Chapter 12

After that night, Ruan Miao often received calls from Zhou Yuangin, the mother of the original owner, asking him to do bad things according to her instructions. Ruan Miao had a headache over this, but he couldn't tell her the truth directly, and he felt a lot of guilt for her in his heart. 

He had been worried about this matter for the past two days. Regardless of whether Zhou Yuanqin is a qualified mother, if she knew that her son was actually gone a long time ago, she would probably collapse, right? And he is just a robber who takes over other people's bodies. Although it is not intentional, it is the fact.

He could pretend to be calm when facing anyone else, but he could not face his mother. 

Ruan Miao wanted to make up for her, but he did not rely on her like a puppet on strings. If possible, he planned to take on the obligation to support her after leaving the He family and being able to support himself in the future. He took away the lives of others, naturally he must also bear his responsibilities. 

Seeing that his face was a little melancholic, Xi You hid behind the textbook and peeked for a long time, struggling repeatedly in his eyes. He wanted to go forward and ask a few questions, but he was worried about his own face, so he could only wait eagerly for Ruan Miao to take the initiative to speak.

This bastard is really ungrateful.

Didn't you see that he already showed it so obviously!?

Come to me if you have any difficulties! 

Beg me! 

Come! 

It's a pity that Ruan Miao was so preoccupied that he didn't even notice the crazy look in his deskmate's eyes. With his straightforward personality, he probably couldn't understand the brain circuits of tsundere creatures.

Besides, even if he knew what Xi You meant, he couldn't do such a thing. The way to tell people is that he doesn't want to be regarded as a monster. 

During the break, squad leader Sang Wei distributed the test papers to everyone and wrote the relevant information about the test on the blackboard. 

Ruan Miao stood in front of the podium with a notebook and carefully copied down the test time. He was always afraid that he would remember it wrong. It has always been a habit to write it down. 

"It was half past TWO." Sang Wei gently pointed to a place in Ruan Miao's notebook, "I may not have written it very clearly, but that is the Arabic numeral 2." 

Ruan Miao took a closer look, and sure enough, when he copied, he wrote 1 instead of 2. Because Sang Wei's handwriting was lighter, he mistakenly thought it was 1. He quickly changed the time, looked up and smiled at Sang Wei and thanked: " Thank you. "

Sang Wei held her chin with one hand and stared at him with interest. She raised her hand and waved casually to show that she didn't care, as if she was suddenly interested in Ruan Miao. 

Sang Wei is the goddess of the No. 2 middle school beauty and is very popular in school. She is popular and has a gentle and generous personality.

Teachers and students in the school like her very much. Even if such a famous person is in the same class as Ruan Miao, she seems to be a world away.

When they first met, Sang Wei was just indifferent. 

Ruan Miao nodded, almost never taking the initiative to talk to her, and he didn't know what happened today. 

Ruan Miao was not used to being stared at like this, not to mention she was beautiful, so he blushed slightly and quickly finished copying the schedule. Miao walked off the stage without talking to Sang Wei.

"Why does Sang Wei keep staring at you?" Xi You came over unhappily, like a jealous girlfriend:

"What is that look in her eyes? Does she think she is looking at a puppy?" 

Ruan Miao felt that although he was confused, he heard that after saying this, he suddenly realized: "No wonder I always think there's something weird about her. It turns out she is like this." 

It seemed that Jian Fanyu looked at him with that same look that night. He raised his hand and touched his nose, feeling speechless as to why these people were so strange and couldn't look at people seriously. What were these second-generation people thinking? 

"She is not a cheap person, don't mess with her." Xi You pouted, "Besides, your reputation is not good, and if you get involved with her, there will be more people who will cause trouble for you. She has many suitors. 

"I know." Ruan Miao knew that he was reminding him out of good intentions, and said with some self-deprecation: "Of course I won't provoke her without overestimating my ability. Besides, she is a proud daughter of heaven, so she can't like me, rest assured."

Xi You opened his mouth to speak several times but ultimately remained silent, not sure why he was suddenly angry again.

Ruan Miao couldn't be bothered to guess what he was thinking. After lunch, instead of returning to the classroom for a nap, he headed to the library. Ever since discovering the abundance of study materials available there, he had been visiting daily to borrow books, which saved him a lot of money.

The library was relatively empty at noon, with hardly anyone in sight. Ruan Miao wandered through the rows of bookshelves, searching for the materials he needed. Although it was just a high school library, it was quite large and well-stocked. Besides the usual textbooks and study materials for students, it also housed a vast collection of professional books, as many students were preparing to study abroad or were top achievers already delving into university-level knowledge. Ruan Miao even found many rare ancient books, though he didn't have the access privileges to borrow them. However, he could still read them in the study room.

