Chapter 100 [High School Line] ...

[High School Admission Line]

Just half a month after returning from South America, Ye Yuying ushered in a new starting point in her life.

On the first day of school, she wore a neat school uniform and was driven there by Cheng Mingdu. The entrance of Rongcheng No. 1 High School was full of parents, but she was the only one who was somewhat special.

But when he turned around and looked at the crowd, amidst the worried parents, Cheng Mingdu appeared unusually young and composed. He slightly raised his hand, waved at her, and mouthed, "Hurry up and go into the classroom."

A sudden warmth filled her heart, a gentle warmth spreading through her soul like a tranquil spring. The initial tension caused by the unfamiliar campus was dispelled by this calm and composed smile.

As she walked through the gates of Rongcheng No.1 High School, the chill of the South American polar night snowfield still lingered in her heart.

The playground was bustling with noise as the new students were assigned to different classes.

The sun was blazing, but she still felt the chill of the snow lingering in her body; that solitary tranquility protected her as she slowly emerged from the grief of her grandmother's passing.

"Ye Yuying, Class 12." The grade director flipped through the roster and called out her name.

"arrive!"

She raised her hand and shouted, two notes higher than the average person.

Unable to suppress her joy and trepidation, she knew that Class 12 wasn't the best class, but it was considered a second-best class. For a student like her who had come from an ordinary junior high school, it was practically the end of her hard work.

She answered from the crowd, her back straight, and walked over. Her gaze was firm and calm, drawing sidelong glances from many classmates.

Some people recognized her, while others did not.

Most of the students who entered Rongcheng No. 1 High School were either directly promoted from the junior high school or came from the private junior high schools that had the best education in the city. Many of the students knew each other, but her face was unfamiliar to everyone.

On the first day of the new semester, it seemed that all the unfamiliarity was washing away the bloody storms of school bullying. The child who almost drowned in despair in the summer and nearly embarked on the road back to her hometown has now entered the best high school in the province.

Ye Yuying followed the group into the teaching building, where the newly painted white walls in the corridor reflected a blinding light.

Several students were already standing at the entrance of Class 12, gathered in twos and threes, their laughter filled with confidence and ease.

The moment she pushed open the door, many eyes turned to her.

The girls in the front row exchanged whispered glances, filled with curiosity and interest in this spirited young woman, a subtle, almost imperceptible glint in their eyes.

But her expression remained remarkably calm, unfazed by the stares of others. "You didn't come directly from the junior high, did you? There's an empty seat here." A girl waved to her, her gentle features radiating a lively and energetic charm.

Ye Yuying walked to her seat and sat down, smiling, "No, I'm from Laishan Middle School."

There were many voices of doubt around this unfamiliar middle school.

"Laishan Middle School? Never heard of it. Have you?"

"No, this isn't one of the four top schools in Rongcheng. How could I have heard of it?"

Ye Yuying took out her pencil case with swift and efficient movements, yet her aura effectively kept the gossip at bay.

Her mind was not affected. After all, they were a group of top students from a prestigious high school, and their discussion was not malicious.

Everyone was talking at once, and almost all of them knew each other. They were all children who had received monopolistic education since kindergarten, and each of them was quick-witted and able to cope with the new environment.

Ye Yuying, on the other hand, sat by the window, fiddling with her pencil case, gazing absently at the greenery outside.

Is this Cheng Mingdu's alma mater? It all feels like a dream.

Looking up, she saw that everyone looked clever. She found it hard to imagine how Cheng Mingdu had managed to maintain top grades all the way to graduation in such a place full of experts.

The bell rang on the podium, and the classroom fell silent.

The girl sitting next to me turned her head gently, her eyes soft and her voice low: "Hi, hello, my name is Lin Manyin. We'll be classmates from now on."

She spoke cautiously, afraid of triggering Ye Yuying's nervousness.

Ye Yuying nodded and replied softly, "My name is Ye Yuying."

Lin Manyin smiled and pushed the workbook on the table a little closer: "Want to take a look? This was distributed before, you might not have received it yet." Her movements were natural, without a trace of stiffness.

The boy in the front row turned around, a mischievous glint in his eyes: "Hey newbie, how's your sports? I'm running for sports committee member later, vote for me!"

Ye Yuying was taken aback and before she could answer, Lin Manyin, who was standing next to her, chimed in, "You've only just met them and you're already campaigning for their votes."

In just a few words, the initially unfamiliar atmosphere was gradually broken.

Ye Yuying felt a slight warmth in her heart. She didn't say much, but the air here seemed much lighter. She was truly used to living in a world of struggle.

"Just kidding." The boy in the front row scratched the back of his head, his smile radiating youthful arrogance. "My name is Zhou Yi. If anyone bullies you in the future, just come to me."

Someone chimed in: "Zhou Yi, quickly tell the newcomer you can't tell fortunes."

This remark caused several classmates around to burst into laughter, instantly enlivening the atmosphere.

Lin Manyin wrinkled her nose and poked Zhou Yi's shoulder with a hint of teasing: "You should take care of your grades first. Being a sports committee member isn't enough if you can only play basketball."

“What do you know? This is called all-round development,” Zhou Yi retorted, baring his teeth.

Watching the two bicker, Ye Yuying couldn't help but smile slightly.

The first part was the homeroom teacher's self-introduction. The teacher called on each student to give a brief self-introduction.

"Hello everyone, my name is Lin Manyin. I come from the junior high school. I like to draw and I also write short stories in my spare time." Lin Manyin's voice was soft but not shy, and her eyes were bright.

"My name is Zhou Yi, and I'm also from the junior high school. I only love sports, so please remember to vote for me, sports committee member." Zhou Yi stood up, his voice cheerful, and his first words were all about getting votes, which drew applause and laughter.

