Chapter 3: Fang Chenxi, a Classmate

It was early autumn, and the weather had cooled slightly, but the temperatures on the weather forecast refused to drop.

After a moment of hesitation, Jiang Ling put on her summer uniform.

Her porcelain-white calves were exposed, slender and straight, shining like white jade.

Her long golden hair hung behind her back, the ends slightly curled in a playful and cute manner.

The coffee-colored JK uniform fit Jiang Ling perfectly.

As Jiang Ling looked in the mirror, her brow gradually furrowed.

Something wasn’t right.

Why did she look like a delinquent girl in this outfit?

Jiang Ling grabbed her golden hair, feeling a bit frustrated.

Why were the hair colors of all the other characters in the book normal, yet hers was this eye-catching gold?

It had to be the author’s bad taste!

She just hoped it wouldn’t interfere with her plan to be a total nobody…

Jiang Ling checked the time.

It was seven o’clock, still early.

Tianhua High School wasn’t far from Lu Yuyao’s home—only a ten-minute walk—so there was no need to rush.

Fulfilling her duties as a Maid, Jiang Ling first prepared breakfast for two and then went to wake the Eldest Young Lady.

Perhaps because she was too excited, Lu Yuyao had actually gotten up early and was currently doing her makeup.

When Lu Yuyao stepped out of her room, Jiang Ling’s eyes widened.

As expected, a genuine high school girl really had the right vibe.

Her cute and well-behaved temperament was particularly prominent.

In her white shirt and black pleated skirt, the girl’s youthful figure was like a green apple—tart but sweet.

A high ponytail swayed gently behind her head, her full forehead exposed, radiating the aura of a youthful girl from every pore.

“As expected of the second female lead. If I were the first female lead, I’d still be obsessed with her even after all these years.”

Lu Yuyao was drinking milk and didn’t catch Jiang Ling’s whispering.

She cast a puzzled glance her way.

Jiang Ling shook her head, looked away, and began to finish her breakfast.

Since the two of them were day students, Lu Yuyao’s parents had provided an electric scooter for them to commute.

It didn’t really matter since the distance was so short, but considering Lu Yuyao, Jiang Ling decided to ride the scooter to school.

***

They arrived at school.

The two separated in front of the teaching building.

Jiang Ling was in Grade 11, Class 4, while Lu Yuyao was in Grade 10, Class 2.

Being in different grades, they were on different floors.

Grade 10 was on the third floor, Grade 11 was on the second, and Grade 12 was on the first.

Jiang Ling had already done her homework on this.

“Reporting.”

“Come in.”

Following the sign hanging by the door, Jiang Ling successfully found her classroom.

Looking through the glass, it seemed quite a few people had already arrived; only a few seats were still empty.

The homeroom teacher was a young woman wearing a standard uniform and glasses, looking quite kind.

Upon entering the classroom, Jiang Ling could feel most of the gazes immediately shifting toward her.

Her palms felt slightly damp and sticky.

She was a bit nervous and specifically looked for an empty double-seat by the window in the middle of the room.

Jiang Ling suffered from a bit of social anxiety, though only with strangers; she didn’t like talking much.

After she entered, several more students arrived one after another.

The empty seats in the class were gradually filled, and the room became noisy.

Seeing how they all seemed familiar with one another, Jiang Ling wasn’t surprised.

After all, she was the transfer student, and the others had naturally moved up together from Grade 10.

It was normal for them to be in the same class.

However, there was a problem.

Ten minutes passed, and no one else was coming in.

Jiang Ling glanced at the empty seat beside her and sighed.

Even though she was a beautiful girl now, she still couldn’t shake off her “gloomy” attribute.

Having no desk mate on the first day of school…

“Reporting.”

A voice as melodious as a clear stream rang out.

Jiang Ling looked up toward the door, her pupils trembling.

Fang Chenxi, dressed in the school uniform, looked youthful and beautiful.

Her eyes casually scanned the classroom before finally landing on Jiang Ling.

The moment their eyes met, Jiang Ling immediately lowered her head, her hands clenching instinctively.

She couldn’t believe she was seeing Fang Chenxi here.

Fang Chenxi is in the same class as me??

This was information Jiang Ling hadn’t known.

She frantically searched her mind to see if something had gone wrong.

Fang Chenxi took in all of Jiang Ling’s reactions, the corners of her mouth curling slightly.

“Hello, teacher.”

The teacher on the podium nodded.

Fang Chenxi walked slowly with her bag, and there was only one seat left in the class—the one next to Jiang Ling.

Jiang Ling prayed frantically in her heart, but it was useless.

Fang Chenxi stuffed her bag into the drawer and looked at Jiang Ling, who had turned her head toward the window, feigning composure.

She found it a bit amusing.

She wasn’t some kind of demon; was there a need to be this afraid?

Jiang Ling’s reaction also confirmed Fang Chenxi’s suspicion.

Jiang Ling was also a Rebirth.

“Desk mate…”

The two girls in front suddenly turned around to strike up a conversation, interrupting Fang Chenxi.

Left with no choice, Fang Chenxi had to deal with the girls in front first.

Wait, that’s not right.

Fang Chenxi doesn’t even know who I am right now.

Why the hell am I scared!

Jiang Ling suddenly realized this.

Moreover, she had just confirmed that in the original book, Fang Chenxi was indeed in Grade 11, Class 4.

