Don't Leave After School Episode 6 Recap
> Don't Leave After School Recap
The school's news media conducted interviews, which began with questions for Cheng Jing about why she missed her English exam last year, reportedly due to her mother oversleeping. Cheng Jing briefly stated she had "no feelings" about it and did not hate her mother. The interviewer, noting Cheng Jing had no interesting stories, then turned to Wei Lai, asking him about his decision to drop out of a prestigious university's finance program to pursue paleontology, a much less popular field.
Wei Lai initially claimed it was "for better self-actualization," but when pressed for more details, he simply refused to answer, bringing his interview to an awkward end. After biology class, Mr. Yin announced that the school's advanced class would start this week, meeting on Thursday and Friday evenings. He explained that students were selected based on their comprehensive scores from recent exams.
On the bulletin board where the class list was posted, a student who had previously photographed Qiaomai approached her, teasingly suggesting their shared placement might be "quantum entanglement." Qiaomai, however, tried to avoid him. He pressed her about why she was avoiding him and asked about his laundry, which she confirmed she had washed but was not yet dry. He then admitted he liked the way she did his laundry. Qiaomai watched him leave with a resentful expression.
During the evening self-study session, Fang Xue led the class in new eye exercises, encouraging everyone to follow along despite some students' reluctance. Mr. Yin then arrived, looking for Wei Lai. Fang Xue informed him that Wei Lai was on cleaning duty. Mr. Yin asked Fang Xue to retrieve his lesson plans from the multimedia classroom as he had a meeting. Alone in the multimedia classroom, Wei Lai meticulously cleaned a trophy in a display case.
He then became lost in a vivid fantasy, imagining himself on stage accepting a "lifetime achievement award" from the S&T Association for his contributions to paleontology. In his daydream, he thanked his mother for her unwavering support, his team, and his family, expressing optimism for the future of the paleontology industry. Unbeknownst to Wei Lai, Fang Xue was in the control room, observing his private moment on the security monitor.
Accidentally, she broadcast his entire imaginary award ceremony to the classroom. The quiet self-study session erupted into laughter and teasing, with students mocking Wei Lai's "Oscar-worthy acting." When Wei Lai returned, classmates questioned if he had been set up, but he awkwardly dismissed it as an acting rehearsal. The teasing, however, continued, with students making light of his paleontology aspirations.
After the night self-study session, Fang Xue sought out Wei Lai to apologize, claiming she had accidentally pressed the wrong button. Wei Lai, upset, accused her of doing it on purpose, frustrated by the widespread gossip. Fang Xue tried to comfort him, suggesting that gossip eventually fades and that he looked "cute" in the video, urging him not to take it to heart. However, Wei Lai did not accept her apology.
The next day, the incident gained even wider circulation when a notice titled "Dropped out of key university for better self-actualization" was posted on the bulletin board with Wei Lai's picture, intensifying the mockery and causing Wei Lai to angrily tell students to mind their words. Wei Lai then received the latest College Entrance Examination Score Manual, which revealed a new policy: an 'A' grade or higher in chemistry was now required for paleontology majors.
This sudden change deeply concerned Wei Lai, whose overall science score was usually bolstered by physics and biology, with chemistry being a weak point. He called his friend, Yang Zhuofan, to inquire about the specific score needed for an 'A' in chemistry, expressing his anxiety about the new requirement. Yang Zhuofan promised to help and mentioned he would be returning to school next week to give a speech as an outstanding graduate, at Ms Lei's request.
Meanwhile, Fang Xue observed Wei Lai talking on the phone from a distance, but chose not to approach him. During another night self-study session, after Wei Lai left, students resumed gossiping about him. Fang Xue intervened, telling them to stop laughing and let the matter go.
On his way to the advanced class, Li Dalai caught up with Wei Lai, informing him that while an 'A' in chemistry was needed, admissions would still be ranked by overall score, making the competition fierce. Wei Lai expressed his concern about the complex requirements as they entered the class together. Inside the advanced class, students showed excessive curiosity about Wei Lai, openly questioning his choice of paleontology and teasing him about his interest in dinosaurs, making him uncomfortable.
Li Dalai, noticing Wei Lai's discomfort, told everyone to quiet down as the teacher was coming. Mr. Zhou, the chemistry teacher, then entered, introduced himself, and polled the class to identify students from Grade 3 key classes, general classes, and Grade 4. After the advanced class, Gu Shang and Fang Xue chatted. Nearby, other students gossiped about the re-enrolled students, particularly Cheng Jing, whom they derogatorily called "sleeping beauty who missed the English exam."
