Evil Intention
Xie Ran reached the first floor, looked down and smiled at the children. “What’s wrong?”
However, nobody paid him any attention. The children were looking at another group of smaller children struggling to carry luggage down the stairs. Some were hauling large suitcases, some were carrying backpacks, and still some others had both backpacks and suitcases.
A boy was helping a girl with her belongings; two girls were tackling a large box down the stairs. Their movements were slow and they were panting, too exhausted to speak.
From the looks of it, these children had already brought their luggage up the stairs and were now taking them down. The corridor was rife with the stench of sweat and sounds of gasping, that stunned the group of older children.
“Big Brother Xie Ran, are we also bringing our things up the stairs?” a child asked. He was visibly terrified at the sight.
“You’re so funny.” Xie Ran laughed as he looked at them from the top of the stairs. “Just leave it at the side.” His smile showing his white teeth and it lacked every bit of sincerity.
The children were standing with vacant faces when a girl walked past Lin Zhao Xi. She grabbed her arm and asked, “Fellow Student, what were you guys doing upstairs?”
The girl pointed to a wall on the left of the stairs then she shook her head dejectedly. At this moment, a small commotion erupted to the left of the group.
Lin Zhao Xi stood on her tiptoes and spotted a few children near the wall, they looked shaken and hapless.
Plastered on the wall was a notice — Jin Bei Summer Camp Entrance Exam Seating Arrangement.
So this is the actual test? Lin Zhao Xi thought.
“Big Brother, you led us up the stairs … do we have to participate in this exam?” Zhang Liang asked.
Although Zhang Liang was annoying, he still asked meaningful questions, and the group of students instantly quieted.
“Call me teacher!” said Xie Ran
“Teacher.” Zhang Liang complied.
“Of course, I’m not bringing you all upstairs for nothing.”
“The exam room is in Classroom 702?” a student yelled out in horror as he examined the paper.1
“Yeah, it’s a bit of a climb,” said Xie Ran as he looked up the stairs.
A baffled Lu Zhi Zhao raised his hand and said2!”
“It’s all Dad’s fault!”
There were complaints from children all around, however, Lin Zhao Xi remained silent, and simply held her bags. The morale was abnormally low, and the children were dejected like wilted grass. Faced with such a situation, she decided to give it one last shot. “But Teacher, even if you want to test our physical strength, our will power and our ability to work under pressure, it’s meaningless to carry our suitcases up the stairs—”
Xie Ran interrupted her, “Go up or go home, you guys have two choices, these are the rules.”
Lin Zhao Xi was stunned, she didn’t know what to say. However, since she was an adult living in a child’s body, she still understood that Xie Ran was right. Every place has its own rules, this is how the real world works. The rules wouldn’t easily change just because someone started complaining.
While she lowered her head the kids all started to look at the tall building yonder in unison. The sun was blazing hot, in contrast to earlier when it was still warm.
This was the first official lesson taught to them in the summer camp.
Nobody uttered a word during this time. The children were still at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for one of them to decide whether to stay or leave.
Suddenly, Xie Ran turned around and started trotting up the stairs, leaving the lot behind. His bright red flag fluttered with every step he took.
Zhang Liang was the first one to move; he carried his luggage to the front of the group and started walking up the stairs. The wheels of his suitcase made a hard thud when they hit the tiled floor.
Many others took his example and started to climb the stairs, carrying backpacks and suitcases. There were sounds of zippers closing and frantic footsteps. Soon the children competed to see who would reach the top first. They all knew that the longer they took climbing, the less time they would have for their test.
This is unfair, this is too unfair.
Lin Zhao Xi took a deep breath. A much smaller girl with a giant suitcase was standing next to her. “Let’s go together,” she said to the girl.
“Hold on.”
When everyone was in a state of chaos, a clear voice sounded from behind her. She turned around and saw a boy wearing a simple Nike backpack.
