Chapter 7: The Classroom

Chapter 7: The Classroom

The school was located right in the heart of the small town.

After stepping off the bus and following the stream of students down a narrow two-lane road, it didn’t take long before the campus came into view—a modest high school wedged between two aging apartment blocks.

Though the grounds weren’t large, the environment wasn’t bad at all. Just beyond the gate, a pair of small garden courtyards greeted visitors, complete with trickling water and little stone bridges.

Chen Shiyu had seen this school before, buried somewhere in the memories she’d inherited. But the thought of having to face all those classmates and “friends” made the smile on her face strain at the edges.

Then her gaze slid sideways—to the girl currently hooked around her arm. Her eyelid twitched twice.

To be honest, Chen Shiyu had a bit of gynophobia. In her previous life, during elementary and middle school, girls often bullied her. By the time she was about to graduate college, she’d never even had a girlfriend.

In her mind, women were practically natural disasters, wild beasts not to be provoked. Yet now she was one—and worse, she had to maintain the role, smiling and acting intimate with other girls.

That deep resistance seeped into her body language: her stride stiff, her arm movements mechanical.

“Shen—”

She almost called for rescue on reflex. Turning her head, she caught a glimpse of Shen Yan, laughing easily with a group of boys a few steps behind. Her throat tightened. No help there. She could only swallow the panic down and force herself to act natural.

This “childhood friend” of Chen Shiyu’s—he wasn’t hers.

She had no real friends here. No confidants. No allies. Everyone around her was a potential threat.

“Are you in a bad mood today?”

Chen Jing, still looped around her arm, gave her a curious look.

“I didn’t sleep much,” Chen Shiyu replied with a sunny smile. “Stayed up watching a movie. I’ll catch up during morning reading—if the teacher comes, make sure to wake me up, okay?”

“Hehe, deal~”

Class 3 of Grade 11 sat at the very end of the second-floor hallway.

Walking through the front door, Chen Shiyu already knew exactly where “her” seat was. Without hesitation, she went straight for the first row, third desk.

Her height wasn’t impressive, but down here in the south it counted as average. There were even a couple classmates shorter than her.

“Shiyu! Where’d you go over break?”

“Shishi! Did you eat breakfast? Want to grab something together?”

“Did you see the new drama yesterday?”

The moment she sat down, greetings came flying at her from every direction.

For the first time in her life, Chen Shiyu was the center of attention. The smile on her lips went rigid. Her hands and feet felt lost, clumsy.

So… being popular was this exhausting?

She was supposed to act lively, warm, excited—just like the original memory suggested. She should’ve already been gossiping away with her circle of “sisters,” chattering until the morning reading session began.

“Don’t bug her~ Shiyu didn’t sleep well, let her nap a bit.”

Thankfully, Chen Jing spoke up in her defense, rescuing her.

Chen Shiyu secretly exhaled. She gave her “friends” an apologetic smile and a small nod, then pulled out her homework to set neatly at the edge of her desk, ready for the group leader to collect.

Everything in order, she slid a math book onto the desk, leaned forward, and rested her cheek against its cool cover—perfect nap posture. Even if she wasn’t tired, she could at least look the part.

Ten minutes before morning reading, the classroom had become a marketplace. Loud chatter, boasting, kids running and climbing over desks, others frantically copying homework, or hiding under their arms to play mobile games. Some were already dozing, faces buried in their arms.

Chen Shiyu closed her eyes, letting the noise wash over her, feeling the desk tremble every now and then when someone bumped it. Her mind drifted through scraps of school memory.

Technically, phones were banned here. In practice, as long as a teacher didn’t catch you red-handed, no one cared.

According to her “older brother,” who’d already graduated, this place used to be brutal—half-day weekends, night study until eleven. It wasn’t until accidents started happening that the system loosened up. By the time Chen Shiyu entered, the school had already “reformed”: normal weekends off, no night study until senior year, and freshly renovated classrooms. Her brother nearly collapsed from sheer envy when he heard.

“Doesn’t Shiyu seem… off today?”

“Yeah, something’s weird.”

“Don’t tell me—did she fall in love?”

“Maybe she’s sick?”

Chen Shiyu’s ears twitched at the whispered gossip from a nearby group of girls. Her head shot up instantly, all drowsiness gone.

Nonono! She was acting way too strange!

Whatever happened, she had to maintain her persona!

“Chen Jing~” Chen Shiyu flashed her best smile at her “best friend.” “Want to go to the bathroom together?”

From memory, these girls often went in groups—just like guys tended to hang out in packs. At least this was a social ritual she could understand. Better than trying to keep up with endless chatter about dramas, crushes, or girly secrets.

“Sure!” Chen Jing beamed, then waved to another classmate. “Jiayi, let’s go!”

As the little group of girls filed out together, Shen Yan frowned. He twirled his pen a few times, clearly troubled.

“What’s up with you?”

His desk mate didn’t even glance up, scribbling frantically to finish homework.

“Lei… what would you do if one day, you found out your friend wasn’t actually human? Like… their body got taken over by something?”

“???” Shi Lei looked up, face full of question marks.

“I mean it,” Shen Yan muttered.

“Call the cops, duh.”

“What if it’s a monster? You piss it off, it might kill your whole family.”

“Then you gotta strike first! Hide in the bushes, open with R, flash in with a combo—BAM! Instant kill!” Shi Lei suddenly lit up, grabbing Shen Yan’s arm, eyes sparkling as he gestured wildly. “Dude! You don’t even know—last night I made a comeback from super minions, totally unstoppable! I’m printing the replay to analyze frame by frame—”

Shen Yan sighed, utterly drained. “I did something cooler, I was clutching a round with a Desert Eagle while in one versus four.”

“Shooting games are lame. I can’t even see where the enemies are.”

“That’s because you’re practically blind, idiot.”

On her way back from the bathroom, Chen Shiyu passed by just in time to overhear the exchange. She couldn’t help glancing their way, lips twitching with the urge to say something. Honestly… Shen Yan’s one-vs-four clutch sounded way more impressive. She kind of wanted to see his game replay.

“Shiyu! This looks nice, right?”

A pat on her shoulder snapped her out of it.

Chen Jing shoved her phone in front of her face.

Chen Shiyu instantly switched gears, flashing another big smile. “Wow! It’s beautiful!!”

“You didn’t even look.” Chen Jing huffed, flicking to another image and holding it up again. “What about this one?”

Ah. So that’s what this was about—the blackboard display. With the Dragon Boat Festival coming up, Chen Jing, the class publicity officer, was in charge of the designs.

“How about… I help design it? I can sketch up a draft tonight.”

The words slipped out before she realized. Male instincts—show off a little in front of a pretty girl.

In her previous life, Chen Shiyu had majored in animation. Her skills weren’t good enough to make money, but she’d at least trained in drawing.

“You can do that?” Chen Jing’s eyes sparkled with envy. “You sing, you draw—seriously, you’re amazing~”

“Mm… the first one, I’ve probably forgotten most of it.”

“No way! Last New Year’s party you sang beautifully! I heard you’re performing again this year?”

Chen Shiyu froze, eyes wide with horror. “Huh??”

Me? Singing? On stage? With the whole school watching?!

For a shut-in gamer, that was nothing less than hell itself.