Chapter 16

Chu Yin thought:
If she had a hammer in her hand right now, she might suffer from indecision.
Because at this moment, she actually couldn’t decide whether to hit Lu Zhen first or Song Zhaolin first.
She had been avoiding that bastard for two months, only to have it all go to waste today.
Chu Yin: If I were any more fragile, I’d burst into tears.jpg
Of course, no one knew what Chu Yin was thinking at that moment.
The swimming pool was dead silent, with only the faint sound of water rippling in the distance. Everyone’s gaze followed Lu Zhen as he moved, and ultimately, all eyes fell on the girl.
Her upper body was soaked, the white T-shirt clinging to her, revealing the dark swimsuit underneath and outlining her soft, resilient curves. Her wet bangs were swept back, and her long, thick eyelashes were damp, drooping over her peach-blossom eyes with a disheveled, fragile beauty.
She had unexpectedly met Lu Zhen’s gaze like that.
For a few seconds, Lu Zhen wasn’t sure if he was breathing.
By the time he snapped out of it and averted his gaze, his breathing had already deepened, carrying an indescribable, scorching heat.
The warmth quickly spread throughout his body, tingling even at his fingertips.
Under the girl’s guarded, uneasy gaze, Lu Zhen instinctively controlled his expression, making himself appear unmoved.
That ridiculous photoshopped picture and all the rumors had now completely collapsed in front of everyone.
She was beautiful, so beautiful it was unsettling.
Behind him, the boys belatedly gasped: "Holy shit, she’s…" so beautiful.
Lu Zhen suddenly frowned, grabbed a large towel from the side, and threw it over Chu Yin’s head, covering her soaked T-shirt.
"Go change," he said, his voice already cold.
Chu Yin suddenly realized that some things were different from her past life.
At the very least, Lu Zhen seemed relatively normal now. Apart from a brief moment of surprise in his dark eyes, there was none of the emotion Chu Yin dreaded to see. Instead, he even seemed a bit irritated and impatient.
Holding the towel, Chu Yin felt slightly reassured.
She shook off Song Zhaolin’s hand and said, word by word, "I’m fine."
Song Zhaolin blinked. For some reason, he felt that when Chu Yin said those three words, what she really meant was, "You’re dead."
How could that be? He was just showing concern!
Only after Chu Yin’s figure disappeared into the locker room did the buzzing of voices return to the venue.
Everyone seemed to have experienced a major shock. After all, they had all seen the widely circulated photo and heard various versions of the rumors. Who would have guessed that once she took off her mask, she would turn out to be an absolute beauty?
"Holy shit, who photoshopped that picture? That’s just toxic!"
"Is that really Chu Yin?? Holy shit she's so fucking beautiful, I think I'm in love!!"
"So not only is she smart, she's gorgeous too, she's totally a goddess, "
Fu Mingxuan, who had personally orchestrated all this, was completely stunned.
Xing Lan, who had finally climbed back onto the pool deck to witness this historic moment, was also stunned.
They had imagined all sorts of ugly scenarios, but never expected Chu Yin to be the complete opposite. Fu Mingxuan didn't want to admit it, but even she had been dazzled in that moment.
Lu Zhen took a deep breath, suppressing his emotions, then turned to look at Fu Mingxuan.
Fu Mingxuan had been trying all class to catch Lu Zhen's attention. Now, he was finally looking at her, but she suddenly felt a flicker of fear.
Lu Zhen's expression was cold as he looked at her and asked, "Like playing in the water?"
Fu Mingxuan instinctively took two steps back. "N-No, we were just fooling around earlier..."
Song Zhaolin jumped in angrily, "Bullshit 'fooling around'! You were scratching her face, lady!"
A humorless smile curled at the corner of Lu Zhen's lips. He reached out, grabbed the back of her neck, lifted her up, and threw her into the swimming pool.
"Fooling around? Then go play."
With a sharp scream, water splashed everywhere as Fu Mingxuan flailed inelegantly in the pool.
To be honest, everyone nearby had seen what happened earlier. Chu Yin really hadn't provoked her at all before suddenly being attacked. And since Fu Mingxuan had been thrown in by Lu Zhen, no one even dared to go help her out.
