[Sixth Simulation Starting… World Correction in Progress…]
“This question is basically a freebie. No need to explain it—we’ll move on to the next one…”
The teacher at the front of the class was going over the monthly exam papers. Jiang Yueming lay sprawled on his desk absentmindedly, his gaze unfocused.
He was still lost in the dream-like events from earlier and hadn’t snapped out of it.
His memories felt completely jumbled, turning his brain into mush. He even began to wonder if he was currently in a dream—otherwise how could he explain everything that had just happened?
Somehow he had gotten tangled up with the young miss of the Xia family.
Before today they had never even met face-to-face, yet she had suddenly come looking for him, acting like a close friend who had known him for ages.
Recalling what Xia He had said at the classroom door during break, he almost got the illusion that she was very enthusiastic toward him.
Could it be… that she was interested in him?
The thought flashed through his mind, startling even himself.
He quickly shook his head to dismiss the unrealistic idea.
How was that possible?
She was the high and mighty young miss of the Xia family. Why would she ever take an interest in someone like him?
What did he have? Average grades, ordinary looks, no rich family background. His only hobby was playing games. He was the kind of guy who blended into the crowd without anyone noticing.
I must have played too many games and fried my brain.
“This question is an even bigger freebie,” the teacher’s voice drifted over from the platform. “I doubt any genius could possibly get it wrong. Let me call someone up to answer…”
Jiang Yueming didn’t hear a single word.
With nothing else to do, his eyes habitually drifted to a figure not far ahead. He stole a glance at her.
It was a petite girl sitting two rows in front of him by the window. Her back was to him, posture straight, skin so fair it looked almost cold.
In sharp contrast to her pale skin was her jet-black hair, braided into two neat pigtails that rested obediently on her school uniform. Above them was a slender neck peeking out from the loose collar, giving off a pure, clean feeling—like clear water, like the first breath of air on a winter morning.
Wen Xiaoyu.
A girl he had been secretly paying attention to since the start of the school year. He had only spoken a few words to her, and only when she came to collect homework.
Her expression was always indifferent. Jiang Yueming had never seen her show interest in anything outside of studies.
He had thought about using the excuse of asking for study help to talk to this aloof class representative, but the problem was that Wen Xiaoyu was the Chinese class rep.
Chinese was different from math. In math you could point at a problem and say, “I don’t get this one.” But with Chinese… you couldn’t very well point at a passage and say, “I don’t understand this article,” right?
He had never seen the top students who passionately discussed questions during break huddled together debating Chinese problems.
Sigh…
It would be nice if she came looking for me to talk, just like Xia He did, Jiang Yueming thought unrealistically.
Compared to Xia He, Wen Xiaoyu didn’t have the advantage in looks.
But romance was all about that special spark. Sometimes no matter how beautiful someone was, to certain people it was like an exquisite painting hanging there—beautiful on its own, but what did it have to do with him?
Would you suddenly develop feelings for someone just because they went to a cosmetic clinic one day and came back looking like a perfect celebrity?
Jiang Yueming shook his head. That’s not love. That’s just lust at first sight.
Her back looked so focused. It would be nice if she looked at me with that same expression.
Jiang Yueming sighed and continued spacing out.
The air fell silent for a moment. It seemed as if the heavens had really heard Jiang Yueming’s silent prayer—Wen Xiaoyu actually turned her head to look at him. Their eyes met in mid-air.
Jiang Yueming was stunned at first, then a small surge of delight rose unavoidably in his heart.
He looked at her face. There seemed to be faint confusion in her brows and eyes. He was a bit puzzled. Is that the kind of look you give someone when you turn around to sneak a peek at them during class?
The quiet atmosphere made him uneasy. He looked around and realized everyone had turned to stare at him—including the teacher on the platform.
His deskmate quietly nudged his arm and whispered a reminder.
“What are you spacing out for? The homeroom teacher called on you to answer the question.”
Only then did Jiang Yueming realize that Wen Xiaoyu wasn’t secretly looking at him—he had been called on by the teacher.
He stood up right away and frantically flipped open his Chinese textbook.
“Uh—”
He looked at the book in his hands and whispered to his deskmate, “What page…”
His deskmate clutched his head. “Not the textbook… the monthly exam paper… the exam paper!”
He spoke in a hushed voice, repeating it again in case Jiang Yueming hadn’t heard, but found he still wasn’t reacting. Jiang Yueming just stood there blankly, staring at the Chinese textbook in his hands.
What’s wrong with this guy? Did he get scared stupid?
Is the homeroom teacher’s pressure really that strong?
He looked up at Jiang Yueming and saw that his face had gone slightly pale. He stood there like a statue beside his seat, motionless under the gaze of the teacher and classmates.
He still hadn’t found the exam paper and was just spacing out while holding that Chinese textbook.
In Jiang Yueming’s vision, he casually flipped to a page. Next to the dense text were two lines written in red.
Crooked and messy.
Don’t believe her.
The handwriting looked forceful, as if written with great effort, carrying a sense of hesitation—like someone had used their last strength to desperately leave a message in his book.
Below that line was handwriting he was familiar with—the strokes had heavy connections, exactly how he himself wrote.
Don’t believe anyone.
Jiang Yueming froze for a second. Then it felt as if a bomb had exploded in his mind, completely scrambling his thoughts until nothing remained.
Without any warning, intense pain swept through his brain. Veins bulged on his forehead. It felt like his head was about to split open. His body tensed instinctively, and he couldn’t utter a single word.
“Jiang Yueming?”
The teacher called his name again. Seeing that he still wasn’t responding, the teacher assumed he was too nervous to speak.
The teacher sighed inwardly. Sigh, not paying attention in class is one thing, but having such poor mental fortitude…
His classmates cast doubtful looks his way.
“Never mind, sit down. Stay after school today. I need to talk to you about something.”
The teacher turned around and continued writing on the blackboard with chalk, moving on to the next question. But Jiang Yueming showed no sign of sitting down.
He was completely engulfed in excruciating pain, unable to even move a finger.
Flashes of blurry images flickered before his eyes, light and shadow twisting chaotically. He saw a girl running toward him in a surreal world.
“Ayue…”
The scene suddenly cut off. His dulled senses returned to his body as his deskmate pulled him back into his seat.
“What’s wrong with you?”
His deskmate’s voice sounded beside his ear. Jiang Yueming took a long moment before he recovered.
A few drops of cold sweat slid down his temple. He stared blankly at the two lines of red text in his textbook.
“It’s… it’s nothing…”