Ji Shu ran out of the classroom, gasping for breath, only catching up to Ruan Si’an at the corner of the second-floor corridor.
She suddenly stepped forward and grabbed the girl’s wrist. Ruan Si’an turned around, and upon seeing her, her expression flickered with surprise and something more complex, she instinctively furrowed her brow.
Ji Shu released her wrist and, slightly at a loss, held her hands behind her back.
“What are you doing here?” Ruan Si’an suddenly realized. “You heard everything just now?”
“Yes,” Ji Shu said hesitantly.
“So… are you here demanding an explanation?” Ruan Si’an’s eyes were slightly red, but her emotions were gradually calming. “When Qin Jia’s friend came to me, she showed me the photos. That’s when I realized the girl in the bathroom was you.”
“I feel very sorry for what she did to her,” Ji Shu apologized plainly. “But you also saw the consequences… there’s no turning back now. Or are you saying you want to witness her miserable outcome in person?”
“…No.” Ji Shu met her eyes, exhaled slowly after a long pause, and spoke with some difficulty, “On the contrary, I came here to say ‘I’m sorry.'”
Ruan Si’an’s eyes widened in shock. In her impression, Ji Shu was a proud person who never apologized.
From the very beginning, one of Ji Shu’s plans had been to use Ruan Si’an as her breakthrough to escape a fatal ending.
But she had only been here a week, and already countless incidents had occurred. She was too busy dealing with bullying and harassment to even consider going to the transfer student class to find the original female lead.
In the novel, the original female lead was cheerful, resentful, passionate in love and hate, clear in character, and extremely well-liked. This personality had initially drawn Ji Shu in, but now it made her hesitate. She didn’t even know if she should say what she truly felt.
Ji Shu knew clearly:
Ruan Si’an was not the naïve “[1]“white flower” refers to a type of character, not an actual flower. It describes someone who appears pure, gentle, and harmless, often innocent to the point of passivity, and who tends to forgive … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1746432_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1746432_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });white flower” heroine, an apology alone would not easily win her forgiveness.
Yet she spoke anyway, because this was the first necessary step. To gain the forgiveness of the heroine, and to escape the future in which she was bullied to the point of suicide.
“Are you joking?”
“No.”
“So you’re trying to flatter the Young Duke into letting you off? I heard life in your class hasn’t been easy.” Ruan Si’an turned her face away. “You’re probably going to be disappointed. As you can see, even a transfer student like me doesn’t have much influence with him. His targeting of you isn’t entirely because of me, he’s just looking for some outlet in his boring high school life.”
“I know,” Ji Shu said.
She clenched her hands, her breathing dull and slow. “This apology is just something I wanted to say myself. It has nothing to do with anyone else.”
—What the original ‘Ji Shu’ should have said.
“I’m sorry, Ruan Si’an. I apologize for what I did in the past. I know… perhaps I don’t have the right to say this here, but if I could gain your forgiveness, it would be a redemption for the rest of my life. As long as… it can calm the anger in your heart, I’ll do whatever you want as compensation.”
Unconsciously, Ji Shu felt her eyes swell. There was a faint, moist sensation lingering at the tip of her nose.
These were words from the heart, words she genuinely wanted to hear.
Words she had dreamed countless times of hearing in her previous life.
Ruan Si’an was stunned by her words, almost dazed, unable to react.
“You…” She looked at her with a mix of reluctance and something evasive, turning her gaze away, as if avoiding something. “Don’t say that. Those things are long past, I decided to move on when we graduated. Besides, back in middle school, I also…”
She paused, didn’t continue, and instead spoke gravely, “You really have changed a lot since middle school.”
Ji Shu asked, “Is there anything I can do for you?”
Ruan Si’an avoided her gaze and refused, “No need.”
She turned and hurried away. “…I’m going to lunch now. If I don’t get to the cafeteria soon, it’ll be closed.”
After she left, Ji Shu stood in place, calming her emotions for a moment before slowly moving on.
Upstairs, unseen by her, Xie Zhoulin had overheard the entire conversation. He remained silent, black hair shading the darkness in his eyes, making his emotions impossible to read.
The next day, Ji Shu brought the black umbrella to return it to Lu Mingxi, but he didn’t take it.
Holding the expensive custom Swaine umbrella, she felt it like a hot potato. In the end, she placed it on the communal umbrella rack at the classroom door.
