Chapter 8

When Yan Can came back from the hallway, she had barely sat down before someone called out to her.

She looked up and saw the math representative from their class.

“Yan Can, the math teacher wants you to come to her office after the next class ends.”

“Oh, okay.” Yan Can answered listlessly.

Seeing how down she looked, the class rep asked in confusion, “What’s wrong with you?”

Thinking of the last loop, when the math teacher had called her to the office and told her she would represent the school at the National Mathematics Olympiad next month, Yan Can’s head already hurt.

She had been transmigrated into a novel, and she did have the original host’s memories. But the damned thing was, she hadn’t inherited the original host’s brain or knowledge.

Go to the National Mathematics Olympiad? They really thought highly of her.

She waved weakly, forcing a smile. “It’s nothing; I’m just a little dizzy, haha.”

Looks like she’d need to hire a tutor. Otherwise, sooner or later, people would notice the goods didn’t match the label, Yan Can thought gloomily.

The class rep knew that Young Lady Yan was delicate and precious; she could faint from running four hundred meters, and she was prone to low blood sugar, always carrying glucose with her.

Hearing that, the class rep got so scared she immediately wanted to take her to the infirmary, but Yan Can gritted her teeth and refused.

Back at her seat, Zhang Ru saw that Yan Can’s face didn’t look great and assumed her phone call hadn’t solved anything. She was just thinking about how to help when Yan Can asked,

“Is there any way to improve my grades quickly?”

In her original world, she’d at least been a top student everyone envied. How had she turned into such a loser here in the blink of an eye?

No, that wasn’t right. Even when she’d been a top student in her original world, that had only been because she’d stood out among a bunch of underachievers.

Were the people who competed in those Olympiads even human? Anyway, she didn’t have that kind of brain.

No way. When she went to the math teacher later, she absolutely had to find a way to refuse. It was fine if she embarrassed herself; she could not let the school lose face, and she definitely could not let the original host lose face.

What if one day she went back? She couldn’t go around causing trouble for other people.

And when she thought about the placement test that would be held soon, in which she had scored fifth from the bottom in the class, she really felt she had let down her bargain-bin dad, who had picked up the phone and answered her call in an instant today.

Her grades really did need to improve.

When Zhang Ru heard that, her eyes widened.

Was this person even speaking human language? She was already first in the entire grade, winning awards in every competition until her hands were full, and she still thought she wasn’t good enough and needed to improve quickly?

Were the rest of them supposed to live or not? That was what she was thinking, but she didn’t dare say it. She only smiled stiffly. “How about hiring a tutor?”

Don’t let their school fool you; plenty of people in class acted like learning was playtime, spouting nonsense like “I haven’t really studied,” “play when you should play,” “balance work and rest,” and so on. But behind the scenes, everyone was more ruthless than the next.

The richer they were, the more ruthless they got.

A lot of families had tutors at home; she and Yu Ting did too.

So when they first found out Yan Can didn’t have one and was studying entirely on her own with only school instruction, they had been especially impressed.

Especially considering she could still take first place in the entire grade under those conditions. They’d been impressed to the point of worship.

How were they both human, and yet her brain worked so much better than theirs?

“What subject do you want taught?” Zhang Ru’s family had hired many tutors; for languages alone, there were three.

“Math.” Actually she needed help with other subjects too, but math was the most urgent right now.

“Math? Yu Ting has one, and I heard that tutor is pretty experienced. I’ll have her recommend you.” Saying that, Zhang Ru used her foot to kick the leg of the chair in front and to the left.

Yu Ting had already heard their conversation. Hearing that they wanted to pass her tutor to Yan Can, she waved it off.

“Forget it. That teacher’s resume is impressive, but she can’t actually teach. She’s not even as good as Yan Can.”

Then she patted Yan Can’s shoulder and said sincerely, “Yan Can, you really don’t need a tutor. You’re not going to be a mathematician in the future anyway; as long as you learn enough to get by and handle exams, that’s fine.”

Yan Can…

Sister, you think way too highly of me.

They hadn’t chatted for long before the bell rang.

After class, Yan Can went to the math office. Just like in the last loop, the math teacher first praised her lavishly, then tossed her a book of Olympiad problems and told her to try them first; if she still didn’t understand the answers after checking the reference solutions, she could come ask her.

Though she felt Yan Can probably wouldn’t be unable to solve them even after looking at the reference answers.

