He Ying had anticipated that her actions today might trigger some ripple effects.
For instance, being called in by the school for violating rules and bullying others.
Or being secretly targeted by obsessive admirers of Shangguan Mingyu who overestimate their abilities.
Or being unjustly slandered and subjected to psychological torment, among other things.
After all, He Ying always felt that the ordinary students at this school weren’t quite normal.
They seemed like actors programmed to perform specific tasks, including but not limited to:
Gathering at the school entrance during the start of term to cheer and wave banners for the School F4.
Squealing and fawning when the F4 glance their way: “He looked at me! He looked at me!” “No way, he was definitely looking at me!” “Ahhh!! So handsome!” “I’m swooning, he’s too gorgeous!”
Mindlessly bullying the female protagonist after her appearance, paving the way for the romance between the male and female leads.
These were all classic tropes of old-school campus stories. Everything in the school revolved around these four men of the F4. Teachers didn’t teach, students didn’t study—every day was just about loving and hating centered around the F4.
So He Ying never imagined that one day, the F4 would be harassed by other students at the school.
Seriously, that’s the F4—the top of the school’s food chain.
In any old-school story, who ever heard of anyone getting above the F4? Even a rich girl like He Ying could only be a simp, right?
The only explanation He Ying could think of was what the System had mentioned: this world’s Worldview had been refined.
With this peculiar feeling, He Ying slept soundly through a dreamless night.
In the morning, awakened by the newspaper delivery bell, He Ying opened her door and saw Ding Yunyun already at the dining table in the living room, eating breakfast and reading the paper.
For a moment, He Ying even superimposed Ding Yunyun’s image with that of her cheap old dad.
Seeing He Ying awake, Ding Yunyun nodded to her: “Up already? Breakfast has been delivered.”
“Morning.”
School accommodations included double rooms, quadruple rooms, and six-person rooms.
The double rooms were standalone duplex units—though not large, they had all the essentials.
The quadruple rooms were spacious four-bedroom flats with a living area.
The six-person rooms were three-bedroom flats with bunk beds.
Quadruple rooms could be occupied by paying enough, while six-person rooms were provided free.
Only the double rooms not only required a hefty fee but also demanded that parents accompany the student through a school assessment. Only students judged to have exceptional self-control could live in the double rooms.
Among the F4, only Shangguan Mingyu, due to his “unruly defiance,” failed the self-control test and now lived in a quadruple room.
Thinking of this, He Ying nearly laughed herself silly.
Ding Yunyun was somewhat surprised by the smile He Ying directed at her.
Previously, He Ying had been polite but always felt distant. Yet that smile just now gave Ding Yunyun the illusion that this person was quite approachable.
Regardless of whether it was an illusion, she had to please He Ying—this was the sole heir of the He family.
He Ying walked over naturally and, unsurprisingly, saw fresh fruit, salad, and a small bowl of bird’s nest soup on the table.
This was the dietary habit cultivated by her family during He Ying’s memory-less period, but He Ying with memories still preferred more heavily seasoned, oily, and salty foods.
Like the spicy tofu pudding in front of Ding Yunyun.
Ding Yunyun saw He Ying looking at her tofu pudding and thought the young lady disliked seeing such food. She was about to take it away to avoid offending the young lady’s eyes when she heard He Ying cautiously ask, “Can I swap breakfasts with you?”
Ding Yunyun paused slightly: “Of course.”
After finishing breakfast, it was 6:30 AM. He Ying and her classmates had to arrive at the classroom before 7:00 to recite the articles and poems assigned by the teacher yesterday. If they failed to recite during the spot check, their homework load for today would double.
The entire recitation session would last 50 minutes, with formal classes starting at 8:00.
This wasn’t He Ying’s first day of class, but it was the first day for He Ying after regaining her memories.
When her inner self transformed from a genuine high school student into a Quick Transmigration Retirement-Type Player, her mindset became like this:
This appearance of doing my utmost to fulfill my learning duties despite having no real interest will ultimately contribute to my retirement career!
It was truly strange. Before sleeping yesterday, she felt omnipotent and about to live a life of lounging and counting money, but today, sitting in the classroom, she felt there was no hardship she could overcome.
