Chapter 13: The Uncomfortable Return and a Familiar Face

Many maple trees dotted the campus, their leaves already dyed a brilliant golden hue in the late autumn.

This year, the cold truly felt more biting than previous years.

As Bai YuYang made his way back to the classroom, he instinctively tucked his hands into the pockets of his school uniform jacket.

He followed the familiar paths of his memory, heading towards the long-unvisited sophomore teaching building.

Yet, throughout his journey, a profound sense of incongruity settled upon him.

This feeling of unease stemmed from the gazes surrounding him.

More precisely, it was the myriad glances from girls, coming from every direction, as he passed by the flowerbeds below the school and walked through the corridors past other classrooms in the teaching building.

“……”

Honestly, in his previous life, he had never felt this uncomfortable.

Back then, he hadn’t paid it any mind. But now, with even a slight awareness, he realized the sheer number of eyes on him was utterly absurd.

It wasn’t just the curious glances stealthily peeking from windows on different floors.

Even when several girls walked past him face-to-face, the moment their eyes met Bai YuYang’s, they would shyly avert their gaze, their faces flushing as they hurried away.

‘Are they really treating me like some rare, exotic beast?’

‘So, which scoundrel decided to elect a ‘School Heartthrob’ anyway?!’

‘Well… there’s really no helping it. Even without the title of ‘Qifeng No.1 High School Heartthrob,’ Bai YuYang’s looks alone would inevitably make him the most striking student in the school.’

Ever since he was a child, neighbors had praised his handsome appearance. For others, this might have been mere polite flattery, but for Bai YuYang, those words couldn’t have been more true.

Perhaps in the past, Bai YuYang might have secretly gloated a little. But now, he could only ignore these stares, or rather, find them somewhat vexing.

For in his heart, there were only those few girls now.

He didn’t want to make choices again in this life.

Bai YuYang organized his thoughts, pondering how to avoid them as much as possible in his future life.

Lost in thought about various possibilities, Bai YuYang had already reached the doorway of Class Four, Sophomore Year.

He paused, hearing the boisterous chatter from inside the classroom. It was clear that class hadn’t started yet, and everyone was still fooling around.

Bai YuYang placed his hand on the doorframe, about to push the door open, but suddenly hesitated, an unconscious reluctance seizing him.

In this classroom… besides Lin QingYu, there was another girl who had liked him before his rebirth.

And this girl was precisely the one Bai YuYang had ultimately chosen in his previous life.

He had already made his choice, and they were supposed to officially start dating the next day. Who would have thought he’d transmigrate back before they even began?

‘So, how should I face her?’

‘Ah, never mind, it’s just worrying for nothing. After all, based on my observations of others so far, she most likely doesn’t have memories of her previous life. I’ll just take things one step at a time; there’s no other way.’

Gritting his teeth, Bai YuYang exerted a little force on his arm and pushed open the front door of the classroom.

Accompanying the creak of the door opening, the classroom fell silent for a fleeting moment.

Then, everyone collectively looked up. Seeing who had entered, they immediately breathed a sigh of relief and resumed their chatter and laughter.

A boy near the door complained.

“Whoa, I say, Class Monitor, why did you come in without a sound? I thought it was the homeroom teacher! You scared me to death!”

‘Oh right,’ Bai YuYang remembered. ‘I was the class monitor in high school?’

However, he wouldn’t hold back his retort: “Do I have to make a huge racket when I come in? Should I just kick the door open?!”

The boy in the front row chuckled foolishly, saying, “That’s even worse, Class Monitor! Wouldn’t that be like the dean of students bursting in for a surprise inspection?”

“So, if the door’s closed, I just can’t come in?!”

‘Good heavens, entering quietly is wrong, making a big fuss is also wrong. How did I used to enter the classroom?’

Regarding this question, another boy in the front row asked, puzzled.

“Class Monitor, why are you talking so strangely today? What normal person enters through the front door? You should use the back door!”

“Oh, right! Fang Liang, if you’d said that earlier, I would have understood.”

Like a circuit that had been shorted for too long suddenly becoming clear, Bai YuYang instantly recalled many details about high school.

Truly, after four years in university, he had forgotten many of the rules from high school.

The two boys in front exchanged a bewildered glance, both confused as to why their class monitor seemed to be in an unusual state today.

Having dealt with that, Bai YuYang scanned the familiar classroom.

It was exactly as he remembered. That blackboard newspaper at the back, Bai YuYang recalled, he had drawn it himself.

Lin QingYu had already returned to her seat. She met Bai YuYang’s gaze, then huffed and turned her head away.

‘So… what exactly is this little one angry about every day?’

As expected, Luo Hao walked over to Bai YuYang, saying awkwardly.

“Um… Yang Ge, I have a favor to ask. I wonder if you, with your great generosity, could be accommodating…”

“Haozi, if you want to borrow math homework, just say so. Don’t beat around the bush.”

“Yang Ge understands me! Please, I absolutely must copy your homework! Ah, I still have two entire blank test papers; I’m doomed!”

“I really don’t know what you did during the break…”

Bai YuYang took off his messenger bag, thought carefully, and then pulled out a file folder from within.

“Look through the homework inside. If you find it, it’s there. If not, then I didn’t do it.”

“?”

Luo Hao was stunned. ‘No, Yang Ge, don’t you know whether you’ve done your homework or not?’

He truly didn’t know.

It had been so many years; Bai YuYang couldn’t remember that clearly. At most, he remembered where he put his homework. However, he usually studied quite diligently, so his homework should all be complete.

Handing the homework to Luo Hao, Bai YuYang added a few admonitions.

“Haozi, don’t copy too much. Try to do what you can yourself. In two years, during the college entrance exam, you’ll thank me.”

“Yay! I already thank you now, Yang Ge! Saving a brother from dire straits!”

It seemed he hadn’t listened.

‘Forget it,’ Bai YuYang didn’t intend to say much more about it now.

Ever since he’d entered, Bai YuYang’s gaze had been drifting towards the window.

In that direction sat the familiar girl.

If he remembered correctly, she should be in the third-to-last row by the window.

Her name was Mo Sishi, also a classmate in Class Four. If she had any notable titles, it would be the fact that she was later chosen as the ‘School Belle’ of Qifeng No.1 High School.

Bai YuYang’s seat was in the second-to-last row, making her his deskmate in front.

After sending Luo Hao away, Bai YuYang looked directly at her.

She was indeed sitting there quietly…

The sunlight slanted through the window, falling upon her face, illuminating a pair of beautiful…

‘I can’t see anything, hey!’

Mo Sishi possessed long, smooth black hair that extended past her waist. However, at this moment, she wore bangs that were quite long, almost completely obscuring her beautiful eyes.

She also had her hair tied in a single ponytail and wore a pair of unattractive, non-prescription black-rimmed glasses.

This was her disguise… a suppression of her own striking beauty.

Her true appearance, Bai YuYang knew all too well.

When she brushed back the hair from her forehead and removed her glasses, that was the Mo Sishi whose beauty seemed capable of rivaling the bright moon.

As for the reason for her current attire, for hiding her appearance, Bai YuYang also knew perfectly well.

Recalling many fragmented memories, Bai YuYang didn’t walk to his seat from the back but deliberately passed in front of her.

Even after he had settled into his own seat, Mo Sishi still hadn’t looked up.

She remained there, alone, writing in her math workbook with her delicate, elegant handwriting.

‘Sure enough… you don’t remember anything either?’