Chapter 23

That night, Young Master Lu did not drive again.
Because the sudden acceleration had happened right outside the Lu family mansion, the sound of the car shooting forward and then screeching to a halt was particularly jarring in the quiet, upscale villa area, so much so that it even alarmed Old Master Lu.
If something were to happen to his only grandson after his own son had died in a car accident, Old Master Lu would probably pass away on the spot.
"Are you sure you're not hurt anywhere?!"
"I'm fine."
Lu Zhen had completely calmed down by now, silently contemplating various possibilities in his mind.
If someone had tampered with the car, they were truly audacious. As it concerned the sole heir, the Lu family would undoubtedly investigate thoroughly, and once the culprit was found, they would not be let off lightly.
After a moment of thought, Lu Zhen inexplicably felt a sense of absurd familiarity.
The absurdity was roughly equivalent to... knives raining from the sky?
Old Master Lu grumbled a few more words before turning to glare at Lu Linyuan. "Lu Zhen doesn't even have a driver's license, yet you keep letting him drive! What if something really happened?!"
Lu Linyuan smiled good-naturedly. "It won't happen again."
Lu Zhen interjected, "It's not Uncle's fault. We can have Uncle Liu drive us to the banquet later."
The uncle and nephew ended up being driven to the venue by a chauffeur, while the car was sent for inspection.
This time, the luxury car, worth millions, crawled along at a sluggish 40 miles per hour like an old tortoise.
As they risked being late for the banquet, the driver glanced in the rearview mirror and asked, "Should I speed up a little?"
Though the question was phrased neutrally, it was clearly directed at Lu Zhen.
Lu Zhen hesitated for a moment. "No need."
Lu Linyuan, still shaken, agreed, "Let's keep this speed."
...What had just happened was truly terrifying.
By the time they arrived, the banquet had already begun. As soon as the Lu family members entered, they were immediately greeted.
"Please come this way, Young Master Lu!" "Second Master Lu, long time no see!"
The moment the tall, aloof young man in a bespoke high-end suit stepped into the hall, he captured everyone's attention.
His expression was indifferent, and he did not respond to anyone. Behind him stood the colossal empire of the Lu family, wealth and power had gilded him with an unparalleled aura of nobility, so distinguished it defied description.
Leaning against the railing on the second floor, Liang Yueqi blushed slightly as she watched Lu Zhen. But the moment she recalled his attitude toward her, her frustration returned.
Old Master Liang took his granddaughter's hand and asked, "You said that boy from the Lu family likes that girl the Chu family just brought back?"
Liang Yueqi pouted. In front of her grandfather, she didn't need to pretend to be mature and composed. "Lu Zhen hasn't said anything, but I feel that's the case."
Old Master Liang snorted coldly before comforting his granddaughter. "Qiqi, there's no need for you to care about that Chu girl."
Liang Yueqi was taken aback.
"The heads of the Chu family lack foresight, and their development model is unstable, who knows when it might collapse? Even if they maintain their current state, they can't compare to our Liang family. Old Master Lu will only understand this better than we do."
Liang Yueqi's pent-up frustration suddenly dissipated.
Had she lost to Chu Yin in a competition and somehow developed a ridiculous sense of inferiority? Her grandfather was right, what kind of background did Chu Yin have, and what kind did she have? Not to mention, Chu Yin had spent over a decade living in the countryside, worlds apart from a proper heiress like her.
Seeing that his granddaughter had come to her senses, Old Master Liang smiled affectionately. "So, don't treat that Chu girl as your rival."
"If Lu Zhen were to make such a poor choice, it would only prove that he is not a qualified heir to a chaebol family!"
Liang Yueqi revealed a knowing smile: "I understand, Grandfather."
...
Chu Yin had been eagerly anticipating for two days, hoping that Song Zhaolin, the messenger, would turn into a bearer of good news,
Such as Lu Zhen getting into a car accident and being hospitalized, missing the sports meet.
Or Lu Zhen fracturing his leg and having to use crutches to go to school.
...or something like that.
Unfortunately, when school started on Monday, Song Zhaolin told her with a look of amazement that Lu Zhen had arrived in an S-GUARD armored vehicle, with security levels almost on par with the president's.
"But Brother Zhen looks perfectly fine to me. Why the sudden high alert?" Song Zhaolin scratched his head in confusion.
Chu Yin snorted inwardly.
Damn protagonist halo, ugh!
Lucky you!
Still, judging by the level of precaution, that day must have scared Lu Zhen quite a bit. Thinking this, a sense of smug satisfaction bubbled up inside Chu Yin.
The Lu family would surely turn the world upside down to find the person responsible.
