Chapter 23

Qiao An opened her eyes to a room as beautiful as a princess's.
Spacious and bright, decorated in a European style, outside the window were independent villas spaced quite far apart. Looking down, she saw a garden planted with various rare and expensive flowers.
She lay on the soft pink bed, the faint yet perfectly subtle scent of expensive incense lingering at the tip of her nose.
The wardrobes and furnishings in the room exuded an understated luxury, making her feel like a freshly awakened Princess and the Pea, enveloped in a dreamlike atmosphere.
It wasn’t until the door opened that the illusion was broken. A plainly dressed middle-aged woman in servant’s attire stepped in, her worried expression softening into a smile as she saw Qiao An’s drowsy eyes. “Awake now? Is the fever gone?”
“No fever,” Qiao An shook her head, her voice slightly hoarse, her eyelids still heavy with lingering sleep.
The woman didn’t take her word for it and came closer, placing a hand on her forehead to confirm it was cool before letting go. “Alright, sleep a little longer, but remember to get up for lunch. I’ll make you some fries.”
“Okay,” Qiao An replied with a faint smile, instinctively adding, “Thank you.”
The woman didn’t pay much attention to the gratitude. Seeing Qiao An’s fair, delicate face, still flushed with a soft rosy hue, she found her utterly adorable. Working hard for a child like this filled her with energy.
The woman hurried downstairs. In such a grand mansion, with mealtime approaching, there was much to oversee.
The door closed.
The faint smile on Qiao An’s lips faded, replaced by a shadow of sorrow.
She was no Princess and the Pea, she was merely the princess’s servant.
But how had she ended up here?
In Qiao An’s memory, the last scene was in the emergency room. Lying on the hospital bed, battered and bloodied, the doctors had tried their best but couldn’t save her. At the moment of death, she heard a voice asking if she wanted to be reborn in another world. She could live again, but she had to complete a task.
Without hesitation, Qiao An agreed.
She was not even twenty-two, with so much life ahead of her. Dying in an accident felt like such a waste.
To live again, it was a glimmer of hope.
And so, she ended up here.
The original owner of this body was also named Qiao An, an honor student at City No. 1 High School, currently in her second year of senior high.
Her mother was the woman from earlier, Xu Hui, and her father, Qiao Yi, was the butler of this grand villa. The couple had given birth to the original Qiao An only after nearing forty and doted on her endlessly. However, due to work constraints, Xu Hui had initially taken two years off to care for the child.
Later, they left the child in their hometown while Xu Hui came to the Gu family.
Her husband had been working for the Gu family since his twenties and was now their butler, holding considerable influence. Xu Hui had always worked in the domestic service industry. Thinking she would never have children, she had taken up a vacancy in the Gu family right after giving birth.
With her husband's support, the Gu family was wealthy and generous, providing a sufficient salary to support the entire family. They even managed to buy a house in City A, where land was as precious as gold.
Before middle school, the original host had lived in her hometown. Later, when the local education couldn’t keep up, her parents brought her to the city. Coincidentally, at that time, the ailing Grandma Gu mistook the original host for her long-deceased daughter and doted on her as if she were her own, giving her this room.
However, within two years, Grandma Gu passed away. But Grandpa Gu also liked the original host, who wasn’t afraid of him, and continued to treat her with the same privileges.
The original host excelled academically and was currently in Class 1 of City No. 1 High School, the experimental class, consistently ranking in the top 50. She was also beautiful, inheriting the best traits of her parents, and had many admirers at school.
But the original host had a vain streak. Everything she wore, carried, or used was of the highest quality, and she even had a private car to take her to and from school. When others asked about her family background and expressed envy, assuming she came from a wealthy family with such privileges, she never corrected them.
To avoid being exposed, she usually didn’t inform her parents about parent-teacher meetings. In middle school, teachers didn’t pay much attention to these meetings, so when her parents didn’t show up, they didn’t say much.
By high school, she tried the same trick, but this time she encountered a responsible teacher who directly called the contact number on file.
When Qiao’s mother, Xu Hui, heard about the parent-teacher meeting, she immediately agreed to attend, arriving dressed plainly. After that, the original host’s fabricated identity as a wealthy young lady was exposed. Coincidentally, a girl who disliked her came from a well-off family and happened to learn the truth.
