Chapter 21: New Beginnings, Old Worries
Qinglin High School is one of the top key high schools in the city, and its admission requirements are very strict every year. Therefore, those who can study at this high school are all top students from various schools across the city.
The weather in September was very clear, with white clouds floating leisurely across the azure sky.
Xiang Yang stood at the bustling school gate, looking at the golden cursive script, which was both firm and gentle, and fell into a daze. The words "Qinglin High School" shone brightly under the sun.
Xiang Yang only prayed that she could spend the next three years of high school fulfillingly, peacefully, and smoothly. She worried about many unforeseen things, and her biggest worry was still Fu Guanxian. Because he was also in this school.
Xiang Yang's family lives in the city, so she didn't plan to stay at school.
On the first day of school, she found her class and chose a seat by the window.
Qinglin High School has an unwritten rule: students change classes every semester based on their new final exam scores. Each grade is divided into classes based on scores, with Class (1) being the most excellent class, and so on, to distinguish between key classes and outstanding students.
Xiang Yang knew that her class was full of talented students, and if she wasn't careful and fell behind in her studies, she would be at risk of being eliminated. In high school, besides hard work, she couldn't find any other good way.
On the first day of school, the students in the class arrived very slowly. Xiang Yang flipped through several pages of the Chinese textbook, then looked up and found that only half of the students had arrived.
She looked around and inadvertently saw a boy turn his head, leaning to the side, his left arm resting on the back of the desk. He was staring intently at her.
Xiang Yang found it strange and took a closer look at him. He had bright eyes, a straight nose, and handsome features.
Xiang Yang didn't know why he had been staring at her for so long without turning his head. However, after taking a look, she withdrew her gaze, puzzled. What was wrong with this boy?
Xing Zhaoyan withdrew his gaze, but he couldn't hide his inner excitement!
He clenched his fists—he had seen her again! It was her! It was really her!
Xiang Yang!
Xing Zhaoyan repeated the name in his heart over and over again. When he looked at her again, he saw that she was still the same as she was in his deepest memory—her smooth black hair reached her shoulders, her face was small, her eyes were big and round, cute and innocent.
When Xing Zhaoyan first saw Xiang Yang, he was curious why someone's eyes could be so black, bright, and clear, so clear that they seemed untouched by dust, unsophisticated, as if she were innocent and naive.
Of course, if she hadn't been so naive and easily deceived, Fu Guanxian wouldn't have been able to marry her in his previous life.
Thinking about this, the muscles on both sides of Xing Zhaoyan's face tightened. He told himself: This time, he would absolutely not let himself become so pathetic and lose everything again!
In the first class of the new semester, the homeroom teacher assigned seats and all the class officer positions. Selecting class officers was simple, based on the students' third-year graduation exam scores in the teacher's hands.
The first-place student would be the class monitor, the second-place student would be the deputy monitor.
When the homeroom teacher introduced Xing Zhaoyan and Xiang Yang, the students in the class applauded and stared at the two of them for a long time. Xiang Yang realized that the strange boy's grades were so excellent.
Xing Zhaoyan came to find Xiang Yang after class.
Xiang Yang was stared at by his complex gaze, which seemed to be hesitant to speak, for a long time, and she felt strange. She asked him, “Is there something you need?”
Xing Zhaoyan snapped out of his daze, suppressing the urge to hug her, and said to her in a soft voice, “Hello, Xiang Yang, I'm Xing Zhaoyan.”
“Hello, I...” Xiang Yang also wanted to introduce herself, but halfway through her sentence, she suddenly realized that he already knew her name.
Xiang Yang felt a little embarrassed. When the teacher introduced them earlier, she was too busy guessing his level and abilities that she forgot to listen to his name.
Xing Zhaoyan seemed to want to explain why he could remember her name, and he said with a smile, “Your name is very special. It means facing the sun, representing hope and light. It's a beautiful name and easy to remember.”
This was the first time Xiang Yang had heard someone interpret her name like this, and she was a little flustered. In the end, she could only politely reply, “Thank you.”
After spending a few days together, Xiang Yang discovered that this Xing Zhaoyan was very considerate and hardworking.
Sometimes, when the teacher asked Xiang Yang to collect and distribute assignments, he would also volunteer to help.
Sometimes, he would remind her of tasks for class officers, letting her take charge while casually telling her the best way to do things.
Xiang Yang followed his suggestions and found that they worked well most of the time.
Xiang Yang remembered that many girls in the class discussed behind her back, saying that he was a gentleman, considerate, and helpful.
Xing Zhaoyan also seemed to know a lot. When classmates asked him questions about topics that hadn't been taught yet, he would take a look, think for a moment, and then explain it to them.
Therefore, Xiang Yang noticed that he was very popular in the class. Many classmates respected him very much.
Xiang Yang secretly compared herself to him and realized that she still had a lot to work on.
