Atlas Studios

  Atlas Studios

  They hadn’t known each other for a long time, but it was long enough.

  Cheng Juan knew that if Qin Ran wasn’t at he wits’ end because of the urgency, she wouldn’t have contacted him.

  He hadn’t even asked her for her reasons and had immediately used all his network and resources to get He Chen in. He only found out what the medicine was when he spoke with the doctor-in-charge.

  He’d taken a good look at the test tube and recognized the logo.

  Cheng Mu, who’d thought that He Chen was just a friend who helped her get something on the way, was speechless.

  “Any medicine developed by First Research Institute wouldn’t come cheap. Even a jab costs millions of yuan.” Cheng Juan gave a light cough before slowly explaining.

  He’d been in touch with that institute before and knew the market rate.

  Cheng Mu was completely stunned. He didn’t know what to think about He Chen, who’d got such an expensive medicine on hand but was dressed so ordinarily.

  “Then how did she get hold of it?” Cheng Mu looked in the direction where Qin Ran had now disappeared from and started the car again.

  Cheng Juan quietly said, “I don’t know.”


  The fact that He Chen was a young woman who dared to report first-hand, on-site news, and was free to move about as she wished already proved that she wasn’t an ordinary reporter.

  Qin Ran knew Qin Ran, Mayor Feng, and some others.

  But it was only He Chen’s identity that was odd. Cheng Juan couldn’t help but knit his brows together as he thought about how they might know each other.

  “According to the reporter, she and Miss Qin are online friends.” Cheng Mu stopped the car in front of the school doctor’s office. “Miss Qin had helped her before. I think Miss Qin’s technical skills are rather good. Maybe she’d helped her out in that before, so she was willing to make the trip to Yun Cheng this time.”


  There was logic and there was evidence to it, rather convincing……

  Cheng Mu himself was convinced.

  Because he never would’ve thought that he’d just met two of 129 Club’s core members.

  Cheng Juan glanced at Cheng Mu and paused, remaining silent.

  **

  Lu Zhaoying had been on shift in the school doctor’s office the whole time. But he’d given Cheng Mu a call at one point, so he knew roughly what was going on.

  Now that there were no patients, he took his laptop out and checked on some data. Seeing that both of them were back, he excitedly said, “Master Juan, do you know what I’m looking at now?”


  Cheng Juan poured himself a glass of water and leaned against the table, not responding.

  Lu Zhaoying realized that he wasn’t as enthusiastic about it but went on anyway. “129 Club is looking for new members soon. They’re probably going to recruit one this time.”


  Cheng Juan was still thinking about Qin Ran’s incident and wasn’t paying much attention to Lu Zhaoying initially.

  But his words caught his attention. He narrowed his eyes. “Recruiting?”


  “Yup. I wonder who it’ll be this time.” Lu Zhaoying turned the screen to face them. “It’s just one person. I bet those in the capital are going mad for that spot.”


  The 129 web page was a gloomy black.

  129 Club recruited members every year, but only the most ordinary class ones.

  But even so, everyone was dying to get selected.

  “Then it surely is my goddess!” Cheng Mu couldn’t suppress his excitement. “If she takes part this year, 129 would surely pick her!”


  Lu Zhaoying thought about it seriously and turned to Cheng Mu. “If it’s her, that’s possible.”


  “It must be!” Cheng Mu couldn’t control his emotions. “The people of 129 are way too mysterious, they never ever show their faces. If my goddess becomes a member there, I might just be the first to find out! Maybe I’d even be able to get Lone Wolf’s autograph! Or be invited to some internal event!”


  “Just look at you.” Cheng Mu glanced at Cheng Mu and said casually. He then turned away and went to analyze his anatomy model.

  **

  Meanwhile, Qin Ran was back in her bedroom.

  She removed her jacket and placed it on the bed, then grabbed a clean set of clothes to shower.

  She noticed that there was one more potted plant among the potted plants by her bedside.

  This one was a red flower that brought about a faint fragrance.

  Qin Ran paused and stood by her bedside, looking at that flower. She stroked the petals and smiled, before taking her towel and going to the bathroom.

  It was past four in the afternoon when Qin Ran was done showering. She decided to go to class right away.

  She’d planned to go to the class straight after getting off the car, but Cheng Juan suggested that she showered and change up first.

  She wasn’t too lucky.

  When she reached her classroom, they had not ended the second-last class of the day.

  And it happened to be Li Airong’s English class.

  Qin Ran wasn’t in her uniform. She was wearing a t-shirt on the inside and a checkered flannel on the outside. She’d just showered, so she left the flannel unbuttoned. Her hair was also rather messy as she hadn’t had the time to comb it.

  She stood at the door and raised her hand. “Reporting.”


  Li Airong was rather patronizing when she taught in the Ninth Class.

  The students weren’t quite attentive, and upon hearing another voice, they turned towards the door.

  “Qin Ran is back,” someone said in surprise.

  Some discussions began going about in the class.

  Their voices drowned out Li Airong’s.

  Li Airong slammed a book onto the table.

  She had always been especially annoyed at Qin Ran. Qin Yu, the ace of her class, had deferred her school term because of Qin Ran.

  As such, Li Airong was biased against Qin Ran. Seeing that it was her at the door, Li Airong lost her cool. “Qin Ran! You again! Stand outside and don’t come in!”


  Qin Ran was a little stunned.

  She had not managed to let Gao Yang know when she left school. She only gave him a call when He Chen arrived.

  But she did not bother saying more to Li Airong. She simply turned away with her hands in her pocket. She wasn’t really intending to attend her lesson anyway.

