Xu Ning turned her head and looked at her. “Why are you doing this?”
Lin Zhao understood.
She met Xu Ning’s gaze calmly and said softly, “Do you think I’ve suddenly changed? That I’m different from before? Before, I bullied you, insulted you, and now all of a sudden I’m being nice to you—it feels strange, maybe even… scary?”
Xu Ning didn’t speak, only stared at her, her eyes filled with complex emotions.
Lin Zhao took a deep breath. “I suddenly realized that what I did before was childish, ridiculous. I relied on my family’s influence to bully people, building my happiness on other people’s pain.”
She continued, “I know that the hurt I caused you can’t be erased with just a few words. I only want to get closer to you, to slowly make up for the harm I caused.”
Xu Ning’s brow furrowed sharply. She didn’t hesitate to refuse: “But I don’t need it.”
“I know you don’t need it.”
Lin Zhao smiled. “But whether you need it or not is different from whether I want to give it. You have the right to reject me; likewise, I have the right to refuse your rejection.”
Xu Ning’s eyes widened, as if Lin Zhao’s words had left her momentarily speechless. After a long pause, she finally spat out three words: “You… shameless!”
“Wow.” Lin Zhao raised her eyebrows in mock exaggeration, teasing, “I thought you’d noticed a long time ago. I am shameless.”
Seeing Xu Ning’s reddened eyes from anger, she added: “Of course, you can also call me mentally unstable—doesn’t matter, I don’t care what others think of me.”
Xu Ning didn’t speak. She lowered her head, letting her long hair cover all her expressions.
She hadn’t realized before that Lin Zhao could be this unscrupulous.
Lin Zhao looked at the top of her bowed head and reached out to brush the hair from her forehead to see her face.
But as soon as her hand stretched out, Xu Ning grabbed her wrist.
Her hand was cold, but surprisingly strong. Xu Ning lifted her head, her clear eyes now like a frozen river—terrifyingly cold.
Lin Zhao froze for a moment at that gaze, then laughed again: “Angry?”
Xu Ning stared at her for a long while, so long that Lin Zhao began to feel a bit uncomfortable. Finally, Xu Ning spoke slowly: “Lin Zhao, whatever your reason for suddenly becoming like this, I don’t have time to play your silly games.”
Her words were like a bucket of cold water, dampening the smile on Lin Zhao’s face.
But Lin Zhao quickly reverted to her playful, mischievous demeanor, leaning closer to Xu Ning and lowering her voice: “My dear deskmate, how can you say that? Games are nowhere near as fun as you.”
Xu Ning’s face immediately darkened further. She yanked Lin Zhao’s wrist so hard that a red mark formed.
Lin Zhao rubbed her sore wrist, watching Xu Ning fume, and couldn’t help laughing: “Strong, aren’t you? There’s a saying—when a rabbit is cornered, it will bite.”
“Lin Zhao!”
Xu Ning bit her lip, chest heaving, struggling to control her emotions.
Seeing her anger, Lin Zhao knew she couldn’t push further. She let go of the teasing expression, sighed, and spoke sincerely: “Alright, alright. My mistake. I shouldn’t have said those nonsense things to make you angry.”
Xu Ning turned her head, refusing to look at her.
The next twenty minutes of class dragged on like half a century for Lin Zhao.
Xu Ning’s back remained straight, her eyes never even glanced in Lin Zhao’s direction.
After all, they were deskmates. They would still be together day after day; things couldn’t remain this tense forever.
Lin Zhao bit her lip, tore a small note from her notebook, and wrote: Still mad?
She folded the note into a tiny square, inching it toward Xu Ning’s desk. Eventually, it nudged against Xu Ning’s textbook.
Xu Ning seemed completely oblivious, not even lifting an eyelid.
After a few seconds, she furrowed her brow slightly and moved her textbook aside. The note fell into the gap between their desks.
Lin Zhao’s mouth twitched. Frustrating—but she couldn’t complain. After all, she had provoked her first.
She tore another piece of paper and wrote more sincerely: I was wrong. Forgive me, dear deskmate~ and drew a crooked smiley face.
This time, she didn’t push it across but gently tapped Xu Ning’s arm.
Xu Ning stiffened slightly and finally lowered her head to glance at the note.
Lin Zhao’s heart leaped—hoping for a reply.
But Xu Ning just glanced at it, picked up a pen, scribbled a few words on the blank space, and pushed it back.
