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墨書 Inktalez
“...Once again, congratulations to our school for achieving excellent results in the city’s final exams. Now, our principal will personally present certificates to the top three students from each grade.” Director Li's lengthy speech finally came to an end as I struggled to stay awake.
I forced myself to shake off the drowsiness and scanned the students standing straight under the blazing sun, a sense of accomplishment filling my chest.
“First grade: Liu Pei, Jiang Xiaowen, Xu Zhiqiang, come up to receive your awards.” Director Li announced loudly into the microphone.
Then, three small first graders wearing red scarves stepped up to the podium, each taking careful steps.
I stood up, supporting myself on the armrest of my chair, and took the certificate handed to me. With a smile, I walked over to the three of them. “Liu Pei?”
“Here!” The boy responded loudly.
“You did well this time, third in your grade. Keep it up.” I handed him the certificate, and he accepted it with both hands, his expression serious as if he had just received a remarkable medal of honor.
“Jiang Xiaowen?” I approached the little girl in the middle.
“Here,” she said shyly, her rosy cheeks making her look pinchable.
“Second in your grade and seventh in the city. Very good, keep working hard.”
“Thank you, Principal.” Jiang Xiaowen carefully cradled the certificate in her arms as if it were a treasure I had given her, which made me feel a bit excited.
“Xu Zhiqiang?”
“Here!”
“...”
“Second grade: Xu Wenxuan, Liu Cheng, Wang Xiaoyan, come up to receive your awards.”
...
“Third grade: Wang Jingjing, Song Jun...”
...
“Fifth grade: Chen Ruoxi, Xu Xiaoran, Zhang Qianqian, come up to receive your awards.”
“Great! Our school has claimed the top three spots in the city with these three girls,” I said as I took the certificates and walked over to the first girl with braided hair and a face full of freckles. “Chen Ruoxi, third in the city. You’ve brought glory to our school. Well done!”
Oh my, those dense freckles looked like worms that twitched along with her smile as her muscles moved slowly and nauseatingly. I tried not to let my gaze linger on her face and patted her head in my capacity as principal.
Next, I approached the second girl wearing glasses that resembled beer bottle bottoms and glanced at the name on the certificate. “Xu Xiaoran, full marks in three subjects, first in the city. Hmm...”
The girl opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something but timidly shrank back under the gaze of all the teachers and students present.
"Principal, I am Xu Xiaoran."
Like an ice pop unexpectedly thrust into the back of my neck, I shivered at the sound. It was calm and soft, like a feather wrapped in frost, casually brushing past my ear and landing on my heart, so light that it was hard to resist. The chill sent a shiver through me, and in that moment, my heart raced like a drum.
I turned my head to look at the girl on the far right. She had a slender, oval face that already hinted at beauty. Among the three girls, she stood out with her height, her gaze calm and unruffled as she quietly looked at me, like a lake at night.
"Principal, I am Xu Xiaoran," she emphasized again.
"Oh, I see I mispronounced it," I said as I walked up to her with a friendly smile. "You must forgive the Principal; I can make mistakes too."
She lowered her eyelids and gazed at the ground, seemingly lost in thought. Her eyelashes were long and thick, resembling a soft brush. Then she extended her hands politely and said, "Thank you, Principal."
I was momentarily taken aback before hurriedly handing her the certificate in my hand and sincerely saying, "Well done! Keep it up!"
After the meeting, I lay back in my office chair, repeating her name over and over: Xu Xiaoran, Xu Xiaoran. I couldn't help but feel that this name didn't quite match her.
Knock knock knock—
"Come in." I straightened up, picked up my pen, and pretended to be busy with paperwork as Li Hua walked in. I nodded slightly without looking at her. "Have a seat."
Li Hua closed the door behind her and sat on the guest sofa with her legs tightly together, resting her palms on her knees. She asked anxiously, "Principal, why did you call me?"
Being young, she was focused on questioning while I was busy here. The qualities of a high-achieving student returning from studying abroad weren't all that impressive after all. If it weren't for the Ministry of Education's call for local schools to absorb fresh talent, I would have dismissed her long ago based solely on her approach of "breaking traditional exam-oriented education to cultivate students' imagination."
"Is that Xu Xiaoran a student in your class?" I asked without looking up or stopping my writing.
"Yes, she just transferred this semester because her father was reassigned from Lin City. I've asked around; she had good grades before and performed normally this time," Li Hua said proudly. "Her father came to see you before; you should have met him."
"He came to see me?" I paused my pen and thought for a moment. There were plenty of parents who brought gifts for their children; I usually didn't pay much attention to it and had never accepted any bribes. As for which parent had the surname Xu, I really couldn't recall. "I don't remember; it's not important. Our responsibility is to educate students fairly. If we can't even be fair ourselves, how can we teach? Anyway, I'm calling you over to remind you that Xu Xiaoran is quite talented. Pay more attention to her; if she encounters any difficulties in life or studies that she can't resolve, she can come to me. Recently, there's been a document from the city stating that this year's Mathematical Olympiad is coming up soon. Our school has three spots available; prepare for it and provide extra guidance for Xu Xiaoran."
"You want her to participate?" Li Hua asked excitedly.
"Provided she has the ability," I replied. "The training materials will be distributed tomorrow; have her come by after school to pick them up."
"Okay!"
Afterward, I went to the archives room and found the section for Class 5-3 easily where her file was located.
Xu Xiaoran, born July 15, 1993; registered at Linzhou City Xinglin District Police Station; father is a leader at a State-Owned Enterprise; mother is a teacher at Lin City No. 1 High School. The comments from previous schools could be summarized in twelve words: intelligent and eager to learn, excellent grades, introverted personality.
I gently ran my thumb over her photo with a red background; her skin was delicate like a lotus bud eager to bloom. Her dark eyes gazed at me without any emotion; her pale lips were tightly pressed together—she must have been somewhat nervous too. Her slender neck emerged from a white Peter Pan collar; I seemed to see the blood vessels pulsing beneath her thin skin...
"Principal, what are you doing here?" The voice of Director Lao Li startled me back to reality. I feigned calmness as I closed the file folder and placed it back on the shelf nonchalantly. "Just checking some information."
"Did you find what you needed? Should I help you look?" Lao Wang came over after placing his steaming tea down.
"I found it, you carry on with your work."
As I walked out of the archive room, my heartbeat throbbed painfully against my eardrums.
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