Chapter 3

Yu Linghuan never had patience for people she disliked.
And Li Hongwen was near the top of her “absolutely cannot stand” list.
They already had history.
Last year, he’d led a group of boys in rating all the girls’ looks, complete with a public scoreboard.
Yu Linghuan had marched over, ripped the list to shreds in front of everyone, and dropped it in the trash.
Li Hongwen had been thoroughly humiliated, and spent ages arguing with her.
But if you wanted to talk winning an argument, honestly, in the entire Langde High, barely anyone could beat Yu Linghuan.
Not that Li Hongwen would ever admit defeat. “Real men don’t argue with women,” he’d scoffed.
So when he started spouting this “justice for all” nonsense, Yu Linghuan gave him a frosty glance. “Who said I cut ties with Meng Xin? I’d like to nap now, not chat with you.”
Li Hongwen’s face stiffened, then his eyes flashed with scorn. Everyone had seen it, Yu Linghuan and Meng Xin hadn’t said a word to each other all morning. They hadn’t even had lunch together.
Before, those two even went to the bathroom together, arm in arm.
With things this ugly, what else could it be but a falling-out?
As for what exactly happened downstairs earlier, he didn’t know, but it wasn’t hard to guess, seeing they’d come back separately.
He let out a dismissive snort.
“I’m just saying, Yu Linghuan, stop lying to yourself.” Li Hongwen slipped into a know-it-all tone. “Face it, Meng Xin isn’t on our level anymore. She’s a trust fund princess now. Of course she wouldn’t want anything to do with us, makes total sense!”
As soon as the words fell, the faces of several classmates who’d been watching from the sidelines turned a bit awkward.
Anyone could hear it, Li Hongwen’s words were loaded with malice toward Meng Xin.
They were all classmates, and his open trash-talking rubbed plenty of people the wrong way. More than a few eyebrows furrowed in disapproval.
But Meng Xin was usually quiet and a little shy, without many close friends besides Yu Linghuan. So for a moment, no one was willing to call Li Hongwen out.
Yu Linghuan stayed silent too, just took a deep breath and fished a copy of “Five Years Gaokao, Three Years Mock Exams” out from under her desk.
Li Hongwen assumed Yu Linghuan was chickening out and got even cockier: “Right? Don’t you think-”
Before he could finish, a loud bang rang out in the classroom.
The thud silenced everyone. Every head turned at once to look.
There was Yu Linghuan, standing beside her desk, holding “Five Years Gaokao, Three Years Mock Exams” in her hand, clearly the source of that thunderous smack from moments before.
And there was Li Hongwen, clutching his forehead, standing there dumbstruck like he’d just been knocked senseless.
Someone quietly sucked in a breath: That book was huge, hundreds of thick pages. With a sound like that, it must have hurt like hell!
Several seconds ticked by before Li Hongwen snapped out of it. He glared furiously at Yu Linghuan, his voice warbling with outrage, “Yu Linghuan! What the hell, why’d you hit me?”
Yu Linghuan dusted her book off, her expression ice-cold. “If you open your mouth to slander Meng Xin again, that book won’t be the only thing you have to worry about.”
Li Hongwen’s eyes bulged, “You! I, ”
“Enough, Li Hongwen. That’s quite enough from you.” It was class monitor Shen Ying who cut in, “You started it by badmouthing someone behind their back. Getting hit is the least you deserve.”
Shen Ying had been monitor of Class One for two years; when she spoke, the class listened.
Seeing how things were turning, another boy jumped in to play peacemaker: “Come on, Big Wen, let it go. This isn’t worth it.”
A few other boys who hung out with Li Hongwen echoed, “Yeah, Big Wen, not worth it, not worth it.”
Li Hongwen: “…”
Truth be told, Li Hongwen had always been a bit intimidated by Yu Linghuan. Back in their first year, she’d cussed him out in front of everyone, and the memory still stung.
Sure, if it came to a physical fight, he was taller and stronger, a guy nearly 1.8 meters tall. Definitely not scared of her. But this was school, not somewhere you could just throw punches. If things got out of hand, he’d be the one who’d get in serious trouble.
Admitting defeat outright would be humiliating, but now that he had an out, he took it without fuss.
Li Hongwen huffed, “Whatever, I can’t be bothered with you.”
Shen Ying pressed, “Then hurry up and sit down. The lunch break bell’s about to ring.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know!” Li Hongwen grumbled. “Nosy much?”
As he moved to leave, he shot Yu Linghuan another glare. He’d just stated a fact, exposed her as friendless, so why was she flying off the handle?
Once he finally returned to his seat, Shen Ying nodded at Yu Linghuan and gave her a thumbs-up, mouthing three words.
Yu Linghuan could lip-read just fine: “Nice hit.”
The two girls exchanged a look and quietly smiled.
Actually, Yu Linghuan and Shen Ying weren’t close at all. But sometimes, girls just had this inexplicable kind of understanding.
Yu Linghuan hadn’t planned to tangle with Li Hongwen for long anyway. She had far more pressing business,
A tangle of questions about the novel’s plot, the cannon fodder system, transmigration, she needed to make sense of all this, fast.
She carefully set “Five Years Gaokao, Three Years Mock Exams” aside and sprawled across her desk, starting a conversation with her system in her mind.
