Wen Qian looked at the class schedule in her hand. The next period was math. She was curious how the game planned to arrange these classes—surely they wouldn’t actually make her sit in a classroom all day, right?
Reject prison-simulation games!
“Wen Qian, are you okay?” A slightly worried voice came from beside her.
Wen Qian looked up and met the class monitor’s gaze.
“Uh… I’m fine?” She instinctively glanced at the top of his head—no mission prompt.
Probably just a normal scripted conversation.
Lin Huai couldn’t quite understand this new classmate. To be able to withstand so much pressure and still give Chu Lingyu a love letter, she must really like him.
But faced with his terrible attitude, she seemed totally unfazed.
“You should be careful these next two days.” As if remembering something, Lin Huai looked at Wen Qian with concern.
Before he could finish, the teacher walked into the classroom, cutting off their conversation.
The teacher, dressed in a white shirt, walked to the podium, glanced at the two missing students, said nothing, and didn’t pay any attention to Wen Qian, who had only joined the class today.
“Class.” He opened the book and began lecturing.
The classroom was clearly divided into two factions: one group was listening seriously—though their posture wasn’t very proper—and the other group treated the teacher like air.
Most of them were doing their own thing, and from time to time a few mocking laughs would sound, followed by eyes sweeping toward Wen Qian.
“Pretty bold. This new one is much more entertaining than the last,” a girl playing with her nails said loudly, not bothering to lower her voice.
“Some people always think that once they get into the academy, they can become one of us. Pathetic, really.” Her friend glanced at her phone, lips slightly curved.
“Wow, their news really travels fast.” She shook her phone at her friend, amused. “This just happened, and that young lady already heard about it.”
“Heard she’s furious.”
The girl gave Wen Qian a sympathetic glance, though her tone was mocking. “Well then, good luck, poor top-student.”
The poor top-student herself was currently dying inside.
Math class… Wen Qian stared blankly, questioning her life choices: Why did she decide to play a school-life RPG?!
Who on earth graduates and then willingly returns to school—and smiles about it?!
Appearing to listen while actually almost spiritually dead, Wen Qian instantly resurrected when the teacher said class was over.
She eagerly waited for the system to issue her class-completion reward.
—But she didn’t get a reward.
She got homework.
“Turn it in tomorrow at my office,” the teacher said coldly. “If you can’t finish it, I’ll report your performance.”
Lin Huai glanced at his seemingly devastated deskmate and hesitated. “Do you… need help?”
Obviously, that one and only homework assignment was aimed specifically at her—the “poor top-student.”
He wasn’t sure if he should comfort her. Being singled out like this… probably didn’t feel good.
Especially when the treatment clearly wasn’t kind.
Just one look at the impossible amount of homework and Lin Huai understood the teacher’s attitude toward her.
He looked at Wen Qian with concern—but to his surprise, this obviously targeted classmate seemed completely unbothered.
As a student, homework is an unavoidable challenge.
Reward: EXP +30, Intelligence +1
Mission tip: Too much homework… maybe you should buy a desk? (Writing speed +40%)
Wen Qian wasn’t worried at all.
Huh? Isn’t this just a mission specially designed for players?
Why did she get homework but not the others?
Obviously because players are different from ordinary NPCs!
But… the desk…
Wen Qian recalled her empty little room. She truly did not have anything resembling a desk.
Without the mission tip, she would’ve just written on the coffee table. But since the game recommended a desk, that meant she probably couldn’t finish the homework without the speed bonus.
She opened the home-building tab in the game panel and found the furniture shop.
“One hundred coins!” Wen Qian sat up straight, shocked by the game’s greed.
She only had 108 coins total—barely enough to “go up the mountain and become a bandit.”
If she bought the desk, she’d drop back into absolute poverty.
Startled by Wen Qian’s sudden movement, Lin Huai turned to her. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Wen Qian wiped her face. “Just realized… money really is a wonderful thing.”
Was she traumatized by the teacher’s targeting? Lin Huai frowned.
During lunch break, Wen Qian rejected Lin Huai’s invitation to eat together. She wanted to explore the campus map while she had time.
She hadn’t explored much yet; learning the map would help with future missions.
It definitely wasn’t because she was afraid the school lunch would be expensive and didn’t want to spend money.
Absolutely not.
Her exploration ended as soon as it started—no matter where she went, she ran into invisible barriers labeled [Locked].
“You’re… the poor top-student, right?” a hesitant voice asked beside her.
She turned and saw a girl with a low ponytail and expectant eyes.
“I’m the poor top-student.” Wen Qian smiled brightly and leaned closer. “Do you need something, classmate?”
Haha! See? Map exploration was useful! NPCs came to find her!
The girl sighed in relief, smiling shyly. “I’m also a poor top-student. I saw you standing here, so I wanted to say hi.”
“Why aren’t you eating?” she asked. “The academy only gives poor top-students one hour of free meal time. If you miss it, you’ll have to pay.”
“What? It’s free right now?!” Wen Qian was stunned.
She almost missed something so important!
“Yes, it’s one of the academy’s benefits.” The girl nodded. “After the time passes, the cafeteria is super expensive.”
Wen Qian: Ah, so that’s how they fleece the students.
Seeing Wen Qian nod eagerly, the girl’s smile deepened.
“Thank you so much! You haven’t eaten yet, right? Let’s go together!” Wen Qian grabbed her arm and headed toward the only building besides the classroom that was lit up.
She thought it was a mission, but it turned out to be an NPC giving her hints.
“What’s your name? I’m Wen Qian, from Rose Class.”
“I’m Zhou Zhu,” the girl replied, her gaze dropping to their linked hands. Her smile grew warmer. “From Iris Class.”
She never expected to meet someone who didn’t look down on her—someone who would even eat with her.
Today felt like her lucky day.
Her gloomy mood felt like dust being brushed away—light, airy, almost floating.
“Wen Qian,” she said awkwardly, trying to make conversation. “The cafeteria has some good dishes. Do you like Western food? There’s a chef—”
“I like it! I like it! Let’s go inside!”
A system prompt appeared: 【Introduction Progress: 3/5】
Wen Qian was thrilled.
So it wasn’t limited to classmates from her own class—any student counted?
She suddenly remembered another student she’d met before—should she go find Loren and introduce herself again?
Full of anticipation, Wen Qian stepped into the cafeteria—and her smile froze.
Inside, dishes of every kind filled the room. The aroma was mouth-watering.
But Wen Qian’s face was expressionless.
Because in her vision… everything was grayed out with a LOCKED sign.
[Locked]
[Locked]
[Beef Noodles]
[Locked]
Wen Qian stared at that one out-of-place “Beef Noodles” label and suddenly remembered—
She had only unlocked the beef noodle dish.
She thought the unlock applied only to that one noodle shop…
Not the entire game world!!
Below the beef noodle icon, a familiar face looked back at her.
The noodle shop owner excitedly waved his hand high in the air.
“Hey, customer! I’m over here!”