Chapter 47: The Student Council Summons and a Familiar Face

“The student council wants me?”

This really left Bai YuYang a bit bewildered.

He hadn’t signed up for the student council, nor had he broken any school rules. What could they possibly want with him?

However, the student council oversaw many subordinate departments. Today was recruitment day, so perhaps one of those departments wanted to discuss inviting Bai YuYang to join?

It wasn’t Bai YuYang boasting, but his popularity in school was genuinely high. Many departments had extended invitations to him back in his first year, and he had declined them all.

“Alright, I understand, Teacher Qin. May I ask which department in the student council I should go to?”

“Headquarters.”

“……”

This… this wasn’t just a matter of which department anymore…

***

Student Council Headquarters.

At this very moment, Tang Qihuang sat alone, lost in thought.

After her rebirth, even with numerous student council tasks before her, she no longer approached them with the same “diligence” as in her previous life.

Simply put, the sight of these documents irritated her.

Student Council President? Honestly, if it weren’t for Bai YuYang, she would have already resigned.

Since no one else was present, the usually impeccably poised young lady now leaned lazily with her upper body sprawled across the desk, her golden hair fanned out, as she traced circles on the marble surface with her finger.

‘So boring… I really want to talk to Bai YuYang…’

Thankfully, she was clever enough to devise a brilliant excuse just now. Bai YuYang would probably come looking for her here soon.

‘Hehe… I’m really looking forward to it.’

*Ding-dong…*

Just then, the sound of an elevator arriving outside the student council headquarters’ activity room suddenly echoed.

‘He’s here?’

‘That fast?! Wasn’t it after class? Students just started their lessons, didn’t they?’

Regardless, the moment the elevator chimed, Tang Qihuang immediately straightened her posture. All traces of her earlier languor vanished, replaced by an air of complete elegance and decorum.

Concurrently, a knock sounded at the door.

“Please come in.”

Granted Tang Qihuang’s permission, the door to the activity room opened.

Tang Qihuang looked up with eager anticipation, only for her expression to fall into disappointment upon seeing the visitor.

Yet, that emotion was fleeting, quickly concealed with practiced ease.

‘Oh, it’s you.’

Standing primly at the doorway, not having stepped a single pace into the room, was a girl with strikingly unique features.

She was distinctive not only for her refined and outstanding appearance but also for her meticulously neat, shoulder-length ink-black hair, which clearly had been carefully styled.

Neither tall nor short, she stood at precisely 1.65 meters, her well-proportioned figure perfectly complementing the Qifeng No. 1 High School uniform.

Of course.

Her most striking feature was likely her eyes.

Beneath her neatly trimmed bangs lay a pair of mesmerizing heterochromatic eyes that would make anyone who saw them exclaim at their beauty.

Her left eye was a vibrant scarlet, while her right eye was a cooler sapphire blue.

This was not an ailment; the girl was simply born this way.

Like Tang Qihuang, this person also seemed to exude the aura of a young lady from a prominent family simply by standing there.

However, the difference was that the girl remained completely expressionless, merely standing in place.

After a brief pause, the girl was the first to speak.

“It has been a while, Young Lady Qihuang. I hope you will forgive me for not reporting to you immediately at the start of the new semester.”

Her voice was pleasant, but like her emotionless face, her tone remained almost completely flat.

“There’s no need, Ning’er. You must be tired from walking from the teaching building. There are seats here; just find a place to sit down.”

“Thank you, Young Lady.”

Ouyang Ning.

This was the name of the girl with the heterochromatic eyes.

Tang Qihuang rose and walked to the automatic water dispenser in the activity room, intending to brew a cup of tea for Ouyang Ning.

Although Ouyang Ning remained expressionless, her movement to stand up seemed somewhat flustered.

“Young Lady, you needn’t trouble yourself. It should be I who pours your tea.”

“Alright, alright, just sit there, Ning’er. We’ve been friends since childhood, and you’re still calling me ‘Young Lady.’ Are you deliberately trying to annoy me?”

“I wouldn’t dare.”

The simple two words left Tang Qihuang feeling helpless.

Indeed, Ouyang Ning was her childhood playmate. They grew up together, close friends, yet also mistress and subordinate.

In Qifeng City, the Tang and Ouyang families shared intricate ties.

It was said that several generations ago, the two families were even partners.

However, in recent decades, the Ouyang family seemed to have gradually become subordinate to the Tang family.

Though still a prominent family, their function was to continuously supply the Tang family with high-quality talents nurtured from a young age.

Ouyang Ning, for instance, as the only daughter of the current Ouyang family head, was raised to be Tang Qihuang’s personal steward.

In truth, they had been very good friends in childhood, being naive and without any concept of hierarchy back then.

But ever since Ouyang Ning entered junior high and understood her position, she had slowly and consciously distanced herself from Tang Qihuang.

She would only go to the Tang family’s company to help when work required it.

One needn’t doubt Ouyang Ning’s capabilities; after all, she was an absolute genius.

In subjects like physics and mathematics, she had displayed extraordinary talent from a young age.

Tang Qihuang placed a freshly brewed cup of hot tea before her, then sat in the chair opposite her and asked, “Ning’er, what made you decide to come to the student council today? Doesn’t the gifted class have lessons today?”

“To answer the Young Lady, I have completed all of today’s curriculum tasks for the gifted class. There is no point in waiting in the classroom during my free time, so I believe reporting to you is the most efficient use of it.”

“But classes just started… Should I say, ‘As expected of you’?”

The mathematics gifted class in Qifeng City was a gathering place for geniuses.

There was only one such class in the entire school, not divided by grade, with a total student count likely not exceeding ten.

Their curriculum tasks were also designed for geniuses; even for them, completing today’s objectives should have taken an entire morning.

Yet, less than twenty minutes had passed since class began… This was enough to show that Ning’er was indeed quite extraordinary.

Of course, there was an even more crucial question.

Tang Qihuang now needed to determine if Ning’er, like herself, was a reborn individual.

This was difficult to ascertain.

Because this girl showed absolutely no expression!

From what she could tell, Ning’er’s current behavior was indeed the same as it had been in high school.

Even after Tang Qihuang brewed tea for her, she dared not drink it, appearing quite reserved.

If it were a few years later, her attitude would not be like this…

Considering this, Tang Qihuang continued, “Ning’er, why didn’t you come yesterday for the start of school? Was the gifted class very busy? Even if your coursework is intense, you should still pay attention to getting enough rest.”

“Thank you for your concern, Young Lady. I am fine. Yesterday, it was simply due to numerous family and school matters that caused the delay. Ah, I apologize, I shouldn’t explain so much.”

“Ahaha, no, no, it’s not that serious.”

That’s why… Tang Qihuang also found it difficult to communicate with her at this stage, even though she hadn’t been like this before.

Oh, right, to add, she wouldn’t be like this in the future either; she was only so rigid at this particular stage.

Tang Qihuang mused on the passage of time and pondered how to communicate with Ouyang Ning in her current state.

Even if she couldn’t communicate with her for now, she had to send her away.

Bai YuYang would be here soon, and there was no time.

But when she looked up again, facing forward.

She discovered that Ouyang Ning’s previously submissive gaze had completely changed in the blink of an eye.

Her heterochromatic eyes were now filled with disdain.

“Tang Qihuang, no wonder YuXi often says you’re like a fox.”