A Bookworm’s New Routine - Chapter 1

The afternoon sunlight shined through the window and onto the wooden desk. A light breeze blew in from time to time, flipping the pages of the book on the desk.

In this autumn season where the air is clear and refreshing, many people were already nodding off. Accompanied by the dull rumbling of the teacher’s lecture, it was like a lullaby as it lured people into their dreams.

The entire row in the back of the classroom was fast asleep and the teacher would glance back at them several times, but finally couldn’t bear it anymore. The teacher fiddled with the chalk before throwing it accurately at one of the sleeping student’s head. One could tell that from the precise aim of the throw that this teacher had done this many times before.

“Fu*k! Who did that!” Hu Ying quickly raised her head and glared fiercely at her surroundings. When her eyes met the furious gaze coming from the podium, she knew that it was game over for her.

“All of you get out and stand as punishment!” Liu Juan snapped and slammed the textbook on the podium, a layer of chalk dust flying off the surface. While the front row suffered from the loud shouting, the dozing back row was finally awake.

In an endless stream, the group of people walked out the door and stood in a line together.

Liu Juan turned his head and saw there was still one person sleeping in the back corner. Brows furrowed, he shouted loudly, “Mu Qi!!!”

Mu Qi was abruptly woken up from her sleep and raised her head, her eyes still a bit dazed. Obviously, the book slamming and chalk flying did not affect her at all.

“You too! Get out and stand as well!” Liu Juan pointed at the doors near the back of the classroom.

“Oh.” Mu Qi yawned loudly and lazily stretched her body as she got up. She then leisurely wandered out of the classroom and had wanted to go to the bathroom so she could wash her face when she was pulled back by Hu Ying standing against the wall. She could only stop and leaned against the wall.

The teachers could only sigh with a headache when facing this group of students who slept during class and yet was always so full of energy that they got into trouble after class.

It was fine if they failed at studying and exams, but they didn’t listen during class and sometimes even disturbed the orderly atmosphere in the classroom. How could one not get a headache from all this? However, it was useless. Even if they got a headache, the teachers could only bear with it. There was just nothing they could do.

“Bro Qi, don’t you find Big Eyes annoying? This happens every time.” Hu Ying stood next to Mu Qi and glanced at the podium through the window.

Big Eyes was the nickname that they would call Liu Juan in private. It was because when he got angry, he would not only glare, but his eyes would turn into big circles. They’ve been using that name for a long time now.

The group of people felt stifled and bored as they stood in the hallway, so they began chatting. However, Liu Juan heard them from inside the classroom and shouted, “Stand still and stop whispering!” He yelled so loudly that the entire floor could hear him clearly, causing everyone to sigh in annoyance.

Hu Ying and others could only purse their lips and stood upright, waiting for the teacher to leave them be. They were once again leaning against the wall, but this time with less talking.

“Bro Qi, look!” Hu Ying elbowed Mu Qi.

Mu Qi followed her gaze to the end of the corridor and saw their homeroom teacher walking towards them with a girl following behind.

The homeroom teacher, Li Wei, saw the group standing outside and frowned, “What’s going on here?”

Then remembering the new student following behind, Li Wei didn’t bother with investigating and stepped through the front door, but left behind one sentence, “I’ll settle my account with you guys later.”

When the girl passed them, she glanced sideways at them, her gaze lingering on Mu Qi. When the other party noticed that Mu Qi had detected her gaze, her ears turned red and she quickly followed the headmaster and walked into the classroom.

Mu Qi: “….”

Hu Ying’s shoulder bumped into her and whispered,

“Bro Qi, have you noticed that this new student is really cute!”

Mu Qi gave her a sideways glance.

Hu Ying listened attentively to the girl’s self-introduction and smiled, “Her name is cute too, it’s Su Yanxi.”

“Annoying.” Mu Qi couldn’t bear to look at her lovesick expression any longer.

Once the transfer student finished, Li Wei came back out. Looking at them, he felt his temples start hurting and said gravely, “Come with me.”

The group of people turned and followed him into the office.

There were two other teachers in the office and they were chatting when they heard voices at the door. They looked over and laughed when they saw Mu Qi and her crew, “Teacher Li, did your group of monkeys cause trouble again?”

Li Wei only signed and looked back to see that the group stood around sloppily and confidently like they owned the place. He wished he could go up and give them a kick, but he endured and yelled, “Stand up straight!”

The group that was previously leaning against the wall comfortably was then subjected to the torment of the various teachers in the office.

When the bell rang, Li Wei let them go back but threatened that if they slept in class again that they would no longer be just standing against the wall. Instead, they would be forced to stand outside and on the school grounds where the entire school could see them.

As they walked out of the office, Hu Ying sneered, “Old Man Li really is crazy.”

Mu Qi had just woken up from her muddled and sleepy daze a few moments again and hugged Hu Ying’s shoulder as she joked, “Do you want to teach the old man a lesson by taking his car’s tires?”

Hu Ying smiled and waved, “Why would I……”

Then she realized something and angrily retorted, “Bro Qi, I never thought you would taunt someone like that! That was over seven or eight years ago, how do you even still remember!”

The two of them had grown up together and the number of times they had gotten into trouble could not be counted on two hands.

Mu Qi laughed and stuffed her hands into her pockets as she swaggered into the classroom, “That’s because you removed the wrong tires and it turned out to be the principal’s car! That particular incident caused us to stand under the school flag for a week! That type of memory that’s been deeply etched in our minds is just too unforgettable!”

“Fu*k!” Hu Ying flushed red and felt embarrassed just thinking of it.

Then her gaze landed on the transfer student and her eyes brightened instantly with wicked glee.

Mu Qi saw the strange girl sitting in her seat and her brows furrowed instantly. She walked over to the girl and looked down condescendingly.

