On the first class of the new semester, Old Zhou did not lecture on the new textbooks. Instead, he led the class through a review of several key problem areas that had heavily featured on the final exams of the previous semester.
Lu Wang listened intently for a little over ten minutes. Once she realized he was only covering the most basic and simple concepts, she lost interest.
Turning her head slightly, she finally remembered that there was someone sitting right beside her. It wasn't that she was particularly forgetful; before class, she had actually worried that sitting next to him would make it impossible to focus. But as it turned out, the moment the class bell rang, this fellow had slumped facedown on his desk and fallen asleep, his presence reduced to practically zero.It was only now that Lu Wang had the chance to carefully observe Guan Zhouyue's features.
Since he was facing the window, the light streamed through the glass and struck the bridge of his straight nose, casting a sharp, refined silhouette. All of his usual aloofness and casual laziness had faded away. With his eyelids half-closed and thick, delicate eyelashes resting upon them, he was so quiet she couldn't even hear him breathe.
God really is unfair.
She propped her chin in her hand and thought this.
If the boy didn't possess such an unmistakable aura of rugged masculinity, judging purely by his face, she would even say it looked several times prettier than a woman's.
No wonder those girls in the coffee shop the other day had reacted so intensely.
As she watched, Lu Wang realized she was getting a little too mesmerized. She blinked her eyes and pulled her thoughts back.
Taking advantage of his sleep, she snuck a few glances at Guan Zhouyue's test paper, which lay unfolded to the side. One look, however, left her utterly speechless.
The entire paper was astonishingly pristine. Aside from the multiple-choice and true-or-false questions, every other section was completely blank.
Yet, unexpectedly, every single question he had actually attempted was correct.
His score was neither high nor low—it landed right on the passing line.
"..."
This guy had to be doing this on purpose.
***
Before long, the period was over.
The moment the class bell rang, Guan Zhouyue and Xu Yi were called away by someone from another class.
Lu Wang sat alone in the back row, organizing her study supplies for the pop quiz coming up after the break.
Right then, a disdainful scoff suddenly drifted from the front. "Hah, what a fake."
Lu Wang: ?
Was this person talking to her?
Seeing her blank expression, Lin Yu sneered and rolled her eyes. "I'm talking about you! You must have had your family spend a pretty penny just so you could sit next to Guan Zhouyue, right? Honestly, it's hilarious. Kids from dirt-poor families like yours—what couldn't you do with bribe money like that? But no, you just *have* to rush up and offer your warm face to his cold ass. Do you seriously think that just because you managed to rank first in the grade, you can hitch yourself to the Guan family's high branch?"
Lu Wang: ?
She looked strangely at Lin Yu's unfamiliar face. "Do we know each other?"
Lin Yu sneered, "Who cares to know you!"
"Then why are you talking to me?"
"..."
Lin Yu choked, her voice pitching up a notch. "We're all classmates, is talking forbidden now? Acting all high and mighty on your very first day—what, do you think you're hot stuff just because you became Guan Zhouyue's deskmate?"
As soon as those words dropped, the gazes the others directed at Lu Wang grew visibly more contemptuous.
She was just someone brought in by the principal who "coincidentally" wound up next to Guan Zhouyue.
Did she really think she was getting special treatment?
Lu Wang found the whole thing bizarre, but she was gradually starting to piece it together. Her dark, doe-like eyes stared straight ahead at Lin Yu. "So you're just picking a fight on purpose because you're jealous of me?"
Lin Yu froze.
She hadn't expected this girl, who looked so docile on the surface, to be so blunt!
"What are you talking nonsense for! Who's jealous of you?" Her expression shifted slightly before she let out a cold, mocking laugh. "I advise you not to waste your breath. A guy like Guan Zhouyue wouldn't even let you lick the dirt off his shoes.""Do you even deserve to lick her?" Guan Miaomiao snapped, bursting with rage the moment she walked back from the restroom and caught Lin Yu bullying Xiaolu. "Lin Yu, how many times do I have to warn you? Just can't keep that filthy mouth shut, can you? Why didn't you have the guts to say those things right to my brother's face? Bullying a new classmate behind our backs—did you already forget what happened this morning? Still asking for a lesson?"
