In an instant, the color drained from Ji Shu’s face.
The people around her giggled and whispered as they watched. She didn’t move for half a minute, standing in place like a statue. Stiffly, she turned her head, pivoted, and walked toward her seat, tidying up her bag.
“Is she really going to class like that? Not even cleaning up?”
“Ha, maybe she’s genuinely feeling hot in this weather, and a bucket of water just cooled her off.”
“Look at her, like a drowned rat!”
…
Ji Shu wiped the water from her face without saying a word. Expressionless, she packed her things and then went to the locker at the back of the classroom to get her textbooks and supplies.
The mirror on the locker door reflected her clearly.
Her small, palm-sized face was covered in droplets, her black hair sticking to her cheeks in wet clumps. Her large, dark eyes were void of light, the pupils deep and heavy. Her lips, colorless, were tightly pressed together, and water dripped steadily from her pointed chin.
Ji Shu glanced at her reflection, expressionless, and opened the locker door.
She froze for a moment.
The locker door was loose.
She yanked it open quickly.
Sure enough, the topmost thick math notebook had been smeared with ink, pages from the first to the last were soaked through. The ink was still wet. She tried to wipe it with a tissue, but it only made things worse. Droplets from her chin fell onto the pages, smearing the ink and letters into a blur.
The notebook was completely ruined.
She stood quietly in front of the locker holding the notebook, motionless, until the bell rang and she returned to her seat.
The classmates around her silently hid their mocking looks, waiting for the teacher to arrive while impatiently uploading the “show” they had just witnessed onto the forum from beneath their desks.
The first class was math.
Second-year large math classes were divided into two groups: Math One and Math Two. The Math One teacher for this session happened to be Wang Jing. Responsible for calculus, he was strict, methodical, and hated students who didn’t follow the rules.
As soon as he entered and saw Ji Shu, of course he frowned.
He lightly placed his lesson plan on the desk.
“Some students, if you don’t want to come to school, then don’t. I really don’t understand what you’re even doing here,” he said slowly, flipping the pages with his fingers in a pointed way.
Soft snickers arose from below. Posts and replies on the phones under the desks were rapidly refreshing.
【Wang Jing’s being sarcastic again?】
【I’m actually hoping he says more, I can’t be bothered listening to his lecture, it’s like a lullaby.】
【【image】【image】】 She’s really daring! Didn’t even change clothes, and goes to class like that. Is she fearless or just giving up entirely?
Tsk tsk, look at that pathetic sight. I really regret not being in your class, can’t watch this show in person hahaha.
I heard she hit the young duke yesterday. He took the day off to lie in the hospital today. Looks like she’s really going to have bad luck from now on 【covering mouth laugh】.
If she really hit the young duke, how could he possibly show up at school unscathed?
A cough sounded from the podium.
“Put away everything that should be put away.” Wang Jing shot a glance at the classroom, turned his back, and slowly started writing on the board.
The rows of glowing screens under the desks finally quieted down.
It wasn’t until the end of class that the quiet classroom became lively again.
Because her notebook was ruined, Ji Shu could only temporarily write notes directly in her textbook. She tried to catch up during class whenever there was a break, but with so much missing, it was only a drop in the bucket.
The air conditioning made her shiver, and the wet shirt clung uncomfortably to her chest, the light pink color faintly visible. Ji Shu rubbed her arms and sneezed.
A white towel was tossed onto her desk.
“The bathroom isn’t crowded right now.” A calm, distant voice said.
Ji Shu recognized the voice.
On the first day, he was the one who sent her to the storage room to find Lu Mingxi. At the hospital, it was also him who told her to leave first.
Ji Shu lifted her head and saw the tall, slim boy standing by her desk.
He was lanky, fair-skinned, and wore his school uniform perfectly buttoned to the top.
His black hair was neatly styled, not a strand out of place. He wore half-rimmed glasses, his nose was straight, facial features sharp and smooth, lips tightly pressed, exuding an air of refined elegance shaped by strict upbringing and excellent family background.
Xie Zhoulin, one of the male leads. His father was a former prime minister and a nationally recognized piano performer, now a professor at Flandre Music and Arts University. His mother was the leader of the Democratic Party, which had won the last election and appointed her as prime minister for a five-year term by the queen.
Four years ago, the conservative party took office, replacing the cabinet. But with the current election cycle and the recent trend toward liberalization, the Democratic Party regained prominence.
Xie Zhoulin himself was also the president of Flandre Academy’s student council and one of its chiefs, holding all the top academic awards and competition medals. In Flandre, he was extremely popular, arguably even more so than Lu Mingxi, and widely respected as the “model student.”
Even just for appearances, he would hand her a towel.
Ji Shu glanced at the class schedule.
After two back-to-back math classes, it was PE. No matter what, she had to change into her sports uniform before class.
She took the towel and caught a faint, subtle scent of soap pods.
She didn’t even have time to say “thank you” before the boy had turned and walked away from her desk.
Ji Shu wrapped her hair in the towel, lowered her head, and quickly left the classroom, heading to the fourth-floor restroom.
Fortunately, there weren’t many people in the restroom, and the hair dryers were free.
The dry, warm air wrapped around her wet, chilled skin. Only when the noise was drowned out did Ji Shu feel a true quiet settle around her ears. The constant chatter had agitated her, but when it was removed from her surroundings and mind, she finally tasted a moment of peace.