She was wrong, truly wrong. She shouldn’t have chosen this world from the start. If she hadn’t chosen this world, she wouldn’t be a high school student; if she weren’t a high school student, she wouldn’t need to attend school here; if she didn’t need to attend school here, she wouldn’t have to wake up early; if she didn’t have to wake up early, she wouldn’t be foolish all day like now.
Damn System, why couldn’t it let her finish the three miserable years of high school ignorant before restoring her memories!
Finally enduring until lunchtime, He Ying felt she had slightly revived, gloomily tidying her desk to go to the cafeteria for lunch.
All this was seen by Shangguan Mingyu, who came to find Xia Shuyue to eat lunch together.
He naturally assumed this was He Ying regretting yesterday’s unpleasantness with him and that she would soon try every means to appease him.
Originally, He Ying’s glance yesterday unsettled him somewhat, plus the group that came to confront him at night, Shangguan Mingyu thought He Ying had grown disgusted with him.
But seeing He Ying’s state today, Shangguan Mingyu felt he had overthought it; that group likely acted on their own, trying to use him to curry favor with He Ying.
Confirming He Ying wasn’t planning to deal with him, Shangguan Mingyu grew irritable again.
Hands in pockets, his originally handsome face revealing a crooked, Dragon King-like smile, he stood at the entrance of He Ying’s class and called out, “Xia Shuyue, come here.””
He Ying and Xia Shuyue were in the same class, while F4 were in other classes.
This setting was also to allow Xia Shuyue to suffer more bullying and create more opportunities for F4 to stand up for her.
He Ying’s evaluation: sick.
She ignored the noisy Shangguan Mingyu at the classroom entrance, walking past him without glancing sideways to go eat.
But though she wanted to avoid trouble, trouble sought her out itself.
“He Ying, stop!”
Shangguan Mingyu’s overbearing loud voice made He Ying feel awkward while also halting her steps. She wanted to see what nonsense this outdated school bully would spout.
Shangguan Mingyu dragged Xia Shuyue straight toward He Ying. No matter how much Xia Shuyue struggled, Shangguan Mingyu seemed oblivious, pulling her right in front of He Ying. He pushed up Xia Shuyue’s sleeve, revealing bruises of blue and purple, making He Ying frown.
Although she had long known Xia Shuyue wasn’t living well, seeing it firsthand was still shocking.
She remembered that Xia Shuyue’s grades had always been excellent.
“He Ying!! Was this you? I told you to have your lackeys come at me if they have a problem.” Shangguan Mingyu’s eyes were red, each word dripping with venom, giving He Ying a close-up view of what it meant for “that man’s eyes to turn red as if the world had collapsed.”
“It has nothing to do with He Ying! Really, it wasn’t her! Please stop this, just stop!” Xia Shuyue once again rejected Shangguan Mingyu’s intervention, but it seemed useless.
Shangguan Mingyu stubbornly believed that the source of Xia Shuyue’s bullying was jealousy from his childhood friend.
“Xia Shuyue, what are you afraid of? I said I’d protect you!!”
He Ying almost laughed at this. Shangguan Mingyu’s protection had always been too little, too late.
It was true that she was here to complete tasks, but this time was different from before. The System had said there were no OOC restrictions—in this world, He Ying had been her from the very beginning. She was He Ying.
The only rule she needed to follow was to complete the periodic tasks that advanced the plot.
For He Ying, the biggest challenge she faced now wasn’t the tasks but the fact that, to inherit the vast family fortune, she had to maintain a ranking within the top ten in the entire school every semester.
It was true that she was the only heir to the He family, but her father had once said something that made her dare not relax for a moment:
“If my daughter can’t make something of herself, these assets will only harm her. I’ll consider donating all the wealth after I die.”
Listen to that! Just listen! What kind of talk was that? What kind of talk?!
It felt as though there was clearly a treasure vault right in front of her, but the key was buried in a massive cesspit. She had to endure the discomfort and hardship, fishing out the key from within, only then could she live the life she desired.
So… she was already annoyed by school, and being at the top of the rankings was even more annoying. Now Shangguan Mingyu was causing trouble, thinking she was some easy-to-squash cookie?
“Fine.” He Ying didn’t bother explaining anymore and went along with his words. “You said to come at you, so I’ll come at you.”