23 – The First Day of School
Early the next morning.
When the eighth alarm went off, the person sleeping soundly in bed finally stirred.
She rubbed her dark hair, crawled out from under the blanket, and turned off her phone alarm with a displeased look.
Her slender, pale feet stepped onto the carpet, toes perfectly rounded.
She picked up the freshly ironed school uniform from the sofa, put it on, and headed to the bathroom.
After brushing her teeth and washing her face, she was mostly awake.
It was only seven o’clock. When she went downstairs for breakfast, Lin Jingbei was sitting at the dining table in a suit, one hand flipping through financial news, the other holding a glass of milk.
Hearing footsteps, he turned and waved. “Come eat quickly.”
Seeing her favorite wontons on the table, Lin Yaojia happily ran over. “Aunt Chen! I love you!”
Aunt Chen responded with a beaming smile.
Lin Jingbei asked, “Are you sure you don’t need the driver to take you?”
“No need. No. 1 High School is pretty close. I’ll skateboard there,” Lin Yaojia mumbled through a mouthful of wontons. “Weimo showed me the school before. I know the way.”
“Then be careful on the road.” Lin Jingbei glanced at his watch and stood up. “I’m heading to the company.”
“Okay.” Lin Yaojia asked, “What about Lin Ci?”
Lin Jingbei sneered, “Let him die in bed.”
“…”
After breakfast, Lin Yaojia shouldered her new backpack, picked up her beloved skateboard, and set off.
Cheng Yang No. 1 High School was a century-old institution that prioritized academic performance and boasted excellent educational resources.
Located on Seventh Street, today was September 1st, the first day of school.
Food stalls lined the street from one end to the other.
Lin Yaojia rode her skateboard, dressed in the school’s blue-and-white uniform.
She had originally planned to head straight to school without any distractions.
But along the way, the overwhelming aromas of grilled cold noodles, fried chicken strips, noodles with gravy, egg-filled pancakes, and starch sausages filled the air.
She swallowed hard. It had been a full month since she’d last eaten junk food.
Though Aunt Chen’s cooking was delicious, junk food was irreplaceable!
Ten minutes later, Lin Yaojia held a bag of grilled sausages in her left hand and a portion of fried chicken strips in her right, asking the grilled cold noodle vendor if there was seating available.
The chubby vendor smiled kindly. “There’s a spot! What a coincidence—a young lady just asked to sit and eat here, so I set up a table for her. You can go into the tent in the back.”
Lin Yaojia said, “Thank you, boss.”
“Everyone, these grilled cold noodles are really delicious, and the sauce is especially fragrant…”
Lin Yaojia lifted the tent flap to find a small table inside.
A girl wearing the same school uniform sat there, with a tall phone stand in front of her. The phone was mounted on the stand, and a light was set up beside it.
She held a plate of grilled cold noodles in one hand, her words interrupted.
Lin Yaojia froze. “Am I disturbing you?”
“It’s fine,” the girl replied cheerfully. “This is a recording. I’ll edit it later.”
“Can I sit across from you then?”
“Of course!” Xia Chanyi quickly waved her over. “Come on in.”
Her hair was long, tied into a lively ponytail.
Her eyes were spirited, her lips red and teeth white.
“Thank you,” Lin Yaojia said with a smile.
Xia Chanyi stopped recording and leaned in curiously. “Are you a freshman?”
“No,” Lin Yaojia replied. “I’m a sophomore.”
“Then how come I’ve never seen you before?” Xia Chanyi frowned. “That’s strange. There are only a few pretty girls at our school—how could I not remember you?”
[998! She said I’m pretty!]
998: [ ]
Lin Yaojia immediately felt a sense of fondness toward her. “I’m a new transfer student, my name is Lin Yaojia. The ‘Yao’ with the jade radical, and the ‘Jia’ with the single-person radical plus the character for addition.”
