Chapter 13

The homeroom teacher stood on the podium and looked around, noticing that only Lu Qi and his deskmate, Ye Muqing, were absent from the classroom. He cleared his throat, motioned for everyone to quiet down, and said, "Students, our class has another new transfer student. Let's give him a round of applause to welcome him."

The moment Lu Yao stood on the podium, before he had even said a word, his icy aura was already enough to take people's breath away.

Homeroom teacher: "Lu Yao, give everyone a brief introduction."

Lu Yao's expression was calm and indifferent. He swept his gaze over the curious students below, then parted his thin lips and introduced himself in a low voice. "Lu Yao, seventeen years old, from Shancheng No. 1 High School."

"Cool. This transfer student has quite the vibe."

"Shancheng No. 1 High School? What kind of trash school is that? How come I've never even heard of it?"

"Hahaha, has anyone even heard of Shancheng, that backwater little city?"

"He transferred from some poor backwater. So the transfer student is an illegitimate child, huh?"

After hearing his deskmate mistake Lu Yao for an illegitimate child, Li Guigu glanced at Chu Jiaojiao, who was seated in front of him.

Chu Jiaojiao had always treated him kindly solely because he was related to Lu Qi. Thinking of how Lu Yao had effortlessly drawn everyone's attention during National Day, Li Guigu chimed in with disgust, "Yeah, so annoying. One illegitimate daughter wasn't enough, and now another illegitimate son has transferred in."

Naturally, Chu Jiaojiao, seated in the front row, heard Li Guigu's words clearly. She looked up at Lu Yao on the podium. The moment she thought of how he, like that bitch Xia Yue, was the child of a mistress, she immediately developed a prejudice against him.

Xia Yue and Chu Jiaojiao were half-sisters with the same father. Recently, Chu Jiaojiao's mother had been fighting with her father over Xia Yue, the illegitimate daughter, and was even seeking a divorce.

Before Xia Yue appeared, Chu Jiaojiao had always believed that her father and mother were deeply in love. Then, some time ago, her father suddenly brought Xia Yue home, saying he wanted this illegitimate daughter to acknowledge her ancestry. He even transferred Xia Yue from her former public school to Huiying High School, placed her in Chu Jiaojiao's class, and had the nerve to say that he hoped Chu Jiaojiao would look after her younger sister.

It utterly disgusted Chu Jiaojiao.

Ever since Xia Yue transferred to Huiying High School, Chu Jiaojiao had been completely at odds with her. Their poor relationship was already common knowledge throughout the school. Although Xia Yue was heavily ostracized by the girls, her pretty appearance and coquettish personality had earned her the adoration of many boys.

Homeroom teacher: "Students, is there anything you're curious to know about Lu Yao?"

Chu Jiaojiao casually raised her hand. Resting her chin on one hand, she spoke with a lofty, contemptuous gaze. "Transfer student, where exactly is Shancheng? It seems none of us have really heard of that place. Aren't you going to introduce it to everyone?"

Lu Yao recognized the girl asking the question at a glance. She was Chu Jiaojiao, the cannon-fodder older sister of the Mary Sue heroine Xia Yue. In the original novel, this cannon-fodder supporting character had tried every possible way to target Xia Yue, only to repeatedly shoot herself in the foot. Her final fate was no better than his own.

Hearing Chu Jiaojiao subtly mock Lu Yao as a country bumpkin, the students eagerly settled in to watch the show.

Was the transfer student going to clash with Chu Jiaojiao on his very first day? This was going to be entertaining!

Although Xia Yue knew Lu Yao's true identity, she worried that if his identity was exposed, she would not be able to quickly win his affection. Thus, she was more than happy to see Chu Jiaojiao target Lu Yao. Appearing at the right moment would make her conquest twice as effective with half the effort.

She had done the same in her previous life. In the unfamiliar environment of Huiying High School, she had been the first person to extend a hand to Lu Yao. That was precisely why she had been able to leave an indelible mark on his heart so quickly. The more that foolish woman Chu Jiaojiao targeted Lu Yao, the easier it would be for her to win him over and steal his luck.

Lu Yao had no intention of responding to Chu Jiaojiao's provocation.