Jiang Yan, who had been quietly memorizing vocabulary nearby, pushed up her glasses after witnessing everything. "Serves her right."
But after saying it, she felt a bit embarrassed.
Before class started, she had told Chu Yin that looks weren't everything. Chu Yin must have found that pretty funny, right? She's really beautiful.
The international class students were also discussing the incident, but their focus was different.
"Earlier when we showed Chu Qiuqiu the photo, she said they looked similar?"
"Are you kidding? They're completely different!!"
"Have you noticed that Chu Yin and Chu Qiuqiu actually look a bit alike."
"Yeah, a little, but..."
The rest went unspoken, but everyone knew what they meant.
But there's clearly a difference in quality. We used to think Chu Qiuqiu was quite pretty, but compared to Chu Yin's features, she's completely the inferior version.
"Are they twin sisters then? Is that why they look similar?"
"Chu Qiuqiu never mentioned it, and the Chu family never publicly said anything. Does anyone know their birthdays?"
"Holy shit, why do I feel a creeping sense of dread..."
Chu Qiuqiu vaguely overheard these conversations, feeling her limbs stiffen and turn cold.
Could anyone have guessed? No, absolutely not,
She wasn’t a downgrade, nor was she a replacement. She was the daughter of the Chu family, the heiress of a wealthy household!
Chu Yin was the one brought back from the countryside, the bumpkin!
Chu Yin sat on the bench in the locker room, calming herself for a moment.
Through today’s events, she had gained new insight, once she altered a word or phrase in the script, she had no way of knowing how the plot would change. In other words, from the moment she made an edit, the subsequent storyline would develop in a new direction.
It seemed she couldn’t just sit back and relax after making changes.
But what was done was done. Wearing a mask wasn’t a long-term solution anyway, it had been uncomfortable wearing it every day. Now that it was off, there was no need to wear it again.
"...Is there really no way to transfer schools?" Chu Yin prodded the system.
Study System: "Not possible, host! And according to system calculations, if you force a transfer, there’s a 90% chance the male lead will transfer too, due to his influence on the plot!"
Chu Yin: ...Just end me.
She rested her elbows on her knees, contemplating various possibilities in her mind.
Could she make Lu Zhen lose his memory? Or cause him to get into a car accident, become brain-dead, or end up in a vegetative state?
If she couldn’t act directly, could she arrange it indirectly?
"Host, your train of thought is dangerously close to the edge."
Chu Yin sighed.
Having this chicken in her head was like having a surveillance system, constantly preventing her from straying down a criminal path.
Still, she had already skewed the plot to the greatest extent possible. At the very least, the way Lu Zhen looked at her in this lifetime was bound to be different from the last.
Moreover, she could continue altering the script in the future. Right now, the enemy was in the open while she remained hidden, what reason did she have to fear that damned man?
Having sorted through her thoughts, Chu Yin stood up and changed out of her wet clothes. Since roll call was over, she had no intention of returning to class. Slipping into her oversized school uniform, she walked out of the swimming pool.
Outside the building stood a tall, ancient tree, and beneath its shade, a young man stood quietly, his gaze drifting toward her.
With classes in session, the campus was empty and quiet. Seeing her cautious expression, Lu Zhen unconsciously rubbed his knuckles.
When she didn’t move, Lu Zhen strode directly over, stopping in front of her.
This time, without the mask obstructing her face, Chu Yin’s features were clearly visible, every subtle expression laid bare.
Lu Zhen’s gaze lingered on her exquisitely delicate brows and eyes before shifting away, finally settling on some indeterminate point.
He spoke, but instead of asking about the mask, he asked, "Who taught you how to fight?"
That move she’d made earlier, blocking and then twisting his wrist, had been swift and precise, as if she’d been trained.
Chu Yin’s heart skipped a beat. Damn, this guy was sharp.
Hearing this question from Lu Zhen’s own lips felt absurdly out of place. Back then, she hadn’t liked having bodyguards follow her around, so Lu Zhen had forced her to learn various self-defense moves, even a bit of mixed martial arts, all taught by him personally.
