NOVEL NEXT Chapter 11
Page Ten
Being late for school is part of the protagonist’s charm.
July 7th, Monday
Final exams have ended, but since the results haven’t been released, I still need to go to school for classes.
I was awakened by a text message notification from my phone, only to see my alarm clock clearly displaying 7:56—scaring me so much that I jumped out of bed.
The affiliated boys’ department of Bìyáng Girls’ School requires students to be at school by 8:20. Any arrival after this time will result in tardiness penalties.
That’s right, being late means getting penalized! This broken school may be terrible in many ways, but its discipline is strictly enforced.
Previously, every morning around seven, the orange would wake me up to take care of its needs. Now, I realize how much more useful it was compared to an alarm clock.
Xiao Hǎi Táng had messaged me last night, saying that the orange was settling in well at her place and might even be moving to the junior high next semester.
It made me feel somewhat melancholic. Just yesterday she was still our cat, yet now, it feels like she’ll soon become a middle school girl.
Checking my phone, I saw several missed calls and messages from Zhào Zhào.
After hastily washing up and grabbing a piece of toast, I rushed out of the house. The door lock had been fixed, but the door itself was still held together with tape, so the security relied on the iron gate of the yard.
“Hey, you’re still munching on bread. Pretty good! If you took off your glasses, you’d look like a heroine from a shoujo manga!”
Zhào Zhào was teasing me as he waited outside my family courtyard, despite us being nearly late.
“Stop it! Let’s run!”
It was 8:06, and we needed to get through the boys’ school gate within 14 minutes to be considered safe.
But that old lady Huángfǔ Yuèhuá set the boys’ school gate near the girls’ school back entrance to prevent boys from going to school with girls. Our village is closer to the girls’ school main gate, meaning we’d have to circle around the school walls to reach the boys’ school.
“Not worried…”
Despite the tight time, Zhào Zhào walked calmly, his composure making me stop and listen to whatever he had to say.
He adjusted his non-existent beard, adopting a wise demeanor as he said, “I’ve found a shortcut!”
“What shortcut? Tell me!”
“Hmm… We can jump over the artificial hill in the girls’ school, directly entering the woods behind the boys’ school gate. The side facing the boys’ school is a cliff, and there’s an electrified fence at the top, making it difficult to climb, so there aren’t many security guards.”
How did you know this? How many times have you climbed that cliff?
As for how we get into the girls’ school…
He clearly wanted me to transform him into Zhào Lěi, so he could remove his glasses and sneak in.
“But the uniforms for the boys’ and girls’ schools are different.”
I kindly reminded him that this was a bad idea, and the consequences would be much worse than just being late.
“This isn’t a problem. I’ve prepared two sets of girls’ school uniforms for today!” He patted his bulging backpack, giving me a wise smile.
Preparing for this? You couldn’t wear the girls’ school uniform before, right? Where did these two sets come from? The Bìyáng Girls’ School uniforms are highly valued collectibles, and why didn’t your parents punish you?
Most importantly, I don’t want to dress as a girl at all. Not one bit. Does this pervert not have any dignity as a man?
Of course not, she even wore a girl’s outfit yesterday…
“Sigh… You can’t be taught.”
Zhào Zhào couldn’t persuade me, so he sighed and followed me, though he could easily outrun me.
“Chairman, now that you have that notebook that can turn people into women, aren’t you going to get back at Tán Lǐn Huā?”
“Ha… Ha… He goes to school wearing girls’ clothes… He would be delighted if we gender-flipped him.” I was already out of breath.
Speaking of Tán Lǐn Huā, what’s his background? Why doesn’t anyone mind when he wears girls’ school uniforms in the boys’ school? Aren’t we always strict about discipline?
“With such a magical tool, aren’t you going to use it properly?”
Zhào Zhào kept talking, but I had no energy left to respond. After running for about eight minutes, my weak body reached its limit.
“Oyster! I can’t run anymore!” Even though it was just jogging, I couldn’t keep it up for long, leaning against the railing to catch my breath.
