[023] All Women Are Liars

The plump teacher called out the first name. Most of the classmates were merely surprised or curious, but Fang Chang’an was genuinely bewildered for a moment.

This isn’t what I expected!

This is math, after all—I barely scored just over ninety, yet I’m first in the class? Are you all really that weak? Could it be that even in an honors class, there are strong and weak groups, and Class Four is the weakest? But I distinctly remember that Class Four and Class One were both supposed to be strong!

Shen Mo, sitting beside him, was also a bit surprised. However, having already heard from her aunt that Fang Chang’an did well in Chinese, she found it easier to accept his success in math now. She stood up to let him pass.

After reading the name, the plump teacher scanned the classroom, eager to see who Fang Chang’an was. He had written the exam paper for this math placement test himself, and only days earlier, he had confidently declared in a meeting that no one would score above ninety. Last night, while grading Class Four’s papers, he saw an 89 early on, then another after a few more papers, which made his heart flutter nervously.

Fortunately, there were only two 89s after he finished grading. With only one paper left, he thought his reputation was secure—but it was ruined by that final paper. He was naturally curious to see this little rascal.

He remembered placing the papers in order, so this one should be the first to have handed in their exam. He vaguely recalled it was a boy, and instinctively looked in that direction—only to be surprised when a girl stood up, quite pretty, too.

He smiled kindly, then saw another student stand up beside the pretty girl—a boy, whose expression seemed doubtful as if he’d misheard. Hmm… this one looks quite decent as well.

Under the gaze of the entire class, Fang Chang’an walked to the podium. The plump math teacher handed over the exam with a friendly smile, and Fang Chang’an responded with an awkward but polite smile, taking the paper with both hands and saying, “Thank you, teacher.”

The teacher sized up the fair-skinned student—a stark contrast to his own appearance—with mild surprise. It was rare for a student to thank him upon receiving a paper. He nodded lightly, and as Fang Chang’an turned to leave, he called, “Liu Bei.”

A girl in the fifth row stood up—long legs in jeans, her ponytail swinging as she strode to the podium.

Fang Chang’an returned to his seat, Shen Mo remained standing to let him through.

A circle of students eyed him, their reactions even stronger than when he had just spoken at the podium. There was no helping it; academic achievement is a natural divide.

“How many points did you get?” Wang Ke couldn’t resist her curiosity, whispering the question.

Fang Chang’an showed her the paper. At the top, bright red ink spelled out “92,” with two horizontal lines beneath—after all these years, he still didn’t know what they meant.

While Fang Chang’an sat down, Wu Di sneaked a peek at his paper, then pursed his lips and looked away, restraining himself from another glance.

“Wow, you scored so high?” Shen Mo whispered in awe after sitting down. “I feel like eighty would be pretty good for me.”

Wang Ke chimed in, “I’m not even as good as you.”

“Shen Mo!” the plump teacher called next. Wang Ke blinked, quickly calculating—Shen Mo must be third or fourth.

Another trickster!

She glared at Shen Mo, who was walking back from the podium, wanting to ignore her, but curiosity got the better of her. Leaning over, she whispered, “How many points?”

Shen Mo had just claimed eighty was her best, so she felt a bit embarrassed. She half-covered the score and let Wang Ke see—87.

Fang Chang’an nodded. “That means you did really well.”

Shen Mo nodded like a pecking chick, then said, “You did even better.”

Wang Ke shot Fang Chang’an a dissatisfied look, just as the teacher called, “Wang Ke!” She quickly stood up, retrieved her paper—82.

Fang Chang’an nodded again. “You weren’t wrong, either.”

Wang Ke didn’t want to acknowledge him, rolled her eyes, while Shen Mo snickered beside her, taking his paper to compare it closely to her own.

Handing out papers was also a way to get to know students, and the plump teacher didn’t feel it was a waste of time. For top students, picking up their papers at the podium was a mark of honor; for those with poor grades, it wasn’t so pleasant. But neither teachers nor students thought there was anything wrong with it.

After all the papers were distributed, the teacher began explaining the exam questions one by one at the podium. He was clearly attentive to where the students made mistakes, skipping over the easier questions and focusing on those where errors were common. Still, he couldn’t finish reviewing the whole exam in a single class.

Thus, after being reborn, Fang Chang’an experienced his first extended lesson. Fortunately, it didn’t last too long, because Cheng Mengfei arrived.

