6 Chapter 6

◎Reduce your own presence◎

Because of yesterday's cold reception, Xie Wanzhi unilaterally started a cold war with her.

The two met when they entered the classroom in the morning. Xie Wanzhi glanced over, then quickly looked away and walked into the classroom without saying a word.

Zhan Xinyue naturally knew that she was silently expressing her dissatisfaction, and signaled to herself to take the initiative to coax her. She ignored her and returned to her seat to read the prose in her Chinese textbook.

Two classes passed, and Xie Wanzhi glanced at her several times from her seat. Zhan Xinyue simply got up, took advantage of the break between classes to leave the classroom, and leaned against the corridor railing to get some fresh air.

It was nine or ten o'clock, and the sun outside was already quite dazzling, so she squinted.

A group of girls approached from a distance, playfully shoving and jostling each other. They looked quite young; it was hard to tell if they were in their first year of high school or middle school. The morning sunlight danced on their ponytails, radiating youthful energy and carefree joy.

Everyone says that teenagers don't need to dress up to be beautiful. She didn't realize it when she was a teenager, but now, reborn and looking at these young people, she truly understands the truth of that statement. Youth itself is already captivating enough.

She looked at them, as if something had occurred to her, and her eyes held a mixture of nostalgia and envy.

Unexpectedly, as they passed the entrance to Class 10, one of the girls suddenly gave another a light push, and the girl who was pushed cried out and retreated into the Class 10 classroom.

"Ugh, you're so annoying! Why did you push me?" she called out to them shyly, but her eyes were glancing towards the back of the classroom.

"Who pushed you?" The others chuckled and blocked the doorway. "You went in by yourself, you're not allowed to come out."

"Who said that? I'll get angry if you don't move aside!"

...

This kind of girlish drama is actually quite interesting. However, although the group played around at the classroom door for quite a while, making a lot of noise, the students in Class 10 inside the classroom acted as if they didn't see them and went about their own business, without giving them a single glance.

Zhan Xinyue wasn't puzzled. Looking through the window into the classroom, she saw Shi Ziqian sitting in the back row. In the noisy and chaotic classroom, he simply sat there quietly, his hair jet black, his eyes lowered, enough to draw attention and make everything and everyone around him fade into the background.

Shi Ziqian was always a very special presence in that year's high school. Not only was he outstanding in appearance and academics, but he was also the biological son of the school's board of directors. Because of his existence, the high school life of almost everyone in that year was overshadowed, and even jealousy had no basis.

It seems like it was like this in a past life. Ever since the classes were divided, there have always been groups of girls walking past the entrance of Class 10, turning back and forth, taking the opportunity to peek and look at this legendary figure.

Shi Ziqian was already used to this kind of staring and never responded with a single glance. But during the time when Zhan Xinyue first sat next to Shi Ziqian, she was affected by this prying and felt like a monkey in a zoo being watched by everyone, not knowing where to put her hands and feet.

Fortunately, after a few months, both Zhan Xinyue and the other classmates got used to this ubiquitous staring. Anyway, they weren't being watched, so these figures were like blackboards and desks, meant to be there, becoming background elements that would automatically be ignored by the brain.

The school bell rang, and the girls finally left, pulling and tugging at each other. Zhan Xinyue walked into the classroom as the bell rang, and glanced at Shi Ziqian again.

He was wearing the most ordinary school uniform, with a cool and aloof demeanor. There were no superfluous decorations on him, only his sleeves were half-rolled up, revealing a black watch on his wrist, which made his knuckles stand out even more. He was doing his homework with his head down, his high nose bridge visible beneath his hair, and an inescapable sense of alienation surrounded him, as if he had drawn a clear line between himself and everyone around him.

In her past life, Zhan Xinyue would occasionally doubt the existence of such an exceptionally handsome person in her high school memories. Was it an embellishment of her memory, or simply a lack of worldly experience in her youth? But now, reborn with years of experience, she is still amazed every time she sees him, realizing that her memories are not false.

However, just as water overflows when full, and the moon wanes when full, excessive beauty can make someone seem unapproachable. A slight advantage in appearance often attracts people, but excessive beauty can create a sense of distance, making people hesitant to approach. Someone like Shi Ziqian is someone who can only be admired from afar, not approached. Just like those girls from other classes, no matter how much they gossip and watch, no one would actually dare to come up and strike up a conversation.

However, given Shi Ziqian's personality, he would probably welcome this outcome.

