Junior High Department, East Cafeteria.
Ever since Lin Ran sat down, little Lin Yanyan had been sneaking glances at him after taking a few bites of her food. Every time their eyes met, she’d hurriedly lower her head, almost burying her entire face in her bowl.
Her guilty expression couldn’t have been more obvious.
Lin Ran tapped the table with his hand. “Lin Yanyan, if you have something to say, say it. If not, just focus on eating.”
Lin Yanyan blinked, hesitated for a long while, but couldn’t resist her curiosity. She quietly asked, “Brother, the person in that photo on Weibo this morning… that was you, right? Who was that sister hugging you?”
She was practically dying of curiosity.
Lin Ran’s gaze paused for a moment. He didn’t expect even Lin Yanyan had seen that Weibo post.
He didn’t respond immediately but took out his phone and sent two messages.
After he finished, Lin Ran looked at Lin Yanyan and asked indifferently, “Curious?”
Lin Yanyan nodded obediently.
For all these years, she had hardly ever seen any females around her brother. There used to be many people asking her to pass love letters to Lin Ran, but since the second semester of his first year of high school, the number had sharply decreased.
That was because Song Shiman, who was a year ahead of Lin Ran, had declared her intention to pursue him. Afterward, anyone who tried to send Lin Ran love letters would more or less receive a warning from Song Shiman, and the number of admirers had dropped significantly.
Song Shiman had been chasing Lin Ran for almost two years but still hadn’t caught him. Even now, she hadn’t given up.
This was something practically everyone in No. 1 High School knew.
Lin Ran picked up his chopsticks and glanced at the little girl. “You’re curious about everything. Eat.”
Lin Yanyan drooped her head and weakly muttered a response. She quietly focused on her meal, knowing that once Lin Ran decided not to talk about something, no one could pry it out of him.
After they finished eating, Lin Ran escorted Lin Yanyan to the entrance of her teaching building. Only after watching her go upstairs did he turn to leave. On his way back to the senior high department, he could feel countless curious gazes directed at him.
Feeling somewhat annoyed, Lin Ran received a message from He Mo.
[No Man’s Sea: Brother Ran, the Weibo post has been deleted.]
[Firegun: Okay.]
As he passed by the basketball court, the sound of basketballs bouncing and chaotic footsteps echoed from within. With his hands in his pockets, Lin Ran glanced over absentmindedly before lazily withdrawing his gaze and continuing toward the teaching building.
At that moment, outside the teaching building.
Song Shiman stood at the staircase, her face full of discontent. She had been in a foul mood all day.
Her friend was trying to comfort her. “Manman, that situation… maybe it’s Lin Ran’s little sister? He brings her to school every day, doesn’t he? Don’t overthink it for now.”
Song Shiman replied irritably, “How could it be his sister? She was clearly wearing the senior high uniform. There wasn’t even a clear photo of her face! If I find out who she is, I’ll—”
“Manman, Lin Ran’s coming!”
Song Shiman immediately looked up. The person she had been waiting for was walking toward the staircase, his lazy and aloof demeanor incredibly captivating.
The senior high department’s teaching building at No. 1 High School had four floors, connected to the administrative building. A massive white structure with three large characters hung on it: Minxue Building.
There were two staircases in Minxue Building—one close to the administrative building and the other near the students’ classrooms. Usually, students used the staircase closer to the classrooms.
Biting her lip, Song Shiman was about to speak when she saw Lin Ran suddenly turn and walk toward the staircase closer to the administrative building, clearly intending to avoid her.
Song Shiman couldn’t help but shout angrily, “Lin Ran!”
Lin Ran remained unmoved, walking forward as if he hadn’t heard a thing.
Song Shiman hesitated for a moment but couldn’t hold back. She left her friend behind and jogged to catch up with Lin Ran.
Hearing footsteps approaching from behind, Lin Ran furrowed his brow. He suddenly stopped, turned around, and with his usual cold gaze, asked indifferently, “Why are you following me?”