The rainy season was humid and unpredictable, everyone brought their own umbrellas. Although people sometimes borrowed or grabbed the wrong one, no one dared touch the lonely black umbrella standing there by itself.
Ji Shu also noticed that Lu Mingxi’s glances at her had become more frequent.
‘After the next monthly exam, I’ll ask the teacher to switch my seat,’ she calculated, estimating that her slowly improving scores should earn her a front-row spot next time. That way, she could focus better without being affected by that guy.
At Wednesday’s assembly, as Xie Zhoulin had said, the girls who had bullied her in the sixth-floor girls’ restroom were punished. Their main offense was smoking on campus, and the secondary offense was bullying classmates. All were expelled, beyond the school-wide announcement, a heavily marked note was left in their academic records.
The students whispered among themselves.
“How unfortunate… if they’re expelled from Flandre, the only way to get into a good school is probably to leave the capital.”
“Most likely they’ll be sent abroad directly. Their domestic networks are ruined. After all these years, their parents only invested in a defective child, haha.”
“I heard that there might have been someone behind the scenes instigating it, but since there’s no evidence, nothing could be done.”
“Hey, did you hear? Apparently, those girls were bullying Ji Shu, the one who offended the young duke before! But it seems like the young duke hasn’t been bothering her for a long time, and somehow those girls just got themselves caught…”
“Who knows? Maybe the young duke got bored? Anyway, anyone he targets either can’t handle it and ends up jumping or getting expelled, or if they can endure, they might barely survive. As for those girls, they just got unlucky after doing something wrong themselves.”
Ji Shu returned to the classroom and sat down to work on her exercises. She felt a little dazed. In her previous life, she had never witnessed this kind of “justice being served.” Now, inhabiting a body that wasn’t her own, she was experiencing it, but the sense of unreality and detachment was overwhelming.
“Ji Shu.” A cool, clear voice pulled her back to the present.
She looked up and saw Xie Zhoulin handing out the grade summaries for the semester.
Whether it was her imagination or not, his voice didn’t feel as cold as before.
Ji Shu thanked him and took the thin sheets of paper.
Her class ranking had improved by 18 places, and her grade ranking had risen by 276 places. There were still a few subjects, like history and geography, that she hadn’t had time to review systematically, but she planned to aim for an A+ by the final exam.
More important than small tests were the SAT essays, the short and long writing sections. These were unlike anything she had studied before and felt completely unfamiliar, few known test strategies could be applied.
She planned to go home and look for some online courses on YouTube to help.
Xie Zhoulin didn’t leave her desk, however. He looked down at her and suddenly asked, “Have you ever done SAT practice tests?”
Ji Shu looked up, a little surprised at his initiative. “I haven’t done practice tests, only past real exams… Do you prefer practice tests?”
From her perspective, real past exams offered the best value. Excluding the first test each spring, there was a second chance in the fall for those unhappy with their scores. Each exam had two sets, A and B, giving four past exams per year. Mastering them thoroughly could significantly boost her results.
She also felt she had started too late, she hadn’t even gone through the dozens of past exams yet, so she hadn’t considered doing practice tests.
Xie Zhoulin said, “I’ve finished the real exams, so now I’m doing practice tests.” He paused, then added, “…If there are any questions you don’t understand, you can come ask me.”
Ji Shu was slightly surprised. “Thank you. If it doesn’t take up your time, I definitely will.”
He gave a brief “Mm” and then left her desk.
Although he said that, Ji Shu didn’t take it too seriously. He was probably just being polite, after all, Xie Zhoulin was always busy after class, barely seen, unlike Lu Mingxi, who wandered around the classroom every day. She didn’t want to trouble him or waste his time.
She put the grade sheet into her bag. When she looked up, she caught Lu Mingxi’s gaze fixed on her.
His gaze was so intense that it felt impossible to ignore, and he made no effort to hide it, even when Ji Shu noticed, he didn’t look away. Her movements slowed, and she couldn’t focus on her exercises. She rummaged in her bag, pulled out a folder of documents, and used the break between classes to slip out of the classroom.
Only after leaving his line of sight did she finally let out a breath.
Following the navigation, Ji Shu headed to Building C. She asked directions along the way and eventually found Ruan Si’an’s classroom.
She looked up at the door sign to confirm she had the right room, then approached the door and grabbed the wrist of a girl who was just about to enter. “Excuse me, could you call Ruan Si’an for me?”
The girl seemed used to this kind of request. She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted into the lively classroom, “Ruan Ruan, someone’s here to see you!”
