When Evan Lin arrived at the classroom, there were still thirty minutes before class started, and not many people were inside yet.
Mia Chen was sitting at her desk, reading a book.
Evan walked past her desk, but Mia didn't spare him a single glance.
Looks like what happened yesterday made Mia completely disgusted with me.
Evan sighed inwardly. He still hoped to get along with Mia, but if it couldn't happen, he wouldn't force it.
Evan returned to his seat and took out his textbook.
Last night I went through all the textbooks for the subjects I'd fallen behind in. Today, I'll start with the first-year math exercises.
Evan pulled out a first-year math exercise book, flipped it open, and started writing.
These math problems are tougher than I expected, but as long as I focus on the formulas and how to approach different types of questions, I should be able to break through soon.
Thirty minutes—thirty-five problems done: twenty multiple choice, ten fill-in-the-blanks, five big questions. Seventy percent correct. There's still a lot of room to improve both speed and accuracy.
Evan looked with satisfaction at the pages he'd filled in thirty minutes, then let out a long breath.
The bell for first period rang right on time.
Evan just buried his head and kept working on his exercises.
"Evan Lin, come up and solve this problem."
A familiar voice sounded in his ear. Evan, who was focused on his work, looked up and saw Old Man Liu standing at the podium, staring at him with a serious expression.
Old Man Liu's eyes were fixed on Evan, completely emotionless. On the blackboard was a curve equation.
Given two points, solve for the curve equation.
The whole class followed Old Man Liu's gaze and turned to look at Evan.
"Evan got punished by Old Man Liu yesterday too. Looks like he's in trouble again today."
"This Evan kid is something else, daring to slack off in math class."
"What's up with his hand? It's all bandaged up?"
"Probably got beaten up by Niu Fan yesterday. Serves him right. Plus, I heard he messed with Liu Tianyu too. No idea how he'll get punished today."
The students up front whispered among themselves, gloating and just waiting to see Evan embarrass himself.
Mia Chen tilted her head and glanced toward Evan in the back row. When she saw his left hand wrapped in bandages, her beautiful eyes flickered.
This problem just needs the formula. The old me probably couldn't have solved it at all. No wonder they're all waiting to laugh at me.
Evan stood up, walked to the podium, took the chalk from Old Man Liu, and started writing.
He set up the equation, substituted the coordinates, and quickly worked out the answer.
"He actually solved it!"
"Too bad, I wanted to see Old Man Liu lose his temper."
Most of the students below looked disappointed when Evan solved the problem.
Even though the problem was actually really easy—almost everyone could've solved it without trouble.
But Mia Chen was a little surprised as she watched the numbers Evan wrote on the board.
She wasn't interested in the solution process or steps, but in the way Evan wrote those numbers and formulas in chalk.
The numbers flowed like water; just the way he wrote them had a kind of effortless cool.
After glancing over Evan's solution, Old Man Liu nodded slightly. "You solved the problem, but you were distracted in class. Go stand outside for the rest of the period."
Old Man Liu's voice was clear, not too fast or slow.
As soon as he finished, the students who'd been disappointed Evan wasn't punished burst out laughing.
"Haha, even if he solved it, he still has to go stand outside."
"What can you do? Evan just looks like a born idiot."
Evan didn't bother to defend himself. He turned and walked out of the classroom, standing outside the door. "Looks like Old Man Liu's given up on me completely. Can't blame him. I've been at the bottom of the class since first year, probably the worst student he's ever taught."
Evan didn't feel angry or resentful—just a little down. He stared at the blue sky outside the railing, and then...
His eyes landed on Lily Zhong, who had suddenly appeared. He froze for a moment.
Today, Lily was wearing a light retro white qipao dress, tied at the waist with a white sash, and white flats. She looked smart and elegant.
Especially her exposed fair calves and the curve of her chest beneath the dress—enough to set anyone's imagination running wild.
"Did you forget your homework? Is that why you're being punished to stand outside?"
Lily sized Evan up, her eyes narrowing playfully, her voice gentle but with a teasing edge.
"Something like that."
Evan couldn't be bothered to explain. Explaining was just a waste of time.
"What happened to your hand? Did Jack Zhang hurt it yesterday?"
Lily noticed Evan's left hand, her pretty face changing slightly. She looked concerned for Evan and angry at Jack Zhang.
Yesterday, when Evan helped her out, Lily had noticed Jack Zhang's sneaky move.
Afterwards, Lily even grabbed Evan's hand to check it, thinking it was fine.
But now it seemed Evan had just been putting on a brave face in front of her.
That Jack Zhang was really too much!
Lily's eyes showed even more concern and guilt as she looked at Evan.
"My hand's fine, teacher. You don't need to worry."
"Bandaged up and still 'fine'? You think I'm stupid?"
Lily frowned and carefully picked up Evan's left hand, trying to check how bad the injury was.
At that moment, Evan's casual expression suddenly froze. His gaze sharpened as he looked at his left hand.
Is that... spiritual qi?
Evan wasn't sure at first, but soon he realized that faint wisps of pale white energy were flowing from Lily Zhong into his left hand where she was holding it.
Lily was focused on examining Evan's left hand, not noticing the sudden heat in his gaze.
She actually has spiritual qi on her!
The dragon in my left hand is absorbing that qi into my body. It's barely noticeable, but it's real.
I've finally found spiritual qi—a real path to cultivation at last.
Evan's heart raced. He couldn't help but squeeze Lily's soft hand a little tighter.
"Ah!"
Lily let out a soft cry when Evan suddenly squeezed her hand. Realizing it was inappropriate, she quickly pulled her hand away and frowned at him. "What are you doing?"
"Uh, my hand just cramped up for a second."
Evan's mind worked fast, blurting out the excuse without thinking.
"I'm really sorry, it's all because of me. You can't go to class this period either—go rest in the office for a while."
Lily blushed, her face apologetic.