Classmate Li Zhuangsheng doesn’t want to be reborn

"I'm telling you, I changed my seat today." Li Zhuangsheng rode his electric scooter through the night and suddenly looked up at the sky and sighed.

"What's wrong? Is there a girl next to you?" Li Xiuyu raised an eyebrow.

"It really is! Guess who that person is?"

"Judging from your appearance, you're definitely not a beauty. Hehe, are you perhaps the ugliest one in your class?"

"She's not ugly... though she's not pretty either. No, it has nothing to do with looks!" Li Zhuangsheng gritted his teeth in resentment. "That person is Lin Yuehua!"

"Oh—that's the Lin Laomo who got the top score in the liberal arts?" Li Xiuyu drawled out, then smiled with relief.

Li Zhuangsheng nodded repeatedly: "You know Lin Laomo too?"

Li Xiuyu raised her head: "You told me that everyone in your class calls her Lin the Old Demon."

"Oh, is that so..."

"Hehe, isn't this great? You become like those you associate with. With the top student in the grade as your deskmate, you might be influenced by the academic genius. Anyway, you either daydream or play on your phone in class every day."

Li Xiuyu's words silenced all of Li Zhuangsheng's original complaints.

In any case, sitting next to Lin Yuehua has no disadvantages for him. The only disadvantage is that he can't play on his phone... But the question is, is that really a disadvantage?

Li Zhuangsheng hasn't completely given up yet; he's acutely aware of his declining fortunes, feeling anxious and resentful. Although not having a phone to play with is difficult, it might also be an opportunity to break his phone addiction.

Moreover, Lin Yuehua was genuinely helping him with his studies. He recalled the last evening self-study session, during which she, despite having just cried, still enthusiastically explained challenging math problems to him.

Looking back, Lin Yuehua had a faint soapy smell, somewhat like Chinese medicine, but not bitter—a smell Li Zhuangsheng hadn't experienced in many years. His family hadn't used soap in a long time.

Actually, the smell of soap is quite nice.

"You've just happened to be sitting next to Lin Laomo, so take advantage of this time to study hard!" Seeing Li Zhuangsheng remain silent, Li Xiuyu grinned again. "Learn from him, so you don't get beaten up again after the next monthly exam!"

"Tch, I've been studying all along..." Li Zhuangsheng said dejectedly, "Oh, right."

"what?"

“…It’s nothing,” Li Zhuangsheng said.

He had wanted to share with Li Xiuyu about Lin Yuehua crying alone during evening self-study, but ultimately didn't say it. The fact that Lin Yuehua offered to help him with his homework meant she probably didn't dislike him as her deskmate. She must have just broken up with her boyfriend.

But this is, after all, someone's rather embarrassing private matter, so there's no need to let Li Xiuyu know. Even though Li Xiuyu is never a gossip.

Li Zhuangsheng couldn't imagine who Lin Yuehua liked. She was always so aloof and arrogant, her back always as straight as bamboo.

Back home, Li Zhuangsheng hastily copied his English homework, went to bed, hid under the covers to play on his phone, and fell asleep without realizing it.

The next morning, as usual, Li Zhuangsheng was served by having Li Xiuyu cover his face with his smelly socks.

"Did you fall asleep playing on your phone last night?" Li Xiuyu shoved Li Zhuangsheng's phone under his pillow, twitching as he put on his socks. "You can't play on your phone during the day at school, so you play it like crazy at night, huh?"

"I didn't play for very long, I was just too sleepy last night," Li Zhuangsheng rubbed his eyes. "It's probably because I played games all afternoon yesterday, Sunday." He struggled to get out of bed and casually put his phone in his pocket. After washing up, the two left the house.

Despite his drowsiness, Li Zhuangsheng couldn't help but let his mind wander to Lin Yuehua's crying yesterday. After all, it was so rare for Lin Yuehua to shed tears. He had always thought she was the cold-blooded and ruthless Abbess Miejue.

She must have suffered a great blow, otherwise she wouldn't have shed tears at school. Perhaps it was because of Li Zhuangsheng's naturally kind and gentle nature, or perhaps because she had taught him math problems yesterday, Li Zhuangsheng couldn't help but feel sympathy for Lin Yuehua, and couldn't help but think about how he should comfort her if she was still upset.

Today is Monday. I hated Mondays the most in elementary and middle school because it meant starting a whole new week at school. But high school life was chaotic; weekends didn't matter, and so did Mondays. Li Zhuangsheng even kind of liked Mondays because the long break on Mondays was for the flag-raising ceremony, so he didn't have to run laps.

Upon entering the classroom, Li Zhuangsheng was overjoyed to find that Lin Yuehua, who usually arrived early, was not there. He quickly took out Zhu Zhixue's English homework and returned it.

"Have you heard?" Zhu Zhixue asked mysteriously, her eyes unreadable.

"What happened?" Li Zhuangsheng asked.

Zhu Zhixue glanced at Lin Yuehua's seat, about to speak, but then covered her mouth when she saw Lin Yuehua walk into the classroom. Li Zhuangsheng also saw Lin Yuehua, and perhaps out of guilt, he quickly returned to his seat, took out his English book, and began reading vocabulary.

Class teacher Ms. Fan was patrolling the doorway when Li Zhuangsheng realized that the other person should have arrived with Lin Yuehua. Lin Yuehua had arrived earlier, but Ms. Fan had pulled her outside to discuss something.

However, Li Zhuangsheng didn't pay much attention to it. After all, Lin Yuehua held a high position and was second only to the teacher. It was normal for her to discuss some class affairs.

He stole a glance at Lin Yuehua's face. She seemed to have lost the sadness of the previous night, her expression as blank as usual. This puzzled Li Zhuangsheng, who even wondered if his memory was playing tricks on him, as if her tears were just a fleeting illusion.

It seems she's adjusted now. Li Zhuangsheng thought with relief.

That's more like Lin Yuehua!
After dawdling until the morning reading session was over, Li Zhuangsheng got up and went to the convenience store.

"Hey, bring me two Alpenliebe lollipops!" Zhu Zhixue tossed a dollar to Li Zhuangsheng.

"You eat lollipops instead of breakfast?" Li Zhuangsheng chuckled.

"I'd love to!" Zhu Zhixue snorted.

Li Zhuangsheng nodded and, upon returning to the classroom, placed two lollipops on Zhu Zhixue's desk.

"Hey, have you heard?" Zhu Zhixue picked up a lollipop, unwrapped it, and put one into Li Zhuangsheng's mouth, whispering, "It seems something happened to your deskmate's family."

"Zhang Qixiang?" Li Zhuangsheng subconsciously looked in the direction of his original seat.

"It's not him, it's your current deskmate!"

"Lin Yuehua?"

Li Zhuangsheng was startled.

"Yes, I've only heard about it, I don't know the specifics." Zhu Zhixue lowered her voice even further, "However, it seems that this matter is mentioned during the speech under the national flag."

Li Zhuangsheng nodded blankly and returned to his seat. He finally understood that Lin Yuehua's crying last night was not because of such a low reason as heartbreak. He felt guilty and thought he had done something very impolite.

Someone's family is going through a crisis, and you're treating it like a breakup and offering comfort—how foolish! You're just adding fuel to the fire. (End of Chapter)