Chapter 2

"Ahhh, knives are falling from the sky!"
"Help, ahhhh!"
The pink bubbles burst, and the scene descended into chaos.
Blades clattered down from above, but fortunately, none hit anyone. Upon closer inspection, the blades weren’t real knives, they just gleamed with a chilling light, looking utterly terrifying.
Lu Zhen frowned as he scanned the surroundings.
There were no open windows in the buildings on either side. Who had thrown them?
In the distance, on the school grounds, a slender figure gazed toward the school gate for a long moment before finally withdrawing her gaze.
Chu Yin lowered her eyes, a pleased smile curling beneath her mask.
Study System: "Aww, Host, you’re so mean! But you know, the system can’t actually harm the male lead!"
Of course, Chu Yin knew she couldn’t really kill Lu Zhen, but her goal had been achieved.
Given Lu Zhen’s personality, he was likely already mentally listing all the people who might pose a threat to him. The original plot had been disrupted, and from now on, everything would start to change.
Standing nearby, Chu Qiuqiu followed Chu Yin’s gaze and spotted Lu Zhen in the crowd. She thought disdainfully, How dare this country bumpkin sister set her sights on Lu Zhen? She should take a look at herself.
For a moment yesterday, she had felt a sense of crisis, as if she were a low-budget version of Chu Yin’s face. But, a country bumpkin was still a country bumpkin. While Quiwen Private High School allowed casual attire, Chu Yin had actually worn the most despised oversized school uniform and even covered her face with a mask, as if she were afraid to be seen.
In contrast, Chu Qiuqiu had dressed meticulously for the first day of school, spending two hours on her makeup alone. Standing side by side, one was refined and striking, while the other was plain and dowdy. Chu Qiuqiu thoroughly enjoyed this stark contrast, so what if Chu Yin was the biological daughter? Clearly, she herself was the one who resembled a young lady of noble birth.
Facing the curious glances from people around the school, she unhesitatingly linked arms with Chu Yin. "Sis, don’t even think about Lu Zhen. I’ll introduce you to some ordinary boys later! Come on, I’ll take you to the regular class."
Chu Yin pulled her arm back. "Thanks, but no need."
Lu Zhen alone was enough to make her wary of men.
Class 5 was the top elite class among the regular liberal arts classes, boasting excellent faculty and a student body mostly composed of wealthy heirs. However, since they intended to pursue the domestic college entrance examination route, they had chosen the regular class. Although Madam Chu felt somewhat distant from her long-lost biological daughter, she still cared deeply and had arranged for Chu Yin to be placed in Class 5.
At the moment, the Class 5 classroom was buzzing with excitement.
"Damn, did you hear? Lu Zhen was almost attacked at the school gate!"
"No way, who would dare mess with him?"
"It's true, check the forum post."
Because the incident centered around Lu Zhen, what had happened at the school gate just minutes ago had quickly spread throughout the entire school. Many of the wealthy heirs in Class 5 were close with the international class students, and they were chatting animatedly in the classroom.
It wasn't until a figure walked in that the noisy classroom suddenly fell silent.
Chu Qiuqiu? What was she doing in Class 5?
Fu Mingxuan, sitting in the center of the classroom, had just been worrying about Lu Zhen. When she saw Chu Qiuqiu, she immediately put on a battle-ready smile. "Hello, darling!?"
Chu Yin entered the classroom behind Chu Qiuqiu and rolled her eyes internally upon seeing Fu Mingxuan. This girl was Lu Zhen's number one admirer, had pursued him for a long time, and had harbored deep animosity toward Chu Yin in her past life.
However, at this point, Fu Mingxuan's main rival was still Chu Qiuqiu. Both came from wealthy families, were pretty, and excelled academically. They were famously known as a pair of fake, competitive "plastic sisters," always trying to one-up each other in everything, including whose English was better.
Chu Qiuqiu smiled elegantly. "Morning"
Fu Mingxuan's gaze shifted to the girl behind her, and she frowned with distaste. "OMG, who's she? Why do you stand with her?"
Chu Qiuqiu immediately put on her prepared gentle smile. "This is my older sister, Chu Yin. She just came from the countryside and doesn't understand English. Let's speak Chinese."
After she said this, the expressions of the Class 5 students turned peculiar as they looked at Chu Yin, so why was this ugly, rustic country bumpkin allowed into their elite class? Her uniform was practically blinding, and she was wearing a mask, she must have a terrifying face!
Fu Mingxuan, as the class belle, was even more disdainful. She directly called out to Chu Yin, who was looking for an empty seat. "Hey, that classmate? Maybe you should go to Class 7. That place suits you better."
