddenly fell silent. Everyone looked at him with strange expressions.
Qin Tian, who was helping Xia Nuannuan pack her things, suddenly felt eyes on him. He looked up towards Zhang Peng and the others.
“Qin Tian, what’s wrong?”
Xia Nuannuan looked at him with a puzzled expression.
Qin Tian shook his head, pointed towards where Mu Nan and the other girls were, and asked, “Aren’t you going to say goodbye to your teachers?”
Liao Juan and several girls like Mu Nan were surrounding the English teacher, expressing their reluctance to part. Some girls were even wiping away tears.
Xia Nuannuan’s English grades were always quite good, and among the teachers in the class, she was closest to the English teacher.
“I’d better not go. I’m afraid I won’t be able to help crying again, and it would be embarrassing.”
Xia Nuannuan hesitated for a moment, then said with a sheepish smile.
“What’s there to be embarrassed about? It’s not just you.”
Qin Tian smiled and winked.
Xia Nuannuan gave him a roll of her eyes and pouted, mumbling, “You just want to laugh at me, don’t you?”
“No, I don’t.”
Qin Tian denied it with a serious expression.
“I believe you, you ghost!”
Xia Nuannuan rolled her eyes and continued packing her drawer.
“These books, I’ll help you carry them back later!”
Qin Tian said with a smile.
Everyone had been gradually moving things back these past few days, but there were still quite a few things left.
“No need, my dad will come pick me up. He should be on his way.”
“Is that so? Then I’ll help you load them onto the car.”
“What about yours?”
Xia Nuannuan tilted her head to look at him and suggested, “Why don’t we load yours onto the car too, and I’ll have Dad give you a ride back?”
“No, no, it’s fine. I’ll go with Zhang Peng to the supermarket later to get a sack and pack everything to drag back!”
Qin Tian waved his hands repeatedly to refuse.
Xia Nuannuan’s meaningful gaze fixed on him until he felt a little guilty, then she smiled and nodded, “Alright!”
After the teachers left one by one, the sad and suppressed atmosphere in the classroom quickly disappeared, replaced by the excitement and fervor of finally being liberated.
They cheered and shouted, tearing up unnecessary study materials and test papers, and scattering them out the windows and from the corridors outside the classroom.
One boy even took out a bag of folded paper airplanes he had somewhere and stood on the railing of the corridor outside the classroom, sending the paper airplanes down one by one.
Similar scenes unfolded in classrooms across all the senior classes.
The school leaders and the homeroom teachers also tacitly disappeared, allowing the students to vent their stress and pre-exam tension in these ways.
The final school bell rang.
The junior and sophomore students rushed out of their classrooms, looking at the falling paper scraps and airplanes on campus, listening to the jubilant cheers of the seniors above them, their faces filled with envy.
As children, they yearned to grow up. When they started school, they yearned to graduate.
However, only when you truly grow up and step into society do you gradually realize that childhood and school days are what are truly worth remembering and cherishing.
At this moment, among all the students on campus, Qin Tian was the only one who felt this way.
After the school gates opened, many parents of senior students entered the campus to help their children carry their books back.
During lunch at home, Tang Xiuxia had also asked if he wanted her to come.
Qin Tian, of course, refused without hesitation.
He called Zhang Peng, and they went to the campus supermarket, asking the owner for a large sack.
When the two of them returned to the classroom, Qin Tian was astonished to find his future father-in-law standing by his desk, chatting and laughing with Cui Ying’s father from the front row.
Old Xia’s slightly plump face wore a warm smile, and his demeanor was entirely without sharp edges, appearing to be just an ordinary father.
However, anyone with a discerning eye could tell that this person was either rich or noble, judging from his casual wear that looked ordinary but was actually very particular, the expensive watch on his wrist, and the confidence and aura that emanated from him.