Lin Zhao snatched it eagerly, only to freeze when she saw the words:
Focus on class.
Lin Zhao: “….”
Fine. That’s a step even higher than Mount Everest.
Still unwilling to give up, she leaned on her chin, silently mouthing to Xu Ning: Forgive me, dear deskmate~
Xu Ning remained indifferent.
As Lin Zhao contemplated making it more dramatic, something lightly hit the back of her head.
Startled, she touched it—there was a hard paper ball.
Who had the guts to ambush her?
Frowning, she opened the crumpled ball. The handwriting was unmistakable.
After school, wait for me.
Lin Zhao’s gaze instantly darkened. She casually raised her head, scanning the back of the classroom with the corner of her eye.
Gu Zhuoxiao was leaning back in his chair, chin resting on his hand, eyes sharply fixed on Xu Ning’s back.
Of course it was him.
Lin Zhao’s fingers clenched, crumpling the paper further.
What does he want with Xu Ning?
Gu Zhuoxiao had never stopped pursuing Xu Ning. Early on, he was intrigued by her because she wasn’t like the other girls fawning over him; later, her stubbornness awakened his desire to conquer.
The harder something is to get, the less scrupulous he becomes.
Disgusting.
A mocking glint flickered in Lin Zhao’s eyes.
Gu Zhuoxiao, relying on his background, treated everyone like pawns, thinking he could manipulate others’ fates with a flick of his finger.
Unfortunately for him, he met her.
Just then, the teacher’s voice rang from the podium: “Lin Zhao!”
Lin Zhao snapped back to reality and instinctively stood: “Yes!”
All the students’ eyes turned toward her, eager for entertainment.
The teacher pushed up her glasses and pointed to a multiple-choice question on the board, serious: “What’s the answer to this question?”
Lin Zhao had long since graduated—let alone high school, even middle school math she had nearly forgotten.
Her mind had been elsewhere; she hadn’t caught a single word the teacher said.
What should she do?
A thin layer of sweat formed on her forehead. Glancing at Xu Ning’s workbook, she saw neatly written steps leading to the answer: C.
Xu Ning noticed her gaze and subtly moved the workbook to block the answer with her elbow.
Lin Zhao: “….”
Fine. This grudge is serious.
Biting her lip, she steeled herself: “Choose… C.”
The teacher studied her for a few seconds, then nodded: “Good, sit down.”
Lin Zhao exhaled, sitting down, back drenched in sweat.
This was the first time she had been this scared since arriving in this world.
Hell, exams were scarier than ghosts.
Before she could settle, the teacher spoke again: “Lin Zhao, stand up!”
Pointing to a longer problem on the board, her brow furrowed tightly: “Solve this one on the board.”
Lin Zhao looked up. The problem alone spanned three lines, and her scalp went numb.
She didn’t even understand it, let alone solve it.
Gritting her teeth, she stammered: “Teacher… I… don’t know.”
The whole class erupted in laughter.
The teacher’s expression darkened. She slammed the teaching guide on the podium: “Don’t know? How many times have I taught this? Lin Zhao, do you think having a rich family means you don’t need to study?”
“Today, I’m making you do two extra worksheets. Turn them in tomorrow morning. I’ll check them personally.”
“…Yes, teacher.” Lin Zhao’s face burned with embarrassment, wishing she could disappear.
Xu Ning remained silent, still not looking back or laughing.
After school, Xu Ning packed her bag and was about to leave.
Lin Zhao quickly blocked her path, urgent: “Xu Ning, wait—”
Xu Ning glanced at her coldly, didn’t speak, and lightly opened Lin Zhao’s hand.
Lin Zhao watched her leave, heart anxious.
She grabbed her bag and chased after her: “Xu Ning, just listen to me—”
Xu Ning paused but didn’t turn around. “I’m going home.”
Then she dashed out of the building.
Lin Zhao ran after her, just in time to see her at the bus stop. A bus was slowly approaching.
From the school entrance, Lin Zhao’s gaze clung to the bus. She watched Xu Ning sit by the window, and saw Gu Zhuoxiao squeeze on behind her, taking a seat directly behind her.
Damn it!
Clenching her teeth, Lin Zhao prepared to dash onto the bus and throw Gu Zhuoxiao off.
Just as she stepped forward, a hand grabbed her arm tightly.
Her temper flaring, she instinctively tried to shake it off: “Annoying! Don’t—”
She spun around, ready to scold whoever it was. When she saw the face, the words died in her throat.