Li Chen put down the book in his hand, raised his head with an expressionless face, and looked at Chen Zhigang, who was standing in front of him with a faint smile.
"Did you arrange this?"
"Don't say that. You can't just talk nonsense." Chen Zhigang grinned, resting his hands on the desk with an arrogant and rampant look on his face, and lowered his voice. "If you ever dare to confess to Shen Qinglan again, whether you'll have such good luck next time is anyone's guess."
With that, he turned his head to glance at Shen Qinglan, who had just walked in and taken her seat, then looked back to give Li Chen a warning glare before turning and walking away.
"Brother Chen, Brother Chen, what the hell is that bastard Chen Zhigang playing at?" Seeing Chen Zhigang leave, Kang Xiaoqiang immediately dragged his stool over and sat down.
Although the conversation just now had not been loud, several classmates near the back row had still heard it.
"It's nothing. He's just too bored and wants some excitement."
Faced with Chen Zhigang's threats and intimidation, Li Chen appeared very calm, completely devoid of his past submissiveness and cowardice.
If he were going to be scared of a mere rich second-generation heir, wouldn't his rebirth have been in vain?
"Something's wrong. He's way too calm. There's definitely something fishy going on..." Kang Xiaoqiang muttered, dragging his stool back to his own seat.
Watching Chen Zhigang's retreating figure, Li Chen narrowed his eyes slightly and nimbly twirled a ballpoint pen between his fingers. He didn't even need to think twice to know that what had happened to him last night was definitely tied to this guy.
As expected of a rich heir from a wealthy family, at such a young age, his methods were already this ruthless. He really hadn't held back at all!
If it hadn't been for a glitch in some part of the plan, he probably would have become a notorious figure in the school even earlier than Kang Xiaoqiang.
Not only would his reputation have been ruined, but he would have also implicated his parents.
What a truly vicious game he played!
Since you want to play...
Don't rush, we have plenty of time to play with you slowly!
"Ding-a-ling—"
The class bell rang, the commotion in the classroom subsided, and everyone took their seats.
Head Teacher Old Wang walked in with a stern expression, holding a thick stack of test papers in his hand.
"There are just over twenty days left until the exams, and none of you are showing any urgency or care yet. This is a major hurdle in your lives. If you can't cross it over, you might as well go to the factory and screw bolts."
With that, Old Wang placed the test papers on the podium and swept a stern gaze across the room. The classroom fell dead silent.
It was clear that Old Wang's deterrence was quite formidable.
"Li Chen, explain why you didn't come to class this morning. Don't you know how important the mock exams are for you?"
Old Wang's stern gaze landed on Li Chen in the very last row—a student whose academic performance had once made him immensely proud, yet who had fallen from grace for the sake of teenage romance.
Li Chen stood up, his attitude sincere and earnest: "I'm sorry, Teacher Wang. I wasn't feeling well this morning and went to the hospital, so I didn't have time to ask the school for leave."
Hearing this, Old Wang's expression softened somewhat, and he waved his hand. "Sit down. Your physical condition and emotional state during this period are extremely important. You must pay attention to adjusting your daily routines."
"You're a good seed. The teacher hopes that in this final stretch, you can make a solid sprint and give it your all—not for anyone else, but for your own future life."
Li Chen was slightly stunned. Not just him, but probably everyone in the class caught the subtext in Old Wang's words.
"Thank you, Teacher. I will work hard!" Li Chen sighed inwardly.
It seemed someone had snitched about his confession to Shen Qinglan last night.
However, Old Wang was right. If not for his decent foundation in his past life, coupled with a little bit of luck, he probably wouldn't have managed to get into the same university as Shen Qinglan.
"Zhen Yao, come and hand out the test papers." Old Wang called out to class monitor Zhen Yao.
A delicate-looking girl in the middle of the front row stood up. One could tell just by looking at her that she was a top student.
"Everyone's progress hasn't been very obvious in this mock exam. Once the papers are handed out, look over them and see where you made your mistakes."
Walking down the aisle, Old Wang continued, "There are only twenty days left now. Put in the effort, grab onto whatever areas you can still salvage, and maximize your score where improvement is still possible."
