When she heard there were two new students, Xia Ruan was a bit confused. Did the new students have a buy-one-get-one-free promotion or something? Just as she was lost in thought, the sound of applause broke out. She raised her hand and clapped casually, then saw two figures stepping in to the sound of the applause. When she looked up, she saw two somewhat familiar faces. 

Xia Fei was extremely surprised to see Fang Yinan. Could this be the legendary fate? 

Xia Ruan was puzzled as to why Lu Yanzhi would leave a good school like Renhuai to come to Ming’an. After all, Renhuai had a much more relaxed academic atmosphere. 

“Come on, both of you, introduce yourselves to the class,” the homeroom teacher’s voice reached Xia Ruan’s ears. 

Fang Yinan’s arrival made most of the boys in the class restless. The temperature was slightly higher than usual today, and she was wearing a white long-sleeve dress, her long hair cascading over her shoulders. She looked like a little fairy. Even her voice was softer than others’: “Hello, everyone, I’m Fang Yinan. I hope we can get along well in the coming days.” 

Then it was Lu Yanzhi’s turn. His appearance caused quite a few girls in the class to whisper. Xia Ruan even overheard their conversations. She couldn’t help but look him over—was he a big deal at Renhuai too? Why would he transfer here? She found it even more confusing. 

Lu Yanzhi caught Xia Ruan’s gaze and smiled broadly at her, then confidently started introducing himself: “I’m Lu Yanzhi, transferred from Renhuai, so I hope everyone can give me some guidance in studies.” Although he was speaking to the class, his eyes were fixed on Xia Ruan’s face. 

Fan Shujuan glanced uncertainly at her deskmate. Seeing that Xia Ruan had her head down and seemed to be deep in thought, curiosity eventually won over, and she leaned in to whisper, “Ruan Ruan, do you know him?” 

Xia Ruan raised her head and glanced at Lu Yanzhi’s smiling face, then gently shook her head: “No, I just saw him once at the school gate.” 

Fan Shujuan looked up and sized up the person on the stage. Seeing his gaze continuously circling around Xia Ruan, she immediately made a bold guess. 

Because the seating in class was just right, the two newcomers naturally became deskmates. 

Xia Fei, who had been immersed in how beautiful fate was, became alert upon seeing Lu Yanzhi. This guy suddenly transferring here must have bad intentions. He first glanced at Fang Yinan, then at Lu Yanzhi, and only relaxed after confirming the two probably didn’t know each other. 

The first class was quite restless because of the new classmates. When the bell rang for break, Xia Ruan could hear cheers around her. 

Once the class was over, everyone rushed toward Fang Yinan and Lu Yanzhi to chat. Xia Ruan heard someone ask Fang Yinan: “Did you also transfer from Renhuai?” 

Fang Yin’an’s clear voice rang out, “No, I was admitted to Ming’an, but I had to take a break due to health reasons and stayed home for over a year.” 

Fang Yinan’s words made the boys around look even gentler. Seeing this, Xia Ruan glanced forward, but unfortunately, she only saw the back of the male protagonist’s head. 

At this moment, Lu Yanzhi strode over to Xia Ruan, smiling brightly: “Hi, we meet again.” 

Xia Ruan hadn’t had time to speak when Xia Fei in front looked disdainful: “Lu Yanzhi, what are you doing here?” 

Lu Yanzhi, seemingly ignoring the disdain in his eyes, continued smiling: “Of course, to greet you all.” 

Xia Fei snorted lightly: “Who cares?” 

Lu Yanzhi nodded, quite seriously: “True, considering the relationship between our two families, no need to be so formal.” 

Xia Fei didn’t forget his disdain from back then and frowned at him: “Don’t try to get close. We’re not familiar.” 

Lu Yanzhi’s smile deepened: “How can we not be familiar? We almost became family.” 

Xia Fei glanced at the surrounding gossiping looks and glared at him: “Don’t talk nonsense. Who almost became family with you?” 

“Wasn’t it? Back then my grandpa and your grandfather were…” He was interrupted as Xia Fei covered his mouth and glared: “Let’s go outside and talk.” 

Although Lu Yanzhi’s mouth was covered by Xia Fei, his charming eyes stayed fixed on Xia Ruan. The people around sensed some gossip and gathered closer: “Xia Ruan, do you know Lu Yanzhi?” 

“No,” Xia Ruan replied coldly. 

Seeing this, the crowd gradually dispersed. Although Xia Ruan seemed to have a better temper these days, she was still Xia Ruan. 

… 

Lu Yan looked at the hand resting on his shoulder, his tone a little impatient: “What do you want?” 

Lu Jizhou looked at him with a face full of distress: “Don’t you have any sense of crisis at all?” 

Lu Yan looked at him puzzled: “What?” 

“That Lu Yanzhi is clearly after soft, delicate girls. Don’t you care at all?” Lu Jizhou looked anxious for him. 

