The Normal School-affiliated Elementary School was the top-rated and most prestigious elementary school in Qizhou. In 1996, even though Qizhou was a provincial capital, families that could afford sponsorship fees were rare.

In other words, the backgrounds of the transfer students in Grade 1, Class 5, were undoubtedly extraordinary.

As they passed through the northern hall of the teaching block, the rowdy commotion of children became almost deafening.

Walking past Class 1 through Class 4, the noise intensified—shrill screams and playful laughter mixed with the creak of desks and chairs being dragged around.

“I need to go to the bathroom. Ding Yi, come with me.” Wang Junyang muttered, frowning and clutching his stomach as he grabbed Ding Yi by the arm.

The little guy with glasses wobbled slightly, adjusted his frames, and gave Song Qiaoxi a helpless look. “Xixi, you two go to class first. I’ll go with him and find you later.”

Song Qiaoxi nodded, a smile tugging at her lips.

In her past memories, only girls went to the bathroom in pairs. She hadn’t expected Wang Junyang to need a companion too!

She waved at the two boys running off in the opposite direction before turning toward the hallway with Chu Jin.

When they reached the classroom door labeled “Grade 1, Class 5,” they were met with an unmistakable sense of chaos.

Even before stepping inside, they could feel the wild energy spilling into the hallway.

“Hahaha! Ahahahaha!”

A loud, arrogant laugh echoed from the open doorway.

That voice… sounded familiar.

“Alright, listen up! All the kids from our newspaper agency—sit in the front rows! As for those who aren’t from our compound? Stand up, line up, and move to the back of the classroom!”

Song Qiaoxi’s heart sank. Instantly, a dull ache spread across her forehead.

Jiang Qisheng—how was it that he’s everywhere?

Before the school year started, Song Qiaoxi had been secretly praying that she wouldn’t end up in the same class as her “arch-nemesis,” Jiang Qisheng.

One reason was that ever since their childhood, the original Song Qiaoxi and Jiang Qisheng never got along—fighting since they were little kids, always at odds.

Another reason was Jiang Qisheng’s troublesome, persistent attitude and his bad temper. Honestly, she didn’t think she could deal with him.

The most important reason, however, was that the original plot hadn’t yet unfolded, and it involved a tragic storyline with Jiang Qisheng.

She was here to protect her parents, not to cause them trouble.

On the way to school, she had kept a faint hope, thinking there was a chance that things might have changed—since the kids from the compound were split between two classes, there was a 50% chance she could avoid him.

But now, it seemed…

sigh—she had definitely overestimated her luck.

Just before stepping into Grade 1, Class 5, Song Qiaoxi took a deep breath, tightened her grip on her backpack straps, and was about to step forward when she saw Chu Jin beat her to it, entering ahead of her. She quickly followed right behind him.

As soon as they stepped through the door, the first thing she noticed was the chaotic scene—under Jiang Qisheng’s command, the room was a noisy mess of little kids. It was pure chaos…

She pressed her fingers to her forehead, silently reflecting. The next six years of elementary school were destined to be anything but ordinary.

As much as she tried to accept the chaos of school life, Song Qiaoxi honestly just wanted to be an ordinary, well-behaved little student—someone who wouldn’t cause her parents’ trouble.

She simply aimed to do well in her studies, be a good student, and get along with her friends as they all worked hard together.

Was it too much to ask for such a small, straightforward goal? Why couldn’t fate just give her a break?

“Song Qiaoxi! Chu Jin!”

Jiang Qisheng’s booming voice made her ears ring. Frowning, she looked up at the podium.

Jiang Qisheng, with his round little belly puffed out, stood behind the desk with his hands clasped like a little leader, eyeing them with amusement.

He raised one chubby little hand in a gesture that seemed to proclaim, “I’ll change the world with my words!” His voice boomed like thunder as he addressed them. “Song Qiaoxi, you’re from the compound, right? You can sit down now.”

“Now, as for Chu Jin…”

Jiang Qisheng raised an eyebrow, his little eyes narrowing into slits.

The classroom gradually quieted down as the children waited to see what Jiang Qisheng’s next move would be.

At this point, he slowly began to speak, enunciating every word clearly. “Chu Jin was once a child from our compound, but he tragically became an orphan. My father, who is the vice director of the newspaper, took pity on him and allowed him to live in our compound’s boiler room.”

He paused dramatically, then lifted his chin and folded his arms, adding. “So, I guess you can call him one of us, a child from the compound. I’ll let you sit now.”

After he finished, the room filled with whispers. Whether they were from children of the compound or cross-district transfer students who’d paid hefty fees, everyone began to gossip in hushed tones.

Some kids even pointed at Chu Jin, eyeing him with a mix of pity and curiosity, glancing at him like he was a subject of strange interest.

The boys who usually got along with Jiang Qisheng giggled and whispered among themselves, their voices neither too loud nor too quiet as they “educated” those around them.

“Look at him, no parents, poor orphan. Why does he still look so proud?”

“Right? Living in the boiler room and thinking he’s a little prince. I guess now he’s the ‘Boiler Room Prince,’ huh? Ahahaha…”

“In the compound, he never greets us, always wears a serious face. He’s so scary!”

“Yeah, yeah, he doesn’t speak at all, and his gaze looks so scary…”

…

How could Song Qiaoxi not hear what they were saying?

She clenched her lips tightly, her body trembling slightly as her small hands formed tight fists.

Her gaze fixed on Jiang Qisheng, who was grinning from ear to ear, his chubby body shaking with laughter, and then she turned to glance at Chu Jin, who showed no reaction.

The pale, slender boy didn’t even furrow his brows. He stood silently beside her, his expression blank, his eyes still dark and unfathomable.

Chu Jin seemed entirely detached from the situation, radiating an aura of coldness, as if he were a mere observer, untouched by anything happening around him.

It seemed that he didn’t care at all about what Jiang Qisheng had said.

The more indifferent he appeared, the more unsettled Song Qiaoxi felt inside.

^_^