Chapter 89
In the center of the classroom, a boy wearing the uniform of Beiyi Middle School stood quietly watching them.
The boy's familiar gaze instantly reminded Xiang Wan of their first meeting in her past life. That afternoon at the exchange meeting, he had also been quietly watching her in the same way.
Like moonlight, it gives people a very soft feeling, but it is also elusive.
In their first life, he watched her with someone else.
In her second life, she watched him die in front of her.
In this life, Xiang Wan had already prepared herself to never see him again, and she even refrained from prying into his life.
But fate, in a truly miraculous way, brought their paths together once again.
Was it a twist of fate, or a carefully orchestrated arrangement by destiny?
Xiang Wan wasn't sure either, but looking at Chen Yan, who was only two meters away, she felt as if she were in another world.
The homeroom teacher tapped the desk with his knuckles to signal them to be quiet, then said to the transfer students, "Please introduce yourselves to everyone."
The boy nodded slightly, his voice neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for everyone in the classroom to hear, including Xiang Wan in the fourth row.
"Hello everyone, I'm Chen Ruilin, the new transfer student..."
Xiang Wan didn't listen to what he said next. She looked away from him and turned her head to look at the osmanthus tree outside the corridor.
In the golden autumn of September, the air is filled with the fragrance of osmanthus blossoms. Even in the classroom, you can smell the fragrance of osmanthus.
Sunlight streamed through the connecting corridor just a window away, falling onto Xiang Wan's eyelids, allowing her to deceive herself into thinking that the warmth in her eyes was due to the blinding sunlight.
In the classroom, the transfer student's striking appearance quickly sparked discussion among the students:
"That's so cool!"
"By the way, whose young master is this? I've never seen him before."
"I don't know, I don't think I've ever seen it before."
…
Most of the high school students are students who went directly from junior high school and know each other; only a small number are new faces.
Therefore, everyone was gossiping about who this new transfer student was, and naturally, the trio among those curious about him were also involved:
Che Nanbei looked at Jiang Zhuochun and, taking advantage of the homeroom teacher's inattention, threw a crumpled piece of paper at him. Jiang Zhuochun caught it and asked her in a low voice, "What?"
"Jiang Gou, your title of school heartthrob is about to be taken away."
"..."
After provoking Jiang Zhuochun, Che Nanbei started gossiping with Shen Feiyang: "Youning, what do you think the transfer student's family does?"
"I don't know, but I don't think I've ever seen him before."
"Could it be that he went abroad to study but returned home halfway through?"
"His surname is Chen, could he be from the Chen family of Xijing?"
“I know that family’s only daughter, but I’ve never heard of her having any brothers.”
"Could they be relatives or something?"
"You know what, it's possible."
…
Everyone was discussing Chen Ruilin's background, but Xiang Wan looked out the window without saying a word.
The osmanthus blossoms were blown onto her desk by the wind. She tried to reach out and brush them away, but her elbow knocked the pen off the desk and onto the ground.
The sound of a pen falling to the ground was barely audible in the somewhat noisy classroom.
But this tiny commotion was noticed by someone other than Xiang Wan.
After Xiang Wan realized that she had dropped her pen, she did not immediately bend down to pick it up. Instead, she looked up at Chen Yan on the podium and found that he was looking at her.
In the huge classroom, everyone was whispering to each other, but they were staring at each other across the room.
But soon, Xiang Wan was the first to look away. She bent down to pick up her pen, but Chen Ruilin on the podium never took his eyes off her.
His gaze towards her held both curiosity and inquiry. From the moment he began his self-introduction, everyone was looking at him, but she was the only one looking out the window, and that's when he noticed her.
Later, when she looked at him, her eyes were slightly moist.
Although he was quite certain he had never seen her before, the familiarity in her eyes made him feel somewhat strange.
He thought he had misread it and planned to find out the next time they made eye contact. However, after she sat up straight, she never looked at him again.
On the podium, the homeroom teacher looked at the new transfer student with a kind and gentle expression: "Would you like to sit in the front row or the back row?"
"I'm fine with either."
The homeroom teacher looked around the classroom and finally said, "Then you can sit next to Xu Chengran. Can you see clearly from the last row?"
