Chapter 47

By all accounts, getting an ID and enrolling in school should have taken a while, requiring connections. Dai Ning thought it would drag on for some time, but to her surprise, Chen Jing sorted everything out within just three days.

Qingtuan speculated, “Chen Jing must have met some big shot for things like changing houses and finding a school to go so smoothly.”

Dai Ning didn’t care. If a lucky star like Chen Jing was bound to succeed, there was no stopping it.

What troubled her was that she had to start school tomorrow.

Sure enough, early the next morning, Chen Jing came knocking on her door. Dai Ning pulled the blanket over her head, unwilling to move. Chen Jing knocked for a while, his tone growing firmer: “Get up.”

She had no choice but to sluggishly get dressed.

Although her school uniform hadn’t arrived yet, she had bought herself a cute sailor-style outfit a few days earlier.

When she shuffled out, still half-asleep, Chen Jing immediately sensed something was off. Back when he was in school—though he gave up his spot for Chen Lianxing—there had never been any girl in his class who dressed like this.

It looked good, too good, in fact. But it wasn’t right. She was going to school, not entering a beauty pageant.

Chen Jing said, “Change.”

“No,” she shook her head. “I’m wearing this, or I’m not going to school.”

Not one to argue with a girl about clothes, Chen Jing gave in and said, “Fine, but change into your uniform once you get it.”

Dai Ning nodded cheerfully. “Okay!”

She sipped her milk slowly while Chen Jing, who had risen early, watched her dawdle. It was already 7:30 a.m.

He stuffed a cake into her backpack. “Off to school.”

Being late on the first day wouldn’t do.

As they went downstairs, they saw Li Ming waiting. Smiling, he offered, “Dai Dai, how about I take you to your school orientation today?”

Dai Ning turned to Chen Jing and asked, “What about you, Brother? Why aren’t you taking me?”

Her question stunned Li Ming.

He still remembered what had happened three years ago. Chen Jing had wanted to take Chen Lianxing to university, but she refused. Everyone knew why. She was afraid that if Chen Jing spoke, her classmates would find out she had a stuttering brother.

Chen Jing remained silent, and Li Ming quickly said, “It’s the same if I take you. Jing is very busy.”

Dai Ning shook her head. “I want my brother to take me.”

Once she made up her mind, no one could change it. She put on her helmet, stood on tiptoe to put one on Chen Jing, and tugged on his sleeve, pulling him toward the motorcycle. “Brother, we’re going to be late.”

Behind the helmet, Chen Jing’s grayish-brown eyes looked at her for a moment before he swung a leg over the bike.

Li Ming watched them leave with a complex expression. He felt a tinge of relief. For so many years, Chen Jing had no family. Though he cared deeply for Chen Lianxing, she looked down on him.

Dai Ning was different. She didn’t scorn Chen Jing. Perhaps, with her around, his heart might gradually warm.

The morning wind was chilly, though June was fast approaching. The sunlight filtered through the clouds.

Dai Ning rarely rode motorcycles. She liked simple pleasures—things any regular girl would enjoy, like makeup, pretty dresses, novels, and TV dramas. Her younger brother, Ji Moyue, on the other hand, loved dirt bikes and racing.

The wind brushing past her arms eased the tightness in her chest, making her feel unexpectedly better. She chirped, “Brother, go faster!”

Chen Jing ignored her. If he were alone, he wouldn’t care about speed. But with her on the bike, safety came first.

Dai Ning got annoyed and pinched his waist in protest. “Chen Jing!”

He nearly lost control, face darkening. “Stop messing around!”

If he weren’t a stutterer, he’d have given her an earful.

Dai Ning leaned in and wrapped her arms around his neck. “If you don’t speed up, I won’t let go.”

Grinding his teeth, Chen Jing reluctantly accelerated. Frustration boiled inside him. From a young age, no one had dared provoke him, but now he was utterly helpless against this cheeky girl.

As the wind rushed past, Dai Ning looked at her pale, delicate fingers in curiosity.

The green dumpling sighed. Dai Ning had grown increasingly lethargic lately, with bouts of low energy. Her incomplete soul power was taking a toll on her. Cold wind or water could ease her discomfort temporarily.

And so, Chen Jing was forced to speed through the streets to school.

His face was grim. It wasn’t just the realization that Dai Ning was hard to manage—it was also her manipulative behavior, calling him “Brother” when acting sweet, then “Chen Jing” when angry, and even choking him playfully. Was this something a “good girl” would do?

Chen Jing’s cold, stoic face made him hard to read, whether he was angry or calm.

As they arrived at the school, Dai Ning jogged ahead but suddenly turned back, skipping up to him. “Brother, which class am I in?”

Chen Jing: “…” All the details he had written yesterday were for nothing.

Swallowing his frustration as she was about to be late, he replied, “Class 8, 11th grade.”

“Where’s Class 8?”

Chen Jing grabbed her collar and led the unreliable troublemaker to her classroom. It was the last semester of 11th grade, and summer vacation was around the corner. The next term would be senior year.

They made their way to the teacher’s office. Her homeroom teacher, Ms. Mao, had been informed of the new transfer student. Ms. Mao was a kind teacher who adjusted her glasses and spoke politely to “guardian” Chen Jing.

