With Fang Zhishui, who scored perfectly, taking the lead in encouragement, the other classmates in the class also started applauding with varied expressions.
Zhang Fan motioned for Ruan Mei to stand up:
“Tell everyone about your method for improvement!”
It was the first time Ruan Mei stood up under the gaze of the entire class. She looked at the curious eyes of her classmates around her and noticed that many wore expressions of shame.
The classmates who had previously mocked Ruan Mei felt their faces flush, thinking she was just putting on a show with her studies, but her grades had slapped them hard in the face.
“My method is… first, to systematically understand the knowledge, and then to check for gaps and reinforce weak areas…”
Ruan Mei was a little shy at first, but grew more confident as she spoke. These were, after all, experiences she had gained through practice, and she explained without any obstacles.
After she finished speaking, Zhang Fan led the applause, and the entire class spontaneously followed suit.
Ruan Mei sat down very shyly, listened through the entire lesson, and wore a constant smile.
During the break, just as Ruan Mei was about to take out her textbook for the next subject, Math, to preview, she heard a familiar voice from above her head:
“Ruan classmate… may I see your vocabulary book?”
Ruan Mei looked up and saw the class monitor, Chu Wanji, who had scored 119 in this exam. She immediately felt overwhelmed and quickly took out her vocabulary book with a smile and handed it over.
Chu Wanji showed a gentle smile, pushed up her glasses, and said in a soft tone:
“Thank you, Ruan classmate… Also, congratulations on your improvement. Keep up the hard work in the future!”
Ruan Mei was very surprised. She had hardly spoken to the class monitor, yet the monitor seemed to hold her in high regard.
She nodded repeatedly:
“Okay, let’s work hard together!”
Chu Wanji smiled again and returned to her seat with the vocabulary book. Ruan Mei touched the back of her head, felt the gazes cast by those around her, and couldn’t help but purse her lips shyly.
When the total scores were revealed, Ruan Mei won the “Best Progress Award” for the entire grade with a rank of 63rd. The grade director even gave her a certificate.
Her grandmother’s dentures almost fell out from smiling so hard. Ruan Mei threw herself into her studies with even greater enthusiasm, and even her smiles during work became more genuine.
Now she received money from the mall every week, and she gave all of it to her grandmother to improve their lives together. But it wasn’t enough. Ruan Mei wanted to earn more money to move her grandmother out of that dilapidated house and rent a place in the city, even if it was just a small one-bedroom apartment.
Grandma hadn’t even enjoyed a flush toilet yet!
Ruan Mei ran around daily, feeling that life was full and happy. She had almost forgotten about the plot development.
Recently, the plot seemed to have made no progress. Fang Zhishui hadn’t been seen in public with Gu Yanlin again, but Ruan Mei didn’t know about what happened in private.
The weather gradually turned cooler. During one P.E. class, the school began the physical fitness test for the entire first year of high school.
Ruan Mei had gone through physical fitness tests many times in her previous life, but this life was different.
The teachers would first register those who had already differentiated. The Alphas (A) would line up in one group, the Omegas (O) in another group, and the remaining ordinary people would be divided by gender into two groups. The scores for each group would be recorded separately and would not interfere with each other.
This fitness test involved the entire first year. The Alphas, who had differentiated earlier, lined up arrogantly about a dozen of them whistling, giving seductive looks, and making suggestive comments towards the Omega group, which only had seven people in total.
Omegas were destined to be the future mates of Alphas. There were more Alphas than Omegas, so there might be AO marriages, but there would never be BO marriages.
All Omegas would eventually end up with Alphas. These already differentiated, delicate looking Omegas all blushed, secretly looking at the Alpha group while daring not to stare openly. The scene was filled with an ambiguous atmosphere.
Ruan Mei frowned slightly. She could smell a strong scent of various pheromones, both Alpha and Omega.
The Alpha side had a very complex scent, all sorts of smells, most tending towards strong, stimulating, and heavy, such as a dense musk scent that could knock you off your feet with one whiff.
The scent from the Omega side was much lighter and more refreshing, with citrus and various slightly sweet smells.
These people probably weren’t using suppressants properly. The first year students were at an age where they felt they were special. Having just differentiated and feeling excited, they wanted everyone to know they had differentiated, so they wouldn’t use suppressants to mask their scents.
The Omega scents stimulated the Alphas, making their blood pump, and every event was treated like a fight to the death, as they all wanted to show off as much as possible.
Ruan Mei stood in the Beta (B) group for girls, watching the spectacle leisurely. The Omega pheromones had no effect on her at all instead, they made her feel desolate inside.
Her own scent was quite similar to the Omegas’, and she wasn’t very affected by other Omegas, but she had that thing… so what exactly was she?
She looked troubled, slowly completed all the fitness test items high jump, long jump, 50 meter dash, sit and reach… Ruan Mei did every one perfunctorily, deliberately using only two tenths of her strength to keep her scores slightly below the middle of her group.
The best performer in the entire Beta group was naturally Fang Zhishui. Her movements were fluid and simple. No matter what event she did, she looked as beautiful as if she were competing in the Olympics a combination of strength and beauty.
Ruan Mei occasionally glanced at Fang Zhishui, but as soon as Fang Zhishui looked back, she immediately averted her gaze, not daring to meet her eyes.
On the Alpha side next to them, the little ruffian whom Ruan Mei had kicked the chair at earlier, named Qiang Kai, mocked Ruan Mei:
“So weak, why don’t you go to the Omega group? Trash!”
Ruan Mei ignored him, thinking that if she weren’t so kind hearted, she would have kicked him into the sky long ago.
Next to her, Chu Wanji looked at her with concern and whispered:
“Don’t listen to him, you’re doing great. Keep it up!”
