Chapter 17 The Queen of Second High, Lin Chuxiao!

Orphan—her origins need not be discussed. All those refined manners are nothing but a joke; could she have truly learned them on her own? Yet, with that calm and natural grace, that innate poise, who would even think to question it? Perhaps even Sui Yi herself was unaware of how easily people forgot her background.

“Come on, let’s eat first. After all, we’re in neighboring classes. There will be plenty of chances to get to know each other later!”

Yu Hang had never known that Sui Yi from the next class had that side to her. Back in school… Well, if he hadn’t taken the bus that one rare time, he would have missed it altogether.

He was having his meal, lost in thought about the days to come, while Sui Yi found herself blocked on the way to the small garden.

Four girls stood there, apparently from the neighboring class.

One among them was well-known—Lin Chuxiao, the infamous fiery sister of Second High.

“Do you need something?” Sui Yi halted.

“Do I need something? You have the nerve to ask!” Lin Chuxiao swung her palm at her, and the other three surged forward.

Blunt and forceful, they didn’t even bother with a confrontation—clearly, they had a purpose.

Sui Yi frowned, shifted her body back, and slipped past them. Just as they prepared to lunge again, she spoke: “Yu Hang?”

“Yes… You’re from Class Two, yet you’re tangled up with Yu Hang, even had lunch with him. I’m warning you…”

Sui Yi was startled—her and Yu Hang? Today was the first time they’d even met…

But she had no desire to explain; it would only infuriate them further. After a moment’s thought, she smiled—her expression gentle and warm, easily dissolving hostility.

The four girls were momentarily stunned, their faces unfriendly but their hands stilled.

“What are you smiling at?”

“It’s nothing, you’ve misunderstood. Actually, he took the bus once, didn’t have any money, so I lent him two yuan. He came to pay me back today…”

Huh? Was it like that?

“But…”

“He didn’t buy me lunch, I paid for myself. If you keep making a fuss, people will really start to talk, which wouldn’t look good.”

True enough—there was nothing to it, but if Sui Yi got into trouble because of them, wouldn’t rumors start that she and Yu Hang were involved? That could easily push Yu Hang toward her for real…

Speaking of Sui Yi…

Lin Chuxiao scrutinized Sui Yi’s face for a moment, growing increasingly certain that this girl was quite pretty. Maybe Yu Hang really would fall for her…

Better to let things cool off.

“Chuxiao, what do we do…” One girl tugged at Lin Chuxiao’s sleeve. Truth be told, she didn’t dare escalate things—after all, they were in their final year, and getting into trouble now would not end well.

Lin Chuxiao was tall, about one meter sixty-seven, towering over Sui Yi. Arms crossed, she radiated a commanding presence compared to the other three. With her striking, aggressive beauty, high-born background, and domineering nature, the other three followed her lead without question.

“You’ve always behaved yourself, kept a low profile. I’ll believe you this once, but if it happens again…” Lin Chuxiao reached out and plucked a flower from the nearby planter, crushing its petals in her fist.

A ruthless hand lays waste to a flower—so it goes.

“Understand?” She glared coldly at Sui Yi.

Sui Yi watched, her eyes flickering slightly. After a moment, she nodded, then stepped into the path toward the small garden. With a brief hesitation, she added, “That’s the principal’s moonlit rose.”

Then she walked away, light as a feather.

The group stood in silence for a moment, then exploded.

“Ah! The principal’s?!”

“What do we do, what do we do!”

“Chuxiao, your hand is bleeding!”

“Damn! What are you shrieking for? Run! Wait, help me pull out this thorn—it hurts like hell! Why didn’t you tell me these were roses?”

Sister, you acted so fierce and decisive—how could we have warned you in time?

Second High was one of the top schools in Nanxun Town, and so its rules were strict. A midday nap was mandatory, but whether you read, did homework, or slept was your own business. Especially in high school, the teachers already knew who could afford to study and who could not.

