《Miss Qiu Pursues Her Dreams After Being Reborn!》 Chapter 1 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations North of the school. A hundred-year-old banyan tree¡¯s lush branches grew around the school¡¯s wall. It was the best place for skipping classes and climbing over walls. ¡°Jiang Lin must be constipated. He¡¯s been in the bathroom for so long!¡± Yao Yu quickly sent a message to urge him. A few boys smoking cigarettes in the distance walked towards the wall. When they got close, they realized that there were two people leaning against the tree. One was playing games on his phone while leaning against a tree trunk. The sun shone through the trees and landed on the boy. The ends of his narrow eyes were slightly upturned. With his defined brow bones, his delicate features weren¡¯t feminine at all. Instead, he seemed elegant and aloof. He looked as noble as the sun god, Apollo. The other boy had a pair of charming eyes that seemed to always be filled with mirth. Coupled with his handsome appearance, he was definitely the Prince Charming in the hearts of many girls. When the leader of the buzz-cut men saw this, he lamented his bad luck. He turned his head and asked his subordinate to immediately extinguish his cigarette and throw it on the ground. He quickly stepped forward and bowed to greet them, ¡°Brother Lin, Brother Yu, are you guys going out? You guys can go first. We¡¯ll keep watch for you.¡± Jiang Lin glanced up, saw it was the man who¡¯d tried to besiege them with No. 5 High School¡¯s bully yesterday, and returned his attention to the mobile game. Yao Yu glanced at Jiang Lin¡¯s reaction and knew that these school bullies wouldn¡¯t catch Jiang Lin¡¯s eye. Looking at their bruised faces, he smirked. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me there¡¯s someone waiting for us outside the wall.¡± The buzz-cut man recalled that yesterday, his boss and the boss of No. 5 High School had brought more than 20 people with them, but they hadn¡¯t encountered the three transfer students from Jingdu. Instead, they had been beaten up by the three of them until now! It had to be known that the eldest son of No. 5 High School, Liu Tian, was the overlord of S City¡¯s high school world. He was a famous rich second-generation heir and his family was considered the local tyrant of S City. Now, he had been beaten up by three transfer students, but he didn¡¯t even see these transfer students enter the police station. This could only mean that these three people didn¡¯t even dare to touch the Liu family! Especially Jiang Lin! Today, he was as holy as Apollo. Yesterday, when they fought, he was like Hades! He took on most of the combat alone! The buzz-cut man was so nervous that a thin layer of sweat appeared on his forehead. He immediately put on a smile and said, ¡°Brother Yu, what are you saying? Which high school in S City hasn¡¯t heard of the reputation of the three of you?! Even a bear wouldn¡¯t dare to stop the three of you!¡± The smile on his face tugged at the wound on his face from yesterday, but the buzz cut man didn¡¯t dare to raise his hand to cover it, afraid that he would remind these two demons of what happened yesterday. Yao Yu sneered and snorted softly. ¡°Hurry up and leave. Stop being an eyesore in front of us!¡± ¡°Yes, yes, we¡¯ll go at once.¡± The men nodded and bowed as they reached the tree trunk before they dared to straighten up and climb. ¡°Damn, buddies! I saw Qiu Ying! Tsk tsk, if not for her not participating in the competition, she would definitely be at the top of the school belle rankings!¡± ¡°Let me see. She only came at this time. The top student actually skipped school! If I could get her to kiss me, I wouldn¡¯t want to wash my face for the rest of my life.¡± ¡°She even looks sexy in a uniform. As expected of my goddess. I feel horny!¡± a€|a€| The few people on the tree stared intently at the girl who was jogging past not far away in the summer school uniform skirt. Her charming figure wasn¡¯t concealed by the baggy school uniform. Instead, the simple style accentuated the girl¡¯s beautiful and innocent face. Her ponytail swung back and forth, making it difficult for people to look away. When the girl turned a corner and disappeared, the few of them climbed down from the tree to the top of the wall. After hearing that, Yao Yu said, ¡°Brother Lin, Qiu Ying seems to be in our class. On the first day of school, I saw that the class roster on the podium didn¡¯t have this name marked.¡± Jiang Lin looked up after a round of games and saw Lin Zhao walking over slowly. He turned his head and sized Yao Yu up before saying slowly, ¡°You¡¯re quite idle.¡± ¡°I¡¯m paying attention to details. I can¡¯t let go of any information about a beautiful girl. If it suits your taste, the information I gather will come in handy!¡± ¡°Other than not putting in the effort to learn, you put in the effort for everything else.¡± Lin Zhao walked to the two of them and smiled. The three of them chatted and laughed as they climbed over the wall and left the school. The back door of the wall was a small path, so the three of them had to walk to the main entrance to hail a taxi. The three of them had only taken a few steps when they heard a heavy object hit the ground behind them. ¡°Ow!¡± There was a grunt. The three of them turned to see Bai Zhen in the class. Bai Zhen struggled to get up from the ground. When he saw his three male classmates, he patted the dust off his body and greeted them as if nothing had happened. The three of them passed by and walked towards the main entrance. Suddenly, a girl in a school uniform appeared at the intersection. When she saw Bai Zhen, she jogged forward with an apologetic expression. ¡°I should have sent you a message earlier so you wouldn¡¯t have had to make the trip. I should have just thrown the thing at you. You¡¯ll have to climb in later. But what¡¯s in here? I have to go back to school anyway, so I could have brought it straight in for you.¡± Bai Zhen thought of what was inside and hurriedly said, ¡°We can¡¯t go through the main entrance!¡± Bai Zhen snatched the bag and eagerly unzipped it. He looked inside and smiled meaningfully when he confirmed that it was what he wanted. At this moment, Qiu Ying saw a familiar figure from the corner of her eye, so she turned around. ¡®iang Lin! Qiu Ying was shocked! She didn¡¯t expect to bump into Jiang Lin, a young master of Jingdu, after transferring schools after her rebirth. Qiu Ying naturally recognized the other two boys. Qiu Ying couldn¡¯t help but be stunned that these people she had only met many years later in her previous life would suddenly appear so many years in advance. Jiang Lin saw that the girl in front of him had rosy lips and white teeth, skin as fair as jade, and willowy eyebrows. Her eyes were clear when she looked at him, but they made him feel deeply attracted. It was rare for Bai Zhen to see Qiu Ying, who was usually a little indifferent to everything, in a daze. He only thought that Qiu Ying was mesmerized by Jiang Lin¡¯s good looks. After all, Jiang Lin¡¯s looks easily defeated all the school beaus. He chuckled wretchedly and nudged Qiu Ying. ¡°Little Yingying, what are you looking at?¡± Qiu Ying came back to her senses and turned to see Bai Zhen winking at her. She knew that she had reacted like a fangirl, so she glared at him. ¡°Nothing.¡± Bai Zhen continued, ¡°You haven¡¯t been to class for the past few days. Come, let me introduce you. These male students are the new transfer students of our class!¡± Then he introduced all of them by name. Seeing this, Yao Yu recalled the words of the students who were climbing the tree just now and immediately associated them with the girl in front of him. He saw Jiang Lin looking at Qiu Ying with a burning gaze. Chapter 2 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations Hence, Yao Yu stepped forward and said, ¡°Fairy! Seeing is believing. I¡¯ve heard that you¡¯re smart and pretty. Nice to meet you. We¡¯ll be classmates in the future.¡± Qiu Ying didn¡¯t want to get too involved with them, so she just nodded with a slight smile. Bai Zhen knew that Qiu Ying was introverted. Seeing this, he handed the bag to Qiu Ying and said, ¡°Then we¡¯ll go back first. We won¡¯t hold you up. Little Yingying, I¡¯ll climb over the wall first, then you can hand it to me.¡± Qiu Ying nodded and immediately turned to the wall, blocking Jiang Lin¡¯s gaze. Qiu Ying was relieved when Jiang Lin and the others turned and walked away. After walking out of the intersection, Yao Yu said, ¡°Brother Lin, this is definitely your cup of tea! Do you want to start a relationship?¡± Jiang Lin rolled his eyes at Yao Yu. ¡°Stop it. From the first day onwards, you keep asking questions.¡± Lin Zhao adjusted the beam in the middle of his glasses and smiled helplessly. Yao Yu snorted and said, ¡°Fine. I was worried sick about you guys but got snubbed instead.¡± However, he was thinking to himself that he had all kinds of information. When they asked him about it one day, he would definitely snub them in return. The three of them hailed a taxi and headed straight for the racecourse. On the other side of the classroom, Qiu Ying took out the book that Bai Zhen had helped her retrieve on the first day of school. She turned to thank Bai Zhen. Bai Zhen put on a coquettish expression. ¡°For my Little Yingying, I¡¯m willing to go through hell and high water. What¡¯s the big deal about moving some books?!¡± Bai Zhen liked pretty girls a lot. When Qiu Ying transferred to school on the first day, Bai Zhen became attracted to her. After getting to know her as Qiu Ying¡¯s deskmate, he regarded her as his goddess. From then on, Bai Zhen felt that the female protagonist of all the novels he had read had gained face! After two classes, Qiu Ying turned to look at the books on Bai Zhen¡¯s desk. Bai Zhen lowered his head and looked at the books. He said in a low voice, ¡°You spent so much effort just for these novels?¡± Bai Zhen turned around and said, ¡°This is my spiritual food!¡± Qiu Ying had been around for half a year and knew that her deskmate liked to read novels. However, he still occasionally raised his head to pretend to listen in class. It was like this for two classes. Bai Zhen wished he could hide in his book without lifting his head up. Qiu Ying really couldn¡¯t understand what kind of book could make Bai Zhen so engrossed, so she pulled the book from Bai Zhen¡¯s hand and took a look. The entire page was filled with erotic words. An indescribable expression appeared on Qiu Ying¡¯s face. ¡°This is a plot requirement! This is a true scripture!¡± Bai Zhen explained quietly as he pulled the novel back. ¡°Yes, a proper porn book,¡± Bai Zhen added silently to himself. Qiu Ying could only shake her head helplessly. Bai Zhen looked at the time. There were still ten minutes before class ended for lunch, so he put the book into the drawer and gossiped, ¡°You haven¡¯t been here for the past few days. Our school has been buzzing about these transfer students!¡± Qiu Ying thought to herself that this wasn¡¯thing. In another ten years, they would be able to shock the country. ¡°You know Yu Ya, right? The girl from the class next door, who relies on her family¡¯s wealth and power, actually came to class, and keeps hanging around our class all day long. Who doesn¡¯t know that she wants to attract Jiang Lin¡¯s attention?! Jiang Lin ignored her.¡± ¡°She deserves it for always looking down on and bullying people!¡± ¡°Also, most of the girls with some popularity in our school have come to our class to make their presence known these past few days. I never knew that our class could be so liked by beauties.¡± As Qiu Ying listened to Bai Zhen talk about what had happened in the past few days, she felt a little uneasy. It wasn¡¯t easy for her to secretly escape here from Q City. She hoped that Qi Yue, this demon, wouldn¡¯t come. Although Qi Yue and Jiang Lin weren¡¯t completely in the same circle, the dignitaries of Jingdu always had some interactions. In her previous life, it was Qi Yue who brought her to the bureau, where she met these people. Qi Yue wouldn¡¯t tell her too much about work matters, so Qiu Ying didn¡¯t know what their relationship was. If Qi Yue came to S City to look for them, she would definitely be exposed. Thinking of this, she felt even more uneasy. During the evening self-study period, Qiu Ying went to work part-time as usual. There were a lot of people tonight, so Qiu Ying dragged her tired body back to the rented apartment. The living room was right near the entrance. Except for an old cloth sofa and a small coffee table adjacent to the balcony, glass had been installed on the other three walls and converted into a small dance studio. Qiu Ying sat on the sofa in a daze. All night, she kept thinking about her previous life. She thought of her mother, who had been driven crazy, her brother, who had committed suicide after his legs were crippled, and Zhao Lin, who had become a vegetable in order to protect her. Qiu Ying composed herself and forced herself not to panic just because she saw the people she had met in her previous life in advance. After all, she had safely avoided calamity for an entire semester now. She still had a few months to wait for that opportunity. She couldn¡¯t panic. Qiu Ying took a deep breath and decided to follow her original plan step by step. She was confident that she could get rid of that demon Qi Yue! Qiu Ying opened her phone browser and clicked on the website that she had bookmarked for months. Seeing that the registration time wasn¡¯t out yet, she exited the page and changed into loose casual attire to start practicing. Qiu Ying¡¯s father loved music and was a professional musician. He had a lot of experience with playing instruments and composing. From the moment Qiu Ying was born, he often played his own songs to her. As soon as Qiu Ying could walk, she could dance to her father¡¯s music. She delighted her father and strengthened his determination to nurture Qiu Ying into an artist. Unfortunately, because of the bullying from his seniors in the company, her father was unable to achieve anything despite his talent. Later, he finally found an opportunity. A famous musician took a fancy to the song that her father had created and arranged to meet him in person. However, he unexpectedly encountered a car accident on the way to the interview and died on the spot. Qiu Ying¡¯s mother blamed everything on music. She ignored Qiu Ying¡¯s kneeling pleas and insisted on burning all the musical instruments in the house. She didn¡¯t allow Qiu Ying to learn dance or musical instruments again. Qiu Ying¡¯s dance teacher¡¯s surname was Liu. She was a very talented dance teacher. Because of her family background, she had been learning dance since she was young. She devoted herself to combining Kung Fu techniques and dance moves to create her own unique style. Madam Liu¡¯s husband was also a dance teacher. At that time, the most famous dance university in the country offered her the best conditions and even asked Madam Liu¡¯s husband to teach there. However, in order to nurture a good seedling like Qiu Ying, Madam Liu was willing to separate from her husband and rejected the offer. She was willing to lie low and stay in this city. Chapter 3 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations Madam Liu had also gone to the Qiu family countless times to persuade Qiu Ying¡¯s mother to change her mind. However, she was scolded by Qiu Ying¡¯s mother, who had lost her mind because of her husband¡¯s death. Qiu Ying¡¯s heart ached for her mother and her teacher. She could only promise not to learn dance again. Although it was something that happened in her previous life, Qiu Ying could still remember Madam Liu¡¯s disappointed gaze at that time. She could clearly remember the mixed expression on Madam Liu¡¯s face when Qi Yue hugged her and a group of young masters in front of the clubhouse on the day of her suicide. That clubhouse was a gathering place for the children of the rich and powerful. Madam Liu pulled her to the side and questioned her why. At that time, she could only lower her head. She didn¡¯t know where to start. But even so, Madam Liu still chose to believe in her in the end. She whispered gently, ¡°Good child, I know what kind of person you are. Were you forced? Don¡¯t be afraid. Tell me. I¡¯ll think of a way for you!¡± She thought about how those who protected her had all been killed without exception. That demon was simply omnipotent! Qiu Ying didn¡¯t dare to let Madam Liu take the risk. She could only say that she did so willingly. Then, she shook off Madam Liu¡¯s hand and didn¡¯t turn back. She walked firmly to Qi Yue¡¯s side and even deliberately held his arm. Before getting into the car, Qiu Ying could clearly see the shock and heartache in Madam Liu¡¯s eyes from the corner of her eye. Qiu Ying knew that she was shocked and heartbroken that the child she had watched grow up would one day degrade herself and become someone else¡¯s mistress. Qiu Ying relied on muscle memory to complete the exercises. She came back to her senses and took a sip of water to calm herself down. Her gaze gradually became firm. After her rebirth, she would never repeat what happened in her previous life! After warming up, Qiu Ying took two small steps and raised her hands lightly. She used the strength of her waist and abdomen to lift her body into the air, almost forming a line with the ground. She did a standard somersault. Then, she jumped on the spot on one leg, then walked on a thread, turned over, did a backward roll, did a kick with her side leg, pulled one leg, and jumped on the spot. She knelt on the ground, raised her waist, spun in the air, slid down, then lay down. Qiu Ying still did a series of dance techniques with ease in this narrow living room! After Qiu Ying practiced for an hour, she looked at herself in the mirror and smiled happily. No matter how tiring she was from studying and working, as long as she danced happily every day and felt how hardworking she was, she believed that she would one day become the girl who slaughtered that evil dragon. She had a dreamless night¡­ Senior Mathematics Office Qiu Ying applied for three days of leave as soon as school started. Yesterday, because her form teacher, Mr. Qian, was a provincial special-class teacher of the senior class, she went to the Education Bureau for a meeting to discuss S City¡¯s curriculum for the first semester of the senior year. Therefore, she didn¡¯t look for her form teacher to cancel her leave after returning to school yesterday. Today, she arrived at the teacher¡¯s office ten minutes before the morning self-study session. Coincidentally, she bumped into Chen Jian coming out with a leave slip. Qiu Ying came to the table. ¡°Hello, Mr. Qian. I¡¯m here to cancel my leave.¡± Mr. Qian looked at the proud student in front of him and nodded with a smile. Then, he said earnestly, ¡°Qiu Ying, you¡¯re in your third year of high school. You can¡¯t apply for leave so often. Even the difference in one point is enough to eliminate an entire field of people.¡± Qiu Ying lowered her eyes slightly and looked up at Mr. Qian. ¡°Mr. Qian, don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t delay my studies! Although I don¡¯t live on campus or participate in evening self-study, I won¡¯t slack even for a moment.¡± Mr. Qian knew that Qiu Ying still insisted on only attending daytime classes every day. He said sympathetically, ¡°Sigh, I know your family is struggling, but I really can¡¯t bear to see you put aside your studies to earn money. Your body can¡¯t take it either.¡± Qiu Ying had just transferred over last semester. It was said that her parents didn¡¯t take care of their child much and were working out of town. She also had a sick sister at home, so she had a heavy financial burden. Mr. Qian only agreed to let Qiu Ying go home after class because she had a part-time job. Qiu Ying took out a few exercise books from her bag and placed them on the desk. She said seriously, ¡°Teacher, I know you¡¯re anxious for me. During the holidays, other than completing my summer homework, I bought extra exercise books for every subject. I also marked out those that I didn¡¯t understand to ask you. I understand the importance of learning. Please believe me, I can balance work and study well!¡± Mr. Qian flipped through the exercise books one by one and realized that after Qiu Ying had revised the completed questions according to the reference answers, she had also written her own summary in many places. Regarding those questions she didn¡¯t know how to answer, after reading the answers, she left question marks at the side. It could be seen that Qiu Ying had put in a lot of extra effort in her studies. Chapter 4 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations Mr. Qian looked up at the quiet girl in front of him. Her eyes looked calm, but he could feel her resilience underneath the calm. Hence, Mr. Qian relented and said, ¡°I can agree. I went to a meeting yesterday. From this year onwards, in order to let the third-year students get into the study zone faster, there will be a joint examination for the third-year students every month. You have to promise me that you can¡¯t drop out of the top three in the class and the top 20 in the cohort. Otherwise, I¡¯ll force you to attend the evening self-study session!¡± After Qiu Ying transferred, no matter if it was an exam or quiz, she would always score first place in class, so she nodded confidently. After solving the problem of applying for leave, Mr. Qian took out her math book. The first class after the morning self-study session was her math class, so she decided to tutor Qiu Ying alone in the office. She planned to let Qiu Ying catch up on her progress and return to the classroom together later. The students of the morning self-study class were reading the knowledge points they had to memorize in the classroom. Three minutes after class, they suddenly heard a voice coming from the loudspeaker downstairs. ¡°From this semester onwards, the second year students will officially enter senior year. At this important moment, I want to confess to my goddess!¡± The academic pressure in high school was high to begin with. Whenever there was something novel, the students would always rush out to watch the fun, especially when it concerned dating, which the school had repeatedly forbidden. Everyone leaned against the railing in the corridor and stuck their heads out to look down the teaching building. They realized that it was Class 9¡¯s Chen Zhen. The students began to cause a ruckus outside the classroom. The dean, who was patrolling the fifth floor for the morning reading session, rushed downstairs when he saw this. He planned to teach Chen Zhen a lesson. Downstairs, Chen Zhen continued to speak through the loudspeaker, ¡°From the first time I saw you, I knew what it meant to fall in love at first sight. I¡¯m deeply in love with you. I¡¯m willing to spend the rest of my life with you. Before I met you, I was an out-and-out bad student. The only thing I have in common with you is being in first place. It¡¯s just that I was in first place from the bottom. But because of you, I had the thought of studying hard for the first time.¡± The dean slowed down when he heard this. ¡°Because I want the person standing beside you to be an outstanding me! Now, I¡¯m no longer at the bottom! I confessed today because I want to tell myself that there¡¯s only a year left, so I have to work hard. I have to go to the same university as you! On the day I graduate from high school, I want an outstanding me to stand in front of everyone and confess to you! I want others to know that the person who loves you is also outstanding!¡± The dean, who walked out of the school building, revealed a loving smile and sighed. A person was in his best state when fighting for his dream and the person he liked. This was the most beautiful aspect of youth! At this moment, Chen Zhen had finished saying what he wanted to say. He turned to look at the dean with some lingering fear. The dean hated students who didn¡¯t focus on studying. Whoever he caught would be punished with running laps and having their parents called to the school. When the dean saw Chen Zhen looking at him, he immediately changed his expression. With a straight face, he snatched the loudspeaker away. ¡°To punish you for ignoring the school rules, go to the field and run 20 rounds! Use the time between classes to run!¡± Then, the dean raised his loudspeaker again. ¡°What are you all looking at?! All of you can get accepted to top universities?¡± The students in the corridor ran into the classrooms. Seeing this, the dean continued, ¡°I know that adolescence is a period of blossoming romance, but I also hope that you can understand that liking is presumptuous and love is about restraint. I hope that you will all try your best to become outstanding not only for the sake of the person you like, but also for yourself! Only by working hard can you leave no regrets. Compared to fleeting crushes, I hope you guys can look forward to romance after you all achieve success.¡± After saying that, the dean turned around and glared at Chen Zhen. ¡°Hurry up and get back to class.¡± Chen Zhen looked at the stern dean in disbelief. He actually talked about love with the students so calmly? The key was that he didn¡¯t call his parents. Afraid that the dean would suddenly remember to call his parents, Chen Zhen ran away. Unfortunately, although Qiu Ying came to the morning self-study today, she was being tutored by Mr. Qian, so she didn¡¯t hear anything. The recess bell rang. Year Three Class One Yao Yu leaned over to Jiang Lin and said, ¡°Interesting. I originally thought that an elite high school like No. 3 High School would be very boring. I didn¡¯t expect that just a few days after coming here, there would be a gang fight and a love confession through the loudspeaker. How fun!¡± Jiang Lin stared at black board and said slowly, ¡°How childish.¡± Chapter 5 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations Yao Yu retorted angrily, ¡°This is called passionate youth.¡± The other students in the class were also eagerly talking about what had just happened. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the dean to say something so convincing other than catching truants and stopping puppy love.