The hushed whispers around her were drowned out by the loud, stern voice of the head of the moral education department before reaching Song Chan’s ears.
Song Chan was extremely uncoordinated; even simple morning exercises were a struggle for her.
Yet most of the time, she felt quite good about herself.
Only today did something feel off. Taking a closer look, she immediately felt a chill run down her spine. She sensed an unfamiliar gaze fixed on her as she did the exercises.
But who would be so bored as to pay attention to her?
Song Chan quickly shook her head, dismissing her self-delusional thoughts.
After completing two sets of exercises, Song Chan returned to the classroom.
She was a high school sophomore this year, and her classroom was on the fourth floor. Climbing the stairs was exhausting. Standing at the bottom of the stairs, she caught her breath, a sense of unease creeping over her.
What’s wrong with me today? Why do I feel so unsettled, like something terrible is about to happen?
With ten minutes left before class, Song Chan took out her math workbook. While reading the questions, her mind wandered again. Suddenly, this premonition became strikingly similar to the time her father won three thousand yuan in the lottery.
No… it felt more like a premonition of a long-awaited reunion, like when her dear cousin from afar suddenly visited.
The student in front of her bumped into Song Chan’s desk, making it shake violently.
“Sorry,” the student apologized hastily.
Song Chan steadied her cup, realizing she had so many distracting thoughts today.
This really shouldn’t be the state of a high school sophomore!
One minute she’s thinking about her future husband, the next she feels like a prophet. Is anyone coming? No one is coming. Nobody’s coming. Time to focus on my work!
Song Chan pinched her cheek, pulled out her draft paper, frowned, and stared intently at the question.
“Class, there are still a few minutes before class starts. I have something to tell you all,” the homeroom teacher said, entering the classroom and adjusting her glasses. “We have a new student in our class.”
Even the top students in the class, who were usually oblivious to the outside world and focused solely on their studies, couldn’t help but curiously peek towards the door.
Even though it was already September, the continuous high temperatures in Yicheng were worse than the dog days of summer, yet that person, standing in the scorching sun, seemed to emanate a cool, aloof aura.
Facing the heads of the students looking up at him, Zhong Lingyu gave a slight smile, which was her way of greeting him.
“Lingyu, you can sit next to Dong Xianneng. He’s the top student in our class.”
“Did the students sit according to their ranking?”
Teacher Dai was caught off guard by Zhong Lingyu’s question.
“That’s not it…”
He spoke first, then added, “I didn’t take the entrance exam, so I should be last in the class.”
Upon hearing Zhong Lingyu mention last place, Qiao Yuanyuan instinctively turned to look at Song Chan.
This seemed more like a signal to Zhong Lingyu. He strode into the classroom and walked unhurriedly to Song Chan.
He was unassuming, barely speaking, and didn’t even mention any of his advantages, yet his presence was extremely strong, compelling everyone to follow his lead.
Song Chan was one of the slow-witted and oblivious students. Even when Zhong Lingyu stood before her, she couldn’t believe she suddenly had a deskmate, and a male one at that.
“If it’s inconvenient for you, I can sit inside.”
“Okay, thank you.”
He clearly didn’t give Song Chan any room to refuse, only offering her the option of “sitting inside” or “sitting outside.”
Of course, the clueless Song Chan didn’t understand this little trick at all.
She would simply stand up to let Zhong Lingyu pass, perhaps even thinking that this male classmate was quite considerate of a girl.
In any case, Zhong Lingyu naturally ended up sitting next to Song Chan.
As he bent down to stuff his bag into his drawer, the nearsighted Song Chan finally saw his face clearly.
She was startled…
No, her heart skipped a beat.
She felt as if she had been pulled into those romance novels she had long since given up.
“Hello, classmate, my name is Zhong Lingyu. What’s yours?”
Song Chan then realized that she had been holding her breath, almost suffocating herself.
“Song Chan.”
She opened her textbook to the first page, where her name was written.
Zhong Lingyu didn’t look at the handwriting; he was looking at her.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Song Chan.”
Zhong Lingyu’s voice was calm, clear, and even held an indescribable solemnity, like a deep, secluded spring nestled deep within a majestic mountain.
Approaching him was like exploring a hidden depth.
Song Chan, however, didn’t sense any distance or coldness from Zhong Lingyu. On the contrary, a strange tranquility filled her soul. The tone and voice he used when he spoke her name were different from how others addressed her.
But this wasn’t the first time she’d heard such a tone.
Amusement park, roller coaster, hundreds of meters in the air, a reassuring hand in his palm.
Song Chan looked at Zhong Lingyu, her heart beginning to race.
Is it you? The one who held my hand that day, telling me not to be afraid, was it you?
“Song Chan, are you feeling unwell?”
Zhong Lingyu’s face loomed closer.
Song Chan quickly shook her head, awkwardly pressing the back of her cold hand to her cheek; it was unexpectedly hot.
“No, I’m a little hot. It’s really hot today, isn’t it?”
She was glad she hadn’t asked her new classmate such a presumptuous question.
“It is indeed very hot. I thought the classrooms in the top classes would at least have air conditioning,” he said, slowly rolling up the sleeves of his white shirt. “But looking around, everyone except me is dressed very lightly.”
Song Chan’s social anxiety was strangely relieved; her deskmate seemed more approachable than he appeared.
“I heard the junior high school already has air conditioning, but the senior high school is on the old campus, so it might be a bit later.”
