Class 15.
In front of the podium stood a middle-aged man with a somewhat blessed figure. His back was a little hunched over, both hands bracing against the podium. “So let’s look at this problem. What’s the first step we should take? We’ll set the coordinates for this moving point M, and use trigonometric substitution and the law of sines, right?”
“Then what do we do next? Write out the coordinates for the other points too! Wouldn’t it be very obvious then that they’re collinear? Can we write out the coordinates for point P? Won’t we get the slope of PQ? Isn’t it very simple, right?”
The class was nodding off, responding sporadically.
Lu Lingxi knocked on the door, “Teacher Xia, I’ve brought a new student.”
Some students in Class 15 lazily lifted their heads. In the light, the new student wore a simple white crossover collared shirt. The collar was embroidered with a small white datura flower. Below were black culottes.
White top, black bottom. Her jet black hair was cleanly pinned up with a single wooden hairpin. Beyond that she wore no other accessories.
Her features were lazy yet beautiful, possessing a mesmerizing charm.
For a moment the math teacher felt as if he had time traveled. Like he was in the Imperial Academy, and walking towards him was his most outstanding female disciple at the prime of her youth.
She entered the classroom, breaking the silence by saying: “Hello everyone. My name is Bailian.”
The atmosphere exploded.
A girl in the back enthusiastically raised her hand asking, “Excuse me, which ‘lian’ character is your name?”
Bailian gracefully stood at the podium. Hearing this she lazily tilted her head, “The ‘lian’ from lianman, the imperial clan.”
“Wow!”
“Cool!”
Some boys were even slapping their desks cheering.
Some girls seemed indifferent on the surface, but had actually taken out their phones to chat wildly in their group chat.
“Alright, quiet down you rascals.” Lu Lingxi smiled and said, “Bailian you can sit in that empty spot in group 4.” She looked towards the girl sitting beside the window with her head bowed. Her voice softened, “Same table as Yang Lin.”
Carrying her backpack Bailian headed for the only empty spot in class, towards the back.
“Let me know if you need anything.” Bailian’s deskmate Yang Lin said softly. After speaking she kept her head lowered doing homework.
“Thanks.”
**
Lu Lingxi returned to the office.
“Wanxuan, later go write the bulletin board announcement at the intersection,” Since childhood Ren Wanxuan enjoyed famous teachers. Her writing was excellent, so Lu Lingxi favored her a bit more. “Also, you know about the Jiangjing Preparatory Camp right?”
Ren Wanxuan nodded, “I know about it.”
Not only did she know, her maternal grandfather was actively communicating with a doctoral advisor from Jiangjing University.
“Some schools use the Preparatory Camp’s software for their elite students to practice tests,” Lu Lingxi said slowly. “Recently our school obtained a spot, only one spot. So the school will decide who gets it after a month.”
Getting a Jiangjing Preparatory Camp spot was practically equal to securing Jiangjing University admission. The amount of students who could access the software was truly paltry. Ren Wanxuan remembered even top institution North City First High only had ten spots.
She was extremely surprised Xiangcheng High somehow obtained a spot: “Got it Teacher Lu!”
“Stay late when school ends. There will be training targeting the few students who can compete for the spot. Just these two things, you can go back now.” Lu Lingxi smiled sending her off.
Lu Lingxi wasn’t only the homeroom teacher for Class 15. She taught Chinese for three classes while holding the post of year head.
She oversaw all the major affairs for the third years.
“Teacher Lu, I’ve put the new transfer student’s test paper on your desk,” the physics teacher reminded Lu Lingxi.
Lu Lingxi hurriedly put on her reading glasses and picked up the test paper: “Let me take a look first.”
The first thing that caught her eye was the paper’s handwriting.
This penmanship…
Overhearing this, Ren Wanxuan slowed her footsteps.
So it was Bailian’s test paper?
The physics teacher smiled holding his teacup. “85 points. It was a simple test, the score’s a little low. But her foundational knowledge isn’t bad.”
Ren Wanxuan stopped at the doorway, her eyes faintly mocking.
As she shut the door she offhandedly thought, the physics teacher’s wording really was elegant—
What do you mean it’s just a little low?