¡± ¡°Indeed, he¡¯s usually so inflexible and strict. It¡¯s as if he¡¯s always on guard and trying to catch suspicious people!¡± ¡°Who do you think Chen Zhen is talking about?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t he say it? They¡¯re both first place. He¡¯s first place from the bottom, so the person he likes is first place from the top. There are 18 classes in our grade, and Qiu Ying is always in first place.¡± The others nodded. Wang Ting¡¯s hand that was applying a base coat on her nails paused. Ever since Qiu Ying transferred here, she had become a joke! Many people on the school¡¯s forum said that the school belle of No. 3 High School should be replaced. Qiu Ying was so poor! How could she compete with her? Wang Ting sneered. ¡°Chen Zhen didn¡¯t name anyone. How could it definitely be Qiu Ying? There are at least eight girls in the 18 classes who have gotten first place before.¡± Chen Jian had a crush on Wang Ting since he was in his first year of high school. He knew that Wang Ting had never liked Qiu Ying. Chen Jian said, ¡°That¡¯s right. Who said it must be her? I went to look for Mr. Qian to apply for leave just now and bumped into her when I went out. When I left, I heard that Mr. Qian didn¡¯t allow her to apply for leave again. He said that she had applied for leave too many times and scolded her for it!¡± ¡°Her family is quite poor. Look at the clothes she usually wears. I guess her parents are divorced and don¡¯t care about her anymore. She doesn¡¯t study with us at night because she¡¯s working. I heard that she has a deaf and mute sister to support.¡± The boys beside them looked doubtful. ¡°No way! Her family is that poor?¡± ¡°Mr. Qian always gives her special treatment. How can he scold her?¡± Mr. Qian had indeed always given Qiu Ying preferential treatment. Other than Qiu Ying¡¯s good grades, Mr. Qian liked Qiu Ying¡¯s unyielding character and independence even more. Compared to a lotus flower, Qiu Ying was more like a lotus root. No matter what the outside world was like, she could always maintain innocence and firmly advance step by step while breaking through layers of obstruction. Bai Zhen wasn¡¯t someone who couldn¡¯t control his temper. When he heard this, he slammed the novel on the table and rolled up his sleeves. ¡°Chen Jian, you blabbermouth! How can a man be such a blabbermouth?! Last time, you said that the girl in the next class vomited because she was pregnant. Her parents threw a gastroenteritis medical report at you and beat you up before you finally admitted that you were talking nonsense. I think your mouth is itching again. I¡¯ll tear your stupid mouth apart now! Although Qiu Ying isn¡¯t around now, you still have to apologize to her in public!¡± Wang Ting turned her head slightly and raised her eyebrows at Chen Jian. She asked, ¡°Is what you said true?¡± Actually, Chen Jian had only heard one sentence. He wanted to eavesdrop at the door, but he bumped into other teachers coming to work, so he could only return to the classroom. As for working part-time, Chen Jian had seen her during the weekend when he went to the mall with his parents. From this, he came to the conclusion that Qiu Ying¡¯s family wasn¡¯t well-off and that she had to work part-time at night. As for the little girl, she didn¡¯t know how to respond to people and always looked distracted. As for the rest, he was just slandering Qiu Ying to make Wang Ting happy. However, now that Wang Ting had asked him this, Chen Jian could no longer back down. Facing Bai Zhen¡¯s murderous gaze, he could only brace himself and reply, ¡°Of course.¡± In the last row in the middle, Jiang Lin saw a guilty expression on Chen Jian¡¯s face. After thinking about it, he lowered his eyes and returned his attention to his book. Although Bai Zhen was on very good terms with Qiu Ying, he only knew that Qiu Ying¡¯s family wasn¡¯t wealthy. She was an only child and her parents weren¡¯t by her side. He didn¡¯t know anything else, but no matter what, he would never allow Chen Jian to casually reveal Qiu Ying¡¯s privacy. Bai Zhen rushed forward to let Chen Jian experience his punch. Seeing this, the surrounding students quickly went forward to stop them. They were afraid that if the matter blew up, the entire class would suffer! ¡°Don¡¯t you all understand how much of a potty mouth he is after being classmates for so long?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. His nickname is blabbermouth Chen. He likes to talk nonsense. Don¡¯t twist your wrist because of him!¡± Ring¡­ Pleasant times were always short. The preparatory bell for class rang. Qiu Ying followed Mr. Qian into the classroom with a calm expression. Bai Zhen couldn¡¯t be bothered to fight Chen Jian anymore. From the moment he saw them, he stared intently at Mr. Qian and Qiu Ying¡¯s faces, wanting to see if there was anything wrong from their expressions. Qiu Ying¡¯s eye twitched when she saw that Jiang Lin was sitting behind her desk. She looked away from him and took her seat. Chapter 6 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations This glance was seen by the gossipy Yao Yu. He placed the math book in front of him and covered his face. He raised his eyebrows at Jiang Lin and snickered. ¡°I just saw ¡®Sister Fairy¡¯ look at you when she returned to her seat. Looks like another person jumped into your trap.¡± Jiang Lin smiled, then suppressed it. He glanced at Yao Yu and said aloofly, ¡°The book fell over.¡± Yao Yu turned around and quickly turned the book over. ¡°Is this the time to discuss books? I wonder what kind of girl can catch your eye!¡± After saying that, Yao Yu muttered to himself, ¡°That¡¯s not right. With our long-time friendship, Sister Fairy is completely your type. Why didn¡¯t you fall for her?¡± After Qiu Ying sat down, she saw Bai Zhen staring at her face. She touched it curiously. ¡°Why are you looking at me?¡± Bai Zhen asked with concern, ¡°Little Yingying, are you alright? Why were you gone for so long?¡± Qiu Ying replied, ¡°What could happen to me? Mr. Qian was afraid that I wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up, so he helped me catch up on my lessons for the past few days.¡± Bai Zhen put a hand to her chest and exhaled. ¡°Phew! You scared me. Can¡¯t you apply to not live on campus?¡± Qiu Ying smiled and nodded. ¡°Yes!¡± Hence, Bai Zhen threw the matter to the back of her mind. Ever since Chen Jian created the rumor that the girl from the class next door was pregnant, no one believed in Chen Jian¡¯s words anymore. Bai Zhen did not want to offend Qiu Ying with what that jerk Chen Jian said. Bai Zhen turned around and saw that her novel was placed on the table. She looked up in fright and heaved a sigh of relief after realizing that Mr. Qian was still on the podium. She hurriedly stroked the book cover a few times while secretly resenting Chen Jian for causing her precious book to be accidentally scratched by her! Bai Zhen transferred the book to her lap under the table. Just as she was about to read it, she realized that Qiu Ying was wearing cropped pants, revealing a section of her ankle. Bai Zhen looked at Qiu Ying lecherously and pouted. ¡°Little Yingying, you¡¯re so beautiful. Even your ankle is so beautiful!¡± Qiu Ying glanced down at her pants. ¡°What are you thinking about all day? By the way, have you taken any notes these days?¡± Bai Zhen immediately revealed an innocent smile. Qiu Ying answered, ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡± Yao Yu sat behind Bai Zhen, so he saw her reading porn books every day. When he heard their conversation, he couldn¡¯t help but laugh. Qiu Ying and Bai Zhen turned to look at the source of the sound. Yao Yu pursed his lips and said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. You guys can continue¡­¡± Bai Zhen rolled her eyes and turned back. After class, Qiu Ying looked at Sun Hao, who was ranked second in the class. She walked forward to ask for his notes. Sun Hao quickly stood up with a blush and handed the notes to Qiu Ying. Qiu Ying smiled and thanked him. ¡°I¡¯ll return it to you immediately after I copy it.¡± Sun Hao scratched his head with a silly smile. ¡°There¡¯s no hurry. Take your time.¡± Sun Hao looked at Qiu Ying¡¯s back as she returned to her seat with a satisfied smile. Suddenly, he felt a gaze on him. He followed the gaze and found Jiang Lin staring at him coldly. He suddenly felt nervous and hurriedly retracted his gaze before turning to sit down. He wondered how he had offended him. After a day of classes, Qiu Ying said goodbye to Bai Zhen in a hurry and rushed to catch the bus. Tonight, the boss of the dance studio, Sister Gan, had something to do and had to leave early. She had to rush to hand in her shift. Bai Zhen felt lonely and really wanted to ask her dad to apply for her not to attend the evening self-study session either. Unfortunately, Bai Zhen knew her father too well. Although he doted on her, if she didn¡¯t excel in her studies, she could blame it on her ability. However, if she didn¡¯t go to school, that was a problem with her attitude. Attitude was a matter of principle. She would definitely be punished! Jiang Lin watched Qiu Ying leave. Seeing this, Yao Yu, who was smart, felt that he discovered something again, so he said to Bai Zhen, ¡°Bai Zhen, why don¡¯t you eat with us? I heard that there are many delicious restaurants in the snack street behind the school. We might not have found the right place in the past two days, since the restaurants we went to seemed ordinary.¡± Bai Zhen turned to look at the transfer student trio. Thinking that it was boring to eat alone, she said enthusiastically, ¡°Of course. You¡¯ve only been here for a few days. Let me show you what delicious food there is!¡± Yao Yu immediately replied, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go!¡± Bai Zhen chose a restaurant. After ordering, she led the three of them straight to the innermost room. She did not expect to meet Wang Ting and her sidekick, Li Yu. Right after Qiu Ying transferred, Wang Ting messed with her a few times, so Bai Zhen had always been at odds with her. When she passed by, she rolled her eyes and walked to an empty table by the window. Chapter 7 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations Wang Ting was looking at Jiang Lin with a burning gaze. Unfortunately, Jiang Lin sat opposite Bai Zhen without looking at her. He was half lying on the sofa while looking at the street below, without giving her a single glance. Lin Zhao sat next to Bai Zhen, and Yao Yu sat down with Jiang Lin. Looking curious, he said, ¡°Sister Zhen, isn¡¯t this a boarding school? Your deskmate will leave after class. Doesn¡¯t she have to attend evening self-study?¡± Bai Zhen replied as she played with her phone, ¡°She doesn¡¯t live in the school dorm or attend evening self-study.¡± Jiang Lin inadvertently turned his gaze back to the table. Seeing this, Yao Yu immediately asked, ¡°Why doesn¡¯t she have to live in the school dorm?¡± Bai Zhen exited the chat with Qiu Ying and looked at Yao Yu suspiciously. ¡°It¡¯s none of your business. Stop asking about Yingying! She¡¯s not the kind of girl who likes to play around. She¡¯s a good girl!¡± After saying that, Bai Zhen glanced at the three boys in front of her and added a warning. ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to approach her! Otherwise, I won¡¯t be polite. I¡¯m a martial artist. Do you know Bruce Li? He¡¯s my ancestor!¡± With that, Bai Zhen immediately stood up and jumped sideways in Bruce Lee¡¯s classic combat posture. Jiang Lin couldn¡¯t help but smile and say, ¡°Your posture is quite standard.¡± Lin Zhao leaned his right elbow on the table and placed his hand to his lips to hide his smile. Yao Yu laughed! ¡°Sister Zhen, you¡¯re too funny!¡± Bai Zhen looked around and slapped Yao Yu¡¯s arm angrily. ¡°You don¡¯t believe me, right? Get up and fight!¡± Yao Yu suppressed his laughter and quickly said, ¡°I believe you. I just think that you¡¯re overreacting. We just transferred here, so there are indeed many things that we don¡¯t understand. I¡¯m just curious. If it can be done, I want to apply for it too. How can a dormitory be better than living outside of school?!¡± Seeing that Yao Yu really seemed to be asking nonchalantly, Bai Zhen stopped arguing. She sat down and said, ¡°It¡¯s not that easy. Just stay in the dormitory obediently.¡± Seeing this, Li Yu whispered, ¡°Wang Ting, Bai Zhen seems to have a good relationship with Jiang Lin and the others!¡± When Wang Ting saw that Bai Zhen actually integrated into Jiang Lin¡¯s social circle, she mocked indignantly, ¡°Heh, who wouldn¡¯t want to watch a free monkey show?¡± When Li Yu heard Wang Ting mocking Bai Zhen, she knew that Wang Ting was just jealous. If Wang Ting knew how to, she would probably be more proactive than anyone else. Li Yu looked derisive. ¡­ As soon as the bell rang for the evening self-study session, the lights in the entire school building suddenly went out. A few minutes later, the dean shouted from downstairs with a loudspeaker, ¡°Because the construction of the road near the school will be stopped for five hours, the self-study session will be canceled tonight.¡± As soon as he finished announcing it, cheers erupted from the school building! Everyone in the classroom was eagerly discussing where they planned to go to kill time. Only Bai Zhen stubbornly turned on the flashlight function on her phone and continued reading the novel. Li Yu walked to Wang Ting¡¯s desk and said excitedly, ¡°Wang Ting, let¡¯s go shopping.¡± Wang Ting looked at the young man who was playing mobile games and replied, ¡°What¡¯s the point of shopping?¡± Yao Yu supported Lin Zhao¡¯s shoulder with one hand and looked around before asking, ¡°Ah Lin, what are our plans for tonight? How about we go watch a movie?¡± Jiang Lin said aloofly, ¡°How boring. I¡¯m not going.¡± Seeing this, Yao Yu turned to look at Lin Zhao. ¡°Lin Zhao, give me an idea.¡± S City was a coastal city. Lin Zhao remembered that Jiang Lin¡¯s family had a yacht here, so he suggested, ¡°Drive the yacht out to sea.¡± ¡°Good idea! Let¡¯s go enjoy the sea breeze tonight and fish again. Ah Lin, that¡¯s a good idea, right?¡± Jiang Lin nodded. ¡°Sure. It¡¯s been a long time since I went out to sea.¡± Yao Yu asked, ¡°Then should I call more people? It¡¯ll be more lively.¡± Jiang Lin¡¯s attention returned to the game, and he replied aloofly, ¡°Whatever.¡± When the two male students at the table beside him heard that they were going out in a yacht, they quickly asked, ¡°Brother Lin, Brother Yu, Class Monitor, can you guys bring us along? We¡¯ve never been on a private yacht before!¡± Yao Yu replied, ¡°No problem. Anyone can come if they want, as long as there aren¡¯t more than 150 people.¡± Yao Yu patted Bai Zhen¡¯s shoulder again. ¡°Sister Zhen, let¡¯s go out to sea to admire the night view.¡± Bai Zhen had always liked to join in the fun. Her phone battery was low, so she was no longer unable to read novels. She happily accepted the invitation. The two male students had formed a group. There were people from school and outside of school, and the number of people going to the yacht was just over 150. Many beautiful girls from other schools wanted to join but couldn¡¯t anymore, so they were angry that they had found out about it too late. Chapter 8 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations On the other side, the mall where Qiu Ying worked happened to have a circuit problem that needed repair, which took about half an hour. In Qiu Ying¡¯s dance studio, there were two classrooms that the owner specifically used for children¡¯s dance classes. The other 15 dance rooms of varying sizes were reserved for students who wanted to practice dance. Seeing this, Qiu Ying quickly took out a spare high-powered flashlight from her locker. When she entered classroom 1, Qiu Ying felt that the atmosphere in the dance room was a little depressing. She thought that the rehearsal wasn¡¯t going well, so she didn¡¯t disturb them and turned to leave. At that moment, she heard a female voice with a hint of indignation behind her. ¡°I¡¯m so angry! If only the power had gone out half an hour earlier, we could have gone to Jiang Lin and the others¡¯ yacht bureau tonight!¡± Another girl chimed in, ¡°Sigh, it¡¯s our fault. The phone kept chiming just now. We didn¡¯t even take a look. But, Jiang Lin is quite famous. The 150-person quota was filled up in less than ten minutes!¡± She was filled with frustration. ¡°Isn¡¯t that so? I feel as if we lost a hundred million bucks! If we can get close to Jiang Lin and the others, we¡¯ll be able to show off when we go out in the future! They¡¯re the most popular high schoolers in the city.¡± Qiu Ying didn¡¯t stay long. She distributed the remaining flashlights to the various classrooms. The other classrooms were also filled with art students from nearby schools, all eagerly discussing Jiang Lin¡¯s yacht party tonight. Qiu Ying suddenly thought of Jiang Lin, whom she had only seen once in her previous life. At that time, before he was thirty years old, Jiang Lin had become a figure that the political world couldn¡¯t underestimate, as if he was born to be a politician. Thinking of his handsome face and achievements in her previous life, Qiu Ying couldn¡¯t help but wonder what kind of woman would marry him in the end. When she came back to her senses, she felt a little amused. When did she become so gossipy? She put away the homework she had completed today and prepared to create a dance routine. On the yacht. After everyone got on the ship, they split up in groups. ¡°Wow, this yacht is really big! There¡¯s a bar, a banquet hall, a KTV, a card room, and a movie theater! The luxurious cruise ship that I went on with my parents last time isn¡¯t even as luxurious as this private yacht!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a cruise ship or a yacht before. This is really eye-opening. I have to hurry up and take a photo and post it on WeChat! I have to show off!¡± The 150 high school students who participated were from different schools. There were students from ordinary families and rich families. ¡°What a bunch of country bumpkins!¡± Yu Ya raised her hand to touch her hair and face from time to time. The diamond bracelet on her wrist was a gift from her parents when she turned 18. It was the most expensive jewelry in her jewelry box and was worth 280,000 yuan. She had specifically worn it tonight. Yu Ya¡¯s family was a famous real estate developer in the province. Looking at the dazzling yacht in front of her, she actually felt very impressed as well. However, she had always been a high and mighty rich girl in front of her classmates, so she acted like she was used to it. Lin Zhao and Jiang Lin fished, while Yao Yu continued to show off and joke around with everyone. After Zhou Sen learned about the party tonight, he hesitated before coming. He carried a glass of red wine to the deck to greet Jiang Lin and Lin Zhao. Jiang Lin took a small sip after clinking glasses. Zhou Sen¡¯s father was the head of S City. On the first day Jiang Lin and the other two arrived, Mr. Zhou brought Zhou Sen to the airport to pick them up. Although Mr. Zhou only hinted that he wanted to build a good relationship with Jiang Lin, he had been taught by his father since he was young, so how could he not know how prominent Jiang Lin was? However, Zhou Sen had always been kissed up to because of his father¡¯s identity. Now that Jiang Lin had appeared in S City and outshone him, how could he be willing to accept this? Therefore, he didn¡¯t take the initiative to approach them after that. At this moment, Bai Zhen appeared on the deck with a phone in her hand. She said excitedly, ¡°Little Yingying, this is the deck. There¡¯s the sea. The stars above the sea are even more beautiful! In the future, when I get rich, I¡¯ll buy a ship and bring you out to look at the stars!¡± With that, Bai Zhen pointed the camera at the three people in front of her. ¡°Mr. Zhou, you¡¯re here too.¡± Zhou Sen smiled and waved at the camera. Bai Zhen¡¯s mother and Zhou Sen¡¯s mother were colleagues, so the two of them had known each other since they were young and were very familiar with each other. The camera turned to the two people fishing. ¡°Not bad, the two of you have such a hobby at such a young age! With the two of you in the fishing world, there will be a qualitative leap in terms of looks and age!¡± Chapter 9 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations In the camera, Lin Zhao raised the glass of juice beside him. Jiang Lin¡¯s lips curled into a smile. He raised his wine glass and said softly, ¡°Cheers,¡± before turning slightly to look into the camera. After recording the ten-minute video, Bai Zhen happily clicked send. Bai Zhen was also a rich kid, but she only remembered seeing such a lavish yacht when she followed her parents to a big shot¡¯s birthday party in Harbor City. Bai Zhen decided to take a video for Qiu Ying so that she could see for herself. Zhou Sen saw Bai Zhen and Qiu Ying¡¯s chat page and said gently, ¡°Your relationship with Qiu Ying is as good as ever!¡± Bai Zhen raised her head and said, ¡°Of course. Don¡¯t try to please me. Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re up to. Go play with your group of women!¡± Jiang Lin froze. Zhou Sen did like Qiu Ying, but he knew that his marriage was not in his hands, and Qiu Ying was an innocent girl. He only planned to keep his crush on Qiu Ying a secret. Zhou Sen said helplessly, ¡°I¡¯m just saying so casually.¡± At this moment, Wang Ting and Yu Ya had also brought four to five girls to the deck. Seeing this, Zhou Sen tactfully left the deck. Bai Zhen, who originally wanted to leave, did not want to leave anymore. She picked up the remaining small stool and sat down to watch the two of them fish. Yu Ya wanted to talk to Jiang Lin, but she felt that taking the initiative would make her seem desperate and make the boys look down on her. As for Wang Ting, she secretly hated Bai Zhen for being insensible. She felt that if she liked him, she should take the initiative to fight for him, so she thought for a moment and took the initiative to step forward while revealing a smile that she had practiced countless times. ¡°Jiang Lin, Class Monitor, let¡¯s go in and have some fun. It¡¯s so boring to fish here.¡± Jiang Lin only stared quietly at the sea. Lin Zhao chuckled. ¡°We want to be alone.¡± Wang Ting¡¯s smile froze on her face. Seeing this, Yu Ya revealed a smile. It was indeed inappropriate for girls to take the initiative. Yu Ya deliberately turned her head to face the sea and said in a coquettish voice, ¡°In two days, my father will hold a grand birthday party for me. He will invite many people from the business and political worlds. When the time comes, you guys can come to my house.¡± ¡°Yu Ya, your family is so rich. Your birthday party is so grand!¡± A girl in a blue dress said enviously. ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Yu Ya acted shy, but from the corner of her eye, she realized that the two did not even look over. ¡°How is that just ¡®alright¡¯? Your parents are so good to you. The diamond bracelet on your hand isn¡¯t cheap either! It has so many large diamonds!¡± Another short-haired girl in a white T-shirt echoed. Bai Zhen pursed her lips and held back her laughter. She could tell what Yu Ya was up to. She was showing off her wealth. Yu Ya wanted to use this method to make Jiang Lin notice her and pursue her. Although Bai Zhen didn¡¯t know Jiang Lin and the others¡¯ identities and backgrounds, she could tell that they were rich, and they were from the capital. The dumb Yu Ya really only knew how to flaunt her wealth. Bai Zhen felt very bored and stood up to leave. Jiang Lin was annoyed by the girls¡¯ chatter, and slowly said in a cold voice, ¡°There are a lot of mosquitoes tonight.¡± Yu Ya stopped talking about her birthday party. Her face turned red from anger when the boy she liked said that she was as annoying as a mosquito. However, she was so frightened by Lin Zhao¡¯s cold gaze that she did not dare to make a sound. She could only pout angrily and bring everyone away. When things quieted down, Jiang Lin said impatiently, ¡°Women are so troublesome!¡± Yao Yu sat on the deck with a smile and raised an eyebrow. ¡°Qiu Ying is troublesome too?¡± Jiang Lin clicked the tip of his tongue against his back teeth. He frowned and said, ¡°Yao Yu, I realize it¡¯s a pity you¡¯re not a matchmaker. I just want to be a politician.¡± A politician really did not need much romance in his life. When Lin Zhao heard this, he turned and glanced at Jiang Lin meaningfully. ¡°Alright. You¡¯re too lofty for me!¡± Yao Yu said angrily. He suspected that he had really misunderstood. By eleven o¡¯clock, most students had already returned to school. There were still more than twenty students left. When Yao Yu saw that Jiang Lin and Lin Zhao had caught two fish in one night and even accidentally caught a big sea turtle, he suggested finding a seafood processing shop to eat supper. Chapter 10 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations A boy took the initiative to stand up and say that he knew a restaurant that had delicious seafood, so the group went straight there. The seafood processing shop was in a large food city built from an iron shed. It was not far from the school. At this time, the food city was very lively. When the boss of the seafood stall saw so many people, he quickly asked his wife to put five or six tables together. After Yao Yu explained the processing method, he ordered some Alaskan king crabs. Seeing that these were all students, the boss tactfully explained the price of the king crabs. When Yao Yu heard this, he felt that the price the boss gave was cheap. With a wave of his hand, he bought all five crabs in the shop. As soon as everyone sat down, they saw seven to eight men with tattooed arms sitting at the next table. One of them was bald and bare-chested. He had a tiger tattoo on his body. The tiger¡¯s head was on his chest, and its front paws went from the front to the back of his shoulders. The tiger¡¯s lower body was on his back. The man looked murderous. It was obvious that he was the head of these hooligans. Lin Zhao glanced at him silently and retracted his gaze. Jiang Lin lit a cigarette and blew smoke rings. A third of the twenty or so students were girls. The boys talked about games and the girls talked about makeup and clothes. The two tattooed men walked up to Yu Ya and Wang Ting and said, ¡°You two girls, go over and have a few drinks with our boss.