In the end, smiling brightly, she told Yan Can that her name had already been submitted, then waved her off.

Yan Can…

All the lines she’d prepared during class had no chance to be used.

Seriously, why had she just gone ahead and submitted her name this time? Clearly in the last loop she had still symbolically asked for her opinion.

Dragging herself out of the office, Yan Can headed back. She hadn’t gone far when her phone vibrated once.

She took it out and saw that it was a message from her father.

Only two words: It’s done.

It had already been handled? So fast!

Yan Can’s mood instantly lifted. She went back to look at the verification message.

Su Ci still hadn’t accepted.

Her mood turned sour again.

She’d clearly said she’d approve it when she got back. It couldn’t be that she’d been so busy studying she hadn’t even looked at her phone, could it?

Thinking about it, that was actually possible.

The last time they’d done homework together, that person had been utterly focused, not even glancing sideways once.

That level of immersion was something Yan Can had to admit she couldn’t match.

Well, she’d wait.

Someone who kept saying she’d wait checked her phone over and over on the way back, who knew how many times.

Even after the bell for class rang, the other side still hadn’t accepted.

Yan Can started to get restless.

She’d said she’d add me as soon as she got back!

That faithless woman!

The last period was physics. After the teacher finished going over a test paper, he threw out a line about self-study from here on out and the monitor being in charge of keeping order, then left.

The moment the teacher was gone, rustling sounds broke out all over. A few minutes later, with no one suppressing them, the noise grew louder and louder until it sounded like a wet market.

The monitor was a girl with a soft, timid personality and simply couldn’t hold the class down. Thinking there were only a few minutes left until school ended, she just gave up and let it be.

Yan Can finished a physics test paper, took out her phone and looked again; Su Ci still hadn’t accepted.

The screen kept lighting up and going dark; she’d looked at it countless times.

Zhang Ru, sitting beside her, noticed her glancing at her phone every so often as if waiting for a message from someone. Curiously, she leaned over with her round little head.

All she saw was a black screen.

Young Lady Yan put away her phone, said nothing, and stood up from her seat, walking straight to the back of the classroom.

Zhang Ru’s eyes followed her, and she saw Yan Can stop in front of a girl in the class.

The two of them spoke in low voices for a bit; then Yan Can took something from the girl’s hands.

“What did you go do?” When Yan Can came back, Wang Ru asked impatiently.

Yan Can smiled, looking mysterious. “You’ll know in a bit.”

What was with the secrecy? Zhang Ru couldn’t figure it out. Young Lady Yan had been acting strange lately.

There were still the last ten minutes before class ended.

Yan Can took out her phone and looked at it again; very good, Su Ci still hadn’t accepted.

Thinking of how at noon on the rooftop, when she’d said she wanted to leave with Su Ci, the other girl had coldly refused without the slightest hesitation, a surge of resentment rose in her heart. She gritted her teeth and stood up to leave.

Wang Ru didn’t even have time to stop her before Yan Can had already strode out of her seat and quickly disappeared around the corner of the classroom.

High Class 1 was still in self-study for the last period.

With only a few minutes left before class ended, the room was restless.

Su Ci was bent over her homework when a figure stopped in front of her.

“Su Ci, was it you who tattled to Yan Can?” The girl’s voice was sharp; she was clearly picking a fight on purpose.

Hearing her own name, Su Ci’s pen paused. She looked up.

It was Chen Yan, the girl who had previously been badmouthing her.

Su Ci said nothing; there was a hint of confusion in her eyes.

Maybe because it looked like a show was about to start, the class gradually quieted down.

Seeing that Su Ci still wasn’t saying anything, Chen Yan let out a cold snort.

“Pretending you don’t know anything? Wang Hui was forced to drop out by her family!”

During the break, she had originally wanted to go ask Wang Hui about Yan Can coming to their class at noon, but then someone from their class told her that Wang Hui’s father had come to school, slapped her in front of everyone, and taken her away.

Chen Yan was worried, so she contacted her by phone, only to get a reply saying she would never be coming to school again.

She and Wang Hui got along well; worried something had happened to her, she made several calls, but none of them went through.

Finding it strange, she asked another classmate who was close to Wang Hui, only to be told that when Wang Hui’s father took her away, he had cursed and beaten her for not currying favor with the right people and instead offending them.

After she came back, Chen Yan kept thinking about that phrase: offending someone. Offending who?

