SW - 45

What a sly one.

Tang Yin thought to herself, how dare he tempt her now, in front of so many people.

Though she thought this way inwardly, the smile on her face only grew wider.

When it was Tang Yin’s turn, the crowd below fell silent, waiting quietly.

This time, only the senior year and repeater students were present. Everyone was familiar with Tang Yin and Lu Chi—or at least had heard plenty about them.

Many still remembered her last speech, and seeing the headmaster call her up again made some instinctively cover their mouths, fearing they might burst out laughing.

In their final year of high school, even the smallest things could excite them.

Tang Yin rolled up her speech script and blew into the microphone.

Several girls in the corner widened their eyes, watching her closely.

One girl whispered softly, “She doesn’t seem like anything special.”

“Her father is the principal,” another chimed in immediately. “Otherwise, she’d have been punished a hundred times over by now.”

Class Zero and the liberal arts classes were adjacent.

There weren’t many girls in Class Zero, and Zhao Ruyi happened to be among them. She hadn’t started her speech yet, standing in her designated spot.

Hearing snippets of the conversation around her, she couldn’t help but snicker.

Nothing special?

If she’s nothing special, then how did she single-handedly beat several people black and blue? If she’s nothing special, how did she achieve such outstanding grades?

Zhao Ruyi was jealous, sure, but she had always acknowledged that Tang Yin was better than her.

These girls were something else—lusting after Lu Chi while spouting nonsense more brazen than anyone else. If Lu Chi were to date any of them, Zhao Ruyi would probably vomit blood.

Thinking about it, she found herself liking Tang Yin a little more.

Tang Yin stood silently on the podium, making no unnecessary movements.

Seeing that she hadn’t unfolded her script, the headmaster nearby began to fret. Was she not going to open it at all?

Or was Tang Yin planning to pull another stunt?

He should never have trusted her and let her go up there.

Tang Yin casually glanced at the students below. “Others have already shared study methods. I won’t repeat them since you wouldn’t listen anyway.”

The headmaster sucked in a sharp breath.

He knew something was off the moment she opened her mouth!

The script he personally reviewed had started with “Dear classmates,” not this.

The students below immediately became intrigued, listening attentively to hear what unique things she would say.

Seeing this, Tang Yin smiled. “Now that we’re approaching the college entrance exam, there are quite a few couples in our school, right? If you have the ability to date, why don’t you also have the ability to get into a good university together?”

The playground erupted in commotion.

The headmaster nearly passed out. He knew Tang Yin wasn’t going to say anything nice. Next time, he’d rather die than let her speak again.

“Believe it or not, I’m definitely going to the same school as Lu Chi.”

Tang Yin glanced at Lu Chi in the distance. “I’m not letting him go to another school alone. There will always be those who don’t know better.”

Shocked by her words, the entire crowd didn’t react quickly enough. Meanwhile, Tang Yin simply tossed her script aside and stepped down from the podium.

Only belatedly did applause break out across the field.

Seeing this, Zhao Ruyi went straight to the headmaster, claiming she had lost her script and forgotten to memorize it, then returned to her seat.

No one else seemed to notice.

And so, the hundred-day motivational rally ended in such a commotion.

The uproar during the speeches left a lasting impression.

Even days later, many were still asking about Tang Yin, not to mention the curious souls occasionally lingering outside Class Zero’s door.

Lu Ye was basking in his glory.

Lately, Lu Chi had been very pleased with him. The other day, when he got a question wrong, Lu Chi happened to walk by and kindly explained the steps, which helped him understand instantly.

Compared to before, it was like night and day. Life had become much more enjoyable for him.

Before evening self-study, he lounged near the back door, munching on snacks borrowed from a buddy.

Then someone knocked on the door. Before he could open it, a girl appeared at the window, staring at him.

He swallowed his meatball. “Who are you looking for?”

“Lu Chi.” The girl hesitated. “Is he in this class?”

Without blinking, Lu Ye replied, “No, you’ve got the wrong place.”

Just as he finished speaking, Tang Ming walked in through the front door and shouted, “Is Lu Chi here? The homeroom teacher is looking for him!”

Lu Ye rolled his eyes. What terrible timing.

The girl glared at him. “Didn’t you just say he wasn’t here?”

“He isn’t.” Lu Ye shrugged. “The classroom’s this small. Can’t you tell if he’s here or not?”

Seeing his blatant defiance, the girl stopped talking to him and slammed the window shut.

“How rude,” Lu Ye muttered.

He had a hunch that this girl didn’t mean well for Lu Chi.

Lu Chi hadn’t gotten to know many outsiders since transferring. Many in the class hadn’t even spoken to him, let alone students from other classes.

Besides, Lu Ye didn’t recognize this girl. Judging by her appearance, she was probably a sophomore or freshman. Seniors would surely know about Lu Chi.

Lu Chi’s previous speech had been outstanding—his public-speaking skills practically flawless, without a trace of stuttering, and he was handsome to boot.

Most young girls these days liked androgynous guys. Surely, someone had taken a liking to Lu Chi’s looks and dared to pursue him.

Tang Yin probably sensed trouble brewing.

He silently mourned for the younger student for a few seconds, then continued munching on his snacks.

After night fell, Tang Yin returned from outside.

Lu Ye gestured toward the door with his chin. “That person outside is looking for your Lu Chi.”

Tang Yin turned her head, narrowing her eyes.

The girl wasn’t from the senior year or the repeater class—she looked like a sophomore. Tang Yin vaguely felt she had seen her somewhere before but couldn’t recall where.

