Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Ugh, having to bring exam papers home even during the National Day break. What a miserable third-year slog—can’t seem to shake off this title no matter where I go."

"Right? They had to grade and hand back the papers right before the holiday. The school clearly doesn't want us to have it easy!"

The student who spoke first glanced at their deskmate and suddenly grinned. "But at least you’re not at the bottom this time. Our class has a new lowest scorer—"

Tomorrow was the start of the National Day holiday, and today was the last day before the break. It was after school, and the students in the Experimental Class who weren’t in a hurry to leave were chatting idly, the atmosphere buzzing with restless energy.

But this didn’t include one boy by the window.

The boy sat alone, tidying up his desk.

He stacked one exam paper on top of another, aligned them neatly by tapping the stack against the desk—meticulous in every way, except for the glaringly bright red graded scores.

The exams had been held just a couple of days ago, graded immediately afterward, and all the papers had been dumped all at once before school ended. Class representatives weaved through the classroom, distributing papers like a flurry of snowflakes.

Whether it dazzled anyone else was unclear, but every time Guan Shenju received another paper, his vision spun in circles, and he wished he could poke his own eyes out!

The weather had turned cold by late September. Guan Shenju wore the black uniform of Qichen International High School over an off-white hoodie, the hood pulled out and drooping behind him, the two white drawstrings swaying back and forth on his chest. With each paper he received, he couldn’t help but tug at the drawstrings. By the time school ended, the once-loose hood had shrunk and gone limp.

"Hey, Guan Shenju, this was your first exam since transferring to our school. How’d you do?"

A busybody rushed over to ask.

In truth, how he did and where he ranked had already been made clear when the homeroom teacher posted an Excel spreadsheet in the class group chat earlier.

A simple click would reveal all.

Asking about it was purely to get a conversation going.

So the boy lifted his head and raised his chin slightly. "Why don’t you check the group chat yourself?"

"Where's the fun in checking the group chat?" he thought. He’d asked precisely for the drama.

The questioner felt annoyed, thinking this new transfer student had terrible social awareness. He’d only asked casually, and the boy had shut him down like that. How rude!

He wanted to retort, but the tone of the reply was unexpectedly soft.

It was like a newborn hedgehog—all prickly on the outside but actually fuzzy to the touch.

The questioner opened his mouth but ended up feeling awkward himself.

"I haven’t checked the group yet. I just wanted to ask you first..."

"Last place."

"What?"

Guan Shenju slipped the last book into his backpack, glanced at the student standing by his desk, and muttered under his breath, "I’m dead last in the class."

"...Oh, oh..."

The questioner wanted to say more, but Guan Shenju had already packed his bag and stood up.

That little chin lifted again.

"'Scuse me—"

"Ahem, move it! I’m leaving!"

"Oh..."

The questioner silently stepped aside.

For some reason, it felt like a weird visual illusion—

As if the soft little hedgehog was clumsily, with awkward, jerky movements, tensing its tiny body to raise its spines?

Hmm... just my imagination.

Guan Shenju slung his backpack over his shoulders, pulled out the crushed hood of his sweatshirt, straightened the wrinkled fabric, and pulled it over his head, covering his head completely as he walked out of the classroom.

Murmured comments followed behind him.

"What’s his deal? Why so defensive? I just asked about his score. Was that necessary?"

"Didn’t you hear him? He’s last in our class. He did too poorly, too ashamed. And this is the Experimental Class, too. If you check the overall grade roster, Guan Mulin from the elite class next door took first place again—not just first in the elite class, but first in the entire grade. Tch. Even if there are family background complications, you can’t deny he’s outstanding."

"This Guan Shenju must be seething with jealousy. I heard the Guan family wanted to transfer him directly into the elite class, but he refused. That’s why he ended up in our Experimental Class."

"Oh, no wonder. He’s clearly on the outs with Guan Mulin."

"How could they get along? When their biological son was found, the adopted one wasn't sent away—he’s still being raised by the family. Obviously he'd be resentful. But this Guan Shenju is a bit foolish—he’s making it too obvious."

"Can’t blame him, though. I heard before Guan Shenju was found by the Guan family, he was living off other people's kindness..."

The weather was cold, and the chilly wind carried their voices right to him.

Guan Shenju walked out of the classroom, pulling the drawstrings of his hood tighter and tighter until his face was completely framed, making his face look even smaller and rounded by the tension into a perfectly round shape.

In the stairwell, Tang Yuexin, the class monitor of the Experimental Class, was moving a new desk with her deskmate.

During the recent exam, someone must have sat at her desk, and when she returned, it had started squeaking like there were mice in it—every movement set it off again.

