Was he insane? Xia Siqiao, the hopeless student who had permanently occupied last place, was actually standing there seriously questioning Academic God He Pei's way of solving a problem.
He Pei merely gave him a cold glance, then unhurriedly continued straightening the sleeves that had become slightly rumpled while he was being restrained. His fingers were long and elegant, and even such a simple movement carried an unhurried grace.
It only made Xia Siqiao on the podium look like a clown talking to himself.
The people around He Pei shivered and edged a few steps farther away. One of them could not resist muttering what he was thinking. "Seriously, who does he think he is? Questioning our God Pei's solution? I'm saying this right now: if he's actually right, tonight I'll do a handstand and shit upside down for you guys."
Discussion rippled through the athletic field.
Xia Siqiao continued explaining his solution at an unhurried pace.
He had seen this problem in the book yesterday. It was the prize-winning competition problem solved by top student He Pei. He had found it interesting and worked out another solution himself. He had not expected it to come in handy today and help him derail the original plot.
So knowledge really could change one's fate.
Ignoring the jeers and doubts from below, Xia Siqiao finished explaining everything in one breath at his own pace. Then he lightly summarized his behavior for the day. "Sharing helps people improve. I'm very happy to contribute to Student He Pei's and everyone's academic progress. I won't waste any more of your valuable time. Goodbye."
What gave a hopeless student like Xia Siqiao the nerve to stand on the podium and teach physics to an academic god?
So this was Xia Siqiao's latest trick.
Hah.
They had thought he was some master player. In the end, he was only a grade-schooler.
Zhou Yan, the school bully, was the first who could no longer stand it. His originally rather handsome features were covered in menace as he leisurely called out to Xia Siqiao. "Xia Siqiao, you stood up there for half the day and this is the stupid method you came up with to seduce He Pei?"
Xia Siqiao's expression remained faint. Only his slightly clenched fist revealed his current impatience. He lowered his voice and answered calmly, "No. I was sharing an approach to studying. But with your smooth cerebral cortex, you wouldn't be able to understand it."
Suppressed chuckles sounded intermittently below the stage. Mindful of Zhou Yan's status as the school bully, no one dared openly burst into loud laughter.
Zhou Yan froze for a moment, completely confused. He turned his head and beckoned to one of his lackeys. "What the hell is that bastard babbling about now?"
The boy beside him stamped his foot, walked over, and whispered into his ear, "He… he means you're kind of stupid."
Zhou Yan's expression immediately grew even uglier. His strong, overbearing pheromones faintly leaked out, and everyone around him instantly felt the pressure. Some omegas and weaker alphas nearly lost their footing.
Zhou Yan glanced at the people around him, then glared viciously at Xia Siqiao. "Fine. How about I wait for you at the school gate after classes? We can have a proper talk then."
Xia Siqiao lifted his eyelids indifferently and met his gaze. "Sure. I'll be waiting anytime."
Zhou Yan sneered. "I hope you can still act this tough when the time comes."
With that, he said no more and turned away with his people.
He Pei raised two fingers to adjust the thin-framed glasses resting on his high nose. The cold metallic sheen somehow made him look even more aloof beneath the gloomy sky.
Although the crowd had not gotten the romantic spectacle they had expected today, they had at least enjoyed a farce, and now there was even a teaser for more excitement after school. Thoroughly entertained, they dispersed in twos and threes.
After dealing with the immediate trouble, Xia Siqiao finally had time to rub his aching temples. Too much information had flooded into his mind all at once, leaving him with an unreal sensation as though he were floating in midair with nothing beneath his feet.
As for Zhou Yan's provocation…
He lazily slipped both hands into his school-uniform pockets and walked with a loose, unhurried stride.
Treat life and death lightly. If someone refuses to accept it, fight them.
Following the original owner's memories, he returned to Class 5, Grade 11. The instant he entered, the lively classroom went quiet as though someone had hit a mute button. The students who had been clustered together animatedly gossiping scattered back to their seats, and the looks they gave him carried faint disdain.
The original owner's popularity at school was impressively terrible. The main reason was that his shameless pursuit of He Pei had been especially degrading. He was also timid and snobbish, and his reputation as a hopeless student was famous throughout the school.
Unsurprisingly, his seat was in the very last row. His deskmate, Lin Huai, was a fair-skinned beta boy with a round face. He tugged at Xia Siqiao's sleeve, but his tone was somewhat sarcastic. "Are you really going today? You can't beat them."
On the surface, Lin Huai's relationship with the original owner had been neither warm nor cold. But judging from Xia Siqiao's memories, Lin Huai bore him no ill will. They were only ordinary acquaintances because Lin Huai needed to protect himself. After all, the original owner was so notorious at No. 3 High that anyone who got too close to him risked being condemned by association.
Xia Siqiao smiled. "I won't be the one who suffers."
Lin Huai's brows knitted even more tightly when he heard that, his face full of exasperation. "Who would believe you when you say that? What are you actually trying to do? You think buying an answer and going over there to challenge him will make him think more highly of you? You even ran onto the podium and said it in front of so many people. That's only going to make him more annoyed with you. Do you understand that?"
You probably would not believe me if I told you, but I'm actually trying to salvage a disaster.
Xia Siqiao laced his hands behind his head, lazily crossed one leg, and tipped his chair back toward the wall. "I know. I won't chase him anymore."
"What a pain," Xia Siqiao muttered.
His voice was so soft that Lin Huai could not hear clearly. Just as he was about to continue questioning him, he saw that Xia Siqiao had already closed his eyes. His thick black lashes cast a small shadow across his face beneath the fluorescent lights.
Only after a long while did Xia Siqiao remember that he still had no idea what his current body looked like. The book had barely described the appearance of this cannon-fodder character.
He went to a mirror with great interest, but the moment he clearly saw the person reflected there, he froze and stared in disbelief.
The face before him had accompanied him day and night for sixteen years. No one could have been more familiar with it than he was.
But…
With trembling fingertips, he touched the hair piled a full seven centimeters high on top of his head, a hairstyle terrifying enough to make even a fierce ghost cry if it encountered him on a dark road.
He had strutted around all day wearing this hairstyle and had even arranged a fight with someone while looking like this.
Did the discipline director in this novel seriously not regulate hairstyles?
In a heavy mood, Xia Siqiao lifted his thick bangs and fussed with them for quite some time before finally exposing his real face.
The boy in the mirror looked back at him with a delicate pointed chin raised slightly. His lips were red, his teeth white, his complexion porcelain-pale, and every feature seemed exquisitely carved in exactly the right proportions.
With the original owner's imprint stripped away, his amber eyes reflected the proud, unrestrained spirit that belonged uniquely to Xia Siqiao himself.
His narrow double eyelids curved upward in an especially striking arc. Absentmindedly, he touched them.