¡± The girls had never dealt with people from the underworld before and were too frightened to move. Seeing this, Yao Yu stood up and stepped forward to shield the girls. ¡°Get lost!¡± Seeing this, the boss immediately went forward. ¡°They¡¯re all students. This meal is on me. Please be magnanimous and don¡¯t make things difficult for these children.¡± The two tattooed men looked at Yao Yu, who was wearing a T-shirt, and didn¡¯t take him seriously at all. It was because they were a group of students that their leader let them come over. Not only did they want the women, but they also wanted these rich children who could afford king crabs to give them some living expenses. One of the tattooed men spat on the boss and pushed him away. Yao Yu knew that these people were not easy to deal with. Seeing this, he casually picked up the bottle and slashed it at the gangster¡¯s head. The other students also stood up and the girls hid behind the boys. Seeing this, Jiang Lin and Lin Zhao immediately stepped forward, while the hooligans got up and rushed over. ¡°Capture the ringleader first. I¡¯ll deal with the bald man.¡± With that, Jiang Lin put the cigarette in his mouth and went straight to the bald man at the front. He punched the man¡¯s right eye, and the man felt a piercing pain. His other eye was also quickly filled with blood, while veins bulged on his forehead. The bald man roared, ¡°F*ck you, you son of a bitch. My surname isn¡¯t Lin if I don¡¯t kill you today!¡± Seeing the provocative smile on Jiang Lin¡¯s lips, he endured the pain and threw the wooden stool beside him at Jiang Lin. Jiang Lin dodged to the side and quickly stepped forward to kick the bald man five to six meters away. At this moment, the evil smile on Jiang Lin¡¯s lips and the menacing look in his eyes made the bald man feel intimidated. Jiang Lin spat out the cigarette butt in his mouth and walked forward slowly, scaring the bald man so much that he crawled forward. As he vomited blood, he shouted in a hoarse voice, ¡°Help! Murder!¡± Jiang Lin squatted in front of the bald man with mirth in his eyes, then said softly, ¡°No one will dare to interfere even if I beat you to death!¡± At this moment, the other hooligans were also beaten to the ground. Yao Yu made a call, then Lin Zhao quickly stepped forward to stop Jiang Lin. ¡°Enough.¡± The surrounding crowd helped call the police. When the police questioned them, many actively spoke up for these students. Because only Jiang Lin and the others had fought, only they and the boss went to the police station to make a statement. When they arrived at the police station, the boss was worried that the students would be punished, so he took the initiative to tell the police how these hooligans bullied them and how the students were forced to attack. At this moment, Jiang Lin was sitting in the guest room and watching a science program being played on television, while Lin Zhao was drinking water calmly. Yao Yu was a little sleepy at this time, so he dozed off on the sofa. There were a few bags of snacks on the table in front of them. The clerk on duty at the police station closed the door after preparing the things. He secretly wondered who they were. Before the three students arrived at the police station, they had received a call from their boss asking them to serve them water and food. Chapter 11 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations A young male police officer recorded the seafood shop owner¡¯s statement and sent him out the door. He would contact him if he needed him. When he entered the office lobby, he saw the other police officers chatting softly. ¡°Those hooligans went to get their injuries checked. I don¡¯t think that Baldy¡¯s right eye can be saved. It¡¯s ruptured!¡± ¡°These students are so ruthless.¡± ¡°You newbies don¡¯t know, but that gangster¡¯s nickname is Baldy Lin. He has bullied a lot of people and has a lot of criminal records. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that he has someone backing him up, he would have been sent to jail long ago. He deserved it!¡± ¡°There¡¯s no point in keeping such scumbags. I think these few kids probably have extraordinary backgrounds. Before they even arrived, I received a call to serve them water and snacks. I¡¯m sure they won¡¯t be blamed for this.¡± ¡°That must be it. Otherwise, why didn¡¯t they even let us record their statement? They wanted those few to have a clean record. That boss¡¯ statement probably won¡¯t be used.¡± An old policeman glanced at Jiang Lin and the others sitting in the reception room as he spoke. They had just finished chatting when they saw Chief Wu rush to the office lobby with the deputy chief. The police officers immediately stood up and bowed. The two chiefs nodded, and the deputy chief gave the officers on duty a follow-up. Chief Wu, on the other hand, walked to the reception room quickly. As soon as he entered, he walked up to Jiang Lin, bowed, and said, ¡°Young Master, I¡¯m really sorry that you¡¯ve been waiting for a long time. I¡¯m City S¡¯s police chief, Wu Yu. I¡¯ll send you guys back.¡± Jiang Lin glanced at Chief Wu from his chair and said calmly, ¡°Thank you for coming over at such a late hour.¡± Chief Wu quickly replied, ¡°It¡¯s my duty. I¡¯m really ashamed that something like this happened to you in my jurisdiction!¡± Only then did Jiang Lin get up. Lin Zhao and Yao Yu, who was about to fall asleep, followed Jiang Lin out. Chief Wu followed Jiang Lin. From the corner of his eye, he observed that Jiang Lin didn¡¯t have many injuries and was relieved. He drove them back to school. The seafood shop owner, who had been waiting near the police station, watched the three students get into the car of the middle-aged man in the police uniform. Thinking of how calm they had been just now, he already guessed that they had a powerful background and was relieved. The boss knew that these hooligans who often came to collect protection money definitely would not be able to come out for a few years. He hummed happily as he walked into the shop. On the way home at night, Qiu Ying noticed that Bai Zhen had sent her a video. She was stunned when she saw the look in Jiang Lin¡¯s eyes at the end. She didn¡¯t come back to her senses until she got out of the car. The next morning, Qiu Ying felt a restless atmosphere as soon as she arrived at the classroom. Yao Yu and Lin Zhao had already arrived. Qiu Ying realized that Jiang Lin, who was sitting in the back, had not arrived yet. After sitting down to greet Bai Zhen, she took out the book for the morning study hall. ¡°Brother Lin!¡± ¡°Morning, Brother Lin!¡± More than ten boys in the classroom greeted Jiang Lin excitedly. The leader of the hooligans from yesterday had his eyes crippled. Everyone was worried that the three of them would be detained at the police station. Unexpectedly, they saw the three of them coming to the morning study hall, as if nothing had happened. Only then did everyone know what power was! Qiu Ying glanced at the boys and lowered her head to continue flipping through her book. Seeing this, Bai Zhen immediately told Qiu Ying the latest news she had heard in the morning. Bai Zhen described it vividly, and then she said meaningfully, ¡°The novel I¡¯m reading is about a badass falling in love with the female lead. The male and female leads will be you and Jiang Lin.¡± Yao Yu raised a thumb and extended it between Qiu Ying and Bai Zhen. ¡°Sister Zhen, you have good taste. Ah Lin has the handsome looks of a typical male lead.¡± Bai Zhen turned around and raised an eyebrow. Jiang Lin looked up at Qiu Ying, who was sitting in front, expectantly. Her eyes gradually turned a little cold as she straightened up and read the English text aloud, as if she wasn¡¯t in the middle of a discussion. Jiang Lin¡¯s gaze grew cold. Jiang Lin thought about it and felt that his occasional concern might really be as Yao Yu had said. Qiu Ying¡¯s appearance was really his type. She suited his aesthetic taste in every aspect, but he wasn¡¯t used to her cold and indifferent personality. It had always been others coaxing him. When had he ever taken the initiative to coax others? Moreover, Jiang Lin knew his fickle personality. He didn¡¯t even pay attention to those women who hit on him, so he couldn¡¯t be bothered to spend so much effort on pursuing someone. He decided to throw this matter to the back of his mind. Chapter 12 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations Mr. Qian, the form teacher of Class One, stepped into the classroom amidst the sound of students reading. He stood on the podium and clapped his hands to signal everyone to look at him. ¡°For the sake of improving your analytical abilities, in the future, we¡¯ll spend an hour and a half every Monday and Thursday on research topics. The two tables in front and behind each other will be in a group. The class monitor will inform everyone in advance. The homework will be handed over to the class monitor.¡± A classmate immediately said, ¡°Teacher, the time is too short.¡± Mr. Qian said solemnly, ¡°Didn¡¯t I say that I would inform you all in advance? As long as your phone is used to check information and not to play games, I believe that the four-person team will be able to figure out a lot of things in this period of time. I believe in your abilities. I wish you all the best!¡± With that, Mr. Qian told Lin Zhao to explain the rest and left. Lin Zhao stood up and walked to the podium. He picked up a pen and wrote the words ¡°The country¡¯s social customs have changed in the past hundred years.¡± His handwriting looked bold. Lin Zhao glanced at the words and gently adjusted the frame of his glasses with his index finger. He turned to face his classmates. ¡°This is the topic we¡¯re discussing this session. You can focus on this topic during the morning study hall. The morning study hall session will continue as usual on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. You can look for information to discuss after school. Remember to hand your homework to me before the end of study hall Monday morning.¡± The senior class had a heavy academic workload. Every day, they had to memorize a bunch of knowledge points and had a ton of homework. Now, they also had two research topics to discuss every week. When everyone heard this, there were complaints. According to the grouping rules, Bai Zhen and Qiu Ying were in the same group as Jiang Lin and Yao Yu, who were at the last table. Bai Zhen turned to the back table and looked at Yao Yu in disdain. Based on her intuition, Yao Yu was a bad student, like her. ¡°What kind of gaze is that? You¡¯re not much better than me,¡± Yao Yu said with a fake smile. Bai Zhen immediately straightened her back and said proudly, ¡°Yingying is smarter than the two of us combined!¡± Yao Yu quickly replied, ¡°Ah Lin is smart too!¡± Qiu Ying watched helplessly as the two bickered. Jiang Lin tapped the pen in his hand on the table twice. Seeing this, the two of them glanced at Jiang Lin, who was reading, and immediately stopped talking. During the break, Yao Yu watched as Qiu Ying was still memorizing the words while Jiang Lin continued to read ¡®Thick Black Study¡¯. He had a feeling that his suspicions weren¡¯t wrong. He decided that he would take the initiative. Yao Yu leaned forward with a smile and said, ¡°Students, shouldn¡¯t we take advantage of the break to discuss and split the work?¡± So Qiu Ying and Bai Zhen turned around to participate in the discussion. Bai Zhen thought for a moment and said, ¡°No matter how history changes, food, clothing, residence, and transportation have always been important. I think we can start with these four.¡± Yao Yu nodded in agreement. ¡°However, there are many definitions. Other than what you said, the customs, etiquette, and norms are also considered. We can try our best to be more comprehensive.¡± Jiang Lin looked at the pen he was twirling between his fingertips and added, ¡°And political, economic, and educational analysis can also be done.¡± The three of them had basically mentioned everything that the topic covered, so Qiu Ying had nothing else to add. She only mentioned what she felt was difficult about it. ¡°If we add in the analysis of politics and economics, it will need too much professional knowledge. We haven¡¯t learned enough about it so far. Won¡¯t it seem too broad if we include it?¡± Jiang Lin looked at Qiu Ying and replied calmly, ¡°We can¡¯t give up just because we¡¯re worried that we won¡¯t do well. We haven¡¯t even tried. How do you know we won¡¯t do well?¡± Qiu Ying was stunned for a moment. She felt that Jiang Lin had a point. In the end, if worse came to worst, she could delete these arguments, so she nodded. ¡°Then let¡¯s temporarily decide on the research direction. How do you think we should split the work?¡± Yao Yu and Bai Zhen both said that their work could be completed independently. After all, those were things that could be come into contact with on a daily basis, so it was not difficult. The real highlight was the three points that Jiang Lin had suggested. The two of them subconsciously assigned the difficult parts to Qiu Ying. After all, she was a genius. Seeing this, Jiang Lin said, ¡°Between politics, economics, and education, pick one.¡± Actually, Qiu Ying was unfamiliar with these three fields, so she chose one at random. ¡°I choose education. I can also do a summary.¡± After everyone had decided, the bell rang. Yao Yu immediately suggested before class started, ¡°I¡¯ll form a chat group first so that it¡¯s easier to discuss in the future. Sister Zhen, add Qiu Ying.¡± Chapter 13 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations Yao Yu had already added Bai Zhen to the WeChat group last night. After setting up the group, he directly pulled Jiang Lin and Bai Zhen in. When he saw that Qiu Ying had just been pulled into the group by Bai Zhen, he revealed a triumphant smile. After working hard for a few days, he finally helped Ah Lin add Qiu Ying¡¯s WeChat. Yao Yu extended his phone in front of Jiang Lin. After he saw that Jiang Lin lowered his eyes and stared at the list of group members¡¯ information, he proudly retracted his hand and changed the four-person group to the ¡°Homework Alliance Team¡±. Every time the last class on Friday afternoon arrived, she would be more relaxed. Bai Zhen was as relaxed as ever. She lowered her head and smiled as she read about the male and female leads kissing. Qiu Ying could only remind Bai Zhen to copy the notes while listening to the teacher. The students could go home after class on Friday. Since it was not time for dance class, Qiu Ying wanted to research for half an hour at school before going over. Bai Zhen took out her bag and was about to leave. Seeing that Qiu Ying was still sitting calmly, she asked, ¡°Yingying, why aren¡¯t you leaving?¡± Qiu Ying smiled and explained, ¡°I have other plans this weekend. Sister Xi will bring Little Fish to the dance studio tonight. I want to go half an hour later and check some information first.¡± Bai Zhen complained indifferently, ¡°What¡¯s the hurry? Jiang Lin and Yao Yu have a lot of activities. They probably won¡¯t be able to hand in the research information until the last moment.¡± Yao Yu, who was still waiting for Lin Zhao in the back row, held his forehead and said helplessly, ¡°Sister Zhen, we¡¯re still sitting behind you.¡± Bai Zhen turned around and said seriously, ¡°I¡¯m telling the truth. I¡¯m not afraid that you guys will hear me. I have no choice. I¡¯m just this upright.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, a WeChat message notification appeared at the top of the phone page where Qiu Ying was looking up information. After clicking on it, she directly entered the WeChat group of the ¡°Homework Alliance Team¡± and widened her eyes at the document Jiang Lin had just sent called ¡°Political and Economic Information Analysis.¡± Hence, she tugged at the hem of Bai Zhen¡¯s clothes and gestured for her to look at the WeChat group. Bai Zhen looked at the information Jiang Lin had sent and thought of the rumors she had unintentionally created just now. She said guiltily, ¡°Um, my father came to pick me up today. He¡¯s been waiting for me at the school gate for a long time. I¡¯ll leave first.¡± With that, Bai Zhen ran away. Seeing this, Yao Yu hugged Jiang Lin from the side and placed his head on Jiang Lin¡¯s shoulder. He said in a feigned coquettish tone, ¡°Brother Lin, you¡¯re too awesome ~¡± Jiang Lin looked disgusted and said silently, ¡°Get lost.¡± After the two of them waited for Lin Zhao, they left the classroom jokingly. Qiu Ying stared blankly at the information file Jiang Lin had made. There were many annotations, and there was a lot of analysis that Jiang Lin had done himself. Even if Qiu Ying didn¡¯t know much about this, she could tell that there was a lot of important professional info inside. After Qiu Ying exited the document, she returned to the information page she was on and started working. In front of the Jiang family¡¯s villa in S City. The Jiang family had bought this mountain villa the week before for Jiang Lin¡¯s study, just to make it convenient for him to rest outside school on weekends. Thinking that the new house was a little too barren, Yao Yu decided to set up a barbecue. At ten o¡¯clock, he brought more than 30 students over to stay. Most of them were people who had supper with them that day. Many girls came to thank Jiang Lin for saving their lives. Yao Yu naturally knew their ultimate goal. Yesterday, he and Lin Zhao also helped, but they didn¡¯t see this much gratitude from them. The door of the villa had an iris recognition system. After Yao Yu was verified, he brought them in and said softly, ¡°Keep your voices down. Ah Lin usually has a bad temper right after he wakes up. The consequences of waking him up are very serious!¡± ¡°Feel free to move around on the first floor. You can¡¯t go up to the second floor. I¡¯ll go to the storeroom to get the grill. You guys can deal with the ingredients.¡± The ingredients that everyone had prepared had already been marinated. They found the kitchen on the first floor and packed all the ingredients separately before wandering around. ¡°The villa here is indeed the most expensive in S City. It has a view of the sea!¡± ¡°Zhou Sen, do you know what Jiang Lin¡¯s family does? They¡¯re so rich.¡± The boys following Zhou Sen asked curiously. Zhou Sen was feeling depressed. After getting off the yacht, he went back to the school dormitory to sleep. Unexpectedly, his father rushed to the dormitory in the middle of the night and caught him! Zhou Sen was pulled into the car downstairs by Mayor Zhou, who asked about the incident at the stall. Zhou Sen was naturally confused since he didn¡¯t participate. Mayor Zhou said solemnly, ¡°Zhou Sen, as long as Jiang Lin and the others organize any activities in the future, you have to participate and perform well in front of Jiang Lin. If you dare to disobey me, I¡¯ll deduct a month¡¯s worth of pocket money!¡± Chapter 14 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations When Zhou Sen heard about such unfair treatment, he glared and shouted, ¡°Dad, am I your biological son?! You¡¯re treating me like this for an outsider?¡± Mayor Zhou snorted. ¡°I¡¯m doing this to you because you¡¯re my biological son! I¡¯ve already paved the way for you. If you dare to mess it up, I¡¯ll teach you a lesson.¡± In the end, he was scolded for more than an hour and half a month¡¯s worth of his allowance was deducted. Thinking of what happened that night, Zhou Sen sighed and felt pity over his pocket money. When he heard the question from his classmate beside him, he said perfunctorily, ¡°Maybe he¡¯s a businessman. Otherwise, how could he afford a villa here?¡± A few students from ordinary families didn¡¯t understand that power was the best tool to accumulate wealth. They only felt that it was reasonable for businessmen to afford such a villa. After Yao Yu and Lin Zhao set up the grill, everyone worked together to move the things to the front yard to start the BBQ under the sun. When it was almost noon, everyone finished grilling everything and took them into the house. Jiang Lin got up and found everyone, so he went downstairs in a white T-shirt and light blue printed beach shorts. ¡°Brother Lin.¡± ¡°Hello, Brother Lin.¡± Everyone greeted Jiang Lin warmly when they saw him. When the girls saw that Jiang Lin was dressed in a casual outfit that was different from usual, they blushed and went forward to greet him. Jiang Lin was in the best mood when he got enough sleep, so he responded to everyone one by one. Seeing that Jiang Lin was up, Yao Yu suggested that everyone play games together. Yao Yu said excitedly, ¡°Let¡¯s play a game together. Everyone has to say something that the people present can¡¯t do or haven¡¯t experienced before.¡± Everyone agreed. Someone asked about the punishment for losing. Yao Yu thought for a moment and said, ¡°The loser will perform. Otherwise, drink a bottle of alcohol!¡± Someone jeered, ¡°Brother Yu, isn¡¯t drinking a bottle after losing too harsh?¡± Yao Yu replied, ¡°Isn¡¯t it to encourage everyone to show off their talent more? It¡¯s fine if men don¡¯t have talent. Just strip!¡± Everyone laughed. The sofas in the hall were all big, and everyone squeezed in a circle. Jiang Lin sat in the middle. Lin Zhao didn¡¯t come. Yao Yu and Zhou Sen sat on either side of Jiang Lin. The girls sat on the left and the game started clockwise. The first girl got up and thought for a moment before saying, ¡°A part of my finger can be pressed against the back of my hand in reverse.¡± With that, she pressed her finger against the back of her hand so that it completely matched. After the initial surprise, they followed suit, but no one could do it, so the girl successfully passed. The second to get up was Yu Ya. ¡°I can lick my elbow.¡± After saying that, she began to demonstrate. After everyone laughed, no one could do it either, so Yu Ya passed. The third was Wang Ting. Without anyone present experiencing it, he successfully passed. The fourth was an art student from another school called Zheng Qin. She had a small oval face and a pair of charming eyes. As soon as she stood up, she smiled and said generously, ¡°I really don¡¯t have any special skills. I¡¯ll admit defeat and perform for everyone.¡± The boys cheered. Zheng Qin looked at Jiang Lin with a smile. Zheng Qin knew how to smile in the most charming way. She said gently, ¡°Brother Lin, can I borrow the violin placed in your hall?¡± Zheng Qin noticed the expensive violin as soon as she entered. At this moment, this suggestion was firstly to attract Jiang Lin¡¯s attention, and secondly, she did want to feel what a good violin was like when it was played. Wang Ting had also learned the violin before and had noticed the brand of the violin just now. When she saw Zheng Qin¡¯s behavior, she knew that she definitely didn¡¯t want to play the game and just wanted to show off in front of Jiang Lin. Wang Ting was annoyed that she hadn¡¯t thought of this just now and was only thinking about how to avoid losing the game. Jiang Lin saw through the other party¡¯s little trick and smiled calmly. ¡°Of course.¡± Zheng Qin picked up the violin and walked in front of everyone. She smiled and confidently placed the violin on her shoulder to play. After the ¡°Chaldash Dance¡± was played, the boys clapped their hands in admiration and praised Zheng Qin for her beauty and talent. Zheng Qin put down the instrument and chuckled. ¡°I haven¡¯t played this song in a long time. I¡¯ve embarrassed myself today.¡± Zheng Qin had added a little of her own flair to this song. Not only was it not out of place, but it also added a unique flair. Jiang Lin¡¯s eyes revealed a trace of admiration. Zheng Qin put down the violin and returned to her seat. Yu Ya sneered at her. ¡°You vixen.¡± Zheng Qin looked back calmly. ¡°It¡¯s better than some people who only know how to study.¡± Yu Ya was just about to get up and slap Zheng Qin when she saw Jiang Lin, who was talking to Yao Yu, and suddenly realized that she couldn¡¯t give Jiang Lin the impression that she was a shrew, so she could only hold back her anger. Chapter 15 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations The game continued. The remaining girls with talent performed. On the other hand, some of the boys showed off other special skills. To avoid being punished, some even spoke of falling into a manure pit when they went to their rural hometown as children, while Jiang Lin straightforwardly drank a bottle. The atmosphere in the villa was lively, but this had nothing to do with Qiu Ying. She got out of bed early in the morning and went to an internet cafe. Today was the first day of registration for the ¡°Ancient Dance Cup¡±. Qiu Ying filled in the information that she had already sorted out one by one. After double-checking, she clicked submit. A small box popped up on the Internet, indicating that the registration was successful. It also reminded the contestants that they could log in to their accounts one week after the registration deadline. Qiu Ying took a photo with her phone and saved it. The ¡°Ancient Dance Cup¡± had been open for five years. Although it was not long, it was a prestigious competition in the dance school. The original purpose of the ¡°Ancient Dance Cup¡± was to promote traditional Chinese dance and let more people know about China¡¯s artistic culture. From the beginning, it insisted on using the model of letting experts, the media, and netizens to vote. The goal was to make the audience feel more involved and increase everyone¡¯s interest. The reason why the ¡°Ancient Dance Cup¡± could choose outstanding dancers under the interference of the media and netizens and become a prestigious competition in the industry was because the organizer had controlled the proportion of the three parties very well. It didn¡¯t want to let capable dancers leave regretfully because of the audience¡¯s personal liking. The competition was divided into five regions. They were East China, South China, West China, North China, and Central China. The place Qiu Ying was in was East China. Every district would have a direct advancement card. This advancement card meant that they would skip the semi-finals and directly advance to the finals through an audition. The method of obtaining it was through discussion and selection by the three teachers. Otherwise, according to the normal process, the candidates would be directly selected by the teachers who interviewed them. The semi-finalists and finalists would be voted by three parties. The experts would take 50% of the votes, and the media and netizens would take 25%. Qiu Ying¡¯s goal was very clear. She had to obtain the direct advancement card because the contents of the competition would be announced after the semi-finalist and the finalist list were confirmed. Then, they would announce the competition content as well as the contestants selected through the normal process. Only by using such a method could she stall for as much time as possible. The longer the time she was exposed was delayed, the safer she would be. After successfully signing up, Qiu Ying returned home and used the weekend to rehearse for the audition. Monday morning study hall. Everyone began to organize the information for the research topic. Qiu Ying and Bai Zhen also turned around. Qiu Ying spent more than ten minutes organizing the information she had gathered last night and sent it to the group. ¡°Take a look. Is there anything else you guys want to add?