After dropping off the two little guys on the way, she headed straight to the county high school. Just as she arrived at the entrance, a tall and robust man blocked her path. Su Xiaoxiao looked up, recognized the man, and cursed under her breath. She turned to flee. This person was none other than Li Daniu, whom she had electrocuted last time. But as soon as she turned, a large hand like a steel clamp grabbed her wrist. Su Xiaoxiao immediately grimaced with pain, thinking she was doomed this time. Seeing her face turn pale, Li Daniu quickly let go of her and, looking bewildered, said, "Sorry, I... I didn’t mean to." Su Xiaoxiao was baffled by his shy demeanor. Why was he acting shy? Wasn’t he here to settle scores? Just as this thought crossed her mind, Li Daniu spoke up, "Su, fancy meeting you here, you came to study too?" What do you mean, ’you came to study too’? Su Xiaoxiao looked at the strapping man in front of her, her expression blank for a moment. Then she widened her eyes at him and uncertainly asked, "Are we classmates?" Li Daniu shook his head, "No." Su Xiaoxiao breathed a sigh of relief. She thought he looked at least four or five years older than her, how could he possibly be a classmate. "Su, I’m your junior. I’m a sophomore this year." No way, this guy looked older than her no matter how she looked. How could he be a junior? Li Daniu shyly explained, "Su, I started school a year late, actually we’re about the same age." Forget it, Su Xiaoxiao didn’t want to talk anymore. She stopped speaking, but someone was as enthusiastic as ever: "Su, is your backpack heavy? Can I carry it for you?" "Su, have you had breakfast? I brought buns." On the way, he followed her around like a clingy, big dog, almost wagging his tail. Su Xiaoxiao endured and finally found her classroom; only then did Li Daniu depart reluctantly. She let out a long breath, opened the classroom door, and the previously lively room fell silent instantly. "Su Xiaoxiao? Wow, Su Xiaoxiao actually came to school, the sun must have risen from the west." Someone shouted, and everyone turned to look at her as if she were some rare species. Su Xiaoxiao awkwardly smiled at everyone, swiftly found her seat, and sat down. Her seat was in the second to last row, with only one desk in the last row, where a male student was sleeping. Su Xiaoxiao glanced over, then refocused on her own space. In three days, the graduating exam for seniors would be held, she had to at least come to school as a formality. Due to national policy, the college entrance exams haven’t resumed, usually, people get their high school diplomas and start working. Those with connections would ask people to help them get into a university for workers, farmers, and soldiers. Su Xiaoxiao’s family certainly didn’t have those connections, but she knew that next year college entrance exams would resume, when everyone would have the opportunity to go to university. Her main goal now was to get a high school diploma, secure a job at the department store, and deal with the rest later. The first class was homeroom teacher Zhou Xiujuan’s literature class. Zhou Xiujuan entered the classroom, saw Su Xiaoxiao in the second-to-last row, glanced at her subtly, then started teaching without saying anything. Su Xiaoxiao listened attentively throughout the class, even answered questions twice, which made Zhou Xiujuan reevaluate her impression of Su Xiaoxiao. As the class drew to a close, Zhou Xiujuan inspected the dictation work, stopped by Su Xiaoxiao, and took special note. It had been some time since she last saw her, and her handwriting had improved significantly. The script was neat and pleasant to look at, unlike her previous scrawls that looked like they’d been written with a claw. Zhou Xiujuan nodded satisfied, glad she’d spoken favorably about the girl to the principal; it seemed she had truly reformed. She fondly patted Su Xiaoxiao’s shoulder, then noticed the boy sleeping soundly at the last desk. Zhou Xiujuan knitted her brows and slapped the table hard. The sleeping Song Weidong drowsily raised his head, saw Zhou Xiujuan and froze briefly, "Is class over?" "Class over? Where’s your dictation?" Zhou Xiujuan drummed her fingers on the desk with frustration. Among the students, the two that gave her the most trouble were Su Xiaoxiao and the one in front of her. The former often skipped class for various reasons and didn’t focus on studying, while the latter was smart but didn’t apply himself. He managed to sleep through almost seven and a half of the eight daily classes; nobody knew what kept him up at night. The classroom fell into dead silence, students timidly peeked at them; Song Weidong had provoked the teacher again. Sure enough, Zhou Xiujuan’s voice quickly rose, "Stand at the back and listen, you’re not allowed to return to your seat without my permission today." Song Weidong yawned, stood up, casually stuffed his hands in his pockets, and strolled to the back of the classroom to stand by the wall. Su Xiaoxiao curiously glanced back, meeting a pair of indifferent eyes. His eye color was lighter than most, his gaze cool and uninviting. Due to sleeping, his hair was a bit messy, but his face was delicately fair, with refined features that would easily outshine Korean pop idols today. Song Weidong briefly met her gaze, expressionlessly looked away, yawned again, and lazily leaned against the wall, seemingly about to fall asleep. Could this person be possessed by the god of sleep? Sleeping even at school, why did he still look so sleepy? Just as Su Xiaoxiao was pondering this, someone tapped her desk twice. She turned to see the literature class representative collecting dictation papers, quickly handed hers over. The literature class representative was a cute girl with a round face and dimples when she smiled, saying, "Mr. Zhou wants you to go to the office after class." She left with the papers, completely ignoring the last row. Just then, the bell rang, Su Xiaoxiao hurriedly put away her books and ran to the office. Without even knocking, she heard voices discussing inside. "I heard the last in your class came back?" ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝⁂𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖⁂𝕟𝕖𝕥 "After all that time off, thinking she can get a diploma is wishful thinking." "For sure, with such low grades, better to have her repeat a year." Being involved, Su Xiaoxiao didn’t know whether to enter, it was too awkward. After a while, Zhou Xiujuan’s voice came from inside, "Even though she took time off, she kept up with her studies and even improved. Look, she got full marks on the dictation this time." "How is that possible?" A teacher immediately objected, and Su Xiaoxiao drummed up courage, knocking on the office door amid the doubt.