It was the first day of senior year.
At the podium, their homeroom teacher, Teacher Wang, looked over the familiar faces and said expressionlessly:
"A transfer student will be joining our class. I hope everyone will get along with our new classmate."
With that, he beckoned toward the doorway.
A girl slowly walked into the classroom with her head lowered.
Everyone immediately turned to look at her.
Her hair was a mess, as though she had done nothing with it after waking up. She wore thick, black, square-framed glasses, and freckles covered both her cheeks.
In the sweltering summer heat, everyone else wore light, short-sleeved shirts. She, on the other hand, wore not only long sleeves but an oversized jacket as well.
On a ten-point scale for looks, she would have scored a 3.5 at best.
Teacher Wang said, "Please introduce yourself."
The girl gathered herself for a few seconds before saying timidly, "Hello, everyone. My name is Gu Lianyin. I just turned eighteen. I like reading, playing games, and singing."
When she finished, Teacher Wang led the applause, and everyone joined in to welcome their new classmate.
Next, Teacher Wang began assigning seats.
"Zhang Yong, you'll share a desk with Zheng Yarou."
"Wang Tianhao, you'll share with Chu Yu."
"Shen Mingjie, you'll share with Gu Lianyin."
Just as Teacher Wang was about to continue, a complaining voice rang out from the class.
"Teacher, I don't want to sit with her!"
"Shen Mingjie, what's your problem? You always have something to complain about!"
Teacher Wang looked toward the back of the classroom.
A tall, thin boy stood up and said carelessly, "She's so ugly. I don't want to squeeze in at the same desk as her."
He had no idea how deeply his words could hurt someone else.
Gu Lianyin lowered her head, clenching both hands into fists inside her sleeves.
No one knew what she was thinking.
"Then go sit with Dai Shengping!"
Teacher Wang tried to find another desk partner for Gu Lianyin.
But every boy his gaze landed on lowered his head.
It seemed none of them wanted to share a desk with the new girl.
Sitting at the second-to-last desk in the back, Lin Yuan watched her standing there with her head down and felt sorry for her.
When he had first started middle school, he had spent so much time in the sun that his skin had become very dark, and his classmates had mockingly nicknamed him "Blackie."
That nickname had followed him all the way through middle school.
Even in his final year, when his skin had lightened again and he had become reasonably handsome, with a few girls even slipping him love letters.
Nothing had changed.
Thoughtless words could hurt the most.
Lin Yuan didn't want to see someone else go through what he had.
So he started to stand, intending to ask Teacher Wang if he could share a desk with Gu Lianyin.
[Life Reversal System successfully bound!] [Host's current circumstances detected. Please make your choice!] Choice 1: Stand by and pretend you saw nothing. Reward: 100,000 yuan. Choice 2: Volunteer to share a desk with Gu Lianyin and successfully become her desk partner. Reward: Never-Forget Skill.
Lin Yuan froze halfway out of his seat!
Holy crap, a system!
Somehow, I actually got a system!
"Lin Yuan, did you need something?"
Seeing Lin Yuan rise from his seat, Teacher Wang gave him an inquiring look.
"Uh... I..."
Lin Yuan snapped back to his senses and quickly reviewed the system's two choices in his mind.
As long as he did nothing and didn't share a desk with Gu Lianyin, he would receive 100,000 yuan.
That was a huge sum of money!
For someone whose family had never been well-off, it could make life a lot better.
The second option was to volunteer to share a desk with Gu Lianyin, which would give him the ability to remember everything he saw.
Although it wasn't a material reward, that ability could bring unexpected benefits not only to his studies but to other areas as well.
Faced with those two options, Lin Yuan felt neither hesitation nor indecision.
He had stood up precisely to ask the teacher to let him share a desk with Gu Lianyin.
Even the appearance of a system and the temptation of 100,000 yuan couldn't change his mind.
"Teacher, if Gu Lianyin is willing, I can share a desk with her."
Teacher Wang immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Seemingly afraid Lin Yuan might change his mind, he hurriedly said, "All right, you two will sit together."
Gu Lianyin looked at the boy.
He's tall and rather handsome. The teacher just called him... Lin Yuan, right?
She stepped down from the podium with her head lowered and walked toward him.
Like a gentleman, Lin Yuan wiped off her chair and invited his new desk partner to sit.
"Thank you. My name is Gu Lianyin."
"I'm Lin Yuan. We're desk partners now, Gu Lianyin, so let's get along!"
"Mm."
As Teacher Wang continued assigning everyone else's seats, several people looked their way.
"What's Lin Yuan thinking? Doesn't sitting with someone that ugly gross him out?"
"Exactly. If it were me, I'd rather sit with Qiu Yue."
A slightly chubby, not particularly attractive girl shot the speaker a cold look. She was Qiu Yue.
Just then, the system's voice sounded in Lin Yuan's mind.
[Congratulations, host! Choice completed. Never-Forget Skill acquired!]
Lin Yuan suddenly felt a cool sensation wash over his eyes. When he looked around again, things seemed different.
Meanwhile, Teacher Wang had the students in the front row hand out the new textbooks.
Lin Yuan opened a math textbook.
He discovered that everything he read became etched into his mind. He couldn't forget it even if he tried.
Lin Yuan was thrilled. From now on, his grades were sure to shoot up like a rocket.
"All right, everyone, go back and get ready. Classes officially start tomorrow. I hope you'll study hard and strive for good results on the Gaokao!"
Once their homeroom teacher finished the class meeting, Lin Yuan and Gu Lianyin left the classroom together.
He was curious about why the system had offered those choices.
Aren't you the Life Reversal System?
Having me volunteer to sit with Gu Lianyin counts as turning my life around?
Could she actually be from a rich family?
If that's what turning my life around means, I'd rather pass!
"Lin Yuan, why did you ask the teacher to let you sit with me? I'm not pretty."
Gu Lianyin suddenly asked.
Lin Yuan smiled. "What, am I not allowed to sit with you? Do you have to be pretty for that?"
His words left Gu Lianyin speechless.
"Thank you," she finally managed to whisper, her voice barely audible.
Lin Yuan pretended he hadn't heard.
Gu Lianyin lived off campus, so they parted ways along the route.
After walking a little farther, Gu Lianyin entered a building a few hundred meters from the school, where she had just rented a three-bedroom apartment with a living room.
Back in her room, she took off her glasses.
She used makeup remover to clean her face, gently wiping away the freckles.
Then she took off the oversized jacket.
Moments later, reflected in the mirror was a girl so beautiful she could take anyone's breath away!
(End of chapter)
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