Chapter 39

◎Played tricks by fate◎

After an unknown amount of time, some voices began to appear downstairs, and the campus was about to awaken from its slumber.

She heard Xu Shen take a few steps towards the corridor railing upstairs, followed by his raised voice: "Old Bai, why are you dawdling? Did you bring me breakfast yet—"

A boy's voice came from downstairs: "I brought it, I brought it."

Xu Shen continued shouting, "Hurry up, I'm starving!"

Downstairs, Yu Bai grumbled and complained, "Hurry up, hurry up, you lazy bum! I haven't even had a chance to eat myself yet." As he grumbled, his body betrayed him as he quickened his pace, "Hurry up and come down to meet your breadwinner."

"Alright, alright, coming!" Xu Shen responded readily, leaping down several steps in two quick strides.

Before Xu Shen appeared on this floor, Zhan Xinyue got up first and slipped into the corridor.

She heard Xu Shen's footsteps approaching and then receding, and soon his voice rang out from the floor below, his tone somewhat mocking: "Old Bai, are you treating me like a pig to be fed, bringing so many?"

"Who was just yelling that they were starving to death, and now they're complaining about having too much food!" Yu Bai shouted. "Besides, I need to eat too, okay? Didn't I tell you I haven't even had a chance to eat yet!"

"Okay, okay, thank you for your hard work." Xu Shen comforted him for a moment, then raised his voice, "But can't we be a little gentler in the future? My heart is very fragile, don't scare me."

Yu Bai gritted his teeth and said, "Get away from me, gentle my ass, I'm not a woman."

The two continued their childish bickering as they walked upstairs. Zhan Xinyue immediately went around to the other side of the school building and went upstairs.

When she returned to Class 10, the classroom was still dark. She pushed open the door and went inside, the dim light instantly enveloping her.

She stood alone for a while, then reached out and switched on the light. In an instant, the bright incandescent light filled the entire classroom. She finally felt a bit stronger and slowly walked back to her seat.

When the classroom door was pushed open again, she was already working on her problems with her head down.

Unexpectedly, besides her, the first person to arrive today would be Shi Ziqian.

Shi Ziqian seemed surprised to see her sitting alone in her seat. He paused for a moment before saying, "Good morning."

She forced a smile: "Good morning."

Shi Ziqian continued to stare at her, and as he sat down, he asked, "Why do you look a little unwell?"

Having barely slept a wink last night, Zhan Xinyue knew how noticeable her dark circles would be. She raised her hand to her brow, obscuring most of her face: "It's nothing, I just didn't sleep well."

She thought the conversation was over, but Shi Ziqian looked at her carefully and said, "You didn't get a good night's rest last night, so why are you here so early?"

Zhan Xinyue stared at the study materials on the table and said haphazardly, "I've been under a lot of pressure lately, so I plan to come here early in the morning to do some practice problems."

Shi Ziqian nodded and opened his study materials. After a moment, he added, "If you need to discuss anything, just call me."

"Okay, thank you."

Zhan Xinyue was out of sorts all day. When Lao Zhou walked into the classroom before evening class, she barely looked up, keeping her head down and looking at the textbook on her desk. It wasn't until Lao Zhou suddenly brought up something in a nonchalant tone: "By the way, didn't we say yesterday that the student council was going to select someone to go dancing? Xie Wanzhi has some issues and can't go. Let's select someone else."

Zhan Xinyue finally raised her head, but before she could even think about what "she's in a bit of a situation" meant, she heard Lao Zhou continue, "Just like yesterday, I just drew the ball. Let me think, how about the 12th? Who is it?"

After a brief silence.

Zhan Xinyue slowly stood up.

She almost laughed out of anger.

After morning reading, Xie Wanzhi walked to her desk, hesitant and not daring to look at her: "Xinyue, believe me, I really didn't mean it."

"I was all set to go dancing, but after I called home last night and mentioned it, my parents insisted on calling Lao Zhou. You know, my grades aren't very good in my class, and they're strongly against me wasting time on these unrelated activities, so..."

"Later, Lao Zhou said he would draw people again. There were so many people in the class, I didn't expect to pick you. It was a complete accident, so please don't blame me."

Zhan Xinyue propped her chin on her hand, her expression complicated, and refused to pay attention to her. Xie Wanzhi mumbled, "If all else fails, why don't you talk to your parents and have them talk to Lao Zhou?"

Xin Wenhua disagreed: "It's not that easy. I think that even though Lao Zhou didn't say anything today about you asking your parents to talk to him, he's definitely furious inside. If Zhan Xinyue does the same thing, Lao Zhou will definitely get angry. Otherwise, what can he do to manage things in the class in the future? Everyone will follow suit."

