Living Only For Myself: Make Those Who Hate Me Regret It-Chapter 30: I’ll Take You to the Infirmary to Get Some Cold Medicine
After the monthly exam results came out, Teacher Wu rearranged the seating in the class.
Xu Su moved from her original seat, shifting back one row to sit directly in front of the class president, Xi Zirong.
Although Teacher Wu also taught math to Class Sixteen, he was still furious about these scores.
"Don’t think you can rest on your laurels just because you got into the rocket class at the start of the year. This was the first major exam, and you should all know very well whether your scores improved or dropped. I went over many of the key concepts several times in class, yet some of you still made mistakes. Is it that you didn’t understand, or that you just weren’t paying attention?"
Teacher Wu continued, "You’re all about to be adults, so I don’t want to say anything too harsh. But to put it simply, if certain people don’t fix their attitude toward their studies before the end-of-semester final, don’t blame me for asking them to leave my class."
"You all came in with a very solid foundation. If your scores have dropped, you can bring them back up as long as you’re willing to work hard. But if your attitude has changed, you’re a lost cause. Learning is like rowing a boat upstream: if you don’t advance, you fall back. Think about that for yourselves."
Wherever Teacher Wu’s gaze landed, the students felt as if he were talking directly to them.
Having entered the rocket class with the fifth-highest score in the entire grade, Xu Su had now dropped out of the top ten. She listened to the lecture with a thumping heart. She considered her own attitude toward her studies to be excellent, but if she couldn’t improve her scores, her classmates would start to think that the top scorer from Kang County wasn’t all that impressive.
’As soon as I got to high school, my true colors were showing.’
In any case, after this monthly exam, everyone in the class was on edge. No one actually wanted to be kicked out of the rocket class.
Even the normally restless Huang Feng didn’t go to the snack shop for days on end. During breaks, she did nothing but study, aside from refilling her water bottle or using the restroom.
With the top students all buckling down, the atmosphere for studying in the classroom became terrifyingly intense.
After changing seats, Xu Su was a little closer to the "God of Exams," Xi Zirong. She made a surprising discovery: in contrast to the other students who diligently ground their way through practice problems, this great Class President of theirs rarely did homework.
Every time she came back to her desk after refilling her water bottle during a break, she would occasionally glance at the seat behind her. He was always reading some non-academic book, something completely unrelated to their high school curriculum.
After a few such instances, Xu Su was reminded of a famous saying from her past life: ’Some people get a perfect score only because the test is capped at one hundred points. You, on the other hand, get a ninety-nine because your ability is only worth ninety-nine points.’
...She felt a sudden pang of bitterness.
~~~~
Time slowly crept into November. The weather grew colder by the day, the sun rose later and later, and getting out of bed became a monumental effort.
Every morning when Xu Su left home, the sky would be barely light. When it rained, other students might get a ride from their parents, but she could only put on her raincoat and pedal her rusty bicycle through the downpour, HUFFING and PUFFING her way to school.
By the time she returned from evening self-study, it was usually close to ten at night. At first, Xu Su had insisted on showering daily. But as the weather turned cold, heating water for a shower became a hassle. Water heaters weren’t common back then.
The Xu Family used an immersion heater to heat their bathwater. Not only was it unsafe, but it also consumed a ton of electricity. Chen Shulan had grumbled a few times, telling her not to shower so late every night.
She said it disturbed their sleep and wasn’t good for Xu Su’s health, either.
So, Xu Su went from showering every day to once every two or three days. On other nights, she would just give herself a quick wipe-down before going to sleep on the sofa.
Sometimes, Chen Shulan would leave some hot water for her in a thermos to wash up with when she got back, but most of the time, she forgot.
If she wanted hot water to wash up, she had to boil it fresh. The family owned an electric kettle, but it made a loud noise, which was especially jarring in the dead of night.
After Xu Weiping complained twice, Xu Su had no choice but to use cold water to wash up whenever she came home at night to find no hot water waiting.
On top of that, she was sleeping on a narrow sofa. With the single quilt Chen Shulan had given her, Xu Su had to use one part as a mattress and the other as a blanket. The slightest movement would let a cold draft slip in through the gaps.
Thanks to the robust health she’d developed while being raised by Grandma Xu, Xu Su managed to endure this environment for over half a month. But after another cold snap, she finally caught a cold.
Xu Su woke up one morning to a stuffy nose and a very sore throat. Pushing through the discomfort, she pedaled her bicycle to school. The moment she sat down in the classroom, she collapsed onto her desk.
Her deskmate was no longer Luo Huayang but Chen Huiyu, an incredibly gentle girl with a soft, quiet voice. Like Xu Su, she had also tested in from Kang County, though she had gone to Kang County Second Middle School.
They had been deskmates for over a month and had developed a good rapport. Xu Su was usually full of energy for her studies and never came into the classroom just to slump over her desk, so her sudden behavior was a little strange.
Chen Huiyu glanced at Xu Su a few times, then couldn’t resist reaching out to touch her forehead. She cried out in alarm, "Susu, your forehead’s a little hot! Are you sick?"
Her hand was cool, and Xu Su couldn’t resist leaning into its touch. Feeling a little more alert, she sat up straight and explained, "I think it’s just a small cold. I’ll drink plenty of hot water."
Chen Huiyu looked at her worriedly. "Your voice is already hoarse. Why don’t you take the day off and go home to rest?"
Xu Su shook her head. "It’s just a sore throat. I wouldn’t be able to rest properly at home anyway. I might as well stay here for class. The midterm exams are right around the corner."
Chen Huiyu didn’t press the issue. She took Xu Su’s water bottle. "I’ll go get you some hot water. Drink up."
Teacher Wu rarely checked on the rocket class during the morning self-study session, leaving the students to do their reading on their own. Xu Su had been seriously sleep-deprived lately, and being sick only made her more drowsy. She spent the entire session half-asleep, slumped over her desk.
When the bell rang to end the self-study session, Xu Su remained slumped over her desk, not moving.
Huang Feng and Qian Jia ran over, asking her to go to the cafeteria for breakfast. Seeing how listless Xu Su looked, they told her to go lie down on Qian Jia’s bunk in the dorm for a while. "Let’s skip morning exercises. Just get permission from the class president and go sleep in the dorm for a bit. You can come back when class starts."
Xi Zirong, who was sitting behind her and hadn’t left yet, overheard them. He glanced at Xu Su and said, "If you want to sleep, go to the dorm for a while. It’s fine if you oversleep. Old Wu said I have the authority to approve half-day leaves. If Teacher Li asks, I’ll just tell her you’re on leave."
The first two classes of the morning were English, which was Xu Su’s one consistently strong subject. Missing a class or two wouldn’t make a huge difference. For a moment, she hesitated.
While she was still hesitating, Xi Zirong said to Huang Feng, "You guys go get breakfast. Morning exercises are about to start."
Huang Feng and the others glanced worriedly at Xu Su. "Should I walk you to the dorm?"
Xu Su shook her head. "It’s just a little cold. I’ll be fine on my own. You guys hurry and get breakfast."
Qian Jia pulled a key from her pocket and handed it to Xu Su. "Okay, then. Go get some sleep in the dorm."
As soon as Huang Feng and her friends left, the classroom was completely empty except for Xu Su and Xi Zirong.
Xi Zirong got up from his seat and walked over to Xu Su’s desk. He helped her gather her books, then looked at her and said, "Come on. I’ll take you to the school clinic to get some cold medicine."
