Chapter 1 001 The Annoying Newcomer

Chapter 1 001 The Annoying Newcomer

"That position was clearly mine, why should I give it to her?"

After learning that her spot on the cheerleading team had been taken by someone else, Shen Yi was so angry that she went straight to the class committee, determined to get justice for herself.

The sports day was just around the corner, but a senior in the third year had injured her leg and couldn't participate. The cheerleading captain then approached Shen Yi.

Shen Yi was quite well-known in the school. She came from a very wealthy family, was beautiful, and ranked at the top of her class. Though she could be a bit spoiled, her lively personality made her quite popular. She also had a fiancé who was a top student, admired by many, making her life seem perfect.

When the senior asked Shen Yi, she was initially reluctant. However, the senior was a classmate of her older brother and had helped her out a few times before. Shen Yi felt she owed her a favor and found it hard to refuse.

Shen Yi wasn't very graceful, and she honestly admitted it. But the senior insisted she was so beautiful that just standing in the center would make the entire cheerleading routine look more appealing. Shen Yi was flattered by these words and eventually agreed to join.

For this.

Shen Yi practiced hard on her own for several days and finally memorized all the moves. But then the class monitor abruptly told her that she had to give up her spot to someone else.

Facing Shen Yi's anger, the class monitor silently wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled apologetically, "Shen Yi, we just found out that participating in certain events at this sports day can earn extra comprehensive points for our second-year students. Your comprehensive score is already maxed out, so participating isn't that important for you.

Jiang Yue, on the other hand, is just three points short of getting the first-class scholarship. Could you please help her out and give her your spot?"

The class monitor was always a good guy, always considering every classmate.

Shen Yi had also been helped by him before, so she could only bite her lip and reluctantly say, "But the sports day is almost here. Will she have enough time to catch up?"

Jiang Yue, who had been silent until then, looked up and said, "I've taken dance classes for a few years, so I have some basics."

"That's right."

Seeing Shen Yi's attitude soften, the class monitor chimed in, "Don't worry, Jiang Yue has studied dance. This cheer routine will be easy for her."

"Please," Jiang Yue begged, looking at Shen Yi with a pleading expression. She gently took Shen Yi's hand and whispered, "My family is struggling financially, and I really need this money. Please."

This was in class.

Other classmates were around, and if they paid a little attention, they could hear their conversation. Jiang Yue's words clearly showed her desperation.

Finally.

Shen Yi yanked her hand away from Jiang Yue, snorted heavily in response, and turned to walk back to her seat.

The class monitor immediately understood Shen Yi's meaning and smiled, "Shen Yi, you're really kind!"

＊

Hmph!!!

This is so unfair!

So unfair!

Jiang Yue could just take her spot so easily. What was the point of all her hard practice for the cheer routine? She really couldn't dance and had fallen several times, with bruises on her knees that still hadn't faded. Her brother had even seen and laughed at her, which was so embarrassing!

Shen Yi was furious and started tapping her pen on her notebook aggressively.

Her blonde deskmate looked up.

He was still half-asleep and yawned at Shen Yi, genuinely puzzled, "Miss, what did I do to annoy you this time?"

It's morning reading period, and the homeroom teacher isn't here yet. Can't you let him catch some sleep? What are you tapping on?

Shen Yi glared at him fiercely: "Mind your own business! Go back to sleep!"

The boy was truly innocent but dared not speak up, so he could only lie down and continue sleeping.

Shen Yi, however, poked him with her pen and called his name: "Song Yang."

Song Yang looked up, exasperated, and asked, "What do you want, anyway?"

Shen Yi glanced around.

She leaned in closer to him and recounted what had just happened.

Song Yang was puzzled: "You? Doing cheerleading? Give me a break."

Shen Yi clenched her fist: "What did you say?"

Song Yang immediately raised his hands in surrender and continued to tease, "Your dancing is so awkward... no, I mean, didn't you not want to go in the first place? Someone is willing to go, which is great—you won't have to embarrass yourself on stage, so why are you still angry?"

"...You just don't get it!"

Shen Yi completely gave up on seeking any comfort from Song Yang.

This guy right here, her childhood companion Song Yang, the so-called childhood friend.

Unfortunately, he's clueless and doesn't quite understand human language; talking to him is often just asking for trouble.

Song Yang also felt baffled.

To avoid getting caught up in Shen Yi's sulking again, he grabbed Shen Yi's pen and pencil case and stuffed them into his own drawer, then lay down to continue sleeping peacefully.

＊

During the long break, in the cafeteria.

