Tang Coco forced herself to stay calm in English class, smoothing her mood like still water. She sat up and “listened” hard, while Avril kept tossing her questions under the banner of tutoring. Coco hated it, but the class was delighted; her voice rang like a silver bell in a quiet grove.

“All right, that’s it for today.”

The bell chimed like a flock of sparrows. Avril told the students it was over, shot Coco a sunlit smile, and drifted out. Coco answered with a frosty glance, sharp as a winter reed.

Once the teacher left, Xu Ling bolted out first, feet tapping like hurried rain. No one knew what storm she was running toward.

“Mmm—ugh…”

Coco folded over her desk with a soft groan, her slim back curving like a drawn bow. Phones rose around her like a field of sunflowers, snapping pictures in a glittering rustle.

“Okay, Coco-jie, just grit your teeth. This will pass like a brief cloud.”

Meng Xiaoxiao patted her back in gentle waves.

“Mmm… why am I wasting sunlight in school at all…”

Coco turned her head on the desk, eyes misted like morning dew, cheeks puffed in small rebellion.

“Uh…”

Meng stared at Coco’s unbearably cute face and came up empty, words slipping like fish.

“Hey! Gorgeous!”

A breezy voice sailed in. Coco turned and saw the long-missing class monitor, Liu Mengyao, settle beside her like a swan easing onto water.

“Hi.”

Coco smiled, warm as tea steam.

“Wow, your hair is stunning. I’m so jealous you can carry that color—like twilight on silk.”

Liu Mengyao’s envy shone like glass.

“Thanks.”

“By the way, since you’re back, let’s hand over the class work this afternoon.”

“Huh? A handover? Why? I’m the sports rep.”

Coco blinked, confusion flitting like a sparrow.

“I’m transferring next semester. I asked for a new monitor, the teacher agreed, and we held a vote. You got the most, like a tide rolling in.”

“…”

Coco’s pretty face darkened like a sudden storm cloud.

“No way!”

She stared, disbelief cracking like ice. She’d just returned, and the monitor was leaving—then everyone voted for her.

“Xiaoxiao, did you know?”

Coco turned to Meng like a gust.

“Hmm? I don’t remember. Maybe… something like that,” Meng said, eyes drifting like leaves.

“…”

Coco pinned Meng with a stare sharp as a pin. Her fingers twitched; she wanted to thump her, just a little thunder.

“I’m not suited to be class monitor. A lot of important things need the monitor, and I might be off campus sometimes.”

Her tone was steady, like a straight blade.

“It’s fine. You’ll have two vice monitors. You just hold up our class’s face, like a bright banner.”

Liu Mengyao laughed, soft as a ribbon.

“…”

“So I’m the vase,” Coco thought, helpless as a kite with a cut string.

“Okay, that’s the big news. I’m going back to prep for class.”

“Got it.”

Liu Mengyao rose and glided back to her seat, her steps even as beads.

Meanwhile, after sprinting from the room, Xu Ling headed upstairs toward the sophomore classrooms, eager to tell Mo Zitong that Tang Coco had returned.

At the stairwell, she bumped into a familiar figure.

“Yo, Lingling, what’s the rush? Where’s the wind taking you?”

“Uh… Cousin…”

Xu Ling stopped. Standing at the landing was her cousin, Xu Yinuo.

“Cousin, weren’t you busy at the Amusement Island lately?”

Xu Ling put on concern like a borrowed coat.

“Oh, it’s covered by others now. No holidays lately, so fewer tourists. I came back to school.”

Xu Yinuo’s voice was flat, like a smooth lake.

“Oh, I see.”

“You’re running so fast. Got something urgent?”

“Mm, I… I’m going to find a classmate.”

“Okay then. Off you go.”

“Right, bye, Cousin.”

Xu Ling slipped past and darted up the steps, feet light as sparrows.

“…”

Xu Yinuo watched her back recede like a diminishing kite. She had nothing to say and no heart to say it; that cousin barely stirred her interest. She walked on toward the Literature and Arts office. At the door, someone called out.

“Xu-jie! Xu-jie!”

“Xiaofei? Why are you shouting like a startled magpie?”

Xu Yinuo stopped, exasperation drifting like smoke.

“Huff, huff…”

The girl jogged up, breathing heavy, chest rising like waves.

“Well? Is the afternoon’s Culture Month lineup set?”

Xu Yinuo asked, cool as shade.

“Se—set… huff—no, Xu-jie, we’ve got a twist.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Th—that campus belle is back…”

“…”

“That all? What’s so shocking? I’ve already seen her,” Xu Yinuo said, calm as winter bark. She thought the girl meant Li Muyan; she’d just spotted Li Muyan and Ye Yiyi in class.

“Not Li Muyan… the freshman one… Tang… Tang…”

The girl stumbled, the name slipping like sand.

“Tang?”

