As the end of the school day approached, Lin Huai saw his deskmate again.
Not long after He Ling had taken her away that afternoon, his deskmate swaggered back on her own—only, she didn’t return to her seat at the time.
She looked as if she were searching for something. She walked into the classroom and circled around everyone, glancing at whoever spoke to her before showing a disappointed expression and moving on to the next person.
After turning one full circle, she naturally walked back out again—as if she had only appeared in the classroom to check on everyone, and since that was done, she could leave.
“He Ling and the others didn’t do anything to you, right?” Lin Huai glanced at Wen Qian, who had just sat down and was staring at the test papers on the desk, and asked with concern.
The girl being questioned looked up in confusion, seemingly thinking hard.
After a while, she hesitantly asked, “…Who is He Ling?”
Lin Huai: “?”
Wen Qian had rushed back to the classroom after seeing the school-ending countdown on her system panel. Her schoolbag was still in the classroom, and she needed to take it and her homework home before leaving campus.
When she returned, she immediately noticed the two test papers on her desk.
They were stacked neatly, with the edge secured under her pencil pouch so they wouldn’t be blown away.
Her kind deskmate must have helped her organize them. Wen Qian, who had been troubled by the heavy load of homework, felt a bit lighter.
【Random Mission — Pop Quiz
Unexpected quizzes are common in school. Please complete the pop quiz you missed.
Reward: Based on evaluation】
Wen Qian assumed these test papers were more homework from a teacher—and the more she looked at them, the more annoyed she became.
But once she got the system notification, all her dislike evaporated.
As long as it wasn’t homework!
She looked at the classroom clock. There wasn’t much time left before dismissal. At her usual pace, she would probably need to stay a bit after school to finish both test papers.
She had just picked up her pen when she heard Lin Huai’s question.
He Ling?
Who?
Lin Huai paused and prompted, “The one who came to find you earlier.”
“Ohhh, her!” Wen Qian nodded in realization. “Nothing happened. We had a really good chat.”
Her tone was relaxed, but Lin Huai and the classmates paying attention froze.
Got along well?
Who? Her and He Ling?
The classmates who thought the poor scholarship girl would suffer under He Ling were disappointed they didn’t get to witness her embarrassment. Worse, they heard a completely unexpected answer.
“She really can say any lie, huh.” A classmate who had been waiting for Wen Qian’s misfortune sneered, clearly not believing her.
“Let it go. If she doesn’t say that, how is she going to survive here?” her friend patted her shoulder. “If she wants to deceive herself, why expose her?”
Her gaze drifted to Zhong Yin. “Zhong Yin, aren’t you close with He Ling? What do you think?”
Zhong Yin paused, then smiled. “I wasn’t there. How would I know what happened? But…”
She glanced at Wen Qian. “But I don’t think she’s telling the truth. Xiao Ling is a good person, but she isn’t nice to everyone.”
The other two exchanged looks.
He Ling, a good person?
Zhong Yin was simply too soft-hearted. She thought everyone was good. She saw He Ling as a friend, but He Ling only saw her as a follower.
Feeling their gazes, Zhong Yin’s smile didn’t falter, as if she didn’t notice the tension.
But under the desk, her hand clenched tightly around her phone.
The dimmed screen faintly showed a message she’d sent that morning—a photo.
Wen Qian felt her condition was at its peak. She picked up her pen, and it was as if she were guided by some divine hand. The moment she looked at a problem, the solution simply appeared in her mind.
【Random Mission — Pop Quiz
Evaluation: Perfect
Reward: +1 Random Attribute Point】
【Attribute Generated: Agility +1】
Hearing the system notification, Wen Qian put down her pen and looked up at the clock in disbelief.
She finished… this fast?
If she had only been a little faster than usual, she might blame it on being in good shape today.
But this speed was double her normal pace. No way was it just “good condition.”
Instinctively, she opened her system panel. She knew this had something to do with the system.
