Chapter 28

The time during lunch is the liveliest moment at school. Many people don’t go to the cafeteria to eat. The boys are busy playing basketball on the court, while the girls wander around the school.

Ji Ran didn’t want to go to the cafeteria to eat. Every time she went, there would be a bunch of people sneaking glances at her; even if she knew they had no malicious intent, she still didn’t like it. Wen Qianxia felt the same way, so she found a quiet place with Ji Ran.

This place was behind the activity building, with benches and trees, and was quite secluded.

The activity building at No. 4 Middle School houses the activity classrooms of various clubs.

Although No. 4 Middle School is just a high school, it has quite a few clubs, including a dedicated school band, a dance team training room, and various other clubs.

Wen Qianxia, eating bread, asked, “Ran Ran, what’s the situation between you and Big Boss Shen now?”

“We have no relationship at all.” Ji Ran immediately interrupted her.

Wen Qianxia nodded. “That’s true. You two seem like people from two different worlds. You are so well-behaved, and Big Boss Shen is too intimidating. I’m afraid you’ll be bullied to death by him.”

After Wen Qianxia finished speaking, she whispered again, “But I think you two look really good together. He’s the school grass, and you’re the school flower. I’ll tell you, there are even fanfictions about you two on the forum.”

(T/N: the most handsome boy at the school.)

High school students are like this. Two people who are awarded the titles of school grass and school flower, even if they have no real relationship, will be fabricated into rumors.

Moreover, Shen Zhi and Ji Ran are even sitting at the same table.

For a while, many people spread rumors about them.

Ji Ran glared at her and said, “Don’t talk nonsense.”

Wen Qianxia said, “I’m not talking nonsense. I just think Shen Zhi treats you differently.”

Ji Ran reached out to pinch her, and Wen Qianxia shouted and laughed.

Suddenly, a reprimand came from the window behind them: “What’s wrong with you two? If you want to play or make noise, go to other places. Can’t you see our Sudoku team is training?”

Ji Ran turned around and saw a girl standing by the window of the training room behind them. She had long hair and an ordinary appearance, with a haughty expression on her face, as if they were some dirty things.

“What are you looking at? It’s you two. Hurry up and leave. Don’t stay behind in our Sudoku team’s training room. You’ve disturbed our training.”

Wen Qianxia was not someone who could be bullied easily. She immediately stood up and said angrily, “Your Sudoku team is really something. You’re too overbearing.”

The girl crossed her arms and looked at Wen Qianxia, suddenly sneering, “Is it really something? Can you do it if you’re asked to?”

Damn! Wen Qianxia tasted defeat for the first time.

But she opened her mouth and couldn’t say anything because she really couldn’t play Sudoku.

Fortunately, a few more people came from the side. They looked like other members of the Sudoku team. A boy glanced outside, blushing when he saw Ji Ran. This girl was so beautiful and looked so gentle.

So he whispered, “Forget it; they didn’t mean it.”

The girl with long hair glanced at him and sneered, “Seeing a pretty girl and softening up, Be careful; some pretty girls can seduce people. You’ll be played to death later.”

The more she spoke, the more unreasonable she sounded. Upon hearing this, Wen Qianxia immediately retorted, “Are you sick? Just because she’s pretty, if you’re jealous, say it directly.”

“Did I mention you? daring to give yourself such high praise.” The girl with long hair looked down on Wen Qianxia with disdain.

Wen Qianxia was so angry that she wanted to rush over, but Ji Ran grabbed her arm.

Ji Ran closed her eyes.

The girl, who had never intended to speak, slowly raised her head, looking at the girl opposite her. Except for the boy who spoke up, everyone else looked like they were watching a good show.

She took a deep breath and looked at the girl opposite. “Is being good at Sudoku really that great?”

The girl still had that arrogant look.

“If it’s so great, what if I win against you?” Ji Ran squinted at the other party. “Will you kneel down and apologize to us?”