Sui Yi was among those on the edge—study or not, it was up to her, and the teachers didn’t bother. So she spent her entire lunch break napping at her desk.

Her body seemed to be changing because of that small shard—the change was obvious, the most notable being her growing sleepiness. She’d felt it starting from the early morning at Xiao Lian Villa, and it only became more pronounced at school, especially during those English recitations…

But she didn’t know that she would also get leg cramps. The sudden spasm jolted her from sleep. She accidentally grabbed the book under her hand, causing a bit of a stir. She opened her eyes and instinctively reached for her leg.

The pain was sharp, as if her joints were stuck, a dull ache.

It was a strange sensation indeed.

“What’s wrong?”

“Huh? Oh, nothing…” Sui Yi turned to see Yan Qingwu frowning at her, her fair, delicate face tinged with curiosity, as if Sui Yi’s reaction had been a bit much.

Fortunately, only Yan Qingwu seemed to notice.

“Did I disturb you?” Sui Yi glanced at the physics problem set on Yan Qingwu’s desk, the dense strings of characters enough to make anyone dizzy. These didn’t look like school-issued problems—had she bought them herself?

“Not at all. I was just distracted too,” Yan Qingwu’s voice was soothing, putting people at ease, though perhaps only Sui Yi felt truly comfortable with her.

But Yan Qingwu didn’t pursue further conversation. Instead, Sui Yi quietly massaged her calf, frowning.

Sleepiness and leg cramps—was she finally going through puberty?

She was one meter sixty, average for a high school girl, but her face was fresh and youthful, with an air of malnutrition—her development seemed poor, her figure flat.

No one knew that, at nearly eighteen, she still hadn’t matured—not even experiencing the things every girl did.

She knew it wasn’t normal but didn’t dwell on it. The possible consequences seemed trivial in her eyes.

Perhaps she was simply lost when it came to the future.

During the afternoon classes, Sui Yi occasionally thought of it, but she didn’t let herself get distracted—she was determined to start putting effort into her studies.

This period was chemistry.

Her grades were truly poor—math was above average, but her science subjects, especially chemistry, physics, and geography, were abysmal, while Chinese and English were excellent. With science making up the bulk of the total score, her average was dragged down mercilessly.

To make matters worse, she hadn’t spent much time on her studies over the past two years, and she knew she was strange—not only was her body a little off, her mind was too.

This was why she never agreed to enter the antiques business with Old Tang—she knew her own flaw would doom her there.

Her short-term memory was frighteningly strong, but she could forget everything she’d memorized just as quickly.

Perhaps it wasn’t a big deal for others, but for her, it was especially severe. (Girls, can you guess what’s wrong with Sui Yi’s mind?)

Sui Yi looked up to see the chemistry teacher writing equation after equation on the board, each dense formula etched into her mind with a glance—though whether she’d remember for a day or two remained to be seen.

Chalk dust drifted from the blackboard as heads bowed or craned, all with that same soft, rounded curve.

“I can’t put it off any longer—if I don’t catch up this last year, I’ll never make it,” she sighed softly. She didn’t want to enter the workforce early—she didn’t want another break in her life’s path.

Her pen circled points in her textbook, wrote line after line in her notes, ticked answers on her test papers.

Yan Qingwu finished a major problem, her eyelashes trembling as she turned slightly. Sui Yi glanced at her neighbor’s handwriting—slender, elegant script, scratching softly on the page—and for a moment, she was distracted.

Click—the pen ran dry.

Sui Yi sighed—her pen was out of ink.

“Here,” a pen slid her way. Yan Qingwu smiled gently, pointing to Sui Yi’s handwriting.

“Your writing is very beautiful.”

“Thank you for the pen, and your handwriting is lovely too.”

Yan Qingwu smiled, amused—wasn’t thanks enough? She just had to offer a compliment in return.

Clear-cut, orderly.

But she didn’t notice Sui Yi’s expression as she glimpsed the string of black beads on Yan Qingwu’s wrist while accepting the pen.