Xiangcheng High’s midterms for science were extremely basic. Entire paper totaled 300 points. Yet for their class…
There was no one below 150!
Inside the office however, Lu Lingxi was rather surprised.
“85 is enough,” said Lu Lingxi examining the paper with a smile. “You didn’t know, Bailian switched from liberal arts to science. I thought if she could get 50 points I wouldn’t advise her to return to the liberal arts class.”
Her expectations weren’t high since Bailian transferred from liberal arts to science. She didn’t expect Bailian to break 200 points at all.
Lu Lingxi didn’t care about raising admission rates.
“She switched from liberal arts to science? No wonder her writing is so neat, more well printed than a printer’s,” the physics teacher was preparing his lesson earlier and hadn’t heard Lu Lingxi’s conversation with Bailian. “It looks more comfortable on the eyes compared to Ren Wanxuan’s paper.”
He also found it odd for the transfer to switch to science from liberal arts.
It was true the test paper was simple and mostly basic knowledge. She hadn’t completed many of the big questions. But actually, the ones she did attempt…
Were all correct answers. Especially the physics portions.
“She used authentic Imperial Examination style calligraphy,” Lu Lingxi was after all the Chinese teacher. She commended her for being a good kid, just look how proper the writing was: “In the past when scholars took the exams for government positions, this was the font style they used.”
Past top examinees simultaneously grasped a few styles of calligraphy. But answers submitted for the palace exam all had to use the Imperial Examination style.
Lu Lingxi hadn’t considered Bailian would know multiple writing styles. In this day and age children who could grasp one font already demonstrated strong character.
It was just that very few people studied Imperial Examination style now. Everyone promoted the Liang style.
“Don’t fret too much Teacher Lu,” said the physics teacher swirling his teacup. “Since she wants to study science, she will certainly work hard. Don’t just look at the 85 points now. I think she’s not completely devoid of talent. Just watch, come time for next year’s college entrance exam, her scores should rise to 170. She could test into a tertiary college with some effort.”
He decided to pay more attention to this transfer student.
Of course they didn’t know—
For a liberal arts student transferring to science, being able to score 85 points on an ordinary difficulty test, this was already considered marginally talented.
In their minds, Bailian’s greatest difficulty was switching from liberal arts to science. After all, science transfers who could properly score marks were already extraordinary. How could they imagine—
These 85 points consisted fully of content Bailian crammed in five days!
As for the many unattempted questions…it was purely because a certain someone hadn’t started learning that material yet.
**
Through Bailian’s solo efforts she seized wide swaths of territory on Xiangcheng High’s forum.
Of today’s ten posts, eight were about Empress Lianman.
Bailian herself was unaware. Though beautiful in appearance she emitted an aura difficult to blend in with.
Same as deskmate Yang Lin. Whether reading or working on practice questions, at a glance seemed similar to a study expert.
Emitting study expert airs caused other students not to dare strike up conversation.
After school in the afternoon.
Only today did Bailian get sized for uniforms. New sets would take two days to distribute. In the ocean of school uniform attired figures, only she wore her personal clothes. Also slightly taller than the average girl. Clean yet aloof, a crane standing among chickens.
Squatting at a street corner across the way, Jiang He immediately spotted the dazzling Bailian amidst the crowd.
“How come you’re alone?” Not seeing the people who previously accompanied Jiang He, Bailian brought him to the milk tea shop on the corner.
“My brother’s coming for me later.”
School just ended so the milk tea shop had a lot of customers. Only after waiting a while did it become less crowded.
Bailian found a quiet table for her and Jiang He to sit.
“Classmate Bai,” the server brought two cherry fruit teas to Bailian, “your milk tea’s ready. Straw’s on the left, grab it yourself.”
Bailian recognized it was her deskmate Yang Lin.
Bailian noticed the clearly extra fruit bits compared to others in her drink. Smiling brightly with liquid eyes she said: “Thanks.”
She pulled out two straws, sidelong noticing seemingly a patch of green and purple on Yang Lin’s revealed arm.
“What’s that?” Bailian withdrew her gaze, going back to give Jiang He the milk tea.
