He Rou stared intently at the person in front of her.
‘No mistake… same uniform as Luo Yun, same school.’
This person gave off a very approachable vibe.
Surely, someone so gentle would accept a request for help from a future classmate.
So He Rou walked up behind her.
The girl who was smelling the flowers hadn’t noticed any movement behind her.
“Hello…”
He Rou’s weak voice came out, very quiet, perhaps because she hadn’t spoken to anyone in a long time.
In any case, the girl didn’t hear her.
“Um… hello? Could you help me?”
This time He Rou raised her voice a bit.
“Huh?”
Hearing the sound behind her, the girl turned around.
“What’s wrong?”
The girl asked He Rou.
At this moment, He Rou finally realized something was definitely wrong with her.
She found she couldn’t get the words out.
Even though it was just a simple request for help, the words stuck in her throat and wouldn’t come out.
Three years of practice—aside from the person who taught her every day, she had been alone.
So the great change was something only she could see: the composure she thought she had, the calm she thought she possessed, the inferiority she thought she had overcome—they were all still there, and had even grown worse.
“I… I, um, I’m… sorry, I…”
He Rou’s heartbeat kept accelerating, a blush rising to her face again.
The slap she had received that morning also started to tingle.
Many uncomfortable sensations kept surfacing.
“Do… do you need some help?”
The girl looked at the person in front of her.
She didn’t dislike her reaction; in fact, she found her somewhat cute.
At that moment, He Rou was looking down, holding her backpack straps in her hands, hanging them over her thighs, her left hand gripping her right arm.
She looked very small and fragile.
“This…”
He Rou took the admission notice out of her backpack and showed it to the girl in front of her.
“Do you think you’re all that just because you’re going to this school?”
“Huh?”
“Haha, just kidding. Are you a new student? From your clothes, you don’t look like you come from a wealthy family. Could it be you got in by merit, same as me? That makes sense—this school really does have good conditions. What did you want to ask me?”
“I… I don’t know how to get there, so… I saw you wearing the same uniform, so I… I came to ask.”
He Rou wasn’t good at dealing with cheerful, joking people.
During the conversation, she became less and less confident in her own speech.
Even a simple sentence took a long time to organize, and came out haltingly and illogically.
The girl in front of her rested her chin on her hand, trying to make sense of what she had just said.
“You mean… you got into this school, but you don’t know how to get there? Is that right?”
“More or less.”
“Are you messing with me this early in the morning?”
“No… It’s not that. Sorry, I had some trouble, so…”
“Hmm… Do you have any money? Either buy me breakfast, or give me some compensation for the trouble of taking you to school.”
“Uh… Thank you. I don’t have any money on me right now. Tomorrow morning, I can make you breakfast, right here… is that okay?”
He Rou asked carefully—after all, who knew if Luo Yun would do the same to her again tomorrow?
Today she was lucky to meet someone from the same school.
If she could get to know her, she should try to build a good relationship for long-term use.
“Mm… okay. I like eggs, except boiled eggs. Remember my taste.”
Then the girl took her hand, guided her to the back seat of her bicycle, lifted her feet, and started pedaling.
Dragging someone was very tiring, especially for someone like her who wasn’t used to eating breakfast in the morning.
It was even more exhausting. But… the person behind her was very good-looking.
Even though she wasn’t a lesbian, everyone has a feeling of cherishing beautiful things.
If He Rou were ugly or average, she definitely wouldn’t have bothered and would have just left.
“That pitiful look on your face, hehe. Without any background or power, you’ll get bullied at that school. Those young ladies and masters love to pick on people like you.”
“But isn’t it a school?”
“Arrogant people are the same everywhere. They don’t change with the environment. But luckily, you met me. I’ve got a strong fist. If it’s some small fry, come to me. But if you run into people from big families, don’t mention my name—I’m afraid of getting beaten up.”
The girl shouted loudly as she pedaled the bike against the wind.
“Oh, by the way, my name is Cheng Ruo. What’s yours?”
“I… I’m He Rou…”
“What? Louder! I didn’t hear you.”
“My name is He Rou!”
“Good, He Rou, now I know you! Haha.”
Cheng Ruo pedaled very fast along the way.
If they hadn’t been stopped by a traffic cop who scolded them for carrying a passenger on the back of a bicycle, they might have arrived on time and avoided being late.
When the two of them arrived at school, the class bell was echoing across the campus.
“Damn, it’s nine o’clock. I should have just left you and gone on my own.”
“Sorry…”
“Well… whatever, being late is being late. It’s not like it hasn’t happened before. I’m going to class now. As for you, go take care of your own business.”
Then Cheng Ruo pushed her bicycle away from her.
He Rou, once again alone, felt the pressure in her heart completely dissipate.
After all, Luo Yun had given her half an hour.
The admission notice had the enrollment procedure.
Once everything was done, going to find Luo Yun shouldn’t be a problem.
Then He Rou turned around and walked in the opposite direction from Cheng Ruo.
—
The campus was large, and during class time, it was empty.
He Rou stared at the campus overview board standing in the middle of the teaching building, feeling a bit dizzy.
‘First, go to the teaching building to find the office… then find the homeroom teacher… then… then, huh? Where’s the teaching building… oh, right in front of me.’
He Rou thought she must be really dumb—the enrollment procedure was written so clearly, yet she couldn’t understand it.
Soon, He Rou arrived at the office described in great detail in the admission notice.
She pushed open the door.
Near the window, in the center, were two desks.
The rest of the space was filled with living, fitness, and relaxation facilities.
At the desk on the right, a woman who looked a bit older but exuded a strong charm and allure was typing on her keyboard.
He Rou made quite a bit of noise opening the door.
Even though the teacher was wearing headphones, she definitely noticed.
Then she looked up, adjusted her glasses, and stared at the slightly uncomfortable He Rou.
“Are… you He Rou?”
“Yes…”
“Louder, please. Is your voice always this quiet, or are you nervous in front of me?”
“No… I guess… I’m just like this…”
He Rou hadn’t communicated with strangers in three years.
She also felt troubled by her extremely introverted personality.