“What thoughts should I have? You, on the other hand, the monthly exam is coming up. Didn’t you promise your mom you’d improve by ten places?” Lu Yan felt like Lu Jizhou was just bored. 

Lu Jizhou took a deep breath. Damn, the emperor isn’t anxious but the eunuch is. He glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention before continuing: “You really don’t have any feelings for those soft, delicate girls?” 

Lu Yan pushed his face away and said coldly, “When did your family move to the seaside?” 

❖❖❖ 

Fang Yinan looked toward Lu Yanzhi, who was standing with the Xia Ruan. What a coincidence, her deskmate also knew these siblings. 

She was organizing the new books she had just received. People kept coming to ask if she needed help, but she smiled and declined. Her gaze stayed on the class ranking list, with age rankings in parentheses behind it. Her eyes finally landed on the class first place, whose age ranking was also first. She clenched her fist; this was her goal.  

She wondered who Lu Yan was, and as she was thinking about it, suddenly a shadow blocked her view. She looked up and saw Xia Fei’s smiling face and heard his cheerful voice: “Fang Yinan, what a coincidence, we’re classmates again.” 

Fang Yinan gave him a faint smile: “Yeah, quite a coincidence.” 

Xia Fei’s smile grew wider. “I was going to bring you a CD from the band yesterday, but you weren’t around. I didn’t expect to see you here today. I’ll bring it tomorrow.” 

Fang Yinan hesitated. It would be rude to accept someone’s gift so suddenly, but she really wanted that CD. The band had disbanded, and it was impossible to find their albums now. 

Seeing her hesitation, Xia Fei continued: “I happen to have two copies, so I thought I’d give you one.” 

Fang Yinan recognized the look in his eyes—she wasn’t sure if he was telling the truth about having two copies, but she could feel his sincerity. She gritted her teeth and agreed. “Then I’ll treat you to a meal tomorrow.” 

Xia Fei agreed right away; he could pay anyway and it gave him another excuse to ask her out next time. 

Xia Ruan, overhearing their conversation, couldn’t help but feel conflicted. If only her brother put this much effort into his studies, he wouldn’t end up as cannon fodder. 

Noticing her distracted look, Xia Fei raised his voice. “Ruan Ruan, Ruan Ruan, what are you thinking? How was my performance just now?” 

Xia Ruan rubbed her temples to calm her irritation and said gently: “Brother, your performance was good, but I think the most important thing now is to study hard and improve your grades.” 

Xia Fei frowned slightly: “Why?” 

“I asked around yesterday. Fang Yinan is very good at school,” she glanced at him: “Do you think someone like her, a top student, would be interested in someone with bad grades?” 

Xia Fei was puzzled. How could Xia Ruan, who was also struggling with her grades, look down on him? But he couldn’t help but retort, “Not everyone dislikes people with bad grades.” 

Xia Ruan casually replied, “So, do top students like people with bad grades?” Although she felt a bit extreme saying this, since it was Xia Fei, she pretended not to know. 

Xia Fei thought about the love letters he’d received and indeed, none came from top students. He sighed. So he really had to study well? But thinking about the dense words in books gave him a headache. On second thought, Xia Ruan’s words made sense. To experience love, he didn’t necessarily have to go after Fang Yinan. 

Noticing his wavering, Xia Ruan smiled and seized the moment: “Look, quite a few people in our class like her, and she’s only been here less than a day. Soon other classes will probably have many people chasing her too. So brother, you have to seize the chance. At least we have some connection with her through tutoring classes. So starting today, study and memorize vocabulary with me every night.” 

Thinking of the test papers in Xia Ruan’s room, Xia Fei hesitated: “Maybe later.” 

Xia Ruan’s smile deepened, then she said seriously: “Brother, do you want Mom to hire a one-on-one tutor for you? I heard that helps improve faster.” 

Xia Fei recalled how he had driven away tutors brought by Zhou Jingyi before and lost interest in the topic: “By the way, Ruan Ruan, don’t pay attention to that Lu Yanzhi guy, okay?” 

Xia Ruan obediently nodded, then gently urged him: “Brother, you should go study now, and maybe try to win Fang Yinan’s favor.” 

“I’m going to the bathroom first.” Xia Fei said quickly and left. Xia Ruan looked at his back and smiled. Maybe like this, without her stopping him, her brother would give up first. 

“What are you smiling so happily about?” Lu Yanzhi’s voice suddenly cut in, and Xia Ruan looked up to find he had appeared beside her without her noticing. 

Xia Ruan stopped smiling and glanced at him coldly: “What does it have to do with you?” 

Lu Yanzhi wasn’t bothered by her coldness and sounded even more cheerful: “Of course, it’s important, considering our relationship.” 

“Don’t pretend to be familiar with me.” Xia Ruan stepped back. 

Lu Yanzhi moved closer again and lowered his voice: “We almost had an arranged marriage, so how is that pretending to be familiar?” 

At the front of the classroom, Lu Jizhou, who had been waiting for Lu Yan to return, looked up in shock. Damn, what did he just hear?