“Don’t worry. Our class has a great learning environment, and the students will help Chen Dai Ning adjust. By the way, how was her performance at her previous school?”

Both turned to look at Dai Ning.

Feigning innocence, she said, “Teacher, you should ask my brother. He knows me best.”

She deliberately played a trick, knowing Chen Jing disliked speaking in front of strangers. Yet, she wanted to hear him talk.

Chen Jing saw through her ploy. In this setting, he couldn’t even be mad.

Afraid the teacher might develop a poor impression of Dai Ning, Chen Jing clenched his fists and stammered, “She used to be… very well-behaved in class. Her grades were… okay.”

Dai Ning stood by, watching him with amused curiosity.

Ms. Mao noticed his speech impediment and tactfully avoided further questions. Dai Ning could tell Ms. Mao was a high-quality teacher, which meant Chen Jing had put effort into finding the right class for her.

“You can go now; the student can stay.”

Chen Jing walked away, only to hear tapping from above. Looking back, he saw the girl leaning out from the corridor window, waving and beaming at him.

“Thank you, Brother! You’re the best! You’re my pride—I want the whole world to know you!”

She clasped her hands together to form an adorable heart.

Swallows darted across the sky as the school bell rang. Early summer greenery cast shadows over the lively campus. Her laughter blended into the scene, filling it with color and life.

“Brother, you’re my pride,” she had said.

Chen Jing lowered his gaze, hands in his pockets, and quickened his pace out of the school.

What was she doing, shouting so loudly?

This little troublemaker—did she think this erased all her mischief? She’d get her comeuppance when he got home.

Dai Ning hadn’t expected to escape the inevitability of school.

“Sigh.”

Honestly, these lucky kids were ridiculous. If they liked school so much, why didn’t they study themselves instead of pinning their hopes on her?

She was never cut out for academics, and the lack of soul power only made her lazier. Given the chance, she could lie around forever.

After introducing herself to the class, Dai Ning ignored their reactions and sat at the back.

She took out some paper, wrote a note, and taped it to her forehead.

“Green Dumpling, wake me up when class ends.”

Finally, Qingtuan had a purpose and nodded eagerly.

Satisfied, Dai Ning promptly fell asleep.

The first period was history. The teacher, surprised to see a student sleeping so close to senior year, walked over to wake her up. But upon seeing the note taped to her forehead, he paused.

“I have severe narcolepsy^[1]a chronic neurological disorder that affects the brain’s ability to control sleep-wake cycles and can’t control it. Teacher, if you doubt me, please call my guardian.”

Faced with a new transfer student who might have a condition, the teacher sighed and let her be.

Her classmates stared in amazement. The new girl, stunningly beautiful, dared to sleep in her first class—and got away with it! How did she manage that?

The note covered most of her face, but the students couldn’t shake the stunning impression she made when she walked into the classroom.

Some students read the writing on the note, whispered among themselves, and passed the message around.

“She has narcolepsy? Is that for real?”
“Probably. Who’d be bold enough to fake that and risk getting caught? Besides, it’s almost senior year—everyone’s focused on studying. If she weren’t sick, she wouldn’t act like this, right?”
“Poor new student.”

…

When the bell rang, Qingtuan called out, “Dai Ning, class is over.”

Dai Ning stirred slightly but didn’t open her eyes. Instead, she flipped the note on her forehead over.

Curious about her, many classmates found excuses to walk past her desk—like going to the restroom—just to sneak a peek.

What they saw on the flipped note made them hold back laughter:

Name: Chen Daidai
Likes: Sleeping, good food, compliments
Skills: Arguing
Dislikes: Whoever dislikes me, I dislike them back
Note: I have an incredibly awesome brother who can take down a whole group by himself! Super fierce!

The students stifled their giggles.
“She’s hilarious.”
“Do you think she’ll flip the note again when the next class starts?”

Chen Jing had chosen a school with a strong academic environment, where everyone was laser-focused on preparing for the college entrance exams. None of the students had encountered anyone like her before—a “sloth” who hadn’t opened her eyes once since her self-introduction.

Of course, a few students weren’t amused. They thought she was disrupting the classroom atmosphere. School was for studying—what was she even doing here?

They worried she might sleep through the day, but when the bell rang for lunch, Dai Ning opened her eyes right on time, pushed open the back door, and walked out without even glancing back.

The students of Class Eight: “…!”
So narcolepsy is selective now? It only kicks in during class?

Chen Jing had work and couldn’t pick her up for lunch, so he gave her some money to eat out. Naturally, Dai Ning wasn’t going to settle for a small diner. With her off at school, Qiu Gunan could return to spoiling her as usual.

Hearing that the young lady had woken up in class with a stiff neck and numb arms, Qiu Gunan thoughtfully prepared a soft pillow for her. It was a pink unicorn plush, soft and squishy when pressed.

Like a doting parent with no boundaries, Qiu Gunan also made her a sweetened lemon water in a thermos, the kind loaded with sugar.

At two in the afternoon, the young lady returned to class, hugging her unicorn pillow.

The thirty-some pairs of eyes in Class Eight watched in shock as she sleepily flopped down onto the pillow, reattached her note, and resumed her nap.

Amazing. Absolutely incredible.

They couldn’t help but wonder—does she not get in trouble when she gets home?!