17

"Oh? You've got a way?" Liu Hong's eyes narrowed to slits as soon as he heard that.

"Gao Yuanyuan," Shu Ran's lips curled into a slow, wicked smile. Her gaze subtly shifted from Liu Hong's face toward the blue sky.

Liu Hong was drawn to that chilly but compelling smile. He understood exactly what she meant. Just thinking about the hundred yuan his uncle took from him made his heart ache. This time, he was determined to get triple that back.

After Liu Hong left, Shu Ran slowly walked over to the railing. She liked standing there and gazing out at her surroundings—maybe a habit left over from her past life. It was the only thing that really made her feel at ease.

"That outfit doesn't suit you."

A familiar yet unfamiliar voice rang out by her ear.

Shu Ran raised her eyebrows and smiled faintly at the distance. "Didn't think Mr. Gu had a habit of eavesdropping."

"I'm not into that kind of thing," Gu Yichen chuckled, looking at the girl who barely reached his chest. "I was listening fair and square. And seriously, that outfit really doesn't suit you."

A faint smell of smoke drifted over, oddly pleasant to her senses.

"He ruined my clothes and gave me this as compensation. Whether it suits me or not isn't the point."

"Makes sense," Gu Yichen reached out and patted the top of her head. "Class is starting soon."

Then he turned to leave, casually picking up the paper bag on the ground as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Shu Ran didn't stop him. She hadn't planned on making Liu Hong compensate her anyway. This way was better—otherwise, she wouldn't have known what to do with the shirt.

As she came down the stairs, a girl stood at the landing, face red, clutching a book tightly in both hands. Her eyes shimmered with nervousness. Shu Ran found her somewhat familiar but couldn't quite place her. She was about to walk past when the girl stepped in her way.

"Um… uh…" The girl stammered so much that Shu Ran frowned, though she still waited patiently for her to finish.

Seeing that, the girl grew even more anxious, squeezing the book until it was nearly deformed.

"Do you need something?" Shu Ran asked directly.

"Mhm," the girl nodded vigorously, holding out her book to Shu Ran without saying another word.

Shu Ran glanced at the book—a math workbook. She immediately understood.

"You want me to help you with math?"

The girl's eyes lit up as she nodded again, even more earnestly.

"I'm not good at math. You should ask someone else," Shu Ran replied flatly and stepped to the side to leave.

But once again, the girl blocked her way.

"I… I heard you got a perfect score on the exam…"

Another headache brought on by that damn perfect score. If she'd known it would lead to all this, she would've dialed it back to a 60.

"Could you help me? Just a little… I only want to improve a little bit," the girl pleaded softly, seemingly braver than before.

"Why me?" Shu Ran couldn't help but ask. "Can't a teacher or other classmates help you?"

The girl's lips moved slightly but no words came out. She seemed torn. After a long pause, she finally spoke in a low voice:

"You used to be a poor student too… so I thought maybe you'd understand how I feel."

"I try my hardest to study, but no matter how hard I work, I still fail. We're about to move on to junior high, and the teachers don't have time for students like me. The other kids won't associate with people who score low… there's no one who can help me."

Shu Ran's heart sank. She knew exactly what that felt like.

"I've taken a bunch of tutoring classes, but my grades just keep dropping. Every time I see the disappointment on my parents' faces, it hurts so much…" The girl's voice grew smaller and smaller, her body trembling. "So…"

"Come find me in the classroom after school," Shu Ran said, glancing at the girl before walking off.

It took a while for the girl to process it. When she finally did, she looked at Shu Ran's retreating back with a joyful smile.

As usual, when the dismissal bell rang, Shu Ran didn't rush out like she normally would. Instead, she sat at her desk reading, surprising quite a few students. After packing up her bag, Gao Yuanyuan gave her a look before leaving with Shen Meng.

The rest of the class trickled out in small groups until only those on cleaning duty remained.

About ten minutes later, the same girl appeared at the doorway, hesitating to come in. She glanced nervously at the others inside.

"Come in," Shu Ran put her book down and called to her softly.

The girl nodded and tiptoed in.

"Isn't that girl from Class Four? What's she doing here?"

"She looks pretty close with Shu Ran."

"Figures—birds of a feather flock together."

The students on cleaning duty muttered amongst themselves, occasionally throwing contemptuous glances at Shu Ran.

The girl lowered her head. Everyone knew about Shu Ran's past at this point, so she'd heard some things too—but she hadn't expected people to treat her with such disdain.

"S-sorry," the girl whispered.

"It's got nothing to do with you. Just a bunch of brainless idiots," Shu Ran replied indifferently.

The girl blinked in confusion. Brainless…?

"Hey! Have you said enough?" Wang Hailiang suddenly shouted, slamming a full bucket of water onto the floor. "Where's all this clever talk when you're actually called on in class?!"

The others immediately fell silent and scurried away.

Wang Hailiang walked over to the girl, frowning. "Haishan, what are you doing here?"

"Brother…" the girl said timidly.

Shu Ran looked back and forth between them. No wonder the girl looked familiar—they were siblings. But in her past life, she didn't remember Wang Hailiang having a sister. Ever since her rebirth, so many things had changed. Like a train that had derailed, everything was heading in a completely different direction.

"I… I just wanted Shu Ran to help me with math." Wang Haishan clutched her pencil, unsure how to face her brother.

"Didn't Mom sign you up for tutoring? Why ask her?" Wang Hailiang glanced at Shu Ran, then looked back at his sister. "Go to your class!"

"Brother!" Wang Haishan stared stubbornly at him. "Haven't I gone to enough of those classes already? But my grades just keep getting worse! I just want to try everything I can."

Wang Hailiang frowned deeply, staring at his sister for a long time before finally sighing. He dragged a chair over next to Shu Ran's desk and sat down with a mop in hand.

"Fine. If you're that set on it, then I'll stay and see just what you can learn."