Chapter 5: Encountering Nan Xing

She had been on leave for so many days, and aside from a few close classmates in the surrounding rows, no one cared about her.

As soon as she arrived today, she was pounced on by her deskmate.

"Nan Shuang, is your illness better?" Wen Hao had used sick leave to excuse Nan Shuang’s absence.

Nan Shuang looked at her deskmate. Her name was Xiang Liling, a beautiful and generous girl who was also the class study committee member.

Her grades were just a tiny bit behind the class monitor’s, and she had long occupied the second-place spot in the class.

You could also call her the "perennial runner-up."

"I'm better, that’s why I’m back for class, isn't it?" Xiang Liling was one of the few people the original owner could actually talk to at school.

Xiang Liling looked at her deskmate and saw that her complexion was indeed good. "The teachers have handed out a lot of test papers these past few days. Remember to do them when you have time at noon. If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can ask me."

The study committee member was certainly dutiful; she started putting pressure on her the moment she arrived.

"Alright, lend me your notes from the new lessons taught these past few days." Nan Shuang didn't stand on ceremony with her.

Before long, most of the students in the class had arrived.

Even if some hadn't, they weren't on Nan Shuang's radar.

Her focus was entirely on the test papers that could double as books.

She didn't know why teachers loved handing out test papers so much.

Weren't test papers supposed to be for exams?

Especially the ones in her hand—they were photocopied versions where some of the characters were blurry. And if the blurriness wasn't bad enough, there were even errors in the questions. It was a headache.

Soon, the students around Nan Shuang had all arrived, and everyone asked after her with concern when they saw her.

She answered them one by one.

The first period was morning reading, and this morning it was English.

The class monitor led the session.

Because the class monitor had good English grades, she wasn't just the class monitor; she was also the English representative.

The class monitor was also a girl, sitting diagonally behind Nan Shuang.

The class monitor was pretty, but her heart wasn't exactly kind. Her favorite thing to do was write down names and report people to the teacher.

And her deskmate, Wang Lingling, was one of the original Nan Shuang’s good friends.

Don't let the fact that she shared a character with Xiang Liling’s name fool you; their grades were worlds apart.

One was a perennial top-two student, while the other was a perennial bottom-two student.

Truly the polar opposites of life.

She was also one of the people most bullied by the class monitor.

Wang Lingling didn't know what was wrong with her; she just couldn't pay attention in class. She would fidget from time to time, affecting those around her. As class monitor, she had to write down the incidents and report them to the teacher.

And so, in just one morning reading session, the class monitor’s little notebook already had Wang Lingling’s full name written in it three times.

"Class monitor, do you really have to be like this? Why are you always picking on me?" As soon as the bell rang for the end of class, Wang Lingling immediately confronted the class monitor. Looking at her own name in that notebook, she felt miserable.

Getting her name written down wasn't the scary part; the scary part was that the teacher would tell her parents. She wasn't afraid of heaven or earth, but she was terrified of her mother beating her.

Wang Lingling’s voice was quite loud, drawing the attention of all the students for a moment, though everyone soon looked accustomed to it.

"Because you’re the only one not paying attention, moving around and affecting others." The class monitor was a capable person; she wasn't afraid of the class troublemaker at all.

Sure enough, after being retorted by the class monitor, Wang Lingling quieted down.

"Class monitor, can you cross out one? Just one. I promise I won't move again next time." If the hard approach didn't work, she’d try the soft one.

The class monitor shook her head: "No."

Seeing that Wang Lingling was about to lose her temper, Xiang Liling grabbed her. "Alright, it’s just three names. Just behave yourself from now on; the page will turn tomorrow anyway." She was afraid of being caught in the crossfire.

Besides, as long as you didn't get more than ten names in a week, it was fine. There were still seven spots left.

Fortunately, Wang Lingling didn't know what she was thinking, or they wouldn't even be friends anymore.

Nan Shuang joined in the persuasion.

"If you really can't sit still, why don't you just sleep?" Nan Shuang suggested.

The class monitor might have felt she had written down too many names, as she suddenly softened her tone: "As long as you don't make a fuss in class today, I'll erase all your names." It wasn't like she didn't hear the bad things people said about her behind her back.

By comparison, the class monitor, Yu Qian, felt that Wang Lingling was easier to get along with; at least she didn't badmouth her behind her back.

They had been deskmates for a year. Aside from the arguments when she wrote her name down, if she heard other students talking about her, Wang Lingling would even help her snap back.

Yu Qian wasn't an ungrateful person. It wasn't that she didn't want to write fewer names, but Wang Lingling was just too...

"Are you serious?" This was the first time she had heard the class monitor offer to erase names.

"Serious, as long as you don't make noise in class."

Well, this couldn't really be called an argument.

Nan Shuang was a bit slow to react to this kind of dynamic, but she also discovered the friendship between the two.

"Happy now? Hurry up and sit down." Xiang Liling let go of her hand.

"Hmph, fine, no noise it is. I'll listen to Nan Shuang and sleep."

Geez, this person was hopeless.

After two classes, Xiang Liling dragged Nan Shuang to the restroom.

The school restroom was behind the teaching building, and when they walked over, Nan Shuang ran into the person she had expected to see.

"Sister, sister, you're at school!" When Nan Xing saw his sister, he immediately abandoned his classmates and ran over.

Their school combined primary and junior high; it was the only school in the county.

Nan Shuang felt nothing for Nan Xing. "Yeah, I’m better now, so I came to school. Finals are coming up soon," Nan Shuang explained.

"Sister, can I go to Dad’s place with you today?" Nan Xing really missed his sister and father at that moment.

There is no harm without comparison.

"I can't make that decision. Go home and ask Mom. If she lets you come, then come." Nan Shuang actually didn't want him to disturb this peaceful life.

Hearing his sister's words, Nan Xing was very disappointed. "Mom won't let me go." At home, he couldn't even mention it.

Nan Xing felt very upset, but he didn't know what to do. He really missed his father and sister.

"Then don't come." After saying that, Nan Shuang pulled Xiang Liling into the women's restroom.

From then on, she wouldn't leave the classroom unless she had to; she didn't want to run into Nan Xing.

It wasn't that she was soft-hearted, but she didn't want to get involved in those matters.

Wen's mother wasn't someone easy to deal with. If she came to the school to make a scene, Nan Shuang didn't want others looking at her with strange eyes.

It wasn't that she was afraid of people knowing her parents were divorced, but she didn't want to have a falling out with Wen's mother. Arguing with that kind of person was useless.

The school experience that day was actually quite good. The original owner's friends were all very nice, and Nan Shuang was slowly accepting her identity.

As soon as she got home, she saw her father cooking. Nan Shuang's heart melted; such a father was hard to find in this world.

"Dad, I'm home." Pushing open the gate blocked by a fence, Nan Shuang called out loudly.

Wen Hao was cooking meat for his daughter. Hearing her voice, he immediately looked toward the sound. "Just in time, the food will be ready soon. I was just waiting for you to come back to eat."

"It smells so good, Dad. Your cooking is getting better and better." In the original owner's memories, she would come home from school every day to cook, without a single break.

Now that Nan Shuang had changed her fate, her life had taken a huge turn.

"Haha, really? Dad thinks it smells great too."

The father and daughter ate until they were full, sharing one dish. "Dad, I have something to tell you."

She told her father about Nan Xing looking for her today; what to do about it was her father's business.

"Next time your brother wants to come, just bring him over. Even if we're divorced, he's still my son." Wen Hao sighed. He also wanted to bring his son over, but Jiang Li would never agree to it.

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(End of chapter)