But hehehe, you'll never find out!
In recent days, the students at Quiwen Private High School had been buzzing with excitement about the upcoming sports meet. Everyone in class was eagerly discussing the events, who had signed up for what, who would win this year, and the flag bearers each class would select.
Chu Yin remained completely unmoved, sticking to her usual routine of attending classes, studying, and completing tasks. After all, once the sports meet was over, final exams were just around the corner, and to Chu Yin, that was far more important than any extracurricular activities.
During this politics class, the teacher introduced several new concepts, explaining each in detail. Then, with ten minutes left before the end of class, she announced an impromptu dictation quiz.
Song Zhaolin, who had been dozing off, jolted awake, his face paling. Even though he wouldn’t be scolded or made to stand in punishment for failing, he’d have to copy the answers dozens of times!
Not just him, even those who had paid attention in class couldn’t help but groan in despair. Understanding the concepts was one thing, but reciting them word for word was another!
Everyone frantically flipped through their textbooks, trying to cram as much as possible in those last few seconds. Never before had they clung to their books so desperately.
Chu Yin felt no such urgency. She had already tucked her textbook away and was casually twirling her pen, waiting for the dictation to begin.
As the quiz proceeded, Song Zhaolin racked his brains, biting his nails in frustration, while the sound of pens scratching paper never ceased beside him. The prodigy next to him didn’t even need to think, she could write everything from memory.
Song Zhaolin sat up straight, subtly leaning closer and closer toward Chu Yin, his head and torso twisting at odd angles as he craned his neck and strained his eyes.
“Song Zhaolin! What do you think you’re doing?!”
The politics teacher spotted his sneaky antics at once. “Just look at yourself, how sketchy can you get?!”
Such a grown young man, leaning on a girl, how improper!
The whole class burst into laughter.
But once the laughter died down, those who couldn’t write the answers still couldn’t write them.
Chu Yin quickly filled her dictation paper, then tapped her fingertips on the desk, crossed her arms, leaned back, and stopped caring.
Song Zhaolin was almost moved to tears: "Dad!!!"
When the dictation papers were collected, the politics teacher stood at the podium, flipping through them. Seeing Chu Yin’s paper, she smiled with satisfaction: "Excellent, our class does have someone who can write everything down correctly, everyone should learn from Chu Yin!"
The students of Class 5 all turned to look at her.
For some reason, when things like this happened now, they didn’t seem surprised at all.
But to recite everything word for word right after learning it, what kind of brain was that?! It’s just too much!
Fu Mingxuan had missed two items, and the ones she had written were a bit vague. A surge of jealousy rose in her heart. Why did Chu Yin have such a good memory? Did she study in advance?!
Chu Yin: Feeling guilty but not saying anything.jpg
Ever since drinking Brain Platinum, no, ever since giving herself a buff, her back no longer hurt, and her legs no longer ached when memorizing. Chu Yin now enjoyed reciting every day, rattling off all the knowledge in her mind by herself, feeling incredibly refreshed.
Thinking back, she shouldn’t have gone easy on herself, held back by conscience, and been too timid in her first attempt, only upgrading herself to a "good" level.
If she ever encountered similar descriptions again, she would definitely give herself a proper makeover.
After class, everyone stopped dwelling on the dictation and continued discussing the sports meet.
"So, who exactly is our class flag bearer?" someone asked the class sports committee member, Zhao Yuxiong.
Zhao Yuxiong was troubled by this matter.
Quiwen’s sports meet wasn’t like other ordinary high schools that liked to march in formation. Instead, each class designed a logo representing their class’s characteristics, made a class flag, and then selected one person to carry and display the flag.
By tradition, each class chose their "face", the most attractive student.
Last year, Class 5’s flag bearer was, without a doubt, the class beauty Fu Mingxuan. But this year...
Zhao Yuxiong secretly glanced at Chu Yin in the corner by the window, his face warming slightly.
If they were really picking the face of the class, Chu Yin would be more suitable.
The boys had discussed it many times privately and felt that the class beauty was no longer Fu Mingxuan. Chu Yin wasn’t just the class beauty, she should be the school beauty.
Someone said, "Let Fu Mingxuan do it again this year. She already has experience."
But then someone objected, "But Chu Yin is also very pretty!"
Xing Lan was furious seeing the boys act like this. Before, Zhao Yuxiong and the others used to hang around Fu Mingxuan and her all the time, but now they’d all become Chu Yin’s admirers??
Fu Mingxuan was also very unhappy. She had been waiting for two days, but Zhao Yuxiong still hadn’t come to ask her to be the flag bearer.