The other party took out a colorful, spherical object.
Jiang He lightly sipped, “Seven-sided five-dimensional magic cube.”
He could currently resolve the core colored blocks. Just the later sequences he still lacked proficiency. Last night he had seen Jiang Fuli’s speedcubing walkthroughs and was striving to reenact it.
Bailian opened her backpack, taking out a clump, “You’re restoring this ball’s colors?” She hadn’t seen a magic cube before.
Jiang He nodded. Unsatisfied with his speed he said: “Big brother can solve it very quickly. I need two hours.”
Pffft—
The high school boy who had just come over with a basketball sprayed out his lemon tea.
“No way, little bro,” the male student shifted his feet to face them sideways. He wore the school uniform, handsome sunny features advising sincerely: “Don’t casually say stuff like that with such an indifferent attitude. Have some consideration for us ordinary high schoolers.”
Jiang He glanced at him without speaking.
Male student: “……”
What kind of look was that?
What look?
“Hey,” finding himself tongue-tied by the younger boy, he greeted Bailian again while introducing himself: “Classmate Bai, I’m your…”
“Zhang Shize.” Bailian recognized him. This was the boy behind her.
She made sure to remember every person who introduced themselves.
Zhang Shize scratched his hair embarrassedly, “So you really did hear us talking. Teacher Lu said if you need anything in the future just find me. I’m the PE committee member!”
They called their class teacher Lu Lingxi Teacher Lu Mother.
As Zhang Shize spoke he saw the clump Bailian took out—
Looked like machinery?
Bailian stuck a straw into her drink with one hand, fiddling with the coiled wires of the machine with the other, “What is it?”
Zhang Shize: “……”
How could someone’s schoolbag contain this stuff?
He bid Bailian confused goodbye in astonishment before leaving the milk tea shop.
The group of boys waiting outside asked if he got the transfer girl’s contact info. The transfer relied on her looks to run amok. Could only admire from afar.
“Ask me again tomorrow,” Zhang Shize swung an arm over his friend’s shoulder. Sincerely lamenting their bromance: “With you guys existing I can rest easy.”
The brothers were just feeling touched.
Zhang Shize chuckled: “Hehe, great. I’m not the only good-for-nothing.”
“……”
**
The sky gradually darkened. At the school gates.
The group of study masterminds competing for the gifted student program had just finished class.
Ren Wanxuan commuted with a private driver. She held up her phone speaking with her chauffeur: “I finished my tutoring class. Come to…”
Her line of sight landed on the intersection corner up ahead. A girl sat beneath the street lamp not seeming to wait for anything.
The campus was so big. Why did she run into Bailian over and over?
What a coincidence?
Ren Wanxuan suddenly felt irritated for some reason. Staring at the girl’s back view she weighed things for a while before instructing her driver: “Drive to the rear school entrance. I’ll wait for you there.”
“What’s up?” The boy beside her asked.
“Nothing much.” Ren Wanxuan shook her head. She completely didn’t want to talk about Bailian, “Let’s go to the back entrance.”
She coldly turned and reentered school grounds.
The male student contemplatively nodded and casually glimpsed the intersection corner when he turned. “Then I’ll tell my driver to go to the rear entrance too.”
At the intersection corner.
“What time is your brother coming?” Bailian accompanied Jiang He sitting at the roadside watching the streams of vehicles.
The street lamps lit up in rows.
Jiang He reluctantly illuminated his watch, “Ten more minutes.”
“Got it.” Bailian languidly leaned against the lamp pole and took out the coiled wires again to fiddle with.
When Jiang Fuli arrived to fetch Jiang He, this was the scene he saw—
The girl sat loosely on the roadside. Inky hair pinned up casually with an ash brown wooden hairpin. Her hands exceptionally elegantly toyed with machinery parts. The rough machine pieces appeared more like art in her hands instead.
Her facial features were sculpted very finely. Drooping brow lines emanated lazy hints.
In that moment it was as if moonlight also shone favorably upon her. Like she was shrouded in hazy moonbeams.
A term abruptly came to mind—
Delicate yet cruel.
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