¡± The entire document was more than five thousand words. In addition to organizing the information everyone had gathered, Qiu Ying also explained the background, meaning, opening, and summary of the research in detail. Jiang Lin saw the two parts Yao Yu and Bai Zhen were in charge of and frowned slightly. When Qiu Ying saw them, she asked, ¡°Is there a problem with the content description of the moment of daily life?¡± Jiang Lin looked up at Qiu Ying and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Other than the description being overly external, there was indeed nothing wrong. Yao Yu and Bai Zhen knew better than to speak. After everyone expressed that they had no questions, Bai Zhen enthusiastically distributed the homework to the class monitor. She felt that this was a small compensation for not being in-depth enough about the information she was responsible for. After that, everyone began the morning reading session. Qiu Ying began to put on her earphones to train her hearing. Although Jiang Lin told himself not to pay too much attention to this aloof woman, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a little suffocated when he saw Qiu Ying turn around without hesitation. Jiang Lin picked up his phone and opened Lin Zhao¡¯s WeChat page. He sent a message: Is the topic for Thursday out yet? Lin Zhao only discovered the message a few minutes later. As he sent the topic he had just received, he received a WeChat message. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Lin Zhao smiled in understanding. Jiang Lin looked at the message and suddenly felt awkward about being targeted. After all, Lin Zhao was not as stupid as Yao Yu. He thought about Yao Yu¡¯s two gatherings that Yao Yu himself didn¡¯t even come to. Jiang Lin looked at Yao Yu, who was playing games on his phone, in disdain. Perhaps Jiang Lin¡¯s disdainful gaze was too obvious, but Yao Yu turned around and looked back at Jiang Lin¡¯s disdainful face with confusion. Jiang Lin threw his phone into the drawer and lay on the table to catch up on sleep. Out of sight, out of mind. Only Yao Yu was left confused. Chapter 16 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations After Lin Zhao finished collecting the homework, he looked at his watch. There were still 15 minutes left before the morning reading. He estimated that it was about time, so he gestured for the sports committee member, Liu Qiang, to go on stage and talk about the school¡¯s sports meeting. Liu Qiang received the hint and strode to the podium with the competition form. He said loudly in a hoarse voice, ¡°Students, quiet down. The school is holding a school sports meet at the end of the month. I¡¯ve already sent the number of people signing up for the sports meet to the class¡¯ group chat.¡± As the saying went, smart people usually weren¡¯t athletic. In S City, No. 3 High School was one of the best in terms of academics, but in terms of sports, they were subpar. Usually, everyone spent all their time studying. PE classes were often taken up by the teachers of the various subjects. If not for the fact that PE gave them extra points in the college entrance examination, PE classes would probably be useless for the senior grade. After Liu Qiang finished speaking, more than ten active people in the class who often exercised took the initiative to sign up for some sports. When Liu Qiang asked again, the classroom was silent. Liu Qiang was also very helpless. It was like this every year at the school¡¯s sports meet. He always had to beg for mercy before he could desperately gather enough people and report the list to the form teacher at the last moment. Liu Qiang knew that it was useless for him to continue standing. He planned to step down and follow the routine of the past two years to force them to participate. Seeing this, Lin Zhao stood up and stood on the podium. He looked at the list of names in Liu Qiang¡¯s hand. When he saw Qiu Ying from the podium, Lin Zhao¡¯s eyes lit up under his gold-framed glasses. He said gently, ¡°The top three in our school¡¯s school¡¯s sports meet will get academic credits. Students who want to compete for scholarships can consider it. Qiu Ying, you transferred here last semester and have never participated in the school¡¯s sports meet like us. Do you want to sign up for the women¡¯s 3,000-meter run?¡± Qiu Ying was a little tempted when she heard about the academic credits. She usually practiced dancing and exercised a lot. In addition, she ran to catch the bus everyday. She felt that she should be able to do long-distance running, so she replied, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll sign up.¡± When Bai Zhen saw that Qiu Ying was participating, she also joined in the fun and chose to participate in the jumping activity. Lin Zhao took advantage of the situation. ¡°Ah Lin, you have good endurance. Why don¡¯t you sign up for long-distance running?¡± Jiang Lin woke up when the school¡¯s sports meeting was announced. He got up and leaned back in his chair as he twirled his fountain pen. When he heard his name, he looked up and glanced at Lin Zhao, who had a meaningful look in his eyes. He said readily, ¡°Then I¡¯ll run 3,000 meters.¡± Liu Qiang looked at Lin Zhao, the new class monitor, with admiration. Lin Zhao continued, ¡°I¡¯ll also sign up for two events. The high jump and the 50-meter sprint. Can you see if you can add another one?¡± Seeing that Jiang Lin and Lin Zhao had both signed up for activities, how could he fall behind? He signed up for a push-up competition, thinking that this sport should attract more girls¡¯ admiration at the school¡¯s sports meet. Then, Lin Zhao picked a few more students in the back row who usually didn¡¯t like to attend classes and were more mischievous. Although Lin Zhao had only transferred over a little more than a week ago, the contrast between his usual authoritativeness and the ruthlessness he showed when fighting with Jiang Lin made him very popular in the class. When the participants were confirmed, the bell rang for the morning study hall. Lin Zhao informed them of the topic he was going to submit on Thursday and left the podium. At this moment, Liu Qiang was dumbfounded as he looked at the various sport activity sections that had been filled in in 15 minutes. He felt that it was blasphemy to use the word ¡®worship¡¯ to describe his feelings toward Lin Zhao. He couldn¡¯t use words to express his excitement. The school would have two PE classes every week. In order not to delay the college entrance examination in the second semester, the province where S City was located had arranged for the college entrance examination¡¯s PE examination to be during the school term. In addition to the school¡¯s sports meeting, the only time when high school PE classes could all be attended was this semester. The first weekly PE class was scheduled for Monday and Wednesday afternoons. PE. After everyone ran two laps around the field to warm up, the students who didn¡¯t participate in the competition were arranged to play volleyball by the PE teacher. The students who participated in the school sports meeting arranged their own training and instructed everyone to look for them at the volleyball court if they encountered any problems. The men¡¯s and women¡¯s long-distance running were 1,500 meters and 3,000 meters. These two events were relatively special. They were both individual competitions. Two people from each class competed in the other sports. Chapter 17 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations Although Qiu Ying was good-looking and had good grades, she was introverted and quiet. She usually only spoke to Bai Zhen, who was her deskmate and best friend. She didn¡¯t live in the school dorm and only attended classes during the day, so she was not familiar with the people in her class. The female students ran in twos and threes. Only Qiu Ying ran alone, while the boys ran around Jiang Lin. When Qiu Ying ran the second round on the field, she felt a tightness in her chest, so she took deep breaths. She had only run 800 meters, but her body was already feeling very uncomfortable. It seemed that running to catch a bus and running for a sports competition were two completely different things. Previously, when the class monitor, Lin Zhao, asked Qiu Ying about the 3,000-kilometer run, Qiu Ying only wanted to get the credits for the scholarship and didn¡¯t focus on picking a sport. Now that she was running, Qiu Ying realized that it might be more suitable for her to choose sprinting. After all, she had only participated in elementary school relays. However, no one was willing to exchange places with Qiu Ying now. It was already difficult to find contestants for long-distance running, so she gritted her teeth and slowed down a little to continue running. After another round, Qiu Ying felt her feet sink and her breathing become heavier. At this moment, an agile figure brushed past her. When Qiu Ying looked up, she only saw Jiang Lin¡¯s back. He ran briskly with even steps, looking as relaxed as if he was taking a walk. Qiu Ying was envious. When she reached the fifth lap, Qiu Ying felt that her jogging speed was almost as slow as walking, so she decided to sit in the stands beside the field and rest for a while. At this moment, only Jiang Lin was running laps on the field. The people participating in the sprint and relay races had all found a fixed place to practice. Qiu Ying realized that the two students from the long-distance running group who were participating in the men¡¯s and women¡¯s 1500 meters were also resting in the stands. The male student said in a surprised tone, ¡°Brother Lin¡¯s stamina is too scary. I could only keep up with him during the first half of the lap. After that, I started to fall behind slowly. By the time I reached the fifth lap, he had already started the eighth lap. When he passed me, his breathing was still stable. I¡¯m sure that first place in the 3,000 meters race will definitely be Brother Lin this time!¡± A female classmate also lay on the spectator seat without any regard for her image. ¡°I can¡¯t take it anymore. At that time, I was really bewitched by Lin Zhao to choose this 1,500-meter run. I felt that I was going to be crippled after four laps. My goal is to finish the competition. I don¡¯t dare to hope for making it into the rankings.¡± The conversation between the two students drifted into Qiu Ying¡¯s ears along with the breeze. It hit Qiu Ying so hard that she felt that the 3,000-meter mission was an impossible goal for her. Jiang Lin didn¡¯t stop until he had finished twelve laps. In order to prevent the lack of oxygen to the brain caused by strenuous exercise, he was walking slowly on the field to relax his muscles. After walking half a lap, he went to the stands and sat under the shade not far from Qiu Ying¡¯s left. Qiu Ying looked at Jiang Lin and saw that he wasn¡¯t panting after running for so long. At this moment, there was no trace of redness on his face, so she wanted to go forward and ask Jiang Lin about some running tips. However, when she thought of her original intention of not interacting with their circle again, Qiu Ying, who had already stood up, sat down again. While Qiu Ying was hesitating and conflicted, Jiang Lin walked over to her. When he was about to reach her, Qiu Ying opened her mouth several times to say something, but in the end, she didn¡¯t. She could only watch as Jiang Lin brushed past her without looking sideways. He walked to the big staircase in the middle of the stands and walked towards the stadium door. Jiang Lin was alone in the classroom while recalling Qiu Ying¡¯s hesitant expression. He wanted to see how long she could hold it in. Yao Yu and Lin Zhao, who had entered while fooling around, saw a hint of fondness in Jiang Lin¡¯s eyes. Yao Yu raised his eyebrows and teased, ¡°What happened to you, Brother Lin? You seem to be quite pleased with yourself.¡± Jiang Lin looked up at the two of them without saying anything. The corners of his mouth curled up. After whistling, he said, ¡°Let¡¯s go racing tonight.¡± With that, Jiang Lin got up and left the classroom. Yao Yu looked at Lin Zhao in confusion. ¡°He¡¯s so happy today! What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Maybe this tough nut finally cracked.¡± Lin Zhao glanced at Yao Yu and followed him out of the classroom. Yao Yu was stunned for a few seconds. His eyes widened as he muttered, ¡°No way. Qiu Ying is preparing to descend to the mortal world?¡± Chapter 18 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations In the blink of an eye, it was Thursday again. Bai Zhen was in charge of handing in the team¡¯s homework as usual. After the bell rang for the morning study hall. Qiu Ying sighed in frustration when she thought of the long-distance running. During the physical education class yesterday, she had specifically gone to the physical education teacher to ask for tips. She did not know if it was because she did not understand, but she felt that it was not very useful in practice. Thinking of the scholarship she urgently needed and the sports competition that was not imminent, Qiu Ying couldn¡¯t care less. She turned to the back table. ¡°Jiang¡­¡± Yao Yu and Jiang Lin stood up to leave their seats. Qiu Ying saw that the other party seemed to be preparing to leave the classroom and hesitated if she should continue. Seeing this, Jiang Lin sat back in his seat lazily and asked, ¡°What can I do for you?¡± Qiu Ying stopped being coy and asked directly, ¡°Jiang Lin, I want to ask you for some tips on how to run for longer periods.¡± After Jiang Lin lowered his eyes for a moment, he looked up and asked, ¡°Do you want to finish the competition or get a ranking?¡± As long as she could enter the top three, she would get academic credits. Qiu Ying naturally said that she wanted to get into the top rankings. After Jiang Lin heard this, he said, ¡°Everyone¡¯s situation is different. When it¡¯s time for class, take leave from Lin Zhao and go to the field during class. Run once to show me your situation.¡± Seeing that Jiang Lin was so serious about solving her problem, Qiu Ying thanked him very seriously. Seeing this, Bai Zhen also wanted to go. As soon as she finished speaking, Bai Zhen heard a cough behind him. A familiar voice sounded. ¡°Bai Zhen, are you sure you want to skip it? If you¡¯re sure, I¡¯ll remember it in advance in case I forget.¡± Bai Zhen turned around and looked at Lin Zhao, who was smiling warmly. She quickly smiled awkwardly and said, ¡°Class monitor, you heard me wrong. Yingying wants to take leave to practice running. What I meant was that I¡¯ll help her ask for leave from you.¡± The exercise was connected to the break between classes, so it was longer. It was 25 minutes. After Jiang Lin followed Qiu Ying around the field twice, he realized that Qiu Ying had a good foundation, but she didn¡¯t have experience of long-distance running or targeted training. He didn¡¯t know that Qiu Ying could dance, but he thought that Qiu Ying¡¯s core strength was quite good. Looking at Qiu Ying, who was already panting, Jiang Lin pointed out bluntly, ¡°You¡¯re slow, and your endurance is average. There are only 14 days left until the school¡¯s sports meeting. If you want to get a ranking, you have to train for at least 40 to 60 minutes a day.¡± Qiu Ying frowned and thought about her schedule. ¡°I¡¯ll come to the field to practice after school in the afternoon. I¡¯ll try to maintain at least 40 minutes of exercise every day.¡± Jiang Lin nodded and said, ¡°Then let¡¯s start today. I¡¯ll train you in basic running methods first after school this afternoon.¡± The professionalism Jiang Lin displayed gave Qiu Ying a sense of security, and she suddenly felt a little more confident about her three-kilometer run. Jiang Lin couldn¡¯t help but smile when he saw the relaxed smile on Qiu Ying¡¯s face. After school in the afternoon, Qiu Ying began her first long-distance training program with Jiang Lin. Jiang Lin first helped Qiu Ying adjust the rhythm of her breathing for the long run, then taught her some basic running techniques like swinging her arms and landing on her heels. After he finished explaining the techniques, he began to enter real training. Jiang Lin explained, ¡°The difficulty of long-distance running is in the second half. Many people feel that their footsteps are especially heavy halfway through. At this time, it¡¯s easy to lose speed because they don¡¯t have enough endurance. There are two key things to running long-distance. One is speed, and the other is speed endurance. In order to improve both of them at the same time, according to your current situation, you¡¯ll start this week with a 250-meter sprint + 150-meter jog. 8 rounds will be a large group. There will be two large groups every day without rest.¡± When Qiu Ying heard the arrangements, she began to run according to the technique she had just learned. As soon as she reached the last group of the first group, the phone in her sweatpants rang. Qiu Ying ignored it and only took out her phone after the last group training. Unknowingly, 40 minutes had passed. Qiu Ying had to leave and take the bus to the dance studio, but she had only run eight laps, so she looked at Jiang Lin in embarrassment. Seeing this, Jiang Lin said, ¡°That¡¯s all for today, but from tomorrow onwards, I want you to complete your daily tasks, and since you¡¯ve decided to get a ranking, I want you to take as much time as possible so that I can add some other support training for you. Long-distance running is achieved step by step with time.¡± When Qiu Ying heard this, she asked in surprise, ¡°If you have to practice with me every day in the future, this will take too much of your time. I know the method and can practice it myself.¡± Jiang Lin glanced down at Qiu Ying and said aloofly, ¡°Are you sure you can get a ranking in half a month without me constantly reminding you of those techniques from just now?¡± Chapter 19 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations Qiu Ying was suddenly a little speechless. There was indeed a difference between theory and practice. Thinking of the effect of the physical education teacher¡¯s verbal guidance, she could only put aside the thought of not continuing to owe Jiang Lin a favor and say with a blush, ¡°Jiang Lin, sorry to continue to trouble you.¡± Jiang Lin nodded a little aloofly and led the way. ¡°Come on. Don¡¯t you have a bus to catch?¡± Qiu Ying followed Jiang Lin¡¯s footsteps as the two of them walked out of the field. After settling the handover in the dance studio, Qiu Ying took out her phone and opened the ¡°Homework Alliance Team¡± group. She then clicked on Jiang Lin¡¯s profile picture and hesitated for a moment before firmly adding him as a friend. Jiang Lin had just come out of the shower and was drying his hair. He picked up the phone that was ringing beside him and clicked on the message. His eyes flashed with amusement when he saw Qiu Ying¡¯s friend request. He clicked yes. Qiu Ying saw the message and sent the schedule she had just made on the bus to Jiang Lin. With the physical education class on Monday and Wednesday, plus the time after school, she could practice for at least an hour continuously. On Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, she discussed with her colleagues that for the next two weeks, she would delay her shift by ten minutes and make up for it later. Because she didn¡¯t know about Jiang Lin¡¯s vacation plans during the weekend, Qiu Ying didn¡¯t make weekend plans. She planned to practice privately according to her training plan for the week. Qiu Ying had specifically made this plan and sent it to Jiang Lin because he was attentive after agreeing to her request, so she felt that she should do something to make him feel that she was really taking it seriously. In this case, it wouldn¡¯t be inappropriate for her to slack off in regards to practicing time. After Qiu Ying sent the message, she put her phone aside and started working. Jiang Lin was staring blankly at the schedule on his phone. Suddenly, the phone rang. Jiang Lin picked it up. Yao Yu¡¯s voice sounded. ¡°Ah Lin, Brother Yu informed me that the pure-blooded Arabian horse you¡¯ve been thinking about has arrived. It¡¯s almost the weekend. Why don¡¯t we stay at the clubhouse for two days?¡± ¡°I have plans for the weekend. Go ahead.¡± Jiang Lin refused without hesitation. With that, he hung up, returned to the chat page with Qiu Ying, and sent a few words. On the other side, Yao Yu looked at the phone, then looked at Lin Zhao in surprise. ¡°This is the horse he¡¯s been talking about for half a year. Last week, he even urged Brother Yu to speed up the shipment overseas. Now that it¡¯s back in the country, he said he won¡¯t go. Scumbag!¡± Yao Yu ruthlessly expressed his disdain for Jiang Lin. When Lin Zhao heard this, he revealed a knowing smile. And it was only after Qiu Ying had finished her work and finished two more English-language practice exams that she discovered the message Jiang Lin had sent: Training starts at five o¡¯clock every Saturday and Sunday. Seeing that Jiang Lin took this matter so seriously, Qiu Ying bit the cap of her pen in embarrassment and replied, ¡®Sorry to trouble you.¡¯ Looking at the words she sent, she felt that she had already said them several times today. The more she looked at them, the more she felt that they were perfunctory and insincere. So he sent another message: I¡¯ll treat you to dinner another day. After sending that message, Jiang Lin had been switching between the gaming interface and WeChat from time to time. Jiang Lin, who didn¡¯t receive a reply, lay in bed and played games with gloomy expressions for two hours. It was only when Jiang Lin saw Qiu Ying¡¯s reply that he felt relieved. Just as he was about to reply, he thought for a moment and logged out of WeChat. He turned on his computer and prepared to look up the new topic that had just been announced today. Jiang Lin thought proudly, he was also very busy. Before class ended on Friday morning, Jiang Lin sent the research materials he had compiled last night to the group and was once again the fastest person in the group. At noon, the school bell rang. Bai Zhen quickly packed her bag. She didn¡¯t forget to bring the novel ¡°Cool School Beau Loves Me¡± back to the dormitory to read at noon. Bai Zhen licked her lips and said, ¡°Little Yingying, there¡¯s braised pork in the canteen today. We have to go earlier. If we¡¯re late, we won¡¯t be able to eat it. Those hungry wolves will devour them all.¡± Qiu Ying had just finished clearing the table when Bai Zhen pulled her out of the classroom and ran towards the canteen. Lin Zhao walked from his seat to the back of the classroom and said, ¡°What are we eating for lunch today?¡± Jiang Lin rolled his eyes. ¡°How about trying the school cafeteria?¡± Yao Yu echoed, ¡°That¡¯s fine. We eat outside every day. I feel that we¡¯ve basically eaten in all the restaurants near the school. It¡¯s good to go to the cafeteria for a change. Speaking of which, we haven¡¯t eaten in the school cafeteria yet.¡± So the three of them went to the canteen together. Chapter 20 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations The cafeteria was very crowded at lunchtime. Even with the air conditioner and fans, with hundreds of people crowded together, the smell of sweat mixed with the smell of food wasn¡¯t pleasant. But Jiang Lin and the other two weren¡¯t uncomfortable. After all, they had been sent to military camp every summer since junior high for military training, so they were used to the smell of sweat and smelly feet mixed together. They queued up at random. Ten minutes later, they got their food and started looking for seats. Almost every table was occupied at this peak hour. Yao Yu looked around and saw a few empty seats opposite Qiu Ying and Bai Zhen, so he called Jiang Lin and Lin Zhao over. ¡°Sister Zhen, Qiu Ying, what a coincidence.¡± Qiu Ying looked at the three young masters in surprise. She didn¡¯t expect them to come to the canteen to eat. Seeing this, Bai Zhen greeted, ¡°Why did you guys think of coming to the canteen to eat?¡± After all, rich students basically chose restaurants outside the school. Yao Yu narrowed his eyes. ¡°We haven¡¯t eaten the canteen¡¯s food yet. We came to try it.¡± At this moment, a delicate female voice sounded from the left side of the dining table. ¡°Hello, is this seat taken?¡± Qiu Ying and Bai Zhen looked to the side and saw a delicate-looking female student asking Qiu Ying. She was pointing at the empty seat beside Qiu Ying. Yao Yu quickly sized up the girl. The summer school uniform dress actually made the girl look curvy. The pleated skirt that originally covered her knees was now two inches above her knees. Her waist looked so slim that it could probably barely be held. Qiu Ying said gently, ¡°There¡¯s no one around.