C1 Xia Liang

Summer had crept in without a sound. The sun dominated the sky, casting flames upon the earth, scorching leaves to the point of smoking, and making the roads shimmer with heat.

At 11 AM, inside a classroom at Inont's No. 1 Experimental High School, the fourth period was underway.

Cicadas screeched outside the window while the ceiling fan spun lethargically overhead. The students, drenched in sweat, were nevertheless striving to focus on the lesson.

The male teacher at the front was no more comfortable, his white shirt soaked and clinging to his back. His large thermos, once filled with chrysanthemum and goji berry tea, now sat empty on the desk.

"The next problem is guaranteed to be on this year's college entrance exam!"

Standing at 1.76 meters, with a stern face and a slightly gaunt frame, the teacher tapped the blackboard, highlighting the problem with his bony fingers.

"It wasn't on the test for the past two years, but this year, it's a certainty..."

"Huff... Puff..."

A sudden, resonant snore cut through his speech.

The teacher's face stiffened momentarily as he looked up to find a male student sprawled across a cluttered desk in the classroom's corner, his face buried in an open book, deep in slumber.

Perhaps because of his height, the student's breathing was labored in this position, hence the snoring.

This was no nod-off of a dozing "pecking chicken"; it was a deliberate dive into desk-top slumber.

And he wasn't just sleeping; he was snoring loudly.

"Pfft..."

Several students who caught the sound turned to look, barely containing their giggles behind their hands.

The well-maintained classroom order and the solemnity of the teaching atmosphere evaporated in an instant.

The teacher, of course, recognized the student who lay there.

"Snap!"

The chalk in his hand involuntarily snapped in two, veins on his forehead rising like earthworms as he bellowed, "Xia Liang! Stand up!"

Xia Liang, the student in question, was jolted awake by the sound of his name. His body jerked as he was abruptly pulled from his dreams.

Blinking away confusion, he was met with the sight of an incensed teacher and a classroom full of peers, who were turning back to smirk and exchange glances.

"What's going on?"

Xia Liang, groggy from just waking up, looked around at everyone, his face a picture of bewilderment.

"Didn't I tell you to stand up? What, are you deaf?" The male teacher's irritation flared at the sight of Xia Liang's sleepy demeanor.

With the college entrance exams looming, he was tirelessly teaching through the sweltering summer heat, while the other students were diligently cramming. But there was Xia Liang, snoozing away as if he didn't have a care in the world.

Did he think the classroom was his personal pigsty?

"Oh!"

Xia Liang finally caught on and sluggishly rose to his feet.

As he stood, the majority of the girls who glanced back found their hearts skipping a beat.

In stark contrast to the other boys, who were plagued with acne from late-night study sessions, Xia Liang, the new transfer student, was remarkably handsome.

Standing nearly six feet tall with a well-proportioned build, Xia Liang's skin was smooth and clear, thanks to his regular sleep schedule. He might not have been celebrity material, but next to the other boys in class, he stood out like a breath of fresh air.

However, Xia Liang had one glaring flaw. Having transferred to the school less than a month ago, he was often silent and brooding, his eyes as lifeless as a fish's, giving off the impression that the world owed him something. This demeanor had kept the exam-focused girls from paying him much attention.

But now, his face clouded with post-sleep confusion and no trace of his usual scowl, Xia Liang exuded an unexpected charm that caught many girls off guard.

Too bad for Xia Liang, the male teacher wasn't charmed. Seeing his stupefied expression only fueled his anger. "The college entrance exams are just days away. Everyone else is reviewing with fervor, striving for success. And you, Xia Liang? You're fast asleep all day. What's the matter? Were you out stealing chickens last night, or perhaps receiving nocturnal lessons from the Duke of Zhou in your dreams?"

Typically, the teacher would simply wake a dozing student and move on, but Xia Liang was the exception. Something about him just rubbed the teacher the wrong way.

Xia Liang was known as a "legacy admission." In the crucial weeks when only a little over 70 days remained until the college entrance exams, he had transferred to this school and, through the principal's intervention, landed in the key class taught by the male teacher.

Xia Liang's academic performance was abysmal, ranking last in the entire school on the most recent mock exam with a score barely breaking a hundred.

The male teacher, who also served as the homeroom instructor, had spent years teaching top-tier classes and proudly boasted that not a single student had ever fallen below the university admission threshold.

Now, his unblemished record was on the brink of collapse. The homeroom teacher had been restless for days, his anxiety manifesting in a mouthful of canker sores.

So, when he caught Xia Liang snoring away and disrupting the classroom atmosphere, he couldn't resist hurling a few sarcastic remarks his way.

"..."

Xia Liang hung his head low, fixating on the geography book left open from the previous class, and remained silent. He knew he was in the wrong for sleeping during the lesson.

The homeroom teacher, receiving no response, felt his frustration mount. His tone grew harsher as he snapped, "Look at yourself. Do you seriously think you have what it takes to get into college?"

Xia Liang's brow furrowed. What was this all about?

He looked up at the irate homeroom teacher with a puzzled expression. "University? Is she pretty? I don't even know her. Why would I be so eager to get on her good side?"

The classroom erupted with laughter. Several boys couldn't contain themselves, ducking under their desks to chuckle, while a number of girls turned red, trying to stifle their giggles.

The homeroom teacher's face darkened as the classroom descended into a scene straight out of a comedy sketch show.

"Xia Liang, enough with the wordplay. You're acting like a fool, craving attention. Are you living up to your father's expectations?" he chided.

"What did you say?"

Xia Liang, who had just cracked a rare smile at his classmates' amusement, suddenly turned livid at the homeroom teacher's words, glaring at him with intense fury.

"Are you deaf? I'm saying you lack ambition, you don't study properly, and you disrupt the class with your crude jokes. Are you behaving in a way that honors your father's hopes for you? Are you living up to what everyone expects of you?" The homeroom teacher pointed accusingly at Xia Liang's nose as he spoke.

"I don't have a father, and I certainly don't need to concern myself with what others expect or think of me," Xia Liang said, turning away with an icy expression.

"You don't have a father? What, did you spring from a crack in the rocks?" The homeroom teacher chuckled, amused by the notion.

Yet, the laughter didn't catch on. The other students, sensing something amiss in the air, exchanged glances filled with confusion and curiosity rather than mirth.

Xia Liang's arrival in the class had been met with minimal fanfare from the homeroom teacher. Everyone had assumed they were gaining another academic powerhouse, only to discover later that he was the opposite—a slacker.

It was common knowledge that for a slacker to make it into this class, connections must have been at play. But now, a hint of intrigue seemed to be unraveling.

Who, indeed, was Xia Liang's father?