Chapter 07

Before crossing over, Qin Xiaoxiao had read many online novels, including several about transmigrating into books.

In those transmigration stories, the protagonists, after entering the novels, had to follow the original plot. If they didn’t, they would face physical punishments such as electric shocks, heart pain, or headaches.

She had always harbored a subtle fear of the existence of things like “plot” and “world consciousness.”

Now, she confirmed that the novel she had transmigrated into was 《The Cool and Arrogant School Bully Falls for Me》, and on the day the male lead and female lead were supposed to meet, they didn’t.

The plot had deviated.

As a transmigrator into the book, she hadn’t faced any punishment so far. Qin Xiaoxiao wondered if this meant she didn’t have to follow the original plot.

That would be absolutely fantastic.

She resolved not to get involved in the emotional entanglements of the male and female leads and instead focus on peacefully living her high school life.

As she was calculating things in her mind, by the time Qin Xiaoxiao noticed Ji Wenchen had stopped, they had already been at the roadside at the foot of the mountain for several seconds.

She quickly moved to get off his back. His hand, which had been supporting her legs, released her in turn.

“Thank you.” Perhaps due to her uplifted mood, Qin Xiaoxiao felt her body wasn’t as weak and uncomfortable anymore.

Ji Wenchen responded with a low “Mm” and lowered his eyes to swipe through his phone.

“Aren’t you going back to visit the grave?” Qin Xiaoxiao politely and kindly reminded him.

This earned her a glance from his beautiful phoenix eyes, carrying a hint of cool indifference.

Alright then. She decided to stop talking.

Within two minutes, a black car pulled up beside Ji Wenchen.

Ji Wenchen stepped forward, opened the back door, and said to Qin Xiaoxiao, “Get in.”

He even called a ride-hailing car, huh.

That was unexpectedly thoughtful and kind. As Qin Xiaoxiao walked over, she thought to herself, The male lead does have some redeeming qualities after all.

In her previous life, Qin Xiaoxiao’s family had been fairly well-off, so she could tell that this was no ordinary car. Could ride-hailing services even book luxury cars like this these days?

Qin Xiaoxiao felt a bit embarrassed. Her pants and shoes were stained with dirt… Wait a minute, why was Ji Wenchen getting into the car as well?

“Ah Chen,” the middle-aged man in the driver’s seat greeted respectfully and affectionately, instantly making Qin Xiaoxiao realize that this was Ji Wenchen’s private family car.

“Uncle Lin,” Ji Wenchen responded, then paused for a moment. “Where’s your home?”

Qin Xiaoxiao realized he was asking her. “Anyang Community on Yonghe Road.”

“Take us there.”

“Understood.” Lin Dong started the car, discreetly glancing at the girl in the back seat through the rearview mirror.

This was the first time the young master had been so close to a young girl. Lin Dong was curious about the relationship between the young master and this pretty girl, but he maintained his professional demeanor and didn’t ask.

As soon as Ji Wenchen got into the car, he leaned back against the soft seat and closed his eyes.

The car interior was silent, with no one speaking.

Fortunately, Qin Xiaoxiao had decent self-adjustment skills and didn’t feel awkward at all. She turned her face to look at the passing street scenes outside the window, treating it as hitching a ride in the luxurious car of her “boyfriend” in name only, who happened to be a generous and bold classmate.

…

Qin Xiaoxiao’s father was at work, and her mother was out running a stall, so there was no one at home.

The first thing Qin Xiaoxiao did when she got back was take a shower.

After washing up, she felt completely clean, and her mood improved as well.

Feeling a bit hungry, Qin Xiaoxiao cooked some rice porridge. She took out a small plate of pickled vegetables and set everything on the table.

Remembering that she hadn’t sent a text to her homeroom teacher yet, Qin Xiaoxiao took her phone out of her backpack and turned it on.

After the brief startup time, the phone vibrated continuously.

Yang Min: 【Have you made it home yet?】

Yang Min: 【Or did you go somewhere else?】

Qin Xiaoxiao first sent a text message to her homeroom teacher, reporting that she had safely arrived home, and then replied to Yang Min: 【I’m home.】

Before she could put her phone down, a call from Yang Min came through.

