Guiding Students in Online Learning

Today was the last day of the sports meet. Once the morning events concluded, they would have the afternoon off, followed by the two-day weekend.

The various classes receded like a tide, surging chaotically toward the teaching building.

Chen Zhi stood at the podium, tapping the desk with a chalkboard eraser to direct his classmates in cleaning up the mess.

"Hey you, stop focusing on eating and take out the trash bags in the back."

"Sports Committeeman, collect all the number bibs and hand them in."

After shooing away most of the idle bystanders, the classroom instantly felt much emptier. Chen Zhi glanced at the cleaning duty roster in his hand.

In order to complete the system quest [Save the Ex-Girlfriend] that he had neglected for over a dozen chapters, he deliberately used his authority as class monitor to send away the two lucky students originally assigned to sweep the floor today. With a stroke of his pen, he filled in his and Pei Ningxue's names instead.

It was all to create an opportunity.

Pei Ningxue was sitting by the window, packing her schoolbag.

Her movements were slow. She smoothed out the corners of every book before carefully stacking them into her bag. The setting sun shone through the window onto her profile, making the fine peach fuzz on her face look as if it were gilded. She was as quiet as an oil painting, completely out of place in the noisy surroundings.

"Deskmate, don't be in such a hurry to leave." Chen Zhi strolled over holding two brooms and casually handed her one. "It's our turn for cleaning duty today. We have to stand the last watch properly."

Pei Ningxue looked up at him without a word and simply took the broom in silence.

Just then, a head poked in through the back door of the classroom.

"Brother Zhi! Hurry up!"

Li Zihan looked extremely impatient. "I just passed by the internet cafe and saw that the computers are almost all taken. If we go late, we'll only be able to sit in the main hall and inhale secondhand smoke."

Chen Zhi struck the broom against the floor. "What's the rush? Can't you see I'm cleaning?"

Seeing Chen Zhi still slowly moving desks, Li Zihan immediately grew anxious. He rushed in and snatched the broom from Chen Zhi's hands. "Oh, my dear brother, you rest! Let me handle this heavy lifting! For the sake of our Transport Ship, for our Black Town, I am willing to carry the burden for you."

After saying that, the guy acted like a hacked robot vacuum, wildly swinging the broom and kicking up a cloud of dust.

Chen Zhi took two steps back to avoid the dust attack. Just as he was about to praise the kid for his filial piety, a familiar set of footsteps came from the front door.

"Chen Zhi."

Lin Wanwan stood at the door, clutching two freshly bought bottles of mineral water. She wasn't wearing her school uniform jacket today; under it was a simple white T-shirt. Her ponytail was slightly loose, and there was a bit of fine sweat on her forehead from exercising.

Her gaze swept around the classroom, pausing for a second on Pei Ningxue before landing on Chen Zhi. Her brows furrowed slightly. "Everyone's left. Why are you still dawdling? How much longer will you be?"

"Almost done, almost done." Chen Zhi pointed at Li Zihan, who was working hard. "It'll be done in a second."

"Are you going to the internet cafe again?" Lin Wanwan knew her childhood friend too well. Seeing Li Zihan's excited state, she could guess what was going on. She walked over and lowered her voice. "Don't you have a computer at home? Why do you insist on going to that smoggy place? You'll reek of smoke, it's disgusting."

Chen Zhi pulled Lin Wanwan aside, avoiding Pei Ningxue's line of sight, and said shamelessly, "There's no atmosphere at home. Playing at the internet cafe is all about the vibe. If I yelled and screamed at home, I'd get beaten to death."

"Atmosphere my foot." Lin Wanwan rolled her eyes. "If Auntie Zhang finds out you went to the internet cafe right after school, see if she doesn't break your legs."

"No, no, no, please don't tell."

Hearing this, Chen Zhi immediately went into drama king mode. He pressed his palms together, leaned forward slightly, blinked his seemingly innocent big eyes, and even pinched his voice. "I beg you, Sister Wanwan~ Just pretend you didn't see anything and let your little bro off the hook~"

That "Sister Wanwan" was drawn out with a thousand twists and turns.

It was sickeningly sweet.

