Chapter 10

A new week begins with a Monday morning grogginess.

Having learned from the previous week’s missteps, Su Miao Miao got up at 5:30 in the morning, washed up, had breakfast, and took the car to school with Wen Susu.

When they arrived at school before 6:30 AM, Wen Susu went straight to their class, while Su Miao Miao carefully avoided any teacher who looked like the grade director, Hao He, sneaking into the science building.

As she entered the training department’s office, the girl took one last glance behind her through the door crack.

Assured that Director Hao was nowhere in sight, she let out the breath she had been holding and turned to head back.

But just as she turned ninety degrees, a teasing voice suddenly rang out from behind her—

“Kid, acting like a thief so early in the morning, quite dedicated, aren’t you?”

Su Miao Miao froze in place.

After a couple of seconds, she lowered her head and quietly called out, “Master… good morning.”

Shang Yan, who was just getting up from his computer, paused.

Behind him, Wu Hongbo burst out first—

“I suddenly regret it, Brother Yan! I also want a little apprentice who calls me master softly early on a Monday morning!”

Shang Yan regained his composure, glancing sideways at Wu Hongbo.

“You?”

“Me, me, me!”

Shang Yan scoffed lightly, his tone undisguisedly disdainful: “You’re too weak, no way.”

Wu Hongbo: “…………”

Shang Yan walked to the inner room and leaned on the door.

“Kid. Did you finish those programming problems I set for you last week?”

Shang Yan, hands in his pockets and eyes lowered, looked half-amused at the girl slowly packing up at the desk.

“…Yes.”

The round cap on her head bobbed lightly up and down.

“…”

A thin layer of amusement glinted in his dark eyes.

“Bring your computer out, I’ll check your homework.”

Su Miao Miao hesitated for a moment, but the person who had spoken had already turned back.

After two seconds of hesitation, she did as Shang Yan had instructed, picking up her laptop and walking to the outer room.

Wu Hongbo was in the outer room, lamenting:

“Brother Yan… when you taught me back then, why weren’t you this serious and responsible?”

Leaning back in his chair, Shang Yan lazily flipped through a programming book, not even looking up.

“Wasn’t I?”

“Of course not, absolutely not!” Wu Hongbo retorted decisively, turning back, “Luan Wenzhe, you were the first one to join the group after Brother Yan, right? Was he this patient when he mentored you?”

“…”

Called out, Luan Wenzhe lifted his head from the computer, shaking it.

“See!” Wu Hongbo turned back, “Brother Yan, if you keep this up, I really have to wonder if you have a special interest in our little Su!”

“…”

Shang Yan’s hand paused as he turned the page, his slender fingers flexing as they tapped the page.

His eyes lifted, lips slightly curved in a half-smile that seemed deep with meaning—

“Having an ulterior motive? …What motive?”

He spoke the last words lightly, almost teasingly.

Wu Hongbo shivered under his gaze.

“Brother Yan, don’t smile like that… it’s freaky like a predator, it scares me.”

Shang Yan’s expression remained unchanged, and he casually slapped the book against Wu Hongbo’s face.

With Wu Hongbo’s “ow” as a backdrop, Shang Yan casually turned and waved at the hesitant Su Miao Miao.

“Kid, come here.”

Su Miao Miao placed the laptop she was holding on the desk in front of Shang Yan and dragged a chair over to sit beside him.

Shang Yan took the laptop with one hand and began expertly checking the programming algorithms and results.

Su Miao Miao sat quietly beside him.

After a few seconds, she nervously glanced at the clock.

“…Master, aren’t you going to the flag-raising ceremony?”

The man didn’t look up, his long fingers dancing across the keyboard—

“Last week when I helped you out, I got blacklisted, and lost the privilege to attend the flag ceremony.”

“…”

Su Miao Miao’s breath hitched, and her eyes widened under her cap.

The office fell silent for a few seconds.

Seemingly sensing the girl’s shocked stillness, a few guys in the corner chuckled.

Luan Wenzhe also smiled helplessly, “Brother Yan, stop scaring little Su.

“Su Miao Miao: “…?”

Shang Yan’s lips curled slightly.

“Just kidding, you actually believed it.”

