Chapter 33.2

After finishing the noodles, she waved goodbye to Zhou Yao and happily stepped out, holding the new backpack he had bought for her as she headed to school.

Zhou Yao stood at the alley entrance, watching until he could no longer see her figure before slowly returning to the yard, collapsing onto the bed, and closing his eyes to rest.

When Wen Yue arrived at school, the classroom was already filled with several students.

She immediately spotted Li Nianqiu and rushed over to sit next to her, beaming. “Nianqiu! Good morning!”

“Good morning,” Li Nianqiu smiled. “Did you have breakfast?”

Wen Yue took out the books from her backpack and placed them in the desk drawer, nodding softly. “Yes, did you?”

Li Nianqiu replied, “I’ve eaten. It’s currently self-study time.”

Wen Yue smiled brightly. “Uh-huh.”

For her, the Chinese class was the only one that required a bit more effort, while the science subjects didn’t need much worry. So, she immediately took out her Chinese textbook and began to read.

Though she wasn’t exceptionally bright, she had strong concentration and could focus on her studies without being easily distracted by outside factors.

Thus, when Wen Xiaoyu walked in, chatting and laughing with someone, her expression turned sour upon seeing Wen Yue, and she shot her an intense glare.

Wen Yue didn’t notice any of it, as she had completely immersed herself in the sea of knowledge from her textbook.

If it hadn’t been for the end of self-study time and the ringing of the class bell, she could have kept reading.

The first class ended quickly while Wen Yue attentively listened, and finally, she sighed in relief as she realized she understood the material and was keeping up with the pace.

Li Nianqiu turned to her and asked, “How do you feel?”

Wen Yue’s eyes curled into crescent moons. “Pretty good! I can understand everything.”

Li Nianqiu was relieved. “That’s great! If you have any questions, feel free to ask me.”

Wen Yue opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by Wen Xiaoyu.

“Wen Yue! How come you’re here?!” Wen Xiaoyu approached, furrowing her brows in confusion and annoyance as she looked at Wen Yue. In a low voice, she said, “You didn’t even attend junior or sophomore year, so why are you in a senior class? Did you pay someone off to get in here?!”

Wen Yue blinked in surprise, suddenly remembering that Li Nianqiu had mentioned that her cheap cousin was also in this school.

“Cousin, food can be eaten carelessly, but words shouldn’t be spoken carelessly. I got in here on my own merit,” Wen Yue said, blinking innocently.

Wen Xiaoyu glared at her. “Don’t call me cousin!”

Wen Yue responded with an “oh,” then corrected herself. “Wen Xiaoyu, food can be eaten carelessly, but words shouldn’t be spoken carelessly. I got in here on my own merit.”

“You? On your own merit?” Wen Xiaoyu laughed mockingly, eyeing Wen Yue with disdain. “You dropped out before finishing junior year and spent all day at home doing chores. What real merit do you have? Chore skills?”

“I advise you to be good and drop out on your own. Don’t make me report you.”

“Then go ahead,” Wen Yue said, unwilling to engage with Wen Xiaoyu. After saying this, she turned to Li Nianqiu and walked out of the classroom to stretch her legs and chat about the accessory business.

Watching Wen Yue and Li Nianqiu walk away hand in hand, Wen Xiaoyu ground her teeth in frustration.

Why did Wen Yue get to attend school? She must have given the principal something in return! Where did she get the money? Was it from Zhou Yao?

Recalling the dowry incident from two months ago made Wen Xiaoyu even angrier.

What was Zhou Yao thinking? Why was he so nice to Wen Yue? They’ve known each other longer, haven’t they? And what about Li Nianqiu? She was usually indifferent to everyone but was so close to Wen Yue…

“Wen Xiaoyu, do you know that new student?” A friend nearby asked curiously. “You both have the surname Wen, are you relatives?”

Wen Xiaoyu coldly replied, “No, I don’t know her.”

“Oh…” The friend continued, “Look at this bracelet and necklace I have. Aren’t they pretty? I wanted to buy a hairpin, too, but spending that much money at once will definitely get me scolded by my mom. I’ll wait a few days to buy it. I hope there will still be stock!”