“My name is Xia Chanyi, ‘Chan’ as in cicada song, ‘Yi’ as in clothes,” Xia Chanyi said with a smile. “I’m also in the second year of high school, and I’m currently a mukbang streamer.”
“A mukbang streamer?” Lin Yaojia was a bit surprised. “That’s really impressive.”
“Hehe,” Xia Chanyi took out her phone. “Let’s add each other as friends.”
“Sure, sure.”
After adding each other, Lin Yaojia also followed her on short video platforms.
A full 1.05 million followers.
“You’re really amazing.”
“Stop praising me, or I’ll start floating away,” Xia Chanyi suddenly remembered something and asked, “Which class are you in?”
“Class Seven.”
“Science or liberal arts?” Xia Chanyi’s eyes lit up, asking with a hint of urgency.
A certain thought suddenly popped into Lin Yaojia’s mind. “I’m in science.”
“What a coincidence!” Xia Chanyi slapped the table and clicked her tongue. “We’re in the same class!”
“That really is quite a coincidence.”
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
“Huh?!” Lin Yaojia was stunned.
The topic had shifted way too fast.
Xia Chanyi: “I have a friend who’s good-looking, has a great personality… he’s just a bit blind.”
“…”
Lin Yaojia fell silent for a few seconds. “And then?”
“I think you two might be a good match~”
Lin Yaojia: “…”
Xia Chanyi opened her photo album. “I’m not exaggerating, this friend of mine is really something. He’s into sports, good-looking, knows how to care for people…”
She slid her phone over, and Lin Yaojia glanced at it.
The next second, the nutritional drink in her mouth sprayed out!
Xia Chanyi was startled. “What’s wrong?”
“Cough, cough—”
Lin Yaojia coughed violently a few times, grabbed some tissues, and wiped the corner of her mouth.
“That’s Cheng Yan, right?”
In the photo, the boy had a buzz cut, holding a basketball with one hand, standing under the shade of a tree, looking down at his phone.
“Huh?” Xia Chanyi froze. “You know him?”
“Yeah!” Lin Yaojia nodded. “I met Huo Songjin first, and then I met him.”
“Wow,” Xia Chanyi raised her eyebrows in surprise. “You know Songge? What’s your relationship with him?”
“Nothing special, just ordinary friends,” Lin Yaojia lowered her head and took a bite of her grilled sausage.
She happened to miss the scrutinizing look Xia Chanyi gave her.
It was the first time she’d seen Huo Songjin—who seemed destined to be alone—become friends with a girl.
Quite unusual.
“Since you know him, that makes things easier! So, what do you think? Isn’t he handsome?” Xia Chanyi’s eyes sparkled as she enthusiastically promoted Cheng Yan.
“He is handsome,” Lin Yaojia said doubtfully. “But doesn’t he already have someone he likes?”
“Don’t even mention it,” Xia Chanyi said with a headache. “That girl is no good, otherwise I wouldn’t be this anxious.”
Lin Yaojia patted her shoulder. “Just let things take their natural course.”
“Forget about him. He’s blind and deaf—if he gets tricked, it serves him right!” Xia Chanyi pulled a pack of snacks from her pocket. “Here, have something tasty.”
Lin Yaojia also shared the grilled sausages and fried chicken strips she had bought.
The two girls ate happily.
When the melodious sound of the class bell drifted over, they were still discussing celebrities.
“…”
Lin Yaojia’s body stiffened. “I think class has started.”
“Not ‘I think’—it’s a fact,” Xia Chanyi smiled, her expression tinged with bitterness.
“Let’s go!” Lin Yaojia grabbed her skateboard and sprinted off without looking back.
The entrance of No. 1 High School wasn’t particularly grand, and it remained unrenovated for many years to come.
Several tardy students stood at the gate, lined up neatly in a row.
A middle-aged man with a receding hairline paced back and forth, holding a small stick.
His expression was stern, and his shiny scalp gleamed brighter than the sun.