The circle of people around her laughed. Class 7 was the underachievers' class, with poor grades and none of the wealth of Class 5 or the international class. It was the lowest tier at Quiwen.
Chu Qiuqiu put on a reluctant expression. "Mingxuan, she is still my sister."
Fu Mingxuan raised an eyebrow. "People should go where they belong. Is there a problem?"
Everyone in Class 5 looked at Chu Yin, curious to see how this village bumpkin would react. But Chu Yin remained perfectly calm. She directly chose a seat by the window, set down her backpack, and only then looked up at the two girls.
Fu Mingxuan was naive and shallow, while Chu Qiuqiu was a bit more cunning, she was the one truly stirring up trouble. Although Chu Yin didn't care at all about others' opinions, she was certainly not the type to swallow insults.
Her delicate face was hidden behind the mask, revealing only a pair of clear, bright eyes. Unhurried and unbothered, she responded, "Indeed, people should return to where they belong, don't you think so, little sister?"
Chu Qiuqiu froze for a second, then her face instantly turned pale.
Chu Yin was reminding her that she, the fake heiress, should return to where she truly belonged.
The place that originally belonged to her… Fragmented memories from before she was adopted at age seven still lingered in Chu Qiuqiu’s mind, a dilapidated home, her shabby-looking biological parents… No, she didn’t belong there, and she would never let anyone find out where she came from!
Fu Mingxuan was clueless: "What do you mean by that?"
But Chu Qiuqiu didn’t dare continue the topic any further and quickly said, "My mom already arranged this with the school. Mingxuan, don’t make a fuss. My sister won’t affect you in any way."
Fu Mingxuan rolled her eyes in annoyance.
Meanwhile, Chu Yin had already taken her seat and opened her math textbook.
Ding, Today’s learning task unlocked. Complete the final challenging problem at the end of the chapter. Difficulty level: three stars. Upon completion, you will gain the [Word Modification] permission.
Word modification? Chu Yin immediately focused on the key point.
It seemed that the improvement in permissions was indeed reflected in the scope of modification. If she completed more difficult tasks, she might be able to modify sentences, paragraphs, or even…
Chu Yin felt excited again. She had never realized that studying could be so thrilling.
Once class started, the homeroom teacher officially announced Chu Yin’s transfer to the class. Chu Yin calmly and briefly introduced herself, and the applause from her classmates was sparse and scattered.
Chu Yin didn’t care whether she fit in or not, nor did she mind that the seat next to her remained empty. All morning, she sat at her desk studying. The teachers noticed her sitting quietly in the back and didn’t bother with the new student.
She reviewed the high school math textbook, organized her knowledge structure, and found that her knowledge from her previous life could basically cover everything. She felt reassured.
On the other hand, Fu Mingxuan inexplicably fixated on this transfer student. She glanced back at Chu Yin several times during the morning and noticed that the girl seemed like a bookworm, only focused on studying. Her inexplicable hostility was replaced by disdain.
How ridiculous! A country girl pretending to be a good student? Could she even understand their textbooks?
By lunch break, no one in the class approached Chu Yin. Students headed to the cafeteria in small groups.
Clearly, Chu Qiuqiu, who had been asked by Madam Chu to show Chu Yin around, had completely "forgotten" that Chu Yin probably didn’t know where the cafeteria was.
Chu Yin calmly finished her notes, then took her campus card and walked toward the cafeteria.
The jasmine flowers planted around the school this year were as vibrant as she remembered. The girl who once wore a floral dress was now hidden inside a loose school uniform. But this time, there was no Lu Zhen, that despicable man, in her life. Even the flowers smelled sweeter than in her previous life.
When she returned to the classroom in the afternoon, Chu Yin was in a good mood. Since the morning had been peaceful and quiet, she confidently took off her mask and began working on the final challenging problem assigned by the system.
The classroom had filled up with quite a few people who had returned, still gathered around Fu Mingxuan. A boy sat across from her, saying something.
"Don’t worry, he wasn’t hurt."
"Really?! That’s a relief, I was so scared, wuwu."
"By the way, Zhaolin, you weren’t here all morning. Did you know you have a new deskmate?"
At the mention of this, the surrounding crowd burst into laughter.
Song Zhaolin scratched his head: "Huh?"
Someone nearby patted his shoulder: "You’ve got quite the luck, hahaha!"
Even a fool could tell this was sarcasm. Song Zhaolin, slightly displeased, hugged his bag and returned to his seat. Sure enough, he saw a girl with slender shoulders, wearing an outdated school uniform, bent over her desk solving problems, her face hidden by her cascading black hair.