Another class ended, and it was time for the long break. As usual, we had to go downstairs for morning exercises. In those years, it seemed like the whole country was learning from Hengshui. During morning exercises, the lines were packed so tightly they were practically airtight, which was euphemistically called "cohesion." As for the effectiveness of the exercise, that was a big question mark.

The whistles urging everyone to come downstairs grew louder and louder. Zhan Xinyue waited until almost everyone had left the classroom before getting up and slowly preparing to walk out.

She looked up and saw Xie Wanzhi standing at the door, arms crossed, looking at her.

Seeing her look over, Xie Wanzhi called out dryly, "Hey, are you coming or not?"

"Let's go." Zhan Xinyue responded coldly and walked over.

The two walked downstairs with the flow of people, neither of them speaking. Xie Wanzhi was perhaps trying to give her a way out, but she didn't want to accept it, and the two walked on in silence.

"Xiao Shi, wait a minute." Through the crowd, she heard someone calling Shi Ziqian. Turning her head, she saw Vice Principal Gao Qiang stroking his balding head and waving to the side. Not far away, Shi Ziqian, who was about to go downstairs, stopped and slowly walked over.

She followed the flow of people into the stairwell, then looked away.

Before she even reached the edge of the playground, she recognized the class at the very front of the track from afar, with their homeroom teacher standing next to them.

It's obvious which class he's next to.

Zhan Xinyue froze, disregarding her still awkward silence with Xie Wanzhi, and tugged at her sleeve, leading her around to the other side.

Because of this unexpected turn of events, her emotions, which had just started to improve, surged back, and she didn't even realize when she had finished running. On the way back, she walked silently with Xie Wanzhi, gradually drifting into a daze.

Looking back now, Xu Shen's infidelity was not entirely without clues.

She remembered one time when Xu Shen came back from a business trip, he hugged her from behind, buried his face in her neck and rubbed it affectionately, and casually said, "Xinyue, you're quite tall."

It was just a small thing that she hadn't paid any attention to at the time, but now, for some reason, it suddenly came to mind and she discerned a different meaning in it.

She is 168cm tall, and that height hasn't changed since high school.

Her gaze fell on Xie Wanzhi beside her. Xie Wanzhi was petite, about half a head shorter than her.

...

Zhan Xinyue looked at Xie Wanzhi with a dark expression. After a moment, she suddenly spoke in a low voice: "Hey, why aren't you saying anything? Are you angry with me?"

Upon hearing this, Xie Wanzhi glanced at her and said, "You already know, why are you asking?"

"Okay, it's all my fault. What will it take for you to forgive me?"

Xie Wanzhi snorted, still sounding awkward, but her tone wasn't as harsh anymore: "You were so cold to me yesterday, that was too much!"

"I was wrong, I'm sorry. My period is coming soon, I'm in a bad mood, please forgive me this time." Zhan Xinyue drawled, "We are—best friends."

Her eyes were mocking, but her tone was extremely sincere.

Xie Wanzhi glanced at her and said reproachfully, "So you do know that! You were so fierce yesterday. Fine, I'll forgive you for now, but don't you dare treat me like that again!"

"knew."

After just a few words, the two seemed to have reconciled. Xie Wanzhi took Zhan Xinyue's arm again.

Zhan Xinyue smiled and didn't push her away again, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.

There are many things she doesn't understand, and she wants to figure them out little by little.

The first question is: when exactly did the ambiguous relationship between Xu Shen and Xie Wanzhi begin?

To clarify these matters, at least a superficial peace must be maintained for the time being.

With a few words, Xie Wanzhi was appeased, and she lost all interest in initiating conversation. Fortunately, Xie Wanzhi calmed down and returned to her usual chattering self, talking non-stop, with Zhan Xinyue occasionally responding in kind.

As they spoke, the two had already reached the foot of the teaching building. Gao Qiang and Shi Ziqian were still standing face to face in the corridor upstairs. Gao Qiang was more than half a head shorter than him, so he had to tilt his head slightly to speak, making the movement quite difficult. Shi Ziqian was a few steps away from him, his gaze lowered, making it impossible to see his expression.

Many people in the crowd quietly looked up in that direction. Occasionally, there were low whispers: "Isn't that Shi Ziqian? He's so handsome."

Zhan Xinyue thought to herself, "From this distance, I can't even see his face clearly, how can I tell he's handsome?" But she had to admit that he was slender and tall, with an upright posture, and even just a distant figure was enough to attract attention.

"You have no idea how tired I was this morning. When the alarm went off, I really wanted to pretend to be sick and sleep in forever. I could only comfort myself by saying it's almost the weekend... How come the weekend is still so long? I'm going to sleep for two whole days this weekend, and nobody will wake me up..."