The basketball court was bathed in the last rays of the setting sun, and the entire court from east to west was occupied by people. In the far west corner, Shen Zhi did not play basketball. He sat quietly under the basketball hoop.

His long legs were casually stretched out, and he exuded a careless aura.

“Zhi-Ge, what’s wrong with you?” Xia Jiangming, as Shen Zhi’s senior lackey, how could he not see that his mood was not good? He simply sat down next to Shen Zhi, ready to carefully comfort his brother.

Listening to his noisy voice, Shen Zhi’s brows furrowed even tighter, and he kicked Xia Jiangming’s buttocks with his toe. “Roll, don’t bother me.”

He was really annoyed.

That day, after he gave Ji Ran a pair of shoes, the two of them didn’t speak for several days. Even when Shen Zhi teased Ji Ran, she no longer responded to him.

It seemed like she wanted to completely draw a clear boundary with him.

Shen Zhi didn’t even know where he went wrong.

Even when Xia Jiangming didn’t mind being kicked by him and asked again, Shen Zhi turned to him and said, “If a guy gives a girl a pair of shoes, would it make her unhappy?”

“Giving shoes?” Xia Jiangming frowned, slapped his thigh, and said, “Is this guy stupid?”

Shen Zhi was stunned.

Xia Jiangming said, “Couples shouldn’t give each other shoes. What does it mean to give shoes? It means telling you to leave. This is the end.”

Shen Zhi was completely stunned this time. He really didn’t mean that. He just didn’t want her to wear wet shoes.

He just cared about her.

Curiously, Xia Jiangming asked, “Zhi-Ge, which idiot gives his girlfriend shoes?”

Damn, Shen Zhi cursed inwardly, and then he stood up from the ground and left in a somewhat frustrated manner.

“Zhi-Ge, where are you going?”

“Smoking.” Shen Zhi frowned.

But before he could leave, the two people who had gone to the bathroom came back. Before Xu Yihang approached, he shouted excitedly, “There’s a commotion, a big commotion.”

Shen Zhi ignored him and continued to walk to the other side.

But the next moment, Xu Yihang said, “Our little fairy is having a conflict with the Sudoku team.”

Shen Zhi stopped in his tracks.

Since Ji Ran transferred to Class Eight, whenever they privately mentioned her, they always referred to her as the little fairy. This girl was really beautiful and exuded a fairy-like aura.

So Shen Zhi turned to look at him.

Xu Yihang knew about Shen Zhi’s feelings for Ji Ran, so he quickly said, “Just now, when we came back from the bathroom, we heard arguing over there.”

Next to the basketball court was the activity building. The reason they played basketball on this court every time was because it was closest to the activity building, making it convenient for them to use the restroom.

Xu Yihang and Chen Song went to the restroom together. After coming out, they heard the sound of arguing on the first floor. Then they noticed that the members of the Sudoku team were picking a fight with two girls.

When they took a closer look, it turned out to be Ji Ran and Wen Qianxia.

Originally, when the two girls in the class were being bullied, they were ready to step forward. But before Xu Yihang could speak, they heard Ji Ran’s calm voice say, “Is being good at Sudoku really that great?”

Her voice had always been soft and sweet, giving people a particularly pleasant feeling from the start.

But this time, this sweet voice uttered words that left everyone dumbfounded.

“If it’s so great, what if I win against you?” Ji Ran squinted at the other party. “Will you kneel down and apologize to us?”

…

After a moment of silence on the basketball court, Xia Jiangming exclaimed, “Damn, did my little sister-in-law really say that? Did my little sister-in-law say that verbatim?”

Xu Yihang raised one hand, three fingers pointing to the sky, swearing, “If I say a word wrong, let me be a virgin for life.”

For Xu Yihang’s venomous oath, Xia Jiangming believed him.

Moreover, Chen Song, who had gone to the restroom with him, nodded to confirm this matter.

Xia Jiangming wailed for a long time, raised his head, and howled, “Indeed, she is my little sister-in-law, and she’s too damn awesome.”

Saying that, he looked at Shen Zhi beside him, his face full of admiration.

