At around 5:30 PM, they arrived at the entrance of North High School, having walked up a slight incline.
A large group of students was exiting the school, most of them day students, with a small number being boarders who would go home on the weekends.
The three of them waited at the entrance until most of the students had left before approaching the gate.
The school security guard stopped them to ask a few questions.
Since Shi Hai and Zhu Lingjie were alumni of the school, they showed their graduation certificates, and the guard let them in.
At this time, there were still a few students here and there, most of them wearing the school's blue and white uniforms.
The trio, who weren't in school uniforms, stood out quite a bit.
Whenever Shi Hai was accompanied by Jian Sichun and Zhu Lingjie, he couldn't avoid being the center of attention, which made him uncomfortable.
He had always been a lone wolf, not used to such attention.
In the past, when he walked with Chu Chen, he had a similar experience, but the girls' attention was always on Chu Chen, with Shi Hai being selectively ignored.
Now, however, after looking at the beautiful girls, the onlookers would also gaze at Shi Hai, their eyes filled with envy and jealousy.
But one must admit, humans are highly adaptable creatures.
Shi Hai's adaptability was even higher than most people's.
Recently, he had completely gotten used to the feeling of being the center of attention and could now ignore it without much thought.
This was a good thing for Jian Sichun and Zhu Lingjie, because it meant Shi Hai wouldn't try to keep his distance from them as much when they were together.
In fact, they wanted to get closer, like holding hands or linking arms... but that seemed to cross the line of what friends should do.
And walking hand in hand, the three of them would indeed look... odd.
As they walked across the playground and reached the main teaching building, Zhu Lingjie asked, "Should we head directly to the girls' dormitory?"
"Yes, let's pick up my sister and then take a cab home," Shi Hai replied.
"I remember Sichun mentioning she wanted to take a look around the high school we attended. Do you want to go up and see? There shouldn't be any students around now," Zhu Lingjie suggested.
"Is that okay? Actually, I just wanted to know what your high school days were like, or if there were any memorable experiences from those three years?" Jian Sichun asked, looking hopeful.
Shi Hai and Zhu Lingjie both rubbed their chins, thinking.
"..."
"..."
After a moment, under Jian Sichun's expectant gaze, the two of them gave the most boring answer.
"Can't remember much."
"Same here..."
Jian Sichun was not satisfied with this answer and pressed on, "Come on! Wasn't there anything interesting? Like getting confessed to, receiving love letters or something..."
She was mainly asking about romantic experiences, wanting to know about Shi Hai's high school love life, an area she wasn't familiar with.
But Shi Hai firmly replied, "Nope."
"What about someone you were interested in? Even just a little crush..." Jian Sichun probed further.
"Nope," Shi Hai said again.
"What about someone who was interested in you? Surely there must be someone?" she persisted.
"Why are you asking only these kinds of questions? I said no, I didn't date anyone in high school," Shi Hai answered, growing slightly frustrated.
He hadn't dated anyone, not in high school or even up to now.
"..."
Zhu Lingjie turned her head slightly, narrowing her eyes at Shi Hai.
Shi Hai suddenly felt a chill down his spine.
That rare "freezing gaze" again... Why? He was just telling the truth!
Jian Sichun pouted, "How boring! Your high school life sounds way too dull! It should have been full of youthful energy, so why was it like this?"
"It's not a novel, where would the youthful energy come from? Most students spend their time in a cycle of practice exams and studying. I was no different," Shi Hai explained.
"That's true..." Zhu Lingjie nodded in agreement.
"That's because you two were too antisocial! I'm sure other students weren't like that!" Jian Sichun protested.
Shi Hai shrugged and asked back, "You're talking about us, but what was your high school life like?"
"Uh..."
Jian Sichun's high school days were even worse, with her dark personality and eye patch making her a target of exclusion...
"Okay... it wasn't great either..."
The high school years were relatively unsuccessful for all three of them.
For them, high school wasn't a place that left beautiful memories.
