"No need, I'm done." Ruan Chen unplugged the data cable, turned off the computer, and pulled the data cable from the table into her bag. "I'm so sleepy, and I'm quite hungry."
Fu Jianzhi stepped aside slightly to make way, and naturally took Ruan Chen's arm. "I've asked the kitchen to send the food to the guest room."
“That’s perfect for a good rest after a good meal,” Ruan Chen said, carrying her schoolbag in one hand and linking arms with Fu Jianzhi in the other.
The Fu family's cook is indeed quite good. Although Ruan Chen was preoccupied and ate somewhat absentmindedly, she could still tell the difference between good and bad food.
Fu Jianzhi sat on the sofa to the side, took out a magazine from the side pocket of the sofa and flipped through it, glancing at Ruan Chen every now and then.
The amount of food prepared by the cook was actually just right. Ruan Chen ate about 70-80% of it, and then picked out half a mango from the fruit platter to eat. Fu Jianzhi cleared away the empty plates and bowls. "Then I won't bother you anymore. You should rest well, sister. I've been in the main house all afternoon. You can come to find me if you need anything, or you can call me."
Ruan Chen realized that her status and relationship with Fu Jianzhi had subtly changed at some point, and she seemed to have become the one who needed to be taken care of and cared for.
She lay on the large bed on the second floor of the guest room, staring at the clock hanging directly opposite the bed, her thoughts in turmoil, unable to fall asleep for a long time.
She felt the secret lay in the Fu family's ancestral hall, where she found evidence of two interfering timelines—the scent of sandalwood.
The timeline splitting is already absurd and defies the laws of nature, but two timelines interfering with each other... what is this?
Ruan Chen's temples tightened and throbbed with pain. She felt as if Ruan Chen from Les Misérables had entered her life a long time ago—at least when she took the entrance exam for the First Academy of Huating Academy, that was the first time she came into contact with mental power, and that's when she saw Ruan Chen's life from Les Misérables.
At that time, she never thought that this had actually happened; she just thought it was a possibility that existed but had not happened in her own life.
But why are the two timelines intertwined?
Ruan Chen didn't know how long she had been thinking until her phone, which she had tossed on the bedside table, rang.
It is a thin year.
"What's wrong, class monitor?" Ruan Chen got up to answer the phone, leaned wearily against the headboard, and rubbed his temples hard.
Bo Nian seemed to be carefully choosing his words, speaking slowly and deliberately to Ruan Chen. "It's nothing, Ruan Chen. I just wanted to ask if you've read the materials I sent you recently. I'm worried you might fall behind when you come back."
"I've read part of it, thank you."
"Also, the school just informed us that we will be participating in the provincial final exam at the end of the month. There will be rankings, and the top three classes in terms of overall performance will receive provincial awards."
As Ruan Chen listened to these stories, she suddenly felt as if they were from another world.
"Ruan Chen? Are you still listening?"
"I'm here." Ruan Chen felt that she had indeed caught a chill in the ancestral hall. She sniffed, her headache getting worse. "I understand. I will do my best. Thank you, class monitor."
"You have a cold?" Bo Nian asked when he heard Ruan Chen sniffling. "Should I talk to the teacher again and let you rest for two more days?"
"No need. There are only ten days of classes left before winter break, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to ask for leave again."
the next day.
Ruan Chen went there very early. She hadn't been to school for almost a month, and she figured there must be a lot of test papers piled up on her desk. She wanted to go there early to tidy them up.
She developed a fever when she got back to her apartment last night, and it only subsided a little by dawn. Ruan Wenlou drove her to the school gate and repeatedly told her to keep warm at school and to come home if she felt unwell, instead of trying to tough it out.
Ruan Chen buried her face in the thick fleece scarf, her nose red, and said in a muffled voice, "I know, Grandpa, don't worry."
As she went upstairs, she pulled off the scarf that Ruan Wenlou had insisted on putting on her and stuffed it into her schoolbag.
There weren't many people at school yet. A few people were doing their morning reading in the corridors, and a few physical education students were doing extra training on the track. Ruan Chen walked to the back door of the classroom and saw that Bo Nian had also arrived early.
Logically speaking, a top student like Bo Nian shouldn't be this diligent. Ruan Chen remembers that he usually arrives fifteen minutes before morning reading, collects homework, takes attendance, and then starts reading. Among the many test-taking kings in the advanced class, he is considered to arrive right on time.
But there's still an hour before morning reading.
Ruan Chen walked along the outside corridor toward the front door and saw that Bo Nian had also gotten up.
He walked to his seat and began to tidy up the tall stack of papers he had been working on.
From a distance, Ruan Chen could see the pile of documents on her seat. It must have been Yu Xiaoya who organized them for her. They looked quite neatly stacked there. However, Bo Nian was clearly not satisfied with this superficial neatness. He picked out the documents according to different subjects.
When Ruan Chen walked up to him, she saw Bo Nian pasting a note on a small stack of test papers that read "Third Term Exam Papers and Answers".
His handwriting is very elegant, each stroke deliberate and precise.
"Thanks, I even came early this morning saying I'd pack myself." Ruan Chen walked over and put down her backpack.
Bo Nian was caught off guard when he saw her. He was startled and instinctively dodged to the side, almost bumping into a stack of books. Fortunately, Ruan Chen caught him in time and asked, "Class monitor, did I scare you? Why are you reacting so strongly?"
Bo Nian met her gaze for a moment, then quickly looked away. "No...no, it's just that you walk so quietly. You suddenly appeared and startled me. Um...Xiao Ya actually helped you organize all of this. I just categorized it for you so it would be easier for you to look at. You can't possibly look at all of this in a short time, so just pick out the more important ones."
"I'll help you." Ruan Chen casually tossed her schoolbag at her feet.
Bo Nian noticed the bag of breakfast she was holding. "Eat first. Today is a mock exam. It will be a full day from morning till night. Go and review first."
"When was the mock exam announced?" Ruan Chen asked, taking a bite of her steamed bun.
"Last Friday, didn't you know? Maybe you were overwhelmed with information and it got all over you," Bo Nian said with concern. "You look terrible, why don't you go home and rest?"
Ruan Chen's complexion was visibly poor, and there was a deep weariness in her eyes.
"No need." Ruan Chen sat down at the table, took out a textbook, and began to read.
Yu Xiaoya arrived soon after, first circling around Ruan Chen and making a lot of noise, then reaching out to pinch her cheek and exclaiming, "Ruan Chen, how come you've gotten so thin?"
Ruan Chen patiently and calmly answered all of Yu Xiaoya's strange questions. Just as Yu Xiaoya was about to ask her about the details of how the competition had embarrassed the organizers, the exam bell rang, and Yu Xiaoya returned to her seat with a regretful expression.
The exam papers were handed out. Ruan Chen habitually twirled his pen, reviewed the questions, organized his thoughts, and then began to write.
This is her usual order of solving problems.
But today, the pen tip hovered above the first question, hesitant to fall.
Ruan Chen's brows furrowed in pain, as if he could feel the pulsation of the blood vessels in his temples, and his entire brain throbbed with pain.
This is a lingering effect of overdrawing her mental energy in Haitang Bay last time; when it flares up, she is completely unable to think normally.
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