SW - 5

On the flag platform, the headmaster casually said a few words.

Tang Yin’s gaze was fixed on the person standing next to him.

“… Next, let’s invite Lu Chi to speak. Everyone, please give him a warm round of applause!”

This sentence immediately snapped Tang Yin out of her daze, and she began clapping enthusiastically.

The sound caught Su Kexi’s attention in front of her, and she turned around to tease: “What are you doing? Is this your third year of going ‘clap clap clap’?”

Another voice chimed in: “Sister Yin must be smitten.”

Tang Yin ignored them, fully focused on listening. However, when Lu Chi finally started speaking, she was genuinely surprised.

The stuttering Lu Chi, who usually struggled with words, spoke with absolute clarity during his speech—no hesitation at all. It was one of those rare exceptions you read about in books. Who would have thought Lu Chi had this hidden talent?

A clichéd speech became something entirely different in Lu Chi’s mouth. His crisp, cool voice carried a hint of sweetness—just a trace—but it lingered, almost spilling over.

By the time the speech ended, Tang Yin finally snapped back to reality.

She didn’t care much that her grades were slightly lower than usual and instead absentmindedly replayed the scene in her mind.

Su Kexi couldn’t stand how distracted Tang Yin was acting. “Does Lu Chi really make you lose your mind like this? I don’t see what’s so charming about him.”

Sure, he wasn’t bad-looking, but it shouldn’t be this extreme, right?

Tang Yin kicked a small pebble on the playground.

Her eyes lowered slightly, her long lashes fluttering like crow feathers with every blink.

Just as Su Kexi was about to say something more, Tang Yin’s voice interrupted: “Every time I see him, my heart feels sweet.”

“Ugh—can you stop being so disgustingly mushy?”

“Nope.”

While she was still lost in thought, Tang Yin suddenly broke into a light jog, weaving through the crowd until she reached the front row.

The headmaster happened to be standing there. Seeing her approach, he asked, “What’s the matter? Are you feeling unwell?”

Tang Yin smiled brightly. “I want to give a speech.”

The headmaster’s expression turned strange. He still vividly remembered her infamous three-word speech from freshman year—”No words to say.” What kind of chaos would this speech bring now?

“Tang Yin, are you sure it won’t just be three words again?” he asked hopefully.

Tang Yin’s eyes remained fixed on Lu Chi, who was walking toward the back of the experimental class line. “It won’t just be three words,” she replied.

The headmaster nodded, exhaling deeply in relief. “Then make sure to share some study tips with your classmates. This is a rare opportunity—it’d be great if it helps them improve their grades.”

With that, he handed her the microphone.

Tang Yin smirked, took the mic, and stepped onto the flag platform. Her hair fluttered in the wind as she gazed at the figure standing prominently at the end of the line and softly began to speak.

The headmaster looked on expectantly, as did the students.

“Starting today, Lu Chi from the experimental class is under my jurisdiction.”

Her words echoed melodiously, lingering above the playground.

All the students turned to look at the headmaster, who wore an expression frozen in disbelief. Sympathy filled their hearts.

This was far more shocking than her previous three-word speech.

At the back of the experimental class line, commotion erupted.

Lu Ye, standing just ahead of Lu Chi, heard the deeply suggestive statement and nearly slapped his thigh in amusement. He turned around, laughing: “Hahaha, Tang Yin will do anything, Lu Chi, you little…”

His words caught in his throat.

Before him, Lu Chi stood with his head bowed, thin lips pressed tightly together, his black-framed glasses obscuring his eyes. He appeared cold and indifferent, as though the subject of discussion wasn’t him.

Lu Ye abruptly stopped talking, shaking his head internally.

This transfer student, Lu Chi, wasn’t simple. Tang Yin probably wouldn’t find it easy to win him over.

Moments later, unnoticed by anyone, Lu Chi’s lips had turned pale, and his palm bore the imprint of his nails digging into his skin. Yet, his heart raced uncontrollably.

Meanwhile, on the flag platform, Tang Yin narrowly avoided being chased off by the headmaster.

Fortunately, mindful of appearances, he went back up to deliver a lengthy speech, attempting to erase the negative impression left earlier.

Each homeroom teacher organized their classes to leave the playground in an orderly fashion. Due to positioning, the experimental class was the first to leave, followed by Class 14.

“What’s the next class? I haven’t checked the schedule—I’ve forgotten everything after the holiday.”

“Math, I think. I checked this morning.”

“I hate math the most. Just looking at the problems gives me a headache, but I can’t skip them. My math score definitely dropped this time—I hope my ranking didn’t suffer too.”

Lu Chi’s figure had already disappeared ahead, surrounded by a few people.

The others gradually walked away, but their voices reached Tang Yin’s ears clearly. Suddenly, an idea popped into her mind.

The distance between the playground and the high school building was considerable. By the time her classmates slowly shuffled into the classroom, the bell rang just in time for class.

Thinking back to the conversation she had overheard earlier and Lu Chi’s adorable reaction, Tang Yin grabbed a book from her desk and headed toward the classroom door.

Su Kexi grabbed her arm. “Where are you going? Class is starting.”

Tang Yin glanced back, uttering one word: “Experimental class.”

“Did a donkey kick your brain or something?” Su Kexi reached out to feel her forehead. “You’re not running a fever. This is physics class, got it? Physics!”

