"Morning, Jiang Mian."
As soon as Jiang Mian sat down at her window-side seat in the front row, the boy at the neighboring desk greeted her warmly.
The boy's name was Wang Chen. He wasn't very tall, and he was skinny, so he could sit in the front row alongside her.
But he was one of the few students in class who had successfully awakened. His Sequence was near the bottom, but that was still far better than being an ordinary person.
"Morning~"
Jiang Mian waved and answered listlessly.
As soon as she settled in, sleepiness came surging over her.
She shifted the mountain of textbooks piled on her desk, set her bothersome glasses aside, and laid her head down on the desktop.
What Jiang Mian didn't notice was that, after she looked away, Wang Chen sneaked several more glances at her.
Drowsy, her little mouth hung slightly open, and the soft flesh of her cheek was squished against her arm, bunched up into a little lump. She seemed completely defenseless.
Under the bright lights, her pink lips gleamed with an alluring sheen.
Wang Chen thought that even the school beauty, whom rumors had put on a pedestal, couldn't compare to his own deskmate, who usually barely attracted anyone's attention.
Maybe it was just his imagination, but he kept feeling that his deskmate had grown a little strange over the past month.
How to put it... She seemed more relaxed around him.
Was it because failing to awaken had hit her hard?
Or could it be...?
Wang Chen, touching his face.jpg
Jiang Mian shifted uneasily, and Wang Chen hurriedly looked away, afraid she'd catch him staring.
"School desks really are the best for sleeping..."
She thought in a drowsy haze.
Most people had already received their Awakening Potion injections anyway. Only six or seven lucky students in the class had become Awakened, which was about average.
After the awakenings, the tense atmosphere that had hung over the class seemed to pop like a balloon and deflate all at once.
Most of those who hadn't awakened started slacking off as if they'd accepted their fate, while those who had awakened rarely came to class anymore. Those like Wang Chen, who still showed up, all had their own reasons.
So even when Jiang Mian sprawled out and slept without a care, nobody said anything.
She'd always been like this. Since she had to work at night, she looked sleepy all day long. It suited her name, too.
The teacher at the front of the room only glanced at her before continuing to read the book in his hands, as if it were nothing unusual.
She knew about Jiang Mian's family situation. Things couldn't have been worse. The girl might not even continue her studies after graduation and would go straight to work...
In the mornings, the school's schedule was mostly made up of basic subjects like mathematics and science.
As for the humanities... There was only Chinese, and even that was taught just once every few days.
In the afternoons, they only had physical education, with three or four periods in a row.
The content had changed, too. Unlike the unsupervised PE classes from Jiang Mian's previous life, this teacher actually taught them things.
For example, basic combat training.
But the teacher could teach all he wanted. Whether they learned was up to them.
Jiang Mian had wanted to learn some of it, but perhaps because of her "hunger," she always felt weak, and her moves came out like fancy but useless punches.
She made it through the morning classes in a daze. When she got to the cafeteria and saw the wire sticking out of the food in front of her, she lost her appetite.
Jiang Mian was so angry she laughed.
Since transmigrating, she hadn't had a single good thing happen to her. Sometimes, it really made her so mad her balls hurt...
No, she didn't have those anymore.
All in all, it felt awful.
Jiang Mian dumped her food and went back to the classroom, thinking she'd look through her notes again and see if there were any Calamities she could handle on her own.
Calamities were, essentially, Mist Creatures with special abilities.
Ordinary Mist Creatures had no special abilities. They just looked terrifying, relying mostly on their powerful bodies and tenacious vitality.
Calamities were different. They were like the Awakened among Mist Creatures, possessing Sequence Abilities. And every individual had subtle differences, making them hard to guard against.
But even among them, there were some extremely weak ones, capable of doing little more than grossing people out. For example, the [Imp] at the bottom of the [Nightmare] Path would cling to someone's back and refuse to come off, no matter how hard they tried to shake it away.
While taking advantage of the break between lunch and the afternoon rest period to look through the Calamity compendium she'd borrowed from the library, she suddenly felt the light in front of her blocked by a tall figure.
She frowned and looked up.
It was Li Hao.
He'd originally been the bottom of the class and a troublemaker, but... a while ago, he'd awakened Sequence 135's ability, [War] Path's [Steel Bones].
In Jiang Mian's memory, Li Hao had always been a good-for-nothing, coasting through life and doing nothing all day because his family had a little clout.
In this world, he was a rich second-generation brat, too. His father was also an Awakened, though a mediocre one.
Whether in her previous life or now, she'd never had much to do with him.
But after awakening, Li Hao had probably gotten carried away. His brows practically radiated superiority.
At that moment, he was staring intently at Jiang Mian. When she looked up, the corner of his mouth tilted into a confident smile, as if victory were already his.
Jiang Mian's heart gave a thump. Her scalp prickled, and she felt a chill creep down her back.
Shit, why did a guy like this set his sights on me...?
How could she not know what that look meant?
"Jiang Mian!"
Sure enough, just as she'd expected, Li Hao's booming voice instantly drew everyone's attention.
Several gazes fixed on them, accompanied by curious, excited whispers from people eager to watch the show.
Jiang Mian stiffened and forced out a polite smile, then said through gritted teeth,
"L-Li Hao, what is it?"
She felt sick inside, but given the identity she had now... she'd better play along. It'd be trouble if she let anything strange slip.
Seeing Jiang Mian's timid appearance, Li Hao was clearly even more excited.
He took a step forward and shoved the exquisite gift box in his hand into her arms without asking.
"This is for you."
Li Hao was brimming with confidence. With his status as an Awakened, wouldn't it be easy to win over a little nobody like Jiang Mian?
He'd had his eye on her for a long time. She wasn't as hot as the girls outside school, but she was pretty, and she had a clean-cut air about her that always stirred up a few wicked thoughts in him.
"I saw it at a boutique in the Central District. I thought it would suit you."
Jiang Mian lowered her head, her expression darkening. Given the persona she was playing, all she could do was refuse him tactfully.
No matter what she did, this guy would keep pestering her. What a pain...
"T-This is too expensive. I can't accept it."
Jiang Mian pushed the box back, her voice trembling slightly.
"It's not worth much. For me, it's just the price of a meal."
Li Hao sounded utterly unconcerned. He said bluntly,
"Jiang Mian, I know you failed to awaken, and you must be taking it hard. But it's okay. Just be my girlfriend, and I guarantee you'll never have to worry about making ends meet again."
Everyone present knew perfectly well that Li Hao's promise wasn't worth much. The reason he'd come to Jiang Mian now...
Was simply that he wanted an "easy-to-get toy."
In his eyes, someone like Jiang Mian was the easiest target to get his hands on. Once he got tired of her, he could dump her without paying any price.
Jiang Mian held back the urge to smash the box into his face, maintaining her timid, uneasy facade.
"Li Hao... Thank you for the offer."
Her voice seemed filled with fear and unease.
"I'm sorry, I-I can't..."
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