After going home and washing up last night, Bella fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.
The next day, she dashed into the classroom right as the bell rang.
She took the same window seat as yesterday. It was a single desk with no seatmate, perfect for sneaking a quick nap.
She let out a long yawn and glanced at the schedule: first period was History.
As the bell sounded, a middle-aged man wearing black-framed glasses, a T-shirt, and sandals walked in with a beaming smile.
He stood at the podium, set a stack of test papers and his thermos on the desk, and said, Alright, let's begin.
Bella was still squinting, observing the history teacher's appearance, and hadn't yet had the chance to stand up.
Suddenly, a roar erupted in her ears as the surrounding students stood up in perfect unison and shouted at the top of their lungs:
Long live the Emperor!
Bella was completely dumbfounded. Her bottom had just left her chair, and she froze mid-air.
She turned to look around in astonishment. The teacher on the podium was clearly used to this, waving his arm grandly: You may rise. Please, be seated.
Thank you, Your Majesty.
The students sat down in a flurry, their movements swift and practiced.
Bella settled back into her seat, feeling that the upcoming class was going to be very interesting.
Come, Grand Censor, hand out the test papers of my beloved ministers from yesterday. The teacher unscrewed his thermos and took a sip, looking every bit the part of a ruler.
Seeing no one paying attention, he sneaked a few more sips. His son really was a smart one, telling him to pour his milk tea into the thermos so he could enjoy it slowly.
A tall boy stood up in response and skillfully began distributing the papers.
Bella took her test and glanced at it. Out of 100, she scored a 79.
It met her expectations, and she breathed a secret sigh of relief. After all, she felt her answers to the essay questions were quite vague since she had forgotten many of the key points. She only managed to save her grade by getting just three multiple-choice questions wrong.
Alright, let's start with the first multiple-choice question.
For the entire period, Bella felt like she wasn't in a classroom, but in the imperial throne room.
The teacher would ask: Do my beloved ministers have any good strategies?
A student would answer: This subject has a plan!
If no one raised their hand, the teacher would slap the desk in absolute heartbreak:
Among the civil and military officials of the entire court, is there not a single person who can answer this question correctly?
If a student answered incorrectly, the teacher would glare: Did you buy your official rank through shady dealings, my beloved minister? To think you cannot even answer this question!
The frightened student would quickly cup their hands in a salute: Quell your anger, Your Majesty!
When someone whispered below, the sharp-eared teacher wouldn't even lift his head: What is all this noise? Drag them out and reward them with a hundred strokes of the cane!
Bella only found out later that a hundred strokes of the cane meant going to the supermarket after class and spending a hundred yuan on snacks for the whole class.
Bella listened with great relish, thinking that would be the end of it. To her surprise, as soon as the dismissal bell rang,
the class representative, also known as the Grand Censor, held a thick stack of papers like an imperial edict and cleared his throat with great theatricality:
By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Anyone scoring below 80 on this examination shall proceed to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to receive two additional test papers. Respect this.
Bella looked down at her 79-point paper, feeling bitter. She accepted the decree and gave her thanks in her heart. Two extra test papers were just two extra test papers; it was all for review anyway.
She trudged slowly to the door of the teachers' office, took a deep breath, and placed her hand on the doorknob. Before she could even push, the door was suddenly yanked open from the inside.
Caught by the sudden momentum, Bella lost her balance, let out a yelp, and tumbled forward through the doorway.
Just as she was about to crash headlong into the person's chest, a slender hand shot out in a flash, gripping her arm with precision and yanking her back.
The deft force caused Bella to sway, but she managed to use the momentum to steady herself and stand firm.
"Sister, are you that impatient to throw yourself into my arms?"
A teasing, laughter-laced voice came from above her head. The voice sounded somewhat familiar.
Still shaken, Bella looked up, her gaze colliding with a pair of smiling, peach-blossom eyes.
Gu Yunzhou?
Bella coughed lightly, put on a stern face, and muttered, "Who are you calling sister? We are at school."
