Chapter 4

A small commotion rippled through the lecture hall,
Chu Yin actually got it right?!
Song Zhaolin had slipped back into class after escorting Lu Zhen and had worried for a second when he heard Chu Yin being called on. But after hearing her clear and fluent response, he was astonished: "The new classmate is pretty good!"
Fu Mingxuan, sitting not far from Song Zhaolin, felt extremely irritated upon hearing this.
How could Chu Yin possibly have solved it?
Fu Mingxuan had scored the highest in math in the class last semester, even higher than Chu Qiuqiu. If even she couldn't figure out the solution, how could this underperforming transfer student manage it?
On the podium, Chu Qiuqiu was also stunned,
She was quite high-profile in her grade, and many students from regular classes already disliked her. Now, she clearly saw a few girls snickering below. Chu Qiuqiu’s expression stiffened as she remembered telling Chu Yin before class, "If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can ask me." Yet, it was Chu Yin who had answered the question she couldn’t solve. Her face burned with embarrassment.
The math teacher praised Chu Yin a couple of times and told Chu Qiuqiu to return to her seat. Maintaining an elegant and composed expression, Chu Qiuqiu went back and noticed Chu Yin fiddling with her phone. A thought suddenly crossed her mind.
There were only two minutes left until the end of class. Chu Yin took out her phone to check the time and idly played with it for a while. As soon as the bell rang, she stood up and left.
Fu Mingxuan walked over and asked Chu Qiuqiu, "Did she really solve that problem herself?"
Chu Qiuqiu’s mind stirred, and she replied in a voice just loud enough for those in Class Five to hear, "You can find the answer online."
Fu Mingxuan inexplicably felt relieved and sneered, "Tch, I knew it."
Her friends gathered behind her and started gossiping: "So pretentious. What’s the point?"
"She’s unattractive and has terrible taste, so she wants people to think she’s good at studying! Let her pretend, she’ll be exposed during exams!"
"Exactly! When the time comes, Mingxuan will totally crush her!"
After hearing their conversation, Song Zhaolin looked utterly confused.
Was Chu Yin unattractive???
And was the answer really available online? How come he couldn’t find it??
Chu Qiuqiu didn’t address his confusion. A trace of unease lingered in her heart as she hurriedly carried her textbooks to a secluded spot. After glancing around to make sure no one was nearby, she dialed an unlisted number.
The phone was quickly answered on the other end. Chu Qiuqiu lowered her voice and said, "Find her transcript and send it to me. I won’t treat you unfairly once it’s done."
The voice on the other end, thick with an accent, replied in a fawning tone, "No problem, Miss Chu, don’t worry!"
...
When Chu Yin went to school the next day, she clearly sensed something off about the way Class 5 students were looking at her.
Before, they had simply ignored her, but today, some of her classmates kept giving her mocking looks, as if they had seen through everything. They huddled together, pointing and gossiping about her.
Having lived a second life, Chu Yin was completely unaffected by such childish behavior. Social interactions were so boring, how could they compare to the joy of studying? She tapped on the system and asked, "What’s today’s task?"
The Study System cheerfully came online: "Ding, Based on system detection, here is today’s study task! Please memorize fluently: 'Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again,' 'Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Collection,' 'Ode to the Red Cliff,' 'Record of a Journey to Baocheng Mountain'..."
Chu Yin: "..." She took back what she said about studying being fun.
"and an excerpt from 'Li Sao'! Upon completion, you will receive the [Modify a Single Word] permission!" the Study System added cheerfully.
Chu Yin: "...Damn."
She could handle problem-solving, but memorizing texts was always her weakness. Memorizing for history, geography, and politics could still rely on understanding, but Chinese texts were purely rote memorization. Yet, since dictation accounted for ten points, Chu Yin had no choice but to memorize them to secure those points.
