CH 14

Cheng Chu wasn’t sad or upset. She spent all night last night practicing the piano thus temporarily ignoring some of her homework so she quickly lowered her head to work on her assignments.

Since she traveled back in time and regained her life and she could help avoid the death of her brother, she swiftly regained her desire to enter the music academy.

So these days, on one hand, Cheng Chu relearned her school materials and on the other hand, she practiced a lot to improve her piano skills.

The school bell rang loudly, and she stowed away the homework she had just finished, but when she raised her head, she saw Luo Qian Qian looking at her worriedly.

The girl’s eyebrows were furrowed together, and anxiousness filled her eyes as if debating whether to voice her concerns or not.

Cheng Chu turned her head and saw Zhou Ran and Gu Miao both looking at her nervously.

She smiled and said nonchalantly: “I’m fine, I’m really fine.”

The three of them all had the same look of distrust.

The air in the classroom was chilly, but Cheng Chu felt as if a rush of warm water was poured into her heart, making her heart swelling with happiness.

“Don’t look at me like that, it makes me feel embarrassed.” Cheng Chu knew that they all cared about her. Although she felt that there was no need for them to worry, she’s glad that they were so caring.

Gu Miao pursed his lips tightly, his dark eyes drooping slightly.

""

The classroom gradually quieted down, and the teacher walked into the room holding a stack of papers.

The first period was an English class. Instead of reading English literature, the teacher distributed test papers.

Lin Yue was the homeroom teacher for Class 3 and also their English teacher, so the students in the class were quite intimidated by her, and all acted very studiously when taking her class.

Lin Yue knocked on the podium, and all the students quickly sat upright.

“This time our class performed very well, especially Cheng Chu, who ranked first in the class in English with 146 points and ranked third in English in the school.”

Everyone’s eyes were cast towards her; Cheng Chu garnered so much attention but her face remained calm.

She lived abroad for a few years when she was a child, and returned to China for middle school, but her English has not fallen behind, so she has always done especially well in the course.

The reason why her average grade has dropped so much this time was entirely due to her poor grades in physics and chemistry.

Lin Yue cleared her throat and continued: “Previously, Luo Ye was transferred to Class 2 so the spot for our English class representative has been empty. Cheng Chu, you’ve been in the class for half a month already, so you should be familiar with the students right? You should be our new class representative.”

Cheng Chu was a little lost. She looked at her teacher, Lin Yue’s eyes, and nodded in a daze.

The once quiet class exploded with students’ voices.

“Do you have a problem?” The teacher’s sharp eyes glanced at them.

She was always known as a great but strict teacher. With her one sentence, the noisy classroom instantly quieted down.

“If there is no problem, I will continue. In the afternoon, our class will re-arrange the seats. This time you can choose your own seat.”

The classroom that had just quieted down instantly turned clamorous again. Everyone was excited to choose a seat themselves and sit near their close friends.

The students whispered to each other, secretly gesturing and winking at their close friends.

Gu Miao’s hands curled up unconsciously, and his dark eyes stared at Cheng Chu’s back.

[Choosing your own seat…]

[No one would want to sit with him.]

[A popular girl like her must have many people rushing to sit near her, and she will definitely get a good seat.]

[After all, any seat is better than his cold corner.]

[Does that mean that I can no longer sit behind her in the future?]

[I can’t be close to her anymore…]

With those thoughts in mind, Gu Miao’s heart shrank in despair.

There was a consistent joyous atmosphere in the class, but Gu Miao just sat there blankly, his black eyes darkening as if the news just announced by the homeroom teacher had nothing to do with him.

His heart was punched through, leaving a small hole. The cold wind penetrated it; bitterly stabbing him all over his body.

Gu Miao lowered his head dejectedly, took out the hot water heating bag from the drawer, and held it tightly in his hand.

The water in the heating bag had lost its warmth a long time ago but Gu Miao held it securely regardless, as if by doing so, he’ll grasp a trace of comfort from the cold bag.

The homeroom teacher scowled, watching the restlessness in the classroom, and tapped on the podium heavily.

“Be quiet.” She shouted loudly: “I haven’t finished talking yet.”

The classroom finally calmed down a little. Lin Yue pursed her thin lips and continued: “The order of selecting seats is according to the class ranking this time. The student that got first place can choose first, and so on.”

Cheng Chu listened to the teacher’s words, and she came up with an idea——

[Does this mean that as long as Gu Miao agrees, she can be his new deskmate and sit beside him?]

Her average grade is ranked eighth in the class, so she would be one of the first patches of students to choose seats.

Additionally, Gu Miao’s grades have always been great. She knew that he’s considered top-notch in physics and chemistry, but his English was much weaker, which made it difficult for him to go to the Special Class.

If nothing goes wrong, Gu Miao’s grades should be in the top ten of the class this time, and he’ll likely rank higher than her.

""

As long as he agrees, they will be able to choose each other.

Cheng Chu’s heart was jumping in joy, and her neutral face even revealed some smiles.

Luo Qian Qian glanced at her, lowered her eyes, pursed her lips, and finally tugged at her sleeve and asked, “Chu Chu, do you still want to sit next to me?”

The joyful heart was suddenly drowned in cold water, and Cheng Chu apologetically shut her eyes.

How could she forget her friend, Luo Qian Qian?

The girl’s apricot eyes sparkled, staring at her with hopeful eyes.

Cheng Chu couldn’t bear to refuse those puppy eyes.