¡± The girl sat down and said to Qiu Ying, ¡°You¡¯re Qiu Ying, right? My name is Fang Ya. We were in the same examination hall last semester.¡± The examination hall for the No. 3 High School examination was ranked according to the students¡¯ examination score. There were only two major examinations in the last semester, the mid-term and the end-of-semester examination. All classes took the examination together, so Qiu Ying didn¡¯t notice Fang Ya. Qiu Ying nodded. ¡°Hello.¡± She didn¡¯t say anything else and continued eating. Yao Yu saw Qiu Ying pick out a pineapple and put it at the side. He smiled. ¡°Do you not like pineapple, or do you not like pineapple from vegetables?¡± Bai Zhen rushed to answer, ¡°I know. She doesn¡¯t like the fruits mixed with the vegetables, but she likes the taste.¡± Yao Yu said in surprise, ¡°There¡¯s actually someone who has the same picky eating method as Ah Lin!¡± Qiu Ying looked up at Jiang Lin, who was also picking out pineapples. Jiang Lin saw a few pineapples in the corner of both their plates and looked down to hide a smile. This was the first time Jiang Lin had seen someone who didn¡¯t like fruit in a dish as much as he did. The harmonious atmosphere at the table was suddenly interrupted by a shout. ¡°How dare you have the nerve to eat here? Strip her clothes!¡± Suddenly, five to six girls rushed to the dining table. Two of them went forward and tried to pull Fang Ya out of the canteen. Fang Ya struggled violently, her face filled with fear. ¡°Help! Help! What do you want? Someone, please help me call the police.¡± The girl in the lead was Hu Li. She often bullied her classmates because her boyfriend, Liu Tian, was a famous school bully in S City. Hearing Fang Ya¡¯s cry for help, Hu Li slapped her. ¡°You even seduced my boyfriend in the hospital. Have you not slept with a man for too long?! I found a few for you out of kindness. I¡¯ll let you enjoy them later!¡± Everyone knew that Hu Li wasn¡¯t to be trifled with. Many people watched the commotion and didn¡¯t want to get into trouble, so no one called the police. ¡°I heard that Fang Ya is indeed promiscuous. She rarely stays in the dormitory at night. The people in her dormitory said that she fools around with people everywhere and often has hickeys the men left on her!¡± ¡°No way. I heard that her grades are quite good. How could she do such a thing?¡± ¡°Some people are lustful to the core. It has nothing to do with grades.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. She likes to seduce men just because she¡¯s beautiful. Vixen!¡± ¡°I also heard that she¡¯s quite open about it. She does it with several men at the same time!¡± Qiu Ying¡¯s face suddenly turned pale as she listened to the discussion around her. She stared blankly at Fang Ya. Her hands were clenched into fists on the table, and her forehead was covered in sweat. At this moment, everyone¡¯s attention was on Fang Ya and the others. Only Jiang Lin noticed that something was wrong with Qiu Ying. Chapter 21 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations Jiang Lin glanced suspiciously at Fang, who was struggling. Fang Ya looked at the indifferent crowd and felt a little hopeless, so she used all her strength to push one of them away. Fang Ya looked straight at Qiu Ying and was about to speak. When Jiang Lin saw this, the corners of his eyes twitched. He stared at Fang Ya with dark eyes and a cold aura. When Fang Ya saw this, she was so frightened that she froze in place and didn¡¯t dare make another sound, so Hu Li¡¯s follower grabbed her again. Seeing this, Jiang Lin asked Hu Li slowly, ¡°Your boyfriend is Liu Tian?¡± It was only then that the angry Hu Li realized that Fang Ya had been eating at the same table as Jiang Lin and the others. Hu Li gave Fang Ya a complicated look, unsure what her relationship with Jiang Lin was. She had just received a few photos from an anonymous number on her phone. They were photos of Fang Ya and her boyfriend, Liu Tian, kissing in the hospital. She was furious. Such a slutty person actually dared to provoke her, Hu Li. Hence, she immediately brought people to the canteen to teach Fang Ya a lesson. When Hu Li¡¯s sidekick saw that Jiang Lin seemed to be standing up for Fang Ya, she suddenly felt her hand tremble as she held Fang Ya¡¯s hand. The two of them looked at each other and could tell that the other party was also hesitating. Thinking of her boyfriend, who had been beaten up by Jiang Lin so badly that he still hadn¡¯t been discharged, and looking at the surrounding students, Hu Li forced herself to be calm and said, ¡°Yes!¡± After saying that, she felt that she seemed to have been too forceful and her tone was too stiff. Hu Li was worried that Jiang Lin would think that she was provoking him, so she smiled slightly and immediately continued, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to know her. In that case, I¡¯ll forget it this time. Consider it an apology for disturbing your meal.¡± Showing weakness to Jiang Lin wasn¡¯t being a coward, but being sensible. Hu Li could tell that something was wrong from the way the Liu family didn¡¯t dare to speak up after Liu Tian was beaten up. With that, she looked at the expressionless Jiang Lin and gestured for the girl holding Fang Ya to let go of her. Then she took a few steps forward and leaned into Fang Ya¡¯s ear. In a voice that only the two of them could hear, she said, ¡°Fang Ya, you¡¯re lucky this time. If there¡¯s a next time, even if the heavens come save you, you¡¯ll have to die!¡± With that, she turned around and left with the girls. With a terrified expression, Fang Ya gradually calmed down after seeing Hu Li leave. The crowd watching also dispersed. Fang Ya held back the tears in her eyes and sniffed. There was a slight tremor in her voice. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to cause you trouble.¡± Fang Ya picked up her plate and prepared to leave. Qiu Ying suddenly reached out and grabbed Fang Ya¡¯s wrist. She lowered her head to look at the table and said gently, ¡°Eat here.¡± Fang Ya looked at Qiu Ying¡¯s side profile in surprise and saw that the others weren¡¯t objecting. She smiled gratefully and sat back in her chair. ¡°Thank you.¡± Jiang Lin looked at Qiu Ying¡¯s expression, which had returned to normal, and thought that Qiu Ying¡¯s loss of composure was because she was shocked by Hu Li¡¯s behavior. Bai Zhen had heard some rumors about Fang Ya and had seen Fang Ya hugging some sketchy people on the street. However, since Qiu Ying had already spoken, she couldn¡¯t say anything, so she could only lower her head and eat. The boys had just arrived. Firstly, they didn¡¯t know the situation and didn¡¯t comment. Secondly, they didn¡¯t want to get involved in the girls¡¯ matters, so they didn¡¯t say anything. The lunch was finished in silence. The night was silent before dawn. ¡°Ah!!¡± A scream sounded in the dark room. Qiu Ying suddenly got up and turned on the bedside lamp. Seeing that she was in a rented room in S City, she relaxed as she panted. It had been more than half a year since Qiu Ying had been reborn. In her dream just now, she had returned to the time when she was controlled by Qi Yue. In her previous life, in order to make Qiu Ying submit to him, Qi Yue had deliberately allowed his fianc¨¦e to spread rumors that Qiu Ying had taken the initiative to seduce him. His fianc¨¦e had even maliciously posted on the school¡¯s website that Qiu Ying would sleep with any man if he was rich. Therefore, as long as Qiu Ying appeared in school, she would always hear the students pointing at her. She had also tried her best to explain, look for teachers, and even call the police. However, in the end, she was ostracized, insulted, and scolded. Everyone believed those rumors and felt that she was promiscuous. She was the victim! She had done nothing wrong! Why were the evil people not punished? Instead, she, the victim, received malicious threats or sexual harassment messages every day. Chapter 22 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations The school¡¯s teachers submitted to the powerful Qi family and didn¡¯t dare to speak up for her. She knelt down and begged her mother to let her transfer schools, but her mother would rather believe the words of outsiders. Her mother thought that she wanted to transfer schools because she was disobedient and had a conflict with her teachers and classmates. It was that sort of despair that made Qiu Ying, who had been reborn, choose to leave Q City silently without hesitation to avoid repeating the same mistake. In order to avoid Qi Yue¡¯s investigation, she took several detours on the road. She didn¡¯t take any transportation that required identity information to buy tickets. Instead, she chose to hail taxis in different places and even rode on passing trucks, like a backpacker. It took a little more than two hours to reach S City by high-speed train, but it took her more than a day to successfully reach S City. Qiu Ying got up and washed her face. She sat quietly on the balcony and stared at the dark sky before dawn. Now, she was lurking under the night sky, waiting for the moment dawn appeared to counterattack. Saving herself in this life had already changed the situation, so Qiu Ying believed that everything could be changed. The sky began to brighten slowly. After Qiu Ying left the house, she took a shared tram to the beach. When she sat on the beach, the sun had already risen from the horizon. Looking at the morning sun in the distance, which wasn¡¯t very dazzling, Qiu Ying began to feel that she was filled with infinite strength. Qiu Ying liked water very much. When she was young, her father had told her that water entered rivers and river water returned to the sea. The sea was at the lowest point. That was where all the water gathered. However, in Qiu Ying¡¯s eyes, be it mountains, rivers, lakes, rivers, or seas, they were all water. After growing up a little, Qiu Ying felt that water was very magical. Water was extremely soft, so soft that it could transform itself into various forms according to external objects, but it was also very powerful! Among all things in the world, nothing was weaker than water, but nothing could beat it. Water was soft and tough. When a drop of water fell, it could penetrate hard stones. When many drops of water gathered together, they could carry a huge ship. Water was gentle and firm. It reflected softness and strength. The weak could defeat the strong. This was her belief after her rebirth. Now, she wanted to use the power of water to cut through the darkness and change her fate in this life. Qiu Ying used ¡°water¡± for the theme of the ¡°Ancient Dance Cup¡±. She completed the composition and choreography alone. On the beach, there was a gentle breeze. The sea water gently splashed on the beach. Qiu Ying could feel the huge power hidden underwater. Qiu Ying looked at the scenery in front of her and suddenly had an idea. The last short segment of the choreography for the ¡°Ancient Dance Cup¡± audition had troubled Qiu Ying for a long time. At this moment, she decided to use the seawater under the morning sun as the ending. Qiu Ying rushed home excitedly to start rehearsals. It wasn¡¯t until the alarm on her phone rang at four in the afternoon that she realized that she had not eaten all day. Because she still had to exercise later, she didn¡¯t dare to eat too much. She changed her clothes and went downstairs to buy two meat buns. Qiu Ying arrived at the school playground ten minutes early and saw that Jiang Lin was already sitting in the first row of the stands. He was wearing a black baseball cap, a white long-sleeved T-shirt, and black knee-length shorts. He was sitting in a chair while playing with his phone. His long legs were stretched forward. Out of the corner of his eye, Jiang Lin saw her walking towards him. He put his phone in his pants pocket and stood up. After the two of them greeted each other, Jiang Lin said calmly, ¡°Let¡¯s go. Let¡¯s warm up first, then practice the two rounds. According to how you¡¯re doing after exercise, I¡¯ll see how I can give you more practice.¡± Jiang Lin was much more professional than her in this field, so Qiu Ying nodded seriously after hearing this to express her positive attitude. Her big watery eyes were like a clear spring. What Jiang Lin saw was Qiu Ying looking up obediently in a summer white sports suit while under the shade. Qiu Ying¡¯s facial features were beautiful, and her face was crystal clear. She looked otherworldly, but the charm she occasionally revealed seemed to be innate. As he looked at Qiu Ying¡¯s innocent appearance, Jiang Lin¡¯s heart fluttered. He felt a sense of lust, so he immediately turned around and started warming up. Qiu Ying had already felt that Jiang Lin¡¯s breathing was a little unsteady just now. Recalling the few words the two of them had just said, she didn¡¯t seem to have said anything that made him angry, so she started her warm-up with a hint of confusion. After the two of them warmed up, they began formal training. As usual, Qiu Ying ran on the field, and Jiang Lin accompanied her in the infield to observe her movements. By the time they finished the first big lap and the fourth round, Jiang Lin sensed that Qiu Ying¡¯s breath and speed were a little erratic. ¡°Breathe according to the rhythm of my slogan.¡± Chapter 23 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations Qiu Ying had actually noticed the problem, but after all, she was inexperienced and didn¡¯t know how to adjust. After breathing a few times according to Jiang Lin¡¯s slogan, she adjusted her breathing and pace to a suitable rhythm. After running 3,200 meters, Jiang Lin looked at the stopwatch in his hand and frowned. Qiu Ying panted and asked, ¡°How long have I been running?¡± Jiang Lin glanced at Qiu Ying and said, ¡°Fifteen minutes and forty-eight seconds.¡± The two of them had practiced together for three days. Qiu Ying¡¯s posture was much more standard and her condition was better than before. Qiu Ying didn¡¯t know how bad this result was, but seeing Jiang Lin¡¯s expression, she knew it wasn¡¯t good. She frowned slightly in frustration. Seeing this, Jiang Lin said gently, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m here. I promise I¡¯ll definitely let you enter the top three! Trust me, okay?¡± Qiu Ying looked up at the young man in front of her who had his head lowered slightly and was looking at her sideways. There was a gentle smile on his exquisite and beautiful face, and the confidence in his eyes made her unable to look away. Qiu Ying could clearly hear her heart beating. After a few seconds, she retracted her thoughts and looked to the side. ¡°Okay.¡± The smile on Jiang Lin¡¯s lips widened, and he knew in his heart that the little thing must be mesmerized by him. This was a sure-kill move he had practiced for a long time recently. If Yao Yu, Lin Zhao, and the people from the capital saw Jiang Lin now, they would definitely think that he had been possessed! Jiang Lin was ruthless and overbearing. There were only two people in the world who he was willing to think of ways to coax, Old Madam Jiang and Old Master Jiang, but now, there was another. Actually, Qiu Ying¡¯s strength was enough, so Jiang Lin didn¡¯t train her physical strength. Instead, he chose to let her run and train in between breaks. An hour passed. It was six o¡¯clock. Today¡¯s training was complete. After resting, the two of them prepared to leave the field. Qiu Ying felt a little hungry and had a bad feeling. ¡°Rumble¡­¡± Jiang Lin was stunned. He pursed his lips and said, ¡°I¡¯m a little hungry. Let¡¯s go to the side of the school and eat.¡± Qiu Ying thought of what was about to happen and blushed as she quickly refused. ¡°No need. I¡¯m fine. I¡¯ll go home and eat.¡± ¡°Rumble¡­ rumble¡­¡± Qiu Ying felt like she was about to die from awkwardness. Jiang Lin clenched his fists and placed them on his lips, using a cough to hide his urge to laugh out loud. ¡°I¡¯m really hungry and want to eat now. Just treat it as accompanying me. It¡¯s not too much for me, a free coach, to make such a small request.¡± Qiu Ying knew that Jiang Lin meant well. This was actually an old habit of Qiu Ying¡¯s. For as long as Qiu Ying could remember, her stomach would growl whenever she was hungry, but it would stop immediately after she took a bite. Qiu Ying¡¯s parents had brought her to many doctors. The doctors said that this wasn¡¯t an illness, so Qiu Ying had brought some food with her wherever she went since she was young. After she noticed this problem, this situation didn¡¯t happen again. Because she was out training for a long run today, she didn¡¯t bring her bag. In addition, she had eaten. However, Qiu Ying didn¡¯t expect her digestion to be so quick after running. But Qiu Ying thought about how her bank account balance was only enough to fill her stomach. She looked at Jiang Lin, and said, ¡°We should wait for dinner. It¡¯s faster for me to buy a loaf of bread by school. I have no choice today. I¡¯ll treat you another day.¡± Seeing this, Jiang Lin didn¡¯t insist. As expected, in just five minutes, Qiu Ying¡¯s stomach protested twice. Jiang Lin suggested, ¡°You could eat before your next run.¡± Qiu Ying felt even more awkward. ¡°I ate two buns before I went out¡­¡± Jiang Lin suddenly remembered that during the break, he had seen Qiu Ying eat cookies and bread a few times. He thought it was because she liked those foods. Now, it seemed that she was just hungry. Thinking of this, Jiang Lin accidentally chuckled. ¡°I don¡¯t mean to mock you. I just think¡­¡± Jiang Lin was still thinking about how to phrase it when Qiu Ying replied indifferently, ¡°You just find it funny.¡± Jiang Lin didn¡¯t explain much. He smiled faintly and said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Anyway, only I know now.¡± The two of them separated after leaving the school gate. Qiu Ying immediately entered the nearest cake shop. Qiu Ying had just transferred money two days ago, so she only had 300 yuan left. She had to hold on until the dance studio paid her salary in 20 days, so she endured the distress and bought the cheapest bread. Chapter 24 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations After Qiu Ying returned home, she started another intense dance rehearsal. Qiu Ying was very busy this month. There were two consecutive school sports meetings on the 24th and 25th. The joint mock examinations of S City¡¯s high schools were on the 30th and 31st. Her audition was also around the end of the month, so she pushed off all her part-time jobs this weekend. Before going to bed, Qiu Ying looked at the two remaining boxes of cookies and a few bags of bread at home and sighed. This was a brand that Qiu Ying had never gotten tired of eating since she was young. The price was moderate, but it had become a luxury for her now. Thinking about the little amount of money she had left, Qiu Ying clicked on Bai Zhen¡¯s WeChat profile. At this moment, Bai Zhen was reading a romance novel attentively with a blush. Suddenly, her phone vibrated. Bai Zhen saw that it was a message from Qiu Ying and immediately opened it. ¡°Zhenzhen, please help me buy a bag of candy tomorrow. I bought it near your house last time.¡± Next, she transferred 10 yuan over. When Bai Zhen saw this, she accepted the money and immediately replied with a cute OK gesture emoji. After some thought, she sent another message: ¡°Little Yingying, wear your school uniform and tie your hair into a high ponytail on Monday.¡± Qiu Ying sent a question mark. Bai Zhen sent a message explaining, ¡°I want to write my own novel! The female lead will be in a school uniform dress and have a high ponytail. I have to look at you for inspiration! Little Yingying, I beg you, you have to support me in my first novel!¡± When Qiu Ying saw this, she hesitated for a moment before replying: Alright. Qiu Ying had learned her lesson from yesterday and wrapped two small loaves of bread to put in her canvas bag. Since Jiang Lin had arrived earlier than her yesterday, Qiu Ying had specifically gone out ten minutes early today. When she arrived, the field was empty. After Qiu Ying put down her bag and warmed up, she took out a water bottle and took a few sips. When Jiang Lin arrived, he happened to see the girl¡¯s beautiful swan neck when she looked up. The sunlight shone on her face, which was flushed after she exercised. Jiang Lin slowly approached and could even vaguely see the peach fuzz on Qiu Ying¡¯s face. The heat from the sun had decreased a lot at this point, but Jiang Lin was still a little thirsty. Qiu Ying noticed Jiang Lin when she turned to pour the water. She greeted him and he came back to his senses. After an hour of training, they left the field together and walked side by side through the school. At this time on Sunday, many people began to return to school to prepare for the evening self-study session. Seeing this, Qiu Ying deliberately lagged behind a few steps and distanced herself from him by two meters. Jiang Lin felt a little frustrated when he saw how Qiu Ying avoided him. He had everything he wanted, and women usually threw themselves at him. Yet she wanted to pretend not to know him! Jiang Lin felt that his lung capacity had increased from anger since he had met Qiu Ying. With anger, Jiang Lin walked towards the dormitory. There was a separate courtyard in No. 3 High School. That was the dorm of No. 3 High School¡¯s teachers. There was also a suite dormitory for single teachers. It had a room, a living room, and a bathroom. There was also a small kitchen. Jiang Lin¡¯s dormitory was here. As soon as he entered, he saw Yao Yu playing games on the television, and Lin Zhao reading quietly on the sofa. Jiang Lin slammed the door shut and went into the bedroom. Yao Yu was startled. He glanced at Jiang Lin and murmured, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You were happy when you left.¡± Yao Yu turned to look at Lin Zhao and whispered, ¡°Do you think it has something to do with Qiu Ying? Ever since we were young, this is the first time Ah Lin has gotten emotional over a girl. How long have they known each other? If those girls in the capital see Lin like this, Qiu Ying will probably be torn to pieces.¡± Lin Zhao frowned and said, ¡°This is not a good sign.¡± Jiang Lin was the next head of the Jiang family. Anyone or anything that could become his weakness should be avoided in advance. Yao Yu understood what Lin Zhao meant and said indifferently, ¡°It¡¯s just a pure school crush. It¡¯s something that represents one¡¯s youth. Besides, there aren¡¯t that many Romeo and Juliets. If they like each other, they can date each other. Perhaps after a few days of novelty, they¡¯ll wish they didn¡¯t see each other again after a few arguments.¡± Evening self-study. Bai Zhen arrived at the classroom on time. Jiang Lin watched as Bai Zhen took out candy from her bag and stuffed it into the drawer of Qiu Ying¡¯s desk. Jiang Lin found it a little strange. After all this time, he had only seen Qiu Ying eat cookies and bread. Why did she suddenly start to eat candy? Chapter 25 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations Jiang Lin gently touched Yao Yu¡¯s arm to signal him to look forward. Yao Yu changed his serious expression to his usual smile and leaned forward to call out to Bai Zhen in a low voice, ¡°Sister Zhen, it¡¯s Qiu Ying¡¯s birthday? You seem a little stingy if you¡¯re only giving her candy!¡± After saying that, he revealed a look of disdain. Bai Zhen immediately retorted, ¡°You¡¯re the stingy one! Yingying asked me to help her buy this.¡± Yao Yu continued naturally, ¡°Qiu Ying likes sweets? I really couldn¡¯t tell.¡± Bai Zhen didn¡¯t think too much about it and replied, ¡°It¡¯s fine. She likes to eat citrus-flavored cakes and biscuits, but occasionally, if she can¡¯t eat them anymore for a while, she will use this candy to replace them.¡± After finding out what he wanted, Yao Yu chatted with Bai Zhen about other topics. After the self-study session, Jiang Lin got up when he saw Bai Zhen leave the classroom, took out the candy from the drawer, took a photo, and put it back in place. With a knowing look, Yao Yu put an arm around Jiang Lin¡¯s shoulder and winked, only to receive an eye roll from him. Jiang Lin went back to the dorm and checked the brand ¡°Xi Zi¡± and the candy brand. He found that Xi Zi¡¯s citrus-flavored products were medium-priced for high school students, and the candy was ten bucks for a big bottle. Even if she ate two every morning, noon, and night, they could eat them for a month for ten bucks. After another look at the ingredients of the candy, he saw that the amount of pigment chemicals and saccharin were very high. Jiang Lin frowned. So he went on Taobao and recalled the packaging of the cake and biscuits Qiu Ying had eaten before. Jiang Lin quickly found the corresponding products and ordered a large box of each. In the classroom. Qiu Ying entered the classroom in her school uniform dress and her hair was in a high ponytail. In the past, Qiu Ying always had a low ponytail. Now that she had changed her hairstyle, her temperament had become bright and vivacious. Qiu Ying quickly walked to her seat under the gazes of her classmates. Bai Zhen¡¯s eyes lit up when she saw Qiu Ying enter the classroom from the front door. She immediately waved warmly and gave Qiu Ying a bear hug as soon as she sat down. ¡°Little Yingying, I missed you so much. I haven¡¯t seen your gorgeous face for the entire weekend! You¡¯re finally wearing your hair in a high ponytail. I¡¯m full of inspiration now!¡± After saying that, Bai Zhen pinched Qiu Ying¡¯s little face excitedly. Qiu Ying was already used to it. She smiled and let Bai Zhen knead her. In Bai Zhen¡¯s eyes, Qiu Ying was a girl who was aloof on the outside but warm on the inside. However, it was very difficult for her to enter Qiu Ying¡¯s heart. Back then, she had spent a lot of effort to win Qiu Ying¡¯s heart. After she experienced what had happened in her previous life, Qiu Ying¡¯s personality was cold after her rebirth. In order not to let Qi Yue threaten her with the people around her again, Qiu Ying didn¡¯t want to have too much contact with anyone. But Bai Zhen was always around her, like a little sun. Her optimistic and cheerful personality influenced her, making her, who had just transferred over, quickly adjust and integrate into this city. Sitting in the backseat, Jiang Lin looked at Bai Zhen¡¯s little hand on Qiu Ying¡¯s face, his gaze deep. When Yao Yu saw Qiu Ying¡¯s new look, he said with admiration, ¡°Qiu Ying, you look pretty with a high ponytail! You look so energetic! With your previous low ponytail, those who didn¡¯t know better probably thought that you were a teacher. Your calm and levelheaded temperament is comparable to Mr. Qian¡¯s.