After she’d learned, Chu Yin had grown quite fond of the sport because... she could openly beat him up, and Lu Zhen would go easy on her. And the guy was truly twisted, sometimes, when she hit him hard, he actually seemed pleased.
Tsk.
Chu Yin felt a little regretful that she couldn’t punch him in the face anymore.
She lifted her eyes, pretending to know nothing: “I’ve never learned it.”
Lu Zhen smiled. Liar.
But her eyes were too clear, and when she looked up at him like that, the dappled light filtering through the tree leaves fell on her face, making her as beautiful as a painting. He caught that faint fragrance again, carried by the autumn breeze, wafting into his breath.
Lu Zhen’s heart was racing chaotically, and he didn’t press further.
Chu Yin naturally had no desire to reminisce about the past with him either. When he fell silent, she turned and walked away without hesitation.
On her way back to the classroom, she ran into another one of Lu Zhen’s followers. The boy’s eyes widened when he saw her, and even after she reached the swimming pool entrance, his face was still flushed.
Song Zhaolin had just changed and rushed out, but Chu Yin was already far away, clean and decisive as always, radiating her usual coolness.
Tan Ke looked stunned: “Holy shit, I just saw a stunning beauty, ”
Song Zhaolin waved it off, pointing inside the swimming pool: “Everyone saw her.”
“Huh?” Tan Ke was shocked. “From our grade? Who is she? Which class? What’s her name?”
Lu Zhen withdrew his gaze, his brow suddenly furrowing.
As someone who had already seen Chu Yin’s true appearance, Song Zhaolin felt inexplicably proud: “My deskmate! I told you she’s actually really pretty, right?”
Tan Ke’s jaw dropped: “That’s Chu Yin?! How did you know she’s pretty?”
Song Zhaolin: “I’ve seen her!”
In an instant, Lu Zhen’s gaze turned even colder, radiating an unmistakable aura of displeasure.
Song Zhaolin instinctively sensed danger and shut his mouth, moving closer to Tan Ke.
After digesting the news, Tan Ke suddenly looked in the direction Chu Yin had left and clicked his tongue: “Damn, with looks like that, Chu Yin could be the school belle, right?”
That girl was truly beautiful, the kind you couldn’t look away from once you saw her.
Song Zhaolin spoke without thinking: “Huh? Then wouldn’t Sister Yin have to dance with Brother Zhen?”
It was a stupid remark, but Lu Zhen’s eyebrow twitched slightly.
“Are you an idiot? There’s no way Brother Zong would go up.”
“But aren’t the school belle and school hunk always a pair…”
Lu Zhen lowered his eyelashes slightly.
For some reason, the restless irritation throughout his body quietly dissipated.
The next day, when Chu Yin went to school again, she still wore the loose, outdated uniform, but she no longer had her mask on.
The slender girl walked through the campus, and everyone couldn’t help but look at her.
Chu Yin had been the same in her past life, ever since she transferred schools, this kind of attention had never diminished. But back then, people saw her as nothing more than a pretty vase. The girls’ gazes were filled with scrutiny, sneering that although she was good-looking, she was just an uneducated girl from the countryside.
This time, however, the glances thrown her way held not only admiration but also respect.
That was Chu Yin, the transfer student in Class 5, the top student in her grade.
Not only was she smart, but she was also exceptionally beautiful.
Chu Yin had long grown accustomed to others’ stares in her past life. As she reviewed the knowledge points she had memorized the night before in her mind, she walked into the school building.
But what she didn’t know was that just by walking around the campus like this, countless people had already switched sides, planning to vote for her.
Today, the voting system for the school’s most popular girl and boy had officially opened.
The students in Class 5 had been noisily discussing the matter, but the moment Chu Yin stepped inside, the bustling classroom suddenly fell silent.
The impact was just too overwhelming. Even though they had been discussing it all day in the class group chat since yesterday, seeing Chu Yin’s face again still dazzled their eyes.
A boy who had just been talking to Fu Mingxuan glanced up, and his face instantly turned bright red. He stammered, “I, I’ll definitely vote for her…”
Fu Mingxuan was nearly driven mad with anger. “Who are you voting for?!”