However, she didn't know that she, who often went in and out of the teacher's office as the class monitor of Class (1), was also secretly being watched.
So, shortly after the start of the new semester, a rumor spread in Qinglin High School, a rumor that Fu Guanxian despised the most: Could Xiang Yang, the deputy monitor of Class (1), become the school belle?
When Zheng Jie mentioned this, Fu Guanxian flipped a page of his book and didn't continue reading. He scoffed. Xiang Yang?
He glanced at Zheng Jie, who was not tall, had a wheat-colored complexion, and his eyes were small, but at least he wasn't blind!
His eyes were full of disdain, and he asked incredulously, “Zheng Jie, are you still asleep or did you forget to bring your glasses today?”
Zheng Jie was confused, “I brought my glasses today. What do you mean?”
Fu Guanxian spoke sarcastically, “I always thought you had low standards, but today I finally understand. You have no standards at all, Zheng Jie.”
Zheng Jie didn't agree and argued, “Hey, Young Master Fu, you dare to say that only because you haven't seen Xiang Yang!”
Fu Guanxian snorted. He hadn't seen her today, but that was because he had seen her every day before! Okay, even if he hadn't seen her every day, the number of times they had met was definitely more than Zheng Jie could imagine.
But Fu Guanxian didn't want to tell him.
Seeing his silence, Zheng Jie thought he agreed with his statement and couldn't help but urge, “How about it? Do you want to go and take a look at Class (1)?”
Fu Guanxian glared at him and said mercilessly, “Are you sick?”
What was he looking at! Maybe Xiang Yang didn't want to see him at all! Especially at school.
He still clearly remembered that in junior high, she cried in front of him, saying how she hoped he wouldn't talk to her or get involved with her, saying that she just wanted to study quietly.
That long speech, without even taking a breath, Fu Guanxian thought, if he had written it down at the time, it would have been half an essay.
Fu Guanxian knew that because of his academic performance, appearance, and his high-profile style, all the teachers and classmates had paid a lot of attention to him since he started kindergarten.
He didn't want anything from her!
Oh, childhood sweethearts, but when they meet at school, they have to pretend not to know each other! It was even more distant than strangers!
Fu Guanxian felt a little angry thinking about it.
So he really did as she wished, and during the more than one semester they were in the same junior high school, he didn't have any contact with her. Even this anger continued outside of school.
Humph, she said no talking, and there was no talking. She said it was okay to talk, and then it was okay to talk. What about his face? Did his face not matter?
So later, he simply stopped talking to her, even after school. Even when she went to his house with Uncle Xiang and sometimes when he was forced to go to her house by Kong Yiyue, Fu Guanxian didn't bother to greet her.
He didn't initiate conversations, and he guessed that Xiang Yang wouldn't take the initiative to talk to him either. And it really turned out as he expected.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got!
Zheng Jie was sitting next to him, and he didn't understand why he was silent for a while, but his aura was off.
Even if he wasn't interested in the school belle, he shouldn't be so angry!
Zheng Jie couldn't figure it out, so he simply shut up and filled out his practice problems.
After the afternoon study session, Fu Guanxian just walked out of the classroom and bumped into Xiang Yang, who was wearing a pure white short-sleeved shirt. He suddenly stopped, and even though he hadn't had time to see her face clearly, he instinctively knew it was Xiang Yang.
Xiang Yang didn't expect to run into the person she was trying to avoid so suddenly.
Fu Guanxian saw that she had cut her hair short, and she was now looking at him with her watery eyes, slightly tilting her head. He frowned unhappily. Her skin still looked so white. Didn't she say she was exercising every day during the summer vacation? Why didn't she go out and get some sun? So white, she looked weak.
Fu Guanxian sighed lightly. This was the second-year classroom. What was she doing here? Was she trying to attract attention?
He stared at her slightly surprised eyes with dissatisfaction for a while and said sharply, “What are you doing here?”
“No, nothing. Your homeroom teacher is looking for your class monitor. Can you tell your class monitor for me?”
So polite? And so soft-spoken? Just looking at her made Fu Guanxian feel annoyed.
“Can't you call him yourself?”
Xiang Yang was in a dilemma. She wanted to call him herself, but he was blocking the classroom door, not going in or out. How could she call him?
Some people in the class had already noticed Xiang Yang's presence, such as Zheng Jie.
Zheng Jie thought he had seen wrong, but after confirming that it was the legendary Xiang Yang, he immediately walked over and greeted her with a smile, “Xiang Yang, who are you looking for in our classroom?”
After being rejected by Fu Guanxian like that, Xiang Yang was so embarrassed that she didn't know what to say. When she heard someone else speaking, she immediately said, “Excuse me, who is your class monitor? Your homeroom teacher is looking for him.”
Zheng Jie offered to help, “The one in the back. I'll tell him for you!”