Once the restroom began filling up, Ji Shu put down the hair dryer. Her hair and shirt were dry, and the uniform no longer felt so heavy. She returned to the classroom, grabbed her sports uniform and sneakers, and, taking advantage of the small number of people, headed to the locker room.
Fortunately, her phone hadn’t received any messages during this time.
If she could just get through this morning, it would be fine. The afternoon only had elective Western classical music appreciation and extracurricular club activities. She probably wouldn’t run into her classmates, and nothing too serious should happen.
Ji Shu was just about to exhale in relief.
But the moment she finished changing, she realized she couldn’t push the door open.
She froze for a moment, then tried several more times, still, the locker room door didn’t budge.
She quickly figured out what had happened. Slamming the door with force, she shouted, “Who’s blocking my door?!”
Inside the locker room, there were still voices, talking, laughing, but no one responded to her.
A chill ran through her body.
She twisted the lock while repeatedly ramming the door with one shoulder. The locker room door shook violently but showed no sign of opening.
“Open the door!” Ji Shu coughed, gasping for breath, shouting loudly. “Let me out! PE class is about to start!”
Still, no one answered.
She could even clearly hear the people outside talking about school, family, relationships, and after-school entertainment. They discussed celebrities they were following and newly released albums.
And she felt as if she were speaking in another dimension, their voices dropped into a bottomless well, with no echo reaching her at all.
Panic began to rise in her chest. She checked her watch, just ten minutes until class, but still no one responded. Even as her voice grew hoarse, even as she began to plead, there was silence.
Gradually, the voices in the locker room faded, and eventually the door closed. Not a single person had paid her any attention.
Ji Shu’s body had gone numb from banging against the door so many times, almost losing all sensation. It wasn’t until the hands of her watch overlapped and the bell rang that she felt fully awake.
She gave up on all her futile attempts and instead climbed onto the locker room’s storage table. After several tries, she finally reached the top shelf. Carefully, she clambered up and lifted her leg to reach the door panel.
Looking down, she saw that the locker room lock had been hooked from the outside. From her current height, there was no way to unhook it.
Without much hesitation, she climbed over the door panel and leapt down.
Ji Shu let out a pained groan, and with a muffled thud, she hit the ground. Pain radiated through her entire body, but she had curled up in time, protecting her head with her elbows. Fortunately, she hadn’t suffered any serious injuries.
Although her body hurt, Ji Shu barely felt it.
She kicked the hook aside, pushed the door open, gathered her things, and headed straight for the sports field. The athletic facility in the central area of Flandre covered about 150,000 square meters, including outdoor fields and indoor arenas.
By the time she arrived at the class assembly point, over ten minutes of class had already passed. Warm-up exercises were finished, and after the PE teacher assigned the sports activities, all responsibility for testing had been handed over to Xie Zhoulin.
After receiving the test sheets and equipment, Xie Zhoulin looked up and saw a girl walking toward the venue.
She moved quickly, expressionless, with eyes so dark they were frightening.
“You’re late,” Xie Zhoulin said, stopping her. He lowered his head and recorded her name on the sheet.
Ji Shu didn’t explain anything. She only asked, “What’s the arrangement next?”
Her voice was calm, so calm that it almost seemed unnaturally composed. Xie Zhoulin sensed a faint unease but continued speaking.
“This class is a dodgeball game test. Three people per group, two groups face off at a time until a winning group is determined. Do you know the rules of dodgeball?”
Ji Shu answered, “Yes.”
The dodgeball game had been modified by Flandre Academy and was now part of the PE testing curriculum. It was also a regular event at the annual sports festival and had gradually become a traditional Flandre competition.
In dodgeball, each group stands within its own circle, throwing balls at members of the opposing group while avoiding incoming balls. Flandre used a point system: hitting limbs scores 1 point, hitting shoulders 3 points, and hitting the head 5 points. Any member hit in the head three times is immediately out.
The winning team is the one with the most points at the end.
“But you’re late,” Xie Zhoulin said while flipping through the test sheet on his clipboard. “The girls’ teams have already been assigned. You can ask if any group is willing to add a member.”
“No need,” Ji Shu said.
Xie Zhoulin paused.
He looked up from the paper and finally noticed that the girl had some injuries, large bruises on her arms and thighs, and some shallow abrasions on one arm.
He then noticed that her voice was slightly hoarse.
“…” Xie Zhoulin put away his clipboard and reminded her, “You can mark this class as sick leave.”
Dodgeball wasn’t an easy test. Especially after Flandre’s modifications, a serious effort in a test inevitably caused minor bumps and bruises.
Yet Ji Shu gave the same answer.
“No need,” she said, walking toward the ball basket.
At that moment, the girls’ teams noticed her. The previously noisy gym suddenly fell silent. Most of them looked as if they had seen a ghost, eyes wide, not daring to speak, perhaps out of shock or disbelief, stepping aside as she passed.
Carrying a ball, Ji Shu walked alone into the front circle, turned around, and faced everyone.
“I’ll be one team, by myself.”
In the vast indoor gymnasium, silence reigned. Only her slightly hoarse voice was audible, carrying faint echoes across the wide space.
The harsh lights above cast shadows from her loose hair around her eyes, making her dark pupils appear even deeper and more intense.
Her next words made everyone in the gym shiver.
“No matter who you are. No matter who splashed the water, no matter who ruined the notes, no matter who locked the door,”
Ji Shu raised her hand, pointing at everyone in front of her, expressionless but commanding,
“Today, with this ball, I will knock every one of your teams out.”