Chapter 41: Why Is There Less Homework?

"You arrived quite early, kid; I’ve been asleep ever since I got here!"

Long Yuqing reached out and tapped Lin Tian’s drowsy forehead, then continued, "By the way, have you finished your homework?"

"Homework? I haven't done it," Lin Tian replied nonchalantly.

"Wow, I’m not just saying this, but you really are..." Long Yuqing waved her hand in annoyance and huffed, "Just wait and see how the teacher handles you later."

Seeing that she was genuinely annoyed, Lin Tian smiled suddenly and teased, "I was just kidding. It’s only one workbook; how could I possibly not have finished it?"

"One?" Long Yuqing asked, looking suspicious. "Why do you only have one?"

Lin Tian was stunned by this. "They only gave me one, so of course, I only did one."

"That shouldn't be right. Besides that, we were assigned three exercise books and eight test papers. You really don't have those?" Long Yuqing looked at him in disbelief.

Lin Tian took the workbook out of his bag, a helpless tug at the corner of his mouth. "I truly only have this one."

"This..." Long Yuqing frowned, her brows knitting together beautifully. She suddenly asked, "Zhou Xiaoli was the one passing out the notices and collecting the homework in class that day. Didn't she tell you?"

"No. I only remember that from the start of class until I woke up from my nap, the holiday had already begun," Lin Tian said truthfully.

Long Yuqing wiped her forehead, speechless, and sighed. "Fine then. Just tell the teacher the truth when she asks. I’ll vouch for you."

"Got it!" Lin Tian grinned and reached out his right hand toward Long Yuqing’s shoulder. "Best friends, always in my heart."

"Ugh—" Long Yuqing rolled her eyes at him, turned around, and sat properly in her seat.

Just then, most of the students had arrived. The homeroom teacher, Jiang Qingqing, cleared her throat to quiet the class, which had become boisterous after not seeing each other for a month.

She immediately began, "The new semester is about to start, students..."

She droned on and on at the podium, while the students in the back three rows went about their own business, barely paying her any mind.

"Hey, Brother Tian, it’s been a month. How come you seem so different?"

Just then, Lin Tian heard a voice from his left. It was Liu Buping, who usually had a decent relationship with him at school.

"Oh, really?" Lin Tian’s tone was as calm as water.

Admittedly, he had been through so much over the past month that he naturally possessed a newfound, subtle depth of character.

Liu Buping widened his eyes, stared at him for a long moment, and then shook his head. "I can't put my finger on it, but something is just... different."

As the two were talking, two black shadows came whistling through the air, thrown straight at them.

"Ouch—"

Liu Buping, unable to dodge in time, was struck square on the forehead by a piece of chalk and hurriedly reached up to rub it in pain.

Lin Tian, however, instinctively tracked the sound and position, twisting his body to evade it.

"Nice!"

Someone among the students cheered, startling the others, who quickly followed up with, "Great reflexes!"

"Everyone shut up!"

Jiang Qingqing, acting like a cat with its fur standing on end, stomped over toward Lin Tian in her ten-centimeter heels.

The room fell silent instantly.

"You’re quite capable, aren't you..." Jiang Qingqing sneered.

Facing her passive-aggressive remark, Lin Tian remained silent.

"Do you think you’re fine just because you’re not talking?!" Jiang Qingqing slammed her hand on the desk and shouted, "Ignoring classroom discipline! I’m up here lecturing, and you’re down there chatting!"

Lin Tian still said nothing, though a hint of impatience flickered in his eyes.

"Since you like talking so much, why don't you come up here and lecture? Let me hear what kind of high-minded theories you have!"

With that, Jiang Qingqing reached out to grab Lin Tian’s shoulder, pulling hard. But even though she turned red in the face from the effort, he didn't budge an inch.

This caught her off guard. *This kid used to be as weak as a reed, barely able to take a shove—what’s going on now? How did he get so much stronger?*

As she pondered this, Lin Tian noticed more and more students looking their way, so he finally stood up on his own.

Seeing this, Long Yuqing, who had been peeking back, felt a weight lift off her heart. She was genuinely afraid that Lin Tian might do something irrational in the heat of the moment.

Jiang Qingqing couldn't force him to give a lecture anymore, so she pivoted. "Where is your homework? Take it out; I want to check it."

Lin Tian handed the single workbook from his desk to her.

"Huh?" Jiang Qingqing paused after looking at it. Once it registered, she said indignantly, "Lin Tian, how can you be so irresponsible? Why did you only bring this one and not the rest of the winter break assignments from last semester?"

"Because I don't have the others."

"What?"

Hearing his reply, Jiang Qingqing, as the homeroom teacher, was nearly driven mad. She trembled with rage, gritting her teeth as she asked, "Where exactly is your other homework!"

"They weren't given to me, and I wasn't even notified. How could I know about them?" Lin Tian replied with a shrug of helplessness.

"You say no one gave them to you and no one notified you?" Jiang Qingqing turned to the rest of the class. "Did you all receive the notice? Did you receive the other assignments I handed out?"

The entire class replied in unison, "We did."

With that, Jiang Qingqing turned to Lin Tian with a cold face. "What else do you have to say for yourself!"

"Teacher..."

Long Yuqing suddenly stood up, keeping her head low. "I remember that Lin Tian really didn't receive a notice because he was sleeping, and no one gave him anything."

Jiang Qingqing narrowed her eyes at her. "Really?"

"I guarantee it's the truth!" Long Yuqing said firmly.

"Fine. Since that’s the case, I won't hold him accountable for now." Jiang Qingqing looked toward a student sitting nearby. "Zhou Xiaoli, why didn't you notify him, and why didn't you give him the other assignments?"

A girl with a melon-seed-shaped face, pretty features, and delicate skin stood up. "Teacher, I remember notifying every single student and handing out the work to everyone. It’s impossible that I got it mixed up."

Hearing this, Jiang Qingqing looked back at Lin Tian and Long Yuqing. "You two are close; you wouldn't be colluding to deceive me, would you?"

"No, no, how could we, Teacher?" Long Yuqing glanced at Lin Tian again. Seeing no strange expression on his face, she chose to keep believing him and said, "Doesn't the classroom have surveillance cameras? We can just check the footage from that time."

"Hmm, that’s not a bad idea."

Jiang Qingqing nodded expressionlessly. While she seemed indifferent, she was actually scrutinizing their reactions.

By now, she had already figured it out.