Lin Ruoxi froze, stealing a glance at Xue Rui. She didn’t understand what he meant by ’not opposing’.

She felt like something was off, but...then again, maybe it wasn’t.

Although her grandmother didn’t like Xue Rui, she rarely objected to anything he did.

Except for those stockings...

"Mm..." Lin Ruoxi nodded.

’It’s not like Xue Rui said anything wrong,’ she thought.

Hearing her response, Qiu Mengze’s expression turned grim. It was a miserable, twisted look, somewhere between a smile and a sob...

He didn’t hear the rest of their conversation.

He just felt that the food today was exceptionally bland, like chewing on wax.

「During evening self-study.」

Xue Rui switched seats with Lin Ruoxi’s deskmate and sat down next to her.

Lin Ruoxi felt a little nervous. Her previous deskmate had also been a quiet girl, but now, suddenly, it was Xue Rui.

"Go talk to the head teacher and tell them you want to be a day student. That way, you can take care of your grandmother and earn a little money," Xue Rui suggested quietly.

Lin Ruoxi nodded. She had been thinking the same thing. The place she was staying at now was very close to the school, so she could go home every day to care for her grandmother.

But when she heard Xue Rui mention making money, a flash of surprise appeared in her eyes.

’Does he mean getting a part-time job while I’m in school?’

That wasn’t a bad idea; she had been planning on doing that anyway.

"Running errands for classmates. It’s pretty profitable," Xue Rui said with a sly grin.

He’d happened to run into the girl who gave her the meat-filled flatbread the other day.

He learned from her that day students could run errands for boarders—buying breakfast, snacks, charging phone batteries, and so on.

The sheer scope of the services left Xue Rui stunned.

There were even value-added services like keeping QQ accounts online to increase their level or logging into games for people.

There were very few day students to begin with, and even fewer parents who would agree to their kids doing this sort of thing.

As a result, a day student’s monthly income from running errands could even exceed a teacher’s salary...

But Lin Ruoxi didn’t have this problem. Back in the village, she did farm work, cooked, and even went out at night with a lantern to catch scorpions. Her grandmother never questioned what she did.

Most importantly, Xue Rui had noticed that Lin Ruoxi had deliberately cut out some job postings from the newspaper she left on the coffee table.

Xue Rui figured Lin Ruoxi was probably worried about having no income after moving to the city.

Compared to those other jobs, running errands was relatively easy, and the income was substantial.

"Mm."

Lin Ruoxi nodded. She actually had no idea about any of this.

But if Xue Rui wanted her to run errands, she would.

"Starting tomorrow, students in the art program won’t have to attend evening self-study," the supervising teacher announced.

"YES!" several students cheered, and the classroom atmosphere instantly came alive.

There were many art studios next to No. 2 High School. Every afternoon during activity period, droves of art students would leave campus to attend their specialized classes elsewhere.

"Quiet!"

The supervisor was a teacher in her fifties. She tapped the lectern with an eraser. "An art specialty? It’s just a shortcut. What’s there to be happy about? Your academic classes are what’s truly fundamental."

Her comment drew the ire of many art students.

One girl spoke up. "Teacher, how can you call it a shortcut? I’ve been playing the erhu since I was eight. I’ve worked very hard."

"A shortcut is a shortcut. You only choose art because you can’t handle the rigor of academics. It’s unfair to the students who focus on their studies," the old teacher said dismissively.

"Teacher, I don’t think you’re right."

...

Many students tried to explain to the teacher just how hard art students had to work.

Xue Rui just smiled, not joining the discussion. He tilted his head and stared intently at Lin Ruoxi. "What do you think?"

"What?" Lin Ruoxi was working on a practice problem. When she saw Xue Rui wanted to talk, she gently leaned her ear toward him.

"Do you think art students are taking a shortcut?" Xue Rui asked with a smile.

"Um... studying art must be very hard, too," Lin Ruoxi said quietly.

She didn’t know much about art students, but she imagined that playing an instrument or singing couldn’t be easy. It must require long hours of practice every day.