¡± When Bai Zhen heard Yao Yu praise Qiu Ying¡¯s new hairstyle, she felt happier than if she had been praised. Hence, she turned around and replied, ¡°You have good taste!¡± Jiang Lin was a little distracted during class. Qiu Ying was in Jiang Lin¡¯s front seat. The girl looked up at the blackboard and lowered her head to copy notes from time to time. Occasionally, she would turn her head and answer Bai Zhen¡¯s questions. Jiang Lin watched as the hair swayed slightly in front of his eyes. He¡¯d been a little distracted all day and felt an itch in his heart. He wanted to reach out and scratch it, but he couldn¡¯t reach it. He felt very irritated. The students who had been in class all day finally made it to the last class on Monday¡ªphysical education! As soon as class started, the students cheered and walked downstairs. The PE teacher let the students who participated in the school¡¯s sports meeting practice on their own. Bai Zhen wanted to follow Qiu Ying, so she hugged her arm and said, ¡°Little Yingying, I¡¯ll accompany you to train!¡± Lin Zhao heard a cough from behind. Bai Zhen turned around when she heard the voice and saw Lin Zhao looking at her. She was pulled back to reality. Chapter 26 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations After Bai Zhen signed up for the high jump, she started training with the class monitor, Lin Zhao, and two other students last week. The girls who participated in the high jump with Bai Zhen were from the school¡¯s basketball team. Their jumping ability was very good. Bai Zhen originally wanted to train and win an award, but after seeing the other girls¡¯ strength, she felt a little dejected and stood at the side awkwardly. When Lin Zhao saw this, he walked forward. ¡°It¡¯s just the beginning, but you¡¯re already feeling unconfident?¡± Seeing Lin Zhao¡¯s disdainful gaze, Bai Zhen immediately lost her temper. ¡°Who said so? I¡¯m just resting for a while!¡± Lin Zhao chuckled. ¡°Alright, rest for a while. How about this? If you can get into the top three this time, I¡¯ll go to the form teacher and as your reward, try to get him to return the novel that was taken away.¡± Bai Zhen¡¯s eyes lit up when she heard this. She asked, ¡°Class monitor, if I don¡¯t enter the top three, can you give me a participation award?¡± Lin Zhao said calmly, ¡°No.¡± Bai Zhen refused to give up. ¡°Doesn¡¯t the school¡¯s sports meet promote participation? There should be a reward for participating, even if it¡¯s just a small reward. Class monitor, I have a signed novel. As long as that one is returned, it¡¯s fine!¡± Looking at Bai Zhen¡¯s fawning smile, Lin Zhao smiled. ¡°If you don¡¯t enter the top three and you¡¯re not motivated during training, I can only give you a piece of advice. You have to be more careful when reading in the future.¡± Bai Zhen¡¯s face turned ashen. Seeing this, Lin Zhao said slowly, ¡°But I can promise you that as long as you train seriously, you will get a small gift even if you don¡¯t get a ranking.¡± After Bai Zhen heard this, she felt motivated again. After all, she had always liked surprises. Therefore, during the two physical education classes that week, she was especially proactive. However, Bai Zhen only wanted to follow Qiu Ying to look for inspiration today. She wanted to skip a lesson. Unexpectedly, she was caught by Lin Zhao. Hence, Bai Zhen looked at Qiu Ying regretfully. ¡°Little Yingying, I almost forgot about my high jump training. I can¡¯t accompany you.¡± Qiu Ying comforted her. ¡°I can¡¯t accompany you even if you go. Let¡¯s work hard together!¡± Bai Zhen nodded hard. She really had to work hard for her novel! Bai Zhen turned around and followed Lin Zhao to train. When they arrived at the field, the students participating in the running competition began their training. An hour later, Jiang Lin realized that Qiu Ying still hadn¡¯t made much progress, but time was tight, so he decided to change his training method. ¡°Can you get to school half an hour early on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning? I want to help you practice weight training.¡± Qiu Ying immediately cooperated. ¡°Sure.¡± Jiang Lin said seriously, ¡°Then I¡¯ll see you at the field starting at 6:30 this Wednesday. I¡¯ll have the weights ready for you then.¡± After the two of them agreed, Qiu Ying ran to the dance studio in a hurry. Qiu Ying¡¯s beautiful ponytail swayed as she ran. Jiang Lin looked at Qiu Ying¡¯s back with gentle eyes and a smile. Soon, it was Wednesday. Qiu Ying woke up early and arrived at the school field at six-thirty sharp. Sure enough, Jiang Lin had arrived early. Because she had to exercise immediately, Qiu Ying didn¡¯t dare to eat breakfast first. Jiang Lin had borrowed two 2kg leg-tied sandbags from the school. Qiu Ying tied the sandbags to her calves after she warmed up. Then, Jiang Lin briefly explained the purpose of weight training to Qiu Ying, as well as the main points and precautions of weight running. Qiu Ying first ran on the spot for five minutes with weights. After resting for two minutes, she began to run for ten minutes with small steps. After carrying the weight, Qiu Ying could clearly feel that it was very difficult to lift her feet in the second half of the journey. She could not even maintain a uniform speed with a standard posture. Then, there was another two minutes of rest, and the last five minutes, Jiang Lin let Qiu Ying walk at a quick pace. After half an hour of training, Qiu Ying felt as light as a feather the moment she removed the sandbag. Jiang Lin looked at his watch and realized it was time for morning self-study. Thinking that it was better for Qiu Ying to eat a proper meal, he said, ¡°Let¡¯s go eat breakfast first.¡± Realizing that Jiang Lin had come to practice with her without eating breakfast, Qiu Ying was a little embarrassed to answer. ¡°I already bought breakfast on the way here.¡± Jiang Lin froze. Qiu Ying thought for a moment and took the initiative to ask, ¡°It¡¯s along the way anyway. If there¡¯s training in the morning, do you want me to buy it for you as well?¡± Qiu Ying was already worried about how to repay Jiang Lin for training her every day. Now, she suggested this idea with the intention of returning the favor. Chapter 27 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations Jiang Lin nodded calmly when he heard this, but he snorted inwardly. At least the little thing had a conscience. As soon as the two of them walked out of the field, the preparatory bell for morning self-study session rang. The two of them entered the classroom from the back door. Seeing this, Bai Zhen immediately went to Qiu Ying¡¯s side and raised her eyebrows. ¡°Art really comes from life!¡± As she spoke, she flipped to a page and pointed to a description of the male and female leads entering the classroom together. Bai Zhen continued excitedly, ¡°I just finished reading it when I saw you and Jiang Lin come in from the back door. The scene is exactly the same. It¡¯s like a novel that reflects reality!!¡± Qiu Ying glanced at it and pushed the book onto the white table. She turned around and said helplessly, ¡°If you can use the speed of reading two books in a day on actually reading textbooks, getting into a top university won¡¯t be a dream.¡± Bai Zhen waved her hand. ¡°Tsk, you don¡¯t know my history. When I was young, my father accidentally threw me to the ground, so it¡¯s not my fault that I¡¯m not good at studying. If not for that fall, getting into a top university really might not be a dream!¡± Qiu Ying giggled in amusement. Bai Zhen patted the table and said in an interrogative tone, ¡°Don¡¯t change the topic. What¡¯s the situation between you and Jiang Lin now? In the past, you two only left together after school in the afternoon for training. Why are you two together even in the morning?¡± Qiu Ying took out the textbook she wanted to review and took out today¡¯s breakfast from her bag. As she ate, she replied, ¡°I also ran in the morning. I ran too slowly, so I have to practice for half an hour every morning.¡± Bai Zhen felt a little regretful when she heard this. ¡°To be honest, with the looks of the two of you, I feel that it¡¯s a disservice to treat you two as the male and female leads of so many books!¡± Qiu Ying glanced back quickly after hearing this and saw that Jiang Lin was holding an English edition of Hegel¡¯s philosophy. She turned back to look at Bai Zhen and said, ¡°Zhenzhen, don¡¯t spout nonsense. There¡¯s nothing between us.¡± Jiang Lin¡¯s hearing had been trained by his family since he was young, and he heard everything the two of them whispered in front of him. He saw Qiu Ying¡¯s anxious expression and it seemed like she really wanted to disassociate herself from him. Jiang Lin couldn¡¯t help but curse inwardly. This little thing was really ungrateful. ¡°Look, I leveled up again!¡± Yao Yu held up his phone to Jiang Lin and said with a smug smile. Jiang Lin was expressionless. His eyes were dark as he glanced at Yao Yu, and his voice was filled with anger. ¡°Have you finished memorizing your book? Have you checked the research materials you¡¯re in charge of? You¡¯re always the last to hand them in. Is the morning self-study session for you to play games?!¡± Only then did Yao Yu realize that something was wrong with Jiang Lin, so he slowly put away his phone without batting an eyelid. Jiang Lin was afraid that Jiang Lin would vent his anger on him later. Yao Yu silently placed his phone in his drawer and took out the language arts book. As they were preparing for the morning self-study session, Teacher Qian suddenly appeared at the front door of the classroom and said with a smile, ¡°Jiang Lin, come out with me for a while.¡± With that, he walked out of the classroom. Teacher Qian and Jiang Lin stood in the corridor of the classroom and spoke. ¡°Our city¡¯s education district is planning an academic discussion with a very famous high school overseas. They¡¯ve chosen our school. Every class in the senior grade has to choose a representative.¡± ¡°The English teacher recommended you to me. For the weekly English tests, the questions that she finds are quite esoteric. However, you always get full marks. I looked at your transfer file and realized that you¡¯ve participated in many prestigious domestic English competitions and have experience traveling. Because there might be a need to communicate with those foreign delegations, after the teachers¡¯ discussion, it was unanimously decided that you would be in charge of leading the representatives of each class in this exchange.¡± Jiang Lin was familiar with this kind of thing, so he nodded and agreed without thinking about it. Seeing that Jiang Lin was calm and composed, Teacher Qian nodded in satisfaction. ¡°The exchange meeting will be at three o¡¯clock tomorrow afternoon. You can come straight to my office after class at 2:30 tomorrow.¡± ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve seen you treat someone other than Qiu Ying so well!¡± ¡°He¡¯s nice towards people who have good grades.¡± ¡°Well, he¡¯s still nicer to Qiu Ying.¡± ¡°Does Brother Lin have good grades? Isn¡¯t he good at fighting?¡± ¡°What are they talking about?¡± ¡°They¡¯re so far away and they¡¯re talking so softly. Who can hear them?¡± The boring high school life made everyone pay more attention to everything that wasn¡¯t academics, not to mention that it was an influential figure like Jiang Lin. Chapter 28 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations The matter was quickly exposed during Thursday night¡¯s self-study session. A photo and a video were suddenly reposted on the campus network in S City. In the photo, Jiang Lin was in a custom-made suit. The video was of student representatives from both sides discussing the difference in education between the east and west in Chinese and English. ¡°I finally know what it means to fall in love at first sight! After seeing Jiang Lin, I feel that I won¡¯t be interested in any other man anymore. It¡¯s over. I feel that my mother won¡¯t have a son-in-law in her life.¡± ¡°Brother Lin is so impressive! He¡¯s the student representative!¡± ¡°Aare student representatives very impressive? I really don¡¯t understand. Please elaborate.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a fish that escaped the net of China¡¯s nine years of compulsory education, right? You don¡¯t even know this?! To be able to attend such an event means that you¡¯re one of the best in the school. The student representative is the cream of the crop! Understand?¡± ¡°Such looks, such a narrow waist, and such a perfect figure. My nose is bleeding!¡± ¡°I want to print out his photo and hang it by my bed.¡± ¡°This suit is definitely custom-made. Brother Lin is handsome, rich, and smart! Brother Lin¡¯s starting point is our peak. Please take us in! We¡¯ll go through hell and fire for him!¡± ¡­ On Thursday night, the campus network was destined to be another night of excitement over Jiang Lin. Of course, the Internet wasn¡¯t filled with admiring and worshipful comments. Some criticized Jiang Lin for just being good at English, and that being chosen was nothing impressive. It didn¡¯t take more than a few seconds for these comments to be pushed to the bottom. But at the same time, a WeChat group was also in an uproar. Someone had sent a few photos of Jiang Lin and Qiu Ying running in the field at night. Due to the angle of the photos, the two of them were one meter across from each other. In the photos, they seemed to be running side by side. There were even two photos that made the eye contact between Jiang Lin and Qiu Ying during training seem very ambiguous. The person who posted the photo tagged Jiang Lin and claimed to be a junior in Year Two. He posted it because his female classmates wanted to ask if Senior Jiang Lin was in a relationship. If not, they hoped that Senior Jiang Lin would give his juniors a chance to confess. As soon as the photo was released, the men and women in the group immediately began to discuss passionately. Bai Zhen also saw the photo and quickly explained that the two of them were only training for the school¡¯s sports meeting and were not in a relationship. Immediately, someone refuted and requested her to explain the intimacy between the two of them in the photo. Bai Zhen was speechless. Moreover, the romantic atmosphere in the photo made her think of the novels she had read recently. She couldn¡¯t help but ship Jiang Lin and Qiu Ying. Hence, she looked at the photo with enthusiasm and revealed a gratified smile. Jiang Lin and the other two from the yacht group chat didn¡¯t leave the chat group, but they usually didn¡¯t pay attention to the group. It wasn¡¯t until after the evening self-study that Jiang Lin saw someone @ himself. After clicking on it, he saw those photos. Jiang Lin stared at the photo for several minutes, then saved it for his photo album. Qiu Ying, who was at the front desk of the dance studio while looking through English exam papers, had no idea about this. After she finished the papers, she suddenly remembered that she had to help Jiang Lin buy breakfast tomorrow morning, so she picked up her phone and clicked on Jiang Lin¡¯s WeChat profile picture. ¡°What do you want to eat for breakfast tomorrow?¡± Jiang Lin had just arrived at the dormitory. After opening WeChat, he thought about it and replied: Same as you. When Qiu Ying saw this, she hesitated for a moment before sending another message. ¡°I¡¯ll eat steamed buns and soy milk for breakfast tomorrow. Are you sure you want to eat the same things as me? Actually, I can buy bread and milk along the way.¡± Although Jiang Lin had said that he would eat the same breakfast as her, she didn¡¯t understand his preferences, so Qiu Ying double-checked. As soon as the message was sent, she received Jiang Lin¡¯s reply: Just order another portion of steamed buns. So Qiu Ying replied with an OK emoji. Jiang Lin realized that this was the first time Qiu Ying had ever sent an emoji to him, so after pressing the emoticon long with his finger, he chose to add it. So in the empty section where Jiang Lin¡¯s personal emoticons were supposed to be, there was an OK gesture emoji. Although their conversation had started last Thursday, the number of messages they had sent over the past week was too many. The next day, Jiang Lin and Qiu Ying entered the classroom from the back door again when the bell for the morning self-study session sounded. Wang Ting came to the classroom early this morning and had been paying attention to Jiang Lin¡¯s seat. When she finally saw him, she realized that Qiu Ying had actually followed Jiang Lin in. What shocked Wang Ting even more was that when Qiu Ying passed Jiang Lin¡¯s seat, she took out breakfast from her bag and placed it on Jiang Lin¡¯s table. Chapter 29 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations Wang Ting thought of what her class had said about Jiang Lin accompanying Qiu Ying for long-distance runs every day, and she was furious. She glared at Qiu Ying fiercely. ¡°Vixen! You¡¯re a two-timer!¡± Ma Yun, Wang Ting¡¯s deskmate, also turned around and saw this scene, but her attention was on Qiu Ying and Jiang Lin, so she didn¡¯t hear what Wang Ting said. She asked in a low voice, ¡°The two of them are together?¡± Wang Ting immediately retorted, ¡°How is that possible? How can Jiang Lin like someone as poor as Qiu Ying?!¡± When Ma Yun heard this, she thought to herself, so what if she was poor? It¡¯s enough that she¡¯s beautiful and studious. However, she didn¡¯t dare to say it out loud, lest she anger Wang Ting and cause her to be disinvited from all the rich kid parties next time. Qiu Ying didn¡¯t know that she had been bad-mouthed early in the morning. After sitting down, she took out her breakfast and started eating. Bai Zhen immediately pulled out the photo from last night¡¯s WeChat group and handed her the phone. Qiu Ying was stunned when she saw it. If it wasn¡¯t herself in the photo, just by looking at this photo, she wouldn¡¯t believe that they didn¡¯t have any ambiguous relationship. After the night, there were already thousands of messages in the WeChat group. Qiu Ying explained helplessly, ¡°This photo is caused by the angle. Actually, we were just running normally.¡± Of course, Bai Zhen believed that Qiu Ying¡¯s attitude towards Jiang Lin had always been indifferent, so she subconsciously came out to explain last night. Unfortunately, no one believed her. Even she hoped that this was true. After all, shipping a real life couple was really exciting! Seeing the hidden meaning in Bai Zhen¡¯s eyes, Qiu Ying didn¡¯t explain further. However, there was a complicated expression in her eyes. During the break, Qiu Ying went to the podium to get water. On the way back, she tripped over Wang Ting¡¯s outstretched foot and almost fell. Qiu Ying frowned and glanced at Wang Ting. ¡°Why did you trip me?¡± Wang Ting looked over with contempt. ¡°Which eye of yours saw that I tripped you?¡± If not for the provocation in Wang Ting¡¯s eyes, Qiu Ying would have thought that the other party did so accidentally. Wang Ting only fell asleep very late last night because she was angered by the photo of Qiu Ying running in the field in the WeChat group. This morning, she specifically put on makeup to cover her dark circles. Just as she suppressed her anger, she saw Jiang Lin and Qiu Ying enter the classroom together. How could she hold back her anger? Therefore, when she saw Qiu Ying walking over, she subconsciously wanted to teach her a lesson. If Qiu Ying dared to touch the man she liked, then she shouldn¡¯t blame her for being rude! Qiu Ying usually didn¡¯t speak, but her low-key personality made many people feel that she was timid and easy to bully. When she first transferred over, there were still people who wanted to cause trouble for her, but with Bai Zhen protecting her, no one dared to really attack her. After all, Bai Zhen had a fiery temper. She grew up with Mayor Zhou¡¯s son, Zhou Sen, and had a good family background. In addition, Qiu Ying was usually quiet and didn¡¯t cause trouble. Therefore, although many girls were jealous of her many suitors, for Bai Zhen¡¯s sake, they wouldn¡¯t deliberately cause trouble. After spending a semester together, everyone only felt that she was beautiful, delicate and gentle. They didn¡¯t know the tenacity and stubbornness hidden in her bones. Qiu Ying wasn¡¯t afraid of trouble. Since the other party wanted to cause trouble, she would play along! Qiu Ying took a few steps forward to Wang Ting¡¯s table and said coldly, ¡°Apologize!¡± When Wang Ting heard this, she felt that Qiu Ying was ridiculous. She said arrogantly, ¡°You want to hear my apology? Are you worthy? Your eyes are so big, but you didn¡¯t even watch where you¡¯re going. You only fell because you keep thinking about how to seduce men. What has it got to do with me?!¡± Bai Zhen saw Qiu Ying and Wang Ting arguing from her seat. When she came forward and heard this, she suppressed her anger and warned, ¡°Wang Ting, if you can¡¯t speak properly, I will tear your mouth apart! Apologize!¡± Wang Ting revealed a mocking smile. ¡°I¡¯m just telling the truth. Why should I apologize? If you don¡¯t like people criticizing you, don¡¯t be such a whore! Why don¡¯t others need a partner when they run? Only she needs a man to accompany her at all times. What else can it be but the fact that she¡¯s a slut?!¡± Qiu Ying pulled back Bai Zhen, who wanted to step forward and hit her. Her eyes were dark as she chuckled and said, ¡°If you want to climb into Jiang Lin¡¯s bed, take the initiative. You can¡¯t achieve your goal by suppressing others. So what if you argue with me?¡± When Wang Ting heard this, she widened her eyes and looked at Qiu Ying. She had always had the image of a pure and innocent girl! Wang Ting was a good student and had a wealthy family background. Other than suffering setbacks in front of Jiang Lin, other men fawned over her. If word got out, how could she obtain the admiration of those men? Chapter 30 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations Wang Ting immediately looked around and was relieved to see that no one heard her. She said with intimidation, ¡°Do you think you can do whatever you want? If you dare to spread rumors about me, I¡¯ll make sure you can¡¯t stay in No. 3 High School anymore!¡± Bai Zhen saw the fear in Wang Ting¡¯s eyes and seemed to have gotten something on her. There was a hint of excitement in her eyes. ¡°I knew it! So you wanted to climb into his bed. Unfortunately, you didn¡¯t catch his eye. You¡¯re angry because you¡¯re jealous. After all, you can¡¯t even compare to a single hair of Yingying¡¯s!¡± Then, Bai Zhen said proudly, ¡°Besides, Jiang Lin is treating Yingying well of his own accord. Yingying hasn¡¯t even accepted his feelings yet!¡± After Wang Ting¡¯s thoughts were exposed, she was agitated by Bai Zhen¡¯s words. She pointed at Qiu Ying¡¯s shoulder and said what she had seen that day, ¡°Qiu Ying, does Jiang Lin know that you were touchy-feely with a man at the school gate that day? Bai Zhen, why are you being so dutiful? Does Qiu Ying spend money on dog food for you every day?!¡± Bai Zhen saw that Wang Ting was about to break her hand when Qiu Ying blocked her. When Qiu Ying heard this, a hint of ruthlessness appeared in her eyes. If Wang Ting just criticized her, she could endure it until after the matter was over before counterattacking. Even if Wang Ting played tricks on her, Qiu Ying would not give her any evidence to retaliate against her with. However, now that Wang Ting had insulted the person she cared about, Qiu Ying suddenly wanted to fight back! Qiu Ying casually placed the glass of water on the table beside her and was about to kick Wang Ting when she saw from the corner of her eye that Mr. Qian was about to enter the classroom with a book. Qiu Ying immediately changed her strategy. She smiled gently and took a step forward to say softly, ¡°No matter who I act touchy-feely with, Jiang Lin doesn¡¯t care. I¡¯ve already told him that I don¡¯t want to train with him every day, but he still wants to follow me.¡± Qiu Ying¡¯s eyes were filled with helplessness. Bai Zhen¡¯s eyes widened when she heard Qiu Ying lie in such an innocent tone. When Wang Ting heard that the man she had been yearning for was being snubbed by the woman she had always despised, her eyes were filled with anger and she raised her hand to slap Qiu Ying. ¡°Stop!¡± a stern voice shouted. At the same time, Qiu Ying raised her hand and grabbed Wang Ting¡¯s wrist. She said righteously, ¡°Wang Ting, apologize!¡± Mr. Qian¡¯s habit was to go to the classroom two minutes in advance to prepare. He didn¡¯t expect to see this scene today. He was so angry that he slammed his book on the desk of the students in the front row. ¡°What are you trying to do?! Are you fighting in school? Get out here!¡± At this moment, Wang Ting realized that Qiu Ying¡¯s words were probably made up to provoke her! Qiu Ying took a deep look at Wang Ting, held Bai Zhen¡¯s hand, and followed Mr. Qian out of the classroom. Coincidentally, Jiang Lin and Yao Yu entered the classroom at this moment and saw that the form teacher was leading the way with a furious expression. Qiu Ying pulled Bai Zhen behind her with a serious expression. Wang Ting, who was at the back, looked unconvinced. The boys were puzzled. After Yao Yu and the others walked out of the classroom, they grabbed a boy and asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°I think Wang Ting tripped Qiu Ying, then the two of them quarreled.¡± Another boy winked and said, ¡°I also heard Wang Ting say that Qiu Ying seduced Brother Lin.¡± Someone else interrupted. ¡°That¡¯s right. I heard it too, but they spoke too softly afterwards. I didn¡¯t hear them clearly.¡± Jiang Lin turned to look at Qiu Ying¡¯s figure when he heard this. Her back looked as straight as one of the trees he had once seen in Australia¡ªAcacia Mangium. The trunk was straight and the tree was well-shaped. The bell rang. The students outside the classroom returned to their seats to prepare for class. The few of them stood in the corridor outside the classroom. Mr. Qian glanced at the three girls and suppressed his anger before saying, ¡°Qiu Ying, what¡¯s going on?