Seeing Chu Jiaojiao target the new student, the homeroom teacher hurriedly prepared to smooth things over. At that moment, an unexpected voice suddenly rang out in the classroom.

"130° to 131°10′ east longitude, 52° to 52°38′ north latitude."

When Jiang Bai suddenly spoke up, the other students all looked at him in surprise.

Chu Jiaojiao: "What?"

Chu Jiaojiao was completely baffled. What was Jiang Bai suddenly talking about?

"Shancheng's longitude and latitude."

Jiang Bai leaned lightly against his chair, his usual gentle smile on his face. But upon closer inspection, none of that smile reached his eyes.

He spoke slowly, "Wasn't everyone curious about what kind of place Shancheng is? I know you're all science students, but I didn't expect your geographical knowledge to have become so weak only a short time after choosing your academic tracks. Still, as the former geography class representative, I'm more than willing to share some basic geographical knowledge with everyone."

Basic geographical knowledge? The longitude and latitude of such a remote little place counted as basic geographical knowledge?

The students exchanged glances. What the hell? Did the transfer student know Jiang Bai? Why was Jiang Bai acting so strangely today? Wasn't he usually someone who stayed aloof from anything that did not concern him? Why was he suddenly being so kind and standing up for the transfer student?

Chu Jiaojiao also looked at Jiang Bai with displeasure. What was Jiang Bai doing? What did her issue with the transfer student have to do with him? Why was he butting in for no reason?!

Lu Yao looked at the boy below. When he saw his face, surprise flickered in his deep eyes. It was him?

Their unexpected eye contact made Jiang Bai freeze for a moment. But once he recovered, the corners of his lips could not help but curve upward into a smile. His previously cold eyes were now filled with the joy of reunion.

Lu Yao gave a detached nod in response, then naturally looked away.

Seeing Lu Yao's indifferent reaction, Jiang Bai felt a faint ache in his heart. A trace of dimness and loneliness flashed through his eyes, and the smile on his lips gradually faded.

They were still strangers.

He pressed his lips together tightly and lowered his eyes to hide the disappointment in his heart.

Seeing that Chu Jiaojiao was about to speak again, the homeroom teacher feared that the situation would worsen. He hurriedly broke the deadlock and pointed to an empty seat by the window. "Lu Yao, sit there."

The moment Lu Yao sat down, the boy beside him curiously leaned over. "Bro, do you know Jiang Bai?"

Lu Yao: "No."

"If you don't know him, why did he speak up for you?"

Lu Yao: "I don't know."

"Man, has anyone ever told you that you look kind of cool like this?"

Lu Yao: "..."

Seeing Lu Yao's speechless expression, the boy beside him burst into laughter. "My name is You Yu. My friends all like to call me Squid. Please take care of me from now on."

Lu Yao discovered that his deskmate was truly a chatterbox through and through. Once he got going, he could prattle on endlessly.

You Yu: "Listen, there are two people in our class that you absolutely cannot provoke. One is Lu Qi. He hasn't come back to class yet, but when he returns later, I'll secretly point him out to you. He's the school bully, but as long as you don't provoke him, there generally won't be any problems."

You Yu paused, then continued, "The other is Jiang Bai from earlier. He's the male idol of the girls at our school. Maybe it's because his family is a scholarly one—his grandfather is Jiang Sheng, the famous traditional Chinese painting master. He himself isn't scary, and his temper is fairly mild, but the truly terrifying thing is his fan club! Quite a few girls in the school belong to it, so offending him means offending most of the girls. Trust me, a good man doesn't fight women. There's no good end to offending that bunch of girls."

Lu Yao: "..."

Meanwhile, Jiang Bai, whom Lu Yao had claimed not to know, was recalling the scene of his first encounter with Lu Yao. His eyelashes trembled slightly, and beneath his light-colored eyes lay a gentle, lingering tenderness.

If one asked why the girls at school liked Jiang Bai, most people would mention not only his genius-level grades and handsome appearance, but also his gentle personality and the soft smile that always seemed to rest on his face. Yet few people noticed that his gentleness had always carried a sense of distance and coldness.

The unchanging curve of his smile was a mask Jiang Bai used to conceal his emotional deficiency from the outside world.