Su Miao Miao: “…”

Wu Hongbo also laughed, “If there really was such a blacklist, why would I bother sneaking around to skip the flag ceremony?”

After scanning the last line of code, Shang Yan reached for the school jacket beside him and stood up to leave—

“There’s a small issue with a loop. I’ll teach you during the self-study period in third period.”

Without waiting for Su Miao Miao to respond, Wu Hongbo chased after him with a question—

“Can I sit in too, Brother Yan?”

“Only in your dreams, go ahead.”

The voice that came back through the door was unhesitant.

Wu Hongbo: “…………”

After two seconds, he turned back, puzzled, “So what was Brother Yan actually here for this morning? He barely sat down for ten minutes before leaving, right?”

“Yeah, it’s strange, he didn’t even turn on his own computer.”

“…”

Amid the low voices of discussion, only Luan Wenzhe seemed to have thought of something, his gaze fixed peculiarly on the retreating figure of Su Miao Miao as she walked into the back room.

The bell for the end of the second period in the morning rang, signaling the time for the class break exercises.

As the sound of running outside gradually subsided, Wu Hongbo and Luan Wenzhe made their way together to the training group.

They pushed the door open, discussing as they entered.

“…Do you think what Li Zhe said could be true?”

“It should be, right?”

“But then again, if he hadn’t seen such a beauty, Brother Yan would definitely deny it.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m so jealous, damn, even prettier than Shu Wei, what does she even look like—Brother Yan is really unfair, not inviting me to his birthday!”

“…………”

As they talked, they had already reached the computer desks of the training group.

Wu Hongbo’s gaze shifted and he spotted a girl in a big hoodie sitting at the corner of Shang Yan’s computer desk, her own laptop on her lap.

“Little Su?”

“…”

“Little Su??”

“Ah…?”

Su Miao Miao was snapped back to reality and quickly responded.

Wu Hongbo smiled and said, “What were you thinking about, you seemed so lost?”

Su Miao Miao hesitated, then asked softly, “What you just mentioned…”

“Hey, just now during the exercises, Li Zhe said they saw a real beauty at a restaurant this weekend, prettier than Shu Wei!”

“…Oh.”

Su Miao Miao’s jaw tightened under her hoodie, nervously fidgeting with her fingers.

Wu Hongbo then asked, “Are you here waiting for Brother Yan?”

“Yeah.”

“That might take a while. I saw Shu Wei heading to their class right after the exercises,” said Wu Hongbo. “Anyway, next period Brother Yan’s class has a study session, and those two could ditch class and nobody would care if they left school holding hands.”

Luan Wenzhe helplessly gestured towards Wu Hongbo and mouthed a warning.

“Aren’t you afraid Brother Yan will come back and hit you?”

Wu Hongbo shrank back, silencing himself.

Su Miao Miao sat quietly.

She didn’t quite understand Wu Hongbo’s words, but she knew what holding hands meant.

Before she could ponder further, her phone in the hoodie pocket suddenly vibrated.

Su Miao Miao set her laptop aside, took out her phone, and stepped outside to answer the call.

“Hello? Is this Miao Miao? It’s Teacher Li Shijie.”

“…Teacher?”

“Your mom spoke to the director last week. From today, you’ll officially join the class. You’re in the Technology Building now, right?”

“Yes.”

“Could you come down to the south gate of Building 3? Or should I come to get you?”

“…”

Su Miao Miao was silent for two seconds, then slowly shook her head.

Realizing that Li Shijie couldn’t see her, she finally spoke softly, “I can make it there by myself.”

“Good, then please hurry, teacher is waiting for you at the south gate of Building 3.”

“…Yes.”

Su Miao Miao returned to the inner office, packed up her small backpack, and headed out.

As she passed through the outer office, she saw Wu Hongbo and Luan Wenzhe focused on their computers. She hesitated for a few seconds but ultimately left without saying anything, turning away.

Su Miao Miao followed Teacher Li Shijie up to the fourth floor where Senior Year 2 Class 1 was located, just as the bell for the third period rang.

The third period was for self-study, and some of the students from Class 1 were still casually hanging around in the corridor.

It’s unclear who first noticed Teacher Li Shijie, but someone whispered loudly enough to be heard:

“The class teacher is here!”

