An Yeran said, "I'm up now, what's going on?"
Lu Xiu, with a red face, stuttered, "To- today... Dad said he's taking you to manage the transfer arrangements, so... he asked me to come wake you up..."
An Yeran was taken aback, only then conjuring up the memory of yesterday's events!
She had forgotten about that.
"Understood, I'll change my clothes right away. Go ahead and have breakfast," An Yeran spoke without glancing at Lu Xiu, promptly closing her bedroom door.
Seeing that his sister had no intention of continuing the conversation, a somewhat crestfallen Lu Xiu lowered his head, turned around, and left.
After getting dressed, An Yeran went downstairs to eat, despite not being accustomed to eating breakfast.
When she was previously attending school, she would always sleep until ten minutes before the start of her lessons, taking about three to five minutes to change clothes and freshen up, before sprinting to school with the remaining time.
After graduating from high school, An Yeran did not go to college, for she failed the entrance exams.
Barely scraping by with an average score of 20 in all her subjects, high-tech university life was not suitable for her. Hence, she went home to inherit her family's Martial Arts Hall, and became the unrivaled master sister across the six districts and Yanchuan Road in C City.
In the first floor dining room, Mrs. Jiang adeptly placed dishes for Mr. Lu. Today's breakfast consisted of sandwiches and milk, along with some fruit salad.
It appeared that Lu Xiu was fond of drinking milk, as he always had a sweet, milky scent on him.
Jiang Anxue wore the same clothes as Lu Xiu, but with a black skirt at the bottom. As An Yeran had not officially started school yet, she did not have a school uniform.
Her seat was placed next to Lu Xiu. Whether it was Mrs. Jiang's intention or not, just as it was during last night's dinner, their seats were relatively far from the other three's.
Having taken only a few sips of milk, An Yeran stopped using her knife and fork, having absolutely no appetite after waking up.
After having breakfast, the driver had been waiting at the door for some time. The three children embarked upon the car. Whereas Jiang Anxue, with an air of high superiority, took the shotgun seat, An Yeran and Lu Xiu sat in the back. With no adults present, the three children barely spoke a word.
Jiang Anxue ignored her younger siblings the moment she got in the car. It was clear to An Yeran that she genuinely despised them.
On the road, Lu Xiu repeatedly glanced at An Yeran, appearing somewhat fretful. An Yeran noticed, but wasn't feeling well and therefore had no energy to ask what was on the child's mind.
The car arrived at the school shortly.
Jiang Anxue was the first to alight from the car, not caring for her younger siblings and heading directly to her own classroom.
The driver held An Yeran's former identification documents, intending to help her handle her enrollment procedures.
Lu Xiu had to head to his own classroom alone. He was only half a month younger than his elder sisters and was therefore also in the second grade.
The primary school that is affiliated with the top secondary school in A City mainly consists of children from wealthy or powerful families. Perhaps it was the influence of their parents; these children were often precocious.
Simply en route to the teaching building, An Yeran saw more than one little girl giving Lu Xiu pink envelopes.
She supposed that having an attractive face indeed held a certain appeal.
An Yeran went with the driver to the principal's office, while Lu Xiu reluctantly withdrew his gaze as they left. He then indifferently rejected the envelopes from the girls and headed back to his classroom.
His second sister was much kinder than his eldest sister.
Lu Xiu thought so at his tender age.
Though he was young, he could distinguish between good will and malice in adults' eyes.
His new mother clearly did not like him, and neither did his eldest sister.
Only his second sister. When she arrived, she was the first one to show him a smile, and even served him food.
His second sister was a nice person.
*
After completing her enrollment procedures, a staff member from the school administration gave An Yeran a set of school uniforms, which she was required to wear when attending school.
A female teacher ushered An Yeran into the restroom to change her clothes, then led her to the classroom.
Jiang Anxue was in Class Two, and Lu Xiu was in Class One. The school divided classes based on students' grades, and one of the reasons Jiang Anxue disliked Lu Xiu was his better academic performance.
As An Yeran had just transferred to this school and the teachers were uncertain about her academic level, they tentatively placed her in Class Three. After the first monthly exam, they would reassess her placement.
An Yeran loathed attending lectures. For some inexplicable reason, every time she entered a classroom in her previous world, she would feel drained and drowsy. It seemed like this issue persisted in this life too. As soon as she stepped into the classroom, drowsiness overwhelmed her, tempting her to lay her head on the desk and sleep.
The arrival of a transfer student always garnered the attention of the entire class, especially among children.
When the gazes of these young children landed on her, An Yeran felt like she was a circus tiger on display.
The teacher, a middle-aged woman who seemed to radiate authority, impatiently said, "New student, please briefly introduce yourself. Be quick about it. We still have a lesson to continue. Don't waste time."
An Yeran was puzzled for a split second.
Shouldn't the procedure of receiving a new student be filled with friendly greetings and warm smiles?
The teacher's overt impatience left her somewhat taken back!
Therefore, An Yeran dropped her smile as well, saying only "An Yeran" in a straightforward manner before proceeding to the back row to take her seat.
The number of students decreased towards the front of the class.
There were about twenty students in Class One, thirty in Class Two, and so forth. By the time it got to Class Eight, there were over ninety students. Of course, the classrooms were significantly larger as well.
There were forty students in Class Three where An Yeran was situated. The classroom space was relatively small, making it somewhat cramped.
A male student wearing black-framed glasses was sitting at the back of the classroom.
The boy looked ordinary and slightly naive, although the notes on his books were organized meticulously.
Shocked by An Yeran's recent attitude, the teacher paused for a few seconds before her eyebrows furrowed, "What's with your attitude?!"
Feigning innocence, An Yeran retorted, "You asked for a quick introduction, was that not fast enough?"
The teacher glared at her speechlessly, then resumed explaining the previous content.
The ongoing lesson was about multiplication, a math subject that An Yeran, despite being an under-achiever, understood. But her tendency to feel sleepy in class was a habit she couldn't get rid of.
Before the teacher could continue for a few minutes, An Yeran had already shut her eyes, her head slowing dropping onto the desk.
"An Yeran!" The teacher's sharp voice echoed in the room.
An Yeran continued napping as though she hadn't heard a thing while even adjusting herself to a more comfortable position.
The teacher was fuming. For a new transfer student to act in this manner, it was an absolute disgrace. Had the school principal gone blind to admit such a student?!
Under the pressure of the teacher's scrutiny, the male student sitting next to An Yeran had no other choice but to lean over and give her a nudge, "Classmate...Classmate, no more sleeping, the teacher's calling you."