"A teacher who can see clearly."
"OK."
The homeroom teacher pointed to the seat next to Xu Chengran, indicating that he should sit there. Chen Ruilin nodded and walked towards the seat he was told to sit in.
Xu Chengran and the trio were seated only across an aisle. Che Nanbei was initially quite boisterous, but as soon as he saw Chen Ruilin get off the plane, he winked at Shen Feiyang and said, "He's here, he's here."
After she finished speaking, she sat up straight and remained quiet as Chen Ruilin passed by.
She was trying to maintain her image in front of her new classmates when Jiang Zhuochun's note landed squarely on her head.
"..."
Che Nanbei knew perfectly well who did it. She turned to look at the culprit, only to find him looking at his phone.
Her phone, which was lying on the table, vibrated. She looked down at it with some suspicion and saw a text message from Jiang Zhuochun.
Why did you act like a lady in front of the transfer student?
You've fallen for him again?
Cha Nam-nam's habit of changing husbands after watching every Korean drama is well-known among the trio.
But perhaps it was because of something someone had just said casually that made Jiang Zhuochun feel inexplicably threatened.
He was worried, but Che Nanbei secretly chuckled when he saw the text message.
Her index finger flew across the keyboard: 【Not as handsome as you, Young Master Jiang.】
After posting it, I also added a meme of a puppy making a funny face.
Jiang Zhuochun laughed when he saw the reply. He didn't reply to any other messages, but only sent her a dog-beating emoji.
The two future lovers were secretly enjoying their sweet moments, but Shen Feiyang, seeing the dog food right in front of him, couldn't help but roll his eyes.
Shen Feiyang looked at Xiang Wan beside him, and was about to complain to her about the two of them, but he noticed that Wanwan's gaze was fixed on the window.
She touched Xiang Wan's arm, which was resting on the table, and asked with her eyes, "What are you looking at?"
Xiang Wan turned her head back, her gaze still calm: "The osmanthus flowers are blooming."
Shen Feiyang raised an eyebrow and followed her gaze to the window, not understanding what she was talking about.
The osmanthus flowers at school bloomed a week ago.
After the homeroom teacher introduced the new students, classes began as normal.
"Turn the book to page 52..."
"Today we're going to learn about electric field strength..."
…
When the bell rang for the end of the last class in the morning, the students rushed to the cafeteria.
The students at this school are mostly young masters and ladies. Whether it's the junior high or senior high school, the food in the cafeteria is very good, so they rarely eat out.
Every time it's mealtime, Che Nanbei and Jiang Zhuochun are always at the forefront, rushing to the cafeteria to reserve seats, while Xiang Wan and Shen Feiyang walk leisurely behind them.
Although Che and Jiang would always complain that the two of them were dragging them down, if the two of them occasionally didn't want to go to the cafeteria for meals, they would also complain that they were disloyal and didn't follow the group activities.
All I can say is that these two future lovers have been inseparable since childhood.
Therefore, even though Xiang Wan and Shen Feiyang sometimes didn't really want to eat lunch, they would still reluctantly go to the cafeteria and grab a quick bite.
Just as Xiang Wan finished getting her food and sat down, the two people opposite her had almost finished eating and were having dessert.
She scooped up a mouthful of rice and put it in her mouth, but couldn't taste it. Shen Feiyang, who was standing next to her, also noticed that something was wrong with her.
"What's wrong, Xiang Shuhan? You're acting strange today. You've been absent-minded since this morning."
Hearing this, the other two members of the trio, who were more oblivious, also looked at her. Xiang Wan shook her head and picked up another piece of sweet and sour pork: "I didn't sleep well yesterday."
"Then take a nap during your afternoon break."
"Um."
The trio spent the rest of the time discussing the new transfer student, while Xiang Wan ate her meal absentmindedly.
Jiang Zhuochun looked at the three of them and said, "During the long break just now, our homeroom teacher talked to me."
Shen Feiyang asked curiously, "Why did your homeroom teacher want to see you?"
Meanwhile, while the two were talking, Che Nanbei secretly took an egg tart from Jiang Zhuochun's box. Seeing that no one stopped her, she assumed that the other party had not noticed and her expression showed a hint of smugness.