Within two days, everyone knew that the class beauty, Qiao An, was actually the daughter of a servant in a wealthy household.
For a while, her classmates looked at her with strange expressions.
The original host had a strong sense of pride and couldn’t bear such a situation. On the very first day, she made an excuse to leave early. That night, she took a cold shower and deliberately stayed in the chilly wind for a long time, resulting in a high fever, hoping to avoid going to school.

This was the original host’s backstory. In reality, she was the villainess in a campus rebirth novel.
After this incident, the original host transferred schools, leaving the academically focused No. 1 High School for Yuanhai High School, a famous local private school filled with wealthy students.
As soon as she arrived, the original host became a hot topic due to her outstanding looks and academic performance. The praise from her classmates went to her head, but it wasn’t long before the reborn female lead appeared.
Originally, the female lead had been a rebellious, delinquent girl, but after rebirth, she gained an exceptional memory and the protagonist’s notorious talent for attracting trouble. After her rebirth, the female lead turned over a new leaf, sparking widespread discussion. This had nothing to do with the original host at first.
However, the original host had a crush, Gu Ting, the eldest grandson of the Gu family.
When Gu Ting was five, he insisted on going to an amusement park and was involved in a car accident on the way. His parents died, and he was taken by human traffickers. He remained missing for ten years until he was found two years ago.
The original host fell in love with Gu Ting at first sight, but he was autistic and unwilling to interact with anyone. Proud by nature, she never let anyone know she had feelings for someone considered a fool.
But she also didn’t want any other girls getting close to him.
At a banquet, the original host noticed that Gu Ting actually responded to the female lead, and Grandpa Gu indulged their interactions.
Thus, she developed hostility toward the female lead and began a series of humiliating setbacks.
But that wasn’t all. Gu Ting was no mere side character.
He was the main antagonist of the story, a man who had suffered in his youth, becoming semi-reclusive. Even after returning home, he received little care and was constantly bullied, growing increasingly withdrawn. Only one person managed to enter his heart.
For her, he broke free from years of self-imposed isolation, began engaging with the outside world, and feverishly absorbed knowledge, all to be of help to her.
Unfortunately, this caused him to miss the most critical years after the female lead’s rebirth. By the time he realized it, she had already fallen in love with someone else.
The antagonist, inherently obsessive, decided that if he couldn’t have her, no one else would. He began to commit misdeeds.
The conflicts between the original host and the female lead were child’s play compared to the battles between Gu Ting and the female lead, these were real corporate wars, the kind that drew blood. From a legitimate businessman, he descended onto a path of no return.
By this time, the antagonist had become a functional adult, even more outstanding than most. The original host grew increasingly unable to let him go, especially since her entire family was tied to the Gu family’s interests. Thus, she joined Gu Corporation and worked for him without hesitation.
In the end, the antagonist failed and took his own life. Watching him die, the original host lost all hope and turned herself in. The Gu family collapsed.
The original host’s wish became Qiao An’s mission.
The most important task was to protect the antagonist.
Protecting the antagonist sounded simple but was far from easy.
Fortunately, she would receive some compensation.
When Qiao An accepted the mission, she activated a system: the Antagonist Protection System.
The system’s role was to issue tasks at critical moments she might overlook, ensuring the antagonist’s safety and the mission’s smooth progress.
By completing tasks, she could earn system points to purchase items from the system’s store.
And this store was truly extraordinary, it even had memory-enhancing pills, though they were far too expensive.
Qiao An took one glance and didn’t dare look further. She hadn’t even started her tasks yet and couldn’t tell whether it was due to severe inflation or the items were simply that pricey. She’d have to complete countless missions to afford them.
Still, she marveled at how such a miraculous system had appeared just for the original host’s mission.
Sensing her thoughts, the system promptly explained: [This system has been activated due to the unique circumstances of the protection target, providing the task-taker with certain compensations.]
Qiao An keenly picked up on its implication: [So besides this time, there are other instances?]
The system replied politely: [Host, such matters are beyond your access. Please do not concern yourself.]
Alright then.
Qiao An obediently dropped the subject.