Song Shiman had thought she was used to Lin Ran’s aloofness by now, but thinking about how he had let a girl hug him that morning, coupled with his cold words now, made it hard for her to breathe.
She spoke with a dry tone, “Lin Ran, there are only a few months left until the college entrance exams. I’m about to graduate soon. After that… could you at least give me a chance during this time?”
Lin Ran, with what little patience he had left, replied, “I’m a minor. I suggest you not commit a crime so easily. You have a bright future ahead of you—no need to spend it behind bars.”
Song Shiman: “…?”
She was so choked with anger that she almost couldn’t breathe. By the time she recovered, Lin Ran was long gone! She was furious, stomping her feet in frustration. She refused to believe she couldn’t find out the identity of that girl.
Before the first class of the afternoon, Song Shiman had already heard from others about the identity of the girl in the photo—the new transfer student from Class 6, Grade 11: Sheng Qingxi.
That morning, someone from Class 6 had happened to pass by and recognized Sheng Qingxi at a glance.
There’s no wall in the world that doesn’t leak.
—
The current coursework wasn’t particularly easy for Sheng Qingxi. She had spent the entire winter break revisiting and reorganizing the high school curriculum, which was why she had managed to score so highly on No. 1 High School’s entrance test. For someone like Sheng Qingxi, who had graduated a long time ago, this was no easy feat, and it had taken a lot of effort and concentration.
Sheng Qingxi had always known she wasn’t a naturally gifted child. Since she was little, she’d been aware of this.
She wasn’t good at socializing. When new uncles and aunts came to the orphanage, she would shyly hide behind Sheng Lan, who seemed to favor more outgoing children.
Over the years, there had been people interested in adopting Sheng Qingxi, but Sheng Lan couldn’t bear to let her go.
To Sheng Lan, Sheng Qingxi was different from the other children. Most of the other kids were abandoned at the orphanage’s doorstep by their parents or brought there by someone when their parents could no longer care for them.
But Sheng Qingxi wasn’t any of those.
She was someone Sheng Lan had found.
The year Sheng Lan found Sheng Qingxi, there had been severe flooding in a nearby county of Chucheng.
That spring, Sheng Lan was up in the mountains collecting mugwort when she found Sheng Qingxi downstream by the river. The child had smiled at her, completely unaware of the hardships of the world.
And so, Sheng Lan took her back to Shengkai Orphanage and gave her the name Sheng Qingxi, along with the nickname Yuan Yuan, hoping she would grow up safely and happily.
That was why Sheng Lan’s feelings for Sheng Qingxi were different. Her hesitation over the years had allowed Sheng Qingxi to grow up, and by then, she couldn’t bring herself to let her go to another family.
To Sheng Lan, Sheng Qingxi was her child.
Sheng Qingxi had always worked harder than others. She participated in countless competitions for the sake of winning scholarships, and she chose No. 2 High School because they offered her a tuition reduction. She did everything she could to avoid being a burden on others.
Sheng Qingxi had thought her life would continue like this until she met Lin Ran.
That was the first time she understood what it meant to like someone, a kind of liking that was completely different from her affection for Sheng Lan and Shengkai.
Lin Ran was the only surprise in her carefully planned-out life.
The voice of the teacher, Jiang Mingyuan, pulled Sheng Qingxi back from her thoughts: “Today we’ll be studying the trigonometric functions of any angle. In any given triangle, the sides and angles follow these relationships…”
The lazy afternoon sunlight made everyone feel drowsy during the first class after lunch.
Many students in the back rows couldn’t resist and lay down on their desks, while those in the front row propped their heads up with one hand, trying to stay awake. A few sat up straight, fully focused on the blackboard.
Sheng Qingxi lowered her head and smiled slightly. This was youth at its finest.
—
Though everyone seemed half-asleep during class, the moment the bell rang, energy returned to the room. The afternoon had truly begun with the end of the class.
Sheng Qingxi took a sip of water from her bottle. Just as she was about to tighten the cap, a loud voice called from the back of the classroom, “Sheng Qingxi! Someone’s looking for you.”
