Quick Transmigration: The Control Group in Sweet Novels

The weekend passed in the blink of an eye, and on Sunday afternoon, students hurriedly returned to campus as the school bell rang.

As soon as Qi Yang sat down, still holding her backpack, she noticed several notebooks she had never seen before on the table.

She casually flipped the page open, and the handwriting spread out from the first page, the strokes sharp and free. She understood a bit in her heart, and immediately turned to look at Chen Zuo behind her.

Chen Zuo's attention had been completely diverted from the moment she entered the room. Sensing her gaze, he looked up and met her eyes.

The noise in the classroom suddenly faded away. Qi Yang pursed her lips and slowly mouthed "thank you."

Chen Zuo's lips twitched slightly.

Qi Yang laid out the notebooks on the table. They had been categorized and organized, with different colored labels attached, which showed the notebook owner's meticulousness.

She carefully arranged the notebooks and gently put them into the drawer of the desk.

The arts and culture representative, Xu Yao, stood up from her seat, walked to the front of the classroom, and announced: "The school is about to hold its anniversary celebration, and each class needs to prepare a program. Students with talents can sign up with me."

The classroom instantly became a bit more lively, with students in twos and threes discussing the school anniversary program in hushed tones.

Lou Yu chattered away, his carefree nature always making him enjoy joining in the fun. "Chen Zuo, what do you think? Should I go on stage and perform a crosstalk routine? I'll be the straight man, and you'll be my supporting man."

Without turning his head, Chen Zuo calmly said, "I refuse."

"Tch, then I'll find someone else."

Qi Yang propped his head up, looking dazed, as the plot from the original story unfolded as expected.

At the school anniversary celebration, Xia Nian became a star in the school with her performance, going from being an unknown student in her class to a celebrity. She also attracted Chen Zuo's attention, making him fall for this quiet and resilient girl.

She subtly turned her head to look behind her and found Chen Zuo and Xia Nian huddled together, talking about something.

She was slightly taken aback.

Two minutes ago, Xu Yao, holding the registration form, went straight to Xia Nian's desk.

She smiled and said earnestly, "Xia Nian, don't you play the piano? Why don't you sign up for the school anniversary celebration? Our class is short of students who can play instruments, so I'll just put your name on the list."

Xia Nian was slightly taken aback, her eyes filled with surprise. "How did you know I could play the piano?"

"Lin Qiaoqiao," Xu Yao said with a smile, "She's your junior high classmate, right? She told me that this school anniversary celebration is about the collective honor of our class, and everyone should do their best. She hopes you can participate actively, just to help out, Xia Nian."

The girl's nails were pink, as if she had applied some kind of bright, clear nail polish. She clasped her hands together and begged, "Please, please."

Xia Nian instinctively wanted to shake her head and refuse. She had indeed been learning piano since she was a child, but she had always been introverted and had no courage to go on stage. Hearing Xu Yao's words, she was reluctant to perform in public from the bottom of her heart.

Just thinking about the stares of all the strangers in the audience made her nervous.

Before she could even speak, the enthusiastic Xu Yao had already jokingly reached out and gently grabbed her arm, her tone so sincere that she felt embarrassed to refuse, "Just consider it doing the class a favor, please!"

When someone earnestly tries to persuade her to stay, Xia Nian can't bring herself to say the words of refusal, but she feels increasingly uneasy.

Seeing that she had tacitly agreed, Xu Yao happily registered her name, gave her a few more instructions about the subsequent rehearsals, and then turned and left.

The surrounding noise continued, but Xia Nian couldn't calm down at all. Her mind was filled with the anxiety of going on stage, making her nerves taut.

She reached for the water glass on the corner of the table, but her fingertips trembled, and the glass tipped over on the table with a clatter.

Fortunately, there wasn't much water in the cup, but the water still spread instantly, wetting the papers on the table.

