After introducing the new classmate, the next step was arranging seats.
Yang Wei looked at the empty seats in the classroom: one next to the trash can, one in the second row, and the worst position was the one in front of Shen Shi. A big empty seat, no one in the class dared to sit there.
Shen Shi was indeed troublesome, but he had never caused any major incident. At most, he skipped classes, arrived late, acted indifferent, and disrupted the class atmosphere.
Yang Wei: “…”
His fists tightened.
He frowned.
No, Ye Ran was a good kid.
If he sat there, wouldn’t he get bullied to death?
Back then, Ye Huaishan had helped him a lot. He couldn’t throw Ye Huaishan’s only son into such a pit of fire.
As for the remaining two seats: the one by the trash can was unacceptable, the smell was too strong. The one in the second row was by the window, where all the top students sat.
There was also a class committee member there, all good students with a sense of responsibility.
If Ye Ran sat there, his weak academic performance could improve. Even though he studied arts, academic subjects were still very important.
Yang Wei had made up his mind. He said to Ye Ran, “Ye Ran, you can sit next to Zhang Xuyang.”
Zhang Xuyang was a boy with black-rimmed glasses, thin and small, wearing an oversized uniform. He looked a whole head shorter.
His temperament seemed good too. When Yang Wei pointed to the empty seat beside him, he didn’t show any dissatisfaction.
Ye Ran had no objections. His eyes swept casually across the last row.
The last row was shrouded in shadow. A few boys sat lazily, legs stretched out against the chair in front. One boy leaned back against his chair, half listening as the others talked.
Ye Ran hadn’t picked up his textbooks yet. The academic office told him to go after school. For now, he only carried a new backpack with a notebook and a pen inside.
When he walked to the seat, Zhang Xuyang had already tidied his desk, shoving his messy stack of papers and homework into the desk pocket. Seeing Ye Ran looking at him, he flushed, apologizing awkwardly, “S-sorry… I h-have too many things.”
The moment he spoke, Ye Ran noticed his issue.
Zhang Xuyang was a stutterer.
No wonder he sat alone.
Ye Ran smiled and said, “It’s fine.”
Zhang Xuyang let out a sigh of relief. He watched nervously as Ye Ran sat down, unpacked his bag, and took out a notebook and pen.
His temperament was very gentle. His speech wasn’t fast or slow. When his dark, soft eyes looked over, they held only focus and thought, something that made people instinctively lower their guard and want to get closer.
Zhang Xuyang licked his dry lips and hesitantly asked, “D-d-do you not have books?”
The moment the sentence left him, he froze in frustration.
He had wanted to leave a good impression on the new classmate. He had rehearsed the question several times in his head, but he still stuttered.
Would the new classmate dislike him like everyone else?
Just as his anxiety peaked, he heard the new classmate’s gentle voice, sounding no different from before, as if he hadn’t noticed the stutter at all.
“I haven’t gotten the books yet. The teacher told me to get them after school.”
Zhang Xuyang nodded immediately. “Th-then I’ll help you carry them.”
“No need.” Unexpectedly refused, he froze. But Ye Ran simply smiled at him and said lightly, “Someone will help me.”
The curve of his smile, softened by golden sunlight, looked like spring water shimmering under light.
Zhang Xuyang lowered his head, muttering.
Who?
He felt uncomfortable inside.
Had the new classmate already made friends?
…
In the last row, Yu Ting was animatedly talking to Jiang Yun about a game.
“Seriously, you don’t know how I swapped my Immortal Body with Resurrection Armor, then switched to the Shadow Blade. I made that guy so helpless he couldn’t even move. I told you to come over but you didn’t. I was godlike—”
Before he could finish, his chair was kicked.
Yu Ting froze, turning around to snap, but met Shen Shi’s cold, gloomy stare. The look was heavy with warning.
“Shut up.”
Yu Ting: “?”
He wanted to be angry but didn’t dare. He mumbled quietly, “What’s wrong with you?”
Shen Shi didn’t look at him. His brows were pressed down, leaning back in his chair, staring coldly at someone. “Noisy.”
Yu Ting understood. Shen Shi was just picking a fight.
Knowing when to back off, he didn’t add fuel to the fire.
With the annoying noise gone, Shen Shi rested his wrist on the desk. The more he looked at that faint smile, the more it irritated him.
Who knew what that stuttering Zhang Xuyang had said to make someone smile like that.
He stared at Ye Ran’s lips, his annoyance rising again.
So…
…this person smiled at everyone like that.
Yang Wei taught this class feeling unusually satisfied.
Before leaving, he glanced meaningfully at Shen Shi.
This period, Shen Shi neither slept nor zoned out. He sat quietly for once and listened to an entire class. Other than looking a bit cold, staring straight ahead like he couldn’t lower his pride, he behaved.
Yang Wei understood. Teenagers were stubborn. Even if they wanted to improve, they were scared of losing face, so they pretended not to care.
He sipped tea, brushing away the foam with the lid, still thinking.
He needed to observe more.
Shen Shi was rebellious. Pulling him back from the wrong path wouldn’t be easy.