Above the nickname [Wen Qian], two faint green speed-boost icons had appeared:
【Pencil Pouch — Writing Speed +10%】
【Desk — Writing Speed +40%】
Wen Qian paused. She knew about the pencil pouch’s boost, but she never expected the desk to give a bonus too.
And it was a big one—almost as good as that writing desk sold in the furniture shop.
“Why can’t I just do homework at school…” Wen Qian collapsed onto the desk in despair.
If she could do homework here, she wouldn’t need to buy a desk!
Instead, they insisted she take it all home…
…Take it home?
Wen Qian suddenly straightened up, eyes shining as she stared at the desk.
She had just discovered a new world.
Lin Huai finished packing his bag. His deskmate was sprawled over her desk sighing miserably, and he wasn’t sure if he should remind her that school was about to end.
She seemed unhappy and probably didn’t want to be disturbed.
After hesitating for a while, he decided to remind her. He tapped the desk with a knuckle to get her attention.
She reacted—but in an extreme way. She shot upright, eyes sparkling, muttering excitedly at the desk.
Lin Huai’s heart skipped a beat at her sudden change.
He tapped the desk, right? Not a nerve ending on Wen Qian’s body… right?
Wen Qian didn’t notice him at all. She circled the desk twice, then crouched down and lifted it experimentally.
Her strange behavior quickly drew everyone’s attention.
“Wen Qian, are you adjusting the desk’s position?” Lin Huai pushed up his glasses and asked uncertainly.
He stood up. “I can help you—What are you doing?!”
His pupils trembled as he stared in shock.
—Wen Qian was half-squatting, trying to stuff the desk into her schoolbag.
Moments earlier, inspiration had struck her:
She didn’t need to buy a writing desk at all. She just needed to… take the school desk home!
She tried to place the desk and chair into her system backpack, but she hadn’t considered what that would look like in real life.
【Bzzzt——】
【Backpack slot capacity limit reached. [Desk] is too large. Attempting to force it in will:
• Destroy 1 backpack slot
• 72 hours repair time
• Repair cost: 20 gold】
Wen Qian was appalled.
This game really squeezed every possible coin out of her!
Expressionless, she abandoned the attempt. She would not let the game extort her.
If it couldn’t go in the backpack, she needed a new plan.
Lin Huai watched as she tried to stuff the desk in, then stopped.
Did she give up?
He pressed his lips together and asked carefully, “Wen Qian, you’re… doing what exactly?”
Surely she wasn’t really trying to put the desk in her bag?
Wen Qian didn’t respond. She simply rummaged through her schoolbag.
This time she wasn’t attempting anything impossible. She reached inside, felt around—
—and pulled out a foldable trolley.
Lin Huai’s eyelid twitched.
What did she usually keep in that schoolbag!?
Wen Qian unfolded the trolley, locked its latches, grabbed one side of the desk, and signaled for Lin Huai to lift the other.
He didn’t understand, but he helped anyway.
Together, they flipped the desk over and placed it upside-down on the trolley.
Then Wen Qian stacked the chair on top.
Lin Huai couldn’t hold back anymore.
“Where are you taking the desk?”
“Home!”
Finally answering him, Wen Qian relaxed her tone. She pulled the trolley toward the classroom door. Just before exiting, she turned back and waved cheerfully:
“See you tomorrow, class monitor!”
The words he wanted to ask stuck in Lin Huai’s throat.
He really wanted to know why she was taking the desk home.
In the end, all he managed was:
“…See you tomorrow.”
And the desk?
Would the desk also be here tomorrow?
Wen Qian didn’t take the stairs this time. She rolled the trolley to the elevator.
When the doors opened, the few students inside looked up—and froze.
What was she doing?
Wen Qian was oblivious to her own magnetic presence. She rolled the desk into the elevator.
The students inside didn’t even realize she was the poor scholarship girl they usually looked down on. They instinctively stepped aside to make room for her.
“Thanks,” Wen Qian nodded politely and waited for the elevator to descend.
A boy beside her kept sneaking glances at her, curiosity building.
Who was she? Some kind of maintenance worker?
He couldn’t help but ask:
“Why are you wearing our academy’s uniform?”