She lay in bed a while longer until her slightly dizzy head cleared up a bit, then reached for her phone to check the time.
As soon as the screen lit up, the phone, untouched for the entire day, displayed a flood of messages. Opening it, she saw that most were from Lei Xiao, the original owner’s deskmate: ["Remember to do today’s homework. The monthly exam is in a couple of days…"]
This was followed by a series of photos of the assignments.
But aside from Lei Xiao’s messages, the others were either probing or tinged with malice: ["An An, is it true your family works as servants for someone else?"]
["Qiao An, I heard that car belongs to your parents’ boss?"]
["So doesn’t that make you the daughter of a servant?"]
["Qiao An, Zhang Yue’s been talking behind your back. Don’t tell her I told you. [Image]"]
If it were the original owner, seeing these would have mortified her, the girl was sensitive and thin-skinned. But Qiao An wasn’t. At over twenty years old, looking at these teenagers’ antics, she felt nothing at all, even a little amused.
She yawned, squinted, and replied to Lei Xiao with a simple "thank you," deleting all the other messages.
Just after sending the reply, a call came through. The background noise was a bit chaotic, but the girl’s crisp voice still carried through the phone, injecting a spark of life into the quiet room: "An An, when are you coming back to school?"
Qiao An replied softly, "I’ll be there tomorrow. Thank you."
Suddenly being thanked, Lei Xiao felt a bit embarrassed. Her deskmate had always been somewhat aloof, speaking to her in a detached tone. But Lei Xiao was a sucker for pretty faces, since Qiao An was good-looking and always dressed impeccably, she didn’t mind being the one to initiate conversations.
"No need to thank me, it’s nothing," Lei Xiao cleared her throat, paused for a moment, then whispered, "Um… I heard Bi Jiabei and the others have planned to drag you into a game of Truth or Dare as soon as you’re back, just to ask about your parents. Don’t fall for it, okay?"
This time, Qiao An genuinely laughed.
Truth or Dare? What kind of nonsense was that?
These high schoolers really didn’t have enough homework.

Ever since transmigrating, Qiao An had been lying in bed without getting up.
After washing up, she took a look at the original owner’s appearance. The seventeen-year-old girl wasn’t a stunning beauty, but she had good proportions. Ignoring her height, one could see she had a slender waist, long legs, and an elegant neck. Even in a simple T-shirt and jeans, she could be described as graceful.
The original owner had a pure, innocent style, with long, straight black hair that was currently loose, cascading down her back and making her face appear even paler and more delicate.
She had an oval face, but due to strict dieting, it was almost gaunt enough to be a heart-shaped face.
While not exceptionally beautiful, she was strikingly fresh and charming, with strong potential. Having just recovered from a cold, her lips were pale and slightly chapped, giving her a fragile appearance.
Spotting the scale next to the mirror, Qiao An had a sudden idea and stepped onto it. A wave of dizziness washed over her.
The glaring number, 41 kg, shocked her.
As a food blogger, Qiao An had never weighed less than 50 kg. Of course, she exercised regularly and, at 165 cm, had a relatively well-proportioned figure, curves in the right places, slim where it mattered.
No wonder she felt so weak, inside and out, after just one bout of fever.
It was early May, and the weather was still a bit chilly. Before heading downstairs, Qiao An threw on a jacket.
The original owner used to have meals with Grandpa Gu, who currently oversees everything but rarely makes public appearances, as he is recuperating at home.
The Gu family business was inherited by Grandpa Gu's second son, but he has average talent. The Gu Corporation is currently being propped up solely by Grandpa Gu to prevent any major issues, though it is gradually shrinking.
"Ah, " A familiar voice sounded.
Without thinking, Qiao An opened her mouth.
A warm but not scalding french fry was tossed into her mouth. The salt and pepper-flavored fry was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, absolutely delicious.
Qiao An’s eyes curved into crescents as she licked her lips: "Mom, are there any more?"
After the initial grogginess of waking up, her voice had returned, soft, gentle, and carrying the crisp clarity of a young girl, very pleasant to the ear.
"There are more." Xu Hui nodded, smiling broadly as she went to fetch the rest of the fries, the fine lines at the corners of her eyes deepening noticeably.
