5

The new semester began, and apart from the two advanced classes, the rest of the high school classes were reorganized based on students' scores. Today was the first day for reporting, and Class 18 gathered students from various previous classes, including Lin Tiao from Class 6 and Jiang Yan from Class 15, along with his three followers.

Lin Tiao couldn't understand how they ended up in the same class out of the vast sea of students. Unlike her, who didn't know anyone in the classroom besides them, she found herself in a new environment, feeling isolated.

Standing at the door, she imagined a tragic scenario of being a new student, helplessly isolated or even having to drop out due to humiliation. The homeroom teacher interrupted her thoughts, "You two, please find a seat and then we'll take roll call and get to know each other."

Although Jiang Yan was the last to arrive, his three friends had already secured the best seats for him in the classroom. Lin Tiao, having no friends to save a spot for her, looked around and found an empty seat by the door.

She took the seat, and her new desk mate, a boy, greeted her warmly before immediately burying his head in his phone.

"…"

Great, very cool.

Lin Tiao noticed her own arm in a cast and decided against taking out a pen to jot down the teacher's contact number. The teacher, Mr. Yu, soon confirmed her thoughts, "The names and contact details on the board are mine, for new students to know."

Mr. Yu proceeded to call out names from a list. Lin Tiao, sitting idly, sent a message to Meng Xin.

"Lin Tiao," Mr. Yu called out.

"…" Lin Tiao, expressionless, stood up at Mr. Yu's urging gaze.

"Oh, you must be Lin Tiao," Mr. Yu said, pointing to a spot next to him. "Come and introduce yourself to the class."

"…"

Lin Tiao regretted not agreeing to her father's suggestion to delay her return to school. She reluctantly walked to the podium, and as she turned to face the class, she almost choked.

She hesitated for a moment, but Mr. Yu, thinking she was just shy, encouraged the class with a round of applause.

"…"

No, teacher, I really don't need applause. Please, just let me sit down.

With various curious and gossiping eyes on her, Lin Tiao managed to introduce herself, "Hello everyone, my name is Lin Tiao. I'm glad to be in the same class as you all. Thank you."

Mr. Yu again led the applause, clearly pleased. The class cheered, and Lin Tiao even saw someone in the back clapping with one hand while the other was in a cast.

"…"

Idiot.

Back at her seat, Meng Xin had messaged back, "No way, you're in the same class as Jiang Yan?"

"Ahhhh, can I still transfer to another class?"

"No! I'm getting my dad to transfer me today. I can't miss this!"

What kind of person are you?

Lin Tiao furiously responded, and as Mr. Yu continued calling names, he reached Jiang Yan's turn.

"Jiang Yan."

Lin Tiao suddenly looked up. Jiang Yan walked down the aisle and onto the podium. Without much fanfare, he introduced himself, "Jiang Yan. No particular hobbies."

Lin Tiao couldn't help but roll her eyes. Seriously? Who doesn't know that Jiang Yan's hobbies are boasting, acting like a fool, being narcissistic, and showing off?

The class applauded loudly, almost as if to tear the roof off in their enthusiasm. Lin Tiao felt her eyes were about to roll out of her head when Jiang Yan walked down from the podium and abruptly stopped next to her.

"?" She looked up, puzzled by his gaze.

The class held their breath, not wanting to miss any detail, while Mr. Yu prepared to address the situation.

Jiang Yan spoke in a clear, resonant voice, "Lin Tiao, why didn't you clap just now? Do you have some issue with me?"

"..."

"Seriously, you think I have an issue?" Lin Tiao said, forcing a smile as she lifted her casted arm. "Classmate, as you can see, I'm in a cast. How can I clap?"

In the silence that followed, Jiang Yan suddenly raised his hand. Just when everyone thought the big shot was about to get angry and possibly take action, one of his followers patted his own cast right in front of Lin Tiao.

"Why can't you clap? I'll show you how."

The entire class: "..."

Lin Tiao was left speechless.

The awkward introductions ended quickly. Before the class was dismissed, Mr. Yu selected the class monitor and academic committee member based on the entrance performance and self-introductions.

Lin Tiao's desk partner, Du Wenbo, was chosen as the academic committee member, while Jiang Yan was named the class monitor.

She glanced at Du Wenbo, who was absorbed in his phone, and Jiang Yan, who was sleeping in the back row. She couldn't help but sigh, questioning Mr. Yu's judgment and wondering if she'd make it to graduation.

---

On the first day of school, there were no classes scheduled. It was mainly for students to get familiar with the new environment and for new classmates to meet each other.

During the afternoon study period, Mr. Yu arranged for the class sizes to be recorded. "After class, the class monitor should take a few boys to the sports field to collect the uniforms."

Each grade at the school had different uniforms, but the color and style were mostly the same. The only difference was the stripes under the school emblem: one stripe for freshmen, two for sophomores, and three for juniors.

After recording the sizes, Mr. Yu stood at the podium with a list, occasionally glancing at the students and making notes on the paper.

Lin Tiao wasn't paying much attention, instead chatting with Meng Xin on QQ.

