Chapter 32

As soon as she got home, a group of people rushed over to ask questions. Lin Nanzhi immediately raised her hand to stop them and said before anyone could speak, “The report card and admission letter are with my dad.”

With that, Lin Nanzhi quickly slipped away!

Father Lin couldn’t hold back his curiosity and asked about it in the car. Since it was just the two of them, Lin Nanzhi answered all his questions. As soon as they arrived home, she quickly handed him the admission letter and went inside. When Father Lin finished parking and came into the house, he was bombarded with endless questions from the family.

During dinner, the family couldn’t stop praising Lin Nanzhi, repeatedly telling Lin Nanxun to study hard. Meanwhile, Lin Nanxuan and Lin Nanye quietly ate their food.

Soon, Monday arrived.

—-

After breakfast, Lin Nanzhi was ready to go to school. When Mother Lin heard they were taking graduation photos, she quickly had Lin Nanzhi change into a little dress and even slipped her some money. Lin Nanzhi didn’t refuse.

She did want to buy a few things but didn’t have any cash on hand, so this worked out well.

She didn’t change out of the dress, carried a small bag, and Father Lin drove her to school.

Qingya Town wasn’t very big, and there weren’t many stores open early in the morning. Seeing that she still had time, Lin Nanzhi didn’t head straight to school but instead asked Father Lin to drive to Jing’an Town.

Jing’an Town was three times the size of Qingya Town and had more shopping options.

She wandered around, carefully picking out small gifts for each of her classmates. They weren’t expensive—hair clips, necklaces, bracelets, small bags—each costing around one or two yuan. The most expensive gifts were the fountain pens she bought for her homeroom teacher and other teachers, which cost fifteen yuan each.

She spent two yuan on each gift to get a gift box, then bought a roll of ribbon for two yuan to tie nice bows on the boxes. She also bought premium gift bags for one yuan each and packed everything into two large bags.

Finally, she spent five yuan on a pack of label stickers, writing names and well-wishes on each gift.

By the time she finished, it was almost time to go. Lin Nanzhi and Father Lin loaded everything into the car. There wasn’t enough time to find a restaurant for lunch, so they headed straight to school.

Since it was a graduation party, everyone was bringing food. With so many classmates, she figured there would already be plenty of snacks, so she didn’t bring any. Instead, she brought four baskets of fruit that had been freshly picked for sale.

Father Lin was worried she couldn’t carry them all, so he was about to help when they heard someone calling her name.

She turned around and saw the class president.

“Lin Nanzhi, you’re here! Do you need help?”

“Then please help me carry some fruit,” she replied.

“No problem!”

The class president of Class 3-1 was a girl who wore glasses. She had only one flaw—without her glasses, she barely recognized anyone. Otherwise, she was nearly perfect. She also happened to be this year’s top student.

She readily agreed, picking up two baskets of fruit. Lin Nanzhi said goodbye to her father, telling him to go home for lunch and call her when he came to pick her up in the evening. Then she and the class president walked into school together.

“You brought so much? And even fruit? I just grabbed some snacks and lollipops from home,” the class president remarked.

“I didn’t buy any snacks. I figured everyone would bring snacks, and they’d all be the same kinds. Since we have fresh fruit at home, I picked some to share.”

“I have to say, your family’s fruit is amazing. Are these black plums?”

“They’re cherries. Want to try one?”

“Cherries? This big?”

Lin Nanzhi didn’t answer, just smiled. The class president took a bite and immediately grinned, full of praise.

“So sweet! I can’t believe you have cherries at home—your orchard is amazing.”

Lin Nanzhi just smiled without responding.

Since it was Monday, not just the ninth graders but also the seventh and eighth graders were at school. The campus was lively and bustling. Since it was the ninth grade’s graduation day, most classes were holding their own celebrations. No one stopped students from carrying things inside. On a regular day, if Lin Nanzhi had walked in with two big bags, they would have checked them.

The ninth-grade classrooms were on the third floor. As they walked up, they passed many people in the hallway, but no one greeted them. Others simply stepped aside, letting them pass unimpeded into the classroom.

A lot of students had already arrived.

Since it was their last day, and there were no classes, most students had come early. Some had even stayed at school for the past two nights.

Those who had stayed behind helped the homeroom teacher decorate the classroom. Desks and chairs were pushed against the walls, leaving an open space in the middle. Streamers and party poppers hung from the ceiling, and “Happy Graduation” was written on the blackboard. Tables were piled with all sorts of snacks.

“Class president! Lin Nanzhi!”

“Hey, everyone,” Lin Nanzhi greeted as she walked in, placing down the cherries. She looked around and spotted her desk.

Class 3-1 didn’t have spare desks, so when Lin Nanzhi joined the class, her desk had been taken from storage. It was newer than the others, and she had stuck a small bear sticker on it, making it easy to recognize.

She walked over, sat down, and placed the fruit on her desk. The class president put down the baskets she was carrying as well.

“Lin Nanzhi, you brought fruit?” someone asked.

She nodded.

No one immediately reached for it, feeling awkward since not everyone had arrived yet. Since the fruit was for everyone, it didn’t feel right to eat it before others arrived. Lin Nanzhi didn’t push them to take any and instead started handing out her small gifts.

“These are little gifts from me. They’re not expensive, but I hope everyone has a bright future ahead.”

Despite their initial protests, everyone accepted them.

Some classmates hadn’t arrived yet, so Lin Nanzhi placed their gifts under her desk. She watched as her classmates chatted and played around. The class president sat beside her and handed her a lollipop. Lin Nanzhi thanked her, unwrapped it, and popped it into her mouth.

A girl quietly sat down next to her and slid a notebook over.

“Lin Nanzhi, can you write in my classmate journal?”

Classmate journal!

Hearing those words, Lin Nanzhi was momentarily stunned. She looked at the notebook the girl had handed her and suddenly remembered.

She had played with these back in elementary school.

A classmate journal was basically a yearbook entry—name, age, zodiac sign, ethnicity, birthday, height, favorite hobbies, favorite food, favorite celebrities, plus QQ number, phone number, class, and space for messages from friends. Every book was slightly different.

So nostalgic!

“Can you?”

Lin Nanzhi nodded. “Sure.”

She took the highlighter the girl handed her and carefully filled it out.

Name: Lin Nanzhi.
Birthday: The second day of the twelfth lunar month, 2000.

She wasn’t sure what to write for a personal quote, so she left it blank. Instead, she filled the message section to the brim, making the girl’s eyes sparkle with excitement.

When she finished, the girl happily took her notebook back.

Others quickly gathered around.

Most of the classmate journals had already been completed—Lin Nanzhi was the only one missing. Since she was beautiful and rarely spoke, she had always seemed distant and aloof. Because of an incident last year, no one dared to approach her.

But after adding her on social media a few days ago, they realized she was easy to talk to, so they had brought their journals just in case. Now that she was willing to write, everyone eagerly lined up.

Lin Nanzhi didn’t refuse and carefully filled out each one.

By the time she finished, the rest of the classmates and even the homeroom teacher had arrived.