When it was Ye Yuying's turn, she stood up and said in a clear voice, "My name is Ye Yuying, and I come from Laishan Middle School. I like... running."

It was as simple as it gets, but when she talked about things she liked, she hesitated for a moment, as if she felt that her hobby was a bit too limited.

As Ye Yuying sat down, Lin Manyin gently nudged her under the table and winked at her: "You were very cool just now."

She paused for a moment, then her heart softened, and she secretly thought that her new deskmate was very good at providing emotional support.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, illuminating the desks and making the white paper shimmer.

When the class meeting ended, the election of class officers was also completed.

Zhou Yi won by a landslide and became the sports committee member as he wished, his face beaming with pride.

"See? I told you, all-round development." He winked at the back row, winning a burst of laughter.

Unexpectedly, Ye Yuying was elected as the English class representative.

The English teacher casually mentioned a few names of students who had done well in the middle school entrance exam and asked everyone to raise their hands to vote. It was expected that the names would fall to students who had directly entered the junior high school. However, Ye Yuying, a stranger to the teacher, seemed to be very neutral, so the most people raised their hands to vote for her.

"Congratulations to Ye Yuying on being elected as the English class representative," the teacher announced with a smile.

Ye Yuying was stunned, not expecting to shoulder such a responsibility on her very first day.

"Congratulations, class representative." Lin Manyin extended her hand, her expression sincere. "You'll have to work hard from now on."

Ye Yuying snapped out of her daze, smiled gently, and nodded.

When it came time to elect a class monitor, someone nominated Lin Manyin, who was popular, but she declined, saying, "I don't dare to be one; it's most honorable to be a member of the masses."

The first day of school ended perfectly in this cheerful atmosphere. As school was about to end, the setting sun cast its golden glow through the long corridor.

The new students walked out of the classroom in twos and threes, and the air was filled with the fragrance of moist plant leaves.

Just as Ye Yuying finished packing her schoolbag and was leaving the classroom, she heard a few cheerful shouts coming from the other end of the corridor.

"Manyin, your idol's older brother is here!"

Lin Manyin looked up, her eyes lit up, and she quickly ran out.

Standing at the end of the corridor was Lin Zhiyan, wearing a white shirt.

The senior high school student had a refined and elegant demeanor, stood tall and straight, and leaned quietly against the wall, his expression exuding a sense of aloofness and maturity.

His gaze inadvertently swept over and landed on Ye Yuying, who was following behind Lin Manyin, and paused for a moment.

A few students whispered among themselves, "Isn't that Lin Zhiyan? The top student in the science-focused class."

"Wow, he's even more... good-looking in person than his grades."

The sound wasn't loud, but it reached Ye Yuying's ears. She gripped her backpack strap tighter, a thought flickering in her mind.

Lin Manyin warmly took her hand and introduced her, "Brother, this is my new deskmate, Ye Yuying."

Lin Zhiyan lowered his eyes, a faint hint of surprise flashing in the depths of his gaze, before giving a polite smile: "Hello, congratulations on getting into Rongcheng No.1 High School. I told you you could do it."

His voice was gentle, with a composure unique to a young man.

Ye Yuying was taken aback, and subconsciously replied, "Thank you."

*

As night fell, the warm lights in the tea room in the Cheng family's backyard remained.

Cheng Mingdu sat on the sofa, holding a thick book in his slender hands, and looked up as she pushed the door open and came in.

"How was the first day?" His voice was deep, with his usual calmness, but more composed than others. If youth is a blizzard, Cheng Mingdu was the silent snowfield after the blizzard.

Ye Yuying changed out of her schoolbag, sat down opposite him, and said in a light tone, "It's fine. The teachers and classmates are all pretty good."

She paused, wondering if this would seem like showing off, "And I also became the English class representative."

Cheng Mingdu's eyebrows twitched, and his gaze fell: "It seems they approve of you."

On this day, they had a rare opportunity to sit down and have a meal together face to face.

After dinner, just as Ye Yuying was about to return to the attic, she heard Cheng Mingdu's tense voice behind her: "I'm going back the day after tomorrow."

As always, Cheng Mingdu's farewells were never heavy-hearted. He handled many sad things lightly, so much so that people always thought he had no reluctance at all.

She was taken aback: "Go back?"

"Continue to finish my studies." Cheng Mingdu's gaze fell on her, his eyes calm, as if from a great distance.

Yet another parting. Ye Yuying did not show excessive disappointment, as if she was forcing herself to face it all.

Ye Yuying stared at him blankly, her fingers clenching the hem of her clothes. She wanted to say something, but the words that came out were barely audible: "Oh... then I wish you all the best."

The surroundings quieted down, and even the cicadas chirping outside the window sounded distant and indistinct.

Cheng Mingdu looked at her, a fleeting emotion crossing his eyes, as if he was still worried about the new environment she was about to face, before he looked away as if nothing had happened.

"Get some rest, you have to get up early tomorrow." He stood up, put the book back on the shelf, and his figure looked particularly lonely under the lamplight.

Ye Yuying watched him leave quietly, her lips pressed tightly together. Only when the door closed gently did she realize that she had been lost in thought for a long time.

The attic window was open, and the night breeze carried the scent of gardenias. She sat at her desk, staring at the English words in her textbook, but couldn't memorize a single one.

She suddenly realized that for a long time to come, she would have to face this campus and this city alone.

But in another corner of her heart, a flame seemed to be silently ignited by Cheng Mingdu. She still wanted to prove to him that even without him, she could walk this path smoothly.

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Author's note: The high school storyline won't be too long. After finishing the plot, I'll write another part in the modern era and then finish it beautifully!