She was genuinely happy that her daughter was speaking to her so affectionately.
During the parent-teacher meeting a couple of days ago, even though her daughter hadn’t said anything, as a mother, how could she not know what her daughter was thinking? She had embarrassed her daughter, and her daughter was unhappy.
But there was nothing to be done, this was the kind of family she came from, and no amount of pretending would change that.
She felt guilty but couldn’t change the situation, so she could only try to be extra good to her daughter.
Then she noticed that since her daughter fell ill, the previous sense of distance between them had vanished, which made her breathe a sigh of relief.
Just as Qiao An was about to follow her into the kitchen for a little extra treat, the system’s flat electronic voice sounded in her mind: [Mission 1 issued: Gu Ting is being bullied by three unruly children. Please reach Gu Ting’s side within two minutes! Reward: 1,000 points]
Qiao An blinked, thinking of all the products in the system store with their long strings of zeros, and affirmed: [So it really is inflation on your end!]
System: [Countdown: 118 seconds!]
Qiao An suddenly took off running. Xu Hui turned around to hand her the freshly fried fries, only to find her daughter had already disappeared.
She looked blankly at another servant in the kitchen: "Have you seen my daughter?"
The other person said, "She suddenly ran off just now. Probably had something to do."
Young girls are like that, always acting on a whim. Xu Hui shook her head, let it go, and with a smile still on her lips, continued making the final preparations.
Meanwhile, Qiao An, who had dashed out abruptly, was already closing in on Gu Ting following the system’s directions.
As she approached, she could hear the malicious taunts of children: "Look, this idiot is out again!"
"Grandma said he’s a big idiot and told us not to play with him, we might get influenced."
"Should I throw mud at him? Will he cry?"
"Probably not. I threw some last time, and he didn’t even cry. He really is dumb."
"Here, I’ll throw, " Then came the sound of other children clapping: "Wow!"
Listening to these words, Qiao An felt something was off and quickly quickened her pace. Rounding a flower bed, she saw three six- or seven-year-old children surrounding a boy crouching on the ground.
The boy’s sharply defined profile was smeared with mud, and a large clump of it was sliding down the back of his white shirt. Mud stains were splattered all over the rest of his clothes as well.
The three children laughed with glee, as if watching something hilarious, completely unaware of how cruel their actions were.
Yet the boy showed no reaction at all, as though the children bullying him were nothing but air. He remained completely focused on a small green caterpillar in front of him, motionless, not even blinking.
This was Gu Ting.
[25, 24, 23…] The countdown continued, like a death knell.
One of the children pointed at him triumphantly. "Look, he really isn’t crying!"
"Let’s try again!" the other two chimed in unison.
Eagerly, they scooped up more mud from the flower bed, ready to throw it at him.
"Stop that!" Qiao An’s expression darkened as she yelled.
The three children flinched, startled. But when they turned and saw it was just a girl, their fear vanished. Puffing out their cheeks, they retorted, "We’re going to throw it!"
Even as they spoke, their hands didn’t stop. They flung the mud straight at Gu Ting’s head.
Gritting her teeth, Qiao An rushed over, shielding Gu Ting with her body. She felt the soft, wet mud hit her back, and a surge of anger rose within her. "Damn it!"
Unnoticed by her, the person she was shielding glanced up, his gaze lingering on her face for a few seconds before he calmly lowered his head again, continuing to watch the caterpillar.
"Hahaha, another idiot!" The children laughed with seemingly innocent delight.
Furious, Qiao An set her hands on her hips, her face cold. Mimicking them, she scooped two large handfuls of mud from the flower bed and, before they could react, hurled it at them. "You wanted to throw mud, didn’t you? Then throw it!"
Thwack! Thwack! The mud hit two of the children. Qiao An quickly grabbed another handful and threw it at the third, showing no remorse for bullying those younger than her.
The three children, caught completely off guard, stared in shock at the muddy stains on their clothes and began screaming, "Ahhh!"
"My new clothes!"
"Waaah, "
After a brief moment of panic, all three burst into tears.
The tallest of them glared angrily at Qiao An, his eyes red, and swung a fist at her.
Qiao An caught his hand firmly and pushed him back.
