What a ‘should be expelled!’
Qi Zhi narrowed his eyes, and said sarcastically, "Come to think of it, He Xixi started this first. Both students are at fault."
Director Wang had spoken so definitively, yet Qi Zhi dared to contradict him. He frowned deeply, looking at Qi Zhi with a serious expression.
"Teacher Qi, He Xixi is the one who ended up in the water." Director Wang's voice deepened with a warning in his tone. "She's still recovering in the hospital."
Hearing this, Qi Zhi stared at Director Wang with a deep gaze.
"I heard Gou Zhinian didn't come to school today?" Suddenly, the vice principal spoke up.
Qi Zhi coldly hummed in agreement, then pushed up his glasses, "Zhinian shouldn't have pushed He Xixi. I told her to go home and reflect on her actions."
Director Wang's eyebrows shot up. "Why would you send her home?"
Upon hearing that their precious daughter had been bullied at school, the He family contacted the vice principal overnight, wanting to expel Gou Zhinian from Shengying.
Unexpectedly, Qi Zhi was one step ahead of them and told Gou Zhinian to hide!
The atmosphere in the room turned into a deadlock.
Suddenly, Qi Zhi spoke, "Since enrolling, Gou Zhinian has been at the top of every subject, ranking first in every monthly exam."
"If Shengying expels a commoner student for this, wouldn't it discourage them? In the long run, who would still want to apply to Shengying?" Qi Zhi's voice was filled with concern, his expression was sad.
These old fogies wanted to exploit students from common backgrounds to boost their academic rankings, but they were also unwilling to offend influential families. How could there be such a good thing in this world?
"If Gou Zhinian doesn't leave Shengying, the He family definitely won't let her off," Director Wang said.
Qi Zhi raised an eyebrow and said leisurely. "What if He Xixi chooses to shake hands and make peace?"
"He Xixi?" How is that possible?
Director Wang looked at Qi Zhi as if he'd grown a second head.
He Xixi had a spoiled nature. How could she possibly let Gou Zhinian off after causing her such a big loss? Didn't the He family contact the vice principal overnight because He Xixi complained?
"Both students are in your class, Teacher Qi. If you have a solution, that would be best. If not..."
The vice principal feigned regret and said, "We can only let Gou Zhinian bear the consequences."
Qi Zhi lowered his gaze, concealing the glint in his eyes. "I understand."
*
On December 5th, the first snow of early winter suddenly fell. Pure white snowflakes danced against the clear windows, melting into water upon as it hit the ground.
Qi Zhi drove towards the hospital where He Xixi was admitted.
Although He Xixi had caught a slight cold, she was fine. She deliberately stayed in the hospital's VIP ward to make a fuss, just to pressure the school.
When Qi Zhi arrived, He Xixi was lying in bed playing a game, looking perfectly fine.
"Knock, knock." Qi Zhi rapped his middle knuckle against the door.
To facilitate doctor's rounds, He Xixi's door was half-open. Qi Zhi gently pushed it open to see He Xixi hurriedly closing her mobile game interface.
"It seems Student He Xixi has recovered quite well." Qi Zhi looked down at He Xixi with a cold and sharp light flashing in his eyes.
"Teacher Qi." He Xixi burrowed deeper under the covers, only her head peeking out.
Seeing that her class teacher had come to visit her, He Xixi pouted and said through gritted teeth, "Teacher Qi, you have to help me seek justice! Gou Zhinian went too far!"
Qi Zhi placed the fruit basket he brought on the table and pulled up a chair beside the bed, his movements leisurely. "I'm not here to discuss Gou Zhinian today."
Hearing this, He Xixi's eyes showed confusion, and she asked stupidly, "Then what are we talking about?"
A dark light flashed in Qi Zhi's eyes. He pushed up his glasses and slightly raised his lips. "Luo Daoyang."
Upon hearing Luo Daoyang's name, He Xixi's expression tightened, and she stared at him intently.