It was 8:15, and there was only one final bend left. If I didn’t maintain this speed, I wouldn’t make it to school on time!
“Chairman! What are you doing? Don’t stop!”
This gorilla seems to have infinite stamina!
“Leave me alone, Zhào Zhào! I’m done for! Just go! Even if it’s just you, you must get through!”
“No! There’s no such thing as ‘abandoning a comrade’ in my dictionary!”
“But that’s four words!”
“Come on, Chairman, let me carry you.” He removed his overly stuffed backpack and bent down, his sweat-soaked shirt visible…
“My friend, thank you for the offer… But no! One of the things I enjoy most is telling those self-righteous guys ‘No!'”
Carrying me would mean close contact with a sweaty man. Is this some ancient torture? I’d rather accept the tardiness penalty!
Seeing my reluctance, he frowned and spat, “Like I’d carry you willingly? Let’s keep running then!”
“Hold on! Don’t pull me! I really can’t run anymore!”
Ignoring my protests, Zhào Zhào grabbed my arm and continued running.
My strength was gone, my legs wobbled, crossing each other occasionally, making me look like I was dancing. My entire body felt like a puppet ready to fall apart, relying entirely on Zhào Zhào’s support.
In this state, we ran the last bend… It’s the boys’ school gate! Hope…
But despair quickly followed—security was closing the gate.
“Charge! Chairman! Ola ola ola ola!”
Zhào Zhào’s style suddenly became like a shonen manga, his lines becoming rougher, shadows deeper.
It’s JOJO! Zhào Zhào’s style has turned into JOJO!
His shouting signaled his seriousness. He sprinted forward, transforming into a gust of wind. I felt like a flag in the wind, being dragged along.
Generally, one person can’t lift another like that. This is just comic exaggeration. Kids, please don’t imitate!
Thanks to Zhào Zhào’s efforts, we dashed through the closing gate under the guard’s surprised gaze.
After this life-threatening journey to school, I was completely exhausted.
“We made it!”
“I underestimated you, Zhào Zhào!”
This moment was as touching as athletes winning Olympic gold medals. I almost hugged this sweaty gorilla and cried with joy.
“Student Zhào Zhào and… I remember it’s Cháng Kǎi, right?”
A cold-faced youth with a notebook and frameless glasses spoke up. He wore a red armband indicating his role as a Discipline Committee member.
Yán Liúzhuǎn became the Discipline Committee Chair of the student council in first year, cracking down on corruption in the boys’ school. His most notorious act was burning countless pornographic books.
If the repressed desires of the boys in the boys’ school were an inflated balloon, his actions were stomping on it.
Ironically, he himself was quite aloof and rumored to be a celibate, demanding everyone to abstain just because he did, which is quite odd.
“Although you both managed to rush in, you’re still late…” He said this with a disappointing and cold tone, writing in his notebook: “So, warning penalties.”
“That’s unfair! We ran our hearts out to make it!” Zhào Zhào argued, pointing at me, who was panting on the ground, “Look at how tired he is! Can’t you cut me some slack for trying so hard?”
“In the end, you’re still late by more than two minutes, aren’t you? Don’t blame me, student. Everything I do is to help you become an excellent high school student.”
“So we should thank you?”
“No need to be so polite. It’s my duty.” I couldn’t tell if he was pretending or just had low emotional intelligence, taking my sarcasm as praise.
“Alright, Chairman, we’re just unlucky.” Zhào Zhào helped me up and dusted off my clothes, “This guy is an iron judge. Every time I get caught climbing over the wall, I beg him to let me off, but it never works.”
No wonder he knew your name… So why haven’t they expelled you?
“Wait, Student Zhào Zhào, your bag is bulging. Did you bring something you shouldn’t?”
“Ah!”
Finally, Zhào Zhào’s bag was searched, revealing two sets of girls’ school uniforms. He was taken away by the iron judge and his student council subordinates.
“I’ve served the party, I’ve bled for the Chairman, you can’t do this! I want to see the General! I want to see the General!”