Fake Slackers

Chapter 63: A touch and a glance

Xie Yu handed over the newly-written list of names.

In dark ink on white paper, his handwriting was sharp and elegant. The six names on the sheet were written beautifully.

Although Xie Yu got most of the questions on his homework wrong, and for his math homework he often just copied the questions and left the solution space blank, the teachers had not yet given up on him. Just his handwriting alone could soothe their tempers quite a bit.

Whenever a teacher commented that this handwriting was wasted, someone else would say, "Better than He Zhao, at least. I get mad whenever I grab his homework. That boy thinks of everything..."

The tour guide looked at Xie Yu like his saving grace.

This was despite the fact that the boy before him seemed quite aloof, and his chilly aura was even stronger than his appearance.

For some reason, however, when the boy handed over the sheet of paper and then glanced at him, he felt as if his life was in danger.

The tour guide took the paper. "...Th-thank you."

Xie Yu said, "No problem."

He Zhao thought highly of himself, and besides, he had written quite carefully this time. Surely it wasn't unreadable. He stood next to the podium, about to explain himself, when Xie Yu kicked him.

"Go back," Xie Yu said. "Don't embarrass yourself."

He Zhao said as he left, "No, I wrote it quite nicely this time around. My handwriting was neat and impressive..."

Xie Yu said, "Shut up, will you?"

All of Class 3 knew what He Zhao's handwriting looked like. At first glance it was indeed dizzying, but after over two months of looking at it they had more or less figured out how to decipher it.

They were the names of classmates, so anyone from Class 3 who glanced at the paper could tell by the shape who He Zhao had meant. But the tour guide was unfamiliar with them and had surely been confused.

Liu Cunhao covered his face with his hands. "What was I thinking, asking Zhao-ge to be the leader?"

Wan Da patted him. "It's fine. What can you do, anyway? Keep going and don't look back."

Liu Cunhao: "......"

"Students, we're going to Northlake Park, a well-known sightseeing spot in C City. I'll give you the detailed itinerary when we get on the bus." The tour guide straightened his cap then continued, saying that he hoped they would have a happy trip, and so on... a load of useless formalities. At the end, he said, "...Class 2.3's bus is at the rear gate. Let's form a line in the corridor."

Two other classes were already lined up in the corridor and Old Tang hurriedly followed to say, "Line up properly and be quiet. The other classes are still holding lessons."

The tour guide had gone on for a long time and Xie Yu had dozed off in the middle. By the time the others had all gone outside, he was still slumped on his desk, not moving.

He Zhao crooked a finger, turned, and knocked on Xie Yu's side of the desk. "Get up. We need to line up."

Old Tang also gave a long speech. After talking about conduct, he gave many reminders, as if they were an elementary school students going on a class trip. Finally, someone couldn't take it any more and called out, "Do we need to hold hands too? Let's just hold hands and go."

The student finished speaking, then Xie Yu opened his eyes. He Zhao had already reached out to him.

There was a proper chair there, but He Zhao had chosen to sit on the desk instead, his jacket open with its zipper undone. He smiled and said, "Little friend, hold my hand?"