This had simply been her own oversight.

Jiang Ling breathed a sigh of relief.

“Hey, we haven’t asked for your name yet.”

The conversation from the front desk had spread to Jiang Ling.

Jiang Ling looked up and simply replied, “Jiang Ling.”

The two girls were choked up by her brief response, unable to find words to follow up.

They hadn’t expected Jiang Ling to be so cold.

Fortunately, Fang Chenxi chimed in from the side, preventing the atmosphere from turning awkward.

“Quiet down, please. I’m going to take attendance.”

The noise didn’t last long.

Once the teacher saw that everyone was present and confirmed the names, she began to talk about the precautions for the new semester.

Aside from the typical “new semester, new atmosphere” and “study hard” speeches given every year, the rest was just reminding them of trivial matters.

“Let me introduce myself. My name is Xu Niannian; you can just call me Ms. Xu. I will be your homeroom teacher for the coming year. I hope we can all cooperate with each other, see progress in your studies, and make your lives more exciting.”

Ms. Xu was very enthusiastic.

Perhaps it was because she was young.

Compared to Jiang Ling’s previous high school homeroom teacher—a balding man with a beer belly who started off by giving students a “warning shot” as if being a homeroom teacher was some high-ranking official position—she was much better.

“Is there something on my face?”

Jiang Ling really couldn’t take it anymore.

She turned her head to look at Fang Chenxi beside her, her bright eyes filled with a hint of annoyance.

Fang Chenxi had been staring at her constantly; anyone would feel uncomfortable!

Fang Chenxi shook her head, her smile remaining unchanged.

An apologetic look flickered in her eyes as she feigned, “I’m sorry. I was just curious about your golden hair.”

“It’s so pretty.”

“??”

Jiang Ling felt that wasn’t the truth, but Fang Chenxi’s excuse was good enough that she couldn’t refute it.

After all, her golden hair really was eye-catching.

“Jiang Ling, are you a new transfer student too?”

Fang Chenxi suddenly asked.

Jiang Ling met her gaze and saw only a trace of curiosity in those phoenix-like eyes.

Jiang Ling nodded.

“Me too. What a coincidence.”

Fang Chenxi smiled again, her finger twirling the ends of her hair.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, looking incredibly alluring.

Jiang Ling’s breath hitched for a moment before she shifted her gaze away.

The first female lead really was the first female lead.

Jiang Ling began to wonder if this world had some kind of divine buff for the heroines.

It felt like they both had a filter on them no matter how she looked at them.

Fang Chenxi chatted with Jiang Ling on and off.

The topics were quite stiff, perhaps because both were transfer students and weren’t familiar with the local area.

Furthermore, Jiang Ling rarely spent time online; besides playing games, she had almost no other hobbies.

But Fang Chenxi seemed to enjoy talking to her.

The teacher was still speaking on the podium, occasionally saying something funny that made the students burst into laughter.

The laughter also served to mask their conversation.

By the time Jiang Ling started listening again, Ms. Xu had begun selecting class officers.

It seemed a student had proactively brought it up.

Ms. Xu looked very happy and expressed satisfaction with everyone’s drive for the new semester.

“As for class officers, let’s pick a few temporary ones first. We can make adjustments later. If you do well, you can continue in the role. As for the subject representatives, your respective teachers will choose them.”

Class Monitor, Discipline Officer, Hygiene Officer, and League Representative.

Totaling five positions, all but the Sports Representative had been filled.

It seemed the Sports Representative wasn’t very popular.

Jiang Ling quietly scanned the room.

There seemed to be very few boys in the class; she checked and saw there were forty-five students total, with only fifteen being boys.

No wonder.

Generally speaking, boys were always more willing to be the Sports Representative than girls.

“I’ll do it, teacher.”

Jiang Ling turned her head.

Fang Chenxi had already proactively raised her hand, taking on the role of Sports Representative.

A buzz of voices immediately rose in the class, along the lines of “Does such a beautiful girl also excel at sports?”

Jiang Ling wasn’t surprised.

From her memories of the book, she knew Fang Chenxi was supposed to be the Sports Representative.

The textbooks wouldn’t be picked up until the afternoon.

For the two periods in the morning, everyone basically had self-study.

The school had distributed summer workbooks in advance, and the teachers told those who hadn’t finished to continue working on them.

As transfer students, Jiang Ling and Fang Chenxi had them too.

It was clear that Tianhua High School had high expectations for student performance.

***

At noon.

Fang Chenxi’s attitude was very strange; she was being a bit too proactive toward Jiang Ling.

To prevent Fang Chenxi from taking the initiative to invite her to lunch and dragging her into things, Jiang Ling dodged her and left the classroom first.

What a joke.

She just wanted to be a nobody and drift through her days.

As for protagonists and the like—the further away, the better.

Except for Lu Yuyao.

Who could blame her?

That girl was her benefactor.

Watching Jiang Ling flee in a panic, Fang Chenxi’s gaze turned dark.

She rejected the invitations from surrounding classmates to eat together with a smile and followed her out.

Jiang Ling really thinks she can ditch me like this?

But when she walked through the corridor, turned the corner, and went down to the first floor…

The Lu Yuyao and Jiang Ling from her memory did not appear at the foot of the stairs.

Fang Chenxi’s fingers clenched, and she suddenly laughed.

She was also being foolish, knowing full well that Jiang Ling was also a Rebirth.