Chapter 3

Li Wenjing, the Chinese teacher and class advisor of Grade 7 Class 5, entered the classroom with the textbook. Today, the usually noisy students were unusually quiet. One by one, they stretched their necks and looked outside the classroom, clearly already aware of the new arrival.

Li Wenjing placed the book on the podium and said to the students outside, “Come in.”

Yan Ning walked into the classroom of Class 5, Grade 7, carrying her backpack, her steps calm and composed.

She stood beside Teacher Li, and in front of her, rows upon rows of genuine middle school students stared at her with eyes full of curiosity and inquiry. They looked younger than she had expected, with very immature faces.

“Hello, everyone. My name is Yan Ning.” She wasn’t nervous at first, but the reality of the situation was far different from her expectations. She truly felt out of place in this class, as though ^[1]“she was a chicken among a flock of cranes” is a metaphor that highlights a sense of disparity or mismatch.she was a chicken among a flock of cranes.

In every sense, it was very awkward. The unspoken impact was great, and her prepared self-introduction couldn’t be delivered as she had hoped, leaving her with only a few dry words.

“She’s so pretty. Must be a girl, right?”

“She’s really pretty.”

“So tall, so elegant.”

“Looks so aloof, maybe a boy?”

The students below her weren’t bothered by Yan Ning’s indifference. Their emotions remained high as they whispered excitedly to each other.

With her excellent hearing, Yan Ning overheard everything and smiled slightly, softly explaining, “Although I’m taller and have short hair, I am a girl.”

“Eh—”

The single short syllable contained two emotions: surprise and a faint disappointment.

Yan Ning found their reaction amusing.

After her brief self-introduction, Teacher Li scanned the classroom and said, “Yan Ning, please sit next to Zhou Ye in the last row.”

There was only one empty seat in the last row, the second seat from the window.

Zhou Ye sat by the window, and among the group of younger students, he was relatively tall, which is probably why he sat in the last row. He wore black-rimmed glasses and appeared somewhat introverted.

When Yan Ning walked over and sat down next to him, holding her backpack, he didn’t react.

Meanwhile, the boys in front of Zhou Ye frequently turned around when Teacher Li was writing on the board, curiously eyeing Yan Ning. They only settled down after being reminded several times by the girls sitting next to them.

After class, one of the girls in the row ahead immediately turned around. “Hi, I’m Qiao Yingxue. Can we be friends?”

Qiao Yingxue was incredibly cute, with large, watery eyes, soft pink lips like flower petals, and fair skin. When she smiled, two small dimples appeared on her cheeks.

Her energetic introduction was delivered in one go, and Yan Ning could feel the overwhelming force of youthful vitality.

She felt her voice had never sounded so gentle before. “Of course, I’m Yan Ning. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Me, me, me, me too! I’m Shi Lei,” said Qiao Yingxue’s desk mate, the boy who had been turning around to look at Yan Ning during class.

Yan Ning smiled politely. “Hello.”

“Yan Ning, where did you go to school before? Why did you transfer to Minghua?” Shi Lei asked.

“I transferred because of family circumstances,” Yan Ning answered briefly, skipping the first question.

The education she received after she turned twelve was completely different from the compulsory education on Earth. When asked about it, she didn’t want to lie, so she just gave it a vague answer.

Fortunately, it seemed like Shi Lei was just asking casually and didn’t pursue the matter further, which made Yan Ning breathe a little easier.

Suddenly, she realized that she needed to investigate whether the activities of extraterrestrials on Earth had been detected yet, so she could be more cautious about what she said and did in the future.

Five years ago, an alien spaceship casually abducted Earthlings, so Yan Ning had no doubt that extraterrestrials had been living on Earth. What mattered was the depth of their involvement.

Yan Ning hadn’t experienced such a simple and carefree school life in a long time. Time seemed to pass so quickly, and the morning classes soon ended.

After the fourth period, a girl with two small braids and a serious expression came to Yan Ning’s desk. “Hi, I’m the class monitor, Zhao Xiaolu. Teacher Li asked me to take you to the cafeteria.”

“Ah, okay. Thank you,” Yan Ning said as she stood up, ready to go to the cafeteria with the class monitor.

Qiao Yingxue also wanted to walk with Yan Ning, so the three of them headed to the cafeteria together.

Minghua High School’s campus is divided into the middle school and high school sections, but they are not far apart. The cafeteria, sports field, and science building, along with other public resources, are all in one area.

At Minghua, students take a midday break at school, and lunch is also eaten on campus.

The cafeteria accepts both meal cards and cash to buy meal vouchers. When ordering food, you just hand over the corresponding meal voucher to the lady at the counter.

Yan Ning didn’t have a meal card yet, so she bought meal vouchers at the cashier near the entrance.

As they walked, Yan Ning had the feeling that many people were looking at her.

This feeling didn’t ease even when Yan Ning and her two companions were in line. In fact, it seemed to intensify.

“It’s probably not my imagination, but it feels like a lot of people are secretly staring at me?” Yan Ning whispered to Qiao Yingxue, who was standing in front of her.

Qiao Yingxue turned around, gave her a quick glance, and said sincerely with a smile in her eyes, “That’s because Ningning, you’re too beautiful.”

“Huh?”

“Why are you so surprised?”

Yan Ning scratched the back of her head with her left hand. “Because no one’s ever said I’m beautiful.”

The aesthetic standards between aliens and humans are separated by more than one galaxy, to the point where it’s a complete divergence that can shatter one’s worldview.

During her five years on M20, Yan Ning often faced obstacles in both her studies and work because her appearance didn’t align with intergalactic beauty standards.

After being called ugly so many times, she went through a phase where she even started questioning her life. She secretly planned to get a face that would meet intergalactic beauty standards, but she gave up because cosmetic surgery was too expensive and beyond her means.