When the bell rang for the end of the class, students from the neighboring class came to collect the uniforms. Jiang Yan called six or seven boys to go with him.

Shortly after, the bell rang, and Mr. Yu took the list and left. The classroom buzzed with chatter, but Du Wenbo remained focused on his phone, unaffected by the commotion.

Lin Tiao stretched her shoulders and headed to the bathroom.

When she returned, Jiang Yan and the others were back, handing out uniforms.

The classroom was chaotic, and Lin Tiao, worried about bumping her cast, decided to wait outside.

There were fifty-eight students in total, with boys making up the majority. After distributing the uniforms, Hu Hanghang handed the list to Jiang Yan. "The checked ones are the ones who didn't get uniforms. The teacher said there would be fifty-eight, but a few were missed."

Jiang Yan took the list, marked the names of the boys who didn't get uniforms, and tossed the list on the desk. "We'll get them later. Let's go eat first."

"Got it."

The four of them left the classroom in a hurry through the back door. Lin Tiao entered through the front and, seeing that her uniform wasn't on her desk, was informed by Xu Huanhuan, who was sitting behind her. "It looks like they missed a few uniforms. They'll probably bring yours later."

"Oh, thanks," Lin Tiao replied, nodding.

"That's such a small matter, no need to thank me."

Lin Tiao smiled and didn't say more. She took out her phone from her desk and went downstairs to find Meng Xin for lunch. The distance between their classes, Class 18 and Class 14, was manageable.

When they met, Meng Xin complained, "I never imagined I'd end up in the same class as Tang Yushi. Now we're both class officers."

"Just thinking about spending the next two years with her is making me lose all motivation to study."

"Why did she dislike us so much back then? She was supposed to be the class flower and class monitor. Why was she so unfriendly to us?"

Lin Tiao ticked off a few dishes on the menu. "Maybe attractive people just get targeted by society no matter what."

"…"

After lunch, Meng Xin said, "I'm going to make my dad transfer me to another class."

"Alright, I'll wait for you in Class 18," Lin Tiao said as she went upstairs. She received a call from her father asking if she had evening classes and mentioned he would be passing by her school soon and could pick her up.

Lin Tiao hung up, went to Mr. Yu's office to request leave, and Mr. Yu approved it immediately upon seeing her cast, reminding her to be careful on the road.

"Goodbye, teacher," she said as she hurried back to the classroom, grabbed her backpack, and went to the school gate.

During the evening self-study period, Mr. Yu instructed the academic committee members to create a group and add everyone from the class. Lin Tiao, having gone home, didn't join the group and missed Mr. Yu's message: "Tomorrow morning is the school opening ceremony. The school requires everyone to wear uniforms. Please don't wash your uniforms tonight."

The next morning, Lin Tiao arrived at class to find everyone in their standard two-stripe uniforms except for her.

Xu Huanhuan, holding a cup of soy milk, asked, "Lin Tiao, why aren't you wearing your uniform? The school's opening ceremony today requires everyone to wear it."

"Didn't they say they didn't have enough uniforms yesterday? Didn't you go get them?" Lin Tiao placed her backpack on the desk. "Did I miss something?"

Xu Huanhuan was surprised. "They went to get the uniforms last night. I thought you had already picked yours up."

"I…" Lin Tiao scratched her head, unsure of how to explain. "It shouldn't be a big deal if I miss the opening ceremony, right?"

"I heard that the principal will be checking every class," Xu Huanhuan said as she set her things down. "Maybe you should ask the class monitor. He's in charge of the uniforms."

Lin Tiao glanced towards the back of the classroom, hesitated between approaching the principal or Jiang Yan, and decided on the latter. "Alright, I'll go ask him."

The two seats were separated by a row of desks. Lin Tiao walked over, repeatedly reminding herself to keep her head down, and finally managed a smile. "Class monitor."

Jiang Yan looked up, slightly surprised, but said nothing.

Lin Tiao continued, "I don't have a uniform. Did you guys miss handing one out yesterday?"

"You don't have a uniform?" Jiang Yan leaned back slightly, raising an eyebrow. "Hu Hanghang, where's the uniform list you compiled yesterday?"

"It's on my desk. You can check it there," Hu Hanghang said, quickly moving back to his desk to retrieve the list and hand it to Jiang Yan. "Here it is."

Lin Tiao: "…"

Jiang Yan flipped through the list he had marked the previous day and found Lin Tiao's name on a later page. There was no checkmark or note next to it.

He placed the list in front of Lin Tiao. "The only ones missing uniforms are these few. How come you didn't mention it earlier?"

Lin Tiao bit her lip. "I didn't expect mine would be missed."

"You make it sound like I deliberately didn't give you a uniform," Jiang Yan said with a smile, leaning against the wall. Despite his arm being in a cast, his demeanor remained rather annoying.

"Alright, if it's not there, it's not a big deal," Lin Tiao decided not to argue further and turned to leave.

"Wait," Jiang Yan called out, reaching into his desk and pulling out his own school uniform jacket to hand to her. "Wear this for now. There's a check this morning."