The school forum was trending with two posts: one exposing the school belle's scandal, while the other criticized violence and bullying in school. Almost every student was gossiping about these topics throughout the school.
When Li Yue entered the classroom, everyone snapped their gazes towards her, and the buzzing room fell silent for a fleeting moment before a wave of whispers and hushed murmurs erupted.
Her classmates' eyes were filled with confusion as they stared at her. "Who's she?" someone whispered. "A new transfer student, maybe," her friend speculated.
Li Yue's sudden transformation had made it impossible for them to recognize her, and as she walked, their gazes stayed glued to her until she finally sat in her spot.
"Why's this girl sitting in Li Yue's seat?" One of the girls murmured to her friends who were just as puzzled as she was.
Just then, a girl walked up to Li Yue with a polite smile and asked, "Hi, I'm Shu Ling, the class representative. Are you a new transfer student?"
"No" Li Yue, with her blank face and stoic tone, replied briefly before skillfully putting earbuds in her ears and leaning back in her chair. She closed her eyes, simply choosing to ignore everyone else. Shu Ling felt embarrassed and silently retreated back to her seat.
Shortly after, the homeroom teacher walked in, causing every student to become attentive. Ms. Han was a beautiful lady in her 30s, known for her strictness and no-nonsense attitude. She was the homeroom teacher of 11th grade's super section, reserved for school's brilliant students.
"Okay, students, get ready for your roll call!" she said while opening the register to mark the attendance, but before she could do so, Shu Ling walked up to her. "Ms. Han, are we having a new transfer student in our class?"
The teacher raised an eyebrow. "A new student? No... Why did you ask that?" Shu Ling simply pointed her finger at Li Yue, who, despite being seated in the front row, was giving off the vibes of a careless backbencher.
"That girl..." Ms. Han squinted her eyes and mumbled, "Li Yue?" Seeing the infamous nerd girl suddenly turn into a bad-ass character, she was taken aback.
"Ms. Han?" Shu Ling's words pulled her back to reality, and she simply waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. "Go back to your seat first."
Then the roll call began, and Ms. Han called out the students' names one after another. When it was Li Yue's turn, everyone subconsciously looked at her to confirm their doubts.
"Li Yue?"
"Here!"
Li Yue's response stunned everyone into silence for a brief moment before the entire room erupted into shocked gasps.
~~~~~
Ms. Han was teaching math, explaining the complicated equations as she scribbled a question on the board. "This one's quite similar to the one I gave you for your homework. Can anybody come up and solve it for me?" she asked, glancing at the students, her eyes eventually stopping at Li Yue, who was staring out of the window, typically ignoring everything being taught in the classroom.
Ms. Han furrowed her brows at her nonchalant behavior. "Li Yue?" she called, arching an eyebrow.
Li Yue turned her head to face the teacher. "Yes?" she asked with a poker face.
"Can you solve this question for us?" Ms. Han replied, her eyes fixed on Li Yue.
"No, I can't," Li Yue answered, shrugging her shoulders.
Ms. Han didn't like her attitude and pressed further, "Why?"
"Simple, it's because I don't know how to answer," Li Yue yawned lazily as she replied.
Ms. Han felt offended at her response but didn't say anything else. She simply gritted her teeth and continued with the lessons.
~~~~~
Throughout the day, Li Yue didn't pay any attention to the studies; she was either sleeping with her head down or ignoring teachers by reading random magazines or books. If anyone tried to wake her from her sleep, she'd lazily open an eye, only to close it again, dismissing them coldly.
When asked a question, her response would be "I don't know the answer," and when required to show her homework, she'd shrug and claim, "I forgot about it."
Li Yue, the perfect student, a nerd and a topper, was now behaving like a spoiled brat, shocking her peers and teachers alike. This recent change in her spread like wildfire through the school in just a couple of hours, becoming another heated topic of discussion.
~~~~~
During the lunch break, when Li Yue entered the cafeteria, she was met with hostile looks and disgusted stares from other students. She squinted her eyes, wondering what was wrong with them, as she got her food and headed toward an empty table.
Just as she was about to sit, Shen Ying suddenly appeared out of nowhere and pulled the chair away from the table. Li Yue glanced around and realized that she was being surrounded by the trio.
"You bitch!" Mo Ting said loudly, glaring daggers at her. "How dare you set Xiao Shui up and ruin her reputation like that?" She raised her hand, ready to grab Li Yue by the hair, but Li Yue was quick on her feet, and swiftly dodged her attack.
She looked at Puff, that had been flying by her side all this time, and with a subtle gesture, she mouthed the words "Liu Zong," signaling it to get him here. Puff understood that and nodded at her, its eyes flashing.
~~~~~
Meanwhile, in a private room on the top floor of the school's building, Liu Zong was lounging comfortably on a sofa, scrolling through his phone and checking the trending posts on the school forum.
Nearby, Fu Yichen and Xu Jian were engaged in a heated game of table tennis, while Lin Feng, wearing a pair of glasses, sat in a corner engrossed in reading a book. The four friends were enjoying their break time.
This recreational room was exclusive to Fu Yichen and his friends, including Bo Sheng, who was absent today. It was a privilege due to Fu conglomerate's influence, as they were the largest sponsors of the school.
"Ding!" Suddenly, Liu Zong's phone rang with a notification tune, and a message popped up on its screen. He tapped on the chat bubble and saw the text, which read, "To the cafeteria, right now." A mischievous grin formed on his lips; he swiftly rose from the couch, knocking over a glass on the table, and hurriedly walked toward the door.
"What's the matter, Zong? Where are you going? You seem quite excited," Xu Jian curiously asked when he noticed Liu Zong's urgency. Liu Zong winked at him and said, "I'm going for some fun. See you guys later." With that, he quickly exited the room, leaving his friends confused.
Xu Jian looked at Fu Yichen and Lin Feng, raising his eyebrows, and asked if they knew what was up with Liu Zong. However, neither of them knew anything, and they simply shook their heads.