Chapter 255: Why don't you smile in the Second Watch

"Can we both be managers?" Shuishui asked with a smile.

"Sure." Zheng Rong nodded. "Do you mean to say that you're willing to be a manager too?"

"En, if you don't mind, I can do it. But I definitely can't do it alone because I have other things to do." She was also afraid that she would be unable to attend to her other concerns. She assured them that she could do a good job as a manager only while she is in school.

He Xiaoying nodded. "Actually, we'd do better if we work together."

Shuishui and Xiaoying then filled out the application form and were officially welcomed into the club.

He Xiaoying felt that she and Shuishui were getting closer. She felt that Qian Shuishui was not a pretentious girl. She felt that Shuishui had a warm and caring personality. Usually, female friends who were on good terms with each other would hold each other's arms. She unconsciously held on to Shuishui's arms, and Shuishui simply let her because Mu Qing used to hold on to her as well. It was one of Mu Qing's habits. In addition to that, Shuishui was taller than other girls.

Shuishui read the profiles of the basketball club members. "There are only eight people in your basketball club. Is that typical or do you need more members?"

Zheng Rong answered, "It's an average count because the club's selection process is quite strict. We had a few level two members before, and they became quite famous." Zheng Rong also wanted to reach level two so he could increase his chances of qualifying for a college scholarship. However, it was a difficult status to acquire.

He Xiaoying browsed through the the names on the list and thought that the club had an impressive roster of members.

"We don't have anything to do today, right? Let's go back first. The date for the member screening activities are stated here. We can just come when the time comes, right?" Shuishui asked calmly. She was neither enthusiastic nor disdainful. She simply wanted to organize her activities.

Shuishui had enough experience with extra-curricular activities. Joining a club was not her priority at that moment, but she simply agreed to it as long as it didn't compromise her daily schedule.

Zheng Rong looked at them and said, "Yes, our club activities will start in a few days. You can just come tomorrow."

As soon as Shuishui and He Xiaoying left, the others flocked around Zheng Rong. They patted his back and put their hands on his shoulders. "Is that girl from your class? I've never seen her before," one of them said.

"She's a transfer student and just happened to be in our class. She seems to be quite gentle and quiet. At first, she had no intentions of joining any club, but I somehow pleaded to get her to join the club meeting." Zheng Rong laughed loudly as he recalled it. He picked up the basketball and shot a free throw.

Clang!

"Good shot!" one of his friends yelled.

Meanwhile, He Xiaoying was talking to Shuishui about the benefits of participating in club activities. Shuishui listened patiently. Shuishui was always considerate towards everyone. The more He Xiaoying talked, the more enthusiastic she became. She felt like she had found a friend.

"By the way, Shuishui, which school did you go to before?" He Xiaoying suddenly asked.

Shuishui smiled and said, "I was in City A before. I transferred to Beijing only recently because of urgent family matters."

"City A? I haven't heard of any top scorer from there, but I heard that University A is very impressive. However, you came to our high school. Although our high school isn't very impressive, our curriculum is similar to other high schools in Beijing. I believe your previous school is quite similar to other foreign schools. If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me. I will definitely help you if I can." He Xiaoying felt that she and Qian Shuishui would be good friends. Although she had friends in first year, they were in the same class and didn't hang out together as often. Her friends from the dormitory were also from different classes.

Xiaoying had seven other roommates back in the dormitory. However, she didn't fit in with them, and she didn't want to impose as well. She still had two more years to go on campus, so she had to try her best to get along well with them.

After lunch break, the afternoon classes continued. The teachers gave quizzes in order to understand their students' level of comprehension.

The science quiz consisted of five multiple-choice questions, one short question, and two long questions. The students were given minutes to finish the quiz.

Actually, the time constraint made the quiz more difficult. The teacher's goal was to see which students had the potential to perform excellently in the classes. The students would be assessed on whether they finished the quiz and on their overall score.

On that day, the first quiz was in the science subject, and the students were not very excited about it. They basically had two math classes a day. After the quiz, teachers immediately started with new lessons. They taught in a fast pace.

Finally, the afternoon classes ended. The students rushed to the cafeteria.

He Xiaoying and Shuishui walked to the cafeteria together. Xiaoying was worried. She said, "What should I do? I think I did pretty well in chemistry. I found the math quiz very difficult. I don't know if it's because I've been on vacation for too long. I just wasn't familiar with the equations."

