Monthly exam(1)

In the end, it was the small, unassuming bottle of nail polish remover that successfully rescued Lu Qingyan from the brink of social death and ambiguous insinuations.

She had never loved a chemical compound so much in her life.

Unfortunately, when the two arrived at the laboratory, they were still late. They were both punished to stand outside the lab for ten minutes.

So there they stood—Lu Qingyan and Wang Jingyuan, like twin towers of shame leaning against opposite sides of the wall.

She angled herself ever-so-slightly away from him as if exposure to his pheromones might make her brain melt again.

Lu Qingyan felt that if there was one word to describe her, it would be miserable.

If someone asked her to summarize her life since transmigrating into this godforsaken novel, she'd have one word: unlucky.

She didn't ask to be dropped into a plot where walking hormone bombs like Wang Jingyuan existed. She didn't ask to inherit the identity of a side character who was destined to die early. She didn't even get to enjoy the benefits of being the villain's little sister. Nope. Just the suffering. The plot holes. The mood swings.

Three days passed quickly, it was already time for the monthly exam that took place at the beginning of each month.

Two-thirds of the students in Special Class A were fortunate enough to stay in their familiar classroom, while the rest had to pack up and migrate to their exam sites like academic nomads.

The mood was appropriately funereal.

But not Lu Qingyan.

She was skipping along the hallway like she was about to go on a weekend getaway.

Compared to everyone else's gloom, her relaxed expression was like a sunny slap in the face.

This earned her a few raised brows and a couple of whispered, "Does the new girl not care about her grades?" behind her back.

When the other students saw that the transfer student was so relaxed, they more or less felt a little bit better.

Lu Qingyan carried her school bag and unhurriedly walked towards the opposite end of the hallway. She followed the class signs one-by-one in search of the Class 12 classroom.

Although she knew that the cheap brother of hers was also in this classroom, she had no interest in what Lu Mingxuan looked like.

Her cheap, temperamental brother. The person she had yet to meet in this new life.

The last time when she went to the internet cafe, she didn't end up seeing the person, so she's already given up on recognizing him.

When she previously looked at the chat records of the original host and her brother, she realized that they were all nearly the same:

Big Brother's Little Cotton-padded Jacket: Big brother, are you here?

Over an hour passed, but there was still no response.

Big Brother's Little Cotton-padded Jacket: It's okay if you're not here.

At night, the other side finally replied: If you have so much free time to bother me, it's better to spend it pleasing that woman. I don't eat this set.

Dear Big Brother: You send so many messages all day long, then you f*cking send it again through QQ. I've told you many times. Lu Qingyan, are you sick? If you're sick, go take some medicine!

Lu Qingyan had stared at the screen for a full minute in stunned silence.

That woman. Obviously referring to Ivy, their shared mother.

The girl from the messages—pitiful, persistent, weirdly optimistic—was someone

Lu Qingyan didn't fully understand but strangely empathized with.

She now regrets that she had only skimmed the plot when it comes to their backstory. She didn't even know why Lu Mingxuanhated the original host so much.

However, it didn't matter because the original host's death probably had nothing to do with him. Since he wasn't a threat to her life, it didn't matter to her whether he hated her or not.

But, it was obvious that the original host never understood the implicit meanings behind his words.

Big Brother's Little Cotton-padded Jacket: I never expected that the Big Brother that calls me annoying actually secretly cared about me so much. Big Brother really is a tsundere. But don't worry, big brother! I am in good health lately, not sick at all. Love you! Good night!

Lu Qingyan had laughed when she first read it. But now, walking toward Class 12, that laughter faded into something else.

A quiet ache.

Maybe she wasn't so different from the original host.

Maybe she, too, knew what it was like to want someone's approval so badly that even rejection felt like interaction.

She shook it off. Emotion was dangerous.

How to say it, the most important thing to being a bootlicking dog is to be happy.

As long as oneself was happy, it was fine.

If this person ignored me, just lick someone else.

But Lu Qingyan felt that compared to this kind of meaningless "good morning" and "goodnight" where the other was too lazy to reply, it was better to go to Lu Mingxuan new sneaker posts or selfie posts in the friend circle and write: That's it? Just that?

This way, there will immediately be a conversation topic.

Plus, it will gain a lot of attention.

When she found the place, Lu Qingyan noticed that someone had secretly stuck a photo of Crayon Shin-chan with half his buttocks showing the Year 1 Class 12 sign.