During the physical education class, a strong wind blew for the duration of a soccer session. Although they ended up covered in dust and dirt, Yan Zizheng still had a blast playing.

After class, he went back to the classroom hugging the ball. As he kicked the ball with his feet and sent it to the back of the classroom, he noticed a certain item on the desk of the Nanxing class teacher that was difficult to ignore, shining under the sunlight and catching his eye.

If he remembered correctly, it was during the second class when Zhaoyu escaped over the wall to buy a box of biscuits outside the school. The reason was simple: that kid, Zhaoyu, saw Guanyue with a disappointed look on her face at the school supermarket where the blueberry-flavored ones were sold out.

Yan Zizheng stepped forward and took another look. Those crooked and twisted characters by Zhao Yu were still there, confirming that there was no mistake. It seemed that someone's warm sentiments had not been delivered. He couldn't help but laugh and squeezed his way out among his classmates who were slowly returning to class.

After going to the bathroom to wash his hands and returning, a girl told him that someone had been looking for him just now. Yan Zizheng thought it might be Ma Liangli since she was the only one from another class who often came to look for him.

The girl looked even more surprised than him, speaking slowly but enunciating clearly, "Lin Jinglei from the next class."

After listening, Yan Zizheng frowned, took out two tissues and wiped his hands as he walked out the front door.

Gong Yue was collecting math exercise books next to Lin Jinglei's desk and said, "Hand it over, otherwise our class won't have a complete set again. We're only missing you now. Tang Shan has already turned in his."

Lin Jinglei, who was sitting there, remained unmoved: "I didn't write anything, what the hell are you talking about?"

Gong Yue solemnly replied, "Then you just can't write."

I also have to be able to solve that question. Lin Jinglei was annoyed by the messy marks on the paper and stood up to leave.

Gong Yue quickly grabs Lin Jinglei's arm and says, "Whether you copy it or submit it blank, you must hand it in..."

Lin Jinglei forcefully swung his arms and picked up his math textbook that he had been punished to stand for an entire class period. He was suddenly filled with anger. He brushed past Gong Yue, who had taken a small step back in surprise, and said, "Mind your own business. I won't hand it in."

Yan Zizheng, leaning against the back door, observed the whole situation clearly. He stopped the person who was about to leave, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Are you looking for me?"

Lin Jinglei leaned out and casually said, "Find time to go to the fifth floor to get your clothes. Yao Schoolmate asked me to let you know."

Yes, otherwise what else could Lin Jinglei possibly want from him? Yan Zizheng felt a little disappointed, but he didn't understand why he was disappointed.

The tailored uniform has arrived. It is predominantly white, with golden decorative stripes on the collar, cuffs, and pant seams. Lin Jinglei went to retrieve it as soon as the third period ended. Since Yan Zizheng, who usually went with him to the assembly, was not present, that senior sister asked him to bring it back. He declined, as he was not someone who ran errands.

But he still ran errands, after all, personally telling Yan Zizheng to go get his clothes was considered a favor, just in a different form. In his eyes, helping to bring it back was intimacy, helping to deliver it was just an afterthought. He and Yan Zizheng, of course, chose the latter.

Lin Jinglei often chooses to go to the bathroom just before class starts. Not only does he avoid the crowded rush, but he can also skip two minutes of class. When he comes out of the bathroom and returns to the classroom, he looks through the window on the door and sees a huge tranquilizer pill on the podium. He feels guilty if he isn't sleepy during his political science teacher's lectures.

At this moment, two people came out from Class 18. Leading the way was Zou Jing, with Yu Zhaoyu following behind.

Lin Jinglei stood there watching as the teacher and student entered an office in the corridor, one after the other. Surprisingly, he felt a sense of satisfaction, thinking that Zhao Yu was about to get reprimanded.

Zhaoyu was caught by the teacher when he discovered the biscuits he had bought on their class leader's desk and brought them back. He was then immediately taken to the office.

"Did your dad go on a business trip?" Zhao Jing asked as he walked in.

Originally, since Bengan failed to reach Gong Yue's hands due to Zhaoyu's meddlesome nature, Zou Jing was already annoyed. And now, this man even mentioned his father to threaten him. He sneered and said, "Do you have any other tricks? I just wanted to give you some Bengan. Why are you involving my father?"

Zou Jing stood in front of Zhao Yu, looking into the young man's eyes and said, "That's not why I came to find you."

Zhaoyu instantly regained his confidence and asked, "So, what is it?"

Zou Jing strolled with his arms crossed and said, "I just want to confirm if you were involved in the malicious beating of a male student in the boys' restroom during the break yesterday afternoon."

Zhaoyu shook his head without hesitation and said, "No."

Zou Jing gave a scrutinizing look and asked, "Really, there isn't?"

Zhao Yu impatiently replied, "There really isn't."

"The director was very angry about this matter and pulled up the corridor surveillance. In those few minutes, besides the admitted students from the other class, there was also you. And now you're telling me you didn't do anything."

Zhaoyu frowned and said, "If you don't believe it when I say it, then why are you still asking?"

Zou Jing sternly said, "I also hope that you weren't involved in this campus violence. When the principal came to me, I was still defending you. It's best if you didn't lie."