Tang Yuexin couldn’t stand it anymore, so after school, she dragged her deskmate to the school warehouse to fetch a new desk.

Qichen International High School was renowned in City B as a top-tier institution. From its exceptional teaching faculty to its infrastructure and specialized equipment, every detail was perfected. After all, the students in the elite class alone were like a nest of golden eggs—money was no object, and only the best would suffice.

Even the desks were made of solid wood—smooth, sturdy, and heavy.

Tang Yuexin and her deskmate had just carried her problematic desk to the warehouse and were now hauling back another equally heavy desk. The round trip had left both girls panting from exertion and their backs soaked with sweat. Carrying the desk up the stairs was even more exhausting—though the desk was only half a meter long, the constant effort without rest had left them completely worn out by the time they reached this point.

It was after school, and everyone was in a hurry to leave. By now, almost no one was around to help them.

"Ugh, I can’t go on, Xinxin. Let’s take a break?"

Tang Yuexin was also slightly out of breath. To avoid blocking students coming down the stairs, they were carrying the desk between them, one high and one low, leaving space for others to pass. Tang Yuexin had taken the lower position to support most of the desk's weight. Now, not only was she panting and sweating, but her arms were also growing weak. She nodded. "Sure, let’s rest for a bit—"

Before she could finish, another student came down beside them.

A perfectly round beige head—almost looked bald at first glance—but on closer look, it was someone wearing a hoodie with the drawstrings pulled tight, pulled so tight it made his head look perfectly spherical.

Head slightly lowered, the student passed by them.

Tang Yuexin instinctively moved aside.

But just as the student was halfway past her, they suddenly stopped short and then stepped back up toward them.

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Guan Shenju.

The new transfer student in their class.

Also the biological son recently welcomed back by the Guan family.

Over the past few days, their class had discussed him several times in private.

But Guan Shenju usually didn’t pay much attention to others and probably had no idea.

Tang Yuexin hadn’t been gossiping about it like a busybody, but she had chatted with others a few words—after all, curiosity was only human. She had also noticed Shen Ju, but soon lost interest and gave up, thinking that it was nothing special. With his status suddenly changed and his social status elevated, it was normal for him to act high and mighty. Even if his grades weren’t great, his family background would back him up.

All in all, he wasn’t particularly remarkable—not as much as Guan Mulin from the neighboring class.

Tang Yuexin didn’t know why Guan Shenju had stopped and felt a bit awkward.

Unlike the elite class, where students had both good family backgrounds and excellent grades, the experimental class also had top students, but their family backgrounds weren't necessarily as wealthy. Like Tang Yuexin, she was admitted purely based on her grades.

No matter what she thought of Guan Shenju, one thing was certain: after being recognized by the Guan family, he at least had the surname "Guan" added to his original name. He wasn't someone she could afford to mess with.

"You...,"

"If you need help, can't you speak?!"

Shen Ju pulled a fierce face, his tone fierce.

But with the drawstring pulled too tight, his entire face was squeezed into a small circle by the tightened hood edge. Not only was his face rounded, but his eyebrows were pressed into a slight frown, making him look as if deeply resentful and comical—like a standing button mushroom, a big circle enclosing a small one. He didn't look intimidating at all; instead, it was somewhat funny and even cute.

Tang Yuexin thought to herself, Guan Shenju did have something special—he was particularly handsome and cute. Even with his face all scrunched up like that, he still looked good.

She just didn’t know if this pretty boy was here to cause trouble.

"Um, I..."

"Enough, no need for talk."

Shen Ju wore an expression that said "such a hassle," then bent down—

Tang Yuexin felt the weight lighten from both her hands as the desk in front of both her and her deskmate was lifted with one hand.

One hand, lifted it?!

One hand?!

This desk was solid wood! Even the janitor managing the warehouse had a hard time when helping them pick out a new one. Yet Shen Ju lifted it so effortlessly?! Not only that, he bounded up the stairs two at a time, as if the desk weighed nothing at all... Tang Yuexin and her deskmate stared in disbelief.

"This isn’t a pretty boy—it’s a violent boy..." Tang Yuexin muttered.

After snapping back to reality, she quickly exchanged a look with her deskmate and followed behind Shen Ju.

Back in the classroom, a few people were still talking.

Then they saw a desk come floating into the room.

"............"

Plunk—

The floating desk was set down in front of them, revealing Shen Ju’s face under the tightly pulled hood.

Shen Ju instinctively glanced at the few people still left in the classroom.

"............"

Crap, was he back to show them who's boss?!

Author's Note:

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[Let me take a look] First chapter of the new story, saying hello to everyone [Owl emoji].