Chapter 004

No. 2 Middle School requires day students to attend morning self-study starting at 7:20.

He Ye got up at 6:30. Her black-and-white school uniform had been hung on the hanger the night before. After putting it on, she went to the bathroom to wash up, which only took a few minutes.

“Eat up. The porridge isn’t hot anymore.”

He Yong set the table and called his daughter.

He Ye sat down at the dining table, looking at her father, who seemed to never gain weight no matter how much he ate, and asked, “What will you do for lunch and dinner when I’m not at home?”

He Yong replied, “There are plenty of restaurants outside the community. Are you worried I’ll go hungry?”

He Ye: “Okay, remember to ask for receipts from the store. I’ll check them when I get back in the evening. If any are missing, I won’t have breakfast the next day.”

He Yong: “…”

This time, he truly didn’t dare to eat instant noodles.

After settling her father’s food concerns, He Ye set off with her schoolbag.

“Focus on riding your bike, and don’t listen to English on headphones while on the road!”

“Got it!”

After closing the door behind her, He Ye walked briskly towards the elevator.

At this time, the elevator was relatively empty, and there weren’t many pedestrians in the community.

The new community has beautiful landscaping, especially the main road connecting the north and south gates, which is lined with green trees on both sides, like a long green corridor.

The air was fresh, and birds with black wings and white crests fluttered past the treetops. He Ye smiled, turned the handlebars, and moved from the small path onto the wide and clean main road.

The bus stop is at the east gate. To get to No. 2 Middle School, it is closer to use the south gate.

While riding, He Ye noticed a male classmate in the same school uniform as hers, who had stopped at a fork in the road near the south gate.

Most of his bicycle was still on the side road, with only the front of the bike sticking out perpendicular to the main road.

Two lush green maple trees were planted next to him, and the thick green shade highlighted his fair profile.

The quiet and fresh scenery combined with the fair and tall boy created a striking image.

Anime scenes flashed through her mind, and the next moment, He Ye looked away.

As she got closer, He Ye looked at the student again, and her calm mood suddenly faltered.

It was Lu Jin.

Social pressure enveloped He Ye once more.

But Lu Jin hadn’t noticed her yet. He was sitting on his bike with one leg on the ground, earphones in one ear, and his head tilted towards the south.

In the bright morning light, his eyelashes drooped, and his fair and clean profile looked handsome and focused.

He Ye thought about just pretending not to see him and riding past quickly.

As long as Lu Jin kept his head turned south, and tilted her head to the left to look at the scenery as she passed, Lu Jin probably wouldn’t recognize her new classmate just by looking at her back.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned. An electric bike rumbled past from behind her.

He Ye’s heartbeat quickened with the rumbling sound.

The electric bike quickly overtook her.

Lu Jin turned his head as the electric bike approached.

His gaze seemed to pass directly over the electric bike and land on the girl in school uniform, riding steadily under the tree’s shade.

In early September, Ancheng was still lush and green. Among the greenery, the girl’s exposed cheeks, neck, and arms were as white as pearls.

Like the waist that was accidentally exposed.

Lu Jin looked at his watch and guessed that Zhou Xiangming, who loved to sleep in, would arrive soon, so he put away his headphones and stuffed them into his schoolbag.

When he looked at He Ye again, there were only about ten meters between them.

Lu Jin waved at her.

It was a simple gesture, neither cold nor enthusiastic—just like an acquaintance, which was fitting for new classmates.

He Ye simply smiled at him.

As Lu Jin hesitated whether to speak, he retracted his gaze and put his right hand into his pocket, as if searching for something.

He Ye breathed a sigh of relief, slightly increased her speed, and rode past him.

He Ye checked the time as she sat down—it was exactly seven o’clock.

Her deskmate, Wu Yuanyuan, hadn’t arrived yet. Zhu Qing ran over from the first row and asked, “Why are you here so early? Most of the day, students haven’t arrived yet.”