"I was indeed present at the time, but I was merely spectating..."

"Watching the commotion is even more inappropriate!" Zou Jing interrupted.

"Damn, can't even watch a commotion." Yu Zhaoyu furrowed his brows with annoyance.

Equivalent to being an accomplice, how can you bear to watch that classmate being bullied and humiliated?

Yu Zhaoyu glared, "What can I do? I don't even know what's going on with them. The door is blocked, and I can't go out, so all I can do is watch."

Zou Jingshen took a deep breath and said, "Have you ever thought about what it would be like if you were the one being bullied?"

Zhaoyu retorted immediately, "Who dares to bully me? I'm the only one allowed to bully others. If he gets beaten up, it's his own demise."

Zou Jing was completely speechless. He truly felt that he couldn't reason with this child. He sighed softly, "I'll ask one last time, do you exist or not?"

"But I said there isn't any left."

Zou Jing waved his hand and said, "Go back to class."

Zhou Yu, exuding a rogue aura, placed his palm in front of Zou Jing and said, "Give me back the biscuit, it's mine."

Zou Jing hesitated, but in the end he reached out and opened the book rolled up under his armpit, taking out the box of biscuits. "There's one more thing. Don't let me catch you driving to school again. If it happens one more time, I will immediately call your dad."

Zou Zhaoyu snatched back the biscuit from Zou Jing's hand without saying a word. After coming out, he turned around and silently cursed at the door for a couple of sentences.

Tang Shan was particularly interested in Lin Jinglei's flag bearer uniform. That evening after school, he kept pestering Lin Jinglei to take it out and show it to him.

As Lin Jinglei waited for the school bus, he casually threw the bag in his hand to Tang Shan across the distance. Perhaps due to the strong wind, the bag veered off course and ended up hitting a sophomore student's face.

The guy at that time immediately started cursing angrily, stomping on the bag on the ground, "Damn it, who the hell threw this without eyes?"

Tang Shan pushed his way forward while raising his hand, apologizing to his brothers: "Sorry, guys."

The male student kicked the bag on the ground with force, and after uttering some curse, he boarded the recently stopped school bus.

Lin Jinglei wanted to catch up and ask that guy why he apologized but still viciously kicked away the bag containing his clothes. However, today was his aunt's birthday and he had to go back early to have dinner together, so he couldn't cause trouble.

When he and Tang Shan were bending down to look for clothes, a bag appeared before their eyes. "You usually don't hesitate to take action," he said.

Lin Jinglei glanced at Yan Zizheng, grabbed the bag, and unfriendly said, "Mind your own business."

The chorus competition happened to be on Monday, so each class started practicing tirelessly in the morning for the final push.

Because Lin Jinglei did not participate in the entire process, he couldn't muster any interest. His attention was focused on the flag-raising ceremony that was happening today.

Regarding this flag-raising ceremony, it was like a crash course. The seniors of the flag-raising team in their second year of high school demonstrated a few times in front of them while holding the red flags, and that was considered as the completion of their training.

Up until now, Lin Jing Lei still couldn't figure out the process. Isn't raising a flag as simple as hanging it up and pulling it up while the national anthem plays? Why make it so complicated?

In normal school days, there was nothing that could really capture Lin Jinglei's attention. However, for some unknown reason, he suddenly became interested and meticulously searched online for information about flag-raising ceremonies, genuinely taking notes on it.

When the bell rang for the end of the second class, he rushed out of the classroom and ran to the sports room to change his clothes. When he entered, there were already two students from another class who were flag bearers, chatting and laughing loudly.

He arrived in front of the small locker he had been assigned to a couple of days ago, and used the key to twist open the locker door. He took out his uniform and began to change. Last Friday, when he was waiting for the school bus after class, his clothes were thrown on the ground and got dirty from being stepped on. It was his aunt who washed and ironed them for him again. After putting them on, he could still smell the fresh scent of the laundry detergent.

The designated time is five minutes to change clothes and go downstairs, so the flag bearers have to move quickly in order to arrive at the playground before all the students in the school have finished assembling.

There were a total of six people.

It's simple. Four people hold the national flag and walk to the flag-raising platform. Then, one person is responsible for hoisting the flag while another person is responsible for raising it. The tasks are assigned in a rotating and flexible manner.

This week, Yan Zizheng is responsible for raising the flag.

He arrived late because of his English class, but he moved swiftly. After quickly changing his clothes in the room, he followed the others downstairs.

Several people came from different classes. It was more appropriate to say they were selecting a model rather than a flag bearer. Each of them had a good-looking appearance and a graceful temperament. Walking in the crowd while wearing the uniform, they naturally drew many eyes. Even before reaching the destination, they had already caught the attention of the students from Guangda First Middle School.

Tang Shan waved his hand at Lin Jinglei from a distance, shouting, "Leizi! Don't mess it up!"

Lin Jinglei glared at him with a fierce look in his eyes and said, "Get lost, stop jinxing."

The weekly flag-raising ceremony requires even the senior students who seldom participate in collective activities to wear their school uniforms and attend. With the addition of the three grades, as well as the school's faculty and staff, there are nearly four thousand people standing densely packed on the east playground.