Ruan Mei thanked her and looked at her last remaining event sit-ups.
This event required two people to cooperate. They would work in pairs one person would hold down the other’s legs first, and after the other person finished, they would switch to hold down the first person’s legs.
Ruan Mei looked around for a partner, but unexpectedly, a tall figure quickly appeared before her, completely blocking her view.
Fang Zhishui smiled sweetly:
“I’ll hold yours.”
Ruan Mei shivered all over, quickly stepped back three paces, craned her neck to look around, and waved her hands randomly:
“No, no, no need, I’ll find a partner myself, you, you, you, don’t come over…”
However, Fang Zhishui walked three steps closer with a smile, raised her hand, and grabbed Ruan Mei’s collar of her thin shirt.
Ruan Mei:
“Are you pulling a radish?!”
Fang Zhishui didn’t let go, using an “Iron Palm” to pull the person towards the registration teacher:
“We’ll be a pair for sit-ups.”
The teacher pointed to the thick mats over there and told them to wait, as they needed six pairs to start timing together.
Ruan Mei stood beside Fang Zhishui, her collar still held in the other’s hand, feeling like a goose exposing its neck to be slaughtered.
“Why do you want to team up with me? I’ll only hold you back!” Ruan Mei muttered.
“I don’t think so. You’re clearly not giving your all.”
Fang Zhishui said with a smile, but her eyes looked deeply at Ruan Mei, instantly making Ruan Mei panic.
“You should know the consequences of concealing your gender, right?”
Fang Zhishui’s words were delivered in an ethereal tone, as if she were just casually mentioning it, but Ruan Mei completely understood what she meant. Her whole body trembled, even her lips quivered, and she could only turn her face away to avoid looking at the other person.
Fang Zhishui seemed to let out a soft laugh where Ruan Mei couldn’t see her. That soft chuckle was like a feather, tickling Ruan Mei’s heart which was stuck in her throat.
Just then, all six pairs were assembled, and everyone went to their respective mats. Ruan Mei asked shakily:
“Who goes first?”
Fang Zhishui very gallantly extended her hand towards the mat:
“Ladies first.”
Ruan Mei:
“…”
She silently lay down on the mat, placing her hands behind her head, and looked at the group members to her left and right.
Other groups had one person using both hands to press down on the other person’s calves. But in her group, Fang Zhishui let out a soft laugh and didn’t move to hold her legs instead, she sat down!
Ruan Mei’s hair stood on end. She suddenly sprang up, staring wide eyed at Fang Zhishui, her cheeks rapidly turning red, and she said with a trembling voice:
“What… what are you doing! How can you be like this, hurry up and get up!”
Fang Zhishui had just sat down squarely on Ruan Mei’s pressed together calves. The heavy weight made it feel as if her entire body was pressing down on Ruan Mei, causing Ruan Mei to start sweating all over, biting her lips until her face turned completely red.
“This way, the pressure is more stable,” Fang Zhishui replied calmly, looking at Ruan Mei’s flushed face with an investigative gaze. She even deliberately asked:
“Why are you blushing? Do you have a fever? Do you want… me to take you to the school clinic?”
This was exactly what not to mention! Ruan Mei now had a phobia of the school clinic! Fang Zhishui must be doing this on purpose, hinting that she still held her secret, and she shouldn’t make any rash moves!
How could there be such a maliciously intented female lead in this world, ahh!
Ruan Mei felt like she was going to vomit blood. She still wanted to argue a bit, but the teacher shouted:
“Start timing!”
Ruan Mei could only glare at Fang Zhishui, endure the very present weight and heat on her lower legs, and slowly begin her sit-ups.
She held back her strength, observing the other groups out of the corner of her eye, controlling her speed to be just a tiny bit slower than theirs, but not so slow as to look like she was intentionally failing.
Fang Zhishui sat on Ruan Mei’s legs as casually as if she were sitting on a park bench, occasionally saying a few words to Ruan Mei, who was leaning up, such as, “Faster,” “Keep it up,” “Watch your rhythm,” being more like a P.E. teacher than the actual teacher.
Every time Ruan Mei sat up, she could see Fang Zhishui’s face, smiling casually, her eyes fixed intently on her.
She noticed that Fang Zhishui was also quietly moving closer. Each time Ruan Mei sat up, that face moved a little closer to hers.
Hoo, hoo…
Ruan Mei heard the panting of the others nearby. She herself couldn’t help but start panting too not from fatigue, but from… shame.
Fang Zhishui’s backside was on her legs, and her face was so close. Ruan Mei felt every bit of her skin burning by itself, turning extremely red.
The exercise raised her heart rate considerably. Her heart pounded wildly. And facing such a beautiful woman, whose every pore seemed perfect, Ruan Mei felt her body was strange hot, burning, and uncomfortable.
“Five, four, three… two… one! Stop!”
At the very last moment, as Ruan Mei sat up, the tip of her nose almost bumped into Fang Zhishui’s nose.
Their eyes met. Fang Zhishui’s eyes were deep and dark, like a swirling vortex, madly drawing in Ruan Mei’s body, spirit, and everything.
Ruan Mei’s hands twitched, wanting to reach out and touch Fang Zhishui’s face. She vaguely smelled a hint of a fresh and comfortable scent, a little sweet…
She mumbled:
“What’s that sweet smell…”
Suddenly, Fang Zhishui stood up abruptly and strode away from there, not looking back no matter how much the teacher called out.
Ruan Mei watched the other’s retreating back and felt, for some reason, that Fang Zhishui seemed a little nervous.
She touched her nose; that faint sweet scent was gone. It wasn’t the scent of strawberries from her own body, which made her feel confused.
But, it smelled really good.