Every time a girl interacted with him in the past, Jiang Mianmian would jump in anxiously to stop it.

But now, a new female transfer student was sitting with him, and Jiang Mianmian hadn’t expressed a single complaint.

This stark contrast left Ming Yao baffled.

So much so, he completely ignored Zhou Ling’er’s attempt to introduce herself and instead found himself glancing repeatedly at Jiang Mianmian.

She was turned toward Zhou Nanye, chatting face-to-face with him, without sparing a single glance in Ming Yao’s direction.

Ming Yao felt a strange and inexplicable irritation rise within him:

What was Jiang Mianmian up to?

Not only was she no longer gazing at him obsessively, but she also seemed to be getting along just fine with that stuttering new boy.

A sense of discomfort bubbled up from within.

When everything he was used to didn’t follow its usual course, a subtle gap in his expectations emerged.

But Mingyao soon figured out why Jiang Mianmian behaved in such a different way from the past. The realization left him inwardly laughing.

So that’s it—

She’s faking it, pretending to have a great time with that stuttering boy, clearly trying to make him jealous.

Feigning indifference about who he sat with was obviously just a tactic—an attempt to use reverse psychology to make him feel unsettled and pay more attention to her.

For a moment, Ming Yao almost fell for her trick.

Jiang Mianmian was learning to be manipulative now, wasn’t she?

But she thought wrong if she believed he’d care.

Having figured everything out, Ming Yao let go of his fleeting sense of panic and immediately relaxed.

Ridiculous. It was better that she wasn’t acting crazy this time. With her overbearing possessiveness, forbidding any girls from getting near him, she’d ruined any chance of him experiencing a proper romance.

And since he didn’t even like her, there was no way he’d ever be with her.

If she was playing hard to get this time—pretending not to care—good. That saved him the trouble of dealing with her.

If she realized her tactic didn’t work and went back to pestering him, he’d never give her another chance.

“Are you even listening to me, desk mate?”

Zhou Ling’er’s soft, delicate voice broke through his thoughts. Ming Yao hadn’t responded to her a single time, and she had to call him out.

“Sorry, I spaced out for a moment. Go on, I’m listening now.”

Looking at the pure, kind-hearted girl sitting across from him—so different from Jiang Mianmian—Ming Yao found himself intrigued.

This transfer student might just fit his standards. Perhaps it was worth exploring.

Zhou Ling’er, for her part, shyly lowered her gaze and smiled at the sunny, handsome boy before her.

She had already learned about Ming Yao before transferring. As the son of one of the school’s shareholders, he seemed to embody wealth and charm.

The more she thought about it, the more she found him attractive.

While the two chatted amicably, other students in the classroom couldn’t help but notice something peculiar.

Usually, the self-proclaimed future girlfriend of their “Big Brother” would never tolerate another girl getting close to him.

Yet here she was, calmly allowing the new transfer girl to sit with him, without showing any jealousy or possessiveness.

In fact, she seemed to be getting along splendidly with the stuttering transfer boy instead.

Sure, that boy was handsome, easily comparable to Ming Yao in looks, but… he stuttered.

And unlike Ming Yao, he came from a modest background, relying on academic excellence to secure his spot at the prestigious school.

The students couldn’t wrap their heads around it but ultimately decided to leave the “Big Brother and Big Sister” drama alone.

Soon, class resumed, and the students shifted back into the familiar monotony of lessons.

Meanwhile, Jiang Mianmian quietly stashed away all the items that gave her away as a slacker and pulled out her neglected textbooks.

Determined to keep up with her scholarly desk mate, she decided it was time to study seriously.

As class began, Jiang Mianmian noticed Zhou Nanye’s complete focus on the lesson.

His intellect shone through as he seamlessly adapted to the teacher’s teaching style, occasionally jotting down notes.

The sunlight streaming in through the window highlighted his sharp profile, casting a golden halo around his serious expression.

A focused man is the most attractive of all.

Jiang Mianmian: … Is it okay to drool?

But if she wanted a future with Zhou Nanye, she’d have to get into the same university as him. That meant she couldn’t slack off!

Snapping out of her dreamy state, Jiang Mianmian redirected her attention to the teacher, ready to work hard.