Lin Wanwan felt goosebumps instantly salute all over her body. As if she had been shocked by electricity, she shrank back.

"Chen Zhi, act normal!" She rubbed her arms with a look of disgust. "Gross. Who's your sister?"

Although she said that, her tightly furrowed brows relaxed quite a bit, and a faint pink tinged the tips of her ears.

She subconsciously glanced again at Pei Ningxue, who was erasing the blackboard not far away. Pei Ningxue had her back to them, her posture straight, seemingly turning a deaf ear to their banter.

Lin Wanwan felt a sudden, inexplicable sense of relief. She shoved one of the water bottles into Chen Zhi's arms and said grumpily, "Alright, alright, I can't be bothered to manage you. Just come back early."

"Orders received!" Chen Zhi took the water, smiling radiantly.

Lin Wanwan left, looking back with every few steps.

By the time her figure disappeared around the corner of the stairs, Li Zihan's sweeping work was also declared finished.

"Brother Zhi, done! Shall we bounce?" Li Zihan tossed the broom into a corner, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and rubbed his hands together excitedly.

Chen Zhi unscrewed the cap and took a sip of water. He didn't rush to leave; instead, he turned around and looked at the continuously silent Pei Ningxue.

Pei Ningxue had already finished erasing the blackboard and was about to put on her schoolbag.

"Deskmate," Chen Zhi called out to stop her.

Pei Ningxue paused her movements, turned around, and looked at him calmly with those aloof eyes. "Is there something else?"

Chen Zhi leaned against a desk with a smile on his face. "You heard what Li Zihan said just now. We're going to play CF. We're missing one for a full squad, interested in joining us?"

Li Zihan, who was just about to sprint out, stumbled and nearly face-planted right there on the flat ground.

He whipped his head around and stared at Chen Zhi with wide eyes, his eyeballs practically popping out.

Taking Pei Ningxue to an internet cafe?

Has Brother Zhi lost his mind?

This was Pei Ningxue! The school's universally acknowledged unapproachable flower, a wealthy young lady chauffeured around in luxury cars, someone who wouldn't even glance at a street food stall. He wanted to take her to an internet cafe filled with unkempt, toe-picking middle-aged men and the smell of instant noodles?

"Brother Zhi, you..." Li Zihan was just about to advise Chen Zhi not to corrupt the girl.

Pei Ningxue did not immediately refuse.

She stood there, her hands still gripping her schoolbag straps. The phone in her pocket suddenly vibrated.

Pei Ningxue lowered her gaze, her long eyelashes hiding the emotions in her eyes. She reached into her pocket and touched the metal casing.

"Is it fun?" she suddenly asked, her voice crisp like clinking jade.

Li Zihan's mouth fell wide open, his jaw practically dislocated.

Chen Zhi, however, acted as if he had anticipated this. He shrugged. "More fun than doing practice problems, and more thrilling than listening to teachers drone on. How about it? Dare to go experience it?"

Pei Ningxue looked up. In those eyes that were usually as placid as an ancient well, a hint of desire actually surfaced at this moment.

Right in front of Chen Zhi and Li Zihan, she pulled out the latest iPhone.

The screen lit up, displaying one unread text message and three missed calls.

She didn't even spare it a glance; her thumb pressed directly on the red hang-up button, holding it down.

The screen flickered before going completely black.

"Let's go."

Pei Ningxue casually tossed her powered-off phone deep into her backpack, slung the bag over her shoulder, and looked just like a delinquent schoolgirl ready to skip class.

Li Zihan was completely petrified on the spot.

It wasn't until Chen Zhi walked past him and slapped the back of his head: "What are you spacing out for? Let's go, or there won't be any PCs left."

...

The back alley of the school.

Before they even stepped through the door, a complex odor of mixed tobacco and instant noodles hit them in the face.

Li Zihan looked at Pei Ningxue a bit nervously, terrified that this young lady would lose her temper and walk out right then and there.

But Pei Ningxue only wrinkled her nose slightly, not showing too much disgust. She followed behind Chen Zhi, curiously observing the dimly lit and noisy space.

