All morning, Lin Xuan listened attentively to the lectures and even actively raised his hand to answer questions.
This impressed even their head teacher, Gao Ren.
As the class's number one case of early romantic distraction, Lin Xuan had been called into Gao Ren's office for private chats more times than Gao Ren could count.
Gao Ren had tried to get him to focus entirely on his studies and stop daydreaming about romance, especially since the whole school knew that Lin Xuan was Yu Jiaxin's ultimate lapdog.
Yu Jiaxin had repeatedly asked the teachers to have Lin Xuan transferred to another class, but Gao Ren had always turned her down.
In his view, Lin Xuan was his student no matter what, and as a teacher, he had a duty to set him straight.
Yet today, Lin Xuan seemed like a completely different person.
"Lin Xuan, come to the office in a bit. I want to talk to you about something."
Gao Ren said to Lin Xuan.
"It's definitely Yu Jiaxin complaining to the teacher again about Lin Xuan harassing her!"
"Right, that's totally what I think too!"
...
The students muttered among themselves.
Lin Xuan was also surprised when the head teacher called for him.
As his head teacher, Gao Ren had truly given his all. In the past, he had repeatedly urged Lin Xuan not to waste all his energy pursuing Yu Jiaxin, pointing out that if he put that kind of effort into his studies, he would have gotten into a key university long ago. But Lin Xuan had never listened. Eventually, seeing that there was nothing he could do with him, Gao Ren had simply let it go.
In his past life, when Lin Xuan lay on his hospital bed, Gao Ren was one of the very few people who came to visit him.
Although Gao Ren looked extremely stern on the surface, Lin Xuan knew that a kind heart was hidden beneath that rigorous exterior.
Lin Xuan followed Gao Ren back to the office.
"Lin Xuan, has something happened lately?"
Gao Ren asked.
He felt that Lin Xuan's recent behavior was entirely abnormal. In the past, the boy had never been this focused in class. Gao Ren suspected that Lin Xuan might have suffered some kind of heavy blow to make him change like this.
"It's fine, there's no one else here. You can tell me, I won't tell anyone else."
Gao Ren wore a skeptical look. There was no way everything was fine—how could a devoted lapdog suddenly snap out of it for no reason?
"Did your family run into some kind of trouble, Lin Xuan? You can tell your teacher without worry. If there's a problem, I will definitely help you."
"Teacher, I really haven't run into anything. Please stop guessing."
Lin Xuan was speechless. Why did everyone think he was abnormal just because he was finally studying hard? It seemed his image as a desperate lapdog was already deeply rooted in their minds.
"Really nothing? Then how come I heard from some classmates that you confessed to Yu Jiaxin a few days ago, got rejected, and then went off on her right in front of everyone?"
"Teacher, I was just immature before, and my mind was entirely consumed by pursuing Yu Jiaxin. But I've woken up now—studying is what matters most! Last time, I simply made things clear to Yu Jiaxin in class and told her not to bother me anymore in the future."
Yu Jiaxin bother *you*?
Gao Ren was dumbfounded. Wasn't it just a moment ago that *he* was the one chasing *her*? How had it suddenly turned into Yu Jiaxin bothering Lin Xuan?
"Alright then, Lin Xuan. I know your family situation is a bit difficult; if you run into any trouble, just speak up and don't be shy."
"Right, the college entrance exams are just a few months away now, so you need to step it up. Although your current grades aren't very ideal, if you make good use of the time left and work hard, it's not like you have zero hope."
Gao Ren knew Lin Xuan's grades inside and out—he was always at the very bottom of the school. Saying his grades weren't ideal was putting it extremely mildly.
"Don't worry, Teacher, I'll work hard."
"Good. Do you want me to help you review your schoolwork this weekend? I don't have much going on anyway."
"No need, Teacher. I've already asked Zhao Tianxiang to help me review, so you don't need to worry about it."
