February, Tuesday, Valentine’s Day.
Early spring had shed the harsh cold of winter.
Under the clear sky, the bright sunlight cast golden rays upon the students coming and going, dispelling the lingering chill within them and making people squint their eyes in contentment.
With the non-graduating grades just starting school, the campus was filled with a lazy, sluggish atmosphere that hadn’t yet adjusted from the holiday break—not just among the students, but the teachers weren’t much better.
“Mm, Mom, I got it.”
In a quiet corner on the second floor of the school building, Chen Jiajia murmured before hanging up the phone.
She took out a small mirror from her pink crossbody bag, carefully touched up her makeup, and flashed a sweet smile at her reflection before entering the classroom.
“Did you hear? Next week, our class is having a basketball match against Class 2 next door.”
“I know. Do you think we’ll get half a day off then?”
“Of course! Brother Ji personally went to apply for it. Just think about who he is—there’s no relationship in this school he can’t pull!”
“By the way, who are you voting for as school heartthrob this time?”
“Jiang Chi! The aloof male god-ahhh!!”
“I’m voting for Brother Ji! He fights for the people—he’s the real GOAT!”
“Quiet, quiet. It’s the Nun’s class soon-you don’t want to be standing in punishment, do you?”
Ignoring the chatter, Chen Jiajia wove through the dense crowd at a leisurely pace until she reached the front row, stopping at the seat in the far corner.
There sat a boy wearing a black face mask and white gloves, revealing only a pair of deep, light-blue eyes.
Though his face was obscured, he exuded an untouchable aura.
“Jiang… is this seat taken?”
Chen Jiajia tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and asked softly.
Jiang Chi lifted his gaze, his indifferent eyes making her heart skip a beat.
“No,” he replied flatly.
Chen Jiajia pressed her lips together, offering a sweet smile.
“Then… may I sit here?”
“Do as you like.”
Jiang Chi remained as cold as ever, as if others held no significance to him—as long as they didn’t disturb him, that was enough.
Hearing this, Chen Jiajia smiled faintly and took the seat beside him, drawing countless envious and resentful glares from the girls in the back.
They wished they had been the ones to muster the courage to approach the school heartthrob first.
Suddenly, Su Tian from the last row abruptly stood up, drawing sidelong glances from those around him.
He strode to the front and said, “Arts Minister, this seat’s free, right? If not, I’m saving it for Brother Ji-he said he has a surprise for you today.”
Without waiting for a response, Su Tian plopped down in the empty seat.
Noticing the new person beside her, Chen Jiajia frowned slightly.
“Su Tian, you—”
Just then, the class bell rang, and a figure burst through the door in a hurry, scanning the room for any remaining seats.
Su Tian’s eyes lit up.
He quickly vacated his spot, pulling Ji Yuenian down into the seat while winking and whispering something in his ear.
“Good man!”
Whatever Su Tian said made Ji Yuenian laugh heartily before giving him a light punch on the chest. Then he settled into his seat properly.
Su Tian, looking immensely pleased with himself, returned to the back row, crossing his legs and lounging as if he’d just performed a great deed.
Meanwhile, Ji Yuenian wolfed down his breakfast.
He’d stayed up late last night and nearly overslept this morning, leaving no time to eat.
He’d had to sprint all the way to make it to class on time.
The rich aroma of scallion pancakes paired with freshly squeezed soy milk-each bite of pancake followed by a sip of soy milk-was simply divine!
Ji Yuenian disliked Tuesdays, not just because of the 8 a.m. class, but also because of the teacher-Chen the Ruler.
With her plump figure, short bob cut, and a long, wide ruler always in hand, she peered sternly at the class through her glasses.
The moment she caught anyone using their phone in class, down came the ruler!
Of course, “Chen the Ruler” wasn’t her real name—just a nickname the students had secretly given her.
Other variations included “Chen the Nun” or “Ruler Nun.”
Her actual name was Chen Shunhui, a female teacher.
“Ji Yuenian.”
“Ji Yuenian.”
“Ji Yuenian!”
The sharp, piercing voice echoed through every corner of the classroom, snapping Ji Yuenian out of his thoughts.
He looked up to see the stern-faced Teacher Chen and abruptly stood up.
“Here!”
Teacher Chen glanced at the most troublesome boy in the class and tapped her ruler loudly on his desk.
“Where’s your book?”
Book?
Ji Yuenian looked down and realized he had forgotten to bring it in his rush that morning.
“Forgot it,” he replied, neither submissive nor defiant-just pure masculine pride!
“Why don’t you forget yourself at home next time?”
Teacher Chen snapped, slamming her ruler even harder on his desk.
“Class representative!”
“Here.”
Jiang Chi stood up calmly. At nearly six feet tall, he towered over most of his peers-except for Ji Yuenian, who stood at 183 cm, making Jiang Chi seem just a bit shorter.
“Ode to the Red Cliff. You-quiz him,” Teacher Chen ordered, pointing first at Jiang Chi, then at Ji Yuenian.
“First paragraph, first paragraph…”
Ji Yuenian mouthed desperately at him.
Jiang Chi gave him a cool glance and chose…
“Fifth paragraph.”
“Damn it!”
Ji Yuenian cursed inwardly.
Four periods of Chinese class flew by.
The moment the bell rang, a flood of students stampeded toward the cafeteria like zombies unleashed, leaving the classroom nearly empty in seconds, save for a few stragglers.
Jiang Chi packed up his bag and headed out, ready for lunch.
Just as he stepped through the classroom door, a pair of strong arms suddenly shot out beside him, bracing against the doorframe and blocking his path.
Frowning, Jiang Chi turned his head and met a pair of deep, dark eyes.
“Something wrong?”
Ji Yuenian smirked, flashing a disarmingly friendly smile.
“Jiang, the school heartthrob-what you pulled today wasn’t cool.”
“Classmates are supposed to help each other out, but you just had to stand out, huh? Think you’re some untouchable ice prince?”
Ji Yuenian had always been prideful, and losing face in front of the whole class—especially to his nemesis-was worse than standing in punishment for four periods.
Admittedly, Teacher Chen knew exactly how to pit one rich kid against another-hitting right where it hurt.
“Mm, I know,” Jiang replied indifferently, his expression frosty.
Ji Yuenian choked back his irritation, then grinned.
“Alright, alright. Jiang, the school heartthrob-once the school election’s over, let’s have a nice chat outside, yeah?”
As a hot-blooded teenager, Ji Yuenian’s words were clearly a challenge.
In his youthful arrogance, he believed: There’s no conflict between men that fists can’t solve!
“Fine by me.”
“But I’ll call the police-for school bullying and off-campus fighting,” Jiang Chi said flatly.
Ji Yuenian’s expression changed slightly.
“I know you can’t stand me.”
Jiang Chi glanced at Ji Yuenian indifferently: “But I don’t care about you.”
With that, he swept his cold gaze over Ji Yuenian and turned to leave!
Bruh this .Jiang Chi is motherfucking annoying