But the temptation to sit next to Gu Miao was too great. She forced herself to stay strong and said in a low voice, “I’m sorry, Qian Qian, I want to sit with Gu Miao.”

Luo Qian Qian lowered her head with disappointment, and responded in a small voice: “Oh, all right.”

Her grades have not been very good, so she was slightly disheartened.

Even though these days, Cheng Chu has been tirelessly teaching her, studying with her, and helping her a lot. She still couldn’t get a satisfactory grade.

“Then, can I still ask you questions if I need help?” Luo Qian Qian shyly asked.

Cheng Chu nodded: “Of course, ask me anytime.”

When school was over, the people in the class gradually dispersed.

Cheng Chu grabbed Gu Miao who was preparing to leave and said, “Gu Miao, can you wait? I have something to tell you.”

Gu Miao looked down, glanced at the girl’s slender fingers, and nodded.

The classroom gradually became empty, and the corridor outside the classroom door was no longer noisy.

Cheng Chu anxiously adjusted the corners of her dress, then raised her eyes and looked at Gu Miao’s hooded eyes and asked, “Would you like to sit next to me?”

Gu Miao was like a deer caught in the headlights, too shocked to move. His flustered dark eyes clouded by confusion, and his voice trembled: “Y-You, w-what did y-you just say?”

The girl’s dewy eyes were like a stream of clear water, sparkling and bright, reflecting his cold poker face.

Gu Miao’s heart was pounding so hard, he thought he was hallucinating.

It was noon, the warm sunlight was brightening the sky. Cheng Chu wore multiple layers of clothing and unknowingly, a thin layer of sweat appeared on her forehead.

She looked straight at Gu Miao, her eyes filled with the bright sunshine: “I asked, would you like to sit next to me?”

Gu Miao’s fingers trembled.

He felt the sunlight outside the window shining upon him, melting the iciness in his body.

It was like a dream. Not only did she not leave the class, but she also asked him if he would like to sit in the seat next to her.

The whole day’s worth of panic, regret, self-loathing, and admitting defeat, all dispersed by the girl’s words.

If it was a dream, he would rather never wake up.

Gu Miao looked at the girl’s sparkling eyes and nodded heavily.

***

Cheng Chu didn’t expect that this time when the seats were re-arranged, Luo Qian Qian and Zhou Ran were actually deskmates, and the four of them were still sitting in the corner of the class together, just that the seating order was changed slightly.

Zhou Ran originally wanted to continue sitting next to Gu Miao. He felt that Gu Miao was not a bad person and his personality isn’t as cold as his face.

Unexpectedly, Cheng Chu was one step ahead of him.

Most of the people in the class had already secretly discussed their seating orders. He ended up with Luo Qian Qian, who was also not picked. The two discussed with Cheng Chu, and they decided to sit together in the corner of the classroom.

The school was finally over. The classroom was loud and noisy, and the three people got together and chat.

“Cheng Chu.” A girl sitting in front of Cheng Chu turned her head and loudly called her name.

The three of them were happily chatting so they naturally felt a little unhappy when they were suddenly interrupted.

Cheng Chu stopped, confusingly looked at the girl, and asked, “What’s the matter?”

She knew that the girl’s name was Lin Luo. She likes to gather with her small friend group and after class, they always laugh very annoyingly and loudly to purposely disturb others.

Lin Luo smiled when she saw her looking over, and then took out her physics book from her desk, pointed at a question in it with a pen, and asked rudely, “How do you do this?”

Cheng Chu looked at the question and shook her head: “I can’t solve it.”

Lin Luo asked a very difficult question, she really didn’t know how to do it.

But Lin Luo didn’t believe her. She continued to pester her, “How could you not know! You had no problem when the teacher asked you to explain about another problem last time.”

Cheng Chu was getting annoyed by her loud demanding voice. She suppressed the dissatisfaction in her heart and said calmly, “Gu Miao taught me last time.”

Lin Luo sneered and glanced at Gu Miao, with disdain in her eyes.

She didn’t want to talk to such a person.

The upfront contempt on her face immediately angered Cheng Chu. Her jaw was tense and her eyebrows were lowered and pulled closer together. She said coldly to Lin Luo, “Even if I can, I refuse to help you.”

“Yeah! It’s not Chu Chu’s duty to teach you. If she wants to help you, she can help; if she doesn’t want to, then she won’t. Don’t act like she owes you anything.” Luo Qian Qian followed suit.

Lin Luo’s face turned green from anger. She fiercely glared at Cheng Chu and Luo Qian Qian, then sharply turned around, and left saying: “Fine then. Whatever.”

Gu Miao was sitting quietly on the side, upon hearing Lin Luo’s words, silently raised his eyes. His eyes were like bottomless black pools, coldly staring at Lin Luo.

When Cheng Chu saw Gu Miao lift his eyes, she thought he was upset because of Lin Luo’s sneer.

She quickly comforted him: “Don’t pay attention to her. You know how she is.”

The classroom remained noisy, no one noticed the commotion.

Gu Miao tilted his head a little and saw the girl’s doe eyes, looking at him with concern.

He shook his head, but his heart throbbed.

The curtains in the classroom were slightly blown by the cold breeze, and Gu Miao felt conflicted.

He didn’t feel sad because of someone else’s sneer. He had been through too many things like that, so he’s used to it.

However, he couldn’t stand watching other people harassing Cheng Chu, even if it was just a few words, he couldn’t help but feel angry.