Hua Qian naturally recognized this girl.
During the break after class, this girl had gone up to the podium with a record book to get the teacher’s signature.
Usually, in a class, the one who does this is the class study monitor.
Hua Qian had already heard that the study monitor had changed.
Although she didn’t really remember her other classmates’ faces or names, she could still tell from daily behavior that this girl was the new study monitor.
“Um… I’m Lin Xiaoye.”
“You actually recognized me.”
Lin Xiaoye awkwardly pushed up her black-rimmed glasses.
She had thought Hua Qian wouldn’t recognize her.
After all, Hua Qian had always been a loner in class.
Even when doing group assignments, she usually worked with her own roommates…
Precisely because of this, she was surprised that Hua Qian actually knew who she was.
“……”
Hua Qian felt that Lin Xiaoye seemed to have misunderstood something, but she didn’t say more.
She didn’t actually know Lin Xiaoye; she had just guessed she was the new study monitor.
“So, what did you need from me?”
No matter if you wanted to return to the dormitory or go out, you had to leave the teaching area through the school gates first.
So, the two of them walked side by side, chatting as they went.
She’d gotten up fairly early today, so Hua Qian felt sluggish all over.
At this moment, she lifted her eyes slightly and looked at Lin Xiaoye.
Her half-lidded eyes, still a bit hazy with drowsiness, combined with her expressionless face, gave off a faint, unconscious allure.
Lin Xiaoye’s breath caught, and she awkwardly looked away.
This was her first time speaking with Hua Qian, her first time seeing this girl up close.
Ever since freshman year, she had always felt a bit of admiration for Hua Qian.
Not that kind of admiration, but a feeling of respect.
She always sat in the front row, always asked the teacher questions after class.
Naturally, Lin Xiaoye noticed Hua Qian’s presence.
After a year of observation, she found that Hua Qian was not just occasionally diligent—she never let up.
Later, when the scholarship recipient list was posted, she naturally saw Hua Qian’s name there.
From then on, Lin Xiaoye carried a sense of respect for Hua Qian.
After she took over the job of the previous study monitor who’d switched majors, the counselor had reminded her to look after her classmates a bit more.
And specifically emphasized Hua Qian.
Normally, when a counselor picked a new study monitor, they’d usually ask the student who got first place in the class at the end of the semester.
But Hua Qian was first at the end of freshman year, and Lin Xiaoye was second.
Lin Xiaoye had originally thought that maybe Hua Qian had refused, so they came to her instead.
But hearing the counselor’s worried tone when mentioning Hua Qian, it seemed more like she had never even been asked.
As if there was something about Hua Qian that made people worry.
She had always been too nervous to speak to Hua Qian, but now, with a bit of courage granted by her new status as study monitor, she finally mustered up the courage to approach her.
But after actually interacting with Hua Qian, she found it hard to stay calm, feeling a little embarrassed.
“Um…”
“Are you planning to apply for the scholarship again this year?”
Lin Xiaoye’s cheeks turned a little red, and she clumsily fished for a topic.
“Just call me by my name.”
Although Lin Xiaoye was the most respectful stranger she’d met these past two days, always calling her “classmate” sounded awkward.
She really did understand personal boundaries—but maybe a bit too much.
“Yeah, after all, the Hangyang scholarship is a considerable amount.”
Besides the school scholarship, there’s also the provincial one.
Taken together, it’s quite a good sum.
Hua Qian’s tuition was pretty much all paid with those scholarships.
Otherwise, after four years, she’d owe Lin Yanqiu tens of thousands.
After Hua Qian’s affirmation, Lin Xiaoye seemed to be thinking about something.
In the end, she gathered her resolve, and out of goodwill, gave Hua Qian a reminder.
This was also the most important reason she’d come to talk to her today.
“Um… Actually, I stayed on at the Dormitory Management Committee this year.”
The Dormitory Management Committee was a community management group, but like the student union, you could choose to stay on as a sophomore, and the position would be higher.
“Starting this year, there’s a reform in the dormitory inspection system.”
“In the past, if you were found with prohibited electrical appliances, you’d be given a personal warning and lose eligibility for scholarships and awards.”
“But starting this year, they’re enforcing collective punishment for the whole dorm.”
Lin Xiaoye finished, looking at the clearly confused Hua Qian with a worried expression.
Still, she added, “If any prohibited appliances are found, the entire dormitory will lose eligibility for scholarships and awards.”
Hua Qian instantly understood why Lin Xiaoye had gone out of her way to warn her.
She herself hadn’t bought any prohibited appliances for the dorm.
But what she couldn’t control was others.
Her dorm, even back in freshman year, already had people who’d received warnings for using prohibited appliances.
More than once, even.
For them, aside from having their appliances confiscated, those punishments meant nothing—they never intended to apply for scholarships anyway.
But if the whole dorm got punished, it was different.
Hua Qian knew that Zhao Yingying kept prohibited appliances in her locker.
Unconsciously, her brows furrowed.
Lin Xiaoye noticed her expression, pursed her lips, and seemed a bit moved.
She took a deep breath, glanced around to make sure no one else was nearby, then leaned closer and whispered to Hua Qian: “We’ll be checking the dorms for prohibited appliances tomorrow afternoon.”
“If your dorm has any, you should hide them ahead of time…”
It was clear that by saying this, she was bending the rules for her.
This kind of information could only be spread in a small circle.
But honestly, Lin Xiaoye didn’t care much about whether it was fair or not.
The school didn’t pay her, after all.
She simply thought that, since this was internal information, if it spread too far, it would only cause her trouble.
Telling Hua Qian now, it was just that she really didn’t want to see the classmate she admired lose everything over something like this.
Besides Hua Qian, Lin Xiaoye’s own roommates knew too, and perhaps it would spread within their class.
Hua Qian could feel her goodwill.
She turned, staring at Lin Xiaoye’s face intently.
As if wanting to remember it.
“……”
Hua Qian smiled at Lin Xiaoye.
“Thank you for the reminder, Lin Xiaoye.”
Maybe because Hua Qian had shifted from her previous laziness and now smiled so seriously at her, Lin Xiaoye blushed again and looked away awkwardly.
“It’s nothing… We’re classmates, after all…”
Before they knew it, they’d reached the school gate.
The road back to the residential area and the one Hua Qian planned to take to catch the bus weren’t the same.
So at the gate, they went their separate ways.
Lin Xiaoye’s face was still slightly red as she left.
Once she was out of sight, the smile on Hua Qian’s face instantly vanished without a trace.
Her expression even grew a little impatient.
But the target of her impatience was obviously not Lin Xiaoye.
Collective punishment for the dorms, huh…
It really was a way to deal with the prohibited appliance problem.
But Zhao Yingying and those people definitely wouldn’t care.
Just thinking about it made Hua Qian’s mood sink.
Still, Lin Xiaoye would probably let others in their class know about the inspection tomorrow afternoon, whether directly or indirectly.
Even Zhao Yingying and her group couldn’t possibly be so oblivious that, knowing about the inspection, they wouldn’t do anything about it, right?
Trying to comfort herself, Hua Qian tugged at the slipping strap of her backpack.
As she was lost in thought, the bus she’d been waiting for finally appeared before her.
She planned to take the bus to the temple mentioned by the Blank Account.
Pushing aside her worries about Zhao Yingying and the others, Hua Qian touched the smooth wooden tag hanging at her neck and boarded the bus.