"For those questions you simply can't grasp and areas where you can't raise your scores, let them go. Focus primarily on the areas where you can still pick up points. Your sprint now will largely determine your living conditions in the future."
...
An afternoon passed in the blink of an eye. With the sounding of the end-of-class bell, Old Wang walked out of the classroom carrying the afternoon's mock exam papers.
"Brother Chen, let's go get some food." As soon as class ended, Kang Xiaoqiang sidled up to him.
"So enthusiastic. Are you treating me?" Li Chen glanced sideways at Kang Xiaoqiang.
"???" Kang Xiaoqiang's eyes widened in utter astonishment. "Brother Chen, why did you suddenly change your tune? Are the aftereffects of a failed confession really this severe?"
"Get lost." Li Chen let out an amused, exasperated curse, stood up with his hands in his pockets, and walked toward the door.
"Hehe, if you say treat, I'll treat!" Kang Xiaoqiang giggled and followed him out of the classroom.
As soon as the two of them left, gossiping whispers instantly broke out among the girls in the classroom.
"Hey, did any of you notice that Li Chen suddenly seemed different?"
"Now that you mention it, yeah. He's not as servile... or infatuated as before."
"Besides, when he walked out just now, he didn't even glance at Shen Qinglan from start to finish."
Hearing this chatter, Shen Qinglan's pretty face instantly fell.
She was deeply unconvinced. Didn't you like me? Weren't you so good to me? What right do you have to ignore me just because I rejected you?!
"Fang Qi, let's go to the cafeteria to eat too!" Shen Qinglan stood up angrily.
Thinking of Li Chen's reaction just now and those discussions, she was so furious that her full chest rose and fell rapidly.
"Alright, let's go. I'll go with you." Fang Qi couldn't help letting out an inward sigh, looking completely innocent.
As a classmate and good friend, she really didn't want to see this happen.
He got rejected, isn't it completely normal for him to react like this?
None of them were children anymore; romance had nothing to do with right or wrong.
The distance between the cafeteria and the teaching building wasn't very far. After stepping inside, Shen Qinglan and Fang Qi spotted Li Chen chowing down on his meal at a glance.
"Brother Chen, Brother Chen, Shen Qinglan and Fang Qi are coming over."
Mid-meal, Kang Xiaoqiang suddenly looked up in shock and glanced behind Li Chen.
Li Chen turned his head for a quick peek, then turned back to bury his face in his food, muttering indistinctly, "They really are like ghosts that won't stop haunting..."
In his memory, this was the first time Shen Qinglan had ever taken the initiative to bring her food tray and look for him.
In the past, he would have been so overjoyed he wouldn't have known which way was up, but now, he had zero interest in Shen Qinglan whatsoever.
"Li Chen, can we sit next to you?" Seeing that Li Chen was solely focused on eating and completely ignoring their existence, Fang Qi had no choice but to take the initiative and ask.
"Sure, sit wherever you want." Li Chen looked up at Shen Qinglan and Fang Qi, intentionally saying, "Didn't you two always go outside the school to eat before?"
"You're asking when you already know!" Shen Qinglan stared straight at Li Chen, truly unable to hold it in anymore. "Li Chen, I never said I wouldn't be your girlfriend, nor did I say I hated you. Why did your affection for me change just like that?"
The corner of Li Chen's eye twitched slightly. Hearing this, why did it feel like she had suffered more grievance and shock than he had?
I'm the victim here, okay!
"Well... here's the thing. After a profound self-reflection last night, I finally saw the light and returned to the righteous path. Lingering over romance will only slow down my studies and my speed at making money."
What Li Chen said was indeed true; his top priority right now was figuring out how to make his first pot of gold. As for the college entrance examination, it was absolute child's play.
Shen Qinglan froze, the corners of her mouth twitching downward. "So, love just disappears like that, right?"
"Cough, cough—" Li Chen choked, nearly spitting out his food on the spot. He didn't dare stay a second longer.
"Anyway, you guys eat slowly. I'm done, I'll take off first."
Watching Li Chen's departing figure, Shen Qinglan suddenly felt as though they had truly become strangers to one another.
Fang Qi placed a hand against her forehead, her mind in complete turmoil. She was having trouble keeping up with Shen Qinglan's train of thought.