Though Song Zhaolin wanted to complain, he felt too awkward to disturb a girl studying, so he reluctantly sat down and accepted his fate. The onlookers who had been secretly watching lost interest and turned away to chat among themselves.
Chu Yin worked through the final challenging problem in one go but suddenly hit a snag. She lifted her head slightly to stretch. Seizing the opportunity, Song Zhaolin patted her: "Hey, new deskmate, you, "
Chu Yin turned her face toward him.
Song Zhaolin: "...Holy shit."
It turned out, it really was... quite the luck.
The girl’s black hair framed her delicate, palm-sized face, fair and rosy, with peach-blossom eyes as beautiful as spring water and lips red and full. Her casual glance carried a natural, girlish charm, and Song Zhaolin’s face instantly flushed red.
Chu Yin frowned slightly: "What is it?"
"N-nothing," Song Zhaolin’s voice grew softer, as if afraid of startling her, "I just... wanted to introduce myself. I’m your new deskmate, Song Zhaolin."
"Oh, hello." Chu Yin vaguely felt the name was somewhat familiar but couldn’t quite place him.
To avoid complications, Chu Yin lowered her head and put her mask back on.
"What’s wrong?" Song Zhaolin was still reeling from the impact of her beauty, his mind in a daze.
Chu Yin whispered: "Pretend you never saw me."
Song Zhaolin was taken aback: "Huh?"
Chu Yin looked up, her gaze sparkling: "Okay?"
Song Zhaolin: "Okay!!!!"
Only then did Chu Yin feel at ease and turned back to continue solving the problem. She was still looking forward to the ability to alter the script, especially since Lu Zhen was still at this school. Who knew what unexpected events might occur in the future...
In the classroom, Fu Mingxuan and her friends continued their conversation: "Ugh, I’m so mad. I spent so long preparing a gift, planning to give it to him today, but then this happened."
"Poor Mingxuan."
"It’s fine. Brother Zhen will come back. You can give it to him next time."
Chu Yin twirled her pen, cycling through formulas in her mind. This final problem was indeed a bit tricky, but with a little more time...
Just then, a familiar voice suddenly came from the back door of the classroom.
"Song Zhaolin, come out."
The young voice was cold, carrying an icy, slightly hoarse quality... just like she remembered from back then.
Chu Yin’s pupils contracted sharply. She nearly jumped out of her chair but forced herself to hold still.
Stimulated by that voice, Chu Yin finally remembered who Song Zhaolin was, one of Lu Zhen’s friends, his little follower back at Quiwen Private High School!
At that moment, the Study System’s teasing voice chimed in: [Host, don’t slack off. The male lead’s influence is everywhere, ready to correct the plot at any moment.]
Correct the plot...?!
Chu Yin couldn't predict what might happen if Lu Zhen saw her again, but it certainly wouldn't be anything she hoped for.
Beside her, Song Zhaolin acknowledged with a sound and prepared to stand up.
Chu Yin immediately made a decision. Clutching her pen, she quickly verified the final step. Her brain worked at high speed to calculate the answer, finally hearing the system's "beep."
Chu Yin swiftly scanned the downloaded script,
[Lu Zhen stands at the back door of Class 5, looking toward Song Zhaolin.
Fu Mingxuan is pleasantly surprised to see him, pushed forward by her friends, her face blushing shyly as she stands up. She walks up to Lu Zhen and hands him a gift she made herself.
Fu Mingxuan: "Lu Zhen, I made this myself. I wanted to give it to you during the break..."]
At that moment, Class 5 grew excited and noisy due to Lu Zhen's appearance. Song Zhaolin had already left his seat, and Chu Yin instantly lost her cover. She almost sensed a familiar, oppressive gaze slowly falling upon her.
Chu Yin immediately moved her light pen and crossed out the word [gift]. She needed something shocking to stall Lu Zhen and divert his attention.
Study System munched on melon seeds while watching the show: "Oh? Host, how do you plan to change it?"
Without a moment's hesitation, Chu Yin swiftly changed the word to [bomb].
Study System: "...[thumbs up]"
By then, Fu Mingxuan had already stepped in front of Lu Zhen, blocking his view into the classroom.
"Lu Zhen, I made this myself..." she said shyly, head bowed and eyes closed, extending her hands toward him.
Suddenly, the classroom fell silent.
Lu Zhen lowered his gaze, his dark pupils fixed on the round, sparking object in her hands.
After several seconds, he calmly spoke: "Were you the one who threw the razor blade this morning?"