Outside the gates of Bula High School, sunlight streamed down, casting a glow on Qiao Xi's slender and beautiful figure. She stood there quietly, her eyes fixed on the school entrance as if waiting for something. Finally, she spotted that familiar person, Wang Arthur, stepping into the school grounds.
"Brother Arthur must have just entered Ultima Class by now. I'd better follow quietly behind him," Qiao Xi muttered to herself. Carefully, she stepped forward, keeping her distance and trying her best not to be noticed.
Soon, they reached the entrance of Ultima Class. Qiao Xi hid to the side, secretly observing the situation inside the classroom. She saw Wang Arthur standing in the middle of the room. The surrounding students were whispering among themselves, but Wang Arthur ignored them completely, a confident and cold expression on his face.
Then came Arthur's classic line: "Shakespeare said: 'To be or not to be, that is the question.'"
"Do I really want to accept the welcome party you've thrown for me? Do I really need to prove to you people that I will be the strongest ruler of Ultima Class?"
Standing at the classroom door and sensing the tense atmosphere inside, Qiao Xi decided to go in anyway. She walked slowly up behind Wang Arthur and gently tapped him on the shoulder.
"Ahem, Brother Arthur, you're blocking my way," Qiao Xi said softly.
At the sound of her voice, everyone in Ultima Class simultaneously turned their heads toward the source. They stared curiously at Qiao Xi, wanting to know who this newcomer was. Wang Arthur turned around as well, looking slightly startled when he saw her.
A bit embarrassed, Qiao Xi pinched her earlobe, a shy smile on her face. She took a deep breath and spoke up. "Ahem, excuse me, let me introduce myself. My name is Qiao Xi, and I'm a transfer student who just arrived today."
Her voice was crisp and melodious, turning heads instantly. The classroom fell dead silent.
At that moment, a few students in their seats started whispering. "Whoa, this little sister is gorgeous!"
Another student chimed in, "Yeah, how did such a pretty little sister end up in our class?"
The other Ultima Class students also gathered in small groups to discuss the new arrival.
Looking at Qiao Xi in surprise, Wang Arthur asked, "Sis? When did you get back?"
Qiao Xi smiled and replied, "Oh... I just got back today... Haven't even had a chance to go home yet."
Wang Arthur gently patted Qiao Xi's head. "Sis, come home with me tonight. Dad misses you a lot." Qiao Xi nodded happily. "Okay! I miss our adoptive father a lot too~"
Of course, the people in Ultima Class were not going to quietly listen to this sibling reunion.
"Hey now, little sister, did you find the wrong classroom? Do you need your Brother Baosan to take you to yours~?" Naturally, this annoying and lewd voice belonged to Jin Baosan.
Qiao Xi gave Jin Baosan a speechless look. "No thanks. You look like a total weirdo. Are you even really a high school student?"
"Ahem, ahem, ahem." Rebuffed, Jin Baosan picked up his teacup filled with tea leaves and wolfberries and took a sip.
"Hey! Brat, this is Ultima Class, not just any place you can wander into! Get lost!" This voice belonged to Sha Jie.
Seeing his little sister being yelled at, Wang Arthur flared up. He couldn't even bear to scold her himself—what right did anyone else have? But Qiao Xi stopped him.
"Brother Dadong, long time no see."
The Ultima Class students looked at Qiao Xi in utter confusion, wondering how she knew Brother Dadong. But since Wang Dadong remained silent, no one dared to ask.
However, not everyone could keep quiet. Sha Jie couldn't help flying into a rage. "Hey! Stinky brat, don't think you can seduce Dadong just because you're pretty!"
Hearing this, Qiao Xi cursed her bad luck inwardly. Who was trying to seduce Brother Dadong? She was just hoping he'd resolve this quickly so Ding Xiaoyu would arrive soon.
"Quiet!" Wang Dadong suddenly spoke up. He swept his gaze sternly across the room, and the classroom instantly fell silent. Beside him, Sha Jie curled her lip as she looked at Wang Dadong. Ignoring her expression, Wang Dadong fixed his eyes on Qiao Xi standing at the door, carefully studying her somewhat familiar face. After a moment, Wang Dadong finally spoke: "Xiao Xi??"
