Chapter 22: Lin Jin’an

Thursday morning’s classes were simple.

A straight run of Chinese, math, and English.

It wasn’t just the specialized courses—Starseeing Academy also nurtured its students’ general education subjects.

But today… Li Xingya couldn’t focus during any of those three classes.

‘Why did Lin Jin’an have to come?’

Right now.

Her mind was full of thoughts about Lin Jin’an.

Of course.

Even if Lin Jin’an hadn’t come, Li Xingya’s state during these three classes probably wouldn’t have been much better.

There was no helping it.

Take Chinese, for instance—that subject was still manageable.

Even though Li Xingya had graduated many years ago, she could still barely grasp the general meaning of classical texts.

Something like, “In the morning, hear the Way; in the evening, die content.”

‘In the morning, I find out the way to your house; in the evening, you can die.’

‘That must be the correct interpretation, right?’

As for math and the like—just looking at a bunch of strange symbols on the blackboard, Li Xingya could only cry out that she didn’t understand a thing.

English went without saying.

Li Xingya had regressed to a point where she roughly knew how to read it but had no idea what it actually meant.

‘Sigh.’

‘Studying is so hard.’

‘High school is still high school after all. I really do have to study this stuff.’

After enduring the torment of three general education classes, Li Xingya’s head was still foggy when it was time to eat.

“Xiao Ya.”

“Xiao Ya?”

***

“Li Xingya.”

Li Xingya snapped back to reality:

“Yes.”

“You’ve been spacing out since a while ago. When I called you, you didn’t answer. What are you thinking about?”

Meng Yiqiao looked at Li Xingya beside her and smiled.

“Did you not sleep well last night? You seemed distracted in class too.”

“No, it’s just… I was thinking about Lin Jin’an.”

Li Xingya told the truth.

“Knowing that Lady Lin Jin’an is coming—you feel excited, right?”

“Yeah.”

‘I do feel something, but it’s not excitement.’

‘Come to think of it…’

Li Xingya glanced sideways at Meng Yiqiao.

‘Smiling.’

‘Smiling for no reason.’

‘Isn’t it just Lin Jin’an coming? Why be this happy?’

“Sister, you seem to really like Lin Jin’an.”

Meng Yiqiao took a bite of the chicken breast on her tray and said without changing her expression,

“Of course. In fact, there isn’t a single student at Starseeing Academy who dislikes Lin Jin’an. Back when I first entered middle school, Lady Lin Jin’an was already a third-year high school student designated as an Outstanding Graduate.

She was also first on the Starlight Ranking at the time. Apparently, while still in school, Senior Lin had already received invitations from dozens of agencies. After graduating and entering university, she balanced her studies while pursuing her idol career—she became synonymous with the word ‘idol’ in just one year.”

“…That’s incredible.”

Hearing Meng Yiqiao’s praise of Lin Jin’an, Li Xingya felt an inexplicable restlessness in her heart.

“Yeah, the moment Lady Lin Jin’an debuted, every active idol became her foil.”

“Foil, huh.”

‘When I debut and face Lin Jin’an, my outcome will probably be worse than just being a foil.’

“But then again…”

Meng Yiqiao suddenly changed her tone.

“I think Xiao Ya is no worse than Lin Jin’an.”

Li Xingya was taken aback.

“Huh?”

“Sister, you’re just trying to trick me, right?”

“I’m not tricking you. Xiao Ya, you have a beautiful smile, and your looks are no worse than Lin Jin’an’s.”

Meng Yiqiao reached out to help smooth Li Xingya’s furrowed brow.

“But you need to fix that habit of always frowning. Look, the wound on your forehead has split open again.”

“Sorry.”

‘I’m making you worry extra.’

“You don’t need to apologize for something like this. It’s only natural that I look after you more. Come on, I’ll take you to the infirmary to get your bandage changed first… There are no classes this afternoon, so let’s head to the Performance Hall early and grab good seats.”

Li Xingya nodded.

After the bandage was changed, when Meng Yiqiao arrived outside the Performance Hall, she instinctively turned to look for Li Xingya behind her.

But she didn’t see anyone.

“Where is she?”

Meng Yiqiao muttered to herself.

Had they somehow gotten separated at some point?

Meng Yiqiao took out her phone and sent a message to Li Xingya.

‘Xiao Ya, where did you go?’

“I shouldn’t have added Meng Yiqiao as a friend so quickly.”

On the rooftop, Li Xingya stared at the message on her phone.

She didn’t reply.

Instead, following the method from her previous life, she set her phone to Do Not Disturb mode.

‘Go watch Lin Jin’an perform? You’ve got to be kidding.’

‘I’ll just hide out on the rooftop until school lets out this afternoon.’

Li Xingya imagined Lin Jin’an shining brightly on the stage.

She was different from that person.

‘If I actually saw a Lin Jin’an like that, I’d probably throw up.’

Just then, from the rooftop, Li Xingya heard a wave of cheers coming from the direction of the school gate.

“Lin Jin’an!”

“Lin Jin’an!!”

“Lin Jin’an!!!”

The cheers grew louder and louder.

Li Xingya frowned.

The wound on her forehead throbbed with pain.

“I’ve already said it before, but I’ll say it again… this is way too much.”

‘So noisy.’

‘It’s so hot on the rooftop.’

‘Ugh, I’ll just put up with it for now.’

‘Once everyone goes to the Performance Hall, it should quiet down.’

‘Choosing to hide on the rooftop was definitely the right call…’

“Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap—!”

Just as Li Xingya was thinking that.

She suddenly heard a brisk series of footsteps coming from the staircase behind her.

‘What’s going on?’

‘Is there someone else who doesn’t like Lin Jin’an coming here to take shelter too?’

‘Looks like I’ll have to find a new place to be alone.’

“Bang!”

The rooftop door was pushed open.

“So high up!”

“I haven’t been back here in so long!”

“Is this place even taller than I remember?”

“Did the school secretly rebuild the teaching building after I graduated?”

“Yeah, that’s pretty common.”

Before seeing the person, she heard the voice.

Just from the sound, Li Xingya could tell this person was unexpectedly energetic.

And the voice sounded familiar.

She felt like she had heard it just last night.

Then, Li Xingya saw the owner of the voice.

The person was wearing a wide sunhat, a pair of square-framed sunglasses on the bridge of her nose, and a white floral dress.

The outfit was just as lively.

“Huh? There’s still someone on the rooftop at this hour?”

Seeing Li Xingya, the woman seemed surprised.

They only exchanged glances for a moment before the woman recognized her.

“It’s you! Li Xingya!”

“It’s not me!”

Li Xingya instinctively denied.

In that instant, her nerves immediately tensed up.

Being called out by name by a stranger like this felt too similar to being chased by debt collectors in her previous life.

The woman pushed up her sunglasses and took a closer look.

“What do you mean ‘not you’? Aren’t you Li Xingya? What, you don’t recognize me? That can’t be—I’m pretty famous, you know. Besides, I personally wrote your admission recommendation letter.”

As she spoke, the woman lifted her sunglasses:

“How’s Jiang Chiyue doing recently? Has that little rascal kicked her habit of drinking at night? As her sister, you need to keep a close eye on that cheap older sister of yours.”

Li Xingya looked at the pair of red contact lenses under the sunglasses, and at the white hair swaying in the breeze.

Finally, she recognized her.

“It’s you!”

“Lin Jin’an!”

‘Instead of attending your own welcome party at the school gate,’

‘what are you doing on the rooftop?’