By the time Chu Lian and Cai Ya returned to the classroom, more than half the break had already passed. The few students who had witnessed what Chu Lian did earlier saw that the two of them seemed to be fine now, so they didn't come over to disturb them—except for Wang Tingsi and a delicate-looking girl.
"Chu Lian, just now you..." Seeing there was still a bit of time left, he came over hoping to ask her something. However, just as he opened his mouth, Chu Lian cut in.
"First, stay at least three meters away from me; second, don't come too close; third, I don't want to see you; fourth, don't appear within my line of sight; fifth, if possible, speak where I can't see you; sixth, don't bother me; seventh, whatever you say, I won't hear it. Alright, go ahead and say what you came to say..."
Her words fired off like machine-gun bullets, striking the already-eager Wang Tingsi with full force.
He opened his mouth, then weakly waved his hand, and in the end didn't say a single word. Dejected, he turned and walked back to his seat.
Seeing him leave, Chu Lian felt her irritation ease a little. The gloomy expression from earlier vanished in an instant, replaced by a bright smile as she turned toward another long-haired girl who had stood up but hadn't said anything.
"Li Xiu'er, do you need something?"
Li Xiu'er stood there a bit nervously. At first, after hearing Chu Lian's words to Wang Tingsi, she had been frightened enough to want to sit down. But some unknown courage had kept the usually shy and introverted girl standing.
When she was unexpectedly addressed by Chu Lian, she blanked for a moment, then took a deep breath, looked up at her, and asked softly, "Chu Lian, I wanted to ask if you could create a performance piece for our class program?"
Chu Lian looked at her in surprise, then seemed to realize something. "Oh, so you're the class arts rep. I just transferred, so I didn't remember. Sorry about that..."
She winked at Li Xiu'er, then gave a warm smile. "As for creating a performance piece, sure. But you'll need to wait a bit—it'll take me some time to come up with something..." Her gentle response and easy agreement eased Li Xiu'er's nerves considerably.
There was no doubt about Chu Lian's charm. When she fully showed her best side, it brought a refreshing, spring-like comfort to those around her, effortlessly dispelling any lingering anxiety.
So when she addressed Li Xiu'er with that adorable and gentle tone, it was only natural that the shy girl was able to overcome her nervousness so quickly.
"Thank you so much. I can't guarantee that your program will be selected in the end, but regardless, I really appreciate your willingness to help," Li Xiu'er said, her fair face flushing red with embarrassment.
Chu Lian wasn't the first person she had asked, but she was definitely the one she had the highest hopes for. Li Xiu'er had read Chu Lian's books and loved the stories deeply, holding a special admiration for their author.
Being able to attend the same school as her was already a huge surprise. But because of her personality, she'd never dared to speak to her—until now, when she finally mustered the courage to bring it up using the school anniversary program as a pretext.
As the class arts rep, her job was to gather potential programs, then discuss them with the other class officers and teachers before selecting the best ones for a final class-wide vote.
That was why she'd been afraid Chu Lian might be unhappy—after all, helping without any guaranteed return might leave some people feeling slighted. But what she didn't know was that Chu Lian had long grown used to this sort of thing, and with a heart that had weathered many experiences, she didn't care in the slightest.
Not to mention that she had absolute confidence in her own ability to come up with a great performance using her strengths—just Li Xiu'er herself had already left a very good impression on her. With only a short exchange, she had already formed a general understanding of what kind of girl Li Xiu'er was.
Shy, but not timid. Introverted, but not closed off. She had a strong sense of duty, and when truly needed, she possessed a rare kind of courage.
Add to that her delicate demeanor and gentle appearance, which naturally evoked a sense of protectiveness. A girl like that—even the most disagreeable person would find it hard to dislike her, let alone Chu Lian.
After chatting with Li Xiu'er for a while, they finally wrapped up their conversation when class began. What surprised Chu Lian even more was that Li Xiu'er turned out to be one of her fans—not just a casual one either, but most likely a very devoted reader.
Though she didn't express it openly due to her personality, the admiration and fondness in her eyes were visible enough for Chu Lian to see. With her already good impression of Li Xiu'er combined with the fan factor, her opinion of the girl improved even further.
On the other side, Wang Tingsi, who had been utterly rejected by Chu Lian—and not just rejected, but thoroughly shut down with seven specific demands basically telling him to get lost—was feeling extremely disheartened. Seeing how warmly Chu Lian treated Li Xiu'er afterward only made him wallow further in self-pity.
He had known Chu Lian for almost a year, always working hard to please her, doing his best not to irritate her, silently protecting her.
And yet, their relationship now amounted to nothing more than janitor, an unwanted tag-along, luxury car chauffeur, and the regular victim of her sharp tongue whenever she was in a bad mood.
Compared to Li Xiu'er, who had just met her, the difference was like a chasm. Anyone would feel dejected in his position, especially someone like Wang Tingsi who harbored ulterior motives toward Chu Lian.
On the other hand, Zhang Feng—who had also been silently observing Chu Lian—was doing much better. He had a clearer sense of self: liking someone didn't mean you had to possess them. With this healthy mindset, he noticed many things others overlooked.
For instance, Chu Lian, who looked so pure and innocent on the outside, was actually quite sharp-tongued—though she usually kept that hidden. But if anyone crossed her while she was in a bad mood, they'd be in for a very bad time... just like a certain someone currently wallowing in despair.
Another thing was that she was extremely proud—not in the way of looking down on others, but proud of herself. What people often called inner pride or dignity. Her attitude toward girls was overwhelmingly positive, while her attitude toward boys was starkly different.
It was probably because she didn't care much for boys her age. After all, she was one of the rare, truly talented literary girls in Huaxia in recent years.
While the other students at school were also quite gifted, most of them still had low emotional maturity. They hadn't yet shed their childishness or built any real reputation. It was perfectly reasonable for her not to want to associate with them.
That said, her actions were admittedly quite bold at times…
As he mulled over these thoughts, Zhang Feng opened his notebook and slowly wrote:
"They say that someone you love will always appear perfect in your eyes—perhaps that's the best way to describe how I see her. Whether her strengths or her flaws, in my mind, she remains that perfect, smiling girl."
"Just like the day I saw her at the West Lake bridge, dressed in a flowing white hanfu, holding a lace parasol, standing gracefully in the lakeside pavilion. Her delicate face wore a gentle smile, and she tilted her head slightly as she listened to the fiery red-dressed girl beside her. In that moment, she looked like a fairy. That scene has been etched into my memory ever since—so vivid, so distant."
And just as he put down his pen, the bell for the second class rang, signaling the start of a new lesson.
Sudi High School's schedule was quite relaxed. There were four morning classes, with twenty-minute breaks in between. Except for some restricted areas, places like the labs and music club rooms were freely open for student use.
From 8:15 to 12:15 were the morning classes, followed by a one-hour and fifteen-minute lunch break.
In the afternoon, there were three more classes—three hours in total—plus one hour of extracurricular activity. School always let out at exactly 5:30 PM.
Whether or not students stayed on campus was up to them, unless they lived in the dorms.
As for Chu Lian, she spent that peaceful morning thinking about what kind of performance to create for the class program...