  “Teacher.” Qiao Sheng raised his hand from the last row of the classroom. “Qin Ran applied for leave before she left. She didn’t break any rules or have any disciplinary issues, it isn’t nice to leave her standing outside like that.”


  The moment he said that the other guys began chiming in.

  Qin Ran was pretty popular in her class.

  The others backed Qiao Sheng up. “That’s right, Teacher. Qin Ran didn’t do anything wrong. Let her in, it’s really cold and windy outside.”


  The students of the Ninth Class were mostly those whom other teachers didn’t want or didn’t like. The teachers simply pushed them all to Gao Yang. Besides Xu Yaoguang, there wasn’t another good student in the class.

  Li Airong was extremely upset at the class. Seeing that they were going against her, she said sarcastically, “Why, do all of you want to stand outside with her? Anyway, it wouldn’t make a difference whether you’re in class for the lesson.”


  The voices quietened.

  Screech—


  Qiao Sheng dragged his chair and walked towards the door.

  He did not bring his English textbook or papers and only took his cell phone with him.

  With him taking the lead, a few other students in the back row, who were unhappy with Li Airong, got up as well and headed for the door.

  Anyway, those in the back row were the rather playful ones.

  Li Airong glared at them. “Everyone who gets out of my class today, stay out of my lessons for the rest of the year.”


  Initially, the other students weren’t thinking of acting on it. But after hearing her last statement……

  Lin Siran glanced at Li Airong and put her book down. She got up and said, “Reporting, I want to go out too!”


  With that, she walked out the door.

  “Reporting—”


  “Reporting—”


  One after another.

  It was cloudy and rainy outside. Qin Ran was sitting in the hallway, not bothering much about what had happened.

  Then, she saw her classmates coming out one by one.

  She couldn’t help but close her eyes for a bit and sigh.

  They must have lost their minds.

  **

  It wouldn’t be a big deal if it was just Qiao Sheng, Qin Ran, and a few others. But a good half of the class was in the hallway now. Things weren’t so simple anymore.

  Li Airong was fuming. “Fine, since your class is so united and so smart, I won’t be able to teach you either. I think you people don’t need me!”


  She tossed her books aside and went to the staff room to look for Gao Yang.

  It was a huge ruckus over at the Ninth Class, and a few other teachers had come out to take a look.

  Gao Yang arrived very quickly. He pushed his glasses against his nose bridge and said seriously, “Ms. Li, talk things out calmly. Don’t pit yourself against these students. They’re all already in Year Three, your doing would affect their examinations and their future.

  “Moreover, Qin Ran’s grandma was in an emergency situation. She’d already notified me in the afternoon. It isn’t her fault.”


  Li Airong was a very ambitious person, and she looked down on most of the Ninth Class students. “Future? What kind of future can your class have?”


  Her gaze landed on Qin Ran as she scoffed. “Mr. Gao, won’t you just look at your class? What future?”


  “Ms. Li, please don’t be rash.” Li Airong was the best English teacher in First Middle School. Upon hearing that, a few teachers tried to advise her.

  Li Airong did not like to be told what to do. She immediately got the director here.

  She did not want to continue taking Ninth Class.

  In fact, she was already upset when Principal Xu got her to take Qin Ran in. But it was only after Gao Yang took her into his class did she remember that she taught his class English.

  **

  The director came quickly.

  Li Airong was one of the important teachers in school. The director was caught in a fix of whether to let her change classes.

  There were few English teachers in First Middle School and even fewer for Year Three students.

  There were 19 classes in Year Three and only 10 teachers to go around.

  The director looked at Mr. Li, who was a bespectacled man.

  Qin Ran was more well known in the school than Xu Yaoguang. This Mr. Li had heard of Li Airong’s teaching skills as well.

  If Li Airong couldn’t help the class, he didn’t think he could either.

  He wasn’t one of the best teachers, but he didn’t want to end up becoming the worst after seeing their students’ results.

  If this was the First Class, other teachers would be fighting for them too.

  “Mr. Gao, I’m sorry. I already have two classes on hand now.” Mr. Li looked at Gao Yang apologetically.

  Gao Yang looked for a few more English teachers, but none of them agreed to it.

  Eventually, only Ms. Chen agreed.

  Ms. Chen was even younger than Li Airong. She was only 28.

  The other teachers did not express much, but they thought of Ms. Chen as a young idealist who didn’t know the real world yet.

  Li Airong was very relieved to be rid of the Ninth Class.

  But seeing Qin Ran’s expression at the last moment, she felt a little unsettled, as if she’d missed something out.

  However, she brushed that thought off quickly.

  She’d seen Qin Ran’s file very clearly. She’d taken a year off school, and there couldn’t have been much she remembered.

  Moreover, before that one year of leave, her results were already terrible.

  **

  Ninth Class.

  Qin Ran was still quiet.

  Qiao Sheng made a few jokes, but Qin Ran was expressionless as usual. He turned away and walked back to his seat instead.

  The next period was self-revision. Everyone just buried their heads in the books to study.

  Not a single person said anything.

  Qin Ran was usually sleeping with her earphones on or reading a novel.

  But this time, it was all quiet during the lesson. Lin Siran turned around to Qin Ran. “Ran Ran, you……”


  Qin Ran turned around and smiled lazily, as usual. “I’m studying.”


  Lin Siran was confused.

  Qin Ran leaned back and looked at the script in her hands. Without looking up, she said, “I’ve decided to make use of this examination…… to shove it in Li Airong’s face.”