When Lin Ruixue entered the classroom, she looked around. Most of the students were chatting in little groups of three or five, getting to know one another. A few loners sat by themselves. Several boys smiled at her in a friendly way, but Lin Ruixue was terrified inside, her heart racing. She forced herself to walk over to a girl sitting alone in the fourth row.

“Um, excuse me. Can I sit here?” Lin Ruixue asked softly.

The girl glanced at Lin Ruixue, then suddenly smiled. “Of course!”

Lin Ruixue thanked her, sounding a little grateful, then sat down beside her.

“Did you come by yourself?” the girl asked with a smile.

Lin Ruixue nodded, then shook her head.

“What do you mean, nodding and then shaking your head? You don’t seem to talk much. That’s okay—we’re classmates now, so let’s introduce ourselves. I’m Yuchi Yanran. We’ll be classmates and desk mates from now on, so I hope we get along!” Yuchi Yanran smiled and held out her hand, looking very friendly.

Lin Ruixue reached out and shook her hand. “I’m Lin Ruixue. I hope we get along.”

Yuchi Yanran’s big eyes darted around as she thought with a little grin, ‘Oh, I’ll definitely make sure we get along! She looks like an easy target!’

The students in Class A of Grade Ten arrived one after another. Not long after everyone had gathered, their homeroom teacher showed up. Class A’s homeroom teacher was a relatively young woman named Sun Xuan, who was quite popular among the teachers at No. 5 High School. When she spent time with her students, she treated them more like friends, and she was very good to them. This was only Sun Xuan’s fourth year at No. 5 High School, and she’d only led one graduating class so far. That class, Class C, had the weakest overall grades among the previous year’s graduating classes. But after graduation, three students from Class C were admitted to 985 universities! That broke the school’s record for Class C, which had never sent anyone to a university ranked higher than second tier. So this year, the school had put her in charge of Class A, where she’d teach English.

As soon as Sun Xuan entered the classroom, Su Shijie said to Lin Ran, “You can relax now. Sun Xuan’s Xiaoxue’s homeroom teacher. She’s famous for being kind and treating her students like friends. If Xiaoxue gets picked on, she definitely won’t have to suffer in silence!”

Lin Ran nodded. Sun Xuan really was famous at No. 5 High School as a good teacher. While some teachers looked down on students with poor grades, Ms. Sun would use her weekends to tutor the struggling students in her class for free. And whenever students came to her with questions they didn’t understand, she did everything she could to help them solve the problem. She was a true teacher and friend.

There was even a rumor that, when the previous graduating class took their exam at the start of the second semester of senior year, they deliberately scored low so they could stay in Class C. Whether it was true or not, it showed just how good a teacher she was.

First came the students’ self-introductions. Since they’d all be classmates, they needed to get to know one another. After that came the announcements.

The announcements were nothing special—little things like No. 5 High School’s rules, what to keep in mind after enrollment, and what to prepare before the start of term.

During the introductions, Lin Ran noticed that quite a few students in front of Lin Ruixue seemed a little shy. He understood how they felt; he’d been the same way back then. But the pair of twin boys sitting in the front row were pretty entertaining. They went up to the front together to introduce themselves.

“Hello, everyone!” x2

“I’m Zhao Xingwen!” Zhao Xingwen.

“I’m Zhao Xingwu!” Zhao Xingwu.

“I like practicing martial arts in my spare time!” Zhao Xingwen.

“I like reading in my spare time.” Zhao Xingwu.

“If anyone in our class gets bullied, come find me! I’ll get even for you!” Zhao Xingwen.

“And if anyone has questions about their studies, I can help!” Zhao Xingwu.

“I hope I can spend three happy years of high school with every one of you!” Zhao Xingwen.

“I hope we can all be classmates for three years!” Zhao Xingwu.

......

“Hey, those brothers are pretty interesting. The older one, Xingwen, likes martial arts, while the younger one, Xingwu, likes reading. What a pair!” Su Shijie said with a chuckle.

