Chapter One

"Sigh! Look, isn't that the new student representative from this morning?" Student A exclaimed.

Student B immediately chimed in, "Yeah! I heard he got a perfect score of 900 on the entrance exam! He's the new king of exams!"

Student C added, "It looks like he's not just smart—he's incredibly handsome too!"

With a dreamy look, Student A gushed, "Did you know? He's the eldest son of the Ouyang Group! His family is loaded! What a life! Look, look! He's looking this way! Wow! He's absolutely stunning!"

Hearing all these praises, Xiao turned her head out of curiosity, only to be startled—it was her childhood playmate!

"What's wrong, Xiao? Do you know Ouyang Xianyu from our class?" Meng, noticing her friend's reaction, asked in surprise.

Xiao replied gloomily, "Know him? That's putting it lightly!"

"When did you two meet? Why am I only hearing about this now?" Now it was Meng's turn to be speechless. They'd known each other for four years, and yet she had no idea Xiao had other friends she didn't know about.

"Don't overthink it. He was my childhood playmate. He stayed at my house for a few years. We went to the same kindergarten and elementary school. Later, his parents came back from abroad and took him away, and my parents sent me overseas to join them, so we ended up transferring schools."

After her explanation, Meng looked as if she suddenly understood. "Was he always this smart, or did he get smarter later on?" Meng pressed on, full of curiosity.

"He was always like that! I never once saw him study. He'd just listen in class, and never touched a book outside of school hours. Yet he always got first place in every exam. But I do know his weakness—he was terrified of computer exams! His highest computer score was only sixty, never once above seventy!" Xiao gleefully revealed Yu's Achilles' heel.

"Really? So even geniuses have something they're bad at!" Meng sighed with a smile.

"Of course! You have no idea how infuriating he was!" Xiao complained, stuffing food into her mouth. She'd never managed to get the better of him as a kid!

"How could that be? He doesn't look like that kind of person at all!"

Meng found it hard to believe Xiao's complaints about Ouyang Chengyu and defended him ardently. "Say what you will, I'm full! I'm heading off! See you later!" Without waiting for Meng's reply, Xiao turned and left the cafeteria.

Staring in confusion at Xiao's departing figure, Meng was bewildered. She was sure she hadn't said anything wrong—why had Xiao left in a huff? Was it because she was defending Ouyang Xianyu and accidentally annoyed her? But for someone to make Xiao that angry just by mentioning him... he probably wasn't such a great guy after all!

(A certain Bowstring drifted by: "Didn't you just say he wasn't that type of person? You changed sides so fast. Truly, a woman's heart is impossible to fathom!" Meng huffed, "You're so annoying!"—and gave Bowstring's blanket a hard slap, sending blood flying everywhere. As the paramedics arrived, Bowstring was carried out of the hall: "I'll be back, just you wait!")

Just as Xiao turned away, Ouyang Xianyu glanced in her direction. When he saw her, he paused in surprise. His friend beside him noticed. "What's up, Ouyang?"

"Nothing," Ouyang Chengyu replied coolly, turning away.

"What a show-off, always acting like the world owes him something! Right, Ai? Huh? Where'd you go?" The speaker looked around, confused. "Hey! Wait for me!"

Meanwhile, Xiao walked alone through a quiet grove toward the school library. At some point, Tang Meng caught up with her. "Xiao! What's wrong? Do you... dislike Ouyang Xianyu?" Tang Meng asked, panting with curiosity.

"Nothing of the sort. Stop imagining things. I just suddenly remembered what the teacher said today and I want to go to the library to collect some materials. I want to get everything organized early so I don’t have to stay up late tonight. Besides, didn’t you want us to be in the same class? So I have to work hard!"

They entered the library and paused in front of a bookshelf. Xiao randomly selected a few books.

"Is that so? Wait, what are you picking up? 'One Hundred Rules for Being Irresistible?' What do you want that for?" Meng picked up a book from Xiao's pile, giving her a puzzled look.

"No way... How could this be!" Xiao's face flushed crimson as she frantically snatched the book back from Meng and shoved it onto the shelf. In her haste, she accidentally knocked several books off the shelf.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Books tumbled down, hitting them both on the head.

"Ouch, that hurts!" Xiao and Meng squatted by the shelf, holding their heads in misery.

A boy passing by saw them get hit and quickly came over. "Are you alright? Should I take you to the infirmary?" he asked with concern.

With teary eyes, Xiao and Meng looked up and replied in unison, "We're fine!"

The boy, dressed in uniform and thick black glasses, had a bookish air about him. When he got a good look at their faces, he stood frozen in shock.

Xiao blinked at him curiously. "What's wrong? Did we scare you?"

He snapped out of it, clutching his perfectly combed mushroom haircut in a panic. "N-no, I'm fine! Sorry! Sorry to bother you!"

He spun around and dashed away, not even opening the door before trying to bolt through it.

Bang! The loud crash echoed as he smacked right into the door, a lump swelling on his forehead like Mount Fuji.

He scrambled to his feet, pushed the door open, and shot out of the library like a rocket, never once looking back.

Xiao and Meng exchanged a glance and burst out laughing.

"Looks like we won't be gathering information today after all. Let's go, Meng." Xiao stood up and helped Meng to her feet.

"Yeah, let's go. I've still got P.E. this afternoon!" Meng smoothed her wrinkled skirt and strolled back with Xiao.

When they reached the fourth-floor corridor, Meng said, "This is my stop. I’ll see you later!"

"Alright, go ahead," Xiao replied, waving with a smile before turning away. Instead of returning to class, she made her way to the rooftop terrace on the fourth floor.

The terrace connected the fourth floor to Building B. It was designed like a sky garden, lush with greenery. To the left, rows of bamboo stood, and in front of them, a low wall covered with morning glories. The combination of verdant bamboo and colorful blooms made stepping inside feel like entering another world—and that was exactly how Xiao felt now.

At the center, a vintage pavilion was surrounded by bamboo and morning glories. In the summer, it offered shade and a quiet place for contemplation—a perfect retreat.

Since it was lunchtime and everyone was in the cafeteria, the place was exceptionally quiet.

Xiao sat in the pavilion, gazing at the scenery, lost in memories: In her mind, a petite girl followed a kindergarten teacher into a classroom filled with lively children, each clustered in groups, playing together.