Ruan Chen was lost in thought and didn't hear the teacher calling her name or making sarcastic remarks.
"Ruan Chen, you've actually decided to come to class today."
The classroom erupted in laughter.
Ruan Chen was still lost in thought. She thought about herself again. She was also at fault. If she hadn't killed Hu Wanglong, Cao De wouldn't have thought of selling her to the Pleasure Hall. She wouldn't have escaped in the middle of the night, wouldn't have met Fu Jianzhi, and none of what followed would have happened.
In this way, although the timeline has been restarted for her, her life will not be so completely disrupted by Fu Jianzhi.
"Ruan Chen!" The teacher finally lost her temper and slammed the book down.
A classmate couldn't help but nudge her, kindly reminding her, "Hey, you're Ruan Chen, right? Old Liang's angry, don't get distracted."
Ruan Chen suddenly came to her senses and stood up to apologize.
But her sincere attitude did not bring any change to the matter. The teacher on the podium was extremely angry and drew a big X on the roster, which was a sign that Ruan Chen would fail the course.
Ruan Chen pinched her brow helplessly, got up, walked through the classroom, walked to the teacher, bowed sincerely to apologize, and then turned and left the classroom.
"Is this the transfer student who hasn't even been here for a month? Pretty arrogant, huh?"
"She's probably in big trouble this time; she's messed with Lao Liang."
"Maybe she's a good student. Have you looked her up online? She was quite accomplished in junior and senior high school, winning a lot of awards."
"It's like the story of Zhong Yong, a prodigy who failed to live up to his potential. Otherwise, how could he have gotten in through connections? He might not even be a regular student; he might even be an auditor."
"The class committee should check it out in the office later."
The room was filled with the hushed sounds of discussion. Ruan Chen walked out of the classroom and bumped into Nan Jing, who was walking quickly towards her.
Nan Jing had obviously come to see Ruan Chen, because he visibly breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing her.
"Why did you run out halfway through class? Professor Liang has a bad temper, but her professional skills are top-notch."
Ruan Chen was too lazy to explain to Nan Jing that it was her repeated violations of the rules that caused the professor to lose his temper, since Nan Jing would find out anyway at the end of the semester.
Rather than letting him get angry several times, it's better to wait until the end of the semester and let him get angry all at once.
"Did Fu Jianzhi send you?"
Nan Jing did not deny it. "Jian Zhi said that you two talked this afternoon. He was worried about your mood and your condition when you left, so he asked me to come and check on you."
Ruan Chen snorted coldly, "Now that you've seen me, alive and well, you can go back and tell him that Ruan Chen won't die anytime soon."
Nan Jing was a little confused by Ruan Chen's inexplicable outburst of anger, even though he knew that the anger wasn't directed at him.
"What's wrong, Ruan Chen? Did the young couple have a fight?" Nan Jing asked with a gossipy tone, quickly following beside Ruan Chen. He sighed inwardly that his physical fitness was indeed not as good as that of young people, and he couldn't help but be a little out of breath after walking a few steps with Ruan Chen.
Whether on purpose or not, Ruan Chen quickened her pace. If she sped up any further, the director of the institute would have to jog alongside her.
"Young couple 1? Nan Suo, please don't gossip like those random people online. Fu Jianzhi and I have no relationship whatsoever—I've never confirmed it before, and I never will."
Ruan Chen paused, then raised her voice, almost as if she were speaking with absolute conviction, "Never in this lifetime. If you hear any nonsense rumors in the future, please help me explain them, so as not to tarnish my reputation."
Her words were a bit harsh, and she didn't mean to joke or act out of spite.
Nan Jing was really struggling to breathe if he kept following Ruan Chen any longer. He stopped and raised his voice, "What's going on? You want me to explain, you can't keep me in the dark, can you?"
Ruan Chen finally stopped and looked at Nan Jing. "Nan Jing, he plotted and killed my birth mother. Tell me, how can I let go of this grudge and be with him?"
Nan Jing didn't react at first. "You're saying he plotted to kill someone? Wasn't President Ye...?"
“She is my birth mother.” Ruan Chen said through gritted teeth, enunciating each word clearly.
Nan Jing did the math in her head and almost burst out laughing at the worst possible time. "Ruan Chen, if you're going to make up an excuse, at least make one believable. How old was Fu Jianzhi back then? Eight years old, right?"
But the next second he realized that Ruan Chen's expression and tone were not joking at all; she was cold and even hostile when she repeated the word "birth mother" for the second time.
Nan Jing then realized what Ruan Chen meant. In the years of collaborative research with Ruan Chen, he could not fully understand the entanglement and connection between the two timelines, but he could glimpse some of the past, such as Fu Jianzhi, Ruan Chen, Yan Qian who had become the head of the West District, and Duan Jingfu who was imprisoned at the bottom of the sea. They did not completely belong to this timeline.
Seeing the faint doubt in Nan Jing's eyes, and not wanting him to get entangled in the issue between her and Fu Jianzhi in the future, Ruan Chen simply made it clear at once, "The year Fu Jianzhi was eight years old was the starting point for him to come to this timeline. In fact, you can't completely regard him as an eight-year-old child."
"As for the death of my birth mother, it was nothing more than a program he wrote by casually modifying a few data points on the supercomputer in the Ark before he came here."
"He came here to make up for his regrets, to save the world, to save the people he loves. He placed his moral standards so high, and all the reasons he gave were impeccable and spoke so grandly. But did he ever consider me? Did he ever think... that I should also do my part in this matter? Isn't it because I also have unfulfilled regrets and people I want to save?!"
"But what right does he have? What right does he have to forever deprive me of my right to choose before I even remembered any of this!"
When Ruan Chen spoke her last few words, her voice was very soft, but Nan Jing could feel that she had completely released her emotions. Her voice was a little hoarse and slightly tearful.
By the time Nan Jing came to her senses and understood what Ruan Chen had said, Ruan Chen's figure had already disappeared into the distance.
It was time for get out of class to end, and many students and teachers passed by in the corridor. The scene of Nan Jing and Ruan Chen chatting in the corridor was naturally seen by many people, including the last words Ruan Chen said to Nan Jing.
Although no one could hear what the two were saying, it was clear that Ruan Chen was angry. She even stormed off in front of the director of the institute, while Nan Suo's expression showed no anger. Instead, he seemed to be deep in thought.
Teacher Liang and some students from Ruan Chen's class also came over.
"Nan Suo, do you know that student from earlier? Her classes this semester have been giving me a real headache."
After a moment's thought, Teacher Liang prepared to pour out his grievances to the South Institute Avenue, and incidentally lay the groundwork for his plan to make Ruan Chen fail the course due to absence.
Nan Jing showed sufficient respect and seriousness in front of Teacher Liang, but that was limited to listening attentively to what Teacher Liang said. Then, before Teacher Liang could complain again, Nan Jing spoke up, "Teacher Liang, please count Ruan Chen as having perfect attendance this semester. Her final grades will definitely not disappoint you."
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