But for now, what gave him the biggest headache was Shen Shi purposely scoring terribly.
That was the real problem.
…
The afternoon passed quickly.
When the 5:30 dismissal bell rang, the sun was setting, and colorful clouds filled the sky.
Light streamed through the windows, casting half-shadowed patterns across the desks by the window row.
The last class was math. The math teacher was old-fashioned with a strong presence. Even the naughtiest boys behaved like mice before a cat.
Ye Ran listened intently.
Since he was in Shen Shi’s consciousness world, he had to play his role. As a student, the first priority was studying.
He had been away from school too long. Even after listening through the whole new lesson, he only understood a few concepts. He still couldn’t solve problems on his own.
Zhang Xuyang’s grades were good. Math was his weaker subject, but still far better than Ye Ran’s half-baked foundation.
“L-look.” Zhang Xuyang swallowed nervously, glancing at Ye Ran’s calm, focused profile.
Ye Ran’s paper was covered in messy calculations, clearly showing his confusion.
“This one uses the basic inequality to find the minimum value. Given a > 0, b > 0, and ab equals 36…”
His stuttering voice became smoother as he continued, pointing to each step on the paper, explaining clearly, teaching Ye Ran: “So the minimum value of a + b is 12.”
Ye Ran suddenly understood. One hand pressed the scratch paper, the other started calculating. After getting the right answer, he felt genuinely pleased and praised sincerely, “Zhang Xuyang, you’re really smart.”
No one had ever praised him like that. Zhang Xuyang blushed, but before he could respond, a cold snort rang out.
…
Three boys were standing in the aisle.
Shen Shi walked in front, casual and lazy. He was only one step from Ye Ran’s desk. He seemed curious, lowering his eyes to look at the calculations Ye Ran had struggled to complete.
A shadow fell from him, outlining a silhouette over the paper, completely enveloping Ye Ran.
Ye Ran’s eyes flickered with understanding, and he openly let him look.
A moment later.
Another short laugh.
Shen Shi withdrew his gaze and spoke unhurriedly, “Zhang Xuyang, since when were you this good at math?”
Yu Ting, bored and not understanding why Shen Shi was suddenly meddling in his deskmate’s business, raised an eyebrow. He vaguely remembered Zhang Xuyang being average, his best subject being English. When had his math gotten so good that even Shen Shi would praise him?
He stepped forward, trying to squeeze in, but found Shen Shi blocking the space completely, feet glued to the spot like he’d used industrial-strength adhesive.
Yu Ting tried again but retreated after receiving a cold glare. He stood on tiptoe instead and peeked at Ye Ran’s paper.
A few seconds later, his expression twisted, as if he thought he had misread. After checking again, he finally confirmed it and blurted out in confusion:
“Isn’t this the example from the textbook?”
What did this have to do with being good at math?
Anyone could get it after one look.
He didn’t think his words were strange, but Zhang Xuyang’s expression changed. He quickly looked up, opened his mouth, wanting to defend Ye Ran, face flushed with urgency.
But before he could speak, Shen Shi leaned down. His tall, lean frame bent closer, approaching Ye Ran even more.
He reached out and tapped Ye Ran’s paper, neither light nor heavy, his tone lazy, half amused, half mocking: “New classmate.”
“If you have questions like this again, you can ask me.”
The pent-up irritation from the entire afternoon quietly dissipated. He dragged out his words, saying slowly, “I can look at the book and solve these too.”
Yu Ting: “?”
Yu Ting: “???”
No, what nonsense was that?
Even he, with his thick skin, felt uncomfortable hearing it, let alone the quiet, introverted new classmate.
Had Shen Shi taken the wrong medicine?
Yu Ting was baffled.
Why was he picking on the new classmate for no reason?
Zhang Xuyang clenched his fists too, terrified Ye Ran would be upset.
The air grew tense.
Everyone else had already left for dinner.
Yet unexpectedly, Ye Ran who had clearly been messed with showed no anger at all. His lashes lowered, casting shadows over his face.
He was the typical image teachers and classmates had of a good student: quiet, calm, obedient, studious.
But now, Ye Ran’s fine eyebrows knitted together. He sounded troubled, gave a soft hum, as if thinking, then asked in confusion, “Can I really ask you?”
Seeing Ye Ran take his words seriously, Shen Shi’s lips curled with inexplicable satisfaction.
He straightened slightly, still looking lazy, but the natural arrogance of a top student showed through.
His long, dark phoenix eyes locked onto Ye Ran’s hesitant face. He said casually, “Whatever you want.”
Whatever he wanted?
That was surprisingly the first thing Shen Shi said that didn’t irritate Ye Ran.
Ye Ran slowly lifted his head. “I see…”
His voice was soft and slow. He blinked and said, “But Shen Shi, I heard from the teachers in the office that you were second to last in the class on last semester’s finals.”
As if unaware of the sudden dead silence.
He looked up at Shen Shi, meeting the boy’s frozen black eyes, smiling as he asked, “So, how many points did you get in math?”