She heard from her friends in the international class that Chu Qiuqiu had already been chosen! Fu Mingxuan was Class 5’s flag bearer last year. If they replaced her this year, wouldn’t that be a blatant slap in the face?
Fu Mingxuan turned and asked Zhao Yuxiong, her tone unfriendly, "Has the flag bearer been decided or not?"
"Well..." Zhao Yuxiong hesitated. Just then, Chu Yin passed by the back of the classroom, and he quickly called out to her, "Wait a moment!"
"The flag bearer needs to be decided through class discussion. So, Chu Yin, would you be interested in being the flag bearer?"
Fu Mingxuan stared intently at Chu Yin.
Hearing about the flag bearer position brought up a not-so-pleasant memory for Chu Yin.
In her previous life, after being elected as the school belle, she had faced a lot of targeting. That year during the sports meet, she was naturally pushed into the role of flag bearer for the international class. Some girls, thinking she loved to show off and finding her irritating, had pulled some very low and petty tricks.
Chu Yin remembered being called into a classroom by someone pretending to be a teacher. As soon as she stepped inside, a bucket of ice-cold water was thrown at her, and the door was locked from the outside. It was late autumn, and she had stayed in that freezing cold classroom for a long time until Lu Zhen arrived.
Chu Yin often suspected that this scene was part of an early romantic subplot. Because when Lu Zhen broke down the door, took off his coat with a stern expression, and draped it over her, the sharp-edged young man had indeed looked quite handsome.
If the 17-year-old, naive Chu Yin had ever felt even a flicker of attraction toward Lu Zhen, that day would have been one of those moments. Unfortunately, she hadn’t known back then that her life would become entangled with his until death.
Next lifetime, she’d still come back to mess with him.
Chu Yin didn’t know what that day had meant to Lu Zhen, but if this scene were to replay, she was definitely going to change it with her own hands.
Romantic subplot? Go to hell.
Chu Yin looked at Zhao Yuxiong and shook her head. "No interest, I don’t want to do it."
Zhao Yuxiong was a little disappointed, but at the same time, it solved a problem for him. "Well, then, this year’s flag bearer will still be Fu Mingxuan."
Fu Mingxuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief but also felt as though she had picked up something Chu Yin didn’t want, which left her feeling uncomfortable.
"Since you don’t want to be the flag bearer, Chu Yin, have you signed up for any events?" Fu Mingxuan asked.
Xing Lan covered her mouth and laughed beside her. "Our school has events like fencing and figure skating. Chu Yin definitely wouldn’t have been exposed to those in a rural school, right?"
Fu Mingxuan also laughed. "If only the school had something like a square dancing competition, more diverse, so everyone could participate."
The classmates in the class felt a bit awkward.
Although Fu Mingxuan’s words were harsh, judging by Chu Yin’s usual style of dressing… she really didn’t seem like someone who would have been exposed to those high-end sports.
Zhao Yuxiong awkwardly glanced at Chu Yin. He was the one who had called her over and initiated the conversation, and now she was being mocked for no reason.
But the girl standing there showed no trace of anger on her face. She remained calm and composed, her features incredibly beautiful.
Chu Yin raised an eyebrow and asked Fu Mingxuan, "What did you sign up for?"
Fu Mingxuan answered instinctively, "Po, pool."
Chu Yin nodded and turned to Zhao Yuxiong. "Are there still spots for pool?"
Zhao Yuxiong was inexplicably affected by her aura and answered dazedly, "Yes."
Chu Yin raised her chin, snapped her fingers, and said, "Then I'll sign up for that."
With that, she ignored everyone else in the classroom and turned to leave.
As she walked, she sighed.
Class contributions? She was making them!
Alas, it was just that no one knew (shrugs).
The Study System, who knew exactly what Chu Yin meant by "contributions": [……]
Only after Chu Yin left did Fu Mingxuan snap out of it. She turned to Xing Lan and asked, "What did she mean just now?!"
Fu Mingxuan had said she signed up for billiards, and then Chu Yin declared she would play billiards too? Was she joking??
Was she challenging her?!
Fu Mingxuan was furious. Fuming, she stormed out of the classroom and suddenly bumped into Liang Yueqi at the corner.
The two were practically love rivals. Staring at each other, both had something to say.
Fu Mingxuan smiled and said, "Yueqi? I heard you came in third in the speech contest this year. How come you didn’t even beat Chu Yin?"
"..." Stung by her remark, Liang Yueqi naturally refused to back down: "Well, you’re so good at studying, but you didn’t outscore her in the midterms either, did you?"
Fu Mingxuan: "..."
