Chapter 197: Chapter 196: For Anitaqing - Immortal Bloom Destiny + Update 12
When two people live together, it’s like they have a shared home.
Many times, when Zhao Meimei watched Shi Yang busy in the kitchen, wearing rubber gloves, and cleaning up with a cloth, she would have an illusion that they were already living a married life. This feeling made her smile from ear to ear every day, and her heart soaked in a jar of honey, so sweet it was almost overwhelming.
Filled with joy, Zhao Meimei threw herself into her busy studies with the energy of someone on a sugar rush, taking first place in the mid-term exams for her class and achieving the top score in her school year.
Robber Hao glanced at the report card, giving only a cursory word of praise to those who improved and directing all his main firepower at the students ranked in the bottom twenty.
Robber Hao was the head of the grade. Since the second half of the second year of high school started, all the pressure of the promotion index and competing for higher educational success with the other two schools fell directly on him.
Robber Hao’s thick, heavy eyebrows had not relaxed since the school year started, always in a state as if he had painstakingly trained a group of little bandits but found them powerless to lift a knife when real trouble hit. He was so infuriated, distressed as he stomped around in rage.
Robber Hao, angry and flustered, his face flushed, watched anxiously every day like someone suffering from excessive anxiety disorder. He dragged the lagging students one by one for a thorough scolding and handed each a thick stack of papers from the West District and Haidian, almost short of getting a small stool for one-on-one tutoring.
Under the strong and formidable supervision of Robber Hao, lagging students quickly adjusted their attitudes and strived diligently to improve their academic performance, working hard to ensure they wouldn’t be kicked out of the high school entrance exam team after the final exam.
Among the classmates buried in intense study, Zhang Zhao, who was late, left early, slacked off, and saw his grades plummet, immediately became a thorn in Robber Hao’s eye and a pain in his neck.
Last semester, Zhang Zhao’s grades were among the upper-middle positions in the class, but once the second half of the academic year began, he completely adopted a lazy, idle posture.
At school, Zhang Zhao’s daily task was to slump on his seat, time his three meals, then squint at a textbook for an hour without turning a page, staring until he was exhausted and fell asleep on the desk.
The most outrageous part was, he often threw a fit suddenly for no reason, sometimes kicking over the student in front along with their chair, or sweeping everything off the desk, severely disrupting others’ studies.
Robber Hao was exasperated with Zhang Zhao to no end, repeatedly scolding him with regret. When Zhang Zhao retorted in class again, causing Robber Hao to experience the depth of disappointment as Zhang Zhao bit the hand that fed and repaid kindness with cruelty, Robber Hao in fury called Zhang Zhao’s home to get someone over immediately. Zhang Zhao lowered his head, with a strange mix of relief after a successful plot and an uncontainable anxious anticipation.
The bell rang, signaling the end of the class, and a frantic Robber Hao stormed out of the classroom. After confirming that Robber Hao would not return, Zhao Meimei turned and sidled up to Zhang Zhao, knocking on his desk: "Hey! Come outside for a moment, I need to talk to you."
Zhang Zhao looked up at Zhao Meimei, his previously gloomy expression softened like spring rain washing away winter chill. He smirked mischievously, "What is it, confessing your love to me?"
Zhao Meimei’s slender eyelids lifted slightly: "Go dream, I want some oden, you’re treating."
Zhang Zhao lazily got up and followed Zhao Meimei out of the classroom.
"Meimei!" Xu Xu called her.
Zhao Meimei turned her head: "Hmm?"
Xu Xu asked: "Where are you going?"
Just as Zhao Meimei was about to reply, Zhang Zhao put a hand on her shoulder and pushed her out of the classroom, then turned with a mocking grin towards Xu Xu.
Xu Xu was rooted to the spot under Zhang Zhao’s penetrating gaze, watching helplessly as Zhao Meimei and Zhang Zhao’s figures disappeared from the classroom door.
Zhao Meimei brushed off Zhang Zhao’s hand from her shoulder, complaining: "Why did you push me!"
Zhang Zhao replied nonchalantly: "Aren’t you hungry? I was afraid you’d be in too much of a hurry."
Zhao Meimei gave him a sidelong glance, thinking to herself, "Does he really take me for a fool?" She questioned, "Why didn’t you let me talk to Xu Xu just now?"
Zhang Zhao laughed, his face full of playful wrinkles: "You really want to know?"
Zhao Meimei’s curiosity piqued at the hint of an answer, she nodded eagerly: "Yes, I do!"
Zhang Zhao’s lips curved in a teasing smile: "Then answer one of my questions first, and you can’t lie."
Zhao Meimei was taken aback, staring at Zhang Zhao. His words made her hesitant for a moment, but curiosity quickly overtook any doubt. She nodded: "Alright, ask away, but once I answer, you have to tell me the reason."
Zhang Zhao raised an eyebrow, amused: "...Will you really answer?"
Zhao Meimei glared at him: "Stop babbling!"
Zhang Zhao tilted his head to look at Zhao Meimei, his expression amused: "Zhao Meimei, are you in a relationship?"
Zhao Meimei’s ears turned red, and she chuckled sheepishly, unable to suppress the sweetness bubbling from her heart.
Zhao Meimei confessed honestly: "How did you see through that?"
Zhang Zhao flashed a toothy grin and randomly asked, "Hey, doesn’t our tutoring complex have two gates?"
Zhao Meimei was surprised: "Yeah, there’s a main gate and a south gate."
Zhang Zhao nodded: "Where does the south gate lead to?"
Zhao Meimei had never used that gate; she usually went through the main entrance.
Zhao Meimei shook her head: "I haven’t really paid attention."
Zhang Zhao casually said: "I thought you took the south gate home after tutoring."
Zhao Meimei replied without thinking: "No, I go straight home, my house is just a building over from the tutoring center."
Zhang Zhao looked at her in surprise: "Didn’t your brother always come to pick you up at night before?"
Zhao Meimei explained: "My brother bought a house here and moved in before the school year started."
Zhang Zhao nodded and suddenly asked: "So it’s just you and your brother living there?"
Zhao Meimei nodded: "Yes, it’s more convenient for me to go back and forth to school."
Zhang Zhao displayed an understanding look but didn’t expose it, only offhandedly added: "That is quite convenient."
Zhao Meimei pressed: "I’ve answered you, now tell me the reason!"
Zhang Zhao regarded her with a sly smile: "This is for your own good, your boyfriend isn’t Xu Xu, right?"
Zhao Meimei was taken aback, staring at Zhang Zhao in confusion.
Zhang Zhao got straight to the point: "Xu Xu probably likes you. Since you don’t like him back, just don’t give him hope."
Zhao Meimei rolled her eyes skyward: "What a joke! Xu Xu and I are just buddies!"