When the host on the broadcast began to announce the flag-raising, the flag bearer raised their hand, and at the same time, the flag guard walked up to the flag-raising platform. The flag bearer secured the national flag onto the rope and handed it over to the one raising their hand before returning to their own position, facing the entire assembly of students and teachers. The national anthem then started playing.

Although it was their first collaboration, these individuals had great chemistry. However, in the audience, many people were more focused on the flag carriers rather than the flags themselves. What happened to the promised attention and salute?

In the magnificent and solemn melody, amidst a surge of excitement, a vibrant red color reaches the top of the flagpole and flutters in the wind.

Growing up, Lin Jinglei had never before been involved in such a serious matter. He found it novel and interesting, and as he was leaving, he almost tripped and fell, causing nearby laughter.

Tang Shan described Lin Jinglei at that time as being proud and narcissistic, looking as if he were flying high and radiant, as if about to ascend to immortality.

Lin Jing Lei made a mental note of this grudge and planned to sit in the audience during the afternoon choir competition to observe carefully. After it ended, he intended to criticize Tang Shan as well.

For this cultural month event, the first-year students will be participating in a choir competition, the second-year students will be participating in a speech competition, while the third-year students will not be participating.

In order to mobilize all the students to participate in extracurricular activities, Zou Jing removed the option to voluntarily participate from the regulations and replaced it with mandatory participation for everyone.

When the students from Class 17 saw the other class choir groups backstage, they were somewhat taken aback. They couldn't help but wonder why those groups had so few people, with several rows of chairs left empty. Meanwhile, their own class didn't have enough chairs, so some had to stand in two rows.

Their choir outfits were borrowed by their class advisor from a photography studio. The girls wore long skirts while the boys wore long pants and shirts of the same color scheme.

Yan Zizheng stood in the line listening to Zhao Yu's complaining about his short pants and ugly clothes, but his eyes kept glancing at the line of Class 18 next door. Sure enough, among those students wearing camouflage uniforms, Lin Jinglei was not there. That guy indeed didn't seem like someone who would participate in this kind of activity.

As class 16 was about to take the stage, Zou Jing stepped forward to boost everyone's morale. He clapped his hands to gather everyone's attention and said, "After we go on stage later, remember to bow to the judges and audience below the stage before starting to sing. Sing with all your heart, use a louder voice, and make sure you don't make any mistakes in your vocal parts. After finishing the performance, exit the stage in an orderly manner after bowing again..."

Zhao Yu sighed heavily from behind, "He sure can babble on."

Surrounded by soft laughter, completely ignoring the instructions from the class monitor, they were soon pushed onto the stage like ducks to a rack.

Lin Jinglei sat in the audience seats below the stage, sighing as he watched the people from Class 17 approaching: "Oh my, they're bringing so many batches of dumplings up on stage."

A male classmate next to me took over the conversation and said, "If the spectator seats in their class are empty, it means everyone has gone up."

Lin Jinglei exclaimed, "Definitely, that motherf***er still can't sing in tune."

Because it was just before class, Lin Jinglei had already heard what song Class 17 was singing during their practice sessions. He didn't know the name of the song, but Tang Shan said it was "On Taihang Mountain".

This class is truly as inconsistent as it is usually sung, with a mixture of both good and bad, and a chaotic mess. When the performance ended, it turned into a complete mess, just like a comedy.

I thought that in accordance with the class order, their class would be the last one to go on stage. It would be unfair for the judges to give biased scores due to auditory fatigue. However, when the final results were announced, Class 17 of the first year surprisingly made it into the top three positions that would receive an award certificate.

The host delivering the award speech mentioned that one of the reasons for this award was the commendable unity demonstrated by everyone involved.

Tang Shan took off his camouflage military cap, hopping with anger, "This is fucking ridiculous!"

Qiao Fengzi knew that his students were not very happy about being ranked third from the bottom. After returning to the classroom, he merged the three ancient poems that they had to memorize into one, and deviated from his usual routine by standing on the podium and having an intimate chat with the students.

"I think you guys performed exceptionally well in 'Heroic Anthem', with accurate tones and great momentum. The result may not have been completely satisfactory, but don't be discouraged. It was just a singing competition after all. There are still many areas where we can strive, such as the upcoming mid-term exams that you all need to pass for Class 17."

Perhaps these two classes were destined to be arch-rivals; this incitement tactic might not work with other classes.

When it comes to grades, even Lin Jinglei is confident, after all, being last is not their class.

Qiao Fengzi seized the opportunity to say, "Each of you should score an extra point, and the average score will increase by one point overall. We must all work together and give it our best. Do we have the confidence to win against Class Seventeen this time?"

"Yes!"

And in Class 17's classroom, they were also discussing this matter. Obviously, the two teachers had reached an agreement to work together and bring the students from the two troublesome classes back on track.

Zou Jing said loudly, "Why can't we be the ones with the highest average score among the same group of teachers? This mid-term exam, we have to surpass Class 18, alright?"

"Good!"

Suddenly, there was a knocking sound, and a beautiful woman poked her head through the door.