He Ye: “I’m used to getting up early and living close to home.”

As she spoke, she took out her Chinese textbook. This morning’s reading subject was Chinese.

Zhu Qing yawned.

He Ye noticed her dark circles: “What time did you go to bed last night?”

Zhu Qing: “It was almost midnight. School has just started, and everyone was very excited and kept chatting.”

Although boarding students avoid the morning and evening commute, they have to go for a morning run at 6:30, which means Zhu Qing only got about six hours of sleep last night.

He Ye advised, “Try to go to bed earlier in the future. If you get enough sleep at night, you’ll have more energy during the day.”

Zhu Qing smiled and said, “You sound just like my mother.”

He Ye pushed her shoulder playfully: “Alright, go read your book.”

Students admitted to No. 2 Middle School were typically top students from junior high. Even if their grades in high school were middle or lower, and they claimed to dislike studying, they actually had a strong desire to improve themselves.

This was true for Zhu Qing and Wu Yuanyuan as well.

So, Zhu Qing obediently returned to the front row.

At 7:15, Wu Yuanyuan arrived with her schoolbag, looking rosy-cheeked.

At 7:20, the head teacher, with thick eyebrows and a commanding presence, walked into the classroom just as the bell for morning self-study rang.

The sleepy students perked up, and those who had been whispering immediately began reading aloud.

The head teacher walked around the classroom with his hands behind his back. Not long after passing He Ye, He Ye heard the head teacher ask, “Who are these two? Why haven’t they arrived yet?”

No student answered, either because they genuinely didn’t remember the new students or because they didn’t want to reveal who was late.

At that moment, the classroom door was pushed open with a thud.

All the students looked up.

Zhou Xiangming walked in with a cheerful smile on his face and seemed to be talking to the expressionless Lu Jin behind him. When he saw the head teacher’s stern face, Zhou Xiangming awkwardly hid his smile, lowered his brows, and walked to the seats in the last row.

Since the head teacher was standing near their seats, Zhou Xiangming stopped in the second-to-last row, and Lu Jin naturally stopped next to He Ye.

He Ye’s eyes were fixed on her Chinese textbook, though she could see Lu Jin’s slender and fair hands hanging by his side from her peripheral vision.

“You two are really something, being late for self-study on the first day,” the head teacher said.

“It’s my fault. I forgot to set the alarm and made Lu Jin wait for me for half an hour,” Zhou Xiangming admitted.

The head teacher, recognizing the top student, glared at Zhou Xiangming, who was apologetic, and asked Lu Jin, “Is that so?”

Lu Jin replied, “Yes.”

The head teacher said, “Read your book now. This shouldn’t happen again.”

He moved aside, and the two boys quickly returned to their seats.

The head teacher walked slowly forward again and, after completing his round, left the classroom.

As soon as the door closed, the atmosphere in the classroom shifted slightly. Zhou Xiangming’s frustrated voice came from the back row: “If I’d known, I wouldn’t have rushed. If I hadn’t rushed, I might not have run into the class teacher.”

No one answered.

He continued to mutter, “Next time I’m late, don’t wait for me. The less late you are, the better.”

“Um.”

“I was just saying it casually. Do you take it seriously?”

The first class was Chinese.

Chinese teachers often ask students to read from textbooks, and this class was no exception.

“He Ye.”

The elegant female teacher, after scanning the student list, spoke.

Many students turned to look, but He Ye stood up, holding the book, and began to read aloud.

In the bright and spacious classroom, her soft voice was like a gentle stream among the green hills and trees in midsummer, which sounded particularly pleasant.

Zhou Xiangming couldn’t help but lean closer to Lu Jin: “It sounds so nice. No wonder…”

“Pause.”

He Ye looked at the Chinese teacher in confusion.

The teacher motioned for her to sit down and fixed her sharp gaze on Zhou Xiangming: “That boy, stand up.”

Zhou Xiangming: …

Lu Jin looked at his nose and then his heart, as if he didn’t know him.