The vocal and dance scholarship class was almost entirely female, chatting and sitting arm in arm, the atmosphere vibrant and noisy.
The girl in the center of the group lifted her head. The others around her followed her gaze, and for a moment, the room went quiet.
Ruan Si’an froze for a few seconds, then stood and began walking toward the door. A tall girl beside her grabbed her wrist and shook her head with a look of annoyance. Ruan Si’an whispered, “It’s fine, I’ll be back soon.”
She made her way to the door, glancing at Ji Shu with a mix of curiosity and caution. “What’s going on?”
Ji Shu led her out to the hallway, stepping aside to let other students pass. Then she pulled out the documents and handed them over. “I wanted to make it up to you before, but I never knew what you really needed. So I printed out my notes for each subject. They’re all here, you can use them as a reference. It should make reviewing for finals a little easier.”
Ruan Si’an looked at her in surprise, remaining silent for a long moment before hesitantly saying, “You…”
Ji Shu continued, “I’ve improved my grades a lot this time, so I think the notes might actually help with review. Your vocal classes are intensive, and there’s not much focus on academic subjects. Using these notes could save you a lot of effort.”
Ruan Si’an blinked and then finally took the thick stack of papers.
She really was a vocal scholarship student aiming for the Flandre Capital Music Academy. Although her professional scores were top of the class, getting into the country’s best music school required more than just professional results, her SAT in the fifth semester also needed to meet a high standard, not to mention the later, much harder school exams.
“…Thank you,” Ruan Si’an said softly.
“No problem,” Ji Shu replied. “Let’s exchange contact information. If you have any questions, you can ask me on Line, or we can set a time to meet for tutoring.”
Ruan Si’an was about to speak, but Ji Shu quickly added, “Don’t feel pressured… just think of it as me settling my own conscience.”
Ruan Si’an hugged the folder, lowered her head, and after a long moment, quietly said “Mm.” After exchanging contact information, she turned and hurried back into the classroom.
The vocal scholarship class had already returned to its noisy chatter, the girls laughing and talking as if nothing had happened. Ruan Si’an sat down, bowed her head for a moment, and then opened the folder.
Inside were neatly printed, well-organized notes with clear frameworks, key points marked, and mind maps. The thick stack contained nearly a hundred pages, carefully separated by subject.
While Ruan Si’an was still flipping through the notes, she heard a voice of derision from beside her.
“She’s going all out to flatter you… I wonder what her real motive is,” said a girl named Qin Jia, sitting next to her. She crossed her legs, rolled her eyes, and boredly started playing on her phone.
Ruan Si’an didn’t respond or argue. She just stared at the notes, lost in thought, as if recalling something from the past.
Meanwhile, after Ji Shu had delivered the notes and was heading back, she ran into Cen Xuan.
Ji Shu didn’t usually pay much attention while walking, but Cen Xuan spotted her first and happily called her name as she approached. “Ji Shu!”
Walking beside Cen Xuan was a very tall girl, easily over 1.75 meters, with mid-length straight hair tucked under a black baseball cap. She was tall and slim, her uniform buttons undone and sleeves rolled up, wearing black studded Dr. Martens, chewing watermelon-flavored bubblegum.
Ji Shu greeted Cen Xuan, and Cen Xuan excitedly introduced her to the tall girl. “This is Ji Shu! Remember that dodgeball video from last time? The girl in it is her!”
The girl in the baseball cap sized Ji Shu up, her gaze scanning her from head to toe. She slowly blew a giant pink bubble, and after it popped on her cheek, she lazily muttered a single word.
“Impressive.”
Ji Shu said, “…Thanks.”
Cen Xuan giggled and said to Ji Shu, “Her name’s Chu Jiayi. Like me, she’s a sports scholarship student, part of our school tennis team, preparing for next year’s national selection. Don’t mind her, she’s just like that, always a little unpredictable.”
“That’s fine,” Ji Shu replied.
Cen Xuan’s curiosity got the better of her. “So, what brings you to our C area? Looking for someone? I saw you coming from the vocal class side.”
Ji Shu admitted, “Yeah, I came to see Ruan Si’an.”
Cen Xuan’s eyes widened in surprise. “Ruan Si’an? You know her too?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing really,” Cen Xuan said after a moment. “She was pretty famous on the school forum last semester. Apparently, she spilled a drink on the Young Duke and then got targeted by a lot of people, but later the Young Duke started pursuing her. That post got deleted for some reason, but basically the whole school knew about it. I only got to know her after that, and we hung out a few times after.”