“No way?” Now it was Qiao Yingxue’s turn to be surprised.

Yan Ning’s appearance, no matter where you placed her, would be considered the epitome of beauty.

Her slim, fair cheeks, exquisite features, and especially her cat-like eyes, which held an innocent, childlike cluelessness mixed with a hint of untamable wildness, made her naturally captivating. Moreover, she was tall with a unique aura that set her apart.

If a teenage girl has an aura that catches people’s attention, it’s either due to an elegance and maturity that sets her apart from others of the same age, or an energetic vitality that surpasses her peers, radiating youthful energy.

As for Yan Ning, if her aura had to be categorized, it would lean more towards elegance and maturity. Yet, it was more than that. There was a subtle, sharp quality about her, like the blade of a sword being drawn from its sheath. It was as if she was trying to suppress and diminish this impression, making it unclear yet vaguely perceptible to those around her.

Qiao Yingxue silently thought that passersby probably mistook her for a senior student, no one would guess that Yan Ning was actually a seventh grader.

“Hahaha, that’s just how it is. Well, if that’s the reason, I can relax now,” Yan Ning shrugged.

Just then, the people ahead of them finished getting their food, and the three quickly stepped forward. Since Yan Ning wasn’t sure about the taste of the cafeteria’s food, she ordered the same meal as the other two and found a seat once they picked up their trays.

“Excuse me, are you Yan Ning?”

A pleasant, melodious voice reached her ears. Yan Ning looked up to see two senior girls standing not far away, each holding a tray.

The girl who spoke was wearing a beige dress and a necklace with light blue gemstones embedded in it.

Yan Ning’s attention was immediately drawn to the necklace because the gemstone was the exact one she had sold not long ago in B city.

In her hurry, she had sold it for a very low price, and she never expected to see it again so soon, especially as part of a piece of jewelry.

She shifted her gaze upwards and then saw the girl’s face clearly.

Yan Ning struggled to find the words, but if she had to describe her, the girl in front of her was as pure and beautiful as a lily.

Just seeing her made Yan Ning feel a softness in her heart.

“Yes, are you…?” she asked, already suspecting who this might be.

The girl, pulling her companion to sit at the seat across from Yan Ning, smiled gently and elegantly. “I’m Yan Wan. I didn’t expect our first meeting would be in the school cafeteria.”

Yan Ning didn’t expect Yan Wan to approach her first. “How did you recognize me?”

“I heard on the way here that the cafeteria had an appearance of a beautiful girl, so I guessed it must be you,” Yan Wan replied in a calm tone, her smile warm and graceful, her demeanor poised and elegant.

Qiao Yingxue lightly tugged at Yan Ning’s sleeve. “How do you know the campus belle?”

The girl next to Yan Wan, wearing black-framed glasses, also looked puzzled.

Yan Wan seemed to know what they were confused about. “Ah, Ningning just came back, and this is our first time meeting too. Xiao’ai, let me introduce you. This is Yan Ning, my sister.”

“So, you two are real sisters?” The girl named Xiao’ai asked, looking curiously at Yan Ning in a soft voice.

Yan Ning noticed that Yan Wan’s expression stiffened for a moment, but she didn’t say anything. It seemed like she was waiting for her to explain.

Last night, at around 11 o’clock., Tang Minrou, still out socializing, called Yan Ning.

“Mom.”

“Ningning, are you asleep?”

“Just about to sleep. Is there something wrong?”

“Well… there’s something I want to ask you.”

“Go ahead, Mom.”

“About Lily… You know her, right? Yan Wan. Her biological parents haven’t been found. All these years, we’ve raised her like our own daughter. Now that you’re back, I hope you’ll treat her like your real sister. Lily is a sensible child. I believe you two can get along well.”

“… Okay, I understand.”

Yan Ning didn’t say anything, and the air seemed to freeze. Yan Wan’s fingers, which were gripping her chopsticks, gradually tightened.

“Right,” Yan Ning glanced at her companions beside her and softly explained, “We’re sisters.”

Yan Wan relaxed her fingers slightly, her gaze falling on Yan Ning’s calm and indifferent face. She blinked, then said, “By the way, Ningning, what class are you in? I thought you’d be in the same class as me, but it turns out you’re not. I even asked around during break, but I couldn’t find you.”

“Because Lily and I aren’t in the same grade. I’m in Grade 7, Class 5.” Yan Ning’s expression remained calm, with no hint of awkwardness. She even mimicked Yan Wan’s tone, responding slowly and softly.

“Grade 7? How come?” Yan Wan’s voice rose in surprise. Then, as if thinking of something, her eyes filled with genuine apology. “Ningning, I’m sorry. I didn’t know. If your foundation is really weak, I can help you with tutoring. How could Mom and Dad put you in Grade 7? That’s too much. I’ll talk to them when we get home and at least make sure you start from Grade 10.”

Yan Ning put down her chopsticks, looked directly at Yan Wan, and replied calmly, “No need, thank you for your kind offer. I think starting from Grade 7 is fine. I don’t want to cause trouble for Mom and Dad. Uncle Zheng said you’re very kind, and if that’s true, can I ask you not to mention this to them?”

Yan Wan’s expression stiffened for a brief moment, and then she spoke with a soft, somewhat aggrieved tone, “Ah, I didn’t expect it to be like this… I’m really sorry. If Ningning thinks it’s okay, then I won’t be the bad person.”

Her words hinted that Yan Ning was ungrateful, but Yan Ning pretended not to notice. She smiled slightly, without any hint of animosity. “In that case, thank you.”

“You don’t look thirteen. How could you be in Grade 7?” Xiao’ai said.