Both Sheng Qingxi and Gu Mingji turned to look at the girl who had called out.
Sheng Qingxi hadn’t memorized all of her classmates’ names yet. As she passed by the girl, she said a quick “thank you” before heading outside. However, before she could walk far, Gu Mingji’s voice came from behind her: “Qingxi!”
She stopped in her tracks and turned around, confused.
Although Gu Mingji focused most of his energy on studying, he was still aware of some rumors circulating in their class. He quickly walked to the door, blocking the curious gazes of the girls nearby.
Lowering his voice, he said, “The people she usually hangs out with… you’d better not go.”
Sheng Qingxi understood what he meant. She quietly replied, “It’s okay.”
With that, Sheng Qingxi walked away, and Gu Mingji couldn’t stop her.
When Gu Mingji turned back, he noticed that many people, both openly and secretly, were staring at him. Most of them had heard him call out “Qingxi,” but after a moment, the gazes dispersed, and the classroom filled with quiet murmurs.
The March air still carried a hint of coldness, and most of the students were still wearing their spring uniforms.
The girl waiting at the entrance of Class 6, however, was already wearing the summer uniform. The blue-and-white jacket paired with a light blue pleated skirt made her legs look long and slender, giving her a striking appearance.
She chewed gum lazily, her expression indifferent, but when she saw Sheng Qingxi, she froze for a moment before saying, “Song Shiman is looking for you. She’s waiting in the girls’ restroom. It’ll only take ten minutes, so you won’t be late for class.”
Sheng Qingxi didn’t ask any questions and walked straight past her toward the restroom.
The girl scratched her head in confusion. ‘What’s her deal? Has this transfer student never heard of Song Shiman’s reputation?’
Class 6 was at the end of the third-floor corridor, while the girls’ restroom was at the opposite corner.
To get from Class 6 to the restroom, Sheng Qingxi had to pass by Class 5, Class 4, the staircase, the teachers’ office, and then Class 3, Class 2, and Class 1.
Around the corner, near the restroom, was an open space in front of Class 1’s door, nearly twice as wide as the hallway.
He Mo and Xie Zhen were dribbling a basketball at Class 1’s back door when they noticed Sheng Qingxi walking toward them.
Xie Zhen paused mid-dribble, squinting at the scene. After watching for a moment, he muttered, “Mozi, look at the person walking beside that fairy. Isn’t she part of Song Shiman’s clique?”
He Mo clapped Xie Zhen on his broad shoulder. “She is. I saw a photo of them hanging out over winter break on Weibo just the other day.”
Xie Zhen suddenly remembered something and turned to He Mo in shock. “Has Song Shiman already found the fairy?”
He Mo furrowed his brows in thought. This was a tricky situation. If they got involved, it would basically confirm that the girl in the photo from this morning was Sheng Qingxi. But if they did nothing, who knew what might happen to her?
After wrestling with the dilemma for a while, He Mo finally said, “Let’s wait five minutes and then send a girl to check.”
Xie Zhen nodded. “Alright.”
—
In the girls’ restroom.
Two girls blocked the entrance. After sizing Sheng Qingxi up for a moment, they let her in. All the stalls were open, and a girl was standing by the window.
Wearing the same beautiful pleated skirt.
Sheng Qingxi, somewhat out of place, thought to herself that the summer uniform at No. 1 was much prettier than the one at No. 2.
Song Shiman turned around and discreetly sized up Sheng Qingxi from head to toe: good hair texture, well-proportioned bone structure, delicate features, no makeup, naturally fair skin, and a quiet, well-behaved air about her.
Song Shiman concluded that if she were Lin Ran, she would like this kind of girl, too.
After a long pause, she finally said, “So, um… do you want to hang out with me in the future?”
Song Shiman was well-versed in the strategies of dealing with rivals in love. Her plan, step one: become good friends with Sheng Qingxi, and then, through her actions, let Sheng Qingxi know that she liked Lin Ran.
That way, Sheng Qingxi would back off on her own.
Song Shiman thought: Perfect.