"Oh~"
Gu Yunzhou dragged out the end of his word, a wicked smile flashing in his eyes. "So, when we are not at school, I can call you whatever I want?"
"Shut your mouth, okay?"
Cornered by him at the office door and afraid of causing a bad impression, she stepped back a few paces, avoiding his gaze.
Remembering that someone had reached out to catch her when she tripped coming through the door, Bella prepared to turn around and thank her savior.
But before the words could leave her mouth, her thanks got stuck in her throat.
Ye Jinzhi was standing behind her, staring at her unblinkingly.
His gaze was so oppressive that Bella even felt a faint burning sensation on the arm he had grabbed.
The worst part was that given Ye Jinzhi's position, he must have heard her entire conversation with Gu Yunzhou loud and clear.
"Um... Classmate Ye, thank you for just now," Bella let out an awkward laugh and braced herself to speak.
"How are you going to thank me?"
Ye Jinzhi's voice was low and cold as he calmly tossed out the question.
Bella suspected there was something wrong with her ears. Shouldn't a normal person reply with a you are welcome or it was nothing?
Why wasn't this guy... following the script?
Only then did Gu Yunzhou glance over. Upon seeing who it was, he reined in his rogueish attitude and greeted him properly:
"Brother."
Ye Jinzhi cast a glance at him and nodded in acknowledgment, then his gaze returned to Bella's face as he repeated,
"How are you going to thank me?"
Bella: "..."
Right now, she didn't just want to skip class; she wanted to drop out of school on the spot.
Gu Yunzhou was somewhat surprised. When had his brother ever actively asked someone for a thank you?
He was a sharp one, too. Seeing that the atmosphere was off, he tactfully shrank his neck and threw out a hasty goodbye:
"Well then... you guys chat, I am going to take off! See ya!"
After saying that, he slipped away without staying a second longer, as if a dog were chasing him.
Bella wanted to leave too. The tips of her toes were already quietly pivoting.
But Ye Jinzhi just blocked the way, looking as if he wouldn't let it go until he got an answer.
Bella muttered in her heart: He was quite a gentleman when he grabbed my arm just now, so why does he look like a loan shark coming to collect debts now?
"Classmate Ye," Bella braced herself and met his gaze, "we are all classmates... helping each other is the right thing to do..."
Ye Jinzhi raised an eyebrow slightly, interrupting her cleanly and decisively:
"You are not."
Bella looked utterly confused: "???"
How am I not? Not only am I a classmate, I am the unlucky soul who has to collect two test papers, okay!
"How am I not your classmate?" Bella pressed on, unconvinced.
Ye Jinzhi didn't answer her. Instead, without any warning, he took a small step forward.
The distance between them was instantly compressed, and Bella could even clearly smell the faint scent on his clothes.
He lowered his eyes slightly, his gaze sweeping over Bella's features before finally settling on her faintly trembling eyes.
"Just now, when I pulled you back, the laws of inertia dictate that you should have fallen straight into my arms."
Ye Jinzhi spouted this nonsense without batting an eye. His gaze drifted slowly from her eyes down to his own arm. "But you forcefully pulled back and dodged halfway through. It caused the force on my arm to distribute unevenly, and it is still sore even now."
Bella was dumbfounded. She almost wanted to flip open a physics textbook to fact-check him on the spot.
She pointed at his lean, muscular arm, her face full of disbelief. "Wait... Ye, is your arm made of paper?"
"You can test it out."
Instead of backing away, he leaned in an inch closer.
"Since that movement wasn't completed just now, let's do a complete one now. Let me release the tension, and my arm naturally won't be sore anymore."
Bella let out an exasperated laugh at his ridiculous logic.
"So, what you're saying is..." Bella asked tentatively.
"Come here and give me a hug."
Ye Jinzhi slightly opened his arms, as if waiting for a perfectly justified favor in return. His gaze locked onto her, refusing to yield an inch.
"Then we'll be even."