Rows of computers were packed with people. The clattering of keyboards rang out, punctuated from time to time by roars of "Holy shit!", "Save me!", and "Planting the bomb at A!"

There were also a few toxic players passionately flaming each other.

"Boss, three PCs, sitting together."

At that time, internet cafe regulations weren't very strict, so they could easily get on a computer with a temporary card.

The manager lazily tossed over three cards. "Go ahead, Zone C, 12, 13, and 14."

The three of them went to a row of seats in the corner.

The environment here was slightly better. It was a semi-open booth with only two rows of computers.

Chen Zhi pulled out a chair for Pei Ningxue, casually grabbing a tissue to wipe down the keyboard and mouse in one smooth, fluid motion.

"Sit."

Pei Ningxue sat down and put on the headset, imitating Chen Zhi. The earcups were a bit large, pressing down on her smooth black hair and making her face look even smaller.

"Have you played before?" Chen Zhi asked as he booted up the computer.

Pei Ningxue shook her head. "No."

"It's fine, I'll teach you," Li Zihan finally regained his confidence, patting his chest as he leaned over. "This game is super simple. You just take a gun and go bang-bang-bang, shooting anyone you see."

The computer screen lit up, bringing the blue Windows interface into view.

Chen Zhi helped her click on the CrossFire icon and logged into one of his alt accounts.

"This is the mouse, it controls your direction. This is the keyboard: W is forward, S is backward, A and D are for strafing left and right." Chen Zhi placed his hand over hers, guiding her fingers to rest on the WASD keys.

His palm was warm and dry, with slight calluses on his fingertips.

Pei Ningxue's fingers trembled a bit, and her subconscious reaction was to pull back. But sensing that Chen Zhi's action was purely for teaching, she forced herself to stay still.

"Left-click to fire, right-click for special functions. Spacebar to jump, Ctrl to crouch." Chen Zhi's voice was right by her ear. Mixed with the noisy background of the internet cafe, it somehow sounded exceptionally clear. "It's simple. Just pretend those enemies are people you hate. Aim for their heads and click down hard."

People I hate?

Pei Ningxue looked at the loading screen, and the image of that woman who always wore a fake smile surfaced in her mind, along with her father, who only knew how to solve problems with money and rarely came home all year.

"Okay," she replied softly.

The game started. Map: Transport Ship.

Li Zihan chose the terrorist side, charging out with an AK47 while yelling, "Charge, charge, charge!"

Chen Zhi chose the counter-terrorist side, holding an M4A1 and guarding their high ground.

Pei Ningxue controlled her character, moving clumsily between the shipping containers. Her camera angle swayed violently as if she were drunk, and she bumped into the walls several times.

"Don't panic, steady the mouse," Chen Zhi directed from the side. "See that red name? That's an enemy, shoot him!"

Pei Ningxue took a deep breath and stopped walking. Her crosshair wobbled as she aimed at a poor bastard who was currently reloading.

Her index finger pressed down.

"Rat-tat-tat-tat!"

The gunfire of the M60 machine gun exploded in her headset.

She had no idea how to control recoil or burst fire; she just held down the left button and refused to let go. Bullets sprayed out like splashing water, most of them hitting the shipping containers and the floor, sending sparks flying everywhere.

But the poor bastard was too close. He was still swept by the stray bullets, letting out a scream as he fell to the ground.

A golden skull icon popped up in the center of the screen.

[Kill!]

An unprecedented sensation shot up her spine and straight to her scalp.

Pei Ningxue froze.

Is this... the feeling of destruction?

No need to worry about etiquette, no need to maintain a smile, no need to care about how others look at her. All she had to do was pull the trigger and tear everything in front of her to shreds.

"Beautifully done!" Chen Zhi whistled next to her. "Playing like this on your first try, you've got talent, desk-mate."

Pei Ningxue turned her head and looked at Chen Zhi.

The dim blue light reflected on her face. Her usually aloof eyes were now startlingly bright, and the corners of her mouth actually curled up slightly, revealing a very faint, yet incredibly genuine smile.

"Again," she said.

In this corner of the internet cafe filled with the smell of smoke and cursing, the good student Pei Ningxue tasted rebellion for the very first time.