Give Me Another Smile

Chapter 33: Participation

A second after being surprised, Tang Yu calmed down, remembering that Yin Zhao-an's decisions no longer mattered to her.

Tang Yu rubbed her chest, soothing her pitiful little heart. At the same time, she also muttered a short prayer for Zhao Yu's future husband.

Sorry, pal, but whether your wife can return to your side will be up to fate.

When Tang Yu returned from the rooftop, many of her classmates had already populated the classroom, eliminating the classroom's previously suffocating environment. However, that was mainly because Du Yuqing had yet to develop the shady feeling she used to give off during Tang Yu's previous life. Though, judging by the girl's current personalityshe shouldn't be too far off, either.

After pondering for a moment, Tang Yu classified several people as dangerous individuals.

First and foremost would naturally have to be Yin Zhao-an. Coming next would be Du Yuqing and Zhao Yu. Ignoring how these people would turn out in the future, Tang Yu felt that the best-case scenario for her would be to stay away from all of them.

The bell just so happened to ring at this time. A moment later, a female teacher entered the classroom with a textbook in hand, the sight of the teacher pulling Tang Yu back from her delirious wanderings.

It was going to be another simple and boring class. Tang Yu left her book on the table and propped up her head with a hand, patiently memorizing the familiar mathematical formulas in the book.

Five minutes before class ended, the female teacher assigned homework and announced the end of the class ahead of time. Then, she said, "Tang Yu, come with me to the office."

"Okay." Tang Yu put away her textbook into the drawer and followed the teacher out of the classroom.

The female teacher was a fresh university graduate who joined the school near the end of the school year. She had a responsible heart and a strong passion for the education profession. So, shortly after starting her career as a teacher, she noticed that one of her students didn't seem to get along with her classmates.

On their way to the office, the female teacher asked, "What do you think of your classmates, Tang Yu?"

This was the first time Tang Yu was asked such a question, so she couldn't help but be taken aback for a moment. Then, she stammered, "Pretty good."

"You should interact more with your classmates, then," the female teacher said, lightening her tone. Then, in a guiding manner, she continued, "You have good grades, Tang Yu, so can you help the students who are lagging behind?"

"Oh." Tang Yu responded indifferently.

The teacher knew that gradual steps needed to be taken for this problem, so she didn't expect Tang Yu to give her an immediate response.

After arriving at the office, the female teacher took out a test paper from her desk drawer and handed it to Tang Yu, saying, "Bring the stool from the next desk over here and do the question on this paper."

Tang Yu did as told and accepted the paper and pencil the teacher offered her. Then, after grabbing herself a tool and taking her seat, she began reading the question on the paper.

The question was an Olympic mathematics problem. It was a little complex, particularly for children her age since they were only learning the most basic mathematics. Tang Yu wasn't an expert in mathematics, either, since she was a broadcasting major at university during her previous life. She had never encountered any mathematics problems that required her to stress her brain.

Even so, the question she was handed wasn't too big of a challenge. She just needed time to solve it.

After preparing herself a cup of wolfberry-soaked hot water, the female teacher glanced at Tang Yu's paper while sipping her drink. However, when she saw what Tang Yu had written, she nearly spat the water in her mouth.

While Tang Yu had gone to the faculty office, Yin Zhao-an visited Tang Yu's classroom. After scanning the classroom through the window and failing to find Tang Yu's figure, Yin Zhao-an politely stopped a male student leaving the classroom and asked, "Hello, is Tang Yu here?"

The male student in question recognized Yin Zhao-an. After all, the latter was the first of their grade, so who wouldn't recognize her?

After pondering Yin Zhao-an's question for a moment, the male student answered, "Oh, she got called away by the teacher."

When Yin Zhao-an heard the words "called away by the teacher," her first reaction was to assume that Tang Yu was being bullied again and, as a result, got called by the teacher for questioning. Then, immediately after she got this thought, self-blame filled her mind.

"Do you know why the teacher called for her?"

"That How would I know?"

When Yin Zhao-an saw that the male student was getting ready to slip away, she hurriedly held him back and handed him a warm bottle of goat milk, startling him.

"Please give this to Tang Yu for me. My classroom is quite far away, so I may not be able to make it back in time for class if I keep on waiting. Thanks in advance."

Whew

The male student sighed in relief. It was fortunate the milk wasn't for him. He wasn't brave enough to accept such a huge gift.

"Okay, I'll pass it to her for you."

Yin Zhao-an nodded. Then, just when she was about to leave, she suddenly turned around and said, "Oh, by the way, tell her that I'll come to her for lunch."

"...Okay."

Tang Yu felt her ears warming up a little as she watched the teacher sitting opposite of her incessantly uttering words of praise while analyzing her written answer.

"You're amazing, Tang Yu! How did you even get so good?" When the teacher finally set down the test paper, she looked at Tang Yu as if she had just found a treasure. "It's decided! You must take part in the Olympic Math Competition next month! Do more practice during this time and come to me if you have any problems."

After saying so, the teacher grabbed an exercise book from her desk and said, "The questions here are classics. Although the questions in the actual competition will differ, their difficulty will be around the same level. Give them a look through when you have free time."

Tang Yu clenched her hands nervously, sweat dripping down her forehead. Could she refuse this arrangement?

"Hm?" The teacher waved the exercise book in front of Tang Yu, a puzzled look on her face.

"O-Okay Thank you, teacher" Tang Yu accepted the book with complicated emotions. Rather than an exercise book, the book looked more like a thick textbook instead. She suddenly had the urge to cry when she felt the book's weight in her hands.

Ignorant of Tang Yu's thoughts, the teacher looked at the wall clock nearby and noticed that some time had already passed since classes had resumed. So, she said, "You can go back to class now. Just tell your teacher that I called you for something."

"Okay. Goodbye, teacher."

After leaving the faculty office, Tang Yu helplessly looked up at the sky as she resisted the urge to throw the exercise book into the nearest garbage bin.

Fortunately, her class teacher was a friendly person. After Tang Yu informed the teacher of the reason for her tardiness, the teacher warmly smiled and had her return to her seat.

Tang Yu returned to her seat after thanking the teacher.

The goat's milk on her desk was very conspicuous. After looking around, Tang Yu put the goat's milk into the drawer. However, the goat's milk had already cooled down to room temperature, so it could no longer warm her palms like usual.