Xu Yinuo paused, then memory lit like a spark.

“Tang Coco!?”

“Yes! That’s her!”

“She’s back!?”

“Yeah, she came this morning. Big glow-up. The campus forum’s on fire.”

“Let me see.”

Xu Yinuo pulled out her phone. The forum flared across the screen like lanterns in a night market.

“DJ Goddess Returns! Transforms into Angelic Muse!”

“Goddess Tang Coco Is Back! Headed straight for the campus-belle crown!”

Posts bloomed, stuffed with candid photos like scattered petals.

“Hmm? She dyed her hair?”

Xu Yinuo stared, then her lips hooked like a crescent.

“Still gorgeous.”

“Xu-jie, what about the afternoon performance?”

“What about it?”

“With Tang Coco back, will Mo Zitong…”

“Oh, that? No problem. Follow the rehearsal. Mo Zitong won’t sway over a breeze like this, and Coco’s not into these things. No impact.”

“Got it.”

“Go handle the rest.”

“Okay.”

Xu Yinuo pushed the door open and stepped into her office, a hint of light in her eyes.

“Tang Coco—so you’re back. Finally, something interesting.”

The prep bell trilled like a quick drizzle. The short break evaporated, and students slipped to their seats like returning swallows. Xu Ling stumbled back, dusty and defeated, as if Mo Zitong’s place had given her no sunshine. Just then, a figure moved like a shadow shifting.

Ouyang Lingxue rose from the front, hugging her textbook like a shield, and walked toward the back. Gazes turned, drawn like moths to flame. She was one of the school’s rare beauties, a half-step behind Coco in brightness. She spoke rarely, a mountain of quiet, and even teachers seldom called on her. Her chill kept gossip at bay, and another reason lingered like a warning: everyone knew she was from the Ouyang clan of Yanjing. That name alone told people to keep their distance and watch from afar.

This time, a rare thaw: Lingxue left her usual seat and headed to the rear. A black knee-length pleated skirt fluttered like raven wings. Her long hair lay smooth behind her, pure as flowing ink. Under the watching crowd, she reached Coco’s row.

“May I go in?”

Ouyang Lingxue’s voice floated out, flat with a thread of frost. She spoke to the aisle boy.

“Y-yes…”

He stammered, heart pounding like a tiny drum. Two goddesses had spoken to him today.

Lingxue slipped inside and sat down on Coco’s right, her motion as quiet as falling snow.

Coco and Meng Xiaoxiao still lay draped over their desks, blind to the shifting river. A clean scent drifted in, and the chair beside dipped like a soft tide. Coco turned, eyes half-open on a misted morning.

“Who is it… daring to sit—”

She didn’t finish. Her eyes flew wide like skylarks, fixed on Ouyang Lingxue.

“Uh… what’s going on!? Why’d you come here!?”

Around them, classmates stared, speechless. Anyone else would pray for Lingxue to sit beside them; Coco tossed shock like pebbles.

“It feels right for studying here. Is that okay.”

Lingxue looked at Coco, voice as calm as stone.

“Uh…”

Coco’s thoughts scattered like leaves. Was this the first time the ice queen had spoken to her?

“S-sure.”

Coco managed the word, small as a candle flame.

Lingxue turned away, opened her book, and settled, distant as the moon.

“…”

“Umm… Coco-jie, what’s happening?”

Meng lifted her head, noticing the new presence like a fresh star.

“Xue’er-jie, why’d you come over?”

Meng addressed Lingxue softly, affection warm as sunlight.

“Xue—Xue’er-jie?!”

Coco stared between them, stunned, like hearing snow sing.

“Yeah. What’s wrong?”

Meng tilted her head, innocent as a bird.

“When did you two get this close?”

Coco blurted, surprise jumping like sparks.

“While you were gone. I was bored, so I tried being friends with Xue’er-jie. She’s surprisingly gentle.”

Meng lowered her voice, guarding it like a lantern.

“What!? Gentle!? Her?”

Coco pointed at Lingxue, eyes wide. Lingxue’s cheeks blushed faintly, like dawn on ice.

“Uh…”

Coco watched Lingxue, wondering if she’d slipped into a parallel spring. Same school, such a different breeze.

The bell chimed for algebra, neat as a metronome. Coco straightened, carrying a bellyful of questions like stones in a pouch.

She lay on her desk, thoughts swirling like fog. A moment later, a note slid in from the left, landing on her table like a white leaf.

Coco glanced at Meng Xiaoxiao, so close their sleeves brushed. Why the note, when whispers were easier?

She sighed and opened it. The handwriting was messy, but the meaning showed through like tracks in snow.

“Xue’er-jie actually pays close attention to you. While you were gone, she kept asking me about you.”

“…”

Curiosity rose in Coco like warm steam. Why would the frost-bound girl care about her?

As she pondered, another note arrived from the right, gliding in like a second petal.