The next morning, as the first rays of dawn broke through, the air carried a crisp, cool breeze.
Li Chen arrived at school early. The sound of morning reading in the classrooms wove together into a magnificent symphony, the wings of dreams poised to soar.
The tension, hustle, and pressure on the eve of the college entrance examination were etched onto the faces of every senior.
Of course, the slackers were the exception.
"Chen-ge, how come you got here so early today?"
The moment Li Chen sat down at his desk, Kang Xiaoqiang dragged his stool over. Seeing Li Chen's empty hands, he was utterly shocked. "Holy shit! You really didn't bring breakfast for Campus Belle Shen?!"
Li Chen raised an eyebrow. "I came here to study, not to act as anyone's servant."
Kang Xiaoqiang's mouth fell open. He hesitated for a long moment before finally giving a thumbs-up. "Awesome!"
Now, he truly believed the nonsense Li Chen had spouted yesterday—he really wasn't playing hard to get with Shen Qinglan.
"Qiangzi, look outside and see who's here." Li Chen casually opened his textbook.
Kang Xiaoqiang glanced outside, his expression instantly changing as he scrambled back to his seat like a flash of lightning.
In the corridor, Old Wang's figure had appeared silently once more.
The moment Old Wang showed up at the classroom door, a chorus of wretched groans erupted from the students inside.
"Oh heavens, why is it the head teacher's class again?"
"Where is Teacher Tian? Isn't the next period supposed to be her math and Chinese class?"
"Tests every single day, we're about to lose our minds..."
Old Wang stood at the doorway with a blank expression, his gaze sweeping across the room, and the noisy chatter in the classroom died down instantly.
"You think I want to be here? Your batch is the most difficult group of students I've ever taught. Not a single peaceful year in all three years of high school." Old Wang walked to the center of the podium, his eyes deep and solemn.
Every student below sat in absolute silence, especially those who had been shouting the loudest just a moment ago, now lowering their heads almost to the level of their desks.
"Next period is still Teacher Tian's. I'm only taking up a few minutes of your time. Class Two has a transfer student joining us today," Old Wang said, then motioned toward the hallway. "You can come in."
A transfer student?
Most of them froze, their eyes turning toward the entrance. With the college entrance exams right around the corner, someone was actually transferring schools?
A girl wearing an off-white backpack, a ponytail, and an oversized school uniform walked onto the podium with her head lowered.
The strands of hair draped across her forehead obscured part of her face, making her features difficult to discern.
"Her name is Gu Xirou. From now on, she's a member of Class Two. Let's all give a round of applause to welcome our new classmate."
With that, Old Wang glanced at Gu Xirou beside him and offered a rare smile. "Gu Xirou, why don't you introduce yourself to your classmates?"
"Okay, Teacher Wang."
As Li Chen, hunched over his desk reading, heard that soft and familiar voice, a roar echoed in his head, and he instantly raised his gaze toward the podium.
Gu Xirou lifted her head slightly, her eyes locking onto Li Chen's. A trace of panic and social anxiety flashed within them.
Heaven knew how much resolve and courage it had taken for her to decide to transfer here.
"Hello everyone, my name is Gu Xirou..."
Li Chen was stunned. It really was her? He never expected the two of them to meet again in this manner.
He didn't catch a single word of the self-introduction Gu Xirou gave on the podium.
"Gu Xirou, there are only two empty seats left in the back row. Take a look and see which one you prefer. We'll readjust the seating charts during evening self-study."
Old Wang's words snapped Li Chen back to reality. He glanced at Kang Xiaoqiang not far away; the only empty seats left were right beside the two of them.
"Teacher Wang, I'll sit next to classmate Li Chen..." Gu Xirou's gaze landed beside Li Chen, before she turned back to the teacher. "Teacher, you don't need to readjust the seating during evening self-study either. Exams are coming up soon anyway."
"Alright, that's fine too. Go ahead and take your seat," Old Wang said without overthinking it, nodding directly before giving Li Chen a warning from the back. "Li Chen, look after the new classmate. Don't bully her."
"Got it, Old Wang." Li Chen stood up, letting the head teacher's nickname slip right out of his mouth, which instantly caused a commotion in the classroom.
"Have some respect!" Old Wang walked out of the classroom with a dark expression.
Li Chen offered a sheepish smile. Watching Gu Xirou walk over with her head bowed, his heart leaped wildly. He casually shoved his books aside to clear off the adjacent desk.
Even though he knew there was a high probability Gu Xirou would choose the seat beside him, this feeling didn't feel entirely right—it seemed to be straying a bit far from his original intention of simply making money.
"Hello, my name is Gu Xirou..." Arriving at the desk, Gu Xirou looked at Li Chen with a complex gaze and cautiously sat in the seat beside him, where the desktop had already been neatly cleared by Li Chen.
"We meet again." Li Chen spoke in a very soft voice, trying his absolute best to pull off a warm and friendly smile that he hoped looked good.
Gu Xirou's fair cheeks flushed slightly. She quickly took off her backpack, took out her textbooks, and sat straight up, looking like an obedient child.
Li Chen couldn't help but steal a few more glances at her. Not only was she introverted and easily embarrassed, but she was also quite cute—truly a treasure of a girl...
It seemed that incident had left a deeply negative impact on her; otherwise, she wouldn't have chosen to transfer schools right before the college entrance exams.
At the thought of this, Li Chen glanced without a trace toward Chen Zhigang sitting in the middle rows, only to find that Chen Zhigang was showing no unusual reactions whatsoever, which finally allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief.
Although that incident was inseparable from Chen Zhigang, judging by his reaction right now, he likely hadn't participated directly, but rather instigated someone else to carry it out.
"Ding-a-ling—"
The bell for the end of morning self-study rang, and the classroom erupted into noisy chatter once more as students filed out in groups of three and five.
"Chen-ge, let's go, want to go drain the pipes?" Kang Xiaoqiang stretched his neck toward Li Chen.
"You go ahead, I'm not going," Li Chen replied offhandedly.
Kang Xiaoqiang slapped his backside, stood up, and walked out. He was dying to gossip, but after thinking about it, the timing didn't seem quite right.
Up in the front row, Shen Qinglan watched Kang Xiaoqiang's back, then couldn't help turning around to look behind her. Seeing Li Chen and Gu Xirou sitting together, her eyes were not only filled with resentment, but her heart was gripped by an inexplicable annoyance and depression.
"Stop looking. Ever since you rejected Li Chen, haven't you noticed he's become completely different from before?" Fang Qi also turned back to look behind them, her words cutting straight to the point.
Tang Siwen from the neighboring seat leaned in as well, her eyes shining brightly. "And this is the first time Li Chen didn't bring you breakfast today. That's something that has never happened in all three years of high school."
Hearing this, Shen Qinglan felt even more aggrieved and depressed. Even though she hadn't eaten all the snacks and breakfasts Li Chen brought her, she simply craved that feeling of being envied and drawing everyone's attention.
"Also, did you guys notice... that Gu Xirou actually looks quite pretty too, except her face is blocked by her hair?" Tang Siwen tilted her head, looking intently at Gu Xirou.