"Chesterton is coming to Shengying next month to select exchange students. Luo Daoyang came to see me yesterday." Qi Zhi said half of the words, and left the rest to He Xixi to fill in.
"Chesterton, the school that's really good at tennis?" He Xixi's eyes widened. She didn't expect Luo Daoyang to plan to go abroad as an exchange student.
Qi Zhi nodded, looking at her with a half-smile. "Are you sure you still want to keep pretending to be sick?"
He Xixi was directly exposed by Qi Zhi. Her face flushed. At this moment, complaining about Gou Zhinian was the last thing on her mind.
If Luo Daoyang went abroad, surrounded by so many blonde, blue-eyed girls overseas, what if he fell for someone else?
"Teacher Qi, I was wrong." He Xixi quickly crawled out of her blanket cocoon and said with a serious face. "If Brother Daoyang wants to go to Chesterton, then I want to go too."
"Luo Daoyang is a national-level tennis player. His chances of being selected are very high."
Qi Zhi's gaze remained on He Xixi. "If you insist on making things difficult for your classmate at a time like this, and Chesterton finds out that you forced a classmate to drop out—"
At this point, Qi Zhi paused, his eyes dark and unclear. "Do you think Chesterton, or even Shengying, would still consider you for the exchange program?"
Being selected for an international exchange program wasn't some trivial schoolyard squabble. He Xixi insisting on holding a grudge against Gou Zhinian at this crucial moment was completely shooting herself in the foot and damaging her own reputation.
The romantic plot line between Gou Zhinian and Luo Daoyang had already crumbled, but He Xixi was still the love-brained person who had liked Luo Daoyang since childhood.
The next day, Qi Zhi asked both of them to write self-criticism reports and then shake hands to make peace. He Xixi had no objections, which seemed extremely strange to everyone.
Speculation ran rampant about what Teacher Qi could have possibly said to He Xixi to make the He family withdraw their pressure on the school board.
On December 6th, Gou Zhinian returned to class as usual. Standing in the office, she smiled at Qi Zhi. "Teacher Qi."
"You're back." Qi Zhi finished reading her self-criticism and raised his eyes, "Next time, don't be so impulsive and rash."
With other teachers present, he swallowed the rest of his sentence—'Even if you want to fight, don't do it on school grounds.'
"Mm." Gou Zhinian replied calmly. "I was indeed impulsive this time."
Even if her soul belonged to an adult, her current identity and influence paled in comparison to the He family. A direct confrontation would only end badly for her.
"Alright, if there's nothing else, go back to class and study hard." Qi Zhi waved his hand, dismissing her.
Gou Zhinian bowed slightly to Qi Zhi. "Okay." And thank you.
*
News of the Chesterton High School exchange program spread through Shengying like wildfire in just two days.
As a prestigious private school in the City, Shengying not only had strong educational resources and high-quality students, allowing second-generation rich kids to form their own circles from a young age, but also had another highlight—Shengying exchanged students with famous high schools from various countries every year.
Being an exchange student at a foreign high school brought invaluable experience and connections that would benefit their future careers.
Of course, none of this mattered to Gou Zhinian.
As soon as Qi Zhi made the official announcement, the students of Class 4 burst into discussion. Only Gou Zhinian's emotions remained largely unchanged as she continued to preview her Chinese textbook.
"Alright, save the discussions for after class. Let's start our lesson now." Qi Zhi tapped the podium, signaling everyone to quiet down.
Everyone listlessly sat through a Chinese lesson because Shengying High School's process for selecting exchange students was quite different from other schools.
The few prestigious schools that had long-term partnerships with Shengying had extremely high requirements for students. Money wouldn't guarantee a spot.
Generally, students would first voluntarily sign up, then class teachers would submit their applications, which would undergo multiple rounds of rigorous evaluation and selection. Finally, Chesterton High School would finalize the list of exchange students.
Even if you had great influence in Shengying, if your usual performance wasn't good, you'd likely be blocked at the Chesterton review and selection stage.