Xiang Yang smiled gratefully, “Thank you!” Then, without looking at Fu Guanxian, she turned around and quickly ran away from that place.
Fu Guanxian's eyes narrowed slightly, and he was very dissatisfied.
Seeing this, Zheng Jie teased, “Hey, do you know her? What did you two say just now? Also, why does it feel like she's scared of you? Fu Guanxian, are you hiding some secret from me?”
Fu Guanxian snorted again, “Zheng Jie, do you live by the sea? Why are you so nosy? Do you want to die early?”
Zheng Jie was speechless. He was just asking. Why was he so aggressive? What did he want?
Fu Guanxian glared at him, meaning for him to get away quickly.
Zheng Jie really surrendered. It turned out that not only were women fickle, but Fu Guanxian was also fickle.
The fickle Fu Guanxian turned his head and looked at Xiang Yang, who had already walked far away, and felt annoyed. When did she cut her hair? Why did she cut it so nicely?
After seeing Fu Guanxian, Xiang Yang's heart inexplicably tensed up. She couldn't even explain why she was nervous.
After a year, they were going to study in the same school for another two years. Every time Xiang Yang thought about it, she felt a little uneasy. She was afraid that Fu Guanxian would cause trouble again and drag her into it.
“Xiang Yang, what are you thinking about? You're so lost in thought.”
Xiang Yang quickly snapped out of her daze, looked up, and met Xing Zhaoyan's smiling face. When Xing Zhaoyan smiled, his eyebrows and eyes curved slightly, making him look very friendly.
Xiang Yang quickly replied, “Oh, nothing, I wasn't thinking about anything!”
Xing Zhaoyan looked at the direction she had just come from. That direction was also where Class (1) of the second year was. He couldn't help but guess that Xiang Yang had just gone to find Fu Guanxian?
Thinking this, he said with a smile, “Then let's go quickly. The teacher wants us to confirm the students' uniform sizes. I'll take care of the boys' side. Can you take care of the girls' side?”
“Oh, okay.”
“Yeah, I'll leave it to you! I believe you'll do better than me!”
Xiang Yang knew he was encouraging her. Sometimes she couldn't help but think, did Xing Zhaoyan know her very well? Otherwise, how would he know what she wasn't good at or what kind of support she needed? Even if she couldn't figure it out, Xiang Yang still thought Xing Zhaoyan was amazing.
High school life made Xiang Yang feel busy, besides being busy, she was still busy. The course content was much more profound than in junior high, and the teachers also sped up the pace of their lessons. This forced Xiang Yang to spend more time reviewing and previewing after class.
One day, on a rare weekend, Xiang Yang got up early to do her homework. Soon, she received a call from Hou Xingrou. Hou Xingrou's high school was also in the city, but unfortunately, they didn't go to the same school. They hadn't seen each other for a long time, and Hou Xingrou invited her to go to the city library together.
Xiang Yang agreed, changed her clothes, and went out.
When Hou Xingrou arrived at the library, she saw Xiang Yang standing on the steps in front of the library, wearing a white undershirt and a denim pinafore dress, holding an umbrella, looking down at her English flashcards.
“Xiang Yang!” Hou Xingrou saw her from afar and waved happily.
“Xingrou.” Xiang Yang put away her flashcards and greeted her with a smile.
The two walked into the library side by side. Hou Xingrou asked with a smile, “When did you cut your hair? It looks good!”
Xiang Yang felt a little embarrassed to be praised, “Before school started. I just wanted to change my hairstyle and change my mood to start fresh.”
“Yeah, it's good, it's good!”
Xiang Yang smiled and asked about her new school.
“I think it's okay.” Hou Xingrou said, "By the way, I also met your friend."
“Ah? Who?” Xiang Yang didn't think of anyone at first.
“Lian Rui!”
Xiang Yang was surprised. Lian Rui wasn't at Qinglin High School. She remembered that Lian Rui and Fu Guanxian were very close.
Seeing that she didn't respond, Hou Xingrou asked again, “What about you? Have you seen any familiar faces at your new school?”
The familiar face was Fu Guanxian. But Xiang Yang didn't really want to talk about Fu Guanxian. So she said, “I haven't really paid attention.”
“Yeah, there are so many students at Qinglin High School. It's fate if you meet someone. By the way, have you seen Ding Wanjun?”
Of their class, only Xiang Yang and Ding Wanjun were admitted to Qinglin High School.
Xiang Yang shook her head, “No, I don't know which class she's in.”
Hou Xingrou smiled and looked at her, “Xiang Yang, you wouldn't still be staying in the classroom after class like before, would you?”
“No, not really. But there are a lot of things going on in the class, so I often run to the teacher's office after class.”
The two chatted as they walked into the library.
Xiang Yang didn't expect that there would be so many people at the library today, even Fu Guanxian was there.
~~~~~
Translator's Note:
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