Su Yanxi was reading a book and sensed the shadow looming over her. She looked up puzzledly and she blinked her eyes when she saw Mu Qi.

“Who are you?” Mu Qi had completely forgotten that she had seen the girl earlier. One could only blame it on her sleepy mind that wasn’t clear at the time.

“Su Yanxi.” The girl whispered and then stood up in a panic. However, because of her sudden movement, she was off-balance and her body fell towards Mu Qi. Mu Qi’s conditioned response was to move out of the way and she let the other party fall directly onto the ground. Her hands had caught her but when she lifted them, one of her palms were slightly bleeding and the skin had broken.

“Are you all right?” Standing next to her, Hu Ying quickly crouched down and helped her up.

Su Yanxi only lowered and shook her head as she clutched her injured palm.

Mu Qi frowned slightly and pursed her lips.

“Bro Qi, why didn’t you help her just now?” Hu Ying looked at Mu Qi with a face full of blame.

Mu Qi only glanced at her and said nothing. She walked towards the window seat and sat down.

Previously, she had occupied two desks for herself but now, because of this girl, she could only use one desk.

Hu Ying helplessly watched Mu Qi’s actions and couldn’t say anything. She shook her head and turned around to give Su Yanxi a spare band-aid that she dug out from her pocket.

“Thank you.” Su Yanxi smiled gratefully at her.

“No…no need for thanks.” The girl’s smile was just too bright, too brilliant that even Hu Ying felt at a loss as her face turned red.

At that moment, the bell ran and Hu Ying had to return to her seat. Before she left, she said to the girl,

“You should hurry and put that on.”

“Ok.”

Su Yanxi turned her head and looked at the Mu Qi who was staring outside the window with her hand propping up her head. There was a smile in her eyes, but she grumbled again, and, from an outsider’s point of view,  she looked aggrieved because the other party did not help her.

As the teacher lectured, Su Yanxi quietly tore the pieces of paper off the bandaid and slowly stuck it onto her palm. It hurt a little and she frowned and even gasped from the pain.

Mu Qi, who was looking out the window at the scenery outside, turned her head and saw that although the girl had put on the bandaid, some of her wound was still exposed.

She saw that the girl was frowning because of the pain and couldn’t sit still any longer. She stood up abruptly, causing her chair to fall to the ground, and the loud crash could be heard through the quiet classroom.

Su Yanxi was obviously startled as her eyes widened and she looked up at her.

“Move.” Mu Qi glared at her.

Su Yanxi quickly stood up and moved aside as she let Mu Qi move past her.

“Mu Qi, what are you doing!” The teacher recovered from the shock and quickly yelled after her.

“Bathroom.” Mu Qi walked through the back door without a second glance.

Su Yanxi hadn’t recovered from the sudden change, but everyone else was already accustomed to this and continued to listen to the lecture.

Mu Qi was gone for ten minutes, but the teacher in charge was already used to it. She only gave Mu Qi a look when she came back but didn’t say anything.

“Bro Qi, what did you do?” Hu Ying asked softly and grabbed Mu Qi’s sleeve.

“Nothing.” Mu Qi pulled back her arm and walked towards her seat. She set the bag in her hand onto Su Yanxi’s desk and said, “Move.”

Looking at the small rolls of bandages and the small bottle of disinfectant peeking out from the back, Su Yanxi froze for a movement before she quickly stood up.

Mu Qi stepped forward and sat back down. Su Yanxi also sat down and grabbed the bag to set it down underneath the desk. She quietly glanced at Mu Qi and whispered, “Thank you.”

Hu Ying watched the whole thing so she naturally saw the small bag Mu Qi had handed to Su Yanxi. After class, she hurried over with the intention of gossiping,

“Bro Qi, what did you buy for the transfer student?”

“You don’t need to know.” Mu Qi gave her a sidelong glance.

Hu Ying had played with her since she was a child, so the two of them were so close that they knew everything about each other. She knew that the other was just being shy, so she smiled and looked at Su Yanxi, “What did your deskmate give ya?”

“Not telling.” Su Yanxi glanced at Mu Qi and then answered.

Mu Qi: “…..”

Hu Ying: “….”

“Pfft-!” Hu Yung chuckled, her laughter shook the desk.

“If you want to laugh, go somewhere else!” Mu Qi glared at her.

Hu Ying waved her hands and covered her stomach: “Hahahaha! I can’t, Bro Qi! This new student is just too cute!”

“Are you an idiot!” Mu Qi looked at her speechlessly.

“I never thought that the new student would be on your side on the very first day.” Hu Ying tsked, “Sure enough, our Bro Qi’s charm is just too powerful!

Watching this idiot fool around, Mu Qi merely shook her head and turned to the side so she didn’t have to look at her anymore.

Su Yanxi’s face turned a little red for a moment, but one did not know if it was because she was embarrassed or angry.

T/N notes:

*Liu Juan may or may not be a female teacher instead of male. The author hadn’t assigned any pronouns yet to the teacher from what I can see in the text. I know that the headmaster is definitely a “he” though.

Sidenote: Bro Qi was the closest translation I could think of for “七哥” which when directly translated is something like “Brother Qi” which is kinda weird since she is a girl. However, “哥” could technically be used for women, usually, it’s a sign of respect for someone they think is superior. Japanese has better terms for a delinquent Bro which is “Aniki” or “Aneki” (if you’re a woman) but, unfortunately, Chinese doesn’t have any specific terms and tend to be broad, so I went with Bro Qi. If anyone has a better suggestion, comment below, please!!!

I’m guessing this is how the desks are lined up in the classroom:

Also, is it just me or do a lot of characters from the works I’ve been doing have the name the surname Su…….