The child landed squarely on his bottom, his chubby cheeks trembling. After a few seconds of stunned silence, he let out an even louder wail than before. "Waaah!"
Qiao An raised an eyebrow triumphantly. "Still want more? If not, get out of here!"
She made a show of brandishing the remaining mud in her hand.
The three children, still crying loudly, exchanged glances, wiped their tears, and ran off, sobbing as they went.
[Mission Complete]
Qiao An relaxed, a gentle smile curling at the corners of her lips, only to meet a pair of utterly emotionless eyes. He looked at her as if she were an idiot. A few seconds later, he lowered his head again, his attention fixed on the wriggling green caterpillar.
Qiao An’s smile froze.
"Hey, aren’t you going to leave?" she frowned slightly and poked his arm.
The boy squatting on the ground frowned just like her, then shifted to the other side and continued staring intently at the insect crawling laboriously along.
Qiao An twitched her lips and simply stopped urging him, watching him silently instead.
It wasn’t until the insect burrowed into the soil, disappearing from his sight, that Gu Ting finally stirred. He straightened up, and as he did, his body swayed as if he were about to fall. Qiao An instinctively reached out to steady him, but he regained his balance and turned expressionlessly to walk back the way they had come.
It seemed he still knew the way.
Qiao An slowed her pace, falling a couple of steps behind. She noticed that the boy in front of her was quite tall, dressed in casual clothes in either white or gray. His skin was pale, his posture straight, and at first glance, he looked like a fresh, handsome youth.
But he wasn’t normal.
For instance, just as they reached the doorway, an unfamiliar, elderly voice inside the house was screaming hysterically, "Your child bullied my grandson! Look, these three brand-new clothes are all covered in mud! Just because he’s a fool doesn’t mean he can bully others like this!"
This was followed by the sound of a child crying in grievance.
Listening to the crying, it was a trio.
So those three kids were all from the same family?
No wonder, who in this neighborhood didn’t know the Gu family? Who would let their children truly bully others?
As soon as Qiao An and Gu Ting stepped inside, they immediately drew the attention of everyone in the room.
Grandpa Gu, who always wore a stern expression with tightly pressed lips, shifted his gaze from the shouting old man to Gu Ting. The moment his eyes landed on him, a flicker of pain crossed his eyes before he quickly looked away, his face hardening as he commanded, "Kneel!"
Naturally, this wasn’t directed at Qiao An.
She couldn’t understand it, Grandpa Gu had gone to great lengths to retrieve this treasure left by his son, yet he treated him with such harshness, even less kindly than an unrelated outsider.
This seemed to be a common occurrence. As soon as Grandpa Gu spoke, Gu Ting immediately knelt down. Thud! The sound of his knees hitting the floor was jarring.
Yet, Gu Ting’s face remained completely expressionless, as if he were merely sitting down. His otherwise normal appearance, in this context, seemed somewhat eerie.
The incessantly complaining old man felt a chill and reluctantly quieted down, muttering, "Don’t think this is enough to settle things. My grandson is covered in mud…"
Qiao An stepped forward, approaching the old man, and pointed at the mud stains on her own clothes as well as the mud on Gu Ting’s face and back. "I threw the mud," she said. "Because your three grandsons started it."
As she drew near, the three children instinctively took two steps back. One of them even covered his buttocks. When she questioned them, the three kids lowered their heads in unison, clinging to the old man’s legs and crying.
Only then did the old woman notice that the two newcomers were also covered in mud, much like her own grandson.
She knew her grandson well, he was certainly capable of such a thing.
But even if he was capable, she couldn’t admit it.
Her expression shifted, and she clutched her chest dramatically, wailing, “Oh, you’re just bullying us! Taking advantage of my grandson’s youth and inability to speak!”
Qiao Yi, who had been about to step in to ease the tension, grew cautious at this sudden turn of events. He nearly called for a doctor, fearing the old woman might be setting them up. He tugged at Qiao An’s sleeve, signaling her to stay quiet.
Qiao An shook her head and said, “Your grandson bullied others first, so he should be prepared to face the consequences. Besides, I’m not even an adult yet! Hurry up, pay us back first, and then I’ll compensate your grandson!”