Lin Ran couldn’t help smiling too. The brothers really were interesting, and if nothing unexpected happened, one of them would probably become class monitor.

“But why does Zhao Xingwen look familiar? I think I’ve seen him at the gym.” Su Shijie frowned.

Lin Ran took a few looks at Zhao Xingwen. It wasn’t just that he looked familiar—Lin Ran had seen him before. They just didn’t know each other.

But honestly, Zhao Xingwen and Zhao Xingwu were twins, and their faces were exactly alike. Apart from Zhao Xingwen being thinner and Zhao Xingwu being fatter, there was really no difference between them.

At last, it was Lin Ruixue’s turn to introduce herself, but she still didn’t dare walk up to the front. Ms. Sun smiled and raised a hand. “Lin Ruixue’s situation is a little unusual. She came from Ark City Girls’ Middle School, so she spent all three years of middle school surrounded by girls. Facing everyone now might make her a little scared and nervous, so please don’t mind that she doesn’t dare come up here. How about you just stand up and introduce yourself, Lin Ruixue?” Ms. Sun said with a smile. Ye Qingqian had told her about Lin Ruixue before class, so she was doing what she could to look after her.

Lin Ruixue nodded and slowly stood up.

But as soon as she was on her feet, Lin Ruixue looked out in a panic toward Lin Ran, who was waiting outside. Seeing him looking back at her steadied her a little. “Hello, everyone. I-I’m Lin Ruixue. I went to a girls’ middle school. I-I hope you’ll all be kind to me!”

As soon as she finished, Lin Ruixue sat back down and lowered her head, afraid to look at her classmates or teacher.

Ms. Sun shook her head with an amused, helpless smile, then gestured for Yuchi Yanran to stand up and introduce herself.

......

“How’s it going?” Ye Qingqian appeared in front of Lin Ran and Su Shijie. She looked into the classroom with a smile as she asked.

“Not bad. She’s just really nervous,” Su Shijie replied with a smile.

“That’s good. Ms. Sun’s the homeroom teacher for Class A. With her in charge, you don’t need to worry about Xiaoxue being treated unfairly,” Ye Qingqian said with a smile.

“Hey, upperclassman, you keep calling her Xiaoxue like you’re close. Did you know her before?” Su Shijie asked with a mischievous grin.

Ye Qingqian shook her head. “I didn’t. She just seems cute.”

Su Shijie clicked his tongue.

“I just talked to the teacher about switching classes and explained Xiaoxue’s situation. The teacher said she’d consider it, but the two students involved have to agree,” Ye Qingqian said.

“No need to ask. They’ll definitely agree,” Su Shijie said with a smile.

“Let Si Qing move to Class A,” Lin Ran said.

Ye Qingqian nodded and gave Lin Ran an approving look. He was actually pretty thoughtful. Given Lin Ruixue’s state, if she went to Class B, she’d probably have to introduce herself all over again. That would be as good as killing her. Si Qing, on the other hand, didn’t need to worry about that.

‘He doesn’t seem like much, but he’s actually pretty considerate. Mm, a reserved guy with a lot going on underneath.’ Ye Qingqian silently summed Lin Ran up.

“Since I helped you two out, shouldn’t you do something for me in return?” Ye Qingqian asked with a smile.

“What do you need?” Lin Ran asked directly.

“We’re a little short-handed, so I need you two to help in the office. You’ll transfer the new Grade Ten students’ information into computer files,” Ye Qingqian said with a smile.

“...All right.” Lin Ran hesitated, then nodded.

Su Shijie had no choice but to nod along. Still, he made a point of asking whether Shen Qingyuan was there. Ye Qingqian told him Shen Qingyuan wasn’t in today, and Su Shijie was devastated.