During one class break, she barely managed to memorize the simplest piece, "Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again," and was deeply concerned about her progress. She barely moved the entire day, burying herself in memorization. Song Zhaolin, who sat next to her, tried several times to strike up a conversation but couldn’t find an opportunity.
Fu Mingxuan and her friends returned after buying milk tea. Though disappointed at not running into Lu Zhen, they immediately found a new source of amusement upon seeing Chu Yin.
"Look at her working so hard, it’s not easy maintaining that persona. Too bad she only dresses like a top student!"
"Brother Chu and Brother Gu are returning today, right? Isn’t the Chu family hosting a celebration banquet? Do you think the country bumpkin will attend?"
"How could she attend? In her flowery blouse?" "Hahaha, maybe, "
Fu Mingxuan raised her eyebrows smugly. "Chu Qiuqiu has already invited me. I’ll take pictures for you all then."
"Wow! So envious, Mingxuan. You get to see the two god-like seniors."
Although most of the sophomores admired Lu Zhen more, Gu Qiuzhe, a senior, was the former school heartthrob, and Chu Shi was also a well-known handsome guy at school. Ordinary class students rarely had the chance to interact with them, how could they not be envious?
Chu Yin had no idea what they were gossiping about. By the end of the school day, she had finally smoothly memorized "Ode to the Red Cliff."
"Beep, Three texts memorized. Task completion: 60%. Host, keep it up!"
She definitely needed to keep it up, "Li Sao" was the hardest. Just reading it felt awkward, let alone memorizing it. When the last class ended, Chu Yin packed her homework, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and left without hesitation.
Song Zhaolin opened his mouth but couldn’t even call out to stop her, his expression utterly dejected.
Class 5 students saw this and sympathized: "How’s it going, Zhaolin? Is sitting next to her unbearable?"
Song Zhaolin nodded. "Unbearable."
The beauty was just too cool, he couldn’t even get a word in!!!
-
Chu Yin rode in the car arranged by the Chu family, reading her textbook the entire way.
The driver glanced in the rearview mirror at the young lady he had picked up, noticing how different she was from the other miss. She spoke little, dressed plainly, yet was exceptionally diligent. Without her mask, her clean, unadorned face was strikingly beautiful, unlike Miss Chu, who wouldn’t step out without makeup.
No one could dislike such a good girl. The driver made sure to drive smoothly and opened the car door for Chu Yin when they arrived home.
Upon returning, Chu Yin noticed the entire villa had been decorated and remembered it was her brother’s celebration banquet today.
Brother…
In her past life, after returning to the Chu family, Chu Yin had always believed her brother favored Chu Qiuqiu far more than her. But after the Chu family went bankrupt, her parents were busy trying to salvage their business, and Chu Qiuqiu was preoccupied with charming other wealthy young men to maintain her luxurious lifestyle. Only her brother, Chu Shi, cared about her, even when she was imprisoned by Lu Zhen.
For years, her brother had persistently sought the Gu family’s help to rescue her. But Lu Zhen quickly solidified his position as the head of the Lu family, his possessiveness and control growing to terrifying levels. Before her death in her past life, her brother and Gu Qiuzhe had returned to the country, hoping to see her one last time. Unfortunately, Chu Yin hadn’t lived long enough to meet them.
Recalling the final scenes of her past life… a surge of murderous intent welled up inside Chu Yin again.
Even though the system had told her she died of natural causes, the thought of dying on Lu Zhen’s bed made her want to kill that bastard…!
Although she wanted to see her brother, Chu Yin had no intention of attending the banquet. In her past life, she had accompanied Lu Zhen to too many such events, witnessing all sorts of important figures and grand occasions. Though she could now handle them flawlessly, she loathed these hypocritical social gatherings to the core.
At times like these, her parents wouldn’t pay her any mind either. Chu Yin simply went upstairs to her room and continued studying.
By evening, the downstairs grew lively. Guests arrived at the Chu residence with gifts, and her parents were busy entertaining. Chu Qiuqiu, dressed elaborately, flitted among her friends like a social butterfly.