"What do you mean I told my parents to find Lao Zhou? They wanted to find him themselves, okay?" Xie Wanzhi said, her face showing dissatisfaction, but she knew Xin Wenhua was telling the truth. Everyone knew Lao Zhou's temper; he wasn't someone easy to talk to. It was already unexpected that Lao Zhou would actually let her go today.

"Anyway, it's just a group dance, so it shouldn't be a big deal. Just go about your business and don't be too hard on yourself..." She talked for a while, and seeing that everyone was silent, she whispered to Lu Meng and the other two, "Hey, you two, say something!"

Lu Meng scratched his head. "What did I say?"

Xie Wanzhi then turned her gaze to Xin Wenhua, giving him a meaningful look. Xin Wenhua coughed and said, "Xinyue, this does sound absurd, but I don't think Xie Wanzhi really meant it. You know what kind of person Lao Zhou is; how could he possibly remember anyone's student ID number in our class? He must have just randomly picked one. There's nothing we can do; your luck is just too bad. Since things have come to this, we have to accept reality as soon as possible..."

What he said at the beginning was barely plausible, but it got increasingly incoherent as he went on. Xie Wanzhi cut him off, giving him a sidelong glance: "Xin Wenhua, if you can speak, then speak; if you can't, then shut up."

Zhan Xinyue finally sat up a little straighter: "Stop making noise."

Their noise gave her a real headache, so she got up and went outside to get some fresh air in the corridor. Unfortunately, Xie Wanzhi followed her, nagging and trying to persuade her: "Xinyue, try to look on the bright side. Going dancing isn't so bad, you can even wear pretty dresses..."

Zhan Xinyue didn't even bother to look at her, standing by the railing gazing into the distance, lost in thought.

Seeing that her complexion was still not good, Xie Wanzhi wanted to take her arm again, but unexpectedly, Old Zhou walked next door and passed in front of the two of them.

Old Zhou wasn't in a good mood: "Oh, Xie Wanzhi, you still have the mind to chat idly here?"

Xie Wanzhi quickly stood up straight: "No, it's not Teacher Zhou. I just came out to rest after class."

Old Zhou gave her a cryptic look, saying, "You can't even participate in the activities arranged by the school, saying you're too busy studying to find the time. You're so studious, but if you're still in the bottom ten of the class in the next monthly exam, you might as well not stay in our class."

Only when Lao Zhou's figure disappeared into the office did Xie Wanzhi turn to Zhan Xinyue with a pale face: "It's over, Lao Zhou has really got his eye on me this time, I'm doomed."

Xie Wanzhi finally left. She didn't care about Zhan Xinyue anymore and drifted into the classroom like a lost soul.

Zhan Xinyue ignored her and stood still.

Actually, she couldn't quite explain how she was feeling.

Is it painful? Not really. Angry? A little, perhaps. But more than that, it feels absurd. I just decided yesterday not to attend the arts festival and not to run into Xu Shen again, and today things have suddenly come full circle.

Just like every time before, the more she tried to avoid him, the more inevitably she encountered him again and again.

It feels like I've been played by fate.

After a long while, Zhan Xinyue finally breathed a sigh of relief and returned to the classroom.

As she sat down, Shi Ziqian, who was sitting next to her, suddenly looked up at her and said in a low voice, "It's okay if you don't want to go."

Zhan Xinyue looked at his serious expression and shook her head slightly.

"Fine, let's go, it's no big deal," she said to Shi Ziqian.

On Tuesday afternoon, the student council gathered all the students who were going to participate in the arts festival performance together to rehearse. Xu Shen happened to be in charge and stood at the front of the group, talking to everyone.

Zhan Xinyue silently scanned him through the crowd. He was always animated when he spoke, glancing around at the people as he spoke. Before Zhan Xinyue could look away, their eyes met. His gaze didn't linger, quickly passing over her.

Zhan Xinyue also looked away, staring at her toes and recalling for a long time. She remembered that in her previous life, before the rehearsals began, the student council did indeed gather everyone for a meeting, and the speaker at that time seemed to be Xu Shen. However, she didn't have much of an impression of him at the time, so much so that she always thought that she first met him in the dance studio.

"Alright, we have very little time for rehearsals this arts festival, so I hope everyone will give it their all. The student council will also provide excellent service, so feel free to contact me or anyone in the arts and sports department if you encounter any problems. Now, let's not waste any more of your time. Let's start rehearsing in groups this afternoon. All the classrooms in the arts building are available, so please choose your own space," Xu Shen concluded.

Everyone clapped and dispersed.

Zhan Xinyue followed the crowd out, and after only a few steps, she heard a familiar voice with a hint of laughter behind her.

"Zhan Xinyue, why are you acting like you don't recognize me?"

Zhan Xinyue paused slightly before continuing forward.

Xu Shen's voice rang out from behind: "I served as your page for a week, and now you don't even greet me when we meet. This is truly...heartbreaking."

She walked straight into the dance practice group, finally silencing his voice.