"The teacher said that they only want to assess our comprehension level. It will be okay. We have to focus on the monthly exam, the midterms, and the final exams at the end of the semester." Shuishui clearly felt that there was not much of a difference between Beijing High School and her previous school. She found that the curriculum in the capital was quite more advanced.

Xiaoying was still not convinced. "Yeah, but I didn't have time to answer the second-to-the-last question. If I had more time, I could have solved it." She was very conflicted. She was not used to being unable to finish tests and quizzes. She found the time constraint too challenging.

Shuishui continued to comfort her. "All right. Let's go eat. The teacher said that we can review our answers in the evening's self-study sessions. You will then see what mistakes you made. Just don't make the same mistakes again in the future."

"En, that's all we can do now. I'm just afraid of seeing the results," Xiaoying said. She wanted to eat to calm herself down.

On that day, they had answered quizzes in math, physics, and chemistry. The students only wanted to get a grade above C. Of course, Shuishui aimed for a higher score.

He Xiaoying did not hear Shuishui talk about the test, so she did not ask much. She worried that Shuishui might not have done well in the test, and it would seem like she was mocking her. She kept quiet the rest of the day and stopped talking about the quizzes. They went to the cafeteria, ordered some food, and sat down to eat. After eating, He Xiaoying suggested that they go for a walk on the field. Shuishui agreed, so they went together.

As they walked on the field, He Xiaoying met someone she knew. She naturally greeted her friend. "Xiao Mei, are you going back to class?" she said.

"Yes, I'm going back to finish my homework now so I won't have to bring it home tonight." Xiao Mei looked at Shuishui. This beauty couldn't be intentionally spending time or hanging out with He Xiaoying, right? Walking with Xiaoying really made her stand out.

However, it had nothing to do with her, so she simply said, "I'm leaving. Let's chat later."

When Xiao Mei left, He Xiaoying told Shuishui about her. "She is a friend of mine from before. She's studying arts now. When we reached second year, we didn't really talk much anymore. She just says hi when she sees me."

"Actually, sometimes you have to take the initiative and not wait for others to say hello first," Shuishui said. She felt that it was normal to hesitate making the first move, but one also had to do so to save the friendship.

He Xiaoying hurriedly shook her head. "You don't know. On the day I came to school to register, I went to look for her so I could invite her to have lunch with me. She directly refused, and I later saw her and her classmate go to the cafeteria. She simply didn't want to be seen with me."

"You still have two years left in high school. I don't think they're blind. They will clearly see what kind of person you are, and I'm sure there are people who will be willing to make friends with you," Shuishui said. She felt that He Xiaoying had a bit of an inferiority complex. "Actually, I think you have a lively personality. I would be very happy to be friends with you," Shuishui said.

He Xiaoying laughed and said, "Why are you saying that? It's so sentimental." He Xiaoying lowered her head and pursed her lips into a smile.

After walking around the playground for a while, they decided to go back to do their homework. There was not much homework to do on the first day, but they felt that if they went back early, they might hear of the quiz results ahead of everyone. Students liked to compare their scores with everyone else's.

They returned to the classroom. That night, they were scheduled to do self-study session for mathematics. Back in the faculty room, the mathematics teachers were talking about the quiz results. They were eager to find out if there were any outstanding students. Soon, they started to talk about the new student named Qian Shuishui, who basically perfected the quiz. They noted how beautiful her handwriting was and her efficient way of solving the equations. Her solutions were neat and organized. Anyone would think she had already read the answers.

When all the students had arrived, the teacher asked the chemistry, physics, and biology class representatives to distribute the results of the quizzes.

When the class representative handed Shuishui her paper, he was stunned. He had seen so many scores, and the the highest score he had seen so far was 70. Suddenly, on this new girl's paper was written a 100 mark. He was surprised. He looked at Shuishui and thought she was a very beautiful girl.

However, he didn't say anything. He simply handed Shuishui her paper and returned to his seat.

The mathematics teacher personally handed out the other math results. "To those whose names I will announce, please come forward and get your paper."

"Qian Shuishui." The teacher only wanted to know who Qian Shuishui was.

Qian Shuishui stood up and walked up to get her papers. Her expression was still cold and indifferent.

The mathematics teacher looked at Shuishui. She was clearly a beautiful girl. He said, "Not bad. Continue to work hard. I am eager to see you will do in the monthly exam."

"Thank you, Teacher." Shuishui went back to her seat without even looking at her scores. The teacher continued to distribute the other papers.

Only a few students in the class were praised by the teacher. He Xiaoying reached out and touched Shuishui. "Shuishui, let me see your test paper."