His tone held a hint of doubt, but mostly surprise. Hearing Wang Dadong's words, Qiao Xi wore a relieved smile and let out a soft sigh. "Sigh... Brother Dadong, you do remember me after all. I thought you'd forgotten who gave you the necklace around your neck." With that, her gaze fell on the necklace hanging around Wang Dadong's neck.
Weapon Introduction:
【Angel's Blessing】
Part of the Supreme Angel series, this is the fourth-ranked auxiliary weapon in the Grand Alliance Master Palace's treasury. Legend has it that it is crafted from the light of an angel's prayer, special alloy materials, and holy water. Kissing the pendant during battle can boost one's Battle Power Index and combat strength.
It is an absolute top-tier auxiliary weapon for a special constitution that grows stronger against strong opponents and weaker against weak ones.
Wang Arthur looked blankly ahead, his mind filled with confusion. He turned to Qiao Xi and used Voice Transmission:
"Sis, you know him?"
Hearing her brother's voice, Qiao Xi replied using Voice Transmission as well:
"Oh, we knew each other when we were little. I'll fill you in later."
With that, the two cut off their Voice Transmission.
Wang Dadong rushed over to Qiao Xi in a frenzy and pulled her tightly into his arms. "Xiao Xi! That's wonderful! You're finally back! You've been gone way too long!" His voice was full of joy and excitement.
Qiao Xi was startled by Wang Dadong's sudden move, but she quickly recovered and patted his back gently to comfort him.
Wang Dadong released the hug, looked into Qiao Xi's eyes, and said earnestly, "Mom, Dad, and I have all missed you so much!"
"I've missed you guys too. I'll make time to go home and see them in a couple of days."
Wang Dadong smiled and nodded in agreement. "It's a deal, then. You've really got to spend some quality time with them."
Sha Jie chimed in discontentedly, "Dadong, who is she?"
Pulling back from Wang Dadong's embrace, Qiao Xi looked at Sha Jie, who had the exact same face as Sister Mei Mei. *Ah, I really can't bring myself to be mad at her,* she thought, and said to Sha Jie, "Sha Jie, Brother Dadong, Rex, and I have known each other since we were very little. Don't misunderstand—I'm the adopted daughter of Brother Dadong's parents, and Brother Dadong's sister, which is why we're so close."
Sha Jie's anger vanished instantly. "Ahaha, so you're Brother Dadong's sister! Listen up, everyone in Ultima Class: Brother Dadong's sister is my sister! From now on, I've got her back. Anyone who dares to harass or bully her is picking a fight with me, Sha Jie! You hear me?"
"Yes!"
Of course, everyone in Ultima Class knew that she wasn't just Wang Arthur's sister, but Wang Dadong's sister as well—nobody was going to dare bully her.
"Right, exactly. But Wang Arthur, listen to me... even if Xiao Xi is your sister, if you want to steal the position of boss of Ultima Class, you'll have to beat me first."
"Heh. Then after school, Dragon Club."
"Fine."
Resigned, Qiao Xi pulled Wang Arthur to a seat in the back row, where she caught sight of a familiar, skinny figure.
Xiaoyu was here!
"Is this Ultima Class?" Ding Xiaoyu stood at the doorway of Ultima Class.
Just like in the original series, Ding Xiaoyu was shoved and provoked by Xiao La and Da La.
Qiao Xi couldn't bear to watch any longer.
She walked over to Jin Baosan and the others, flashed a friendly, cute smile at Ding Xiaoyu, and took him by the hand.
"Classmate, don't pay attention to them. Just some stupid weirdo hiding behind borrowed power. Come on, I'll take you to your seat."
They walked to a seat in the back row.
"Oh! No, Sister Xiao Xi, how could you do this to me? Oh, my heart hurts so much!" Ignoring Jin Baosan's wails, Qiao Xi picked up the school bag that had been tossed on the floor and handed it to Ding Xiaoyu.
Stunned, Ding Xiaoyu looked at the person handing him his bag and took it.
