Bella, checking the memo on her phone, found the homeroom teacher's office.
The homeroom teacher, Liu Yufen, was in her forties and had a kind face.
Bella knocked and entered: Hello, Ms. Liu. I am Bella, we met in June.
Liu Yufen looked up, her eyes immediately curving into crescents with a smile.
She had a very deep impression of this top student who had transferred from S City No. 4 High School. After all, anyone who could easily pass No. 1 High School's internal test before the college entrance examination and transfer over was definitely no ordinary person.
She nodded, grabbed her things, stood up, and led Bella outside.
As they passed the homeroom teacher of Class 1, Grade 12, she did not forget to cast a smiling glance at him, secretly feeling thrilled:
Hmph, Class 1 probably will not be able to keep the throne for the top grade ranking this year.
The two walked one after another toward Class 3, Grade 12. Before they even entered, a burst of noise came from the classroom.
Just then, the warning bell rang, and a few boys rowdily darted toward the back door.
Liu Yufen frowned: Where are you going?
Teacher, to the bathroom! the boys replied with cheeky grins.
Liu Yufen waved her hand to let them go. Only after they were far away did she sigh at the classroom:
You are already seniors, and you still cannot shake off the Pavlov's dog habit? Hearing the bell, you do not sit down properly, but only think about rushing out.
The students below instantly understood and burst into a knowing, hearty laugh.
Bella stood to the side, the corners of her mouth twitching slightly. Her initial awkwardness was largely dispelled by this joke.
Alright, settle down. A new semester, a new atmosphere. A new student has transferred to our class this year.
In fact, many students had already caught sight of the elegant figure at the door. As soon as Liu Yufen finished speaking, a round of rowdy applause erupted from below.
Bella walked up to the podium. A few mischievous boys in the back row whistled and swung their jackets, and some even exaggeratedly banged on their desks, as pumped up as if they were throwing a welcome party.
Bella was amused by the spectacle and spoke with natural poise:
Hello everyone, I am Bella, from S City No. 4 High School.
I am very glad to meet you all in our senior year. I hope that in the days to come, we can fight side by side and draw the brightest period to this final chapter called youth.
Thank you everyone.
As soon as she finished, the applause from the audience was even more enthusiastic than before.
Bella was a bit surprised. She felt she had spoken quite conventionally, but she did not expect these new classmates to be so supportive.
That is enough from you guys. Bella, find an empty seat for now. We will adjust the seating arrangements later.
Bella nodded and chose a seat in the second-to-last row by the window.
The subsequent procedures were tedious and trivial: collecting summer homework, signing commitment letters, receiving review materials...
When filling out the Goal Card, Bella did not hesitate at all and directly wrote down her target in the target university column.
No. 1 High School did not have dormitories; everyone was a day student.
After finishing all this, Liu Yufen glanced at her watch and clapped her hands:
Alright, let us get moving. Line up in the hallway by height, from shortest to tallest, and gather at the sports field!
Bella was tall, 172cm, so she stood at the end of the class line and flowed with the crowd toward the sports field.
The opening ceremony began.
After the solemn flag-raising ceremony came the routine speeches by the school leaders.
Bella stood in the crowd, listening out of sheer boredom, but was secretly startled when she heard the principal announce the undergraduate admission rates from previous years.
Sure enough, stepping through the gates of S City No. 1 High School was equivalent to having one foot already through the doors of a prestigious university.
The next segment was the student representative's speech.
The crowd, which had become somewhat scattered due to the intense heat, actually stirred with a faint commotion upon seeing the figure walking onto the stage, and then quickly quieted down again.
Bella followed the crowd's gaze and saw the person clearly: Ye Jinzhi.
Teachers, students, hello everyone, I am very glad to...
The cold, clear voice spread across the sports field through the microphone.
Bella did not listen to what he was saying at all; her attention was entirely on that face.
She narrowed her eyes slightly. Hmm, this face was exceedingly handsome, looking good from both far away and up close.
However, seeing his upright and rigorous demeanor, she could not help but feel something was missing.
Thinking of the new male lead setting she was conceptualizing, Bella shook her head with some regret.
On the stage, Ye Jinzhi had long noticed that undisguised gaze.
His gaze swept slightly over, and after clearly seeing the face in the audience, those captivating fox-like eyes darkened.
Bella sensed that his gaze seemed to press toward her, and suddenly realized she had been caught red-handed staring blankly at him.
Feeling guilty, she shrank her neck and embarrassedly shifted her gaze away.
Seeing that the girl actually withdrew her gaze so quickly, Ye Jinzhi's brows furrowed imperceptibly, and he calmly sped up his speech:
...Thank you everyone.
During the subsequent awards segment, the grade head smiled so widely that his eyes crinkled out of sight:
Next, we will commend the students who achieved excellent results in the competitions.
First of all, congratulations to Ye Jinzhi from Class 1, Grade 12, for winning the NOIP Provincial First Prize!
As soon as his voice fell, Bella heard irrepressible murmurs around her.
It is God Ye again. His hands must be getting tired from taking all this prize money, right?
A chubby boy diagonally in front of her nudged his companion's shoulder, his tone full of envy.
Does he even care about that? It is not like you have not seen God Ye writing code; his hand speed is so fast it leaves afterimages.
In the last school competition, his logical architecture was so concise that we could only worship him. While we were still bitterly fixing bugs, he directly ascended to godhood with a single set of algorithms.
True, not only is his brain brilliant, but that face is also a living signboard for No. 1 High School. Do you think God put extra effort into molding him, but just casually flicked some mud spots when making us?
That is just you... I look decent.
Get lost...
Listening to these conversations, Bella cast her gaze back toward Ye Jinzhi on the stage.
The young man on stage accepted the certificate of honor amidst the applause.
He stood against the light, his back straight, his school uniform shirt blown tight against his body by the wind.
The standard black school trousers were worn by those excessively superior long legs with a sense of haute couture.
Fine black hair covered his forehead, and there was not much emotion in his slightly upturned fox eyes. The color of his pupils was extremely deep, like thick ink that could not be melted away.
Immediately after, a string of dazzling awards for other students followed one after another: the FLTRP Cup English Contest, the National Biology League...
S City No. 1 High School had always been generous in rewarding top students, and each student on the podium received a hefty, school-exclusive cash prize.
Bella looked at the infinitely glorious Ye Jinzhi on stage. Propping her chin up, her gaze moved inch by inch up those straight, long legs,
and finally settled on his cold face. The outline of the male lead in her mind seemed to become a bit clearer.
Her fingers subconsciously rubbed the hem of her clothes. If he were dragged down from his pedestal and showed a flustered or helpless expression, it would probably be very interesting.
Perhaps her gaze was too direct, for Ye Jinzhi, who was just preparing to step off the stage, paused slightly in his steps.
He turned his head slightly, his gaze crossing over the bustling crowd and accurately colliding with Bella's eyes hidden behind black-framed glasses.
Bella, startled, lowered her head.
With the ceremony over, the tedious formalities finally came to an end. The students on the sports field looked as though they had just been pardoned. Arms slung over each other's shoulders, they scattered and headed their separate ways.
Meanwhile, inside the grade director's office.
"What? You want to go back to class and finish your senior year? Didn't you decide before summer break that you weren't coming back?"
Mr. Li, the grade director, nearly dropped his teacup. He stared at the young man standing before him in sheer astonishment.