As soon as the bell rang, Luo Daoyang and He Xixi flanked Qi Zhi's desk.
Luo Daoyang genuinely wanted to go, while He Xixi wanted to go to chase after Luo Daoyang. Their reasons differed, but their goals were the same.
Looking at the two of them, Qi Zhi's lips curled into a slight smile, a gleam flashing in his eyes, "You two go prepare your applications thoroughly. If there's anything you don't understand, come ask me."
"Okay." Luo Daoyang nodded and briskly walked back to his seat.
Gou Zhinian looked at Qi Zhi on the podium, with a slightly dazed expression. She remembered that Chesterton selecting exchange students was supposed to happen in the second year of high school.
Why is it happening earlier this time?
She wondered, from what point did the trajectory of her life after rebirth begin to deviate from her past life, leading to a different set of choices and outcomes.
In this life, Luo Daoyang, who hadn't confessed to her, was excitedly preparing for the Chesterton student exchange program.
In her past life, he had given up this opportunity for her.
A wave of complex emotions washed over Gou Zhinian, but in the blink of an eye, her gaze returned to clarity.
The following month, Luo Daoyang and He Xixi's applications landed on Qi Zhi's desk.
"Teacher Qi, can you check if anything is missing?"
Luo Daoyang asked him nervously, completely forgetting how he had provoked and disdained Qi Zhi at the beginning.
"Nothing's missing. There are no problems," Qi Zhi said after carefully reviewing the applications.
When Luo Daoyang first entered the school, his grades weren't that good. After two months of intensive tutoring, he ranked in the top fifty in the recent monthly exam, which was quite decent.
In contrast, He Xixi's grades were slightly lower, barely scraping into the top 100.
But that didn't matter. Qi Zhi would do everything possible to send He Xixi away!
After collecting their applications, Qi Zhi tapped his finger on the desk. Given the unique circumstances of this world, removing the two people who had the biggest impact on Gou Zhinian's student life was the best course of action.
If Luo Daoyang became an exchange student, his interactions with Gou Zhinian would decrease, while his interactions with He Xixi would increase. Even if the world's consciousness gained sentience, it wouldn't be able to salvage the original plot.
As the Lunar New Year passed, the day of Luo Daoyang's departure for Chesterton High School arrived.
Under Qi Zhi's covert operations, He Xixi was also successfully selected.
That day, the two students prepared to go to the airport with their luggage.
"Teacher Qi, are you coming with us?" Luo Daoyang asked, surprised and pleased to see him. He didn't expect Teacher Qi to go with them.
Qi Zhi adjusted his glasses, smiled warmly, but spoke coldly and mercilessly, "No, I'm going to pick up the new students."
The exchange students from Chesterton High School were scheduled to land in Shangjing City that evening.
As their future class teacher, Qi Zhi was tasked with welcoming them and settling them into their dormitories at Shengying.
Hearing this, Luo Daoyang's face fell.
"You kid, study hard when you get there," Qi Zhi admonished as he drove.
【Ding—Detecting abnormal fluctuations in the surrounding magnetic field, possibly the world consciousness is tracking the host. Please be careful.】The system's voice suddenly sounded in his mind.
Qi Zhi's expression turned serious. As he had expected, sending Luo Daoyang and He Xixi abroad was the key.
As long as they left Shengying, the world's consciousness would be unable to interfere with the emotional development of Gou Zhinian, Luo Daoyang, and He Xixi.
"Both of you, fasten your seatbelts." Qi Zhi said in a slightly solemn tone, then drove onto the highway.
Outside the window, the sky was overcast with dense dark clouds, and a sudden rainstorm arrived as expected.
Raindrops pitter-pattered against the glass like pearls scattering on a jade plate, the sound was sharp and crisp.
"It's raining."
Luo Daoyang looked out the window and muttered, "It was sunny just a moment ago, how did it suddenly start raining?"
Qi Zhi's eyes flickered. He concentrated and could feel an invisible force approaching him.
It was the world's consciousness.
It was making its move.