Chapter 69: Not the Same Path

ought of Zhao Mingnong's rough calluses. However, considering how many employees from Shushan Stationery Factory would benefit from this job change, Su Cai felt that he had done well by chance after h...Chapter 69: Not the Same Crowd

After two months apart, at No. 17 High School's entrance, the guard duty team was still on alert. The principal, behind his glasses, squinted his sharp eyes intently observing the students entering the school.

A group of students walking ahead was clearly Sun Man and her close friends. Since No. 17 didn't enforce strict uniform regulations, on this first day of the new semester, one could see a colorful array of autumn clothes worn by the students throughout the campus.

With the arrival of autumn, rows of paulownia trees outside the school seemed to echo the season, shedding leaves as they did so.

The students, including Sun Man, could hear small groups of fellow students whispering excitedly among themselves after getting off buses or walking on the streets and pathways leading to the teaching buildings. These whispers were filled with summaries of their holiday experiences and new stories that happened within each social circle during the break.

In previous discussions, these topics would have revolved around trips taken over the holidays, whether abroad or domestically, or embarrassing incidents classmates might have experienced at gatherings. There would be talk about surprises from term-end report cards, like unexpected academic improvements in a particular class year, or which students from the senior year were repeating their grade, and newcomers transferring into school with great fanfare. However, after the first half of the semester's surprising transfer student Su Can brought to No. 17, all other transfers seemed dull by comparison.

If there had been more transfer students like Su Can, No. 17 might have struggled under the pressure.

Yet, it seemed that there were a few notable highlights:

"Sun Man, you haven't heard There's talk that this time around, Wang Weiwei is back. Not just him; Lin Zouwu and Lin Anran are also said to be returning for the new semester!"

Sun Man let out a "huh" sound, somewhat taken aback as she said, "He actually returned Then Yan Ran must have too. This is quite lively."

Someone remarked, "That's what I was saying. How can they compare to us at No. 17 Some of the province’s top repeaters from other schools are now transferring back here for their senior year. Clearly, our school has great appeal.

"In that case, Zhang Feifei and her group should be even happier. Her friend Zhu Ran is back; I wonder if Fatty Five got fatter" Sun Man always had a lot of friends around her because she would chat and joke with anyone without reserve, making it easy for others to see her as a close friend. People enjoyed talking to her, feeling at ease like the arrival of spring.

Of course, Su Cen being dragged onto the exposure stage by her in a fit of anger was undoubtedly an exceptional case. Su Cen was a person with two lifetimes' worth of experience and profound wisdom; his deliberate provocative behavior easily led Sun Man into falling for his trap, and she couldn't escape this consequence.

This didn’t make Sun Man regret losing her lady-like image when she recalled it; instead, she thought that he deserved to be provoked. If she didn’t put on airs, wouldn’t she have no way to control him in the future

Thinking carefully about this made Sun Man’s face slightly red.

"I heard, just a rumor though, from Jiang Yao of Class 11 that they saw Wang Weiwei and others at some party during summer vacation. It seemed like Su Cen was there too."

“Oh,” Sun Man had initially been indifferent, thinking to herself that these were mere rumors, so how could they be true if the class name was already mentioned clearly as “Class 11.” But after hearing Su Cen's name, she couldn't help but focus and raise an eyebrow. "Su Cen"

Then she suddenly realized her reaction was too obvious, which might let nearby gossiping girls notice something unusual about her expression change. Fortunately, the other girls ignored this shift in her demeanor; they probably wouldn’t think that Sun Man's mention of the name carried any emotional fluctuations or changes. Or perhaps everyone had grown accustomed to instinctively grimacing or expressing amazement upon hearing his name.

The girl who started the conversation then spread more rumors about how Su Cen threw two people into the swimming pool and afterwards got drunk with Wang Weiwei and others during their summer holiday, causing a commotion at this party. The group was skeptical of these claims: "Isn't this too unbelievable Does Wang Weiwei have such a temper"

Someone then added, "Regarding this matter, Jiang Zhichao from Class 1 also mentioned it during his vacation; he said that their family had some kind of commission and attended the party. It should be true."

The group collectively murmured, “Oh,” realizing such a holiday would have been exciting, but it could only happen to people like Wang Weiwei and Lin Anran who came from relatively well-off families; they were probably the only ones who could act so unrestrained without many concerns.

But what about Su Cen's involvement in this This sparked a heated discussion among everyone.

The homeroom teacher, Mr. Wang Gui, on the first day of class began his lecture with righteous indignation: "Starting from today, we will enter a new semester—one that is most brutal and challenging, without any respite. I would love to speak more nobly about it, but reality forces me to be frank. Your goal should all be to sweep into top universities across the country rather than crumbling beneath towering walls of limitations. Therefore, starting today, you will fight for your dreams. In future class reunions, I hope everyone can present successful achievements."