Sha Jie provoked Wang Arthur: "Wang Arthur, don't think that just because you have Sister Xiao Xi, my Brother Dong wouldn't dare touch you. Besides, no transfer student who's ever come to our class has survived past the seventh period."
"Though honestly, Wang Arthur, did you fall for me or something?"
Wang Arthur really didn't think much of a woman like Sha Jie. "All show and no substance, like a golden ring stuck in a pig's snout. Sigh, pathetic."
Though she didn't quite understand what Arthur was saying, Sha Jie knew he was mocking her. She immediately jumped to her feet and cursed, "If you've got the guts, say that again!"
Taozi and Linda stood up to back Sha Jie up.
"Have you got a death wish or something?!"
"Stop messing with us!"
"Single out! Stand up and fight!"
"Come on, coward."
Naturally, Wang Arthur wasn't going to lower himself to their level. The corners of his lips curled into a mocking smile.
Qiao Xi looked speechlessly at Wang Arthur and Sha Jie.
*Sha Jie, you're actually really cute,* she thought. *If you ditched the heavy makeup for a natural look, you could totally compete with Angel for Brother Dadong.*
"Hey!" With his sharp ears, Wang Dadong caught the sound of high heels approaching and stopped Sha Jie from provoking Wang Arthur further.
Seeing that Wang Dadong had spoken, Sha Jie merely glared haughtily at Wang Arthur and said, "You remember this: one day I'll show you who Sha Jie of Ultima Class really is," before returning to her seat.
Wang Dadong also sat up from his recliner.
"Good morning, everyone~"
"Good morning, Teacher~"
"A bunch of apes actually saying 'good morning, teacher'—I must say I've seen everything now."
"Ahem, Brother Arthur, that's a bit much," Qiao Xi said, feeling obliged to rein him in.
Wang Dadong shot a glare at Wang Arthur as well.
Noticing Wang Dadong's look, Wang Arthur snapped, "What? I was just remarking that Ultima Class is actually quite polite."
Wang Dadong curled his lip disdainfully. "Wang Arthur, remember this: when class is in session in Ultima Class, I'm the only one who talks to the homeroom teacher."
"Not anymore, starting right now."
The two of them stood up in unison.
Sensing the bad atmosphere, Tian Xin hurried forward to intervene.
"Okay, okay, it's fine, it's fine."
She turned to Wang Arthur. "You must be Wang Arthur, the new transfer student. I'm your English teacher and homeroom teacher, Tian Xin. It's totally normal to feel a bit out of place on your first day here; I understand."
"All right, Dadong, sit down."
She started to turn around to tell Wang Arthur to sit down too, only to find he was already seated, causing her to awkwardly retract her hand.
"Ahem, right. Where are the other two new students?"
A chubby boy pointed toward the seats where Qiao Xi and Ding Xiaoyu were sitting.
"Hey, Xiao Xi, it really is you! When the principal and the dean told me, I couldn't quite believe it."
"Yeah, Sister Xinxin. When the principal told me our homeroom teacher was you, I thought it was just someone with the same name."
"But I remember you already graduated from university in the States."
"I did. But I came back to keep Brother Arthur company."
"You could've at least given Sister Xinxin a heads-up before coming back," Tian Xin said, her voice laced with a hint of aggrieved coyness.
"Oh come on, Sister Xinxin, don't be mad. Getting mad gives you wrinkles~ and then you won't be pretty anymore~" Qiao Xi pouted and acted cute toward Tian Xin, even though she knew Tian Xin wasn't actually angry.
Wang Dadong looked on in confusion as Qiao Xi interacted with Tian Xin.
"Teacher, you know Xiao Xi too?"
"Of course I do! I met Xiao Xi back in the US. She was already a super-talented skipped-grade student back then—she graduated from university at fourteen~"
Jin Baosan uncooperatively chimed in with an exclamation: "Whoa! Little sister Xiao Xi is so smart! I like little sister Xiao Xi even more now~"
Wang Dadong glared at Jin Baosan.
An iron wok came flying down, striking the top of Jin Baosan's head. It left him seeing stars and knocked him out cold.
That slightly effeminate sound gave Qiao Xi goosebumps all over.