“You’re home? I thought you and the school bully… Do you know what happened? When I went to help you ask Miss Ruo for a leave, she was worried about you going down the mountain alone and asked the boys if anyone was willing to help you.”

“You know, a lot of the guys were willing to escort you. Several spoke up, but guess what! The school bully actually volunteered too! I was like, damn, super shocked! He’s the school bully, who would dare compete with him? I was honestly so surprised!”

“The school bully still hasn’t come back yet, so I thought…”

“You’re overthinking it,” Qin Xiaoxiao said, scooping a spoonful of porridge into her mouth.

“Qin Xiaoxiao, my intuition tells me he sees you as a little special.”

“…” Qin Xiaoxiao swallowed her food and said, “Your intuition is wrong. Alright, I’m hanging up now.”

“Ah, come on, let’s talk a bit more…”

After hanging up the phone, Qin Xiaoxiao casually placed it on the sofa.

With the bowl of porridge settling in her stomach, the last traces of discomfort disappeared.

While washing the dishes, she thought about her mother, who was selling fruit outside. She then decided to call her.

The line rang seven or eight times before it was finally answered, likely because her mother was busy.

“Xiaoxiao, what’s up?”

Qin Xiaoxiao briefly explained to Feng Xiuling the reason for her early return, then said, “I can cook dinner and bring it to you, okay?” Her father was on a rotating shift today, working the evening shift until midnight.

“That’s really…” Feng Xiuling quickly changed her tone, “No need, no need. Just rest well at home. Mom can buy a bowl of noodles to eat outside.”

In the original owner’s memories, Feng Xiuling had mentioned that food from outside wasn’t very clean and often advised her daughter to eat less of it, yet she herself frequently settled for quick meals at small roadside stalls.

“I’m fine now. Wait for me to bring you dinner.”

“But, but you… You should stay home and focus on your studies. No need to worry about this.”

“The holiday started this afternoon, and I’ve finished most of my homework at school. Cooking won’t take much time.”

“Alright then, just make something simple.”

The original owner’s parents were often not home, so she had already learned how to cook. However, she had never taken the initiative to offer to cook for her mother before.

When Qin Xiaoxiao arrived at her mother’s stall carrying a somewhat old thermal lunchbox, she drew the attention of many passersby and nearby vendors.

“Ah Ling, is this your daughter? Such a pretty girl!”

“A little beauty bringing food to Ah Ling?”

“What did you cook? Auntie’s hungry now, what should I do?”

Qin Xiaoxiao smiled at the vendors who spoke up. “Hello, uncles and aunties,” she greeted, neither shy nor showing any hint of disdain.

Some of the vendors were meeting this polite and pretty girl for the first time and found her quite likable. They warmly offered her some of the fruit they were selling to try.

Qin Xiaoxiao thanked the uncles and aunties for their kindness. Noticing her mother was busy peeling pineapples for a customer, she naturally stepped in, grabbing bags and handing them to other customers browsing at the stall.

“How much is the mango per pound?”

“How much is this?”

“What variety of plums are these?”

… One customer after another.

Feng Xiuling’s fruit stall was essentially a few types of fruit displayed on a cargo tricycle. Since it wasn’t the morning, she had set up her stall at the entrance of the old neighborhood. Nearby fruit vendors sold goods of similar types and quality, yet Feng Xiuling’s stall consistently had the most customers.

“Ah Ling, I’m so envious of you for having such a good daughter,” sighed the dark-skinned auntie on her left.

Feng Xiuling gave a simple, humble smile. “Oh, not at all, your kids are great too.”

In just twenty minutes, she sold more fruit than she usually did in an entire afternoon. Now, her stall only had a few pounds of plums and a couple of slightly blemished mangoes left.

As the area around the stall quieted down, Qin Xiaoxiao reminded Feng Xiuling, “Go ahead and eat now.”

“Alright,” Feng Xiuling replied, her heart filling with warmth and comfort. Xiaoxiao had truly become much more considerate—not only bringing her food but also helping her sell fruit for such a long time.

Feng Xiuling squeezed some clean water from a large mineral water bottle to wash her hands, then untied the bag and opened the thermal lunchbox Qin Xiaoxiao had brought. She was touched once again. Noticing the sky had darkened, she hurriedly said, “Go on, head back now.”