So someone actually dared to come looking for him.

Coincidentally, the girl turned her head and saw Tang Yin standing there, watching her. Unfazed, the girl shot her a challenging look.

Legends were just legends. She hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, so she refused to believe he was as amazing as rumored.

Tang Yin ignored her completely and headed straight to her seat.

Just before evening self-study began, Lu Chi arrived late, carrying a lot of things.

Lu Ye clicked his tongue. Thankfully, he had gone to the mini-supermarket. If he had been in the classroom, it might’ve turned into World War III—though Tang Yin would probably annihilate the competition in seconds.

Tang Yin was sleeping again.

Lu Chi didn’t wake her, quietly placing a yogurt in front of her desk.

But as he looked up, he couldn’t quite make out the emotions in Lu Ye’s expression—it seemed to contain a lot of meaning.

Not long after, Tang Yin opened her eyes, stared blankly for a moment, then rested her head to sleep again.

Lu Chi keenly noticed something was off about her attitude.

Normally, even if she was sleepy, she would insist on talking to him at this time. But tonight, she hadn’t even looked at him, which was highly unusual.

Though he thought about it, he accidentally muttered aloud.

Lu Ye, who had been eavesdropping, couldn’t resist turning around and shouting, “You can’t even figure this out? She’s jealous!”

Unable to control his volume, his voice carried loudly.

It was evening self-study, and the room was silent. His words rang clearly throughout the classroom.

The biology teacher at the podium was furious, slamming the table and yelling, “Lu Ye!”

Lu Ye stood up miserably.

The biology teacher asked, “Who didn’t realize she was jealous?”

Lu Ye was speechless, muttering softly, “My deskmate didn’t notice I was jealous…”

His pitiful tone made everyone in the row who knew the inside story laugh. What a clever excuse.

Lu Chi couldn’t help but chuckle.

Once Lu Ye sat down, he asked what had happened.

Eager to share, Lu Ye recounted how the girl came looking for him earlier and casually mentioned that Tang Yin had crossed paths with her.

He described the scene vividly.

Lu Chi could almost picture the situation.

Before Tang Yin could fully wake up, the physics teacher stepped onto the podium.

Today’s evening self-study was dedicated to problem-solving.

Ever since this new physics teacher took over, Tang Yin’s physics lessons had become torturous. Her voice was so gentle it was like a lullaby.

Tang Yin, who had just woken up, closed her eyes again.

Since entering senior year, frequent quizzes had become routine. Any random class could suddenly turn into an impromptu test halfway through.

Today, two class periods during the day had been converted into a quiz, and they completed a test paper.

The results weren’t great.

With the second mock exam approaching and the college entrance exam looming, many students were growing anxious. Symptoms of stress—restlessness and unease—were spreading throughout the classroom, directly affecting their performance.

The physics teacher wasn’t particularly cheerful while explaining problems.

When she reached the final question, she suddenly paused, glanced around the classroom, and said, “Tang Yin, come solve this problem on the blackboard.”

Everyone who had been dozing off in the classroom jolted awake.

During evening self-study, many couldn’t resist nodding off. Today’s physics lesson, taught by a gentle female teacher, made it even harder to stay awake.

Tang Yin was nudged awake by Lu Chi.

She stood up, looked at the final question, and mulled it over.

She hadn’t participated in this quiz because she had been called to the headmaster’s office to revise her guarantee letter. Needless to say, she hadn’t written anything.

And she certainly couldn’t calculate the steps in such a short time.

She opened her mouth, about to speak, when the teacher suddenly added, “Just write the first part. Who wants to do the second part?”

No one in the classroom raised their hand.

As the physics teacher prepared to call someone, she noticed Lu Chi raising his hand solemnly. Satisfied, she nodded. “Alright, Lu Chi.”

Lu Ye covered his mouth, trying hard not to laugh too loudly underneath his desk.

He knew Tang Yin hadn’t answered this question. She hadn’t even filled in her test paper after returning unless she planned to write directly on the blackboard—but that would take time to think.

The teacher must have done this on purpose, seeing her sleeping.

Some bold boys whistled from below. The previously quiet classroom suddenly came alive.

The physics teacher was gentle and never lost her temper, so the students were generally more daring, often joking around in class without disrupting the lesson.

Lu Chi and Tang Yin stepped up to the podium one after the other.

At once, those who had been sleeping in the classroom were startled awake, watching them.

The relationship between Tang Yin and Lu Chi was common knowledge in the classroom, and they never avoided showing it. Though they never spoke about it, that didn’t stop the gossip.

Especially after the two speeches last semester, it had caused quite a stir.

Now, with both of them on the podium together, though nothing had happened, it was enough to spark imaginations.

It was unclear whether Lu Chi had intentionally gone up.

No one else in the class had raised their hand except him.

…

Tang Yin stood dazed in front of the blackboard, her test paper completely blank.

This was truly frustrating.

Lu Chi glanced at her sideways, seeing her rub her eyes and stifle a yawn. She was probably still half-asleep.

He looked back—the physics teacher was walking down the aisle, her back turned to them.

Lu Chi casually pulled Tang Yin’s test paper from her hand and slipped his own into her palm, the motion entirely natural.

Everyone below watched, whistles and applause breaking out simultaneously.

The only ones bold enough to show affection so openly were undoubtedly the two of them. The other two couples in Class Zero were much more discreet.

When the physics teacher turned around, she only saw the two of them writing on the board.