Pei Zhi …
***
Evil Intention
Xie Ran reached the first floor, looked down and smiled at the children. “What’s wrong?”
However, nobody paid him any attention. The children were looking at another group of smaller children struggling to carry luggage down the stairs. Some were hauling large suitcases, some were carrying backpacks, and still some others had both backpacks and suitcases.
A boy was helping a girl with her belongings; two girls were tackling a large box down the stairs. Their movements were slow and they were panting, too exhausted to speak.
From the looks of it, these children had already brought their luggage up the stairs and were now taking them down. The corridor was rife with the stench of sweat and sounds of gasping, that stunned the group of older children.
“Big Brother Xie Ran, are we also bringing our things up the stairs?” a child asked. He was visibly terrified at the sight.
“You’re so funny.” Xie Ran laughed as he looked at them from the top of the stairs. “Just leave it at the side.” His smile showing his white teeth and it lacked every bit of sincerity.
The children were standing with vacant faces when a girl walked past Lin Zhao Xi. She grabbed her arm and asked, “Fellow Student, what were you guys doing upstairs?”
The girl pointed to a wall on the left of the stairs then she shook her head dejectedly. At this moment, a small commotion erupted to the left of the group.
Lin Zhao Xi stood on her tiptoes and spotted a few children near the wall, they looked shaken and hapless.
Plastered on the wall was a notice — Jin Bei Summer Camp Entrance Exam Seating Arrangement.
So this is the actual test? Lin Zhao Xi thought.
“Big Brother, you led us up the stairs … do we have to participate in this exam?” Zhang Liang asked.
Although Zhang Liang was annoying, he still asked meaningful questions, and the group of students instantly quieted.
“Call me teacher!” said Xie Ran
“Teacher.” Zhang Liang complied.
“Of course, I’m not bringing you all upstairs for nothing.”
“The exam room is in Classroom 702?” a student yelled out in horror as he examined the paper.1
“Yeah, it’s a bit of a climb,” said Xie Ran as he looked up the stairs.
A baffled Lu Zhi Zhao raised his hand and said2!”
“It’s all Dad’s fault!”
There were complaints from children all around, however, Lin Zhao Xi remained silent, and simply held her bags. The morale was abnormally low, and the children were dejected like wilted grass. Faced with such a situation, she decided to give it one last shot. “But Teacher, even if you want to test our physical strength, our will power and our ability to work under pressure, it’s meaningless to carry our suitcases up the stairs—”
Xie Ran interrupted her, “Go up or go home, you guys have two choices, these are the rules.”
Lin Zhao Xi was stunned, she didn’t know what to say. However, since she was an adult living in a child’s body, she still understood that Xie Ran was right. Every place has its own rules, this is how the real world works. The rules wouldn’t easily change just because someone started complaining.
While she lowered her head the kids all started to look at the tall building yonder in unison. The sun was blazing hot, in contrast to earlier when it was still warm.
This was the first official lesson taught to them in the summer camp.
Nobody uttered a word during this time. The children were still at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for one of them to decide whether to stay or leave.
Suddenly, Xie Ran turned around and started trotting up the stairs, leaving the lot behind. His bright red flag fluttered with every step he took.
Zhang Liang was the first one to move; he carried his luggage to the front of the group and started walking up the stairs. The wheels of his suitcase made a hard thud when they hit the tiled floor.
Many others took his example and started to climb the stairs, carrying backpacks and suitcases. There were sounds of zippers closing and frantic footsteps. Soon the children competed to see who would reach the top first. They all knew that the longer they took climbing, the less time they would have for their test.
This is unfair, this is too unfair.
Lin Zhao Xi took a deep breath. A much smaller girl with a giant suitcase was standing next to her. “Let’s go together,” she said to the girl.
“Hold on.”
When everyone was in a state of chaos, a clear voice sounded from behind her. She turned around and saw a boy wearing a simple Nike backpack.
Pei Zhi …
***
