Chapter Fifty-two: Wei Xiaofan Stumbles Out the Door

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As Wei Xiaofan stepped out of Wu Wenbin’s office, his mind was in a haze. Crossing the threshold, his right foot caught on the step, sending him stumbling forward, nearly falling to the ground. Zhang Liying, who was following behind, rushed up and steadied him with a hand on his shoulder.

Hearing Wei Xiaofan’s unsteady footsteps, Wu Wenbin assumed he had fallen and immediately walked outside. Seeing Zhang Liying supporting Wei Xiaofan, and noticing the embarrassed look on his face, Wu Wenbin asked, “Are you alright, Wei Xiaofan?”

“I’m fine! Just tripped over the threshold,” Wei Xiaofan replied, pushing away Zhang Liying’s hand. He felt embarrassed about his awkward moment.

“Although you missed out on this award, your academic performance and intelligence have been proven to be the best. Don’t let the prize bother you! Stay strong and aim to get into high school next semester!” Wu Wenbin encouraged him.

“Don’t worry, teacher, I’ll do my best! Actually, I never—” Wei Xiaofan started to say that he didn’t care about the award, since it was sponsored by Li Bufan’s father, Li Liangtian. But then he thought, if he truly didn’t care, why was he so upset about losing it? Wasn’t that contradictory? So he stopped himself from finishing the sentence.

“That’s good to hear!” Wu Wenbin said, thinking to himself, “What kind of judging was this? They shattered the dreams of such an outstanding student!”

“Are you really alright, Wei Xiaofan?” Zhang Liying asked with concern as they walked back to the classroom.

In Zhang Liying’s heart, she truly hoped Wei Xiaofan would win the award. In every aspect, he was qualified. Moreover, the award came with a thousand yuan, which could help Wei Xiaofan with many things, easing some of his life and study difficulties.

But now, the award had fallen to her instead. It made her feel awkward. Everyone in school knew Wei Xiaofan’s total score was the highest; hers was nearly nine points lower. Now that the award was hers, what would people think? Although she wanted the prize, she wished to win it by her own merit.

With the award in her hands, what would Wei Xiaofan think? What about the other students? It seemed as if she had stolen his prize.

“Wei Xiaofan, I don’t really like having this award, because it should have been yours. If the school allows, I’d withdraw from the selection without hesitation, since you truly deserve it—”

“Class President Zhang, you shouldn’t feel uneasy about the award going to you,” Wei Xiaofan shook his head, as if trying to cast off all his disappointment, and said, “After all, I did collide with that woman, and I didn’t pay for her medical expenses. Since the judges made their decision, losing the award is definite. If it hadn’t gone to you and instead to another class, wouldn’t we have lost out even more? With you receiving it, it proves we didn’t let Teacher Wu down! It proves our class didn’t lose hope, right?”

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Hearing Wei Xiaofan say this, Zhang Liying looked at him. Though he was only half a head taller than her, at that moment, she felt he was towering.

“Promise me, Wei Xiaofan!” Unconsciously, Zhang Liying walked beside him, shoulder to shoulder.

At that moment, Wei Xiaofan seemed to forget the need to keep distance from her.

“Class President Zhang, what do you want me to promise? Just say it. If I can do it, I will!” Wei Xiaofan replied.

“Promise me that after I receive the prize money, I’ll lend it to you for your business!” Zhang Liying originally wanted to give him the money outright, but worried he might refuse, so she settled on lending it.

“Of course! I’d be grateful for the chance. Once I’ve earned money, I’ll pay you back,” Wei Xiaofan said without hesitation.

Zhang Liying was surprised at how quickly he agreed. Her heart felt sweet.

Back in the classroom, Wei Xiaofan sat down as if nothing had happened, smiling.

Wei Xiaoping asked why Wu Wenbin had called him and Zhang Liying to the office.

Wei Xiaofan replied, “I’ll tell you after school.”

Soon, school was dismissed.

“Old pal, Wei Xiaoping, let’s go to your place tonight. We’ll hit the streets later and see what kinds of night stalls people are running,” Wei Xiaofan suggested.

“Sure! Ha ha, once we pack up, let’s head out—wait, but isn’t the award ceremony tomorrow? Did you forget?” Wei Xiaoping exclaimed.

“Oh, right! I completely forgot the ceremony is tomorrow, Saturday!” Wei Xiaofan calmly replied.

“Hey, old pal, are you alright? Tomorrow you’re supposed to receive your award, and you forgot!” Wei Xiaoping asked.

“What’s so strange about that?” Wei Xiaofan said calmly.

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At six in the evening, Wei Xiaofan and Wei Xiaoping went to the cafeteria for dinner.

Because the administration had instructed that students could only leave for the weekend after lunch on Saturday, the cafeteria was still open this Friday afternoon.

Wei Xiaofan wasn’t in the best mood, so when Wei Xiaoping asked him to eat after school, he said he didn’t feel like it. Seeing Wei Xiaofan unwilling, Wei Xiaoping didn’t want to eat either, since he was used to having meals together—it felt pointless to eat alone. So he waited for Wei Xiaofan.

When they finally went to get their meals, they thought they were the only ones who hadn’t eaten. As Wei Xiaoping lifted the pot lid, he found two other lunchboxes besides theirs.

He wondered, usually at this hour no one else had skipped dinner, but today someone else was just like him and Wei Xiaofan. He checked the names on the lunchboxes and saw they belonged to Zhang Liying and Zhang Xiaoyan.

So it was Class President Zhang and Zhang Xiaoyan who hadn’t eaten yet!

Wei Xiaoping grabbed his and Wei Xiaofan’s lunchboxes, about to leave, when Zhang Liying and Zhang Xiaoyan walked in.

“Wei Xiaofan, Wei Xiaoping, you haven’t eaten either! We haven’t had dinner yet, let’s eat together!” Zhang Liying said.

Hearing this, Wei Xiaofan remembered how Zhang Liying had treated everyone to dinner at the restaurant before.

“Alright, last time at the restaurant, Class President Zhang treated us all; this time, let me treat everyone! Though we each have our own meal, I’ll pay for the side dishes!” Wei Xiaofan said with a smile.

Seeing Wei Xiaofan so cheerful, Zhang Liying thought, “It seems he really isn’t bothered by losing the award!”

After buying the dishes, the four of them found a table in a quiet corner and sat down to eat.

As they ate and chatted, the conversation naturally turned to tomorrow’s award ceremony. Zhang Xiaoyan was the first to bring it up.

Seeing everyone discuss the ceremony, Wei Xiaofan hesitated for a moment, thinking that eventually, Wei Xiaoping and Zhang Xiaoyan would learn about his failure to win the award. It was better to tell them now, so they wouldn’t be surprised tomorrow when someone else was called up to receive it.