The two fell silent for a few seconds before suddenly realizing:
They had both lost to Chu Yin in their respective areas of expertise.
...What kind of situation was this?!
Liang Yueqi recovered first. Smiling at Fu Mingxuan, she dropped a bombshell: "Did you know? Lu Zhen likes her."
Fu Mingxuan couldn’t control her volume: "What?!"
"How is that possible?? Don’t spread rumors!"
Liang Yueqi: "I have my sources. If you don’t believe me, want to make a bet?"
Fu Mingxuan couldn’t accept this at all and immediately asked, "What kind of bet?"
Liang Yueqi leaned in close, her eyes shifting slyly, and whispered a few words.
"If Lu Zhen doesn’t go save her, then he doesn’t like her. But if he does..."
Fu Mingxuan looked at her: "I never thought you’d do something like this."
Liang Yueqi’s expression turned somewhat awkward.
She needed to confirm whether her suspicions were correct.
Remembering how Chu Yin had challenged her in the classroom earlier, Fu Mingxuan smirked mischievously: "In that case, why not make it more interesting?"
"How so?"
"..."
The two girls huddled in the corner of the hallway, whispering for a long time.
Song Zhaolin had signed up for four events in total: softball, ice hockey, badminton, and team basketball.
After submitting his registration form, he scurried over to the international class to gather intel.
"Brother Zhen! Brother Zhen! What events did you sign up for?"
Lu Zhen replied lazily, "Basketball."
Song Zhaolin widened his eyes in pleasant surprise, "Just that one?!"
Tan Ke shook his head and sighed nearby, "Last year, we had to beg Brother Zhen for ages just to get him to sign up. This year, we can’t persuade him at all!"
He was worried too. If Lu Zhen didn’t participate, their international class would definitely lose to Class 5.
Lu Zhen looked up at Song Zhaolin, wanting to ask him:
What about Chu Yin?
She probably wasn’t interested in these things.
That little bookworm only liked studying.
Lu Zhen took a breath, momentarily unsure how to phrase the question.
But fortunately, Song Zhaolin was a chatterbox. Before Lu Zhen could even ask, he had already blurted out: "Brother Zhen, why are you so unenthusiastic? Haha, you’re not even as active as my deskmate. Even our top student signed up for billiards. Look at you, only signing up for one event, haha... but it’s good to sign up for one!..."
Lu Zhen suddenly raised an eyebrow.
"Will she be watching the matches?"
Song Zhaolin replied innocently, "Of course she'll watch! Sister Yin is so enthusiastic! She even told me she wants to contribute to the class!"
Lu Zhen suddenly smiled.
After gathering the intel, Song Zhaolin happily left.
Lu Zhen reached out and crooked his finger at Tan Ke.
"Give me the sign-up sheet."
He picked up a pen and wrote his name again after fencing and tennis.
Tan Ke was thrilled: "Holy shit, Brother Zhen, you're participating?!"
Lu Zhen: "Mm."
...Since she's watching.
Finally, the day of the sports meet opening ceremony arrived.
Quiwen's gymnasium was large and indoor. Many girls wore short skirts to look pretty, but Chu Yin still wore her loose, old-fashioned school uniform with a jacket wrapped around her, sitting warmly at the very back of the spectator stands.
After the principal's speech, it was time for the student representative's address. The school had invited Gu Qiuzhe.
Although seniors didn't participate in most sports events, the school had reserved basketball for them, which was quite considerate.
As soon as Gu Qiuzhe took the stage, screams erupted from the audience.
"So handsome, so handsome, so handsome, "
"Senior Gu could totally be the school heartthrob, wuwu, "
"I'm in love, ahhh, !!"
Gu Qiuzhe was indeed the type that girls admired, gentle, handsome, and when he stood on the podium speaking clearly, it felt like a spring breeze brushing past.
Even Jiang Yan, sitting next to Chu Yin, couldn't help but adjust her glasses: "Senior Gu is really handsome."
Chu Yin nodded: "Yeah."
After Gu Qiuzhe finished his speech, the girls were still not satisfied. But soon came the most anticipated part, the flag bearers were about to make their entrance.
These individuals would pass in front of the entire school's teachers and students, facing everyone's critiques. Besides commenting on the class flag designs, the more important comparison was which class had the prettiest girl.
When Fu Mingxuan walked past smiling while holding the flag, Class 5 naturally showed strong support for their own class, wildly cheering and applauding.
She wore a form-fitting dress that accentuated her curves and showed off her slender legs, attracting many gazes.
Later, when Chu Qiuqiu made her appearance, the international class naturally rallied for her too.