Someone richer and more powerful than Wang Hui…

And then she thought of Yan Can.

Yan Can had come to their class at noon, and she’d heard people say that Yan Can had been getting very close to Su Ci lately. Then suddenly she remembered the time by the flower beds, when she’d been gossiping about Su Ci and Yan Can had overheard…

“Nice one, Su Ci. Didn’t expect you to be so calculating. Acting pure and innocent on the surface, then clinging to the young lady behind people’s backs so you can get rid of others!”

Su Ci said nothing; her mind was on Wang Hui having dropped out.

She looked at Chen Yan. So angry, and not looking like she was lying. So Wang Hui really had been forced to drop out like that?

Was it… Yan Can’s doing?

“Reminder: it’s still class time, so don’t leave your seats casually.” The monitor, who was also the discipline committee member, shouted.

If it had been any other time, she would have turned a blind eye. But now it was still class time; wasn’t this a little too disrespectful toward her as monitor?

Hearing the clearly targeted words, Chen Yan still showed no sign of backing down. A few other classmates also felt that Chen Yan had gone too far this time, and they began whispering, criticizing her.

Seeing this, Wang Tong, who was closest to Chen Yan, immediately got up and pulled at her, trying to persuade her back to her seat.

But Chen Yan was furious now and wouldn’t listen to reason at all. She shook off Wang Tong’s arm and glared at Su Ci.

Zhao Panpan, sitting in the very last row, couldn’t stand it anymore. She had never seen anyone bully someone like this!

And to think they could ignore such a pretty girl being bullied to this extent!

She shot to her feet, walked over to Su Ci’s side, and met Chen Yan’s hostile glare head-on.

She spoke up for her: “Are you sick? Bullying people and still acting all high and mighty! If Wang Hui was forced to drop out, she deserved it! Who told her to bully people!”

“If you think she dropped out because of Yan Can, then go find Yan Can! Why are you coming after Su Ci? Or are you too scared to go after Yan Can? You’re just a weak bully who picks on the soft and avoids the hard!”

Probably because she hadn’t expected a transfer student who had only just arrived to dare oppose her in front of the whole class, Chen Yan was so angry she couldn’t even get a word out for a moment.

“All right! Everyone sit back down! Is class over?!” The monitor stood up and shouted to stop them.

She felt that if she didn’t step in now, these people were going to turn the whole thing upside down.

Seeing that they still weren’t moving, she said sharply, “If you don’t sit back down, all of you will be written up!”

The monitor’s words carried real weight; after that warning, Chen Yan and Wang Tong shot Zhao Panpan a glare, then turned back to their seats.

Zhao Panpan also sat back down.

The students who had been watching the show all turned their heads back around.

Ding—

The end-of-class bell rang, then abruptly cut off.

“Whoosh—”

“Whoosh—”

There was a burst of static from the broadcast speaker; it was the prelude to an announcement.

Everyone instinctively returned to their seats and waited.

“Whoosh, whoosh—”

Two more times.

“Hello, everyone~” a girl’s voice said.

Everyone looked at one another. This didn’t sound like the beginning of an announcement at all.

Su Ci, who had been keeping her head down, slowly lifted it and looked toward the speaker in the corner. The moment the girl uttered the first syllable, she recognized that it was Yan Can’s voice.

Even though the sound had been distorted through the broadcast, she recognized it immediately.

The girl in the broadcast coughed lightly; laughter colored her voice.

“I’m Yan Can from High School Senior Year Class One. Nothing special, really; I just want to dedicate a song to Wang Hui from Senior Year Two Class Six. The song is called ‘Chilly’~”

As soon as she finished speaking, a melodious musical intro flowed from the broadcast.

Chen Yan clenched her teeth, secretly digging her nails into her palm.

Wang Tong shot a look of hostility toward Su Ci.

The other students in the class started whispering among themselves.

At the same time, in High School Senior Year Class One.

Wang Ru withdrew her gaze from the corner speaker and finally understood what Yan Can had gone to the back to do.

At the same time, the countless unsuspecting people in the other classes…

What was going on?

Just as the intro was about to end, the music was cut off.

That familiar “whoosh, whoosh” sound came through again.

Everyone couldn’t help looking toward the speaker.

“Sorry, I forgot to say,”

Inside the broadcast room, Yan Can let out a soft breath.

“Su Ci from Senior Year One Class One,”

Her voice carried a smile.

“Wait for me after class…”