Chapter 31: Let’s Start with You

Since Ying left the office, Mu Wannuo had been sitting at her desk, doodling on the drafts in front of her.

After a while, she scratched her head in frustration, crumpled the half-written draft into a ball, and threw it into the wastebasket beside her.

But the wastebasket was already full of her discarded drafts, and the ball she’d just thrown bounced out.

She glanced at the time. Class was about to start.

Since Shen Ruqing wasn’t around, the responsibility of tutoring Ning Chuxue fell back on Mu Wannuo.

Still, it wasn’t so bad. On the last day before the break, there was no need to start new material—reviewing old lessons made perfect sense, and it gave her a chance to give Ning Chuxue some extra help.

Mu Wannuo quietly planned out an entire class session, until another ten minutes slipped by.

From the bedroom came the sound of an alarm clock—not Mu Wannuo’s phone, but Ning Chuxue’s.

In the bedroom, Ning Chuxue, woken by the alarm, rubbed her eyes. Her muscle memory instinctively reached out to shut off the annoying clock.

She sat up, raised her right hand above her head, covered her mouth with her left hand, and let out a long yawn.

Three seconds later, like a robot, she put her hands down.

Ning Chuxue looked like her body was awake, but her mind wasn’t.

Even so, she had a pressing question.

“Sister Mu Wan, why didn’t you wake me up?”

There were still twenty minutes until class, and the walk from the office to the classroom only took five minutes.

With confusion, Ning Chuxue climbed out of bed.

Such a familiar scene—she subconsciously felt a strong sense of déjà vu.

Her mind was washed over by that déjà vu.

Soon, her mind calmed down.

“Strange, did I not sleep well?”

Ning Chuxue muttered to herself, holding her head.

Actually, the entire series of actions after waking up had been subconscious; her brain hadn’t fully activated.

When her brain finally caught up, it would search for similar past events to fill in those “unconscious” actions.

And what she was doing now had already happened yesterday.

Except that time, the person sitting outside was Shen Ruqing, not Mu Wannuo.

The cause of this phenomenon was also partly because Ning Chuxue hadn’t slept well.

After regaining her composure, she shook her head to stay more alert, got off the bed, and slipped into her slippers.

“Sister Mu Wan, shouldn’t we be going?”

Hearing Ning Chuxue’s urging, Mu Wannuo snapped back to reality.

Looking at Ning Chuxue, who had just woken from deep sleep, she didn’t rush to agree to go to class.

“Let’s go a bit later. Xiao Kelian, eat something first.”

Considering that Ning Chuxue’s stomach would be empty when she woke up, Mu Wannuo had prepared food in advance.

She stopped writing, shoved all the paper and pens on the desk into the drawer, the entire series of movements as if hiding something from Ning Chuxue.

After clearing the desk, she took out a few pieces of bread from another drawer, along with a cup of steaming soy milk.

It was exactly what she had asked Ying to bring earlier.

“Take a bite first, to warm yourself up.”

“Thank you, Sister Mu Wan.”

After thanking her, Ning Chuxue naturally took the food and took a bite of the bread.

The soft texture, along with the rich milky aroma, filled her mouth.

“Delicious!”

Ning Chuxue’s eyes sparkled instantly.

She didn’t rush to take a second bite; instead, she took a sip of soy milk.

Compared to the bread, the soy milk was plain, somewhat not matching Ning Chuxue’s expectations.

Anyway, it was just to warm her body. Ning Chuxue didn’t complain and finished it in a few bites.

Seeing her obediently finish the food she’d prepared, Mu Wannuo felt a strange sense of satisfaction.

“Let’s go. Any later and we’ll be late.”

Hearing Mu Wannuo’s urging, Ning Chuxue hastily grabbed a piece of paper to wipe her mouth, then followed.

Today’s weather was just right, carrying on the pleasant temperature of the morning—neither cold nor hot.

The sunlight and breeze were gentle.

Ning Chuxue hurriedly kept pace with Mu Wannuo, throwing her coat over her shoulders and slipping her arms into the sleeves as she jogged.

Finally, after rushing, she made it into the classroom just before the bell.

But when she reached the classroom door, she hesitated.

If she stepped over the threshold, the entire class would greet her with burning stares.

Though she had gotten somewhat used to it over the past few days, it was only slightly less uncomfortable.

Even so, she still had to cross that threshold…

“It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s just becoming the center of attention—it’s not like I’ll lose a piece of flesh.”

Ning Chuxue took a deep breath, encouraging herself.

Finally, with determination, she mustered her courage and stepped through the back door into the classroom.

Just as she had thought, the sound she made crossing the threshold drew everyone’s attention.

Faced with this situation, Ning Chuxue already had a coping method.

Close her eyes, hypnotize herself, pay no attention.

Of course, she would occasionally crack her eyes open to see where she was going.

After navigating countless obstacles, she finally reached her seat.

But when she opened her eyes again, a large portion of the gazes were still on her.

Ning Chuxue suddenly realized.

These disgusting stares she hated—Shen Ruqing used to deal with them for her.

Last night, Shen Ruqing had told her she was participating in a competition, so she wasn’t here today.

Without Shen Ruqing’s protection, Ning Chuxue naturally couldn’t handle these prying eyes.

The eyes watching Ning Chuxue were all sneaky—few observed her openly.

Among them was Ying.

Compared to those who sneaked glances, Ying was very bold in her observation, as if she was telling Ning Chuxue,

“I’m sizing you up.”

But instead of admiration, her expression carried pity.

She noticed that from the moment Ning Chuxue entered the classroom, she had been timid.

To outsiders, it seemed like shyness, but Ying didn’t think so.

She felt it was the pressure Mu Wannuo put on Ning Chuxue!

She herself had been harshly scolded by Mu Wannuo just for not keeping up.

Let alone Ning Chuxue, whom Mu Wannuo valued more—the pressure on her must be even greater.

Thinking of this, Ying’s eyes unconsciously shed two lines of tears, and her resolve grew stronger.

“Don’t worry, Xiao Nuo, I will definitely lead you out of the shadows in your heart and welcome a brand new life!”

With that thought, Ying immediately planned to stand up and go counsel Ning Chuxue.

Just as she was about to leave her seat, someone came in through the front door—it was Mu Wannuo.

Seeing this, Ying had to postpone her plan, waiting until this culprit left before she could counsel Ning Chuxue.

“Put away your thoughts. Today, we’re reviewing old material!”

Mu Wannuo clapped her hands and deliberately raised her voice.

At the same time, she noted all those who had been staring at Ning Chuxue.

“Before the review, let’s start with recitation.”

When everyone turned to the podium, Mu Wannuo continued calling out.

Her gaze swept casually over the room, finally landing on the second-to-last row—the one who had been sneaking glances at Ning Chuxue the longest.

Mu Wannuo couldn’t help but click her tongue inwardly.

“We’ll start with you.”