Zhou Xiangming stood up awkwardly.

Chinese teacher: “Why aren’t you listening carefully? What are you whispering to your deskmate?”

Even Zhou Xiangming couldn’t be that honest. He touched his nose and said, “I was just telling him that our teacher has a really good temperament. You can tell right away that she teaches Chinese.”

The students all laughed.

The Chinese teacher also smiled: “Thank you. Please continue reading.”

Zhou Xiangming had no habit of previewing the text and reading with a bit of a stutter, but he was very good at being funny, which kept the classroom laughing.

Even He Ye found it hard to dislike someone with this kind of personality.

“What is your name?”

“Zhou Xiangming.”

“I’ll remember you. Listen carefully next time.”

“Yes!”

“Sit down, stand up, my deskmate, and continue reading.”

Lu Jin was obviously caught up in Zhou Xiangming’s misstep, but reading wasn’t difficult for him.

The Chinese teacher was very satisfied with his reading and asked, “What’s your name?”

“Lu Jin.”

The teacher looked surprised and glanced at Lu Jin twice before letting him sit down.

Wu Yuanyuan leaned close to He Ye’s ear and said, “Maybe you didn’t expect that the top student in our class is so good-looking.”

“Girl next to He Ye, please stand up.”

Wu Yuanyuan: …

After several roll calls, the class understood the Chinese teacher’s temper—anyone who dared to whisper would be called out!

On the first day of formal classes, students interacted with almost all the teachers. He Ye liked this team of teachers very much and could tell they were all good educators.

After finishing her homework during the three evening self-study sessions, He Ye would start previewing the next day’s lessons and complete some exercises in advance.

Since it was her turn to sweep the floor that day, she didn’t rush to pack her schoolbag after school and continued concentrating on her work.

Zhou Xiangming yawned and said to Lu Jin, “I’m going to sleep for a while. Call me when you’re done.”

Lu Jin replied, “You should head back first and get up early tomorrow.”

Zhou Xiangming: “That’s not very brotherly. I…”

Suddenly, he realized something and glanced at He Ye, who was still focused on studying. Zhou Xiangming chuckled and patted Lu Jin on the shoulder: “Okay, I’ll leave first every Monday from now on, so I won’t be a third wheel.”

Lu Jin moved his hand away, as he still had an unfinished question.

When most students had left, He Ye and her classmate Fang Xiaohui picked up their brooms and started sweeping the floor.

Lu Jin packed his schoolbag and went to the bathroom carrying a bucket and mop.

Finally, only three of them remained in the classroom.

He Ye was responsible for the two rows on the south side. Everyone was busy with their tasks, and no one was communicating.

“Team leader, I’ve finished sweeping,” He Ye said.

“Alright, go home early,” Fang Xiaohui replied, putting away the broom. She waved goodbye to He Ye, who was just two rows away, and left first.

He Ye noticed a girl waiting outside for Fang Xiaohui.

She looked away, feeling a bit envious. Her neighborhood was new, and there didn’t seem to be any girls from her class living there.

“Will you be leaving together later?” Lu Jin asked as he finished mopping the floor and stood up straight.

He Ye was taken aback.

Lu Jin explained, “It’s getting late. It might not be safe for you as a girl.”

He Ye smiled and replied, “Okay, thank you, Team Leader.”

Lu Jin said, “You’re welcome. It’s just on the way.”

He continued mopping the floor.

With only one mop available, He Ye couldn’t help. To avoid disturbing him, she went outside with her schoolbag in advance.

It was nearly ten o’clock, and the teaching building was almost deserted. The entire corridor was empty, and the voice-activated lights dimmed one by one.

He Ye hugged her schoolbag tightly.

Lu Jin emerged, carrying a bucket and mopping.

He Ye glanced at him.

Lu Jin said, “I’ll be back in three minutes to wash up.”

He Ye replied, “Okay, no rush.”