Hearing Guan Miaomiao's voice, Lin Yu felt a sharp flutter of panic in her chest.
Because Guan Miaomiao was Guan Zhouyue's biological sister, she was always fiercely protected, and since Guan Miaomiao herself had a notoriously bad temper that was not to be trifled with, Lin Yu instinctively felt a bit afraid of her.
Yet with so many classmates watching right now, Lin Yu refused to lose face, so she tugged on her deskmate's arm, signaling him to say something.
Her deskmate, Du Bin, swept his gaze across the people present and felt a twinge of hesitation.
Guan Miaomiao and her crowd were people he couldn't afford to offend under any circumstances. But if he didn't help Lin Yu, she would definitely back out of her promise to go drinking milk tea with him tonight.
He pondered for a few seconds, and in an instant, he figured out his answer.At worst, he could help speak up for Lin Yu first, and once this matter blew over, he could apologize to them privately!
With that in mind, he looked at Guan Miaomiao and said, "You've got it wrong! It was this newcomer who started bullying people first. Lin Yu was just trying to say hello to her, who would've thought this girl would snap right back at her."
Guan Miaomiao sneered, "If I believe you, I'm the same species as your name! What kind of personality Lin Yu has—we've been classmates for two years, am I blind and unable to see it? Clearly, she's had it in for her since this morning, gossiping behind her back. Xu Yi warned her once and she didn't learn, and now she dares to make up stories about others here. What, do you want me to call my brother and the others back so we can hash this out and see who was bullying whom first?"
In just a few words, Guan Miaomiao laid out the whole sequence of events.
Hearing this, everyone agreed that what she said made sense.Regardless of the new student's character, they had heard more than enough of Lin Yu's passive-aggressive remarks on a regular basis. Even when female classmates simply walked past the back door, she would accuse them of deliberately trying to seduce Guan Zhouyue.
Just now, it was most likely she who started bullying the newcomer and drove her to the point of anger, forcing her to snap back.
Du Bin was so scared he didn't dare make a peep.
Unable to win the argument, Lin Yu finally stormed out of the classroom, slamming the door behind her.
Guan Miaomiao rolled her eyes fiercely toward the door, then sat down next to Lu Wang and said, "Xiaolu, don't pay any mind to people like that. She's just got a foul mouth."
Lu Wang shook her head. "I didn't care."
Guan Miaomiao smiled. "Then how about you and I go to the convenience store to grab a bottle of something to drink? What I had for breakfast was a bit too salty, I'm dying of thirst."
Looking at the arm linked through hers, Lu Wang felt her heart soften. She smiled and said, "Sure. I actually wanted to buy a few things anyway."
——
By the time Lu Wang walked back into the classroom holding a bottle of Assam milk tea, Guan Zhouyue and the others had already returned.
Seeing the bottle in her hand, he raised an eyebrow. "You went to the store? How come you didn't bring me one?"
Before Lu Wang could answer, Guan Miaomiao walked over carrying a plastic bag. "I brought some! Which one do you want?"
Guan Zhouyue glanced casually into the bag and picked out one identical to Lu Wang's. "I'll take this one."
Xu Yi crowded over as well. "Oh, hey, there's one for me too. You're so thoughtful, little sister!"
But after a single glance, he pulled a face and tightened his jaw in mock displeasure. "Why are these all carbonated drinks? Are there really no others?"
Guan Miaomiao clicked her tongue. "Just make do with it. Who would've guessed my brother wouldn't feel like having soda today?"
Xu Yi cast a sideways glance at the drink bottle in Lu Wang's hand and teased, "Oh, him? He's just secretly matching couple items with his deskmate!"
Lu Wang: "............"