“Qiuqiu, where’s your sister?” one of her friends asked with ill intent.
Chu Qiuqiu glanced at the closed door upstairs and smiled gently. “My sister isn’t comfortable in such settings.”
“Hahaha, that makes sense.”
“It’d be awkward if she showed up.”
“We’re all so envious of you, Qiuqiu. Your brother is handsome and dotes on you, and you even get to know Senior Gu.”
A smug smile touched Chu Qiuqiu’s lips as she replied with feigned modesty, “I’ll introduce you to my brother and Qiuzhe later.”
“Really?!” “Qiuqiu, you’re the best!”
At 8 p.m., the two guests of honor finally made their entrance, greeted with flowers and applause from everyone. As the eldest sons of their respective families, Chu Shi and Gu Qiuzhe were accustomed to such scenes and were soon pulled aside by their parents to mingle.
After enduring the pleasantries, Chu Shi picked up a glass of wine and scanned the room.
Madam Chu was immensely proud and satisfied with her son, smiling as she said, "Later, when the elders of the Song family arrive, you can come with me to exchange a few words."
"Mm," Chu Shi nodded, his gaze sweeping over the bustling scene of clinking glasses and lively chatter before he suddenly asked, "Is Xiao Yin back already?"
Madam Chu nodded. "She's back. Remember to go see your sister later, she's still not very familiar with us..."
Chu Shi abruptly interrupted her, "Mom, I got an award, and we have a celebration banquet. Xiao Yin came home, why isn't there a welcome banquet for her?"
Madam Chu was taken aback.
Chu Shi didn't say anything more and walked over to his close friend.
Gu Qiuzhe clinked glasses with him and asked quietly, "You've been talking about her the whole way, why haven't you gone to see her?"
Chu Shi took a deep breath.
On the flight back from the U.S., he had a dream. In it, he saw... years later, their Chu family would go bankrupt, his parents would be worn out from constant struggles, Chu Qiuqiu, whom they had raised for ten years, would turn her back and align herself with another wealthy family, and his biological sister would be imprisoned by that scoundrel Lu Zhen, depressed and unhappy, yet still thinking of helping his startup company... The scenes were all too vivid.
In the dream, he hadn't been able to see his sister one last time, and the grief jolted him awake. Since then, he had been repeating the whole way that he needed to hurry back to see his sister.
Chu Shi downed the wine in his glass in one gulp and placed the empty glass on a servant's tray. "I'm going now."
He took two steps, then turned back to look at Gu Qiuzhe. "You come too."
Gu Qiuzhe: "?"
If the dream was true, then his good friend had feelings for his sister. In this lifetime, he had to get ahead of Lu Zhen and do his best to bring Gu Qiuzhe and Chu Yin together. The Gu family was the only one that could barely rival the Lu family in the future. If he could successfully match them, his sister would never fall into Lu Zhen's hands again!
Just then, Chu Qiuqiu approached with her friends and, right in front of them, affectionately grabbed Chu Shi's arm. "Brother, my friends all want to meet you and Brother Qiuzhe!"
Several girls immediately shyly smoothed their hair.
Remembering her opportunism in his dream, Chu Shi's expression remained calm. "Where's Xiao Yin?"
Chu Qiuqiu froze.
The girls behind her were also stunned, wasn't it said that Senior Chu Shi only doted on Chu Qiuqiu? Why was his first question about seeing that country bumpkin?? And... calling her so affectionately?
Chu Qiuqiu's face paled slightly. "She's... upstairs."
Chu Shi nodded and went upstairs with Gu Qiuzhe.
When the knock came at the door, Chu Yin had just finished reciting "Li Sao" with great agony and was drinking water.
Seeing Chu Shi standing outside the door, she was a bit surprised and said softly, "Brother?"
For some reason, hearing that word "brother" stirred a sudden surge of emotion in Chu Shi.
He coughed twice and asked, "You still recognize me?"