"Silly girl," Xue Rui said, shaking his head with a wry smile.

’For a silly girl like you, of course it’s unfair,’ Xue Rui thought.

Someone from a family like Lin Ruoxi’s would never even come into contact with the concept of ’art’ in their entire life. They simply didn’t have the option.

A huge number of people are filtered out based on their family’s financial situation alone.

Some people use their art specialty to get into university, only to switch majors later...

But Xue Rui didn’t care about that. The world was inherently unfair. People only ever look side to side, or up at those ahead of them.

No one ever turns back to look at those who have been left far behind.

Because, subconsciously, they believe those behind them aren’t even human, so of course they don’t deserve to talk about "fairness."

However, Xue Rui believed Lin Ruoxi didn’t need to worry about it.

As the second-ranked student in their grade, it was only natural for her to be above such a topic.

"So, what do you like?" Xue Rui asked.

Lin Ruoxi had a good figure and a soft, gentle voice that was very pleasant to listen to.

Whether it was dancing, singing, or even playing the erhu, she would probably have a unique charm.

"I..." Lin Ruoxi thought for a long time before finally shaking her head.

Under the desk, Xue Rui gently took a lock of Lin Ruoxi’s hair and twirled it around his fingertips. It felt cool and silky smooth.

Xue Rui had expected this answer.

Lin Ruoxi’s eyes lit up with childlike delight just from watching cartoons. It was no surprise that she knew nothing about the arts.

Since she’d never been exposed to any of it, she naturally couldn’t imagine what she might like.

"I think you’d like dancing," Xue Rui said with a grin.

"Um..." Lin Ruoxi’s mind drifted, trying to imagine what dancing would be like...

In reality, Xue Rui just wanted to see Lin Ruoxi dance.

Suddenly, the phone in Xue Rui’s pocket vibrated.

It was a text from an unknown number:

Xue Rui, my dad is making me transfer schools. He also confiscated my phone.

Don’t reply. This is my mom’s phone.

Xue Rui was completely baffled.

’Who sent this?’

It’s Gu Muxue.

"Huh?" Xue Rui was thoroughly confused.

He had so many questions, but since Gu Muxue told him not to reply, he didn’t.

’Why?’

’Gu Muxue just went home. How could she be transferring already?’

’Was it because of that old photo?’

He had a few suspicions.

Generally speaking, his relationship with Gu Muxue in his past life was similar to how it was now.

Although they had never officially been together, Xue Rui vaguely felt there had been an emotional foundation between them.

But in the end, Gu Muxue had left the country without a word.

Thinking back now, it must have been her father’s arrangement.

In his past life, Gu Qingshan had also deliberately shunned him.

He’d finally found the reason. The problem wasn’t Gu Muxue; it was her father.

Now, with Lin Ruoxi discovering that photo album and him bringing the picture to Gu Muxue, he had only accelerated the process.

This meant that in his past life, Gu Muxue had likely revealed his identity to her family...

Xue Rui was completely bewildered, unable to make sense of the connections.

So, early the next morning, he waited by the school gate for Gu Muxue.

Sure enough, she didn’t show up.

He asked around and found out from the head teacher of Class One that Gu Muxue had called in sick.

Xue Rui wanted to go home and ask his dad for advice.

But then he remembered he had to take the old lady to the hospital on Tuesday, so he decided to hold off.

But as fate would have it...

On Tuesday morning, Gu Muxue showed up at school, her eyes red and puffy, and came to Class Two looking for Xue Rui.

"What’s going on? You’re not transferring anymore?" Xue Rui asked, confused.

The girl’s eyes were red, looking like she had been crying for a long time.

Her beautiful, almond-shaped eyes were swollen and looked a size smaller, making her look like a little rabbit.

"My dad got beat up..." Gu Muxue said, clearly upset.

"The deputy bureau chief got beat up? Who the hell has a death wish?" Xue Rui’s eye twitched. The news was a bombshell.