She felt a little uncomfortable that their teacher didn't praise her. She vowed to work harder next time. She was quite envious when Shuishui was praised by the teacher, but she decided not to think too much about it.

Her eyes widened as she opened Shuishui's test paper. She saw Shuishui's score in bright red ink. 'F*ck me. One hundred points?' she thought. She looked at the back and saw that Shuishui had answered all the parts of the test. She had received only 60 points, and she felt embarrassed. Her face was slightly red. "Shuishui, you're so good," she said.

"I'm pretty good at this type of test," she answered casually. She couldn't tell whether she had actually done well or not.

He Xiaoying felt pathetic. "I only got the highest score in chemistry. I did terribly in the other quizzes."

A male student beside her also nodded. "My score isn't good either. The quizzes were a little difficult."

Shuishui didn't answer because she didn't know what to say either. Not many people found out that Shuishui had perfected the quizzes. However, after that class, the teacher became more attentive towards Shuishui. Many people also noticed that the teacher would often call Shuishui during recitations.

Shuishui answered all the basic questions fluently.

After a few days, the form teacher wanted to talk to Shuishui. "Qian Shuishui, come outside for a moment."

Shuishui walked out as the form teacher waited for her. She had a gentle look on her face. She said, "Shuishui, based on the evaluation of your performance by the teachers in each subject, I would like to propose something to you. Are you willing to go to the key class?"

Shuishui felt conflicted. She knew it was a rare opportunity, but she did not want to transfer to another class. The teacher recognized Shuishui's potential and wanted to transfer her. It would do her good to be surrounded by students who performed as well as her. The teachers of the key class also really wanted to take Shuishui in.

Shuishui shook her head. She did not want to attend remedial classes that early. She was more inclined to studying on her own. "Teacher, can I choose not to go? I am already comfortable with the students in the class. If I transfer to the key class, I would have to get to know the students in the class again. It would take time, and I think we have pretty good teachers."

This sentence won the heart of the class teacher. "You child, as long as you work hard, it will be the same no matter which class you're in. The only difference is that the lessons in the key class are more intensive."

"Thank you, Teacher. I still want to stay in Class 11. I like the teachers and students in this class. It's time for class, I'll go back first." Shuishui bowed slightly to the class teacher and quickly returned to the classroom. She decided she would not deliberately try to lie-low on her performance as a student. She simply wanted to stay in the class because she felt like she had already made a few friends there.

It had already been settled, but the key class teachers were a little unhappy. They wanted to see how Shuishui would do in the monthly exam. They worried that she would not do well in the monthly exam.

There were fewer girls in Shuishui's class, so they all just hung out together. Occasionally, they would go out to eat together.

Soon, it was the second week of classes. Shuishui had received a notice. As there were quite a number of participants, the school planned to send the participating students on the school bus. He Xiaoying and another boy from their class participated, and the three of them walked together. He Xiaoying soon became talkative. "I'm so nervous. But the teacher said that we don't need to win or earn a place. This is a good learning experience for us."

"Yes, as long as you work hard." Shuishui nodded. She started to sound like her former teacher back when she was still a first-year student. It was Wednesday. On Friday, they were joining the English competition.

"Shuishui, I often wonder why you are so quiet. I also noticed that you don't really smile a lot. You always seem indifferent." He Xiaoying looked at Shuishui and smiled. She found Shuishui to be very well-behaved.

Shuishui looked at He Xiaoying and raised her eyebrows. "Is that so? Maybe it's just my character."

She didn't know why, but ever since her father's accident, she found it hard to laugh out loud. Her father liked to watch her win awards, so she decided that she would work harder to participate in competitions to make her father happy and not just for the prize money.

Shuishui remembered how she would visit her father two or three times a week to tell him about what had happened in school and what she planned to do in the future.

Qin Huai, one of the boys in class, asked, "Qian Shuishui, I think you have a really good character. Uh, do you have a boyfriend?"

Shuishui smiled. "Yes."

Qin Huai looked at Shuishui's appearance. "You're not lying to me, are you?" It didn't seem like she had a boyfriend, and he hadn't really seen her fiddling with her phone or making calls.

He had seen other couples eat together and walk around the playground together, while he had only seen Shuishui spending time with He Xiaoying.

Shuishui said, "I really have a boyfriend, and we've been dating for a while. There's no reason for me to lie about it. I'm not single."

She spread her hands. "If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do."

He Xiaoying was annoyed with Qin Huai. She said, "Why are you asking so many questions? Shuishui is a beautiful person to begin with. Do you have a problem with her having a boyfriend?"