"Sorry, Ruyan, I haven't had the chance to tell you yet. The only seat left in the entire class is the one next to me, and that's because of Lu Chuan." An Ran leaned in and whispered to Liu Ruyan as soon as she sat down.
"Lu Chuan said that the seats in the back are too small for his two-meter-long legs, so he always pushes his desk to the front. That's why no one ever sits next to me."
While An Ran's explanation was accurate, it wasn't complete. Lu Chuan's legs were indeed long, and he didn't like to be cramped. More importantly, he didn't like people in front of him turning around constantly, which made him uncomfortable.
As a result, many people had tried to sit in that spot before. Initially, they didn't mind being cramped for the sake of sitting near a handsome guy, but eventually, they couldn't stand it and left.
Liu Ruyan slowly took out a workbook from her bag and gave An Ran a faint smile. "It's fine, An Ran. He doesn't dare do anything to me."
"Huh? What did you say?" An Ran looked puzzled, wondering if she had misheard. It seemed like Liu Ruyan was quite familiar with Lu Chuan.
Liu Ruyan shook her head. "Nothing."
Well, Lu Chuan, I didn't expect you to be so influential at school. But sorry, now that I'm here, you won't be the big shot anymore. You've never beaten me since childhood, so do you still want to cause trouble? Liu Ruyan thought to herself, giving Lu Chuan a sidelong glance.
Lu Chuan sensed the gaze from the front but didn't look up. He continued wiping his desk with a wet tissue. He had a cleanliness obsession, and after the break of over ten days, his desk had accumulated a layer of dust. He couldn't use it until it was cleaned.
Amid the murmurs of discussion, the homeroom teacher, Zhang Yejie, walked up to the podium.
"Shh, Mr. Zhang is here. Be quiet."
The students who saw the homeroom teacher enter started making shushing gestures, and the classroom quickly fell silent.
Mr. Zhang hung a sign next to the blackboard that read, "342 days until the college entrance exam." He cleared his throat.
"First of all, congratulations on becoming seniors. You're about to become adults. Secondly, this year is incredibly important for you. I hope everyone gets serious and puts in 100% effort and sweat! Of course, tears are not needed. Let's work hard for tomorrow's success! Do you have confidence?"
The students responded sluggishly, "Yes~"
"Speak louder! Do you have confidence or not?" Mr. Zhang slammed the podium.
"Yes!" The whole class shouted loudly, except for Liu Ruyan and Lu Chuan.
Mr. Zhang scanned the room and finally found the new face who had just transferred.
He pointed at Liu Ruyan. "The new girl over there, please stand up and introduce yourself."
Liu Ruyan, who had been in the classroom for less than an hour, was already quite noticeable. Everyone was curious about her.
She stood up abruptly but couldn't fully straighten her legs due to the cramped space between the desks and chairs.
"Hello everyone, my name is Liu Ruyan. I'm from Experimental High School, and I hope we can all make progress together here."
Attentive classmates would notice that during her introduction, Lu Chuan subtly pushed his desk back a little, allowing her to stand straight and have some extra space.
"Not bad, very good. Liu, your results are impressive. I hope you'll help each other out," Mr. Zhang said with a smile, gesturing for her to sit down.
"Um, teacher," Liu Ruyan said, looking a bit awkward.
"What's wrong? Do you have something else to say?"
Liu Ruyan held her stomach. "I need to go to the bathroom."
"Hahaha…" Some students with a low sense of humor started laughing.
Mr. Zhang waved his hand. "Go ahead, quickly."
When Liu Ruyan returned to the classroom, Mr. Zhang had already started the lesson. He was both the homeroom teacher and the chemistry teacher. Throughout the class, Liu Ruyan slouched on her desk, holding her stomach and looking listless.
"Ruyan, are you okay? Do you want me to accompany you to the school clinic?" An Ran asked with concern, patting Liu Ruyan's back.
"I'm fine, just had a bad stomach last night," Liu Ruyan forced a smile.
Lu Chuan watched all this from behind and quietly left the classroom.
After a while, he returned, holding a box of medicine and a cup of hot water. He placed both items on Liu Ruyan's desk under the watchful eyes of the whole class.
"No way, Ye Ziming rubbed his eyes. "Did I see that right? Lu Chuan gave her his own cup? And bought her medicine?"
He touched Lu Chuan's forehead, puzzled. "No fever. Lu Chuan, something's off with you! Are you okay?"
Lu Chuan slapped Ye Ziming's hand away. "Stop making a fuss!"
The classroom erupted in chatter.
"Isn't Lu Chuan supposed to be a germaphobe?"
"Doesn't he always say that boys and girls shouldn't touch each other?"
"Lu Chuan, the school heartthrob, is actually taking care of someone?"
"What kind of person is this new girl? She confronted Lu Chuan, and not only did he not get angry, but he's also showing concern for her?"
...
"Shock! Lu Chuan treats the transfer student differently!"
"What's so surprising about that? Lu Chuan is kind-hearted. What's wrong with caring for a new classmate?" Liu Meina said, though her heart was burning with jealousy.
She had harbored a secret crush on Lu Chuan for years and had worked hard to win his affection, but the ice-cold Lu Chuan had melted for someone else. The jealousy in her heart burned fiercely.
The two main characters seemed indifferent to the surrounding comments. Lu Chuan leaned on his desk and fell asleep, while Liu Ruyan opened the cup, let the water cool down a bit, and drank it.
Indeed, there was nothing surprising about this. Liu Ruyan had known Lu Chuan since she could remember. Their families were close friends and neighbors. They were truly childhood friends; she never saw him as a boy, and he never saw her as a girl.
To others, Lu Chuan was a high and mighty prince, but to Liu Ruyan, he was still the silly boy who trailed behind her, trying to grab her ice cream.
During countless summers, they had sat under the shade of a tree in the yard, eating watermelon with a spoon, not caring about each other's drool.
At this moment, Liu Ruyan didn't feel particularly grateful to Lu Chuan, especially since he was the one who caused her stomach upset. He had insisted on adding two seasoning packets to the spicy noodles, making her tongue numb. With no water at home, she had to drink cold soda to cool the heat. Lu Chuan didn't even suffer from this, which Liu Ruyan found impressive.
Of course, this wasn't the main reason for their cold war from last night until now. The real issue was that Lu Chuan had used Liu Ruyan's summer homework to prop up his desk while he confidently promised not to spill any oil. But the first bite of noodles splattered oil all over her homework, leaving grease spots everywhere.