Students in the hallway scattered like birds.

Even as they entered the classroom, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

However, once people noticed the petite girl following Teacher Li Shijie, whispers began to spread through the class—

“Who is that? A new student?”

“No way, she’s so short?”

“Can’t even tell if it’s a boy or a girl.”

“Are you blind… It’s obviously one of our female classmates, look how narrow her shoulders are.”

“…Fine.”

Teacher Li Shijie walked up to the podium and knocked on the blackboard.

“This is our new transfer student, Su Miao Miao. Let’s welcome her.”

“…”

A sparse applause broke out in the classroom.

Su Miao Miao pursed her lips.

The feeling of suddenly having many people staring at her in a confined space still made her particularly uneasy.

“Teacher, why is she wearing a hat indoors?”

Teacher Li Shijie’s expression became stern, “Student Su Miao Miao has some special health conditions. The school has approved her exemption from wearing the uniform and participating in group activities—you should all be mindful of this, understand?”

From some corner came a joking comment:

“If we need to be careful, why put her in our class… When Yan and the others come back, won’t they just make a mess?”

Laughter followed in agreement.

Teacher Li Shijie’s face darkened, and he slapped his hand on the desk twice:

“Quiet down!”

“…”

The students instantly fell silent.

Teacher Li Shijie looked towards the middle of the third row where Wen Susu sat straight and stiff, her gaze occasionally drifting complexly towards Su Miao Miao.

“Class president,” Teacher Li Shijie called out to her, “come out with me for a moment.”

Teacher Li Shijie and Wen Susu walked to the door, and then he suddenly remembered, turned back to the quietly standing girl, and said:

“Su Miao Miao, just find an empty seat and sit down. This period is for self-study.”

“…”

The girl nodded lightly.

As soon as the classroom door closed, the previously suppressed murmurs immediately resurfaced, and various curious gazes followed the girl.

Su Miao Miao clenched her fists, her fingertips turning slightly white.

She moved hesitantly a few steps inside the classroom.

The voices in front grew louder.

Su Miao Miao suddenly stopped—In the very first row of the classroom, there was an empty double desk.

Unlike the other rows starting from the second, which had four desks each, this one stood alone in its row, positioned in the corner by the window.

The desk surface was completely empty.

Su Miao Miao breathed a sigh of relief.

She clutched her backpack strap tightly and quickly walked to the desk.

Before anyone could react, the girl sat down facing away from the entire class at the innermost seat.

Suddenly, the classroom fell silent.

Everyone seemed as if their necks had been gripped tight.

After what felt like a long time, whispered conversations began from behind:

“Damn, has she lost her mind…”

“Why didn’t you guys stop her?”

“Man, when Yan gets back and loses it, this new student is gonna have it rough…”

Before their discussion finished, the classroom door opened again.

The first to enter was Wen Susu, her expression even more complex than when she had left.

As soon as she entered, her eyes fell on the girl sitting alone at the desk in the first row.

Wen Susu’s face changed immediately, “You—”

“What’s wrong?”

Teacher Li Shijie came in and was also taken aback upon seeing Su Miao Miao’s choice of seat.

He looked slightly troubled.

How could I forget that Shang Yan’s seat is as if it’s meant for no one.

However, thinking about the girl’s almost freakishly quiet demeanor, Teacher Li Shijie isn’t surprised she chose to sit there.

“Wen Susu, you can go back now.”

“But she…”

Teacher Li Shijie lowered his voice, “When Shang Yan comes back, tell him to just move another empty desk wherever he likes—even on the podium if he prefers.”Wen Susu could tell that the latter part of Teacher Li Shijie’s comment was a joke, but the implication of indulging Su Miao Miao was clear enough.Wen Susu, visibly upset, turned pale and went back to her seat.Teacher Li Shijie scanned the whole class.“Everyone, be quiet. I’ll be back to check soon, and anyone who disrupts the discipline will go to my office for solitary study.”“…”The whole class fell silent.Some couldn’t help but look gleefully at the back of the girl in the front row.Now that the head teacher had spoken, they were spared from speaking.

—

They just had to wait for Shang Yan to return to watch the drama unfold.