"So, do you still want to go up and take a look?" Shi Hai asked.
Jian Sichun slumped her shoulders, feeling a bit deflated. "Forget it... What's the point of just looking at classrooms? I wanted to hear about your high school experiences."
"Sorry to disappoint you," Shi Hai said apologetically.
"It's okay–It's precisely because high school wasn't great that university should be more exciting!" Jian Sichun said, trying to cheer up.
Zhu Lingjie nodded in agreement. "Yes, university should be more exciting."
Unlike Jian Sichun, who lived with Shi Hai during university, Zhu Lingjie's life in university before she was reborn was as dark and monotonous as high school.
So, having this second chance, she cherished her university life even more and wanted to create more precious memories with Shi Hai.
Recently, as she grew closer to Jian Sichun, Zhu Lingjie had started thinking... maybe it wouldn't be so bad if the three of them stayed together...
Shi Hai didn't say much, knowing that when they talked about an "exciting university life," they definitely included him in the plan.
"Shi Hai?"
A woman wearing glasses and dressed in professional attire came out of the teaching building and called out to him.
Hearing the voice, Shi Hai immediately recognized it as his high school homeroom teacher, Zhang Yuxia.
Shi Hai turned around and nodded in greeting, "Hello, Ms. Zhang."
Shi Hai felt a bit uneasy; Zhang Yuxia was the teacher he had the hardest time dealing with.
Mainly because she taught chemistry, and chemistry was his weakest subject among the three sciences.
Unlike Shi Hai, Zhang Yuxia was happy to see her former student. "It really is you! What brings you to school all of a sudden? You should be in your sophomore year now, right? By the way, who are these two with you... Ah, aren't you Zhu Lingjie?"
Many teachers knew Zhu Lingjie, and Zhang Yuxia was no exception.
Zhu Lingjie obediently greeted her, "Hello, Ms. Zhang..."
Jian Sichun also greeted her, "Hello, teacher. I'm Jian Sichun."
"Hello, nice to meet you," Zhang Yuxia said, quickly picking up on the subtle chemistry between the three of them.
The gossip fire in this middle-aged woman's heart flared up, and she was about to ask more questions when Shi Hai interrupted her.
"Ms. Zhang, we have something to do, so we need to get going."
"Oh? Where are you heading?"
"We're here to pick up my sister."
"Sister? But aren't you an only child?" Zhang Yuxia asked, surprised.
"My mom recently adopted a child," Shi Hai explained.
Zhang Yuxia chuckled softly. "Ms. Liu is still as kind-hearted as ever..."
Shi Hai's mother's kindness was well-known among the teachers at the school.
"What's your sister's name? Which class is she in?" Zhang Yuxia asked.
"She should still be called Bai Meng, I think," Shi Hai replied.
"Bai Meng... Hmm, are you sure it's not 'Shi Meng'?" Zhang Yuxia asked.
Shi Hai froze for a moment and then said, "Shi Meng... that's right, but I don't think her name has been officially changed yet..."
Wait, had her name been changed already?
It seemed like not much time had passed since this was first discussed.
While Shi Hai was still puzzled, Zhang Yuxia said, "That child has been using the name 'Shi Meng' since she enrolled. I remember noting how rare the surname 'Shi' was, but since I knew you were an only child, I didn't think much of it... I didn't realize she was your sister! She happens to be in my class."
She's been using the name "Shi Meng" since she enrolled...
So, his mother had already decided on the name when she first mentioned it to him?
Had she not considered the possibility that it wouldn't be allowed?
Shi Hai put his questions aside for now and said to Zhang Yuxia, "Then I'll have to ask you to take care of my sister."
To his surprise, Zhang Yuxia responded with a wry smile, "She doesn't need my care... Her grades are even better than yours and Zhu Lingjie's. From what I've heard, she's already self-studied all the high school material. If she took the college entrance exam now, she could score over 600 points. She's quite an incredible kid."
"This..."
That was beyond just being "good at studying."
His new sister was practically a genius!
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