The little girl proudly displayed the beautiful necklace around her neck and the red string bracelet on her wrist, smiling happily.

Wen Xiaoyu was instantly captivated by the shiny necklace and bracelet. “They’re nice! How much were they? Where did you buy them?”

“The necklace was eight yuan, and the bracelet was a free gift, so I didn’t spend any money. I bought them yesterday near South Street. A lot of people from our school got them! I think you came too late yesterday. I heard that when someone went in the afternoon, the seller was already gone. I guess they sold out and left. I don’t know if they’ll come back again.”

Upon hearing the price of eight yuan, Wen Xiaoyu’s smile faded slightly, and she glanced enviously at the necklace hanging around her friend’s neck.

Eight yuan… That was almost a week’s worth of her pocket money.

“There are many beautiful hairpins too! Look at the pair Wenwen is wearing on her head. They’re three yuan for a pair! Aren’t they really pretty? And Xiaofang’s big bow on her head is two yuan each…”

These hair accessories were nice and within Wen Xiaoyu’s budget, so she felt tempted. She hooked her arm around her friend’s and smiled, “Then when you go, take me with you! I want to buy some too.”

“Sure!”

Wen Yue was happily walking around the playground, arm in arm with Li Nianqiu. The playground was lively, with many boys playing basketball, while girls occupied the nearby area, playing games like throwing sandbags and skipping rope. In the distance, the ping-pong tables were crowded as well.

School playgrounds in this era weren’t as tidy and spacious as in later times, with rubber tracks and lawns, but they were just as bustling.

“I figured Wen Xiaoyu would definitely come to find trouble with me. I didn’t expect her to start on the first day of school,” Wen Yue whispered, rolling her eyes. “She even said I got in through the back door and threatened to report me.”

Li Nianqiu raised an eyebrow and laughed, “Let her go ahead. It won’t affect you at all.”

Wen Yue nodded. “That’s what I think too, which is why I pulled you out here.”

The two walked around the playground for a few laps, returning to the classroom just as the bell rang for class.

Entering the classroom, Wen Yue’s gaze met Wen Xiaoyu’s again, receiving an eye roll in response. She calmly averted her gaze and took her seat to listen attentively to the lesson.

During class, Wen Yue occasionally sensed Wen Xiaoyu’s glare, but she didn’t bother with it. After all, this was physics class. It wouldn’t do to be distracted…

She mentally complained about Wen Xiaoyu a couple of times and chose to ignore her.

By noon, Wen Yue finally witnessed the extent of Li Nianqiu’s popularity in school. Not only did juniors from the second year come looking for her, but even new students from the first year approached her. Even classmates from her own class came to her for tutoring.

After lunch, Li Nianqiu would take these students to the playground under the shade of the flower beds and trees to give lessons.

First, she taught the first-year students, then the second-years, and finally the third-years.

With so many people coming for tutoring, Li Nianqiu couldn’t manage one-on-one sessions, so she arranged them together and taught them the subjects they struggled with.

Wen Yue eavesdropped nearby, discovering that Li Nianqiu’s teaching had developed into a systematic approach, not inferior to those so-called famous teachers in later years.

Wow, it was clear why she was the female lead.

Wen Yue couldn’t help but marvel as she casually glanced at a second-year girl’s practice questions. She pointed out softly, “You got this one wrong…”

The girl paused, listened attentively, and recalculated, realizing she had indeed made a mistake. Looking up at Wen Yue, she asked, “Are you Nianqiu’s classmate?”

Wen Yue nodded. “Yes.”

“Then, do you know how to solve this question?”

Wen Yue looked at it. “I do. Want me to teach you?”

The girl nodded eagerly. “Yes, please!”

Wen Yue gently explained it to her.

Although Wen Yue was an art student in her previous life, she also excelled in academic subjects since she was a teacher and knew how to explain things.

When Li Nianqiu noticed this scene during a break, her eyes flickered for a moment, but she quickly regained her focus and continued teaching.