In fact, even Xiang Wan noticed it.
Jiang Zhuochun looked at Che Nanbei with a complicated expression halfway through his sentence.
The person, though lacking in confidence, retorted: "What?"
He wanted to say something to her but was speechless for a moment, so he simply pushed the box containing the egg tarts towards someone and then answered Shen Feiyang's question.
"The teacher said that the new transfer student was an all-around excellent student that the principal recruited from elsewhere, and asked me to take care of the new student."
As he spoke, he seemed to remember something and paused for a moment: "Oh no, the teacher asked me to take care of him, but I haven't told him where the cafeteria is. What if he doesn't know where to eat?"
"Are you going back to the classroom to find him?" Che Nanbei asked him after swallowing the last egg tart.
Jiang Zhuochun looked at the empty egg tart box, pursed his lips, and remained silent.
While he was still hesitating, he saw Chen Ruilin on the other side of the cafeteria, who was carrying his tray and looking for a seat after getting his food.
Jiang Zhuochun stood up and waved in the direction of his new classmate: "Chen Ruilin, over here—"
When Chen Ruilin heard someone call his name, he was stunned for a moment, and then looked in their direction.
"Come sit down, there's a seat here—"
Xiang Wan was also stunned; after hearing this name she had called countless times, her body remained stiff.
On the other side, Chen Yan, who was standing in the crowd, also saw Jiang Zhuochun. He remembered that this person seemed to be a classmate from earlier. Hearing the other party's somewhat flamboyant invitation, he hesitated for a moment.
But when he saw the girl sitting opposite the boy, he hesitated as he was about to walk away.
It's her.
The girl who never looked at him during his self-introduction.
After a moment's hesitation, Chen Yan walked over to them, sat down next to Jiang Zhuochun, placed his plate on the table, and thanked Jiang Zhuochun.
Jiang Zhuochun was initially hostile towards Chen Ruilin because Che Nanbei said the new classmate was handsome, but when Che Nanbei sent him a text message saying he was the most handsome, he instantly lost all hostility towards the new classmate.
Strangely enough, the moment he saw the transfer student, he felt a strange sense of familiarity, as if they had known each other for more than one lifetime.
The fact that the two grown men had known each other for more than one lifetime was strangely unsettling. Jiang Zhuochun banished the whimsical thoughts from his mind and introduced himself to his new classmate: "Chen Ruilin, my name is Jiang Zhuochun."
After he introduced himself, Shen Feiyang and Che Nanbei also gave brief self-introductions.
"My name is Shen Feiyang."
"My name is Che Nanbei."
When it was Xiang Wan's turn, she remained silent for a long time. Just as Shen Feiyang thought she hadn't heard him and was about to introduce her, she spoke up—
"My name is Xiang Wan."
Chen Ruilin nodded slightly to her: "Hello, Xiang Wan."
After he finished speaking, he looked at the remaining three people and greeted them one by one.
After they introduced themselves, Jiang Zhuochun and the others kept asking him questions, and Chen Ruilin answered them.
"New student, where are you from?"
"They should be considered as people from Beiyi."
"I heard you get excellent grades, is that true?"
"Well enough."
…
While the group was still chatting, Xiang Wan, who had been silent, suddenly stood up and said, "I'm a little sleepy. I'll go back for a nap first. You guys can eat slowly."
"Oh? Okay."
Che Nanbei glanced at her plate, which she had barely touched: "Wanwan, you haven't eaten much. I'll go buy you a few more egg tarts."
"No need, I'm not very hungry."
Even so, Che Nanbei still went to the dessert section to queue up for egg tarts.
The school's egg tarts have always been delicious, and whenever we go to the restaurant, there's always a long queue in front of the dessert section.
Che Nanbei complained about the long queues and almost always ate the egg tarts that Jiang Zhuochun bought in line. But this time it was for Xiang Wan, so she didn't complain about the trouble and obediently queued up.
After she left, Jiang Zhuochun glanced at his empty egg tart box and laughed in exasperation.
As for Chen Ruilin, ever since Xiang Wan left with the tray, the smile on his lips had been somewhat stiff...
He discovered that she seemed to dislike him somewhat.
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