"Teacher, there's an empty seat over there. Can I sit there?" Zhang Tianai pointed to an empty seat in the back row, separated by an aisle from He Ximeng.
"There are many underachievers in the back row! Do you want me to move you forward?"
"No need! Thank you, teacher. I'm tall, so sitting in the back row won't block anyone's view!" Zhang Tianai said with a sweet smile.
Frankly, at 1.75 meters tall, Zhang Tianai was indeed quite tall for a girl.
"Then... alright. If the students around you disturb your studies, you tell me, and I'll adjust your seat again!"
"Okay, thank you, teacher!" Zhang Tianai obediently carried her schoolbag to the empty seat next to He Ximeng.
"Hello there, classmate Ximeng!" After putting away her schoolbag, Zhang Tianai couldn't wait to greet He Ximeng.
He Ximeng politely returned a smile. Cui Tianci, on his left, lunged forward, wanting to shake Zhang Tianai's hand...
Zhang Tianai subtly withdrew her hand, smoothed her hair, and began to organize her schoolbag.
The nightmare of a day began...
Relying on the fragmented memories in his mind, He Ximeng managed to understand about seventy to eighty percent of what was being said, at least ensuring he didn't fall asleep in class.
Zhang Tianai, on his right, was not in much better shape.
The knowledge taught in Chinese high schools was clearly much deeper than that in American high schools.
He Ximeng felt that Zhang Tianai was in a daze all day, almost driven to the brink of madness.
"Underestimated the difficulty of senior year's curriculum, huh?" He Ximeng felt a sense of shared misery and schadenfreude.
Finally, the bell rang for dismissal. He Ximeng stretched his stiff body and called out to Cui Tianci, "Let's go! The basketball team is recruiting today, we can't be late!"
"You got it!" Cui Tianci haphazardly shoved his textbooks into his bag and bolted out.
"He Ximeng, don't forget to do your homework today..." Tang Xiaotang turned around to remind him. "I won't lend you my homework to copy tomorrow..."
"Classmate Ximeng, are you short on time to do your homework?" Zhang Tianai, uninvited, suddenly interrupted their conversation.
"Yeah, for guys like you who train hard for basketball, you're usually too busy to do homework... For years, my brother's homework has all been done by me... How about you give me your homework, and I'll help you with it..."
"You, you might have trouble with your own work, don't you think?"
Tang Xiaotang had been paying attention to the new classmate's state throughout the day. Based on her observations, this new student's academic performance was not good.
"It's okay if I can't do it!" Zhang Tianai didn't hide her situation at all. "But my mom has already hired six tutors for me! Chinese, Math, English, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, six subjects, one tutor for each! If there's homework I can't do, I'll just have them do it..."
"You..." Tang Xiaotang was speechless, defeated by Zhang Tianai's blatant show of wealth.
Indeed, between beauties, they were natural enemies from the start!
The two clashed from the beginning, neither willing to back down.
He Ximeng didn't dare to interject. He gave Cui Fatty a look and quickly slipped out the back door.
"I didn't think the class monitor liked you either?" Cui Fatty said with a mischievous grin to He Ximeng after they left.
"Like what? Those two little things just don't get along... One mountain can't hold two tigresses... especially beautiful tigresses..." He Ximeng imparted his wisdom to Cui Fatty earnestly.
"Are you guys talking about the zoo?" Zhang Tianai's voice suddenly rang out from behind them, startling both of them.
He Ximeng and Cui Tianci quickly denied it. He Ximeng quickly changed the subject: "Aren't you going home after school? What are you doing here at the basketball court?"
"Of course, to help with the team's recruitment!" Zhang Tianai said with a touch of arrogance. "I'm the new basketball team manager for our team!"
He Ximeng was speechless: "Basketball team manager, that's a plot from Slam Dunk. China doesn't have such a position... Besides, Coach Zhang clearly rejected you yesterday..."
"Yesterday is yesterday, today is today! What if Coach Zhang, after a night of contemplation, decided that establishing this basketball manager position would be very helpful in improving our team's combat effectiveness?" Zhang Tianai said playfully, sticking out her tongue.
He Ximeng had a bad feeling. Upon arriving at the gym, he went directly to Third Master to clarify.
As expected, Teacher Zhang Yide looked embarrassed.
"Well, you see, I think our basketball team needs to keep up with the times! Hiring a beautiful basketball manager will help increase the team's attention and attract more excellent basketball talent to join our school..."
He Ximeng gave him a look that said, "Keep lying, keep lying." At that moment, Zhang Yide felt the pressure of facing someone his own age... or even the pressure he'd feel facing those old foxes with much more experience than himself...
"This shouldn't be happening? No matter how mature He Ximeng is, he's still just a high school student! Why am I feeling guilty?"
Zhang Yide muttered to himself. He glanced around, and seeing no other players, he quietly asked He Ximeng, "Do you know who Zhang Tianai is?"