Tang Yin had always struggled the most in physics, though her “struggles” still outclassed everyone else by a mile.

A girl nearby chimed in, “Right, right. Good looks won’t help you improve your grades. You know how our physics teacher is—he calls on you to answer questions every single class.”

Su Kexi added, “And today, you declared that in front of the entire school. If it weren’t for your dad being the principal, you’d have been skinned alive.”

Tang Yin shrugged. “I know.”

She had fully anticipated the headmaster’s personality—it hadn’t changed much in three years. Besides, with her current grades, no one could really say anything. Moreover, her earlier statement hadn’t been overly explicit.

A minute later, both Su Kexi and the other girl let go of Tang Yin.

Su Kexi threw up her hands. “Go ahead then. I’ll tell the physics teacher you’ve got water on the brain and went to the infirmary to get it drained. Whether he believes me or not is none of my business.”

Tang Yin suddenly bent down and kissed Su Kexi lightly on the cheek.

Su Kexi slapped her hand away. “You little devil! You’re about to run off and still flirt with me?”

Class 14 was notorious for its poor performance, so Tang Yin, their sole academic star, became the teachers’ prized possession. She pretty much did whatever she wanted. Their homeroom teacher was too soft-hearted, and as long as there wasn’t any major issue, they rarely interfered with her.

Taking advantage of the teacher’s absence, Tang Yin strode confidently into the experimental class through the back door, book in hand.

The experimental class was quiet, unlike their noisy neighbors who took a while to settle down even after class started.

Lu Chi sat at the very last row by the window, deeply engrossed in writing something.

The class originally had an odd number of students. When Lu Chi transferred in, he shared a desk with another student. However, his deskmate had fallen ill and gone home for an IV, leaving Lu Chi alone.

Tang Yin didn’t need to ask to know this.

“Cough, cough.” Lu Ye, sitting near the door, was the first to notice Tang Yin sneaking in. He stretched out his leg and whispered, “This is the experimental class. Are you sure you didn’t walk into the wrong room?”

“Lu Chi,” Tang Yin said calmly.

Lu Ye stifled a laugh. “Our class sure is blessed—Miss Tang herself has graced us with her presence—”

Before he could finish, Tang Yin had already passed him.

The boy sitting in front of Lu Chi heard the commotion, turned around, and saw Tang Yin walking over. His eyes widened in shock.

He kept poking Lu Chi’s textbook with his pen, urging him to look up. But Lu Chi remained completely unfazed, calm as ever.

Lu Chi frowned slightly at the chaotic scribbles left on his paper. Just as he was about to push it aside, he felt someone sit down beside him. He glanced up—there was that face again from yesterday.

He silently lowered his head and continued working on his test paper.

“Tang Yin,” he whispered hesitantly, “can... can you turn around?”

Tang Yin tilted her head mischievously. “Nope. How can I when you look so good?”

Lu Chi: “...”

The two boys eavesdropping in front exchanged glances, clearly shocked. One whispered, “I feel personally attacked.”

His partner nodded. “Who would’ve thought Tang Yin, usually so cold and aloof, would be into this kind of thing?”

Though their voices were low, their words reached the back of the classroom clearly. Tang Yin didn’t seem upset at all; instead, she smiled brightly.

Lu Chi froze for a moment before pretending to remain calm and flipping through his test paper.

After a while, Tang Yin finally couldn’t take it anymore. Leaning closer, she whispered, “This is the simplest permutation problem. You’ve been staring at it for two whole minutes—”

Before she could finish, another voice came from the podium. “...Tang Yin? Why are you in my class, and why are you sitting there?”

At this, the entire class, already aware of the situation, whipped their heads around, their gazes locking onto that small corner. The air buzzed with gossip.

Tang Yin belatedly stood up. She found the teacher vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t quite place him. To her, all authority figures looked the same.

Some of the experimental class teachers worked in the high-level office upstairs rather than the regular faculty room. Tang Yin rarely visited the upper floors, so she only recognized a few of them.

The teacher asked, puzzled, “I’m pretty sure the neighboring class isn’t on break right now. Why are you here?” Even top students couldn’t skip class without consequences.

His gaze fell on Lu Chi’s math test paper, recognizing the familiar diagrams. Tang Yin quickly interjected, “Teacher, I’ve long admired your math lessons. I came to audit the class.”

For a moment, the classroom fell silent.

One boy couldn’t hold it in any longer and slammed his desk, bursting into laughter. Once one laughed, others followed, and the atmosphere in the classroom grew increasingly strange.

The class representative stood frozen in front of Lu Chi, holding several test papers. Unable to decide whether to hand them out or not, he nearly choked trying to suppress his laughter.

Tang Yin scanned the room, noticing the odd expressions on everyone’s faces.

The male teacher on the podium couldn’t help but chuckle. “Really? You admire my math lessons that much? I’m truly honored.”

Standing there, he thought to himself, How did I never notice how lively Tang Yin from Class 14 is? No wonder her homeroom teacher dotes on her.

Tang Yin turned her head. “Lu Chi.”

Lu Chi paused his pen, hesitating before replying, “It’s… physics class.”

Tang Yin stared blankly for a second.

Physics class, and you’re correcting a math test?

Brilliant. Truly refreshing and unconventional.