“For you! For you!”
Fu Mingxuan’s expression was particularly unpleasant. Yesterday, Lu Zhen had thrown her into the water, and the entire grade had laughed at her. She had truly lifted a rock only to drop it on her own foot, after all, it was she who had nominated Chu Yin in the first place. Now, she wasn’t even sure if her own votes could surpass Chu Yin’s! How infuriating!
Jiang Yan wasn’t usually one to care about such matters, but seeing Fu Mingxuan’s expression and the suddenly awkward atmosphere among the classmates, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of satisfaction.
They had assumed that since she transferred from the countryside, she must be a poor student, yet she ended up ranking first. They had assumed that since she didn’t fuss over her appearance, she must be ugly, yet when she took off her mask, she turned out to be a stunning beauty.
Wasn’t this a slap in the face? Chu Yin was truly a hidden gem!
Jiang Yan was the first to take the initiative and greet her. “Good morning.”
Seeing her, Chu Yin smiled as well. “Good morning.”
A faint smile graced her face, and her beautiful peach-blossom eyes sparkled like stars, dazzling even Jiang Yan.
No matter how the surroundings changed, Chu Yin’s heart remained focused only on studying. After class, she and Jiang Yan would usually stay in their seats to continue studying. They weren’t competing but rather appreciating each other spiritually.
Song Zhaolin, after arriving today, inexplicably received several sharp glances from Chu Yin. Feeling wronged, he had no idea what he had done wrong.
But even a sharp glance from a beauty was still a beautiful sharp glance!
Song Zhaolin waited all day, finally seizing the moment when Chu Yin was tired from studying and taking a break. He sneakily leaned closer to her and said, “Sister Yin, you don’t know this, but a lot of people have already asked me for your phone number today.”
Chu Yin resumed doing practice problems and replied coldly, “Don’t give it to them.”
Song Zhaolin exclaimed dramatically, “Of course I wouldn’t! Because I don’t have it either!”
Chu Yin hadn’t completely cooled off yet and snorted coldly.
Song Zhaolin batted his flirtatious eyes several times and said in an oily tone, "Give me your contact info, will you? We've been desk mates for two months and still haven't exchanged WeChat. People might think we're on bad terms."
Chu Yin: "...Thanks, but we're not exactly close."
Even so, she still let Song Zhaolin scan her WeChat QR code. Deep down, she didn't dislike him. Sure, he was a bit foolish, but he was quite endearing, and their two months together had been rather pleasant.
Song Zhaolin gleefully held his phone, basking in the subtle glances from a large number of boys in the class. "Yay! I got the school belle's WeChat!"
Chu Yin paused her pen: "School belle?"
Song Zhaolin, scrolling through Chu Yin's nearly empty Moments without looking up, replied, "Haven't you seen the poll?"
Someone had maliciously nominated Chu Yin earlier, and the entry couldn't be withdrawn. But since Chu Yin hadn't uploaded any photos or provided a self-introduction, she should have been pushed to the bottom of the list.
Hearing Song Zhaolin's words, Chu Yin had a sinking feeling.
She logged into the forum, found the voting page, and nearly fainted at what she saw.
The votes had exploded.
Chu Yin, with an empty avatar, had 1,210 votes, ranking first. The next highest hadn't even broken 800.
She glanced casually: Fu Mingxuan had 560 votes, Chu Qiuqiu had 534. The two were neck and neck but far behind the top spot.
Below the poll was a message board, updating in real-time.
[Though I wanted to vote for xxx, after seeing someone today, I'm switching sides.]
[Sorry, I've betrayed the cause too.]
[Brothers, type xx in the chat!]
Some were even more exaggerated, outright confessing:
[I'm Zheng Yu from the International Class of Grade 12. I fell in love with Chu Yin at first sight. Please notice me!]
[I'm Chu Yin's brother, and I don't approve of this match.]
[Hahahaha, holy crap.]
...
Chu Yin's head was throbbing.
When she saw the poll for School Hunk next door, where Lu Zhen led with a staggering 2,000 votes, her headache intensified.
The two polls seemed to echo each other, like some kind of omen.