"Oh lord... Jin Baosan was already a bit much on TV, but seeing the live-action version is something else."
Even the cold Ding Xiaoyu raised his head to glance at Jin Baosan.
Tian Xin turned her gaze to Ding Xiaoyu. "Hello! You must be Ding Xiaoyu, right? You transferred over from the South District."
Ding Xiaoyu just looked up at Tian Xin without saying a word.
"Teacher, did this kid transfer to the wrong room?"
Ignoring the comment and getting no response from Ding Xiaoyu, Tian Xin awkwardly turned around.
"All right, now that we've all met our three new students, let's all get along and work hard together from now on~"
As if remembering something, she added, "Oh, oh, right! Teacher has some good news to share with everyone. Do you want to guess what it is?"
Linda spoke up at that moment: "Is Teacher getting married?"
"Oh my goodness, no!" Tian Xin waved her hands shyly.
Taozi chimed in with another guess: "Teacher, did you win the lottery?"
"Oh, if anything that great happened, Teacher would take you all around the world."
Xiao La scratched his head in utter bewilderment. "Then what kind of good news is it?"
"Sister Xinxin, is it about taking the college entrance exams?"
"Hehe, Xiao Xi gets me."
Qiao Xi let out a resigned sigh.
"I already graduated from college... Do I seriously have to take those exams again..."
*[Skipping past Wang Arthur's provocation and its resolution]*
Seeing Jin Baosan blocking Ding Xiaoyu's path, Qiao Xi ran over to Ding Xiaoyu's side. "Classmate Xiaoyu, I know where the music room is. Let me take you there."
With that, she took Ding Xiaoyu by the hand and headed toward the music room.
Behind them, Jin Baosan wailed in a crowd of one.
"Ah... Sister Xiao Xi, how could you treat me like this? I've got no dignity left..."
Of course, Qiao Xi paid him no mind.
The legendary scene of Ding Xiaoyu playing the piano to stop Brother Arthur and Brother Dadong from fighting wasn't something you got to see just anytime.
"Classmate Xiaoyu, are you going to play the piano? I play too. Could I take a look at the sheet music you're going to play? We could duet."
Ding Xiaoyu looked at Qiao Xi, then pulled out the sheet music.
Though she was a bit surprised at how readily Xiaoyu handed over the music, she didn't say much and quickly memorized the score.
"All right, I've got it memorized. Here's your sheet music back, let's start."
She sat down beside Ding Xiaoyu, and as if they had practiced countless times before, they began playing a duet in perfect sync.
As they played, listening to the notes coming from Ding Xiaoyu's side, two tears slipped from Qiao Xi's eyes. Panicked for a moment, she looked at Ding Xiaoyu, who was still lost in the music, completely unaware of her unusual state and too busy playing to notice. She continued playing alongside him.
When they finished, Ding Xiaoyu turned his head to look at Qiao Xi, tears streaming down her face.
"You... are you alright?"
Flustered, Qiao Xi wiped the tears from her face and smiled at Ding Xiaoyu. "I'm fine. It's just that while playing, I started thinking of some unhappy memories and my mother, who is quite far away from me now."
"This song... it must have been given to you by your mother, right? I can feel deep maternal love packed into this melody. Your mother must love you very much, and you must miss her a lot."
A faint, hard-to-read gentleness flickered in Ding Xiaoyu's eyes. "Yeah."
He pulled a tissue from his school bag and handed it to Qiao Xi, whose face was still stained with tears.
Wiping her tears, Qiao Xi said, "Thanks. It must be so nice to have someone write a song for you, especially your mother. That must be such a happy thing. What a pity—even though my little brother has a guitar dream, he has zero musical talent. What a shame. Ah, when will I ever meet the person who will write a song just for me?"
Ding Xiaoyu fell silent for a long time.
Qiao Xi glanced down at the time on her Siman, stood up, and said her goodbyes to Ding Xiaoyu.
"Well, Xiaoyu, I have to go home. I promised Brother Arthur I'd go back and see the old man today. Bye-bye."
Lifting his dark pupils as if having made a decision, Ding Xiaoyu curved the corners of his lips into a faint smile and said to Qiao Xi:
"Bye-bye."