Ever since childhood, Jiang Bai had been the prodigy every parent wanted their child to be. Anything he wanted to learn came easily to him. His parents were both career-obsessed workaholics. When they discovered that Jiang Bai was sensible and not clingy from such a young age, they were even more at ease leaving him to nannies and private tutors while they focused on building their careers. It was not until Jiang Bai went to spend the summer with his grandfather at the age of eight that his grandfather noticed something was wrong and discovered that the child suffered from emotional deficiency disorder. Though Father Jiang and Mother Jiang had regretted it bitterly over the years, nothing had ever helped.

Because the doctor suggested that Jiang Bai spend more time in nature and seek healing from it, Jiang Bai's grandfather liked taking him along whenever he went out to sketch landscapes and gather inspiration.

More than two months ago, Grandpa Jiang took Jiang Bai to Shancheng.

At the time, Jiang Bai saw his grandfather painting by the river and decided to wander around nearby. Unexpectedly, Shancheng's alleys twisted and turned like a maze. Jiang Bai got lost, and his phone had run out of battery.

In the dim alley, Jiang Bai frowned as he watched several ill-intentioned punks block his path. He began to regret never learning even a few self-defense techniques.

"Hand over your phone!"

Jiang Bai pressed his lips together and took his phone from his pocket. The blond-haired leader snatched it from his hand.

"Heh, nice. The newest Apple model. Looks like we caught ourselves a nice fat sheep today."

The blond-haired man scanned Jiang Bai from head to toe, and his gaze immediately settled on the watch on Jiang Bai's wrist.

"Take off the watch too."

The watch was a birthday gift from Jiang Bai's grandfather when he turned fifteen. If it were lost, the old man would certainly be deeply saddened.

Jiang Bai looked coldly at the blond-haired man. "You can have the phone, but not this watch."

After exchanging glances with the punks behind him, the blond-haired man laughed wildly. "Pretty boy, do you think I'm negotiating with you? Hand over the watch now, or when we start beating you up, my fists won't be joking around."

Jiang Bai said nothing. He quietly surveyed his surroundings and found that every exit was guarded by the blond-haired man and his lackeys.

Seeing that Jiang Bai still refused to take off the watch, the blond-haired man clicked his tongue impatiently. "You guys, go beat this brat up. Once he learns his lesson, take the watch."

Seeing the punks close in on him, Jiang Bai clenched his fists. Just as he was preparing to fight them head-on, even if it meant mutual destruction, a voice suddenly rang out from deep within the alley.

"I was wondering which crow was making such an awful racket. Turns out it's you guys."

Seeing the youth walk out from the depths of the alley, the blond-haired man threatened, "Lu Yao, this has nothing to do with you. You'd better not interfere."

Lu Yao was famous around here for being able to fight. The blond-haired man did not want Lu Yao ruining his plans.

Lu Yao let out a scornful laugh. "You're blocking my way."

Shancheng's alleys connected in every direction, with countless routes to take. Yet Lu Yao insisted on coming this way. It was obvious he was deliberately looking for trouble.

The blond-haired man signaled to his lackeys behind him, and several people immediately charged at Lu Yao together.

A bolt of pale lightning suddenly split the sky, illuminating the dark alley for an instant. Watching Lu Yao's brilliant, unrestrained movements as he fought, Jiang Bai's eyes shone with a dazzling light. At that moment, Lu Yao seemed to be the only light in Jiang Bai's world.

The punks were beaten to the ground, groaning in pain.

Lu Yao bent down and searched the blond-haired man's pockets, retrieving the phone they had stolen.

When he turned around, he saw Jiang Bai still standing there in a daze. He casually tossed the phone into his arms. "Let's go. Are you planning to stay here and keep getting lost?"

When Lu Yao had passed through this alley earlier, he had seen Jiang Bai wandering in circles. When he returned, Jiang Bai was still wandering around inside.

Jiang Bai froze for a moment. Once he came back to his senses, he smiled and hurriedly jogged after Lu Yao.

After leading Jiang Bai out of the alley, Lu Yao went home on his own.

It was not until Lu Yao's back disappeared from sight that Jiang Bai reluctantly withdrew his gaze.