I Am Tang Qiao

Tang Qiao walked to her seat with an unchanging expression. Instead of having a desk partner, she was accompanied by a solitary desk and chair cluttered with various items.

She lifted her head, meeting the collective gaze of the entire class. Her beautiful face remained devoid of emotion. "Whose belongings are these? Please remove them."

Her classmates were puzzled.

Eventually, the class monitor, Jiang Mengyu, stood up and said, "You're new here, right? This is Tang Qiao's seat. I'll arrange for a new desk and chair for you."

Tang Qiao was speechless for a moment. Then she looked at Jiang Mengyu and responded calmly, "I am Tang Qiao."

Jiang Mengyu's smile froze in place, and a hush fell over the entire class.

Outside the window, footsteps approached, signaling the arrival of their homeroom teacher, Duan Yi. His booming voice resonated throughout the corridor. "Didn't you hear the morning self-study session bell? It's time for morning reading! Other classes have started their recitations, and we're the only ones without any sound! Do you not want to pass the college entrance exam?"

As he entered the classroom, his tall, tanned, and muscular presence seemed more like a soldier than a teacher, with his hands tucked behind his back.

"What's happening here? Do you all stop the morning self-study session?" Duan Yi shouted again. When he noticed Tang Qiao and Jiang Mengyu at the back of the class, he furrowed his brow.

"Jiang Mengyu, why are you standing there?"

Duan Yi questioned and shifted his gaze toward Tang Qiao. He was momentarily puzzled. "Are you in the wrong classroom, this student?"

Jiang Mengyu began to explain, but Duan Yi interrupted, pounding his hand on a desk.

"Where's Tang Qiao? Why hasn't she shown up yet? She called and requested a day off!"

The atmosphere in the classroom grew increasingly tense, and Tang Qiao remained silent.

"I am asking you a question!" Duan Yi's patience was wearing thin.

"Mr. Duan... I'm here," Tang Qiao raised her hand as she spoke softly.

Duan Yi was still perplexed. He cast a gaze upon her. Then, his gaze suddenly widened. "Are you Tang Qiao?"

Tang Qiao couldn't help but respond, "Or who else would I be?"

This time, it was Duan Yi's turn to fall into silence.

At that moment, a boy who had regained his senses let out a whistle. "Wow, Tang Qiao, I had no idea you were this good-looking!"

The strange atmosphere in the class immediately lightened. Duan Yi also found an opportunity to ease the tension. Just as he was about to reprimand the boy who whistled, a girl from the front row loudly interjected, "Tang Qiao, did you get plastic surgery?"

Tang Qiao looked up, her gaze directed at the girl who had spoken, Hu Jiao. She had a cherubic face with neatly arranged bangs and a petite, cute demeanor, but her eyes betrayed a sense of malice.

"Hu Jiao!" Duan Yi's expression darkened. He disliked when his students maliciously speculated about their peers.

However, Hu Jiao became more animated as soon as Duan Yi spoke. "Mr. Duan, are you defending Tang Qiao? Don't you remember what she used to look like? She looks so beautiful now; she must have had plastic surgery! At such a young age, she doesn't focus on her studies and always skips classes, and now she's even getting plastic surgery. Who knows what she might do next? Mr. Duan, you should be keeping an eye on Tang Qiao!"

"Hu Jiao. First of all, thank you for the compliment about my looks," Tang Qiao suddenly interjected in a calm tone.

Hu Jiao choked on her words and retorted, "It's just plastic surgery!"

Tang Qiao continued, "Also, I only took a day off. We all know that plastic surgery requires a recovery period. Even for minor adjustments, it takes at least ten days to half a month to recover." She tilted her head playfully and added, "I just changed my hairstyle. You know the saying, 'Changing your hairstyle is like changing the whole person.' That's what it's referring to."

With Tang Qiao's response, the atmosphere in the class instantly lightened.

"That's right. Tang Qiao's appearance looks very natural. There's no sign of surgical work," someone chimed in.

"Yes, indeed! Before, Tang Qiao's hair color and style were so extreme. And her face was mostly hidden so that we couldn't see what she looked like."

Hu Jiao refused to back down. She remained obstinate. "You used to skip school so often. I bet you got plastic surgery and used your bangs to hide your face. Now that your face has healed, you're showing it off!"

Tang Qiao calmly glanced at Hu Jiao's face and retorted, "I don't know why you're bringing up my looks, but I do know… Hu Jiao, if you wanted to look like me, you'd need extensive bone reduction because your face is too wide. You'd require facial liposuction because there's too much flesh. You'd have to undergo an epicanthoplasty and double eyelid surgery because your eyes are too small. You'd need a nose augmentation because your nose is flat…"