CHAPTER 15: CHAPTER 15: SENIOR YEAR 2, CLASS 2; SENIOR YEAR 3, CLASS 2

It was just that her family was so poor, how come she seemed so familiar with designer brands? Could she truly be that vain? If so, having lost a school uniform, and then replacing it with new clothes that didn’t look like knockoffs, and mysteriously acquiring three thousand yuan...

Huang Yan’s thoughts suddenly drifted far, and his expression grew increasingly ugly.

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Every grade change meant a classroom change, and moving from the second to the third year of high school was no different. Sui Yi had left yesterday after just registering because she couldn’t pay the tuition fee, and she truly didn’t know where the classroom had been moved to; however, following the door plates, she quickly found it.

Classes were already in session inside, and it seemed quite quiet. She didn’t enter, but instead sat on a corridor chair outside the classroom. Although the third year was primarily for review and there weren’t many new books, holding them was actually quite tiring.

She casually placed a large stack of newly collected books beside her and from the corner of her eye could see inside the open door of Sophomore Class Two, where the students were attentively listening to the math teacher Gao Youwei’s lecture.

There was about half an hour left until school let out at eleven-thirty, and Sui Yi casually picked up a book to flip through to pass the time.

There was slight noise inside the classroom, and with the student-teacher interaction, it was a world as pristine as an ivory tower, yet filled with competition. The distinction between the excellent and the mediocre was clear-cut, with each test acting as yet another battlefield.

Even the students from the most influential families felt a reluctant preference for good grades over poor ones.

After all, poor grades were like a negation of one’s personal intellect, and who would be happy to be regarded as a fool by others?

Time passed quickly, and Sui Yi’s fingers flipped through the pages, the crisp sound of turning pages cutting through the air... like brushing over the somber facade of passing years, cool to the touch.

"Aren’t you going in?"

Suddenly, a shadow that obscured her view also blocked the warm light, and Sui Yi looked up at him.

A fair complexion, delicate facial features with a somewhat feminine detail, good skin, but with a distinctly masculine outline, tall and well-legged, now standing under the bright sun, slightly bent over to look at her, his back to the light, bathed in golden rays.

Sui Yi gently touched the side of her forehead, taking a moment to respond because she was wondering who this person was.

It seemed she had seen him several times before at the neighboring class’s doorway—just a faint impression.

Sui Yi did not speak, and the young man remained silent as well, with a hint of frustration in his eyes, as if she really didn’t recognize him?

Really?

"Hey, you really don’t know me?"

"Yeah"

"....."

She really dared to confirm it! The youth clenched his teeth, just as he glanced at the chemistry book Sui Yi was flipping through, well, had she flipped through a third of it already?

He seemed to remember that her chemistry grades were rather poor. Was her flipping through the pages just a cursory glance, or...

If it were before, he would definitely think so, but after yesterday’s incident, he didn’t dare underestimate this seemingly harmless girl.

He raised an eyebrow, about to speak...

Before the school bell rang, the math teacher Gao Youwei had assigned a few problems, stepped outside to drink some tea and breathe some fresh air, and just happened to see Sui Yi talking to that young man.

He paused, then called out, "Sui Yi, why are you staying outside and not coming in? Come inside and attend the class!"

"Sorry," Sui Yi picked up the books beside her, passed by him, and walked towards the door, just as the school bell also rang.

The young man paused, furrowed his brows, and turned to walk toward the door of Class Two.

"Were you already here?"

"Yeah"

"Why didn’t you come in! Not attending class?" Gao Youwei said harshly, his face full of anger.

He subconsciously thought Sui Yi was trying to skip class.

"It would disturb you," Sui Yi replied calmly, both Gao Youwei and the young man who followed were taken aback.

Somehow, this reason was somewhat unexpected, yet somewhat reasonable.

Sui Yi slightly lifted the textbook on her chest, "Teacher, may I come in now?"

"Huh? Yes, come in..." To be honest, Sui Yi’s response made Gao Youwei feel frustrated but unable to express it, somewhat caught between laughter and tears.

Was he supposed to be grateful for her understanding?

But... deep down he was pleased.

When Sui Yi walked in, many eyes followed her, filled with complicated expressions.

The main reason was that Sui Yi was a rather strange person, belonging to the fringes of their class, low-profile and quiet, with moderate grades, neither outstanding nor the worst, but her appearance and demeanor were quite good, making her hard to dislike yet difficult to get close to.

However, her missing most of the day’s classes was quite unusual.

"Sui Yi, where have you been? You never used to miss classes!" someone curiously asked, but he was prepared for Sui Yi not to respond.

In fact, Sui Yi was not very popular, unfamiliar with most in the class, and because of her poor background and extreme aloofness, she was often criticized by her classmates.

Being considered aloof was one of the nicer judgments.

"Something came up," Sui Yi said, holding her book, scanning the classroom and realizing that all the seats were taken, which was indeed quite a headache.

Gao Youwei walked in, tapped on the desk, and curbed the students’ end-of-school restlessness, "Quiet down, Sui Yi’s here for the class, are all the seats taken?"

"They’re taken... It’s her fault for coming so late... I thought she wouldn’t attend school anymore."

"Exactly... Hey, Sui Yi, could it be that you got your tuition fees?"

"Ha, she got the tuition in one day? Quite capable huh~~"

The chatter was incessant, like sparrows, but the words were unfriendly and even carried somewhat nefarious undertones. The boys were somewhat better off since they were focused on Sui Yi’s face, quietly muttering, damn, they knew she was attractive, but didn’t realize that a change of clothes could make her look so refreshingly different.

Possibly because of this, these female classmates were not sparing with their words.

Sui Yi lowered her eyes and walked straight to the back where there was one seat.

Empty.

The student in front, Qian Fengling, turned around, crossed her arms, and with raised eyebrows, sneered, "Who let you sit here?"

Sui Yi looked up at her, thinking that these people were really off today, why were they suddenly so hostile to her? Was it because she changed her clothes?

After staring at Qian Fengling for a while, Sui Yi’s hand loosened, and a large stack of textbooks crashed down onto the desk!

Not too gentle, yet very sudden!

Thud, the books hit the desk, making quite a noise, and Qian Fengling, who almost retracted her hand, turned pale, anger clogged in her throat about to erupt, but then she saw Sui Yi suddenly placing her hands on the books, leaning slightly forward, her tall figure tilting, her eyes cool and clear, gazing with a cold detachment that slowly slid across Qian Fengling’s face.

Like a knife, like frost, and like cold spring water.

It made her suddenly feel a chill in her body.

"Compulsory high school education, mandated by national law, I’ve paid, and coming here to study, even the school ought to treat me as a customer, this classroom with forty-five seats must have one for me, any objections, Student Qian?"

"..." Qian Fengling’s lips trembled, perhaps because she found it hard to refute, but more so, she was afraid.

After all, Sui Yi was someone who mixed in society’s melting pot, often facing its darker side, not to mention having been chased last night, her courage and presence were simply incomparable to these students who had yet to leave their ivory towers.

But this aura lasted only a moment, and in the blink of an eye, it was gone; Sui Yi glanced at her, her expression indifferent, and methodically stuffed her books into the drawer.

Qian Fengling had nothing to say, and the other students were also silent for a moment, even those packing up their bags were frozen there, until someone walked into the classroom, walked up to Sui Yi, she looked at Sui Yi, stunned.

Sui Yi turned her head to look at her, also stunned.

She truly hadn’t expected the person next to this seat to be her.

Clearly, the other was also somewhat surprised.