Once the class matters were taken care of and the class monitor and study committee member had been assigned, Ms. Sun told the Student Council members to gather at the Academic Affairs Office. The teachers there would take their measurements and order their uniforms, and they also needed to register. The school would decide based on each student’s circumstances whether to mail their uniform directly to them or have them pick it up themselves. Either way, all students had to wear their uniforms when they came to school on the first day of term, or they’d be stopped at the gate.

After the announcements, the students in Class A began filing out.

When Lin Ruixue came out, she stood obediently beside Lin Ran. “Lin Ran-ge.”

Lin Ran nodded, but Ye Qingqian spoke first.

“Xiaoxue, your brother has to take care of some things in the Student Council office. After you finish registering your information, come straight to the Student Council office, okay?” Ye Qingqian said softly.

Lin Ruixue hesitated, but nodded.

“Good girl!” Ye Qingqian said with a bright smile, ruffling her hair again.

Even so, Lin Ran took Lin Ruixue to the Academic Affairs Office first. He gave her a few reminders before heading to the office with Ye Qingqian.

Once they arrived at the office, Ye Qingqian immediately took out a stack of forms.

“The work’s simple. Just enter the information on these forms into a document on the computer, then put each photo from this USB drive together with the matching information in a folder. I’ll take care of entering everything into the system,” Ye Qingqian explained.

“No problem. We’ll get it done!” Su Shijie said, thumping his chest.

Lin Ran nodded. It really wasn’t difficult; they just had to be careful not to enter anything incorrectly.

“Then I’ll leave you two to it. There are nearly three hundred new Grade Ten students this year, so it’s quite a lot of work and will take a while. No one will bother you during that time. Thanks for your help!” Ye Qingqian said with a nod. Then she left the office and closed the door behind her.

But not long after Ye Qingqian left, Su Shijie immediately refused to keep working. Without Shen Qingyuan around, he wasn’t willing to be anyone’s gofer. Lin Ran ignored him. If Su Shijie wasn’t going to work, Lin Ran would just do it himself.

Lin Ran got to work. Su Shijie sat around by himself, bored for a while, then took off. In the end, Lin Ran was the only one working in the office, but he didn’t mind.

Before entering the information, Lin Ran noticed a file on the computer desktop called “Student Information File Template.” He opened it and found a ready-made template, so he used it.

He entered the information from the paper forms into the template. Every time he finished a student’s information, he created a new folder named after that student. He put the completed template in the folder, found the student’s photo on the USB drive by name, and added it too. Then he checked the information and photo once more to make sure they matched before moving on to the next student.

Su Shijie went to check on Lin Ruixue first. After chatting idly for a bit, he wandered off to do who-knows-what.

After registering her information, Lin Ruixue thought it over and decided to go find Lin Ran with Si Qing.

When they found Lin Ran, he was busy working and didn’t pay the two of them any attention. The girls wanted to help him, but Lin Ran refused, saying they’d only get in the way.

“You two can do whatever you want once you’re done with the school stuff. Go out if you want, go home if you want. Don’t wait for me,” Lin Ran said without looking up.

“Lin Ran-ge, it’s almost noon,” Lin Ruixue said.

“I know. If you’re hungry, go eat somewhere outside. The cafeteria isn’t open,” Lin Ran said.

“...” Lin Ruixue hesitated. That wasn’t what she meant.

“Hey, what’s wrong with you? Xiaoxue’s worried about you. It’s almost noon—don’t you want to eat?” Si Qing couldn’t stand it anymore.

“No. You two should leave and go do whatever you want. I don’t like people bothering me while I’m working,” Lin Ran said coldly.

“Tch, you’re something else. We’re trying to be nice, and you throw it back in our faces. Fine, if you insist on doing it yourself, then do it yourself. Xiaoxue, let’s go have some fun!” Si Qing huffed, then pulled Lin Ruixue out of the office.

At last, Lin Ran had some peace and quiet. He continued entering the information carefully. The more records he completed, the faster he got, but there was no way he’d finish all these hundreds of students today. He’d already decided that if he wasn’t done by five, he’d take the work home and try to finish it as soon as possible.