Feeling that he had sufficiently motivated them with this pep talk, Mr. Wang then stated his main point: "Starting from today, we officially enter the night study sessions of Senior Three. It will start at 7 PM and end after ten."

"A wave of wailing sounds immediately followed!"

", you all have seen that many new faces are joining our class. Starting today, we will be in the final year of high school, fighting for this academic year together. I hope we can encourage each other and progress together."

The senior three grade has expanded to seventeen classes; an additional three classes come from those who are repeating their final year and students transferring over from external schools for exams. Other repeaters or transfer students may have one or two in the regular class.

After Mr. Wang finished speaking, the class began.

Su Cen looked at a pile of letters from Xia Hai placed on his desk and didn't pay much attention to the lesson, instead opening each letter one by one.

The accumulated mail was sent during the summer vacation; friends in Xia Hai City continued their tranquil lives. Many expressed confusion about the upcoming academic year's uncertainties. Xue Yiyang invited a large group of people for swimming during the holiday, while Liu Rui seemed to have gotten the phone number of a girl from an opposite unit. Everything was what should be expected at this time: confusion, agitation, anxiety and anticipation towards the future.

Someone in the class muttered about him secretly; some newly transferred or repeating students were particularly interested in Su Cen's terrifying grades ranked in the top five of their class.

Those who were familiar with these transfer and repeat students would point at Su Cen and whisper, "That's him."

The third period ended, and three figures that caused headaches for Su Cen appeared outside Senior Three Class Three; their homeroom teacher Mr. Wang was talking to them. When facing Wang Weiwei, his tone actually softened.

Wang Weiwei nodded constantly as he communicated with Mr. Wang, showing a respectful demeanor, but Lin Zhouwu had already grown impatient and kept winking at Su Cen. Whenever Lin Anran's gaze occasionally met him, she would pout before looking away; this left Su Cen speechless.

When Jiang Mingjun saw them three, his expression immediately froze. Many in the class who heard about Wang Weiwei's group back when they were freshmen or even middle school students would now show similar expressions. Jiang Mingjun said, "That Wang Weiwei—wasn't he transferred out after freshman year During the school sports meet’s 5000-meter run, despite being injured in his ankle, he still ran to the end and fell several times, causing many people to cry; Lin Taoran's ex-classmate who was very proficient in dancing, yoga, and basketball—many liked her. Once a guy relentlessly pursued her, she got so angry that she punched him hard enough for his nose to bleed. Since then, many have kept their admiration hidden in their hearts. And that famous black-foot king Lin Zhouwu—whenever he played soccer, he would always kick the ball into his own goal; no one dared say anything to his face but they all cursed him behind his back—are these three transferring to our class This is major news!"

Had Jiang Mingjun not mentioned it, Su Cen wouldn't have known that these three had such past reputations in the school.

Before Jiang Mingjun could finish speaking, Wang Weiwei, Lin Zouwu, and Lin Haoran sat down at the empty table beside them. Jiang Mingjun's speech was abruptly cut off as he realized that everyone in the class had fallen silent and were watching their direction.

Jiang Mingjun could feel the pressure he was under... some people in this world always gave him a sense of distance, such as Wang Weiwei or Lin Jinger. Excessive remoteness would inevitably create a sense of pressure, similar to how high-pressure and low-pressure areas form differences in air pressure; there must be pressure formed between them. From the indifferent side profile of Wang Weiwei, the ambiguous smile on Lin Zouwu's face, and the unapproachable expression of Lin Haoran, Jiang Mingjun felt this initial manifestation of authority.

After the three put their backpacks down on the table and sat down, the tense atmosphere in the class relaxed a bit.

"What are you looking at!" Lin Rao ran his gaze over, saying coldly.

Jiang Mingjun quickly tugged Su Can's sleeve to remind him of Wang Weiwei and Lin Jinger sitting down earlier, whispering in Su Can's ear, "Don't look. They're not people we can provoke."

Afterward, Lin Jinger laughed suddenly, leaving Jiang Mingjun dumbfounded.

Lin Haoran smiled at Su Can and said, "I saw the ranking list; your grades are quite good!"

At this moment, Wang Weiwei turned back from greeting a few acquaintances in class and told him, "This is going to be tough. It's already difficult enough just trying to match your grades."

"I'm warning you," Lin Zouwu said through gritted teeth, "Don't fall too far behind us; otherwise, we'll look down on you. You're not our kind of person!"

Su Can raised an eyebrow and spoke a single word from the depths of his mouth: "Get lost."

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