“She’s open and cheerful, and pretty loyal too, so everyone likes her. But…,” Cen Xuan frowned, choosing her words carefully, “she’s not always careful about who she befriends. You’ll see all kinds of people around her. I remember she had a friend named Qin Jia, kind of a troublemaker, maybe even linked to some outside gangs. That group often went after weaker students in Flandre to extort them.”
She warned Ji Shu, “You’d better stay away from her, or you might end up on the receiving end of her revenge.”
Chu Jiayi, still blowing a bubble beside her, slurred her words to make a joke: “Black gang, impressive.”
The tense atmosphere instantly broke, and Cen Xuan, half laughing and half exasperated, kicked her a few times playfully.
In Ji Shu’s mind, vague fragments of images flickered by. She couldn’t make out what they were, but suddenly she felt a headache coming on.
Cen Xuan asked with concern, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Thanks for your warning,” Ji Shu said. “I’ll head back to class now.”
After saying goodbye to Cen Xuan, Ji Shu turned to walk back. She tried to grab hold of those fragments in her mind, but each attempt was fruitless. Those memories didn’t belong to her, they drifted like fragments in the depths of her subconscious.
At least, she had remembered Cen Xuan’s warning. Helping Ruan Si’an was a small act of atonement for the past version of herself. With this semester’s coursework light, she could lend more assistance now. By the next semester, after repaying these debts and earning the heroine’s forgiveness, she wouldn’t have to get involved in these people’s troubles anymore.
In the following days, as Ji Shu continued to visit Ruan Si’an, the girl’s attitude gradually softened. She became less cold and resistant, even occasionally asking about Ji Shu’s life in class.
Ji Shu reassured her that no one had bullied her anymore, and Ruan Si’an slowly relaxed. Sometimes she looked at Ji Shu as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she said nothing.
In the hallway filled with laughter and footsteps, Ji Shu bought two bottles of water from a vending machine, handed one to Ruan Si’an, leaned against the wall, and asked, “Do you want to study together this weekend?”
Ruan Si’an hesitated. From Ji Shu’s notes, she could see how capable she was, yet something still held her back. After thinking for a moment, she nodded. “Sure.”
“Then we’ll arrange the time and place on Line later.”
“Okay.”
Ji Shu twisted open her bottle of water and took a long sip.
Suddenly, her heart skipped a beat, she sensed something.
That burning, piercing gaze had fixed on her, unblinking. It slid down from her jaw as she drank, traced her neck, passed the collar of her uniform, and finally returned to her cheek.
Ji Shu looked up toward the other side.
The C District teaching building was shaped like a half “回” (square-within-a-square) structure. Amid the noisy clamor and the flow of people in the wide corridors, directly across on the same floor from where Ji Shu and Ruan Si’an were talking, the tall, broad-shouldered young duke was leaning casually against the railing, his gaze fixed in her direction, a faint smile lifting his brows.
The railing reached roughly to another person’s chest, barely reaching his waist. He rested one arm on the rail, holding a bottle of the same purified water as hers, lazily swinging it back and forth.
The rain had just passed, the light dim and misty. A breeze stirred, lifting his pink hair and casting a moving shadow across his eyelids.
Noticing that she had seen him, Lu Mingxi neither dodged nor looked away, he just smiled, even lifting one brow.
He met her gaze openly, without the slightest intention of averting his eyes.
Around him, the girls’ exclamations, gasps, and screams erupted. The crowd pressed together, and the stairwell on the opposite side of the floor quickly became packed and impassable.
Ruan Si’an, with her back to the opposite building, quickly heard the commotion. She turned and saw Lu Mingxi across the way. A flush crept up her ears, and a faint, embarrassed annoyance flickered across her face.
She looked at Ji Shu shyly. “Sorry, you had to see that. He rarely comes over to me, I don’t know why he suddenly did today…”
Ji Shu was still in a daze. The cheers and shouting made Ruan Si’an’s face turn instantly red. She grabbed Ji Shu’s hand, lowered her head, and ran quickly out of the line of sight, whispering,
“It’s so crowded over there that you can’t get down the stairs. I’ll take you another way, otherwise, you’ll be late for class.”
Ji Shu murmured a stiff, “Mm,” following her, feeling a little frozen in both body and mind.
After she turned, that gaze continued to follow her closely, lingering until the concrete walls and steel beams finally cut it off.
References[+]