“Did you hear? A special admit just transferred to Class 3 of the second year—an absolute stunner. Some say she’s even prettier than Li Yuanzhen.”
“Prettier than Li Yuanzhen? I don’t buy it. Li Yuanzhen is the recognized prettiest girl in our school.”
“Don’t believe me? Go see for yourself. I just passed by Class 3, and she looks like she’s from a different layer of reality—almost unfairly beautiful.”
“Fine, I’ll go check. But I still don’t think she’s prettier than Li Yuanzhen.”
…
Jiang Hexing sat in her seat.
One hand propped under her chin, the other flipping through a book, her mind swirling with countless thoughts.
If Laiga Academy was a gathering place for the rich second generation, then Class 1 of each grade could be said to house the top tier of the school.
Not only did they need wealth and influence, but their grades had to be exceptional as well.
And while Li Yuanci wasn’t exactly a good person, he was among the best in Class 1. Add to that his handsome looks, and countless girls in the school adored him—there was even a dedicated fan club for him.
In her previous life, she had been tormented mercilessly by the members of that fan club. A pack of them had torn into her like rabid dogs—cursing, bullying, isolating her. Not a single one of them behaved like a proper young lady; each was like a shrew screaming in the village streets, or like possessed specters. Wherever she went, she could see their shadows.
Haunting her relentlessly.
And the leader of that fan club was named Song Qiaoxia—a vicious hound devoted to the Li siblings. This life, she would make sure that hound got locked in a cage of her own making.
Within a month.
She would make Li Yuanci do it with his own hands.
“Jiang Hexing, how about considering going out with me?”
Just as Jiang Hexing was tallying her list of enemies, a strange voice suddenly reached her ears. She looked up and saw a slightly chubby boy staring at her with an expectant expression, his eyes filled with admiration and infatuation.
She was already used to such looks.
She shook her head. “…I don’t know you.”
“Right, right, right.” The boy suddenly looked enlightened, slapping his own forehead. “Let me introduce myself first. My name is Xiang Shang, seventeen years old. My family runs a clothing factory. If you get together with me, I’ll buy you whatever bags you like, okay?”
“Whatever you like, I’ll buy it for you.”
It was break time, and as a special admit who was also this beautiful, Jiang Hexing naturally drew plenty of attention. When Xiang Shang confessed to her, the entire class turned to look at them.
Outside the door, people had also crowded in to catch a glimpse of Jiang Hexing.
Almost everyone wore expressions of eager anticipation, ready to watch the show.
No one noticed that at some point, Li Yuanci had quietly slipped into the crowd. His eyes landed on Jiang Hexing sitting in her seat.
Her hair was jet-black, her skin fair as snow, with slightly upturned eyes and a pointed chin. Yet her face still carried a hint of baby fat, blending allure and innocence in perfect harmony.
She was beautiful like a painting.
Li Yuanci’s heart began to race uncontrollably again, and his gaze toward Xiang Shang turned cold.
But he said nothing.
He too was waiting for Jiang Hexing’s answer. Her answer would determine how he treated her from now on.
And under the gaze of the crowd,
Finally, Jiang Hexing spoke. She seemed somewhat exasperated, propping her chin on her hand, tilting her head, and blinking at Xiang Shang: “I’d prefer it if you kept your distance from me.”
“Could you not sit across from me?”
“Pfft—” As soon as she said this, the whole class burst into laughter.
Xiang Shang’s face instantly turned red. He was somewhat unwilling to accept it: “You’re just a special admission student…”
“So what? Did I eat your family’s rice?”
Jiang Hexing interrupted him with a smile: “I became a special admission student through my own abilities, not through your family’s rice.”
“…” Xiang Shang’s face grew even redder, and this time he was a bit angry too: “Don’t you want nice clothes, don’t you want nice bags? I can give you all of that.”
Jiang Hexing changed the subject: “Do you know the biggest difference between you and a pig?”
The topic shifted so abruptly that Xiang Shang didn’t react in time: “…Wh-what?”
“A pig can’t understand human speech, and neither can you.” Jiang Hexing spread her hands: “Sorry, it seems there’s no difference between you two after all. My mistake.”
“Hahahahahaha.”
The laughter grew even louder. Some people were even slapping their thighs. Xiang Shang was finally provoked into embarrassment and anger. He slammed the table and was about to lose his temper when the next second—
“Xiang Shang, a man should be more magnanimous.”
Li Yuanci stepped forward.
He had his hands in his pockets, looking lazy and casual, with a band-aid on his face. His sharply defined features carried an obvious smile.
Two people followed behind him.
Both were his friends.
At this moment, both wore expressions of amusement on their faces.
Xiang Shang turned his head, and his furious expression instantly froze on his face: “Li-Li Yuanci?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Li Yuanci raised an eyebrow. Then his gaze fell on Jiang Hexing’s face, and his smile immediately became much gentler: “Do you remember me? My savior.”
He directly and crisply identified Jiang Hexing’s identity.
At the same time, he made his stance clear.
Jiang Hexing’s gaze also fell on him.
Their eyes met.
Jiang Hexing curved her eyes,
and a hint of surprise appeared on her beautiful face: “It’s you. You’ve recovered this quickly?”
“Mm, thanks to you.”
Li Yuanci walked step by step to Jiang Hexing and stopped in front of her seat: “If it weren’t for you, I definitely would have had to lie in bed for several more days.”
Jiang Hexing said: “I told you, it was just drawing my sword to help when I saw injustice.”
“But no matter what, you saved me.” Li Yuanci lowered his head: “Though I didn’t expect you to also be a student at Laiga Academy.”
“I have some connections at school too, so no matter what happens, you can come find me.”
Li Yuanci said this with complete sincerity.
Jiang Hexing’s earlier performance had truly satisfied him. He found her utterly adorable—even more vivid than the day she saved him.
Like a painting that had come to life.
His heart couldn’t help but start beating for her again.
Just looking at her gave him a peculiar sense of fulfillment.
He looked down at Jiang Hexing and could even see her eyelashes, like butterflies about to take flight—so curled, so thick, like two little brushes.
Jiang Hexing seemed thoughtful: “Sounds like I’ll run into a lot of trouble.”
“…Then thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Li Yuanci said, “After all, ‘When you see injustice on the road, draw your sword to help’—those are your words.”
Jiang Hexing finally broke into a bold, unrestrained smile.
It was as if a beam of light had suddenly shone into Li Yuanci’s heart, making him feel that today’s sunlight was even brighter.