Don't Say You're Heartless (Modern Edition)

67 First

After Shen Qiuhua finished her lengthy speech about governing the country, there was no applause, not even a response. Everyone seemed a bit bewildered. Shen Qiuhua wasn't speaking in classical Chinese, they understood every word. But why couldn't they understand the meaning when all the words were put together? After a while, Principal Wang finally took the lead in clapping. "Xiao Shen is truly talented!"

Principal Xu sneered, "That speech was so convoluted- who knows which book she got it from?"

Shen Qiuhua smiled and replied, "If there's such a book, Principal Xu, please let me know. I'd love to take a look."

Just as Principal Xu was about to speak, Principal Wang said, "Alright, we've listened to the last one, it's time to discuss the rankings."

Seeing this, Shen Qiuhua quickly left the multifunctional hall.

The results were announced before the end of the workday, and to everyone's surprise, the first-place winner was Yang Qiong. Upon hearing this, Shen Qiuhua just wanted to laugh. The person she had her eye on really did have some hidden skills.

When the physical education department downstairs saw the list posted on the bulletin board, they were in an uproar. "Xiao Yang is incredible! Who would have thought she was hiding such talent?" Teacher Bai patted Yang Qiong on the shoulder as he spoke.

Yang Qiong was also a bit stunned. How had she become the first-place winner? She rushed to the bulletin board and, sure enough, her name was at the very top. Looking further down, she saw Shen Qiuhua's name in fourth place.

"Why only fourth?" she wondered aloud.

"Fourth is pretty good!" Shen Qiuhua came downstairs at that moment to congratulate Yang Qiong. After all, it wasn't easy for Yang Qiong to win a non-physical competition.

"How is that good?" Yang Qiong thought Shen Qiuhua should win first place in any competition she entered. Qiuhua was the most beautiful, the most talented-no one could compare to her Qiuhua.

Seeing Yang Qiong pout like a child, Shen Qiuhua reached out and poked her shoulder, "Mind your image. You're the first-place winner now."

It must be said, that this little victory did draw a lot of attention from the teachers towards Yang Qiong. But more important than the ranking was that the grueling basic skills drill competition had finally come to an end.

"Let's focus on teaching from now on," was the collective sentiment of everyone.

Another day's work came to an end. Shen Qiuhua had just dismissed the students practicing calligraphy and was rubbing her sore neck as she walked out of the office.

"Xiao Shen, are you tired?" Old Zhang, the night guard, was making his rounds to check that the lights were off and the doors locked.

"I'm fine," Shen Qiuhua replied with a smile.

"You teachers should take care of yourselves. If you're not careful, you'll get cervical spine problems while you're still young, and that's no fun," said Old Zhang, who had been working as the school's night guard for years. He knew the ins and outs of the school very well. Cervical spine issues were an occupational hazard for teachers- he had seen many of them suffer from it. Seeing that Shen Qiuhua was still so young, he couldn't help but remind her.

"I'll keep that in mind. Thank you, sir." Shen Qiuhua walked to the main hall, where Yang Qiong was already waiting for her.

"Let's go eat something nice tonight," Yang Qiong suggested. They had just been paid that day- 600 yuan total.

"Sure!" As the one who managed their finances, Shen Qiuhua realized that it had been a long time since the two of them had eaten a proper meal. What had they been eating before? Probably just grabbing random ingredients at the market after work and whipping up something at home. How long had it been since they'd had meat? She couldn't even remember. It wasn't that they couldn't afford it, but they had been so busy lately that she hadn't had the energy to think about food, and Yang Qiong had gone along with it without ever complaining.