After saying that, Song Chan’s gaze drifted from Zhong Lingyu’s fair and muscular forearms, the numbers on the question paper blurring before her eyes. They were both male high school students, so why didn’t her younger brother have this kind of hidden physique? Compared to Zhong, her brother looked like a malnourished little dog.
Poor little brother, when things get better, remember to lift weights more often.
Song Chan was very weak in science subjects. During class, although she noticed Zhong Lingyu didn’t have a textbook, she didn’t dare study with him, afraid of embarrassing herself.
After a long math class, the homeroom teacher came again during the break and this time rearranged the seating.
“Xianneng, you and Zhu Xiaoqing switch seats. Fang Man, you go sit with Xianneng.”
Now, the top five students in the class would be seated to Zhong Lingyu’s right, front, back, and left, surrounded by excellent learning resources.
There was one exception: Fang Man, who was second in the class.
She didn’t want to be separated from her current deskmate. After her refusal was ignored, she burst into tears, stomped her feet, overturned the table, and nearly hanged herself. In her agitation, she blurted out everything.
“This is called privilege! It’s oppression! Why should I have to accommodate others? I don’t want to switch! It’s not fair! Even privilege shouldn’t sway my will!”
This caused Teacher Dai’s brows to furrow so deeply that they could trap a fly. “Fine, then maintain your firm will.”
The matter had to be dropped, and Fang Man ultimately didn’t become Dong Xianneng’s deskmate.
But Dong Xianneng, sitting alone beside her, was unhappy. While packing his bag, he kept muttering and complaining in front of him.
“Even in a place like school, where we’re supposed to be studying, they still have this kind of class privilege. This is simply society regressing!”
Zhao Xianneng lifted his bottom and forcefully pulled his chair forward, making Zhong Lingyu’s desk wobble. At the same time, his small, beady eyes glared back fiercely.
Song Chan happened to see this and wanted to say something. After all, she had been in a similar situation before and instinctively wanted to stand up for Zhong Lingyu. Zhong’s low-key demeanor didn’t seem like his own choice.
But reason kept her silent.
Were Zhong Lingyu and she close? Clearly not; they’d only exchanged a few words.
The opinions of her classmates obviously had no impact on Zhong Lingyu.
In that young body was the successful Chairman Zhong; at most, he would consider whether his twins, a boy and a girl, had such prejudiced views.
He was certain they hadn’t.
After once again feeling proud of himself as an enlightened and good father, Zhong Lingyu lowered his head contentedly and continued looking at his phone in the drawer.
Although Chairman Zhong was still called “Young Chairman Zhong” at this time, he already had his own assistant and secretary.
On the phone screen was a chat window with his secretary.
Secretary: [Would you like the textbooks delivered to your class?]
Zhong Lingyu: [No need for now. Please buy two sets of first-year high school textbooks, and also buy all the high-scoring supplementary materials available on the market.]
Secretary understands: [Are these for your two cousins?] Zhong Lingyu: [Yes.]
Strangely enough, Zhong Lingyu and his two children transmigrated, but in different ways. It seems he transmigrated as a soul, while Zhong Xin and Zhong Cheng transmigrated as bodies. This resulted in Zhong Lingyu becoming younger, returning to his eighteen-year-old self, while his son and daughter remained unchanged, retaining their original ages.
Fortunately, Zhong Lingyu is currently eighteen, and Zhong Xin and Zhong Cheng are seventeen and a half. If Zhong Lingyu had transmigrated any further back, he would have become their younger brother, which would have messed up the family hierarchy.
Thankfully, he’s at least half a year older, so at least Zhong Xin and Zhong Cheng can still call him “brother” even if they can’t call him “Dad” in public.
Zhong Lingyu’s parents are currently not in the country, so he can temporarily lie to others, claiming these two children are his distant cousins. Obtaining a student status is easy, and he still has a wide network of connections.
Song Chan occasionally glanced at those around her while listening to the lecture.
She noticed that Zhong Lingyu had been keeping his head down ever since Dong Xianneng spoke up.
On his first day as a new student, his classmates weren’t very friendly; he must have felt helpless.
Why did she feel so sorry for Zhong?
Song Chan mustered her courage. “Your textbook hasn’t arrived yet, right?”
Zhong Lingyu pushed his phone to the back of his drawer, glancing quickly at Song Chan. He had finally heard that.
“Can I look at it with you?”
Song Chan was nervous, her fingers clenching under the desk. “Sure.”
“Thank you.”
Zhong Lingyu rested his elbow on the desk, his other hand on his knee. As he turned his head, his broad shoulders seemed to touch hers.
“Hey, could you move aside a bit? I can’t see anything.”
The bookish student behind her, who was practically starving for knowledge, complained. Song Chan immediately bowed apologetically, and Zhong Lingyu also lowered his body slightly; their faces were almost touching.
There was no clichéd, melodramatic accident, yet at that instant, they both widened their eyes and looked at each other.
Their bodies seemed to freeze, unable to move, Song Chan’s pupils trembling violently along with her heart.
She thought her face must look ridiculously red right now.
A feeling of embarrassment was spreading through her. Song Chan panicked, wanting to explain something, but then she saw a soft smile suddenly appear in Zhong Lingyu’s eyes.
Song Chan felt utterly dazed. Ironically, she felt as if she had become a girl enveloped in love.
“Um… Zhong, if I may ask, have you ridden a roller coaster recently?”
Song Chan realized she had already asked.
“Yes,” Zhong Lingyu lowered his voice considerably, as soft as a breath, “Song Chan, you used to call me ‘uncle’ back then.”