Chu Yin nodded.
Chu Shi reached out and gently patted her head. "Come out. I'll take you to get something to eat and introduce you to some new friends."
Chu Yin felt slightly puzzled. In her previous life, her brother had taken some time to warm up to her. But then she thought, perhaps it was because she hadn't attended the celebration banquet this time, which was why he had come to seek her out.
She was still happy to see her brother and nodded, "Okay."
But as soon as she stepped out and saw the "new friends" Chu Shi had mentioned, Chu Yin's mood instantly became complicated.
Gu Qiuzhe was leaning against the second-floor railing. When he saw her come out, his eyes lit up, and he gave her a friendly smile.
That year, Gu Qiuzhe had delicate and handsome features, and his smile was like a mint-scented breeze. Boys like him easily won girls' favor. In her previous life, although Chu Yin hadn't fallen for him, she couldn't bring herself to dislike Gu Qiuzhe either.
But... Lu Zhen despised him.
As the only son of the Lu family and the eldest son of the Gu family, Lu Zhen and Gu Qiuzhe had been compared by aristocratic families since childhood. Lu Zhen's aversion to Gu Qiuzhe was utterly undisguised.
This animosity later fermented into Lu Zhen's nearly pathological possessiveness toward Chu Yin, to the point where she developed a shadow over it. Even the slightest interaction with Gu Qiuzhe would summon Lu Zhen, making her suffer.
Fortunately, on occasions like this celebration for Gu Qiuzhe, Lu Zhen would absolutely not show up.
Chu Shi led Chu Yin over and introduced enthusiastically, "This is Gu Qiuzhe, a year older than you, a classmate of your brother's. His looks are passable, his character is decent, and he's the eldest in his family..."
Gu Qiuzhe cut him off, "Shut up, will you?"
Then he turned to Chu Yin and smiled, "Hello, I'm Gu Qiuzhe."
Chu Yin pressed her lips together, reminding herself that everything was different now.
This year, when they first met, Lu Zhen hadn't even laid eyes on her yet.
"Hello, I, "
She had only uttered three words when the front door downstairs was suddenly pushed open with a distinct creak,
Almost instantly, a sense of foreboding surged in Chu Yin's heart.
The next moment, she heard someone exclaim joyfully, "Isn't that Young Master Lu?!"
Chu Yin: "..."
Damn you, Lu Zhen.
Study System leisurely chimed in: [Host, don't underestimate the power of the male lead!]
Chu Yin: "Load the script, quick."
The glowing pages spread open, and Chu Yin was startled to see the line in the script: [Lu Zhen has arrived.] Instantly, she regretted not finishing the script before opening the door for her brother.
Even more terrifying was another line in the script: [The young man carried a gift box as he stepped into the foyer. His indifferent gaze swept upward, landing on Gu Qiuzhe standing by the second-floor railing, and next to him...]
Chu Yin: "!"
Study System teased mischievously: [Host, the male lead is about to see you!]
Without hesitation, Chu Yin immediately moved the tip of the light pen to the line [Lu Zhen has arrived.]
How to change it?
Lu Zhen died?
Lu Zhen vanished?
Lu Zhen... Lu Zhen became crippled?
Study System: "...Sorry, no can do."
The moment Lu Zhen stepped past the entryway, Chu Yin was suddenly struck by inspiration and swiftly crossed out the character for "come."
Study System made an "Er Kang hand" gesture: "Those three words really aren't allowed! It would waste your permissions!"
Chu Yin sneered and changed "come" to "go."
Study System: "...Amazing"
Downstairs, the crowd enthusiastically surged forward: "Young Master Lu!, "
Then they watched as Lu Zhen walked in with an indifferent expression, placed down the gift box, and then...
Turned around and left.
The door creaked shut once more, leaving only the autumn wind sweeping through the hall.
The crowd left in the dust: "..."
This Young Master Lu is quite aloof, huh?