Grandpa Gu, who had been simmering with anger, was taken aback by this exchange. His irritation faded somewhat, and he shook his head at Qiao Yi.
Understanding immediately, Qiao Yi took two steps back, deciding not to intervene.
The old woman felt a pang of guilt but quickly shook her head firmly. “Impossible! My grandson would never do such things!”
Qiao An lifted her small face and replied with a hint of mockery, “Don’t say it’s impossible. There are surveillance cameras all over this neighborhood. We can just go to the property management and check the footage!”
“Surveillance?” the old woman mumbled, confused.
Qiao An then turned to the three children. “Aren’t you even brave enough to admit what you did? Is this what your teachers taught you?”
The three children trembled at her words, their lips quivering as they fought back tears.
Just then, a hurried voice called out, “Oh, Da Bao, Er Bao, Xiao Bao!”
“Mom!” The three children immediately turned and ran out, throwing themselves into the arms of a woman in her thirties, her face etched with anxiety.
The woman hugged her sons tightly, then took in the scene before her. Her face turned ashen, and she swayed unsteadily, nearly fainting. Fuming, she cried out, “Mom! What are you doing here?!”
Her voice was strained as she pleaded, “Chairman Gu, this is all a misunderstanding. The children are just too young to understand. I’m so sorry for disturbing you.”
The old woman was dumbfounded.
She had only wanted to get some compensation and take advantage of the situation, why was her daughter-in-law reacting like this?
A man who had lagged behind rushed over. When he saw Chairman Gu’s displeased expression, his face paled, and his steps became unsteady. He forced an awkward smile and said, “Chairman Gu, it’s all a misunderstanding. I’m so sorry for the disturbance. My mother just arrived and doesn’t know any better.”
“Son, you…”
The old woman tugged anxiously at her son’s sleeve, about to ask what was going on, when he snapped impatiently in a low voice, “Shut up! This is my boss!”
Immediately, the old woman covered her mouth and didn’t dare utter another word.
The family hurried away, not daring to look back. In the distance, the faint sounds of a child crying and a woman scolding could still be heard.

During the meal, only Qiao An and Grandpa Gu were present.
Qiao Yi and Xu Hui absolutely refused to eat at the table, and Grandpa Gu didn’t want to dine alone. Fortunately, Qiao An wasn’t in school and could keep him company.
As for Gu Ting, he never came out for meals.
He rarely even ate much, which was why he was so thin.
Every time the servants brought a tray to his room, he would only take a few bites, his appetite was as small as a cat’s.
Qiao An thought that if such meager portions were given to her original self, she would have easily ended up in the hospital from malnutrition. Yet, he managed to live just fine. It was truly strange.
Grandpa Gu appeared to be a very stern man, but that was only toward Gu Ting. In this old house, as long as Gu Ting wasn’t around, he transformed into a kindly, gentle elder. At the dining table, he even asked her softly, "Did you eat well? You’ve just recovered from your illness, so I imagine your appetite isn’t great. Don’t you like seafood? Remember to tell your dad and have him buy some for you."
In her previous life, Qiao An had always been cherished by her grandparents in this way, so she accepted his kindness with ease. However, when it came to his offer, she firmly shook her head and said, "No need, this is already plenty to eat."
Grandpa Gu nodded and continued eating slowly.
After finishing her meal, Qiao An went upstairs to do her homework.
The original host had used this opportunity to complain to Grandpa Gu about transferring schools, which led to her encountering the reincarnated female lead. Although Qiao An was certain she wouldn’t actively provoke the other party, she was afraid of any unexpected incidents and decided not to transfer.
Since that was the case, she had to do her homework.
But…
It had been over four years since her college entrance exam, and she had almost forgotten all her high school knowledge. The original host’s memories weren’t her own, so using them felt awkward and unfamiliar.
A simple math test took her more than two hours to barely complete, and there were still many questions left blank because they were too difficult.
Even though the original host’s mind contained the relevant knowledge, Qiao An hadn’t fully grasped it and couldn’t apply it.
"I’m doomed, I still have to take the college entrance exam!" Qiao An groaned, holding her head in her hands. "System, is there any way to boost my intelligence in your shop?"