¡± Qiu Ying recounted calmly, ¡°When I passed by Wang Ting¡¯s seat, she deliberately stretched her leg out into the aisle. I was tripped by her and asked her to apologize. She refused, so Bai Zhen couldn¡¯t stand it and went forward to help me reason. Then, the scene you saw happened.¡± Wang Ting immediately retorted, ¡°I didn¡¯t stretch my leg out on purpose.¡± Qiu Ying looked at Wang Ting and asked, ¡°If you didn¡¯t extend your leg on purpose, why didn¡¯t you even apologize? Moreover, you wanted to attack me.¡± Wang Ting opened her mouth and realized that she couldn¡¯t say those words. If she did, it would confirm the matter of her stirring up trouble. For a moment, Wang Ting was anxious, but she couldn¡¯t come up with a reasonable explanation. Chapter 31 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations After seeing Wang Ting¡¯s performance, Teacher Qian believed Qiu Ying¡¯s words even more. After all, Wang Ting had a reputation for being arrogant, so it wasn¡¯t surprising that she would do such a thing. ¡°Write a self-reflection letter! If there¡¯s a next time, I¡¯ll invite your parents to school and listen to you reflect on yourself on the podium!¡± After letting them return to their seats in the classroom, Teacher Qian publicly said that he would punish Wang Ting by letting her clean the classroom for a month! Because she had been humiliated in public by Qiu Ying, Wang Ting clenched her fists and a trace of ruthlessness flashed across her eyes! Bai Zhen gave her a thumbs up and said to Qiu Ying with admiration, ¡°Little Yingying, you¡¯re awesome!¡± Qiu Ying smiled. ¡°Plotting to defeat your opponent is the best way. Don¡¯t just think about using force to solve the problem. Moreover, it¡¯s in public. Isn¡¯t this letting her have dirt over you?¡± When Bai Zhen heard this, she immediately asked, ¡°What if it¡¯s not in public?!¡± Qiu Ying smiled slyly. ¡°Then protect yourself from harm.¡± Bai Zhen¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Little Yingying, I understand!¡± Jiang Lin chuckled when he heard this and looked at Qiu Ying with a hint of affection. Jiang Lin had thought that Qiu Ying¡¯s way of doing things was to use strategy, but he didn¡¯t expect that in private, she also liked to take revenge in such a straightforward manner. Qiu Ying was distracted in class. She thought about her conflict with Wang Ting for a while and thought about the WeChat group photo she saw during morning self-study. After daydreaming for half the class, she took out her phone and found the WeChat of the boss of the dance studio, Sister Xi. She asked her to pay her 500 yuan in advance. Sister Xi transferred the money quickly. Qiu Ying thanked her after taking it, then sent a message to Jiang Lin: Are you free tomorrow after training? I¡¯d like to treat you to a meal. When Jiang Lin saw this, he thought of Qiu Ying and Wang Ting¡¯s argument during the break just now and sighed that Qiu Ying was finally going to do something with him. He suppressed the smile on his face and quickly replied, ¡°I¡¯m free.¡± At the teachers¡¯ dormitory. Yao Yu and Lin Zhao realized that Jiang Lin had already changed his outfit several times. Yao Yu stared at his phone and said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going for running training? After changing your outfit so many times, there¡¯s only the smell of sweat left.¡± Lin Zhao chuckled. Jiang Lin rolled his eyes and finally chose the latest season Haute Couture sportswear that had just been delivered from the capital. After more than a week of targeted training, Qiu Ying could now run 12 minutes and 35 seconds. When Jiang Lin saw the results, he smiled and said, ¡°Pretty good. At first, you were almost at the 17-minute mark. After another four days of training, you can try to break through the 12-point mark.¡± Qiu Ying looked at the latest results and smiled from the bottom of her heart. After training, the two of them went to the food street beside the school. Jiang Lin chose a coconut chicken restaurant. After the dishes were served, Qiu Ying said seriously, ¡°Jiang Lin, I¡¯m really grateful to you for my huge improvement.¡± Jiang Lin leaned back in his chair and smiled lazily. ¡°You¡¯re welcome. I said I¡¯d definitely help you get a ranking.¡± Halfway through the meal, Qiu Ying got two bowls of soup, one of which she placed on Jiang Lin¡¯s desk and said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯ll toast you with soup in lieu of wine. Thank you for taking care of me all this time.¡± Jiang Lin¡¯s smile faded at that. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Qiu Ying still had a gentle smile on her face. ¡°I¡¯m quite embarrassed to have taken up so much of your time. There are still four days left. I¡¯ll train according to your style. I don¡¯t want to trouble you to follow my training schedule every day.¡± Jiang Lin sneered when he heard this. ¡°Qiu Ying, you¡¯re quite good at burning bridges, but this bridge hasn¡¯t even been built yet. Are you in such a hurry to tear it down?¡± Qiu Ying said, ¡°They¡¯re different bridges to begin with. They can¡¯t be built together, so why waste time?¡± Jiang Lin understood what Qiu Ying meant. She was hinting that the two of them were from different worlds and wouldn¡¯t be together even if they wasted time. Jiang Lin laughed in anger. He threw the chopsticks he was holding hard on the table, got up, and walked out of the restaurant. Jiang Lin¡¯s reaction was expected by Qiu Ying. These high and mighty young masters had gotten whatever they wanted since they were young. When his ego was bruised, how could he not be angry? In the end, Jiang Lin and Qi Yue were all in the same circle. How could they really take a woman seriously? Chapter 32 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations In the eyes of these nobles, feelings were just a way to toy with women. When he was happy, he would tease her like a cat or dog. When he was unhappy, he would throw her aside. In a few days, he might not even remember her name. If he remembered her name, she would probably become his mistress. For example, in her previous life. Qiu Ying laughed in self-mockery, then stood up to pay the bill and go home. When Jiang Lin returned to the dormitory, only Yao Yu was there. He slammed the door like he did last week. But unlike last week, Jiang Lin¡¯s face was even more ashen this time, and the coldness in his eyes was intimidating. Yao Yu immediately went forward and asked with concern, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did you quarrel with Qiu Ying?¡± The corners of Jiang Lin¡¯s mouth curled up. The tip of his tongue pressed against his molars as he laughed. ¡°Why would I argue with her?! I can have any woman I want. Don¡¯t mention her to me in the future!¡± The biscuits and bread he had bought on Monday had just arrived yesterday and were piled up beside the television in the living room. For the past two days, Jiang Lin had been thinking about how to make Qiu Ying accept these two boxes. At this moment, Jiang Lin only found it ironic and said coldly, ¡°When you go back later, help me throw these two boxes into the trash can downstairs.¡± With that, he entered the bedroom. The sound of the door closing was deafening. Yao Yu was stunned for a few seconds. He swallowed and muttered to himself, ¡°Sigh, it seems that it¡¯s really over this time.¡± Monday¡¯s morning self-study was as usual a topic to discuss. Yao Yu and Bai Zhen felt that the atmosphere in the group was abnormally strange. Every time they discussed a topic, the two of them were in charge of simple information selection and collection. The controversial parts would be discussed during the morning self-study session. However, although they discussed it together, Jiang Lin and Qiu Ying basically discussed the difficult points together. Yao Yu and Bai Zhen were mostly onlookers. Therefore, since the two of them spoke less today, the atmosphere changed. Yao Yu knew what was going on, but Bai Zhen was confused. However, Bai Zhen could sense their abnormality. Moreover, Qiu Ying had weight training this Monday morning, but Bai Zhen saw Jiang Lin as soon as she arrived, and Qiu Ying entered the classroom with two leg-tied sandbags on the spot. After their homework was done, Qiu Ying and Bai Zhen turned back to their seats. Bai Zhen asked with concern, ¡°Why did you go to train alone this morning? Did you two quarrel?¡± Qiu Ying blinked. ¡°Dear Zhenzhen, we¡¯re just ordinary classmates. We didn¡¯t even argue. There are still a few days. I can practice by myself. After all, he has his own matters to attend to. I can¡¯t always disturb him.¡± Bai Zhen felt disappointed. She could only sigh silently and take out a new novel, ¡°The Little Fairy of the Wolf School Tyrant.¡± The school festival was on Thursday Friday, the primary was on Thursday, and the final was on Friday. The 3km competition for the senior class¡¯s female group started at 3:30 PM. After the women¡¯s competition, it was the men¡¯s competition. Qiu Ying and Jiang Lin both made it to the finals without a hitch. Bai Zhen had been eliminated in the preliminary round yesterday, so she decided to accompany Qiu Ying today. Every contestant who participated in the long-distance run could choose a companion, but the companion could only run on the lawn in the field and couldn¡¯t enter the race track. As long-distance running required higher endurance, and the students were not professional athletes, with people accompanying, the contestants could last longer in the race, and good accompanying runners could also help the contestants increase their speed. Large-scale official competitive competitions didn¡¯t allow accompanying runners, but the school¡¯s sports meet didn¡¯t belong to that category. Moreover, the main goal of holding it was to let the students experience the competitive spirit of the sports arena. Participation was more important. It was hoped that the students would have more exercise awareness while obtaining cultural knowledge. The school sports meet in the afternoon started at 2 p.m. Because it wasn¡¯t time for Qiu Ying to compete, she cheered for the other students who were participating in the competition with Bai Zhen. Halfway through the competition, Bai Zhen suddenly felt a pain in her stomach. ¡°Little Yingying, my stomach doesn¡¯t feel well. I¡¯ll go to the bathroom.¡± Qiu Ying was worried. ¡°Do you want me to come with you?¡± Bai Zhen bent down slightly and held her stomach. She frowned as she said, ¡°No need. My stomach probably just hurts from drinking too much cold water just now. I¡¯ll just go to the bathroom. The contestants from our class will go on stage next. You can cheer us on. We can¡¯t lose in terms of momentum!¡± With that, she ran to the bathroom. Chapter 33 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations After Qiu Ying finished watching her classmate¡¯s competition, she waited for another five minutes. Seeing that Bai Zhen wasn¡¯t back yet, she was a little worried. She took out her phone and wanted to call her. At this moment, two girls in school uniforms patted Qiu Ying¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re Senior Qiu Ying, right?¡± Qiu Ying turned around and saw two girls with light makeup on. She nodded. The short-haired girl said, ¡°Senior Bai Zhen said that she forgot to bring toilet paper and wants you to send them over.¡± Seeing this, Qiu Ying called Bai Zhen¡¯s number and realized that her phone was switched off. When the other girl saw this, she smiled and said, ¡°Senior Sister Baizhen¡¯s phone is out of battery, so she asked us to pass on the message.¡± Seeing this, Qiu Ying didn¡¯t think too much about it. She took out a tissue from her pocket and followed the two students to look for Bai Zhen. Qiu Ying realized that they were going to the laboratory. The laboratory was in the northernmost corner of the school. No one came over except for classes. She was a little puzzled. ¡°What grade are you in? Why did Bai Zhen come so far?¡± The short-haired girl smiled and said, ¡°We¡¯re in our second year of high school. The school building isn¡¯t close to the field, and everyone went there to use the bathroom. There were too many people, so the two of us couldn¡¯t be bothered to wait anymore and we came over here. Senior Bai Zhen couldn¡¯t wait any longer. We had just finished using the bathroom to touch up our makeup when we saw her rushing in while holding her stomach.¡± Another girl chimed in, ¡°Unfortunately, she ran out of toilet paper, so Senior Bai Zhen asked us to look for you.¡± As they spoke, they walked to the laboratory building. There was no bathroom on the first floor. The two girls led Qiu Ying to the second floor. After entering the bathroom and looking at the closed cubicle door, Qiu Ying stood at the door and shouted, ¡°Zhenzhen, which cubicle are you in?¡± Qiu Ying looked ahead and suddenly felt a force pushing her back. The unguarded Qiu Ying was pushed into the toilet cubicle. When Qiu Ying turned around, the cubicle door was already locked. She immediately knocked on the door and asked loudly, ¡°Who asked you to lock me here? What did you do to Bai Zhen?!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you know who you¡¯ve offended? You should reflect on yourself in the bathroom!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. You still have the mood to care about others at a time like this! We¡¯re just teaching you a small lesson today. If you dare to seduce someone you shouldn¡¯t, it won¡¯t be so simple next time!¡± The two girls took out the signal jammer they were wearing and placed it on the sink. They then placed the yellow sign that said ¡°Maintenance in progress¡± that they had prepared earlier on the bathroom door. After closing the bathroom door, they left. When Qiu Ying heard that the two of them only wanted to lock her up here, she was slightly relieved. She took out her phone to make a call, but realized that there was no signal at all. Half a minute later, four men came out of the forest on the side of the laboratory building. The leader was about 30 years old and looked like someone not to be trifled with. The other three were about 20 years old and looked like hooligans. One of the boys said, ¡°Boss, we¡¯re sure the two women have left.¡± Zhao Qi, who was the leader, had an evil smile on his face. He had seen her clearly just now. Just the side profile of that high school student¡¯s face was already much prettier than in the photo he had been shown! On the other hand, when Bai Zhen returned to the competition venue, she realized that Qiu Ying was no longer there. The two female students who had come to cheer with her had also left. Bai Zhen glanced at the time and saw that it was three o¡¯clock sharp. She thought that Qiu Ying had returned to the field to prepare for the competition. After running around the long-distance running competition venue, she realized that Qiu Ying wasn¡¯t around, so she quickly took out her phone and dialed a number while looking around the stands for her. ¡°Hello, the number you dialed is switched off.¡± Hearing the mechanical female voice from the phone, Bai Zhen already felt that something was wrong. Bai Zhen happened to find Jiang Lin and the other two at this moment. When she saw them, she quickly asked, ¡°Have you two seen Yingying? Her phone was switched off when I called her!¡± Seeing Bai Zhen¡¯s flustered expression, Yao Yu said seriously, ¡°No, I¡¯ve been sitting here. Have you seen Qiu Ying?¡± Jiang Lin immediately straightened up. ¡°I didn¡¯t see her. Don¡¯t worry. Tell me what happened quickly.¡± Bai Zhen immediately explained what had happened. The four of them had gone over to cheer on Lin Zhao, so she immediately called the other two girls. After the two girls received the call, they only said that they had seen two girls call Qiu Ying away. However, they didn¡¯t pay attention to which direction they went. Coupled with the fact that they were standing a little far away and there were people cheering, they didn¡¯t hear their conversation. Chapter 34 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations The phone was on speaker. Everyone heard it. Jiang Lin frowned and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s the most remote place in No. 3 High School?¡± Bai Zhen, who had been in No. 3 High School for two years, said without hesitation, ¡°The laboratory¡¯s teaching building! There¡¯s usually no one there, especially with the school¡¯s sports meet!¡± Jiang Lin immediately arranged, ¡°Lin Zhao, take Bai Zhen to the teacher first to explain the situation. When distributing the contestants¡¯ number plates later, remember to find someone to collect them.¡± ¡°Yao Yu, follow me to the laboratory immediately.¡± Bai Zhen, who was already out of her wits, slowly calmed down after hearing Jiang Lin¡¯s arrangements, and the few of them split up. On the other side, the boy who had been following the girls went forward and smiled ingratiatingly. ¡°Brother, I saw them enter the girls¡¯ bathroom on the second floor.¡± Zhao Qi led his three lackeys straight to the second floor. When he saw the locked bathroom door, he kicked it open several times. Qiu Ying, who was in the cubicle, heard the loud sound of the door being kicked open. She had an uneasy feeling, so she remained silent. After Zhao Qi came in, he saw that the cubicle closest to the door was locked from the outside, so he teased, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, little beauty. I¡¯m here to save you. Stand against the wall. I¡¯ll kick the door open now.¡± Qiu Ying bit her pale lips. When she saw the lid on the toilet bowl, she immediately pulled it out and stood against the wall with her hands behind her back. The door of the cubicle wasn¡¯t thick. Zhao Qi took a step back with his right foot and kicked the door open. Seeing Qiu Ying¡¯s expressionless face and slightly pale lips, Zhao Qi¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°She¡¯s an aloof beauty! I only saw her side profile just now, but I immediately felt horny.¡± Qiu Ying stared intently at Zhao Qi. When he approached, she suddenly threw the lid that she had hidden behind her. The sudden impact made Zhao Qi see stars, and two trails of blood immediately flowed down his head. Then, Qiu Ying immediately raised her foot and kicked the man¡¯s abdomen. Zhao Qi was already a little unsteady from being bashed on the head. With this kick, he fell out of the cubicle door and let out a cry of pain. Hearing the commotion inside, the lackeys guarding outside realized that something was wrong. One of them immediately went forward to support Zhao Qi. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Qiu Ying quickly ran out and shouted, ¡°Help!¡± Seeing this, the two lackeys standing at the door immediately reached out to grab Qiu Ying¡¯s shoulder and dragged her into the bathroom. At the same time, they said fiercely, ¡°Little bitch, don¡¯t worry. There¡¯s only the few of us in this building! How dare you hit Brother Qi? You must be tired of living!¡± ¡°Damn it! Don¡¯t waste your breath on her. We¡¯ll take turns with her later!¡± Qiu Ying¡¯s hands were restrained and she began to look anxious. Seeing that she was getting away from the door, Qiu Ying immediately kicked one of the men in the crotch. The intense pain made the man let go. He held his hands between his legs and squatted on the ground, his face filled with pain. Before Qiu Ying could attack again, Zhao Qi, whose forehead was bleeding, had already recovered. He went forward and grabbed Qiu Ying¡¯s chin to force her back, then slapped her hard. This slap was very strong. A trace of blood flowed from the corner of Qiu Ying¡¯s mouth, and a clear slap mark immediately appeared on her face. ¡°Bitch, since you¡¯re so shameless, I¡¯ll fuc, you today!¡± The surrounding men immediately smiled wretchedly and jeered, ¡°How fun. Let her serve the four of us at the same time later!¡± ¡°Take some nude photos of her. In the future, if we want to play with her, we can make her our sex slave! She¡¯ll be at our beck and call!¡± When Zhao Qi heard these stimulating words, he felt tantalized. He reached out and tore off the girl¡¯s T-shirt. Looking at the girl¡¯s exposed tender skin, he couldn¡¯t wait to pull off his belt. Qiu Ying¡¯s hand was raised and pressed against the wall. In order to prevent her from kicking again, the remaining two men even pressed her leg. Even if it was useless, Qiu Ying was still struggling violently. Qiu Ying was filled with unwillingness! Why was it the same as in her previous life?! Could it be that she still couldn¡¯t change her fate even after changing places?! At this moment, Qiu Ying¡¯s eyes were filled with despair. She didn¡¯t want to live such a humiliating life anymore! Qiu Ying placed her tongue between her teeth and was about to exert force. The man who had been pressing down on her was pulled away and punched in the chin. Then, his head was pulled and slammed against the wall. Chapter 35 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations Seeing this, the other two lackeys immediately let go of Qiu Ying and rushed forward. ¡°Brat, I advise you to mind your own business!¡± ¡°You interrupted my fun. You¡¯re courting death!¡± Jiang Lin looked at Qiu Ying¡¯s bare shoulder and the swelling on her cheek. Anger surged. Suppressing his anger, he took off his T-shirt and wrapped Qiu Ying in it. ¡°Don¡¯t look,¡± Jiang Lin whispered. Qiu Ying stopped trying to lift her shirt. She couldn¡¯t see what was happening outside, but she heard the men wailing in pain. The man who had been kicked in the crotch by Qiu Ying was still holding his crotch at the door. At this moment, when he saw Jiang Lin go crazy and start beating people like a lunatic, he quickly moved out of the door. Unexpectedly, Yao Yu caught him as soon as he left. Zhao Qi had been hit on the head twice in a row, and when he saw his group of lackeys lying on the ground while begging for mercy from a student, he went crazy and raised his fist to punch Jiang Lin. Jiang Lin shielded Qiu Ying. He took the other party¡¯s fist with one hand and bent it hard. There was a sound of bones breaking. ¡°Ah!¡± Zhao Qi screamed. There were two screams inside and outside the door, as if they were competing to see who was louder. After Yao Yu finished beating him up, he entered the room and realized that Jiang Lin had not stopped. He was pressing the other party¡¯s head against the tiles of the sink. Zhao Qi¡¯s loud curses turned into soft begging. There was a large pool of bright red blood on the pale yellow tiles. Seeing Jiang Lin¡¯s murderous expression, Yao Yu felt alarmed. He stepped forward and said, ¡°Ah Lin, stop. If you continue, he¡¯ll be dead. Let them live. Letting them live is worse than dying!¡± Jiang Lin stopped what he was doing and threw him aside. Seeing that Qiu Ying was already wearing her own clothes, he walked over slowly and said gently, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. It¡¯s okay.¡± Qiu Ying¡¯s pale face made the palm print more obvious. She looked at the boy in front of her and nodded. After a while, she said in a daze, ¡°I want to participate in the competition.¡± Jiang Lin glanced at his watch. ¡°It¡¯s ten past three. There¡¯s still time.¡± At this moment, Mr. Qian and Bai Zhen had also arrived with a few boys and saw the chaotic scene in the bathroom. ¡°Yingying!¡± Bai Zhen ran forward and looked at Qiu Ying, who was wearing Jiang Lin¡¯s clothes, and then at the men on the ground. She thought that Qiu Ying had been defiled by these jerks, so she choked with tears and said, ¡°Yingying, it¡¯s fine!¡± Qiu Ying didn¡¯t know that Bai Zhen had misunderstood. She glanced at Bai Zhen and said in a daze, ¡°I want to participate in the competition.¡± Bai Zhen looked at Qiu Ying and tears flowed down her face. Seeing this, Mr. Qian went forward and gently stroked Qiu Ying¡¯s arm. He comforted her, ¡°Qiu Ying, I¡¯ll explain that you¡¯re going to withdraw from the competition. The most important thing for you to do now is to go back and rest!¡± Then, she said carefully, ¡°Qiu Ying, it¡¯s best if you get your body checked now. We don¡¯t know what kind of diseases those animals have.¡± Qiu Ying came back to her senses and when she heard this, she knew everyone had misunderstood, so she explained, ¡°Jiang Lin came in time. I¡¯m fine.¡± Everyone heaved a sigh of relief. Qiu Ying looked at Mr. Qian seriously. ¡°Teacher, I¡¯m fine. I can participate in the school¡¯s sports meet!¡± Seeing the determination in Qiu Ying¡¯s eyes, Mr. Qian nodded. ¡°Then go. Leave these things for us to handle. I¡¯ll definitely investigate this matter and give you an explanation!¡± With that, he took out his phone and called the police. The boys he brought with him watched over the four hooligans who were no longer able to struggle. They left the laboratory building. Jiang Lin looked at his naked upper body and turned to Yao Yu. ¡°Take off your clothes.¡± Yao Yu widened his eyes at Jiang Lin. Under Jiang Lin¡¯s menacing gaze, he reluctantly took off his clothes and comforted himself that he should just let it go. Since he had saved the damsel in distress, he was magnanimous enough not to argue with him. Seeing this, Qiu Ying also realized that the man¡¯s T-shirt she was wearing was too big. It would definitely attract attention when she reached the field, but time was tight and there was no time to go to the girls¡¯ dormitory to change clothes. Hence, she tied a knot at the bottom of her wide T-shirt and walked towards the field with a firm gaze. The more people wanted to stop her, the more she couldn¡¯t admit defeat. As long as there was a chance, she had to grab it and climb up! When Qiu Ying arrived at the arena, there were still five minutes before the competition. She took the number plate from Lin Zhao and said softly, ¡°Class monitor, thank you!¡± Lin Zhao adjusted the gold frame and smiled gently. ¡°If you want to thank someone, thank Ah Lin. He was the one who reminded me to arrange for someone to report to get the number plate.