Xie Wanzhi kept talking, but after a while there was no response, she fell silent and turned to look at her. Following Zhan Xinyue's gaze, her eyes flickered, and she suddenly asked, "What do you think Lao Gao was saying to Shi Ziqian?"

Zhan Xinyue shook her head: "I don't know."

"Old Gao is so busy all day, but now he's free and talking to people for so long. But then again, he's the son of the school board chairman, so naturally he has to curry favor with him. I bet he's thinking of becoming the principal, and he's starting to work on the school board chairman's son."

"...It shouldn't be that bad."

"Just kidding." She sighed and said with emotion, "Although we're in the same class as Shi Ziqian, we're from completely different worlds. I guess we won't even be able to see each other after graduation."

Her words seemed nonsensical, but they were indeed true.

Shi Ziqian's father, Shi Yuesheng, made his fortune in real estate and had an excellent eye for business. He had already risen to the top of the city's wealth rankings. This private middle school was an investment he made after keenly sensing the shift in the financial landscape towards the education industry. In Zhan Xinyue's memory, in the years before her rebirth, the Shi family's business empire had already far exceeded this city, spanning the entire country.

Most of the students who could attend this private middle school came from relatively well-off families, but they were nowhere near the level of someone like Shi Ziqian. Zhan Xinyue could keenly sense that everyone was somewhat afraid of him, though she didn't know if it was because he was too aloof or because they were afraid of offending him due to his privileged background. After all, at this private school, all the teachers treated him with great courtesy, and even someone as hot-tempered as Lao Fang always greeted Shi Ziqian with a smile.

As his deskmate, Zhan Xinyue's relationship with him was also quite complicated. Their becoming deskmates was purely by chance; they sat together for almost a year, but they still didn't seem very close. A year later, the homeroom teacher rearranged the seating, and they no longer sat together. Although they remained in the same class, they had almost no further interaction.

As Xie Wanzhi said, we are not from the same world. School is a strange place; it brings together children from different family backgrounds. Only after graduation can everyone truly understand the vast and profound class differences that exist between them. Having experienced adulthood, Zhan Xinyue understands the cruelty of society better than Xie Wanzhi.

So she never saw Shi Ziqian again after the college entrance examination.

All the news about him was pieced together from the gossip at the annual class reunions. Given Shi Ziqian's grades, everyone thought he would go to Tsinghua University, but in reality, he didn't care about his college entrance exam scores at all. He went abroad immediately after graduation, reportedly to Cambridge. After graduation, instead of inheriting the family business as everyone guessed, he stayed in the United States to take a teaching position at an Ivy League university and hasn't returned for many years.

The closest they came to each other was many years later at a class reunion. Midway through the meal, someone returned from the restroom, exclaiming to everyone that they thought they had just seen Shi Ziqian outside the private room. By then, Shi Ziqian had long since settled abroad, so naturally no one believed it. It wasn't until the cashier politely informed them that someone had already paid the bill that they dared to believe it might really be Shi Ziqian. Then came another wave of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, mixed feelings): They hadn't been close in school, but unexpectedly, many years after graduation, someone like him would still remember them, his old classmates.

Following the stairwell back to the classroom door, there were quite a few people walking back in the corridor. They all walked towards the classroom with their eyes straight ahead, but in reality, they were all secretly glancing at Gao Qiang and Shi Ziqian who were still standing in the corridor.

"I'm not going." Shi Ziqian's voice wasn't loud, but his tone left no room for negotiation.

"If there's nothing else, I'll head back." With that, Shi Ziqian turned and went straight back to the classroom, leaving Gao Qiang standing awkwardly alone.

Everyone's gossipy eyes turned even more intensely towards Gao Qiang.

"What are you all looking at? Hurry up and go back to class." Gao Qiang had been humiliated by Shi Ziqian, and his eyebrows immediately furrowed when everyone stared at him like that. He waved his hand at everyone as if shooing away flies.

Zhan Xinyue was also in the crowd, returning to the classroom with the dispersing flow of people. Shi Ziqian leaned back in his chair, lost in thought, his arms crossed over his chest, the atmosphere around him heavy.

As Xie Wanzhi led her through the door, Shi Ziqian glanced over, his gaze lingering on their intertwined arms for a moment before he slowly released her and sat up straighter.

Zhan Xinyue didn't know what Gao Qiang had said to him, but she could clearly see that he was in a bad mood.

She returned to her seat and discreetly moved the chair further away to minimize her presence.