Rebirth: Looking Back in a Sudden Realization - Chapter 14

Monday was Shao Chuyan’s first day at school. Shao Yiner got up early to prepare breakfast for her daughter and rented a Mercedes with a driver from the hotel to personally drive her to school.

Chuyan got out at the school gate, waved to her mother, and stepped onto the campus under her watchful eyes.

The school gate was grand, more like the entrance to an upscale club. It was built in the European Renaissance architectural style, emphasizing symmetry, balance, and repeating patterns.

The school’s name was engraved in iron script on the gate. On either side stood sturdy tall pillars, each with a guard post beside it. The solemn guards checked students’ ID cards as they entered in sequence.

The last time Chuyan had visited, she had been a bit nervous and didn’t pay attention to the school’s layout. Now, walking onto the campus, she realized the school’s high tuition was well justified.

The school covered 300 acres and was divided into four areas: academic, administrative, activity, and leisure. The first thing she saw upon entering was the central square—a large open space paved with blue stone slabs, adding a classical touch. Statues of famous figures like Einstein, Bach, and Elizabeth I adorned the sides.

In the middle of the square was a finely crafted music-themed fountain. Two thorny vines twisted around the stone sculpture, with pigeons depicted mid-flight. This was the school’s emblem, rendered vividly in sculpture.

Surrounding the square were semicircular buildings. On the left and right were pointed-roof structures connected in the middle, with a long classical-style corridor below—this area was for administrative offices.

Walking further through the square, past a corridor under the office building decorated with symmetrical reliefs, she entered a larger plaza. The two sides of this plaza were entirely different in style. On the left stood a seven-story rectangular teaching building, while on the right was a seven-story circular teaching building. Both were exquisitely decorated, with classical-style entrances, rectangular friezes under the eaves, dentil moldings along the roofline, seven rows of paired windows divided into grids, and staircases surrounded by rectangular floral carvings. Even the lintels had vertically arranged rectangular patterns.

Standing there, Chuyan noticed older students walking toward the left rectangular building and younger students toward the right circular one. She understood the left side was the high school section, the right side the middle school.

Following the crowd left, she entered the hall, took the escalator to the second floor, and found her classroom at the far left of the corridor: Class 1A, the so-called elite class. She didn’t understand why Principal Edward had placed her there. Her previous high school in New York focused more on credit accumulation and completing teacher-assigned projects, so she might not be entirely suited to the domestic curriculum. She smiled wryly, thinking that after so many years without studying, she might even slow down this top class.

Standing at the classroom door and seeing the noisy boys and girls inside, she felt a headache coming on.

“Who are you?” a pleasant, deep female voice asked from behind.

Chuyan turned to see a woman in a white blazer uniform, looking around 28 or 29. She was elegant, with short, neat hair, holding teaching materials in her hand.

“Hello, teacher. I’m Shao Chuyan, here to register today,” Chuyan replied.

The teacher checked her student ID and confirmed it.
“I’m your homeroom teacher, Ms. Wu. Follow me inside.”

Chuyan nodded and followed her into the classroom.

As Ms. Wu entered, the room immediately quieted. There were about thirty students—much smaller than most high school classes. Qiushi Academy was strict in admissions.

Ms. Wu stood at the podium, smiling slightly at the students.
“Class, we have a new transfer student today. Please welcome Shao Chuyan.”

The students politely applauded. Ms. Wu gestured for Chuyan to the podium.
“Please introduce yourself,” she said, stepping aside.

Chuyan wore the standard Qiushi uniform: black blazer, knee-length black skirt, white shirt, and blue tie. The uniform looked elegant on her. Though not very tall, her long, straight legs made her appear tall. Her soft, long curls reached her waist, and her small, round face had lively eyes slightly upturned, giving her the charm of a cute yet alluring cat.

She wrote her name on the blackboard, then turned to face the curious young faces, smiling faintly:
“Hello everyone, my name is Shao Chuyan. I’m thirteen years old, and my hobby is painting. I look forward to working with all of you. Thank you!”

The class applauded and cheered, with even some boys whistling.

“Hey, beautiful, wanna date?” a brazen male voice called.

Laughter erupted across the classroom.

Chuyan looked toward the sound and saw a boy in the last row, casually resting his feet on the chair, exuding arrogance.

Ms. Wu frowned.
“Qu Yi, stop causing trouble.”

Qu Yi seemed to ignore her, asking Chuyan directly:
“Hey, new girl, haven’t we met before?”

A chorus of boos arose, and a boy in the front row shouted:
“Yi, that’s outdated!”

More laughter followed.

Ms. Wu, clearly used to her students, said:
“Quiet, don’t bully the new student.”

She turned to offer Chuyan some reassurance, but saw her calm and collected on the podium, faint dimples on her cheeks, as if the commotion below had nothing to do with her.

“Chuyan, sit over there,” Ms. Wu said, pointing to the only available seat: fourth row, second from the back.

Chuyan politely nodded, walked to her seat, and realized the boy who teased her was sitting right behind her.

She took out her textbooks and materials, set them neatly, and twirled her pen out of habit.

“Class, let’s begin!” Ms. Wu started the first lesson.

“Stand up.”
“Good morning, teacher.”
“Good morning, class. Sit down. Let’s continue from yesterday.”

Chuyan had never attended high school in China, but she knew the middle school exam-focused education well: Chinese, math, and English dominated, everything else was secondary, followed by endless drills. She read her textbooks with interest, hoping the school might have some merit.

Ms. Wu taught passionately on stage, but most students were lost in thought, staring out the window. So this was Class A? No wonder—they were used to rote learning and didn’t take subjects like history seriously.

Suddenly, someone tapped her desk. She turned to see a girl in the fifth row passing a note.

“Chuyan, I’m Luo Xia. Do you remember me?”

Chuyan was confused. Who? She wrote a question mark and passed it back. Then she noticed her deskmate: a sharp-featured, short-haired girl with fox-like eyes and a small red mole at the corner.

Her deskmate glared at her, unfriendly.

After a moment, another note came:
“I was in the same class with you all three years at Tianhua Middle School. Hehe, you probably don’t remember me, but I’m so happy to see an old classmate.”

Chuyan looked around and saw a chubby short-haired girl in the fifth row smiling cutely at her.

Chuyan smiled, happy to find someone from her middle school still remembered her, and wrote back:
“I’m very happy too.”

When the bell rang, the chubby girl, Luo Xia, quickly came to Chuyan’s desk, a bit nervous:
“Hi Chuyan, I’m Luo Xia. We were in the same class for three years in middle school. It’s really a coincidence to meet again!”

Chuyan politely stood and smiled:
“Yes, although I don’t remember you, it really is a coincidence.”

Luo Xia, surprised and delighted, said:
“I didn’t expect you to reply to my note.”

“Of course, hehe,” Chuyan replied.

“Can we be friends?” Luo Xia asked shyly. Chuyan had been the school beauty at Tianhua, and Luo Xia really hoped to become friends.

Chuyan smiled warmly:
“Of course, Luo Xia.”

Her deskmate suddenly snickered, her voice sharp and mocking:
“Hilarious! I’ve seen girls crush on boys, but never a girl crushing on another girl.”

Luo Xia’s face turned red with embarrassment, too scared to resist, clenching her fists and trembling.

“Why are you speaking like that? Apologize to Luo Xia,” Chuyan said calmly, unwilling to be harsh.

The fox-eyed girl suddenly stood up, taller than Chuyan by ten centimeters, her body voluptuous despite being only fourteen or fifteen. One hand on her waist, she spoke roughly:
“I didn’t like you anyway. You’re new, that’s fine, but why are you meddling?”