Chapter Forty-Two: Deepening Conflicts

"Well, I won't pursue this matter any further," Jiang Qingqing said, surprising everyone, as she looked at Lin Tian and shook her head. "Besides, whether I make you write that self-criticism or not makes no difference anyway."

With that, she walked back to the podium and began her lecture.

As they had already entered the second semester of the second year of high school, the curriculum for various subjects was nearly finished, and intense preparations for review were now underway.

Lin Tian secretly clenched his fists.

For some reason, ever since the first day of the semester, this so-called head teacher seemed to be deliberately targeting him.

Lin Tian felt that no matter what he did, she would find a way to disgust him, which was truly infuriating.

What he did not know was that Zhou Xiaoli had already harbored a grudge against him and Long Yuqing because of this incident.

After class, Long Yuqing accompanied a disgruntled Lin Tian, trying to comfort him with her words.

"Oh, come on, the head teacher has always had this personality. You'll get used to it."

In order to prevent him from dwelling on the matter, she even dropped her voice into an unusually coy and high-pitched tone, her cheeks flushing red as she cooed, "Big Brother Tian~ Don't be unhappy anymore~"

"Alright, alright, stop talking like that, you're giving me the creeps." Lin Tian reached out and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"You brat, do you want to die?!" Long Yuqing dropped her act in a split second, reverting to her fierce demeanor from before.

The two of them stood there grinning and playing around, completely unaware that a pair of eyes not far away was staring at them with intense hatred.

"I kept wondering why the two of you act like you share a pair of pants! So you were deliberately teaming up against me!"

Zhou Xiaoli gnashed her teeth in anger, completely ignoring the fact that it was she who had purposely withheld the information last month simply because she detested Lin Tian.

"Since you two get along so well, I suppose I should help push your relationship over the finishing line..."

An evil thought began to take root in her mind.

At that exact moment, a sudden sense of unease welled up inside Lin Tian.

Soon, the next class began. But only halfway through, the head teacher, Jiang Qingqing, walked into the classroom with a gloomy expression on her face.

"Please continue with your lecture. I need to take a student outside to talk."

Ignoring the bewildered look on the Chinese teacher's face at the podium, Jiang Qingqing swept her gaze across the middle and back rows, her eyes as sharp as knife blades.

"Lin Tian and Long Yuqing, you two come outside with me!"

Sensing the resentment in her tone, Lin Tian and Long Yuqing exchanged a glance, stood up from their seats, and followed her out of the classroom.

Along the way, the two of them had no idea what had happened and were completely baffled, scratching their heads in confusion.

Once inside the office, Jiang Qingqing sat down in her chair, her cold eyes staring straight at them. "Well? Are you two going to confess yourselves, or do you want me to spell it out?"

"Confess what?" Lin Tian asked.

"Bang!"

Jiang Qingqing slammed her hand down hard on the desk, making her insulated mug rattle. Impatiently, she snapped, "Don't play dumb with me! Someone has already told me all about you two!"

"Huh?"

Both Lin Tian and Long Yuqing were completely lost.

Hadn't the two of them just exchanged a few words during the break? Was that supposed to be some kind of grave offense?

Seeing that the two of them still refused to admit it, Jiang Qingqing decided to lay it out bluntly:

"Can you two pick a proper time for your little romance?! We are already in the second semester of the second year of high school! This is the crucial period of intense review and striving for the college entrance examination sprint. At a juncture like this, the two of you actually have the nerve to puppy love! Exactly what do you think you're doing?!"

Upon hearing her words, Long Yuqing's face inexplicably flushed red, and she remained completely silent.

Lin Tian, however, retorted directly: "First of all, she and I are not involved in the way you are accusing us. Secondly, so what if it's the second year of high school? Does that mean people aren't allowed to date?"

Hearing these words, Jiang Qingqing was so angered that the majestic curves of her chest heaved uncontrollably.

"Lin Tian—!"

Jiang Qingqing ground out those two words through her teeth. After a long moment, she managed to vent a fraction of her fury and demanded, "It's bad enough that you are completely hopeless and squander your own education, but do you have to drag other students down with you as well?!"

"I have never thought of doing any such thing. Don't go trying to pin high-sounding accusations on me."

"And you still say you didn't!"

Giving him no chance to talk back, Jiang Qingqing's mouth moved like a machine gun, firing off a continuous stream of words:

"You know perfectly well that you're already a lost cause, utterly hopeless, and incapable of getting good grades on next year's exams. That's why you're being so indulgent and deliberately dragging other students down with you. What a truly vicious mindset! How can someone like you be so dark on the inside!"

Lin Tian finally reached the limit of his patience and said coldly, "My grades may not be stellar, but they aren't as terrible as you make them out to be. Why must you constantly hound me? Am I not paying my tuition fees like everyone else? Why do you insist on treating me with such double standards?"

Jiang Qingqing had not expected him to talk back to her like this. For a moment, she was left stunned in her tracks.

Behind him, Long Yuqing secretly poked the back of Lin Tian's hand, signaling him to stop talking.

Weighing the situation, Lin Tian decided not to say anything further. He simply turned around and walked out of the office.

"This is getting out of hand! Am I really losing control over him?!" Jiang Qingqing was so furious that she could barely string her words together.

"If the teacher has nothing else to say, I'll be going back to class." After offering this brief remark, Long Yuqing turned and followed him out.

After calming herself down, Jiang Qingqing inwardly felt a surge of contempt for Lin Tian's earlier remarks. "Hah, an unripe little brat is just plain stupid! Even his words are so childish!"

Back in the classroom, Lin Tian remained absent-minded throughout the rest of the time.

"Who could it possibly be..."

As he pondered, his gaze inadvertently drifted toward Zhou Xiaoli, who was attentively listening to the lecture.

In an instant, everything became crystal clear.

"Damn it! It was definitely that bitch who went and tattled, spreading those rumors!"

At that thought, his aversion toward Zhou Xiaoli intensified considerably.

The two of them had never gotten along to begin with, and now, provoked like this, a plan for revenge quickly formed in his mind.

Without a sound, he reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a sheet of draft paper and a pen...

After class, Zhou Xiaoli got up to get a glass of water from the water dispenser at the back of the classroom.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Lin Tian slipped the note into her desk, a flash of deep-seated hatred masking his consciousness in his eyes.

"Since you love tattling and spreading rumors so much, then even if it ruins my reputation in this school forever, I'll drag you down with me!"

Upon returning to her seat, Zhou Xiaoli quickly noticed the small piece of paper inside her desk.

With a flutter of curiosity, she unfolded it. Instantly, her pretty face flushed a vivid red, tears welled up in her sparkling eyes, and she sprang to her feet and bolted out of the classroom.

"Brother Tian, has that Zhou Xiaoli gone completely mad, running off like that?" Liu Buping stood next to Lin Tian's desk and asked with curiosity.

Seeing this, Lin Tian merely waved a hand. "How would I know what kind of nervous breakdown she's having!"

As he spoke, however, he cast his gaze forward.

Ever since returning to the classroom, Long Yuqing hadn't spoken a single word to him.