Volume 2 Chapter 20: If Lin Lin Is Joining, Then I’m Joining Too!
“Hm?”
All the students in the class turned their heads at the same time, looking confused at Lin Lin, who had raised her hand.
Especially the art teacher. He thought for a long time but still could not remember who this quiet student was. In the end, he could only push his glasses and nod awkwardly.
“Ah…”
Lin Lin looked around and saw everyone staring at her. She suddenly felt a little shy.
“Student Lin Lin…”
At this critical moment, Gao Liang beside her whispered as a reminder, “Stand up when you speak…”
“Oh, oh!”
Lin Lin quickly stood up. The art teacher also came back to his senses, looked her up and down, and then asked,
“Do you want to sign up? What’s your name, student?”
“Uh…”
Lin Lin stood up in a panic and was not prepared at all. She only raised her hand because the task required her to join this activity. She jumped out at the very last moment, just as the art teacher was about to leave.
But…
An art competition…
Uh…
Right now, Lin Lin couldn’t do anything at all. She had zero confidence.
At this moment, she even felt a little scared to say her own name to sign up for the competition.
After all, the whole class was staring at her!
After hesitating for a long time, the girl finally spoke with a small stutter and said shyly, “Lin… Lin Lin.”
Teacher Zhu stood beside the podium, looking at the nervous girl, and couldn’t help feeling a bit doubtful and worried.
Of course, this doubt existed in the hearts of almost all the students in the class.
After all…
They had never seen Lin Lin show any amazing art skills before.
She seemed to have never shown talent in this area. The high school department sometimes held art activities and handwritten poster contests, but no one had ever seen her take part in them.
She wasn’t an art student either.
Teacher Zhu knew this very well. Because of that, everyone looked at Lin Lin with some doubt.
But the art teacher didn’t. He basically didn’t know any students in this class. If you said you wanted to join, then you joined. So he nodded and said:
“Okay, Lin Lin. Come with me to the art department office to sign up. The registration fee is 50 yuan. You can pay it this afternoon.”
“Mm… okay.”
Lin Lin nodded awkwardly. After finishing the registration, the heavy feeling in her heart finally eased a bit.
Just as she was about to follow the art teacher to the office, suddenly—
Almost the moment Lin Lin left her seat, a loud voice rang out near the podium.
“Wait!”
A blonde-haired girl suddenly slammed the desk and stood up, gritting her teeth as she stared in Lin Lin’s direction.
Feeling the anger in the other girl’s eyes, Lin Lin quickly looked away.
Hey… there’s no need to hate me that much, right?
Han Kui stared at Lin Lin for a while, then turned her head toward the art teacher standing at the door.
The art teacher was stunned too.
Uh… what’s going on with this class? Couldn’t you all raise your hands earlier and speak together?
Is someone else going to jump out again later?
Still, to keep his professional attitude, the art teacher cleared his throat awkwardly and asked:
“Student, do you also want to sign up for the art competition?”
“That’s right. I want to join too!”
Han Kui shouted loudly, leaving the rest of the class completely confused.
This one…
She doesn’t seem to be an art student either.
Is it popular now to learn art in your free time after class? Is everyone getting that competitive?
Well, actually, many people could tell right away what state Han Kui was in at this moment.
Especially her close friends sitting in the back rows, who always treated her like the leader.
Right now, Han Kui was clearly speaking with strong emotions. She even scared the art teacher a bit. He had no idea why this student was so fired up.
This wasn’t the Olympics or the army. Sure, having energy is good, but was this really necessary? It honestly looked a bit scary.
This kind of state was obviously like this. If Lin Lin is joining, then I must join too. I have to beat her in some way, or I won’t accept it.
Ever since Han Kui was forced to sit near the podium, she had been in this state the whole time. You could constantly feel the resentment coming off her.
Right now, she had only one goal in life, to beat Lin Lin properly once and get her pride back.
Otherwise, she felt she wouldn’t even be able to rest in peace.
Life is long, but clearly, this girl couldn’t see that far ahead.
Actually, although Han Kui looked very confident on the surface, deep down she was a little unsure.
She had learned some things related to art before, but she wasn’t very skilled.
But…
Since she dared to step forward, she still had a few tricks up her sleeve.
She guessed Lin Lin was just a casual hobbyist, maybe only drawing anime-style pictures. Otherwise, with Lin Lin’s poor grades before, she would have chosen the art student path long ago. Why struggle so hard with studying?
Lin Lin’s grades had improved so fast recently that she probably didn’t even have time to practice drawing. Joining this competition was likely just to “test the waters.” Han Kui still felt confident.
“Alright then,” the art teacher nodded. “You too, come with me.”
Han Kui followed him to the classroom door.
Lin Lin and Han Kui now stood side by side. The atmosphere between them was very awkward.
The two of them followed the art teacher to the office in silence. Morning reading had just ended, and their class seemed to be the last group to sign up.
When Lin Lin entered the office, she realized there were already quite a lot of students waiting there.
The art teacher pushed through the crowd and said, “Don’t rush, don’t rush. One by one!”
The students lined up in order and went forward one by one to register.
Lin Lin and Han Kui stood at the very back of the line. The awkward feeling continued to grow.
After a long while, Han Kui, who was in a bad mood, stared at Lin Lin and said in a low voice:
“Hurry up and go back to the classroom. Otherwise, this time I’ll definitely make you embarrass yourself, you cheating girl!”
“Han Kui,” Lin Lin replied calmly, showing some disdain, “what does me joining the competition have to do with you? And you don’t need to join just to compete with me, right?”
“Tch, who gave you the confidence to think I’m here because of you? Just wait and see!”
Han Kui sneered. The two were glaring at each other, tension rising, when suddenly—
“Hey, the students at the back! Come over and register your names. Everyone else is waiting!”
The art teacher looked at the two of them speechlessly.
Lin Lin froze for a moment, then quickly turned around. “Got it, got it! Sorry, teacher, I’m coming!”
The girl ran over, wrote down her name and other information. The art teacher nodded, and then Han Kui also filled in her details.
“Ahem. Alright, everything’s written down. Now… students whose names I call, please stay behind!”