Soul Returns to Hong Kong: From Tailor Shop to Richest Woman

When Lin Ying walked out of Taikoo Shing, there was a long queue at the bus stop, mostly white-collar workers heading to work in Central, mixed with some students wearing different school uniforms.

This is September 1st, the first day of school.

The bus, packed with people, drove from Taikoo Shing towards Fortress Hill in the Eastern District. A little over ten minutes later, the bus arrived at its stop. Lin Ying, along with several girls wearing identical school uniforms, jumped off the bus and walked to the entrance of Boya College.

Many first-year secondary school students were already standing in the open space inside the school gate; the girls were gathered in twos and threes; it was much larger and quieter than St. Paul's Primary School, without the noise of boys.

"The class placement list is over there!"

"Hey, don't push! I haven't seen my name yet!"

Several layers of people had gathered in front of the bulletin board. Lin Ying didn't push her way in, but instead stood quietly under the shade of the trees on the outer edge and waited for a while. Only after the group of freshmen who had looked at their report cards and class assignments dispersed did she step forward.

Lin Ying, Class 1(1).

Her name was near the top of the list, next to a long string of student ID numbers; Lin Ying then glanced through the entire list. There were forty-six students in the class.

Having confirmed the classroom's location, Lin Ying turned and crossed the playground, went up to the second floor of the teaching building, and stopped outside the first classroom on the east side.

When Lin Ying entered the classroom, most of the students had already arrived. The classroom was filled with single desks for each student. The wooden desks and chairs were arranged neatly, leaving only narrow aisles in all directions.

Forty-six seats, forty-six girls.

Some girls sat upright, looking down at the freshman handbook; two girls were talking in hushed tones across the aisle, their eyes glancing towards the door every now and then.

Without much hesitation, Lin Ying walked directly to the middle of the first row, pulled out a chair, and sat down. Sitting in the first row meant she could hear clearly and wouldn't be easily disturbed by small movements behind her.

She had just put down her bag and sat down when a round-faced girl walked over: "Hi, is this seat taken?"

"No one's here, you can sit down," Lin Ying replied casually.

The round-faced girl sat down in her seat and said, "Thank you."

As time went on, the remaining students arrived one after another. Almost everyone looked at the blackboard first, then at their seat, and seeing a classroom full of unfamiliar faces, everyone felt a little uncomfortable.

At 7:58, a female teacher in her thirties walked in. She was wearing a light gray short-sleeved business suit, her hair was combed back, and she was carrying a thick stack of lesson plans and folders.

The slight rustling sound that had just been in the classroom vanished completely in an instant.

At 8:00 sharp, the school bell rang on time.

The female teacher picked up the chalk, turned around, and neatly wrote three words on the blackboard: Zhou Yawen.

"Good morning, everyone." She turned around and looked at the students below the podium.

"Good morning, teacher." The voices from below were uneven, some shouting quickly and others drawing out the sound.

Teacher Zhou: "Let's do it again, but make sure everyone is in sync."

"Good morning, teacher!" This time, the voices were clear and loud.

Ms. Zhou nodded in satisfaction: "I am your homeroom teacher for Class 1, Grade 1. My surname is Zhou, and I teach English. Today is the first day of school, so let's not rush into class. Let's introduce the school and class first, and then you can introduce yourselves."

She picked up the list of new students from the podium: "You must understand that Boya College is a very strict girls' college. From today onwards, you are no longer primary school students. The requirements for secondary school are not only to do homework, but also to be punctual, disciplined, and to manage your own time."

Teacher Zhou turned around and wrote the timetable heavily on one side of the blackboard with chalk.

"Remember your school hours," Teacher Zhou said as she wrote. "You must be at school by 8:00 AM sharp. From 8:00 to 8:30 AM is morning self-study time. Morning self-study is not for you to come back to catch up on sleep, eat breakfast, or copy homework; it's for reading English and reviewing your lessons."

"After morning self-study, classes continue until noon. From noon to 1:30, it's lunch and rest time. Afternoon classes start at 1:30 and continue until 3:30, ending normally; breaks between classes are ten minutes each."