After listening to Shen Yi vent her frustrations, her friend sipped strawberry milk through a straw, tilting her head slightly in thought, and said, "I can understand. Although you didn't really want to participate, losing your spot wouldn't make you happy either."

"Exactly! That's exactly what I mean!"

Shen Yi grabbed her friend's hand, showing the expression of having found a kindred spirit.

It's such a simple truth, but Song Yang doesn't get it. Do none of them get it?

Her friend thought again and said, "Then just don't let her have it. After all, the cheerleaders originally asked for you. If you insist, they probably can't replace you."

"...But... but"

Shen Yi let go of her hand, unconsciously fiddling with the hem of her clothes, and whispered, "Jiang Yue's family isn't doing well, right? She begged me, and I feel bad saying no."

"Got it."

Her friend finally understood completely and said, "They should have asked you if you were willing to give it up, not forced you like this."

Shen Yi nodded vigorously in agreement.

Her friend looked at her somewhat helplessly and said, "You seem so hard to get along with, but actually, you're a bit too easy to talk to."

Shen Yi sat up straight: "Explain yourself—where do I seem hard to get along with?"

The friend smiled and said, "It's the way you're acting all high and mighty and threatening people right now that makes you seem the most difficult to get along with."

Shen Yi pretended to bite her.

The friend helplessly pushed her away and added, "The way your class monitor handled it was indeed not good. He always thinks you have everything and wouldn’t mind these things, kind of taking liberties with others’ generosity."

"True," Shen Yi didn’t deny it and continued, "But he is genuinely a good person and has helped me a lot."

For example, Shen Yi is a neat freak. When it’s her turn to be on duty, she would give the class monitor a serious look.

"Class monitor, you know, I can’t stand trash."

The class monitor knew Shen Yi was lying, but he would still get up and help her empty the trash bin, sometimes even wiping the blackboard.

Although Shen Yi was angry, she knew the class monitor was a good person.

"Yes, so it’s not the first time he’s done something stupid."

The friend went quiet for a bit, then looked at Shen Yi and said, "In the past, you would just flip off your class monitor and storm off, forgetting about it once you were gone."

Shen Yi widened her eyes.

Was she really that clueless, like her friend said?

The friend concluded, "He thinks you don’t care because you usually don’t."

The friend was right.

She had never been one to make a big deal out of these things, always joking it off, so the class monitor had gotten used to it, which is why he made the decision this time without asking for her opinion.

The friend seemed to think of something else, "Let’s forget about the class monitor for now. Jiang Yue... you’ve mentioned this name a lot recently."

＊

Jiang Yue?

That’s a whole other story.

Their school hardly ever takes transfer students, but Jiang Yue was an exception.

Just one month into the second year of high school.

Jiang Yue entered the school as a top-ten student in her grade, also as a student on financial aid.

Students on financial aid get their tuition and fees completely covered, with additional living allowances.

You’d think a top student like Jiang Yue would’ve been put in Class A, which is packed with top students, but for some reason, she joined their Class B.

Even though the results of the first monthly exam had been out for several days, the school didn’t seem to have any plans to move Jiang Yue to another class.

And Shen Yi is also a pretty good student.

She almost always ranks first in her class, just scraping by to get into Class A, but next to the geniuses in Class A, she still has some distance.

Shen Yi doesn’t sweat it; she’d rather be a big fish in a small pond. She has many other things to do in life, like shopping for beautiful clothes, watching various performances, and eating small cakes. She doesn’t want to turn herself into a mindless study robot.

But...

Remembering the last monthly exam.

With Jiang Yue maintaining her grades in Class B, Shen Yi could only take second place now.

Then there was the opening ceremony.

Since middle school, it had always been her and her fiancé who spoke as grade representatives, but the school said that Jiang Yue, as a transfer student, her family background and her inspiring attitude towards learning should be the sophomore class’s female representative to speak on stage.

And more...

There were too many of these situations.

In the short month since Jiang Yue transferred, many things that were once Shen Yi’s were unknowingly taken over by her.

But Jiang Yue's academic performance was indeed excellent, and it made sense for many opportunities to go to her, so Shen Yi overlooked it.

But this time,

It was something that originally belonged to her, something she was asked for, but in the end, it was also taken over by Jiang Yue.

A strange sense of unease.

Shen Yi lowered her eyelashes; she had realized it herself.

It was the accumulation of dissatisfaction in her emotions, which erupted this time when she felt justified.

She was a little jealous of Jiang Yue, so she treated her unfairly.

The first bell for preparation rang.

Shen Yi shook her head, no longer thinking about these things, and perked up to say goodbye to her friend: "Let's not talk about this anymore, I’m on duty today, I’ll head back and clean the blackboard!"