She hurriedly tried to wipe it off, but a hand with distinct knuckles handed her a brand new pack of tissues first.

It was Chen Zuo beside him.

The boy's expression was calm, and his tone was straightforward and gentle. "Wipe it off."

"...Thank you." Xia Nian lowered her head, took the paper, and used it to wipe the water stains on the table, her face showing a bit of embarrassment.

After she finished tidying up, her fingers still seemed stiff.

The person beside me spoke slowly, "Are you nervous?"

Xia Nian paused, her fingertips pausing.

They sat at the same table for a week, but didn't actually talk much. Chen Zuo seemed like a talkative person, but in reality, he maintained a slight distance from most people. Xia Nian, on the other hand, didn't dare to, which was just her nature, not to mention that she already had ulterior motives towards the boy in front of her.

She was silent for a moment, then hummed in agreement before saying softly, "It's been a long time since I've performed on stage. Just thinking about facing so many people in front of the audience makes me very scared... I'm afraid I won't play well and will ruin the class's performance."

Faced with Xu Yao's enthusiasm, she was caught in a dilemma.

Upon hearing this, Chen Zuo nodded slightly, his tone calm and reassuring, "Don't put too much pressure on yourself. If you really don't want to, you can go to Xu Yao to cancel the show. Be firm in your tone."

Xia Nian tapped her fingers, her tone more determined than ever. Even if she had taken the initiative to ask Xu Yao to cancel the show, she couldn't bring herself to do it.

After going to see Xu Yao, what should she say, how should she prepare her words, and how should she be firm...?

Seeing her silence, Chen Zuo continued, "If you don't want to cancel, then participate. Although I haven't heard you play before, Xu Yao said you studied from elementary school, so you should have no problem handling these high school students. There's still some time before the school anniversary celebration, so you still have time to pick it up again, right?"

"Even assuming there are minor flaws, do you think they'd be able to tell?"

The boy's voice was clear and calm, carrying a reassuring certainty that dispelled most of the gloom that lingered in Xia Nian's heart.

Xia Nian slightly raised her eyes, her gaze falling on the boy beside her.

Sunlight streamed in through the classroom's glass windows, illuminating his sharp features.

This is the boy she has secretly loved for a long time.

At this moment, listening to his gentle comfort and encouragement, the surging fear and hesitation in my heart seemed to be slowly soothed and covered by something called courage.

She nodded, trying to be brave for once, "Okay."

After Chen Zuo finished speaking, he had already come back to look at the exercise book, and the two of them became quiet again.

That's true, they weren't familiar with each other to begin with.

Xia Nian knew that he was only acting out of basic politeness and goodwill, but a small part of her heart still unconsciously crumbled.

On the other side, Qi Yang casually closed the test paper, got up, picked up her water cup, and planned to go to the water dispenser at the end of the corridor to get water.

Chen Zuo, who had been sitting quietly, quickly picked up his water glass, stood up briskly, and caught up with him in just a few steps.

Qi Yang was slightly taken aback when she saw the person who had suddenly appeared beside her.

Chen Zuo struck up a conversation with her: "I'm getting water too, what a coincidence."

"What a coincidence." Qi Yang didn't think much of it and said, "Thank you for your notes. The content is very comprehensive and the ideas are very clear. They have been a great help to me."

Chen Zuo chuckled and tried to get closer to him, saying, "If you don't understand anything in the future, feel free to ask me."

Qi Yang responded, her fingers gently stroking the inside of the cup.

A draft swept through the corridor, ruffling the stray hairs beside her face.

Unlike her attire outside of school, she changed back into her ordinary blue and white school uniform, and tied her hair into a high ponytail. Her face was clean and simple, but no matter how Chen Zuo looked at her, he couldn't help but feel a pang of longing. He felt that she was beautiful no matter what.

"How do you plan to thank me?"

A boy's voice rang out above her head. Qi Yang looked over and saw a hint of roguishness in his eyes.