Jian Yiling appeared completely unruffled, with a serene expression and clear, untroubled eyes. Her tone was even mild, contrasting sharply with the barely contained frustration simmering beneath the disciplinary director and Qiu Jie's forced composure.
"Alright," the director announced, trying to refocus the room's attention. "The morning is valuable; the early bird catches the worm. You should all be dedicating yourselves to your studies. Morning reading time is a precious resource, so don't waste it! Remember, your primary responsibility is to learn—keep your mind on that, and don't get distracted by anything else."
After issuing his general advice and directing the class president to start the morning reading session, he hurried off, eager to be away from Jian Yiling before she could provoke him further.
Qiu Jie, however, was fuming. She felt that she'd been played all morning by Jian Yiling, and now she had no way to vent her frustrations. Worse, the director had actually agreed to review the surveillance footage! Now she would have to figure out how to cover her tracks and avoid any consequences. As she stormed out, she shot Jian Yiling a glare full of hostility, silently promising payback.
Meanwhile, Jian Yiling's deskmate, Hu Jiao, was casting furtive glances her way. There was something different about Jian Yiling today, and Hu Jiao was trying to figure out what had changed since her seven-day absence.
Hu Jiao was a delicate-looking girl with a cautious demeanor. She and Jian Yiling had always maintained a neutral relationship—neither close nor hostile. While Jian Yiling's previous temper hadn't made her an easy friend, she had never gone out of her way to bother Hu Jiao. Today, though, Hu Jiao felt a strange sense of guilt, remembering how she had stood by in silence when Qiu Jie had thrown Jian Yiling's books.
Finally, after a long moment of hesitation, Hu Jiao spoke up. "Jian Yiling, would you like me to help you pick up your books from the back of the classroom? You might need them for the next class…"
Jian Yiling shook her head, the "surgical knife" candy still in her mouth. She had a sweet tooth, and once she started something, she didn't like to leave it unfinished.
"No need," she replied, her tone casual.
"Are you sure?" Hu Jiao asked, still feeling a bit unsure.
"It's not important," Jian Yiling responded indifferently. To her, those books meant little. If they were truly necessary, the one who discarded them should be the one retrieving them.
Hu Jiao, observing her apparent indifference, let the matter drop. From what she remembered of Jian Yiling's character, when Jian Yiling said she didn't need something, she truly meant it.
In fact, Hu Jiao found Jian Yiling's forthrightness refreshing. Jian Yiling had always been direct about her preferences, never hiding what she wanted or didn't want, which saved others the trouble of guessing at her intentions. While her blunt manner sometimes made people uncomfortable, it meant she was unpretentious and didn't play games to appease others.
As the first class bell rang, signaling the start of English, Jian Yiling retrieved her English textbook from her bag, setting it upright on her desk. She then pulled out two notebooks, one of which she opened and placed to her side. The other she opened, taking up her pen and beginning to write.
Hu Jiao resisted the urge to glance at what Jian Yiling was writing, though she caught a glimpse of chemical formulas and various organic compounds on the page. It wasn't something she expected to see in English class.
When the English teacher approached her desk, Jian Yiling nonchalantly closed the second notebook and slid it beneath the first. The teacher, peering over her shoulder, saw that the top notebook contained neatly organized notes on English grammar and vocabulary—a collection of study tips Qin Chuan had given her over the past week.
Seeing the academic content, the teacher nodded approvingly. She was surprised to see Jian Yiling so focused and thorough in her note-taking. This was a side of Jian Yiling she hadn't seen before, and it made her wonder if Jian Yiling had genuinely decided to turn over a new leaf.
As she moved on, she couldn't help but hope that this newfound diligence was more than just a passing phase. Perhaps, after the recent turbulence, Jian Yiling was ready to take her studies seriously. Whether this would last or not remained to be seen.