But some recognized her: "Pfft, isn't that the girl from that snake dance the other day, "
"I remember too, hahahaha, famous after just one battle!"
"I can't take it, I'm remembering it again, it's just too absurd!!!"
Chu Yin kept her eyes down and her mind focused.
Not me, has nothing to do with me.
The entire opening ceremony passed without any troublesome incidents, and Chu Yin breathed a sigh of relief.
Next, the venue would host a fencing competition, which Chu Yin wasn’t particularly interested in. Especially, when she spotted Lu Zhen amidst a wave of ear-piercing screams, her interest waned even further. After letting Jiang Yan know, Chu Yin decided to head back to the classroom to work on some problems.
But just as she stepped down from the spectator stands, a person who looked like a teacher approached and stopped her: "You’re Chu Yin from Class 5, Grade 2, right? Participants for the billiards event need to go to the third classroom on the second floor now."
Chu Yin: "..."
What’s bound to come will always come.
Chu Yin smiled. "Okay."
Under the person’s earnest gaze, she walked up the stairs and then directly pinged the system.
The script spelled it out clearly:
[...The door to the third classroom on the second floor was open, as if someone was waiting for her. At this moment, Chu Yin had no idea that this was, in fact, a trap meticulously planned by Liang Yueqi and Fu Mingxuan...]
Chu Yin: Thanks, my intelligence feels insulted.
Although the location and people had changed, it was still the same old trick as in her previous life.
And as soon as she saw the characters Fu Mingxuan and Liang Yueqi, Chu Yin understood.
Nine times out of ten, it was still because of that dog of a man, Lu Zhen.
Even though in this life she had no connection to Lu Zhen, women’s hostility and malice truly defied reason.
But what baffled Chu Yin across both lifetimes was, why not go after Lu Zhen instead of targeting her??
What kind of logic was that?? Did they think by messing with her, they could have Lu Zhen???
This cold, unfeeling, intelligence-lowering world, it really must be tough for two rivals to set aside their differences and join forces to come after her.
They were probably hiding on the second floor right now. Without stopping, Chu Yin quietly made her way up to the third floor and sat down on the stairs.
The next part of the script detailed the series of events that would unfold after she entered the room.
Study System appeared at just the right moment: [Host, would you like to use the [Deletion Card]?]
Chu Yin asked, "How exactly does it work?"
Study System explained, [Using this item card allows you to delete a fixed number of words from the script. The remaining plot descriptions will automatically connect to ensure continuity.]
Chu Yin understood.
It wasn’t as overpowered as deleting a character, but being able to remove a segment of the plot was still quite useful.
Study System: [Will you use it?]
Chu Yin rubbed her chin but said, "No need."
Her actions weren’t bound by the script anyway; she could simply avoid it directly. And even though deleting it outright would be convenient, that wasn’t her style!
The little devil’s wings fluttered once more as Chu Yin revealed an angelic smile. She crossed out the sentence describing how she would be messed with after the "trap."
"Use the [Edit Single Sentence] permission."
Then, stroke by stroke, she wrote,
[...but through a twist of fate, Lu Zhen ended up bearing the brunt of it all.]
Go on, friends, go after the person you should be after!
Charge, !!
...
Inside the venue.
Before changing into his protective gear, Lu Zhen’s gaze swept over the Class 5 spectator stands.
Up and down, there was no sign of that figure.
Lu Zhen frowned, strode out of the arena, and bumped into Song Zhaolin. He asked directly, "Where’s Chu Yin?"
Song Zhaolin froze for a moment, instinctively replying, "I heard she was called to the second floor..."
Lu Zhen stepped around him and headed straight upstairs.
Song Zhaolin stood in place, scratching his head as little question marks popped up one by one:
How did he know Sister Yin went to the second floor? Wait, why was Brother Zhen looking for Chu Yin? Hold on, didn’t Tanzi say Brother Zhen was going to participate in a fencing competition? What was he doing now?
Song Zhaolin: ??? Little question marks had many friends, and they were all holding hands.
Lu Zhen strode up to the second floor and saw the door to the third room was open.
The hallway was empty, with only the clear sound of his own footsteps echoing.
Lu Zhen walked up to the open door and stepped inside without a second thought.
At that moment, someone suddenly darted out from the empty hallway and slammed the door shut. The bucket of water placed on top of the door splashed down,
Drenching Lu Zhen from head to toe.
Behind him, there was a "click" as the door locked.
A deliberately lowered voice cackled: "Hahahaha, let’s see if Lu Zhen will come to save you!!!"
Inside the room.
Lu Zhen raised his hand and slowly brushed his wet hair back.
Fuck.
"I am Lu Zhen, goddammit."