“Let me wait until you’re done eating,” Qin Xiaoxiao said.

“No, no need,” Feng Xiuling quickly replied, worried about wasting Qin Xiaoxiao’s time. She urged her repeatedly to head back.

Left with no choice, Qin Xiaoxiao obediently returned home.

…

After the Qingming holiday ended, Class 8 of the second year held their routine monthly seat adjustment.

Guo Hairuo, being democratic and unafraid of trouble, had told the students that if they had any preferences regarding their seats, they could write them down on small notes and give them to her. She would carefully consider and try to accommodate everyone’s requests.

Typically, in the few days leading up to the seat rearrangement, Guo Hairuo would receive about ten or so notes.

This time, when Guo Hairuo emptied the “Suggestion Collection Box” from her desk, she stared at the noticeably doubled number of notes compared to before and fell silent.

As she unfolded the notes, aside from differences in wording, seven out of every ten had the same general meaning:

“Teacher Guo, I would like to sit near Qin Xiaoxiao.”

There were also a few requests like this: “Teacher, I hope to sit at the same desk as Qin Xiaoxiao.”

How could Guo Hairuo not understand what these boys were thinking? It was all the stirrings of youthful affection.

Qin Xiaoxiao really was a beautiful girl. In the past, there always seemed to be a hint of arrogance about her, but now it was gone. She even gave off a sense of warmth and sweetness. Strangely enough, she seemed to have grown even more beautiful recently.

Sharing the same desk wasn’t possible—forming a new desk pair required both students involved to express the same preference. Sitting nearby, however, was relatively easier to accommodate.

So, on Monday afternoon, after the seating adjustment, Yang Min was shocked. “Why are all the people around me boys?”

Qin Xiaoxiao replied, “So are me and her not girls?” The “her” in her words referred to Gan Shuangxing, the girl sitting in front of them.

“Ah, what I meant was, why are there so many boys around me?” Yang Min added deliberately, “Oh, I forgot, Tao Lei is also a girl.”

“What are you talking about?” Tao Lei swiftly turned around, retorting, “You tomboy!”

“And you sissy!”

Yang Min pouted. “Why is it that after switching seats, you, this sissy, are still in front of me?”

“Do you think I want to sit in front of a tomboy like you?”

“Then go talk to Miss Ruo and ask to switch! Go on!”

“Why should I? If anyone’s leaving, it should be you.”

Yang Min rolled her eyes. “Turn your head back. I’m too lazy to argue with you.”

“Xiao ah,” Yang Min leaned close to Qin Xiaoxiao, who was tidying up her desk, and whispered, “look, the school bully didn’t change seats.”

Most of the students’ seats had undergone significant rearrangement, yet the school bully remained in the last row by the wall, occupying two desks by himself with no seatmate.

Qin Xiaoxiao didn’t turn her head. “Mm,” she responded, not finding it strange at all.

It wasn’t just this seating adjustment—Ji Wenchen’s seat wouldn’t change in the upcoming arrangements either. As for his desk mate…

Once the female lead transferred in, she would be Ji Wenchen’s long-term deskmate until they graduated from senior year.

“What the heck, Jiang Zhousi actually has a tattoo?”

“Hmm?”

“Jiang Zhousi and Ji Wenchen are standing out in the hallway,” Yang Min said. “I saw a tattoo on Jiang Zhousi’s arm. So cool!”

Can high school students even get tattoos?

Qin Xiaoxiao glanced over curiously. In the hallway, sunlight poured down, illuminating two striking boys of different styles, both casually leaning against the railing. The less handsome one, the boy with a quiff hairstyle, had his sleeves rolled up, revealing a dark tattoo on his upper arm.

Rolling it up that high—was he afraid people wouldn’t notice? Qin Xiaoxiao, whose mental age had long since outgrown her rebellious phase, found it a little amusing.

Just as she looked away, Qin Xiaoxiao didn’t realize that the boy with a quiff hairstyle outside was now looking in her direction.

“Hey, you guys switched seats?” The rebellious boy nudged the person beside him with his elbow.

“Damn, your little girlfriend’s surrounded by nothing but guys, huh?”

Ji Wenchen said nothing, his sharp and elegant phoenix eyes also glancing toward that spot in the classroom.