Yu Linghuan: “I’ve got a few questions for you.”
System: [Of course, host.]
Yu Linghuan: “When I talked to Xinxin earlier, I didn’t feel that crushing wave of negativity anymore. Does that mean I’m finally free from the novel’s plot control?”
[Exactly! Before, those overwhelming negative emotions toward Meng Xin were to make you play the evil supporting role, to push the story forward. But now, you’re awakened, so the shackles are gone.]
Yu Linghuan mused, “Got it. Second question: what happens if I try to tell someone about the plot-”
[Don’t even try it. Any attempt to reveal world information will be blocked. You can’t share anything about the novel’s existence or the main storyline. There would be very serious consequences.]
“All right.” Yu Linghuan wasn’t surprised, she’d more or less seen that one coming.
So that ruled out her third question: whether she could expose the truth about Meng family’s real and fake heiress. No need to bother asking.
Yu Linghuan: “Last question: How much do you know about Meng Mingzhu’s transmigration system? Like, what sort of items can she buy with her points, and are there rewards or penalties aside from item redemption?”
Earlier, Yu Linghuan had overheard that Meng Mingzhu wanted to buy some high-level suppression aura to deal with her, but gave up when she heard it cost 300 points.
So she wondered if running out of points carried some kind of penalty.
[Sorry, host, I only know the general specs of a transmigration system. The detailed data? That’s classified, I don’t have clearance.]
Yu Linghuan: “And here I thought you couldn’t be any more useless.”
[…]
The system’s feelings were clearly bruised.
[But I can say this: if Meng Mingzhu’s points hit zero, there’s bound to be severe consequences. Most likely, her entire system will shut down.]
Yu Linghuan pondered, “Noted.”
Girl and system fell into a heavy silence for several seconds.
Then the system finally spoke up: [Host, I must remind you, Meng Mingzhu is the true chosen one of this world, equipped with a powerful transmigration system. Your smartest move is to cling to her and steer clear of Meng Xin!]
Yu Linghuan didn’t even hesitate: “Not happening.”
The system tried to reason with her: [Host, I know you and Meng Xin are close, but she doesn’t have a system, she can’t beat Meng Mingzhu! If you side with Meng Xin, you’ll get caught in the fallout. You might end up worse than your novel fate!]
“So what?” Yu Linghuan didn’t blink. “Xinxin is my best friend. No matter what, I’m sticking with her.”
[…]
After another long pause, the synthetic voice sounded again: [All right. I still can’t fully understand you humans, but I’ll respect your choice, host.]
…
Twelve o’clock sharp. The lunch break bell rang.
There was no requirement to actually nap during the break, students were just expected to keep quiet if they stayed in the classroom.
With third year just starting, academics were supposed to be a lot more intense than the previous two, but since it was the very first day, no one was feeling the pressure yet.
Most kids had their heads buried in their arms, catching up on sleep. A few were messing around on their phones.
As a private school, Langde High wasn’t as strict as state schools; phones were allowed on campus, just not in class.
Li Hongwen sat there rubbing his forehead, cursing under his breath. Yu Linghuan hadn’t held back at all, the spot where she’d hit him still throbbed faintly.
His deskmate suddenly leaned in, whispering, “Big Wen, you know your brands. That box on Yu Linghuan’s desk… think it’s from some fancy label?”
Li Hongwen was planning to catch a nap, but perked up instantly. “What’d you say?”
The deskmate pointed ahead and to the left. “On her desk, top right. That green box.”
Li Hongwen squinted in the direction, peering carefully,
And froze.
He blinked, then rubbed his eyes, not quite believing what he was seeing.
His deskmate nudged, still whispering, “Well? See it?”
Li Hongwen: “It’s too far. How am I supposed to tell?”
His deskmate simply replied, “Oh. Okay.”
He’d just been curious, and with Li Hongwen denying it, he dropped the subject.
But Li Hongwen kept staring at the box on Yu Linghuan’s desk, unblinking.
He’d lied, he’d seen that box at home. If memory served, it was the signature watch case for R-brand watches.
Those boxes had a unique shape and textured design, easy to spot.
His father owned an R-brand mechanical watch, and Li Hongwen had begged him over and over to buy him one too, just to show off at school.
But his dad had flat-out refused, saying it was ridiculous for a high school kid to wear something so pricey, one knock and it’d be ruined.
So seeing that familiar box on Yu Linghuan’s desk, Li Hongwen could hardly believe his eyes.
He’d begged his dad countless times with no success, so how on earth did Yu Linghuan end up with one?
From what he knew, Yu Linghuan came from a regular family, a single-parent home, even. No way she could just fork out for a luxury watch.
A thought flashed through Li Hongwen’s mind: Don’t tell me… Meng Xin gave it to her?
With the Meng family’s wealth, buying an R-brand watch was like buying a cabbage at the market.
But Meng Xin had only just been brought home, and rumor was she wasn’t especially favored. If she was blowing money like that, wouldn’t the Mengs object?
And hadn’t Yu Linghuan and Meng Xin just had a falling out?
Li Hongwen glanced at Meng Xin’s empty seat, then back at the box on Yu Linghuan’s desk, feeling a wild, gnawing unease in his gut.
What the hell was going on?