Before they knew it, a month had passed since the start of the semester. Classmates had grown familiar with each other, and right on schedule came the dreaded monthly exams.

"Ugh—Darn it! Monthly exams already? My head hurts," Lu Yu complained.

Sitting beside her, Jin Jing gave a wry smile. "Yeah. There’s still so much I haven’t figured out."

"Exactly!" Lu Yu nudged Ye Wen, who’d been spacing out. "What’s got you daydreaming?"

"Huh? Nothing…" Ye Wen snapped back to reality. "What’s up?"

"Well…" Lu Yu leaned in eagerly. "I wanna know your study secrets! How come you barely pay attention in class but still know everything?"

"Uh…" Ye Wen hesitated. She couldn’t exactly say she was from the future and had already learned all this years ago. "I, um… review at home."

It was the only excuse she could muster.

"Lu Yu, stop dreaming," Jin Jing said, ruffling Lu Yu’s hair. "No one just magically knows everything. Ye Wen definitely studies hard after class." Lu Yu melted into Jin Jing’s embrace.

Ye Wen smiled faintly. That wasn’t wrong. Success never came easily—every achievement hid unseen effort. Like her own case: though she seemed to never study seriously, she’d actually spent years more on books than them… living two lifetimes made small academic wins only natural.

"No secret tricks," Ye Wen added gently, "but you can always ask me about stuff you don’t get."

"Tch…" Lu Yu slumped, utterly unmotivated. "So troublesome…"

"If you want success, you can’t fear trouble," Ye Wen said firmly.

"Mm, Ye Wen’s right," Jin Jing chimed in, playing teacher. "Actually, I’ve got some questions too."

Ye Wen readily agreed.

"Tch! You lovebirds! Ganging up on me!" Lu Yu pouted, cheeks puffed.

"You little rascal." Jin Jing tapped Lu Yu’s nose. "Still wanna do well on the exam?"

The day passed in cheerful study sessions. Ye Wen had never found learning so enjoyable—even if she was the only one teaching while Jin Jing and Lu Yu learned.

"Young Miss is home," the butler greeted as always, standing by the villa entrance with a warm smile.

"Where’s Dad?" Ye Wen peeked around.

"The master’s abroad again," Butler Liu replied cheerfully.

"Oh…" Ye Wen nodded, then thumped up the stairs straight to her room.

Though deep autumn had set in, the air felt stuffy—bodyguard Wang Hui had cranked the AC too high again. Sweat beaded on Ye Wen’s forehead.

Her room had a private bathroom with a massive bathtub easily fitting three people. The space alone spanned twenty-plus square meters, dominated by a floor-to-ceiling mirror reflecting her entire figure.

"Hmm~ hmm~" Ye Wen hummed, deftly removing her hair tie. Her black ponytail tumbled loose, cascading over her shoulders.

"Meow~" She struck a cute pose at her reflection. "Haha… I’m adorable to death."

Clearly delighted by her own antics, she kept making silly, charming faces.

"Tsk. This cute? I’ll die from my own charm one day." She muttered to herself.

"Huh… since when did I get this narcissistic? Ugh! I’m a guy!"

"No… definitely not narcissism. Just… that girl in the mirror is cute. Ugh… such a waste. It’s me."

Ye Wen had once fantasized about being inseparable from a lovely girl like that, spending endless days doing shameless things… Well, the shameless part hadn’t happened, but the inseparable dream had come true.

Stripping down, she stood by the toilet, deciding to pee standing up to mourn her departed little brother. Spraying everywhere, she scrambled to flush the mess away, sweating even more.

Lifting her head, she saw a naked girl in the mirror—like a fantasy made real. Her lower body was smooth and hairless, slender legs slightly pigeon-toed, perfectly framing that delicate triangle. Unbelievably cute.

Ye Wen froze for a second before snapping out of it. She was almost used to this, but still couldn’t stare too long. She hurried into the steaming bathtub.

…

Another morning. After washing up, Ye Wen tied a neat single ponytail, leaving wisps of hair framing her forehead and temples—adding a touch of innocent allure.

Today was exam day. Students arrived at school with nervous hearts—except Ye Wen.

"We’ve arrived, Young Miss." Wang Hui hopped out, opening the passenger door with a polite bow.

"Mm." Ye Wen stepped out. "Thanks."

"No need to thank me, Young Miss. Just doing my job." Wang Hui tried for humor. It fell flat.

To avoid gossip, Ye Wen never let Wang Hui drive to the school gate. He always stopped at a nearby corner, and she walked the rest of the way.

Just before the gate, Qiu Yi waved and shouted, "Ye—Wen—!"

Ye Wen stopped, turning toward the voice.

"Ha… Rare to see you here so early!" Qiu Yi grinned, thrilled by the coincidence. "Breakfast?"

"Eaten." Facing this former version of herself, Ye Wen felt a strange mix of emotions—neither good nor bad.

"Uh…" Qiu Yi scratched his head sheepishly. "About the exam later… could I borrow your answers?"

"Borrow answers?" Ye Wen glanced at him. "Didn’t review properly?"

"Didn’t understand a word in class… Please!" Qiu Yi clasped his hands together like praying.

*Borrowing answers…* Ye Wen remembered her own high school days—copying others’ work, different providers for each subject. Jin Jing had been one of them. *Was it because I slacked off that she later ignored me…?* She drifted into thought.

"Ye Wen? Ye Wen?" Qiu Yi’s voice pulled her back.

Seeing his pitiful expression, her heart softened. She nodded. *After all, he was her—well, himself. Fine. I’ll help him this once.*

Watching Qiu Yi’s delighted face, Ye Wen sank into thought again.

…