Cheng Mengfei greeted the plump teacher and entered the classroom, glancing at Fang Chang’an before walking to the podium. “Everyone quiet down, I have something to say. I should have mentioned it this morning, but I forgot.”

She paused. “Fang Chang’an.”

“Ah?” Fang Chang’an stood up. Cheng Mengfei smiled at him. “From now on, you’re the class monitor.”

Fang Chang’an opened his mouth, wanting to refuse, but didn’t dare. Seeing Cheng Mengfei wave her hand, he sat down after the announcement, glanced at Shen Mo, who was watching him. When she noticed his gaze, she quickly turned her head and sat up straight.

According to his memory, Shen Mo should have been the class monitor. After she transferred, someone else took over—who, he couldn’t remember. Certainly not someone attractive, or he’d have remembered.

In junior high, being class monitor was hardly significant—though in college, it wasn’t much more useful for most people, but at least it was better than in junior high.

Fang Chang’an truly didn’t want this thankless position, but upon reflection, it made sense. He had always tried to stand out, and it seemed his performance in this placement exam was better than he’d thought—mainly because everyone else was weaker. Cheng Mengfei appointing him as class monitor was reasonable.

There were some benefits, at least: he could interact openly with the homeroom teacher.

Fang Chang’an consoled himself as Cheng Mengfei continued, “Zhang Lu, you’ll be vice monitor.”

The girl who had the keys stood up, clutching her clothes, looking very nervous and as if she wanted to refuse. She stammered, “Teacher Cheng, I… I…”

Cheng Mengfei smiled gently. “What’s wrong?”

Zhang Lu hung her head and spoke softly, “Can I not do it…”

Her voice was faint, and just then the broadcast for eye exercises began, making it even harder to hear.

Cheng Mengfei said, “We’ll talk later. If it’s not suitable, I’ll change it. Shen Mo, you’ll be the academic officer.”

Shen Mo also stood up. “Yes, Teacher Cheng.” She was used to calling her aunt, so addressing her like this felt odd, almost amusing. She pursed her lips to hold back a smile, looking as if she was secretly pleased to be made a class officer.

Cheng Mengfei shot her a look and waved her to sit down. “Let’s start the eye exercises. Follow me.”

Worried that some students from rural backgrounds wouldn’t know how, she demonstrated and explained at the podium. The students stared wide-eyed at the homeroom teacher as she began massaging her eyes.

“First section, massage Tianying point.”

“Second section, press Jingming point.”

“Third section, massage Sibai point.”

“Fourth section, scrape the eye socket.”

After the second class was the big break—a twenty-minute interval. Once the eye exercises were done, there was still time left, so Cheng Mengfei let everyone move about freely and called out, “Fang Chang’an, Zhang Lu, Shen Mo, come outside.”

The three newly appointed class officers rose. Cheng Mengfei waited at the door, then led them past the doors of Class Three, Class Two, and Class One, arriving at the far west end of the third floor—the office.

The office was small, with eight desks crowded together. Cheng Mengfei’s desk was in the middle on the left side, beside the short, plump math teacher. When Fang Chang’an and the others entered, he looked up briefly. Fang Chang’an politely bowed and smiled, greeting the teacher.

Shen Mo followed suit, bowing shyly to the dark-skinned math teacher, then quickly looked away as if startled.

Zhang Lu kept her head down, not noticing anything.

Cheng Mengfei sat at her desk and addressed the three, “I’ll select a few group leaders later, but the main tasks in the class will rely on you three to assist the teacher. Fang Chang’an, you have the heaviest responsibility—mainly discipline. Shen Mo, you’re in charge of academics and collecting assignments. Zhang Lu, you’ll assist Fang Chang’an.”

Then she handed Fang Chang’an a form. “This is the sanitation schedule. Fill it out later. There are five rows; each group takes a day.”

So I have to be sanitation officer too?

Fang Chang’an was quite frustrated, but put on a well-behaved face as he took the sheet. “Maybe split up blackboard cleaning? After the last class, no one cleaned it, so I suggested we assign by seat, one person per day.”

Cheng Mengfei, being a first-time homeroom teacher and busy grading papers, had indeed overlooked this. Shen Mo hadn’t had a chance to tell her about what happened in English class. Cheng Mengfei paused, then nodded. “That works.”

Shen Mo added, “Fang Chang’an did it himself today.”

Cheng Mengfei nodded again, a hint of approval in her expression. “Starting with yourself, that’s very good.”

She thought for a moment. “That’s all for now. Shen Mo, Zhang Lu, you two can go back. Fang Chang’an, stay here.”