¡± Qiu Ying glanced at Jiang Lin and thanked him seriously. Jiang Lin smiled but said nothing. Chapter 36 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations As Bai Zhen was Qiu Ying¡¯s accompanying runner, when the finals of the senior class¡¯s women¡¯s group were about to begin, Bai Zhen was also waiting on the field. Bang. There was a gunshot. The ten people who had entered the finals rushed out of the starting line together. The final competition every year was long-distance running. The other events had already ended. Therefore, the circular stands on the runway were filled with people that were cheering! After all, Bai Zhen didn¡¯t run often. After accompanying her for two laps, she gradually couldn¡¯t keep up anymore. Seeing that Qiu Ying was a little behind, she was anxious. Bai Zhen knew how important the competition¡¯s ranking was to Qiu Ying. She, the accompanying runner, actually didn¡¯t help Qiu Ying at all. If this continued, Qiu Ying would definitely lose. Bai Zhen slowly stopped and took out her phone. She sent Jiang Lin a friend request. In the stands, Jiang Lin, who was waiting to go on the field, hadn¡¯t thought about whether to add her or not, but his hand had already clicked yes. Seeing that her friend request had been accepted, Bai Zhen immediately sent a message: Jiang Lin, can you substitute for me? Those contestants are not bad, and it¡¯s a little difficult to get a ranking without a good accompanying runner. Jiang Lin had just finished reading when she sent another message: Jiang Lin, please! This ranking is very important to Yingying. Jiang Lin looked at the message on his phone. He rubbed his index finger with his right thumb, his expression dark. He had saved her just now, but he still remembered Qiu Ying¡¯s cold expression that day! But looking at Qiu Ying, who was still behind the middle and late stages on the fourth lap, Jiang Lin couldn¡¯t help but curse fiercely, ¡°Little ingrate, I really owe you in my previous life!¡± At this moment, Yao Yu, who had already changed and came to cheer Qiu Ying on, was shouting until his face and neck were red. When he heard Jiang Lin¡¯s voice, he turned to look at him in confusion. He saw Jiang Lin jogging toward the runway as he replied to Bai Zhen¡¯s message. Because long-distance running was indiscriminate, as soon as Jiang Lin entered the runway infield, he immediately ran straight to Qiu Ying¡¯s side. ¡°Now, pick up a little speed with me.¡± Qiu Ying turned to look at Jiang Lin in surprise when she heard the familiar voice. Jiang Lin raised one eyebrow and said, ¡°Watch where you¡¯re going. I know I have a handsome face. You can take your time staring at me after the competition!¡± As Qiu Ying listened to Jiang Lin¡¯s teasing, she came back to her senses and began to follow his pace. With Jiang Lin leading, Qiu Ying got third place. Bai Zhen rushed off the field excitedly and gave them two bottles of mineral water. Yao Yu followed behind. Bai Zhen praised, ¡°With Jiang Lin¡¯s help, you really turned the tide!¡± Yao Yu echoed, ¡°Of course. Brother Lin is the champion!¡± Qiu Ying thanked him in embarrassment. Today, he helped her when she had been set up and now, he was running with her. She really didn¡¯t expect Jiang Lin to help her like this after what happened that day. Seeing this, Jiang Lin said, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have come down if Bai Zhen hadn¡¯t been texting me.¡± It was normal for a young master to mind what had happened that day. He had probably never been humiliated like that by anyone in his life. Qiu Ying pretended not to hear the hostility in Jiang Lin¡¯s tone and smiled. ¡°No matter what, I should thank you.¡± Looking at Qiu Ying¡¯s still slightly swollen face, Jiang Lin awkwardly looked away, but his hands, which were in his trouser pockets, were already clenched into fists from nervousness. Jiang Lin was angry at himself for his heart skipping a beat just now. Thinking of Qiu Ying¡¯s infuriating words that day, Jiang Lin gritted his teeth and said, ¡°If you really want to thank me, wait for me in the inner court when I race later and cheer me on.¡± He figured it out. She had misled him previously. Why did Qiu Ying have the final say?! Seeing Jiang Lin¡¯s angry expression, Qiu Ying didn¡¯t know what he had just thought of, but today, Jiang Lin had saved her and helped her get a ranking. Qiu Ying naturally agreed to such a small request. While they were talking, the radio began to broadcast: The 3,000 meters race of the men¡¯s team will begin soon. Please come to the venue to collect your competition numbers. Seeing this, Bai Zhen left first, and when Yao Yu left, he glanced at Jiang Lin meaningfully. ¡°Ah Lin, you really don¡¯t need me to accompany you?¡± Jiang Lin knew that Yao Yu had hinted at what he had said when he flipped out that day, so he said angrily, ¡°Get lost. I don¡¯t need you to accompany me, lest you drag me down.¡± Yao Yu looked at the tips of Jiang Lin¡¯s pink ears and restrained the smile on his face. Otherwise, it would be troublesome if he was punished for it one day. Chapter 37 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations When Jiang Lin went to the field, the boys and girls in the stands became excited. As soon as the order to run was given, the ones cheering Jiang Lin on were the loudest. Many stopped cheering for the contestants from their own classes and just shouted Jiang Lin¡¯s name! Jiang Lin took the lead as soon as he went on stage. Some people couldn¡¯t help but feel jealous when they saw how Jiang Lin was in the limelight. ¡°Who doesn¡¯t know that being in the lead at the beginning of a long-distance running competition doesn¡¯t mean anything? If he loses his strength after showing off, he might be the last one later! Xiao Xiao has won two long-distance running championships in a row. Although he¡¯s second now, he might surpass him later!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. And this group of women all become such kiss asses when they see a handsome guy. They¡¯re so shallow! It¡¯s the inside that counts!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t Jiang Lin just good at fighting? He¡¯s simple-minded! He¡¯s just good at English. What else does he have to boast about?! Wait for this monthly exam. Wait for the other students to crush him!¡± However, no matter how jealous the people outside the field were, after four laps, Jiang Lin still maintained a distance of about ten meters from the person in second place. At this moment, Qiu Ying was also infected by the atmosphere in the stands. As soon as she saw Jiang Lin run to where she was waiting, she immediately shouted, ¡°Go Jiang Lin!¡± On the fifth lap, Xiao Xiao, who was in second place, began to speed up, getting closer and closer to Jiang Lin. Qiu Ying couldn¡¯t help but feel nervous when she saw this scene. The shouts for support were much louder. Jiang Lin saw Qiu Ying¡¯s nervous face and was in a good mood. When Yao Yu saw everyone in the stands cheering Jiang Lin on, he immediately took out his phone and started filming the surrounding stands. ¡°Comrades! Look at Brother Lin!¡± Then, the camera turned to the audience. ¡°Brother Lin is in a good mood now. He¡¯s running slowly to tease these people. Let me record Brother Lin¡¯s sprint for you!¡± In the field, Jiang Lin slowly began to increase his speed evenly. At the last 100 meters, he had already surpassed the second place by more than ten meters. Seeing Qiu Ying, who was cheering for him, he increased his speed again and rushed to the finish line, pulling away from the second place by more than twenty meters. Qiu Ying had been staring intently. When she saw that Jiang Lin had successfully sprinted, she couldn¡¯t help but jump up in excitement. The spectators cheered. Yao Yu pressed the save button and opened a WeChat group called the ¡°Cultivation Center¡±. He sent the video: ¡°Friends from Jingdu, I¡¯ll let you see our interesting life at No. 3 High School!¡± For the first time, Jiang Lin saw such a bright smile on Qiu Ying¡¯s face, and it was towards him. His smile deepened. After the sports competition ended, Mr. Qian announced Class One¡¯s awards on the podium in the classroom. At the same time, he also said that Qiu Ying had been set up and said that he would definitely investigate this matter thoroughly, so he hoped that Qiu Ying¡¯s classmates would show Qiu Ying more kindness. When Wang Ting heard this, a trace of panic appeared on her face. Then, she suppressed it. Mr. Qian had been a form teacher for so many years and could tell at a glance that there was a problem. He had actually said those words on purpose to see if any of Qiu Ying¡¯s classmates were involved in this matter. He didn¡¯t expect to really catch one. After the school¡¯s sports meeting ended, during the next week, they began to prepare for the first monthly examination of S City¡¯s senior cohort. The time for the ¡°Ancient Dance Cup¡± was also announced. As the ¡°Ancient Dance Cup¡± became more and more famous, more contestants participated in this competition than ever before. The selection competition lasted from September 29th to October 10th. The time the contestants would participate in the competition was randomly chosen. Qiu Ying¡¯s competition was on October 8th. S City was the provincial capital of Province G. In addition, the sea view was charming, so the competition in the eastern region of China had always been held in S City. This made it very convenient for Qiu Ying. The National Day holiday began on September 29th and 30th after the monthly examination. The other schools followed the country¡¯s rules and had an entire week off during the holiday. Only the senior class was an exception. No. 3 High School only gave them three days off. On October 4th, the holiday was over and classes began. Although the competition didn¡¯t coincide with the school break, fortunately, it wasn¡¯t in conflict with this week¡¯s joint high school exam. Qiu Ying planned to ask Mr. Qian for leave today. Although it was a little early to ask for leave, this was too important. Qiu Ying wanted to settle the matter first. School office. Mr. Qian asked gently, ¡°Qiu Ying, what are you taking leave for? After all, you¡¯re in your third year of high school now. You just took leave a few days after school started in September, and now, you¡¯re taking leave in October.¡± Qiu Ying braced herself and said, ¡°Mr. Qian, I can¡¯t tell you what I¡¯m going to do now, but please believe me. This matter is very important to me. It will change my life.¡± Chapter 38 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations Mr. Qian didn¡¯t expect Qiu Ying to say something like that. After thinking for a moment, he still didn¡¯t give up and asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t there a three-day holiday soon? Can¡¯t you squeeze it in these few days?¡± Qiu Ying replied, ¡°I didn¡¯t manage to get a spot for the 11th. It can only be done on October 8th. I¡¯ll only take leave for half a day in the morning!¡± Qiu Ying looked at the hesitant Mr. Qian and carefully added, ¡°Mr. Qian, it¡¯s just half a day! I¡¯ll definitely think of a way to make up for the missed classes.¡± If it took half a day, it wouldn¡¯t take much effort for Qiu Ying to catch up. Moreover, as long as the third-year students didn¡¯t take more than a day off, the form teacher had the right to directly approve it. There was no need to look for the dean or the vice-principal for approval. After school started, the college entrance examination was getting closer and closer, and it was getting harder to get approval for a leave. Unless the parents came to apply for leave, Mr. Qian might not be able to get approval from the higher-ups. Mr. Qian looked at Qiu Ying¡¯s sincere gaze and his heart softened. He signed the leave request. As Mr. Qian signed, he said to Qiu Ying, ¡°By the way, your grades haven¡¯t improved after these few rounds of weekly English testing. Jiang Lin¡¯s English is his forte. I want to change your seat so you can sit with him.¡± Qiu Ying quickly refused. ¡°There¡¯s no need, Mr. Qian. I have to rely on myself for my studies. I¡¯ll think about it and definitely think of a way to improve my grades!¡± Seeing that Qiu Ying was in a hurry to refuse, Mr. Qian laughed out loud. ¡°Previously, someone came to tell me that you and Jiang Lin were close and even practiced running together. I was a little worried at that time and wondered if I should put the two of you together. Now, it¡¯s decided. There are still more than ten students whose seats have to be adjusted this time. I¡¯ll mention them in class later. You can change seats then.¡± Qiu Ying couldn¡¯t help but hesitate. ¡°Teacher, give me another chance. I¡¯ll definitely find a suitable way to improve my English.¡± Mr. Qian smiled at Qiu Ying. ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t believe you, but look at the countdown to the college entrance examination. There are still eight months left. Time is tight! Your overall grades are dragged down because of your English grades. One point in an exam can really change a person¡¯s fate.¡± Qiu Ying knew Mr. Qian¡¯s good intentions, so she didn¡¯t refute and nodded. In the classroom. Qiu Ying sighed and sat in a chair. When Bai Zhen heard this, she asked with concern, ¡°Little Yingying, where did you go just now?¡± Qiu Ying turned to look at Bai Zhen. ¡°I went to ask Mr. Qian for leave.¡± Bai Zhen asked, ¡°Why did you take leave?! For how many days is it?¡± Qiu Ying replied, ¡°I have something important to do on October 8th. It¡¯s not convenient for me to say what I want to do now.¡± Bai Zhen¡¯s face stiffened when she heard this. Then, she smiled indifferently and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine. We¡¯ll talk about it when it¡¯s convenient for you.¡± Bai Zhen thought about the anonymous message she had just received and asked, ¡°By the way, what happened the other day when Wang Ting said that you were fooling around with someone at the school gate?¡± Qiu Ying glanced at Bai Zhen. It had been a week since this incident, so she didn¡¯t expect Bai Zhen to ask again. Thinking of this, Qiu Ying looked a little sad. ¡°I bumped into a former neighbor and spoke to him.¡± At that time, Bai Zhen thought that Wang Ting was just spouting nonsense to frame Qiu Ying, so she didn¡¯t think too much about it or ask further. However, she had just received a photo today and realized that Wang Ting had really seen it. Bai Zhen looked at Qiu Ying¡¯s expression and knew that their relationship was definitely not so casual. Bai Zhen felt that Qiu Ying was always veiled in front of her. Even if she was her best friend in school, Qiu Ying always hid many secrets from her. But she had no secrets from her. Shouldn¡¯t best friends be honest with each other? So did she really think of her as a friend? ¡°Yingying, what kind of person is he?¡± Bai Zhen wanted to give their friendship another chance. As long as Qiu Ying told her this, she could accept not knowing anything else. Qiu Ying was looking down at the table and didn¡¯t notice Bai Zhen¡¯s abnormality. ¡°He was just a neighbor. Actually, we¡¯re not very close. I didn¡¯t expect him to get into a university in S City, so we bumped into each other that day and chatted.¡± Bai Zhen chuckled. Only then did Qiu Ying feel that something was wrong. ¡°Zhenzhen, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Bai Zhen said softly, ¡°Qiu Ying, I¡¯ve had many friends since I was young, but you¡¯re the only one I call my best friend. Now, I finally believe that our friendship is one-sided!¡± Seeing that Bai Zhen had really misunderstood, she quickly explained, ¡°Zhenzhen, did you misunderstand something? It¡¯s not one-sided. You¡¯re also my good friend!¡± Chapter 39 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations Bai Zhen¡¯s eyes were filled with mockery. ¡°Why do you always keep so many secrets from me, like where your parents are, what they do, and why you transferred schools? It¡¯s fine if you think it¡¯s inconvenient to say because of family privacy. But you¡¯re not even willing to tell me what you want to do with your leave. You¡¯re willing to tell me about your neighbor, but I¡¯m not blind. With that sad expression on your face, was he really just a neighbor to you?¡± Qiu Ying panicked when she saw Bai Zhen like this. She grabbed Bai Zhen¡¯s hands. ¡°Zhenzhen!¡± After Bai Zhen broke free from Qiu Ying¡¯s hand, she interrupted her explanation. ¡°Alright, I don¡¯t want to argue with you. You don¡¯t have to find an excuse to explain to me.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, Teacher Qian entered the classroom. After the bell rang, Teacher Qian explained the latest seating adjustment plan on the podium. ¡°After you guys were divided into arts and sciences classes last year, you guys were allowed to choose your deskmates freely every semester. However, I realized that it¡¯s not good to have too much freedom. After school started this semester, some teachers and I noticed that some classmates like to chat in class, so some of your seats will change today.¡± ¡°For students whose seats have changed, it might be because you talk too much. After adjusting, I hope that you can focus more on your studies. You won¡¯t ever be able to finish talking! There are also some students whose seats have changed because I hope that you can help each other in your studies. Of course, if any students privately feel that there are subjects they need help in, they can find students who are good at this subject. If the two of you are willing to sit together after discussing, you can come straight to me to adjust your seats. I hope that this adjustment will bring a positive effect to your grades.¡± Then, he announced the seat movements of more than a dozen students, including Bai Zhen and Jiang Lin¡¯s. When Bai Zhen heard this, she thought of the change of seats mentioned in the anonymous message. The message said that in order to improve her English grades, she had taken the initiative to tell her teacher that she wanted to sit at the same table as Jiang Lin. At this moment, Bai Zhen only felt that her sincerity had been crushed. After class, the students whose seats had changed began to pack their things. Qiu Ying looked at Bai Zhen¡¯s empty seat in a daze. Bai Zhen had immediately left the classroom when the bell rang. Now, she didn¡¯t even want to talk to her. Jiang Lin turned to see Yao Yu, who was tidying up the desk, and said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to move your desk?¡± Yao Yu was stunned. He looked up and saw that the other students who had changed seats were only packing their things. No one had even moved the desk. He turned around and was about to retort when he saw Jiang Lin looking at him meaningfully. He immediately reacted and quickly said to Qiu Ying, ¡°Qiu Ying, I¡¯m more used to my desk. Let¡¯s change desks!¡± Qiu Ying came back to her senses and replied, ¡°Sure.¡± Yao Yu vacated the seat at his desk and cursed Jiang Lin for being so jealousy-prone that he didn¡¯t even want Qiu Ying to use his desk. Jiang Lin stood up and took a step forward to move Qiu Ying¡¯s desk to the spot vacated by Yao Yu. Their positions were changed immediately. When Qiu Ying sat beside Jiang Lin, she still found it unbelievable. The more she wanted to cut ties with these people from Jingdu, the closer they became to each other. Could this be the legendary Murphy¡¯s Law? Jiang Lin looked at Qiu Ying, who was sitting beside him and staring blankly at Bai Zhen¡¯s back, and felt that it was a little surreal. It seemed that what he saw the most was her in her calmest state. Occasionally, he would see her smiling at Bai Zhen. There was also a serious look on her face when she learned how to run from him some time ago. She had a cold smile on her face sometimes, and there was also the way she smiled excitedly when she saw him sprinting recently. Jiang Lin felt that the more he knew about Qiu Ying, the more attracted to her he became. While Jiang Lin was lost in thought, the phone on the desk lit up. Jiang Lin picked it up, looked at the results of the investigation, and chuckled disdainfully. The school called the police to report the hooligans last week. After investigating, they realized that they had climbed over the wall and snuck into the school. They only said that they wanted to enter the student dormitory to steal something. Unexpectedly, they saw Qiu Ying and evil intentions arose. As for the two girls, they had accepted Wang Ting¡¯s bribe. The two of them only wanted to teach Qiu Ying a simple lesson and planned to lock her in the bathroom so that she would miss the competition. This way, the matter wouldn¡¯t blow up and they would have an explanation for Wang Ting. Who knew that things would end up like this? Jiang Lin scoffed at the results of the investigation. The testimony of the two girls should be true, but there was no way those hooligans had done it on the spur of the moment. Jiang Lin narrowed his eyes slightly and rubbed his index finger. After opening his phone and sending a few messages, he switched to the game page to play games. Chapter 40 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations The monthly examination was coming soon. These few days, Bai Zhen had been deliberately avoiding Qiu Ying, and Qiu Ying didn¡¯t find a chance to explain to Bai Zhen. Therefore, she planned to explain to Bai Zhen after the monthly examination and the audition. At that time, she would drag Bai Zhen to her and tell her everything she wanted to know! The examination halls for the monthly examination were arranged according to their grades. Jiang Lin and the others had no previous grades for reference before they transferred, so they were naturally assigned to the last examination hall. Yao Yu looked at the test paper. He wrote whatever he knew and randomly wrote answers for those he didn¡¯t know. The paper was full of words, and he looked confident when he wrote. He looked like a genius, and the people sitting beside him stole a few glances. Jiang Lin and Lin Zhao were also answering seriously. In the examination hall for those at the bottom of the grade, only these three people were answering attentively. They stopped writing at the end of every exam. After the monthly examination, it was the National Day holiday. As the senior class only had three days off, and it was after the final examination, the teachers didn¡¯t assign any more homework. They only asked everyone to be ready for class on October 4th! The class cheered. October 8th Qiu Ying¡¯s performance was at 10:30, but she still woke up early. After warming up at home and practicing, she washed up and put on some light makeup before pulling her small suitcase with her dance clothes and makeup. She wore a baseball cap and went out. The venue for the ¡°Ancient Dance Cup¡± competition was at the exhibition center in S City. It was nine o¡¯clock when Qiu Ying arrived at the audition venue. At this moment, the venue was already crowded. The convention center was an indoor venue. The ¡°Ancient Dance Cup¡± divided the venue into three areas. One was the performance area, one was the reserve area, and the other was the waiting area. There were only three judges and five staff members in the performance area. Only one contestant could enter at a time. The performance content was absolutely confidential before it was made public. The reserve area could only accommodate 10 people at a time. As the name suggested, it was where they went as they prepared to go to the performance area. They could start changing after entering the reserve area. The waiting area was for everyone else. There were contestants and many relatives and friends who had come to cheer them on. Qiu Ying stood in line with the printed registration form and changed her number plate. However, when she walked out of the line, she was suddenly stopped. Qiu Ying was shocked and was about to scream when she turned around and saw that it was Su Xu. ¡°Brother Su Xu, you scared me to death!¡± Su Xu flashed his white teeth as he grinned. ¡°I¡¯ll be your support.¡± Qiu Ying smiled. ¡°Brother Su Xu, most of them came here on their own.¡± Then, Qiu Ying thought of something and hurriedly asked, ¡°You didn¡¯t tell them, right?¡± Su Xu looked at the girl dotingly. ¡°I told you that I¡¯m the only one. As long as you can let me contact you and you¡¯re really here to participate in the competition, I¡¯ll keep my promise. I¡¯ll tell Mo Wei and your mother after your competition ends.¡± Su Xu was the son of Qiu Ying¡¯s stepfather¡¯s neighbor, and Mo Wei was her stepfather¡¯s son. After Qiu Ying¡¯s father died, her mother married her stepfather, Mo Tan. Su Xu was admitted to a university in S City. That day, Su Xu happened to pass by No. 3 High School and saw Qiu Ying walking out. Qiu Ying told Su Xu that her mother didn¡¯t allow her to participate in the ¡°Ancient Dance Cup¡±, so she ran away from home. She also threatened Su Xu that if he told them, she would find a way to run away. She also promised Su Xu that she would go home after the competition. This was what they had agreed on in the conversation just now. The two of them spoke for a while before they heard the reserve area broadcasting Qiu Ying¡¯s name. After bidding farewell to Su Xu, Qiu Ying entered the reserve area. ¡°I feel so happy now that I can see Professor Jiang Yu later!¡± ¡°Me too! I¡¯m so lucky that she came to our competition area to be a judge this year. I¡¯ve already watched her ¡®Spring Rain¡¯ hundreds of times!¡± ¡°And ¡®Flourish¡¯ as well. She¡¯s really a god in the classical dance world!¡± ¡°Who do you think our direct advancement card will be given to? We¡¯ve already competed for ten days. Is it all for nothing?¡± Qiu Ying sat in the corner and listened to everyone¡¯s conversation while feeling calm. Back then, her teacher had let her focus on practicing and had not let her participate in any competitions. Her teacher had expected her to become famous with a single dance. If it weren¡¯t for her father¡¯s accidental death, she would have participated in the ¡°Ancient Dance Cup¡± last year. Moreover, her teacher had choreographed the dance and her father had composed it. After her rebirth, she didn¡¯t use that dance anymore. Instead, she chose to create dances herself. In her previous life, she died in the water. Now, she wanted to be reborn in the water! ¡°Contestant 578, Qiu Ying, please enter the performance area!¡±