Indeed, it was a girl that Zhi-Ge admired.

As for Shen Zhi, who completely ignored his rich inner drama, he lightly ground his teeth, couldn’t help but recall what Xu Yihang had just said, and suddenly chuckled.

Indeed, those were words she would say.

Although others always said that she looked so gentle and cute, with a face of first love that only appeared in movies,

Only he knew that she wasn’t really that well-behaved; when she was angry, she would stretch out her sharp claws and scratch a bit.

She was not the kind of well-behaved little cat raised by others.

On the contrary, she was like a little fox, clever and cunning.

Shen Zhi turned around and walked towards the activity building on the other side. Behind him, Xu Yihang shouted, “Zhi Ge, where are you going?”

“To back her up.” The young man’s indifferent voice echoed in the infinitely beautiful sunset.

going to support his little fairy.

“Why are you still insulting people? Do you have any manners?” The girl with long hair, Zhou Jing, said it impatiently.

After she carefully looked at the school badges hanging on Ji Ran and Wen Qianxia’s chests, she couldn’t help but sneer and say, “So it’s the trash from Class Eight.”

After the second year of high school at No. 4 Middle School was reorganized, Class One and Class Two were recognized as the key classes with excellent students. In theory, other classes were considered regular, and there shouldn’t be much difference.

However, after Shen Zhi was assigned to Class Eight, his group of friends also followed, and eventually, the school simply transferred many problematic students to Class Eight.

As a result, Class Eight became the most recognized problem class in the entire grade.

Moreover, in the last monthly exam, Class Eight did indeed have the lowest average score among the science classes.

Ji Ran frowned lightly, looking at the other side.

Wen Qianxia, beside her, became even more excited upon hearing this. She glared at Zhou Jing and said, “Who are you calling trash?”

“You still want to compete with me.” Zhou Jing made a disdainful sneer.

“Ranran, compete with her. Let this ignorant frog at the bottom of the well see what it means for there to be a sky beyond the sky.” Wen Qianxia urged impatiently.

If it weren’t for the window between them, she really wanted to go up and scratch the other person.

Ji Ran couldn’t help but laugh softly when she heard Wen Qianxia cursing at this time with such literary flair.

She originally had a fair little face, which was now stretched out. At this moment, she revealed a faint smile, and when her beautiful eyes slightly curved, it seemed as if starlight was overflowing from the bottom of her eyes.

So beautiful that it made people unable to look away.

On the opposite side, Zhou Jing saw this excessively beautiful face. In the adolescence of a teenage girl, even good students who buried themselves in their studies wouldn’t ignore looks, right?

The reason why Zhou Jing was so angry today was because the teacher had just announced the list for the upcoming city competition. She wasn’t on the list, but Xue Yirou from Class One was.

Zhou Jing had always felt that Xue Yirou’s strength was not as good as hers. Xue Yirou was just pretty; not only did the teacher favor her, but even the boys in the Sudoku team were also fond of her.

Indeed, the Sudoku team was training just now. Unexpectedly, someone walked up to the window to ask them to leave.

But before the boy could speak to drive them away, he came back without doing so.

After the other boys took a glance outside, they actually started discussing in low voices.

“Is the girl outside from Class Eight, Ji Ran, the school flower?”

“Why are you moved just because she looks pretty?”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

“Wow, she’s really good-looking, but I heard that she only scored 22 points in the last math test. How cute.”

“Aren’t you the one who said you hate low-achievers?”

“But she got a perfect score in English; is she an average low-achiever? At most, she’s just strong in one subject.”

These boys were all good students from Class One and Class Two. It was evident how well-known Ji Ran was at the school.

As the boys spoke in hushed tones, Zhou Jing, who was already in a bad mood, heard Wen Qianxia’s cursing and became even more agitated. Her jealousy and resentment burst out like an inflated balloon and erupted completely.

By now, Ji Ran had already walked in from outside.

