Just thinking about all this made Yun Shifei feel terrible.
She couldn't afford to fight a losing battle; the experiences of her previous life had taught her that it wasn't worth it.
Now, how loved Yun Sisi was!
She still remembered that when she first arrived here, Xu Ya had gone out of her way to act indifferent toward her in order to reassure Yun Sisi—so that Yun Sisi wouldn't feel neglected because of her presence.
She had been assigned to sleep in the corner room, a room with poor lighting that was perpetually damp and cold.
The room hadn't been specially decorated either.
Compared with Yun Sisi's pink dreamlike princess-like room, hers had only a bed, a desk, and a wardrobe; it was empty and devoid of anything else.
It was only later, after she "willfully" pleaded, that they gradually bought some things for her.
Back then, vanity had gotten the better of her, and she demanded that her room be decorated just like Yun Sisi's.
Of course, she didn't get what she wanted, but it was still far better than before.
Yet such willfulness had led to an ever-deepening rift between her and her mother, a rift that could no longer be repaired.
Thinking about this, Yun Shifei took a deep breath.
Living another life was probably heaven's way of giving her a chance to make amends for the regrets of her past.
She wouldn't be as willful as before, but she also wouldn't let go of what was rightfully hers.
This time, however, she was immensely relieved that Cheng Lie had listened to her. If he'd said anything, it would've caused her trouble.
Thinking about this, the image of the boy's indifferent face surfaced in her mind—a silent visage, like an endless snowfield stretching beyond the horizon.
She had once heard someone say that children with autism were like stars, shining alone in the vast, dark night sky.
Was he like that too?
...
"Yun Shifei, I'm warning you: don't go near my brother again!"
On Monday, Yun Shifei had just arrived at school for class when Mu Jiayu pointed at her nose and issued a warning.
She stared at Yun Shifei with undisguised disgust. "I heard you were wandering all over the neighborhood looking for my brother this weekend? Don't even think about it—you're just a toad trying to eat swan meat! My brother would never be interested in someone like you!"
Mu Jiayu was Mu Chengzhu's younger sister and a good friend of Yun Sisi.
Surely Yun Sisi must have said something to her.
This hadn't happened in her previous life.
Because back then, she had already been expelled from school.
Now, since the events in that room hadn't occurred, everything had changed.
Thinking of this made Yun Shifei feel a bit cheerful.
Without realizing it, the corners of her mouth lifted as her eyes curved, seemingly holding glistening morning dew.
Her smile stunned Mu Jiayu, who was momentarily at a loss for words.
Normally, when Mu Jiayu insulted Yun Shifei, she would argue back.
But now—she was smiling?
"Why are you smiling?" Mu Jiayu asked angrily.
Yun Shifei snapped back to reality and immediately restrained her smile. "I wasn't smiling."
She spoke cautiously, her voice so soft that a passing breeze could scatter it.
She had no desire to provoke Mu Jiayu; handling her own issues was already burdensome enough—she didn't want to make another enemy.
In her previous life, her stubborn confrontations had cost her dearly.
Just the tricks Mu Jiayu had played on her were enough to count.
This time, it was better to stay out of her way.
"Do you think I'm blind? You were probably thinking about my brother again, weren't you?" Mu Jiayu glared at Yun Shifei.
Flustered, Yun Shifei waved her hands. "No, I don't like him anymore."
"What did you say?"
"I don't like Mu Chengzhu anymore, really," Yun Shifei said, her tone sincere and her expression serious.
Afraid that Mu Jiayu might not believe her, she seemed especially earnest.
Her demeanor made it look like she was telling the truth.
But Mu Jiayu knew all too well how crazily Yun Shifei had liked her brother in the past.
"Ha! Are you scheming some new way to chase my brother? Playing hard to get, maybe? Don't even dream about it!" Mu Jiayu snorted as she walked out of Yun Shifei's classroom.
After leaving Class 1 (7), Mu Jiayu couldn't help but pat herself down, as though trying to rid herself of something dirty.
She was, after all, a good student from Class 1; she had no desire to mingle with the troublemakers from Class 7.
Xinhua Middle School's first-year students were divided into seven classes, ranked by their academic performance.
Class 7 was the bottom-tier class, filled with students who had been admitted because of their family's wealth or connections.
After all, Xinhua Middle School had the best teachers in South City. Even if a student was academically poor, with good mentors, they might still get into a decent university.
Yun Shifei was also one of those who had entered Xinhua Middle School through connections.
Yun Sisi and Mu Jiayu, however, were in Class 1.
Mu Chengzhu was a grade ahead of them, in Class 2 (1).
The top elite class. Based on Xinhua Middle School's past statistics, getting into that class basically meant stepping into a guaranteed spot at a prestigious university.
Yun Shifei had read some rebirth novels before. The female protagonists in those stories seemed to have cheat-like powers after being reborn—they dealt crushing blows to their detractors and were somehow able to learn anything effortlessly.
But that wasn't her.
In her past life, her grades were bad. Although she had later worked hard to study certain subjects...
Those efforts were all tailored to Mu Chengzhu's preferences.
Mu Chengzhu liked listening to piano music, so she enrolled in piano classes.
Mu Chengzhu's job involved diplomacy, so she studied English and French.
She worked tirelessly, studying day and night, until she mastered these skills to an expert level.
Unfortunately, those skills didn't serve much purpose now.
Aside from English, the others were practically useless.
Her grades would probably start out as bad as they were in her past life.
But with the experiences of her previous life, she knew that as long as she was willing to study seriously, she could achieve decent grades.
She wasn't stupid; her foundation was just weak.
In her previous life, she had been blinded by love, and it had cost her her education.
Yun Shifei silently encouraged herself.
She then opened her chemistry book. After flipping through a couple of pages, she felt her vision go black.
Why couldn't she understand a single thing? Weren't there supposed to be cheat-like powers after being reborn?
As she continued flipping through the textbook, she suddenly heard sporadic voices coming from the corner behind her.
"Hey, idiot, help me with cleaning duty today!"
Idiot?
Yun Shifei turned her head and saw Cheng Lie sitting in the corner.
So they were in the same class?
In her previous life, Yun Shifei had been expelled within a month of enrolling at school. She hadn't even familiarized herself with her classmates, let alone noticed that Cheng Lie was in the same class as her.
At this moment, a boy was sitting on Cheng Lie's desk, looking at him mockingly.
He was tapping Cheng Lie's desk with one of Cheng Lie's books.
The crisp *tap-tap-tap* echoed oppressively in the air.
"You've been in this class doing nothing since the day you got here. No homework, no cleaning duties—how comfortable, huh? Well, today it's time you contributed something to the class."
He said a lot, but Cheng Lie didn't respond.
Sunlight poured through the window, illuminating the boy's pale face with a golden hue, making him appear more spirited.
Yet his expression remained cold and gloomy.
At that moment, he kept his gaze on the textbook in his hands, unmoved, steady as a mountain.