No.
She couldn't repeat the same mistakes!
Such a pivotal plot point was quietly veering back onto its original path. She had to correct it. "Becoming the school belle" was a negative turning point in her life. Standing at this crossroads now, she couldn't just sit back and do nothing.
Song Zhaolin finished scrolling through Chu Yin's sparse Moments, liking each one, then leaned in. "Did you see me? Down there, with over forty votes."
Even though it was in the school belle category, Song Zhaolin felt that those forty-plus people at least acknowledged his looks!
Thinking about it, he felt a bit pleased.
"When you become the school belle, I'll be the school belle's desk mate, the school belle's guardian knight. Oh, and, " Song Zhaolin chattered on like a fussy mother, ", you'll get to dance with Brother Zhen. At the dance, all eyes will be on you two, the perfect match..."
Chu Yin: ...Like hell I will!
Who wants to dance with Lu Zhen?!
After school, when everyone had left, Chu Yin calmed down and called up the system.
"Show me the script."
According to the script, that evening Fu Mingxuan and Chu Qiuqiu would each work hard to campaign for votes, even going so far as to bribe classmates, all to prevent Chu Yin from becoming the school belle.
[But in the end, Chu Yin still won the title of school belle by a hundred votes.] , So the script said.
Chu Yin: ...Couldn't you all try a little harder?!
Study System timely reminded: [Host, would you like to use the [Edit a Single Sentence] permission?]
Chu Yin thought for a while: "Use it."
No matter what, she didn't want to be that damn school belle again, paired up with Lu Zhen, and then chased by him.
[Reminder! The rule for using this permission is that cause and effect must correspond. For example, if the host wants to change the outcome of being elected school belle, you need to change the candidate for school belle, but you cannot choose someone who didn't participate in the election, as that would lack cause. And when describing the entire sentence's plot, it must be logically consistent.]
Chu Yin listened carefully, then slowly shifted her gaze to the seat next to her.
Got it.
-
10 PM, one hour left until the voting system closed.
The outcome was pretty much set. Lu Zhen was far ahead as the school hunk, and although Chu Yin kept getting votes, she remained in the lead.
The comment section below was heated.
[Honestly, I don't think Chu Yin is qualified to be school belle.]
[I reasonably suspect she's hyping herself up. Wearing a mask for two months to build suspense and only taking it off right before the school belle election, isn't that intentional?]
[The person above is being unreasonable. The mask was torn off by FMX.]
[Oh, so the bootlickers are already out defending their master?]
[I'm really fed up with guys these days. They only look at the face, not the style or taste.]
[I'm afraid the neighboring school will laugh at us for electing a country bumpkin as school belle.]
...
Lu Zhen had been voted school hunk last year and had never paid any attention to it.
But this year, for some reason, he cared. Before the voting closed, he took a look.
Chu Yin was in first place.
Lu Zhen spaced out for a moment... If she got elected, would she dance with him?
Originally, Lu Zhen found these things boring.
But now that he thought about it, it seemed... not entirely unacceptable.
Lu Zhen lowered his eyelashes, stared at the screen for a long time, and then voted for Chu Yin.
The voting page was almost ignored by everyone; the whole school was just lying back waiting for the results. But at that moment, in the school belle voting section, one person's votes silently began to surge.
Half an hour later, the voting system officially closed, and a result notification was automatically sent to every student's phone.
Lu Zhen's heart unconsciously tightened. He picked up his phone and clicked on the message.
At the same time, all the students of Quiwen Private High School School clicked into the page.
"Ding ding ding ding! After an open election by the entire student body, this year's school hunk and school belle have been decided!!"
"School Hunk , Lu Zhen, Class 2 International."
"School Belle, Class 5, Grade 2..."
The corner of Lu Zhen's mouth lifted as he looked down:
"Song Zhaolin."
Lu Zhen: "……………?"
The entire school: “???"
At that moment, having successfully altered her fate, Chu Yin finally lay down peacefully, relaxed and content.
[At the last moment, Song Zhaolin emerged as a dark horse, breaking away from the pack and being elected school belle!]
She wrote it herself, what an inspiring scene!