The Sudoku team’s training room was similar to a regular classroom, with a blackboard at the front and two standing whiteboards, each with two sheets of paper posted on them. Today, the teacher left these two challenging problems for everyone to solve because he had to leave early.

But so far, no one has solved them.

Zhou Jing picked up a test paper from the table. The Sudoku team’s training usually involved the teacher printing and distributing the papers to everyone.

“Well, I am a member of the Sudoku team after all. I’ll give you one minute, so you can’t say that I’m bullying you.” Zhou Jing pretended to be generous.

Shen Zhi and the others entered the training room just as Zhou Jing said this. Shen Zhi walked directly into the training room and didn’t go further inside, leaning against the wall next to the door.

Although he didn’t go inside, the tall figure of the young man, even if he quietly leaned against the wall, exuded a cold and sharp aura.

making it impossible for everyone to ignore his presence.

“Who is this guy? Why did he just walk in casually?” Suddenly, one of the Sudoku team’s boys muttered.

He had just finished speaking when the boy’s mouth was covered by his classmates. The other party angrily whispered, “Are you seeking death? That’s Shen Zhi.”

As soon as he heard Shen Zhi’s name, fear appeared in the boy’s eyes.

In this school, there were almost no people who weren’t afraid of Shen Zhi; he was ruthless and wealthy enough.

He never feared getting into trouble.

Zhou Jing sneakily glanced in that direction. Even though she was a student from a key class, she knew Shen Zhi, or rather, she not only knew Shen Zhi. In the hearts of adolescent girls, there was hardly anyone without a splendid dream.

especially when the other person was such a handsome and indifferent young man.

Ji Ran stood on the opposite side and said calmly, “No need.”

Zhou Jing didn’t expect her to refuse directly. She deliberately spoke loudly again, “Really don’t want it? I can let you have it to avoid people saying I’m unfair.”

Zhou Jing had decided to win this competition in front of Shen Zhi. She not only wanted to make Shen Zhi notice her but also wanted everyone to know that, compared to a brilliant mind, a superficially beautiful appearance was nothing.

Unexpectedly, when Shen Zhi saw that she was talking too much, he directly kicked the nearby table, impatiently saying, “We’re not here to compete.”

As soon as he spoke, the training room, which was a bit noisy before, suddenly quieted down.

It was unclear who spread the word, but students from other clubs in the activity building even ran down to watch the excitement. At this moment, many people had gathered near the back door.

Soon, the two of them sat down at the table.

Looking at Ji Ran, Xia Jiangming couldn’t help but ask, “Brother Zhi, do you think Ji Ran will win?”

He definitely hoped that Ji Ran would win in his heart, but he also knew that Sudoku was something ordinary people couldn’t compete with with specially trained players.

Xia Jiangming had seen Shen Zhi play before.

If Shen Zhi had one thing that didn’t quite match the image of a school bully, it was that this big shot’s pastime game on his phone was actually solving Sudoku puzzles.

At first, Xia Jiangming thought it was interesting, but when he tried it, he immediately gave up.

It was really not something an average person could do.

Shen Zhi’s gaze lingered on Ji Ran for a moment, and she lowered her head, her small, scattered hair falling on her fair cheek.

From his point of view, the girl appeared delicate, evoking a protective instinct.

“Well…” Shen Zhi’s voice was light, and it quickly dissipated in the air with the breeze.

A student standing in front pressed the timer; they simulated competition training, so there was one in the training room. The rules for winning and losing were simple: the person who answered the questions correctly won. If both answered correctly, the one with the shorter time won.

Ji Ran lowered her head to look at the paper in front of her. Her beautiful hand, fair and lovely, held the pen and filled in the numbers in the blank spaces one by one. Her pen never paused, as if all the answers were already imprinted in her mind.

She only put down the pen after finishing, looking at the student timing in front of her and softly saying, “I’m done.”

The entire classroom exploded at the sentence she spoke.

She….she finished it already…

The student with the timer also froze. When he regained his senses, he finally nervously pressed the timer and then looked at the time on it with a shocked expression.

until he spoke.

“Four, forty-seven seconds.”