Chapter 7

“Professor Ruan, it’s like this...”

Pan Shuai didn’t wait for Li Tiegun to speak; he took the initiative and quickly recounted the events, stating only objective facts, not opinions.

He was genuinely afraid the goddess would misunderstand and introduce the matter emotionally, only to invite He Chen’s attack and turn a promising opportunity into a disaster.

Although he didn’t like He Chen’s attitude.

But he had to admit that some of He Chen’s words made sense.

For example, today’s youth simply can’t be controlled—otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many idiotic, parent-disappointing fools.

If Ji Yangyang’s parents can’t control Ji Yangyang, how could Professor Ruan, who is merely his aunt, possibly control He Chen—who fears no teacher, clearly has strong will, and is even harder to manage?

He didn’t dare to harbor much hope.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Ruan Lu glanced at He Chen, saw he offered no rebuttal, then turned to Li Tiegun: “Teacher Li, why not let them return to their classroom first?”

“I’d like to...” Li Tiegun muttered bitterly.

“He Chen, you go back to your classroom first,” Ruan Lu said gently.

He Chen met Ruan Lu’s gaze, this time didn’t insist, nodded, then raised an eyebrow and stared directly at Li Tiegun for several seconds before turning away.

This made Li Tiegun tremble with rage.

Everyone standing there wasn’t stupid—they were all sharp as nails—who couldn’t see He Chen’s threat?

Furious and trembling, Li Tiegun dared not explode immediately; she turned to Ruan Lu, hoping the fellow teacher would speak up for her.

But Ruan Lu avoided her gaze, naturally turning instead to Ji’s mother and Fang’s mother, engaging them in polite conversation.

This only made Li Tiegun angrier and more shaken.

The sycophant Pan Shuai beside her felt heartbroken but could do nothing.

If anyone else had done this, he would’ve immediately defended the goddess.

But facing Ruan Lu—the goddess among goddesses—even though he pitied her, he couldn’t summon the courage to confront He Chen on her behalf.

He Chen left the office, ignoring the two following him, heading straight for his classroom—but at the corner, he spotted a little brat peeking around, who immediately waved excitedly upon seeing him.

Who else but Lin Miaomiao?

Beside her stood a tall girl who, upon catching He Chen’s gaze, immediately lowered her head demurely.

He Chen recognized her—Deng Xiaoqi, Lin Miaomiao’s best friend, also a famed campus beauty.

But unlike He Chen, the undisputed campus hunk, the title of Spring Wind High’s campus beauty had always been hotly contested.

For instance, his adopted sister Ruan Liuzheng was also called a campus beauty.

“He Chen, are you okay?” Lin Miaomiao asked anxiously. Seeing him shake his head, she relaxed, shot a fierce glare at Ji Yangyang as he passed, then began chattering excitedly. Her best friend Deng Xiaoqi quietly tugged her sleeve, prompting her to belatedly introduce her good friend to He Chen.

He Chen nodded in greeting, reminded her it was time to return to class, and walked off ahead, leaving Lin Miaomiao still eager for more.

“He’s already leaving?”

“What more do you want?” Deng Xiaoqi said enviously: “Miaomiao, when did you get so close to him? How come I didn’t know?”

“Didn’t I tell you?” Lin Miaomiao looked confused: “He Chen just moved into our neighborhood—he lives right above me.”

“The apartment above you is Qian Sanyi’s!” Deng Xiaoqi reminded her nervously.

Back in freshman year, she had been obsessed with the top scholar Qian Sanyi, but after entering sophomore year and seeing He Chen transfer in, she instantly realized academic excellence wasn’t everything.

Absolute looks were absolute charm!

Qian Sanyi’s appearance was decent enough, but beside He Chen, he was merely plain.

Then she’d developed a bit of a crush.

Of course, she wouldn’t admit it—she told herself that since Qian Sanyi had such poor taste and liked her best friend Lin Miaomiao, she should do him a favor and not steal her friend’s love.

But He Chen wasn’t in her class, he was always low-key, avoided attention, and was constantly accompanied by his sister Ruan Liuzheng—so even if she wanted to get closer, it was hard.

After all, she had her pride.

When she’d first fallen for Qian Sanyi, she’d made bold advances—everyone in school knew. If she suddenly switched and He Chen didn’t respond, she’d be utterly humiliated.

“I misspoke—the apartment above me is my disciple’s. He Chen lives above my disciple.” Lin Miaomiao explained: “They used to live on campus, but now that they’re in senior year, Aunt Ruan wanted He Chen and Ruan Liuzheng to save time, so they rented an apartment above ours to live nearby for tutoring.”

“Why not move to Shuxiang Yayuan across the street?” Deng Xiaoqi asked instinctively, then remembered it might be a financial issue and quickly stopped herself, only murmuring acidly: “Miaomiao, you’re so lucky.”

“Lucky how?” Lin Miaomiao looked puzzled.

“...” Deng Xiaoqi looked at her best friend, realizing she wasn’t being humblebrag—she genuinely only had eight out of nine senses working. She couldn’t help but sigh: Lin Miaomiao had no idea how fortunate she was, how desperately Deng Xiaoqi wanted to be in her place, close enough to seize the opportunity first.

He Chen didn’t care about any of this—he’d clearly noticed Deng Xiaoqi’s interest, but he was already used to such admiration.

Besides, even including his adopted sister, these so-called campus beauties all seemed exaggerated to him—compared to the campus beauty in his memory, their beauty was severely degraded.

They couldn’t stir his heart or create even a ripple.

Moreover, even if he had some vague interest, he’d have to wait until after his eighteenth birthday, several months from now.

Before then, he’d rather spend the time refining how to upgrade his first newly unlocked skill into a lifelong innate divine art.

With this thought, He Chen returned to his classroom and immediately drew a crowd, everyone gathering to ask questions.

He brushed them off with a few vague replies, and the crowd dispersed. His desk partner Du Tiantian exhaled in relief—he was uncomfortable with such attention, staring blankly at He Chen for a long moment before whispering: “You’ve changed.”

“Really?” He Chen smiled faintly, unsurprised.

Du Tiantian was his former self’s close friend; both were quiet, sat together, and shared similar hardships—his former self had lost his mother young and recently his father, while Du Tiantian had never known his father. Naturally, they became friends.

He noticed He Chen’s change even more acutely.

“Yes!” Du Tiantian nodded firmly.

“Is it for better or worse?” He Chen smiled.

“Probably for the better...” Du Tiantian mumbled.

The gentle, honest boy lacked confidence, even though he inherited good genes and came from a decent family—he couldn’t change his nature. He was stunned by He Chen’s sudden confidence, boldness, even recklessness, and couldn’t hide his envy.

Who doesn’t yearn for such spirited freedom?

Who isn’t young and fiery?