The system replied coldly, [Yes, for 5,000,000 points.]
"Goodbye!" Qiao An exclaimed, thumping her head on the desk. She tilted her head and caught sight of her phone, her eyes lighting up. She took pictures of the questions she couldn’t solve and sent them to Lei Xiao: [Can you teach me how to do these?]
From her memories, although the original host’s deskmate wasn’t exactly a top student, her grades were always in the middle of the class. Since they were in an experimental class, that meant she was equivalent to the top student in a regular class, she should be able to solve them.
On the other end, Lei Xiao, who had been secretly reading a novel in class, felt her phone vibrate. She opened it and saw the message, letting out a soft "Awoo!" before collapsing onto her desk excitedly: [!!!]
[Girl, you’re actually asking me to teach you how to solve problems!]
Qiao An replied: [I don’t know how to do them, sorry to trouble you.]
[No trouble at all!]
Lei Xiao ‘shouted’ her response, her face slightly flushed. She found it unbelievable but immediately straightened up, took out paper and a pen, and started working on the problems.
Her front-row classmate noticed the commotion behind her and turned around, only to see Lei Xiao, who always read novels during lunch break, actually doing her homework obediently?
The world had become a little surreal.
Lei Xiao was a warm-hearted girl.
Feeling the other’s enthusiasm, Qiao An became less embarrassed about asking questions. As soon as the first major problem was finished, she immediately moved on to the second.
But this time, the other person didn’t reply immediately. It wasn’t until three minutes later that she pitifully said: [Sorry, I don’t know this one either.]
Qiao An: [It’s okay, I’ll work on it myself for a while then, o(╥﹏╥)o.]
Lei Xiao stared at the screen, imagining her quiet and delicate-looking deskmate making such an expression. Suddenly biting her sleeve, her heart trembled, and she replied: [I can ask someone else, don’t worry. Feel free to send me anything you don’t understand!]
Qiao An: [Thank you, and also these… [Image][Image][Image]…]
Lei Xiao’s legs went weak, and she felt a bit dizzy.
But with the class beauty asking for help, how could she refuse?
Go for it!
In the end, with Lei Xiao’s enthusiastic assistance, Qiao An successfully tackled the math and physics test papers. By the time she finished her homework, Qiao An’s head was starting to ache, so she hurriedly got into bed to continue sleeping.
This nap left Qiao An feeling listless. When she got up for dinner, she found out she had a fever again, probably from catching a chill while admiring herself in the bathroom earlier.
So she didn’t go downstairs for dinner; Xu Hui brought it up to her instead.
After eating and taking her medicine, she went back to sleep.
At some point, it seemed like a doctor came to check on her, but she was too drowsy. The doctor deliberately avoided waking her, moving quietly, so she couldn’t manage to get up.
It wasn’t until around midnight.
The system’s abrupt electronic beeping sound, “beep, beep, beep, ”, echoed incessantly. In the quiet of the night, it was as startling as firecrackers, jolting Qiao An upright in bed, drenched in cold sweat.
At that moment, the system stopped its eerie noise and announced in its electronic voice: [Mission 2 issued: The villain Gu Ting is suffering from hunger. Please prepare a nutritious and delicious midnight snack for the villain; Reward: 3,000 points]
Midnight snack?
Qiao An was utterly confused.
She had slept enough and taken her medicine, so her condition was actually better than it had been at noon. Though she had slept for so long that her limbs felt weak.
She climbed out of bed, puzzled, and opened the door.
There was no movement at all.
Qiao An’s initial guess had been wrong. Scratching the back of her head, she padded downstairs in her cotton slippers. In the vast villa, the soft “pat, pat” of her slippers against the floor only emphasized the emptiness.
For some reason, Qiao An felt that something was off.
She slowed her pace, her gaze alert as she scanned her surroundings, but she detected nothing unusual.
It wasn’t until she reached the kitchen doorway that she saw moonlight streaming through the window, faintly illuminating a dark figure huddled beside the refrigerator. A pair of gleaming eyes, reflecting the moonlight, shone brightly in the darkness.
“Shit!” Qiao An was so frightened by the sight that her heart nearly stopped, and she almost died on the spot!