Zhao Tianxiang? Right, Lin Xuan and Zhao Tianxiang were usually pretty close, and the boy was at the very top of the school academically. With him helping Lin Xuan review, there really was no need for Gao Ren to fret.
"Alright then. The main reason I wanted to see you was to talk about these things. If there's nothing else, you can head back to class. Remember to tell your teacher if you run into any trouble."
"Got it. Thanks, Teacher, I'm heading out."
Watching Lin Xuan's retreating figure, Gao Ren nodded. He hoped the boy would actually take those words to heart.
When Lin Xuan returned to the classroom, a crowd of students swarmed over.
The most excited of them all was naturally Zhao Tianxiang.
"Well? Xuanzi, what did the head teacher want? Did he talk to you about Yu Jiaxin?"
"Yeah, Lin Xuan, did Yu Jiaxin go to the head teacher to file a complaint against you?!"
Another classmate chimed in to ask.
"What are you all huddled together talking nonsense for?! Who complained about him?!"
Hearing them gossip about her behind her back, Yu Jiaxin angrily snapped at the group surrounding Lin Xuan.
For some reason, she felt angry whenever other people spoke ill of Lin Xuan in front of him!
In the past, she had never cared what Lin Xuan thought of her because she felt that Lin Xuan was completely unimportant to her. Who would care about the opinion of someone insignificant?
Seeing that Yu Jiaxin was angry, the surrounding students quickly dispersed and hurried back to their seats. None of them dared to provoke this wealthy young heiress.
"Lin Xuan, don't listen to their nonsense. I never filed a complaint against you..."
Yu Jiaxin walked up to Lin Xuan and offered a timid explanation, looking very much like a child who had done something wrong and was waiting to be scolded.
Zhao Tianxiang was completely dumbfounded by the sight, scratching his head in confusion. Was his eyesight failing him? Was Yu Jiaxin actually explaining herself to Lin Xuan?
And why on earth would she need to explain?
"Yeah, I know."
Lin Xuan replied indifferently, without even glancing at Yu Jiaxin.
"So what did the head teacher want with you?"
Zhao Tianxiang continued asking.
"He told me to study hard, keep my mind off romantic relationships, and work toward getting into a good university."
"Just like that?"
"Just like that! What else did you think he called me for?"
"I thought the head teacher was going to chew you out. He always looks so stern, I didn't expect him to actually be pretty decent to you."
In his past life, Lin Xuan hadn't understood either. He had simply assumed that Gao Ren thought students with poor grades like them were dragging down the class average, which was why he constantly picked on them.
Only later did he realize that Gao Ren was just taking responsibility for them. The teacher didn't have to waste his breath on repeated, earnest advice—he could have completely ignored them and had a much easier time instead.
But if a teacher simply stopped caring about everything, it was very likely that the students would ruin their own futures.
Yu Jiaxin stared at Lin Xuan. He seemed to have zero desire to even look at her; he hadn't lifted his head once.
She had originally intended to apologize to Lin Xuan, but the words stuck in her throat, refusing to come out.
She had never apologized to anyone in her life. She had mustered up the courage to come over here specifically to say that to Lin Xuan, but with all her classmates watching, she just couldn't bring herself to say it.
She was terribly conflicted. If she apologized, how humiliating would that be in front of the whole class? After hesitating for a long time, Yu Jiaxin ultimately gave up!
"Is something the matter?"
Seeing Yu Jiaxin standing blankly in front of him, Lin Xuan asked indifferently.
"There is... oh wait, no..."
"Good if there's nothing. Even if there is, I'd appreciate it if you didn't disturb me."
"Lin Xuan, did you fall for Ling Yinluo?!"
Yu Jiaxin finally mustered the courage to blurt out a sentence.
Lin Xuan was stunned the moment he heard it. He fell for Ling Yinluo? Who started that rumor?! Though he did have a favorable impression of her, it certainly hadn't reached that point!
Yet, upon second thought, whether he liked her or not had what possible connection to Yu Jiaxin? Absolutely none!