After a light rain, the faint fragrance of gardenia filled the air, forcibly driving away some of the originally sweltering weather.
Huang Yi was lecturing with great enthusiasm at the podium, while below, the students had long been drowsy. One by one, their upright figures gradually slumped onto the desks. Only the girl with a high ponytail sitting in the corner never bent her back.
Huang Yi naturally noticed the girl’s thirst for knowledge and couldn’t help but cast an appreciative glance her way.
Recently, substitute teachers from various subjects had reported to him that Ruan Xing’s performance in class was excellent. Huang Yi had also noticed this and, unconsciously, began to change his opinion of the girl.
“Student Ruan Xing, come up and solve these problems.”
Suddenly called upon, Ruan Xing was momentarily stunned but quickly made her way to the front.
Old Huang’s call instantly woke up more than half of the drowsy students.
As the newly awakened students lifted their heads, they saw the bright figure standing at the podium.
“Can she even do it?”
“Has Old Huang run out of people to call? Asking her up is just a waste of time.”
A few minutes later, the expressions of several students changed drastically as they stared with displeasure at the answers Ruan Xing had written.
Ruan Xing had solved all the problems in just a few minutes. These questions weren’t particularly difficult for her.
Huang Yi stepped forward to check her work—all correct. He couldn’t help but feel a glimmer of hope for this student who had previously always lagged behind.
The problems he had set were mostly of medium to high difficulty, with the last one being particularly challenging. He had thought it would be impressive if Ruan Xing solved just a few, but she had correctly answered every single one.
“Excellent, Student Ruan has made remarkable progress,” Huang Yi praised generously.
The classmates stared at Ruan Xing as if they had seen a ghost.
After all, Ruan Xing basically slept through school every day, never attended classes seriously, and always copied her homework randomly.
How could she possibly solve these problems?
As one of the top students in the class, Lin Sijia felt a flicker of surprise. Moments later, she lowered her head, her gaze falling on the blank space beneath the last problem in her homework.
She turned and gave Ruan Xing a meaningful look, her eyes dark and unreadable.
She knew very well that this person had never studied before, spending all her time following Huo Jing around.
Lin Sijia had always looked down on Ruan Xing, not only because of her poor academic performance but also because of her ugly appearance. Lin Sijia had never considered her worth a second glance.
But now that Ruan Xing had removed her makeup, her beauty was momentarily dazzling. Previously, Ruan Xing had always worn hideous makeup, so no one had ever paid much attention to her.
Although Lin Sijia’s looks weren’t particularly stunning—at best, she could be described as delicate and pretty—among a crowd of ordinary-looking people, she undoubtedly stood out. Combined with her excellent grades, she was deservedly the class belle.
But now, suddenly, Ruan Xing had appeared—someone she had never taken seriously—and this person had instantly become radiant, overshadowing her own brilliance. Lin Sijia felt extremely uncomfortable.
Still, academics were her strong suit. So what if Ruan Xing was pretty? She was so detestable that no one in the class wanted anything to do with her.
Thinking this, Lin Sijia felt somewhat comforted.
Noticing someone watching her, Ruan Xing looked up and met the gaze of the class monitor, Lin Sijia.
This girl was Lin Sijia, who had always looked down on her in her previous life.
Ruan Xing remembered that in her previous life, this person later got involved with Lu Wan, and their relationship was quite good.
Anyone connected to Lu Wan was no good in her book, so she naturally had zero favorable impression of this Lin Sijia. If she hadn’t misread the situation earlier, there had been a hint of hostility in Lin Sijia’s eyes when she looked at her. Still, Ruan Xing didn’t take her seriously.
Ruan Xing’s sudden change had caught the attention of a few jealousy monsters in the class.
After class, Ruan Xing got up to step out for some fresh air but was immediately stopped by a voice from above.
“The last place will always be the last place. We’re already in our final year of high school, and you’re still dreaming about your grades skyrocketing? What a joke.”
Ruan Xing lifted her head to trace the source of the voice.
A plain-looking girl stood by her desk, arms crossed, staring at her with utter disdain.
Ruan Xing’s first thought was: Who is this?
In her past life, she’d had little interaction with her classmates, and she had no memory of the girl in front of her.
But it was clear this girl held some hostility toward her. Even with Ruan Xing’s generally mild temper, she felt not an ounce of goodwill toward someone who regarded her with such animosity.
“Who are you?” Her voice was soft and utterly non-confrontational.
Ruan Xing looked wary, as if facing some kind of arch-villain.
Ye Qingqing was both angered and amused by her reaction. She had intended to mock Ruan Xing harshly, but when met with Ruan Xing’s completely unfamiliar gaze, fury surged within her.
“You… you don’t even know my name?”
They’d been in the same class for so long, yet this wretched Ruan Xing didn’t even know what she was called.
“Why should I know your name? What, are you some big celebrity in our grade? Have you been on the news?” Ruan Xing stared straight at Ye Qingqing, her eyes filled with genuine confusion.
It was as if she were truly wondering which news channel she might have seen this person on.
Ye Qingqing was so infuriated by this attitude that she clenched her fists tightly, ultimately stomping away in resentment.
Wu Jiali, who had been listening nearby, had struggled to hold back her laughter. The moment Ye Qingqing left, she could no longer contain herself and burst out laughing heartlessly.
“Hahaha… Ruan Ruan, you’re too good at clapping back! Did you see the look on Ye Qingqing’s face just now? She must be absolutely fuming.” Wu Jiali pounded the desk with one hand while clutching her stomach with the other, laughing so hard she couldn’t straighten up.
“Ruan Ruan, this is the first time I’ve ever seen Ye Qingqing rendered speechless after just a couple of sentences.”
Ruan Xing paid no attention to the girl laughing like a fool beside her. She shot Wu Jiali a look that said, “Are you an idiot?” and left the rest for her to figure out on her own.
Wu Jiali: ???
As the school day drew to a close that afternoon, Ruan Xing quickly packed her things and was the first one out of the classroom.
She had been so busy studying lately that she hadn’t visited Lin Shen. She decided to go see him today.
As soon as she arrived at No. 18 High School, she spotted that slender-backed, pale-skinned young man.
He was pushing his own wheelchair, moving alone through the crowd. He stood out starkly against the lively students around him, his silhouette looking increasingly lonely.
Ruan Xing’s gaze fixed tightly on that retreating figure, and her heart ached faintly.
She knew Lin Shen had it hard, but she had never imagined just how lonely he had been in his youth.
Ruan Xing sniffled and quickly followed after him.
As she trailed behind, she realized this path was actually the same route she took home. While puzzling over this coincidence, she completely failed to notice that the young man ahead had already stopped walking and turned around, watching her with an expressionless face for quite some time.