She paused, then put down the chalk: "Also, in a month, the school will start offering extracurricular classes. These will include music, dance, painting, home economics, and more. Everyone can sign up freely. Students who sign up for extracurricular classes will have to stay until 4:30 PM before going home."

There was a slight commotion in the classroom. The girls were clearly very interested in the "interest class," and they exchanged glances.

Ignoring the students' fidgeting, Teacher Zhou continued, "Finally, let's talk about our class."

She picked up the class roster: "Boya is a large class system. Our class has forty-six students, which is considered a relatively small class in the school. I looked at your report cards, and everyone here is a student with excellent grades, which is why you were assigned to this class."

"However, once you get here, all your previous grades will be reset to zero. The pace of classes in Class 1 will be faster, and the teachers will be more demanding. Getting first place in elementary school might not guarantee a passing grade here. If anyone thinks they can just coast through in Class 1, you'll be crying your eyes out when the class reshuffles at the end of the semester."

"Alright." Seeing that the time was right, Teacher Zhou opened the roster. "Now, let's begin the self-introductions. Everyone, come up to the stage and say your name, the elementary school you graduated from, and your hobbies. No need for long speeches, just be clear. Start from the first row, left side."

The first girl in line stood up and walked nervously to the front of the class: "Hello everyone, my name is Leung Ka Man. I graduated from North Point Government Primary School. My hobbies are piano and painting."

Then, one girl after another went up on stage.

"My name is Cheng Pui-yee. I graduated from Canossa Primary School. My hobbies are swimming and English recitation."

Tang Xueqi, the round-faced girl sitting to Lin Ying's right, also went up: "Hello everyone, my name is Tang Xueqi. I graduated from Dana Mountain Elementary School. I like reading and playing badminton."

Lin Ying led the applause for her. Tang Xueqi ran back to her seat and let out a long sigh of relief.

When it was Lin Ying's turn, she calmly walked onto the stage: "Hello everyone, my name is Lin Ying, and I graduated from St. Paul's Primary School. My hobbies are dancing, computers, and swimming."

After speaking, she nodded slightly and prepared to leave the stage.

These so-called high-end "special skills" are actually all after-school interest classes that St. Paul's Primary School had already enrolled in.

But to the group of girls below who had just been admitted from different elementary schools, the information contained in those few words was completely different.

"Lin Ying?"

"Are you the one in the newspaper...?"

"Yes! It's Lin Ying, the screenwriter who wrote 'Exchange Students at the Magic Academy'!"

"Oh my god, how did she end up in our class?"

"Didn't she make millions writing movie scripts? Why doesn't she need to act, and instead is still in Form One?"

Tang Xueqi stared in shock at Lin Ying, who had just returned to her seat: "You...you're really the Lin Ying from the newspaper?"

Lin Ying thought for a moment: "If you're talking about the one who writes the script, then it should be me."

The chatter in the classroom instantly rose a decibel. The girls' curiosity and thirst for knowledge about celebrities almost broke through the initial restraint of the first day of school.

"Snapped!"

Teacher Zhou slammed his hand on the table.

"Quiet down." Teacher Zhou looked at the whole class. "I don't care what you've heard outside before, or what your classmates have experienced in the past. Today, as long as you wear this school uniform and sit in the classroom of Class 1, Grade 1, you are all ordinary students."

Her gaze lingered on Lin Ying: "The school won't relax its rules because of anyone's fame, nor will it lower its standards just because you're young. At Boya, there are only two paths: good grades and following the rules."

Her tone was unfriendly, but to Lin Ying, it was the best shield.

Half an hour later, all the self-introductions were over.

"Very good, everyone is recognized." Teacher Zhou put down the attendance list and took out a thick stack of pre-printed test papers from the compartment under the podium.

"Although we're not having regular classes this morning, don't just sit around doing nothing." Teacher Zhou divided the test papers into four parts and handed them to the students in the first row to pass down. "This is a preliminary English test for the semester. It won't count towards your final grade, but I want to see where your true English level lies."