When Lin Yanwan stepped into the classroom, she noticed many people looking at her strangely.

The moment she reached her seat and sat down, Shen Ying immediately tugged her sleeve and whispered, "Yanwan, are you dating someone?"

She froze. ’No wonder everyone was looking at me so strangely. Has word already gotten out about what just happened? That’s ridiculously fast.’

"No way..." Seeing her expression, Shen Ying gasped in disbelief. "So what that guy Zhou Yang said is actually true?"

’Who? Zhou Yang?’

Lin Yanwan frowned slightly. From the depths of her memory, the name slowly connected to the boy who had called out to her at the noodle shop earlier.

For no particular reason, her distaste for the boy grew even stronger.

’It’s no wonder I had barely any impression of him. There was a good reason for it.’

"Yanwan, who is he? Do I know him?" Shen Ying was incredibly curious about who could have possibly captured the heart of this iceberg beauty.

The corner of Lin Yanwan’s eye twitched. She sat up straight and began preparing for the upcoming self-study period.

"Yingying, don’t listen to their nonsense. There’s nothing going on."

"Huh? It’s not? But a few other people also said they saw you eating breakfast with a boy from another class. They said you were laughing and talking, and looked very close."

Lin Yanwan’s expression stiffened. She’d forgotten that there had been a lot of people buying breakfast, which meant more than one person had witnessed that scene.

For some reason, she felt her ears start to burn. ’If I’d known this would happen, I never would have agreed to Jiang Xia’s request.’

’It’s all his fault.’

’Being around him is just bad luck. (Confirmed.)’

"No, he’s just a regular friend."

She calmly shook her head, then took a literature book from her drawer, flipped to a random page, and began to read aloud.

’The innocent will prove themselves, and rumors stop with the wise.’

◇

For the senior class, the morning self-study period was, without a doubt, all about memorization, memorization, and more memorization.

Although Jiang Xia had recovered the knowledge from his past, if he wanted to score even better than he did in his previous life, he would have to put more effort into his schoolwork.

Jiang Xia held his English textbook and read aloud. Once he entered a state of deep focus, his memory became astonishingly sharp. He could practically memorize an entire English passage after reading it just three times.

Such terrifying efficiency could only be described with one word: freakish.

Hearing him reciting next to her, Chen Yao glanced at him in surprise. ’Is he on steroids today? It’s actually a little weird seeing him suddenly so serious.’

It was a departure from his usual lazy demeanor, but it was obviously a good thing. As Jiang Xia’s deskmate, Chen Yao genuinely hoped he would be able to get good grades.

The morning self-study period gradually passed in a chorus of students reading aloud. After the bell rang, Jiang Xia immediately pulled out his storyboard drafts to work on the remaining key frames. He paid no mind to what was happening around him, completely ignoring the students who were laughing and fooling around nearby.

Compared to his dream of a career in anime, even his studies had to take second place.

In high school, compared to the heavy burden of academics, juicy gossip—like who was dating whom, or who had confessed with a love letter—always spread like wildfire.

Even if you didn’t know the people involved, you couldn’t help but join in on the buzz. At the very least, you’d compare the looks of the guy and girl to see if they were a good match, and call it a day.

On her way back from the restroom, Chen Yao heard it more than once: the aloof goddess from the neighboring class was supposedly dating someone.

She shook her head with a hint of regret. She knew Lin Yanwan, the top student in their year. In fact, Lin Yanwan wasn’t just an acquaintance—she was her rival.

The gap in their grades wasn’t that large. On the last monthly exam, Chen Yao had placed fifth in the entire year, but first in the liberal arts composite test.

’I really don’t get what Lin Yanwan is thinking. Dating at a time like this instead of focusing on improving herself... Even an idiot knows that’ll affect her grades. Or is she just that confident she’ll get into her dream university?’

When she returned to her seat, Chen Yao saw Jiang Xia completely absorbed in his drawing again. ’So his diligent act during the morning study period was fake after all. If he put even a third of the effort he puts into drawing into his studies, he could probably get into a top-tier School of Fine Arts with no problem, right?’

She secretly shook her head, pulled a math test from her drawer, and started working on it. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed several students from other classes had suddenly appeared at the classroom door.

Though this wasn’t an unusual sight, something felt different this time. A few of the boys were pointing in her direction.

"Hey, who are you looking for?" someone asked.

"Th-that boy in the corner."

"Jiang Xia, someone’s looking for you!"

Jiang Xia had blocked out all surrounding noise, completely immersed in his own world. It wasn’t until Chen Yao poked his arm with the tip of her pen that he belatedly looked up.

’A bunch of guys are looking for me? What is wrong with them!’

"Holy shit! Holy shit! That’s him, no doubt about it!"

"He looks pretty average, I guess. Only a bajillion times more handsome than me."

"What’s with Jiang Xia?"

"He stole our class beauty," a student from Class 1 said, heartbroken.

"Huh? Who’s your class beauty?"

"You don’t even know Lin Yanwan?"

"Holy shit! For real?!"

"Hey, hey, what are you guys whispering about behind his back? So what if my buddy is dating your goddess? They’re a young couple, free to date. All they did was have a meal together. What’s the big fuss? I’ve known about this for ages," Wang Ming said with a disdainful look.

’Just getting in on the gossip now? You guys are a little slow on the uptake, aren’t you?’

His words were like a stone tossed into a calm lake, sending ripples of shock through the entire class. Everyone turned to stare at the boy sitting in the back row by the window.

In their eyes, Jiang Xia, the art student, had never had much of a presence. He had spent most of his time in the art studio, only returning to regular academic classes after the art college entrance exams were over.

But someone like him had managed to quietly win over Lin Yanwan, the top student in their year?

Chen Yao felt her head spin as she listened.

’Good news: Lin Yanwan is dating someone.’

’Bad news: Her boyfriend is my deskmate?’

’This... has to be fake, right?’

’This guy has nothing but drawing on his mind. How could he have a girlfriend?’

’More importantly, how could Lin Yanwan possibly be interested in him?’

’If you’re going to start rumors, at least make them believable, okay?’

Still, Chen Yao gently nudged Jiang Xia’s hand. After all, one was the rival she was constantly trying to surpass, and the other was her deskmate. They were connected, in a way.

’Even if this gossip isn’t that juicy, I have to get the scoop while it’s hot.’

She asked hesitantly, "Jiang Xia, everyone’s saying that you’re dating Lin Yanwan?"

"It’s not true. Nothing’s going on," he replied without even looking up.

After saying that, Jiang Xia couldn’t help but complain to himself. ’Don’t these people have anything better to do? The morning study period just ended and the rumors are already flying. This is insane.’

Hearing his words, Chen Yao grew even more certain of her own conclusion: it was just a rumor after all.

’It makes sense when you think about it. Those two are completely unrelated; their paths never cross. How could they possibly be dating? And yet people were talking about it so convincingly.’

’How stupid do you have to be to believe such a baseless rumor?’

’Good thing I’m smarter than that.’

...