For a bookworm, such a place was paradise. Ruan Miao envied the students here and cherished his current identity. Although he didn't have time to read the various folklore and geography magazines he loved, he promised himself that he would come back to them once he could keep up with his studies.

Immersed in the rows of books, he picked out all the past math exam papers for the third year of junior high, planning to copy them in the study room and bring them home to study overnight. With only three days left until the test, he figured math was the subject he could improve the most in a short period.

Carrying a stack of papers, he walked past rows of bookshelves and suddenly saw Jian Fanyu standing in front of one, looking up for something. Ruan Miao had no intention of interacting with him, so he tried to pass by unnoticed. However, just as he was about to look down, Jian Fanyu turned his head, and their eyes met in mid-air, making it impossible for Ruan Miao to avoid him.

Out of courtesy, Ruan Miao gave a slight smile and greeted softly, "Hello, Jian."

His tone was particularly polite, clearly distant. Given how much Jian Fanyu disliked him, Ruan Miao thought this attitude wouldn't be misunderstood. Jian Fanyu, looking equally indifferent, nodded slightly in return and then continued searching for his book, showing no intention of engaging further.

As Ruan Miao inadvertently glanced at the top shelf, he noticed it was marked as containing philosophy books, discussing idealism and deep topics like soul and consciousness. He didn't expect Jian Fanyu to be interested in such subjects, though it made sense given that he seemed like an artist with enigmatic qualities.

Lost in thought, Ruan Miao walked to the study room. Watching the blank test papers roll out of the copier, he wondered how late he would stay up tonight. Since coming here, he hadn't gone to bed before one in the morning. Fortunately, being young, he could manage with less sleep, though his dark circles were becoming more noticeable, reflecting his fatigue.

Ruan Miao didn't dare to rest. He felt like he was racing against time, with every minute being crucial. This rare second chance at life was something he didn't want to waste on sleep, especially fearing that not getting into a good university would lead to a bleak future. He knew he wasn't particularly gifted or talented, just an ordinary kid with no special skills or quick understanding, and no family background to rely on. If he couldn't achieve something academically, there wouldn't be many opportunities ahead.

In this era, most people were ordinary. Many struggled to achieve something, only to end up living like regular folks. Ruan Miao didn't expect to create any miracles, but he wanted to try his best to pave a better path for himself. After all, who doesn't want a better life in the future?

When the copier finally stopped, Ruan Miao checked the test papers and put the borrowed ones back. Passing by the shelf where he had seen Jian Fanyu earlier, he glanced again and found that Jian was gone, probably having found what he was looking for and left.

Without dwelling on it, Ruan Miao returned to the classroom with a stack of test papers.

After school, he received a call from a beauty salon, where a sweet-voiced lady informed him that his VIP gold card was about to expire and asked if he wanted to renew it. The annual membership was more cost-effective, only 88,888 yuan.

Ruan Miao emotionlessly declined the unappealing offer and hung up.

He realized why the original Ruan Miao, despite having a monthly allowance of ten thousand yuan, still lived a debt-ridden life. Most of his money was spent on upkeep. In the month since he arrived, he had received over a dozen such calls, not just for beauty treatments but also for yoga, massages, and various luxury memberships, covering every aspect of a meticulous lifestyle.

Ruan Miao couldn't understand why, in his student years, one wouldn't focus on self-improvement. Even if one cared about appearance, it wasn't necessary to spend all their money on it, even at the cost of going hungry.

People are different, with varying thoughts and priorities.

Not judging whether it was right or wrong, Ruan Miao simply stopped all the memberships requiring renewal and canceled many luxury club memberships. To him, they were non-essential and didn't need to be kept.

Feeling somewhat happier after hanging up, he almost hummed a tune as he walked downstairs, only to run into someone unexpectedly.

Yan Yang was coming up with his teammates, holding a basketball. Their eyes met, and the teammates started to tease them. Yan Yang, standing in the sunlight, looked over with a complicated expression, while Ruan Miao calmly walked down with his stack of test papers, showing no particular emotion.

"Miao Miao," Yan Yang called softly, perhaps unsure of what to say. Despite Ruan Miao repeatedly telling him privately not to interact with him, he couldn't help but feel the urge to speak upon seeing him.

"Are you doing well?"

Ruan Miao stopped and nodded, then took a step back to maintain a safe distance, responding simply, "I'm fine, eating well."

Yan Yang recalled seeing Ruan Miao eating three bowls of rice in the cafeteria a few days ago and couldn't help but show a complex expression, "Uh… you seem to have gained a bit of weight."

Ruan Miao: "..."

He had been teased by He Shanglu lately about being a pig. Was it true that he had gained weight?