One student even called Cheng Jing and her mother "idiots." Gu Shang, angered by this, warned the student not to speak about Cheng Jing again. Fang Xue intervened, pulling Gu Shang away. Subsequently, another student commented to Fang Xue that she and Gu Shang seemed to have known each other for a long time. Fang Xue asked how they knew, to which Gu Shang, interjecting, replied he "could feel it."
Fang Xue then noted that caring about such things was unusual for him. The next day, Yang Zhuofan, Wei Lai's friend, returned to school to deliver a speech. He thanked the school for the opportunity to share his College Entrance Examination experience and encouraged the younger students. Following his speech, Wei Lai was invited onto the stage. The host immediately questioned him about his choice to abandon a promising finance career for the unpopular field of paleontology.
Wei Lai struggled to respond, leading the host to speculate that he hadn't fully considered his decision or that there was an unmentionable reason. The host then unfavorably contrasted Wei Lai's path with Yang Zhuofan's clear life plan and brilliant future in finance, asking Wei Lai if he regretted his choice and if his family approved. After a moment, Wei Lai firmly stated, "It's my choice. I have never regretted it."
An attempt by a student to ask a question ended awkwardly when she forgot what she wanted to say. That evening, in the advanced class, Mr. Zhou, the chemistry teacher, lectured on ions and ionization equilibrium. He then called on Wei Lai to answer a question, but Wei Lai was unable to. A Grade 3 student openly mocked Wei Lai's inability to answer, questioning his ambition to win a lifetime achievement award in paleontology.
Li Dalai defended Wei Lai, explaining that their curriculum had recently changed, and Grade 4 students had not yet covered that specific topic. This sparked a heated argument between Grade 3 and Grade 4 students. To settle the dispute, Mr. Zhou proposed a quiz challenge: one question each for Math, Physics, and Chemistry, with a 15-minute time limit, and the first to complete them would win. Wei Lai accepted the challenge and started strong, quickly tackling the initial problems.
Meanwhile, in the Grade 4 classroom, the chemistry teacher harshly criticized his students, calling them "hopeless" and comparing their progress unfavorably to students in the advanced class. Fang Xue stood up to defend her classmates, affirming their efforts and arguing that not passing an exam didn't equate to failure. Enraged, the teacher accused her of "rebellion" and punished the entire Grade 4 Class 1, ordering them to stay until midnight.
Defiantly, Gu Shang declared he was tired and unwilling to stay, then walked out of the classroom, prompting the teacher to label him "hopeless." Back in the advanced class, Wei Lai struggled with the chemistry problem as the clock continued to tick down. Just as the tension peaked, a sudden power outage plunged the classroom into darkness, halting the competition. The stifled students, released from the pressure, celebrated the power cut by throwing papers out the window.
Mr. Zhou attempted to restore order, telling students to remain in their seats while he went to investigate the cause of the outage. It was later revealed that Gu Shang had intentionally cut the power after ensuring no surveillance cameras were present in the area, a fact he casually discussed with a friend. The next day, Ms Lei announced at an assembly that the power outage was an act of "man-made sabotage" and urged the perpetrator to confess.
Gu Shang, however, dismissed the warning, confident that he wouldn't be caught. Later, Mr. Zhou spoke with Wei Lai about his recent quiz scores, noting that his performance in chemistry was still unsatisfactory for the advanced class. He suggested Wei Lai take time to consolidate his foundational knowledge before proceeding with advanced topics. Mr. Yin, who observed this conversation, later approached Wei Lai.
Acknowledging Wei Lai's chemistry struggles, Mr. Yin attempted to inspire him by asking various other students about their dreams, most of whom had none or only materialistic ones. Mr. Yin used this to highlight to Wei Lai the preciousness of having a clear dream, advising him to focus and study hard. He then invited Wei Lai to participate in a special interview for the school news agency as an "influential student" to talk about paleontology.
During the interview, Wei Lai finally revealed the personal reasons behind his decision to drop out of university. He explained that his finance major was his family's choice, not his own passion. Paleontology, however, held a deeper meaning, inspired by his late mother, a toy designer who had sparked his childhood interest with her dinosaur and mammoth creations. After her passing, paleontology became for him a symbol of eternity, representing the respect due to every life that has existed.
He felt that such prehistoric lives should not be overlooked and that someone needed to dedicate themselves to this field. He concluded by quoting Albert Camus, stating his desire to "surpass myself by despising the person I was afraid to be." In the school cafeteria, Fang Xue watched the interview on a television. Her friend teased her about her "obsessed" gaze, suggesting she had a crush on Wei Lai.
Fang Xue denied it, playfully remarking that while Wei Lai was handsome, he wasn't as handsome as a junior she liked named Wang Ziqi. Both girls then suddenly felt as though they were being watched and instinctively looked around.
