Chapter 1 - We Are Desk Mates (1)

“I don’t understand, I refuse to accept it. Why does everyone say it’s my fault just because Lin Xia Ai is poor?”

“Ji Jiang is my boyfriend. I’m prettier than Lin Xia Ai, and I’m better in every way. When did everyone start looking at me with disdain, whispering behind my back, saying I’m a wicked rich second generation?”

Qiao Wei stood at the rooftop’s edge, her gaze vacant as she looked down below. Her voice was filled with sorrow. “Because of Lin Xia Ai, Ji Jiang and I broke up, my friends distanced themselves from me, and they got close to Lin Xia Ai. The Ji family suppressed and took over the Qiao family, and I, Qiao Wei, descended from being the mighty rich girl of a wealthy family to a destitute girl who can barely afford tuition.”

“My mom blames me, my dad scolds me, saying I shouldn’t have fought with Lin Xia Ai. It’s ridiculous, Ji Jiang is my boyfriend, why do they say I robbed? Clearly, she took everything from me.”

Qiao Wei stood proudly on the rooftop, perhaps this was her last bit of pride. She took a small step toward the rooftop’s edge, her eyes empty, tears falling one by one. “Does this world really need me? Do I even have a reason to exist?”

Five minutes later…

A stiff voice suddenly spoke, “Why haven’t you jumped yet?”

The sudden voice made Qiao Wei almost lose her balance.

A warm hand grabbed her wrist, and with that strength, she quickly stepped back from the edge, her legs still trembling. Remembering that someone had eavesdropped on her earlier, she felt embarrassed and angrily shook off the hand.

“Why do you care?” She glared at the person, her face pale, and when she saw who it was, she became even angrier. “Bookworm, you were eavesdropping!”

“It was a legitimate eavesdrop,”

Ah Xin, who had pushed up her black-framed glasses, said. In this body, her name was Yun Xin. She had been awakened by Qiao Wei’s obsession and had made a deal with the original owner to obtain this body, intending to help Qiao Wei change her destiny.

Why she wanted to help Qiao Wei, she hadn’t figured out yet. She just felt compelled to do it.

Qiao Wei wiped away the tears on her pretty face and gave Ah Xin a sidelong glance, arrogantly saying, “Are you here to stop me from jumping off?”

“No, I came to watch you jump.”

“Bookworm, you’re really annoying!” Qiao Wei recalled being pulled back earlier and, in a somewhat embarrassed manner, said, “No, you definitely came to stop me from jumping. You even pulled me back, your actions don’t match your words.”

“Why would you stop me? Isn’t it better for you if I jump? No one in this world likes me, no one cares about me anymore.” Qiao Wei sobbed, her voice choked. “I have nothing left, I can barely afford next semester’s tuition, and every day at school, I’m ridiculed wherever I go. When I get home, my mom points her finger at me, and my dad rambles on, saying he’s given birth to a wasteful daughter.”

“No one sympathizes with me, they all say I deserve it, that everything today is my fault.” Qiao Wei knelt and cried loudly, her voice trembling, “Now even you, this bookworm, are here to laugh at me.”

Ah Xin walked up to Qiao Wei, crouched down in front of her, and stared at her. Her voice remained steady, devoid of joy. “You’re in the top twenty of your grade, fluent in English, play the piano, and do ballet. Onstage, you’re like a queen with a halo. You’re only sixteen this year, more outstanding and fortunate than many others. What’s there to cry about? Think about the young girls selling on the streets in the winter, the waitresses washing dishes in restaurants, the female workers who can’t even afford an education because of gender discrimination.”

Qiao Wei stopped crying, staring blankly at Ah Xin. Did the bookworm just say she’s outstanding and lucky?

“Why are you asking why I’m here instead of going back to the classroom and doing a few more practice problems? Qiao Wei, the final exams are coming soon, and if you can’t keep your grades in the top twenty of this year. They will mock you—a poor student!”

The words “poor student” frightened Qiao Wei, making her face turn pale.

“I remember you signed up for the ballet performance at the New Year’s Eve party, did you practice today? Making a mistake on stage will make the whole school laugh at you.”

Qiao Wei covered her ears, her face devoid of color.

Ah Xin took out a tissue and wiped Qiao Wei’s tears. “You’re crying with eyes full of mucus and snot, dirty and ugly.”

Qiao Wei panicked and quickly searched for her backpack. She remembered her backpack was in the classroom, as well as her phone. She grabbed Ah Xin. “Bookworm, do you have a mirror?”

“No.” Ah Xin pushed up her black-framed glasses and had a faint smile on her lips.

“Phone, what about a phone?”

Ah Xin took out a small, simple phone from her pocket and handed it to Qiao Wei. Qiao Wei’s expression froze when she saw the phone.

An old-fashioned phone!

“Bookworm, you use an old-fashioned phone?” How was she supposed to use it as a mirror?

Ah Xin said calmly, “Smartphones can be distracting to your studies.”

“Indeed, you’re a bookworm.”

A chilly wind blew by, causing Qiao Wei to shiver. Her mind had cleared up quite a bit. If Yun Xin hadn’t pulled her back just now, she might have jumped. She didn’t dare to jump again.

“Bookworm, do you think I’m outstanding?” Qiao Wei said sadly. “But everyone hates me. If there was just one person on my side, I wouldn’t be here. I haven’t done anything wrong. At most, I threatened Lin Xia Ai, but I hadn’t even started any bad deeds before they were stopped. If I had truly succeeded, I wouldn’t be so unwilling now.”

“What’s even more despairing is that my parents both think it’s my fault. I’m their daughter, but they don’t believe me. Did the Ji family swallow up the Qiao family just because of me? In the end, it’s just an excuse. I’m the best excuse.”

“Instead of thinking so much, why don’t you do some practice questions? I brought your practice books with me,” Ah Xin took her backpack off her shoulders and pulled out two practice books.

Qiao Wei: “…”

Ah Xin handed one of the practice books with Qiao Wei’s name on it to her and also gave her a pen and some scratch paper. She held her practice book and sat down in a corner, immediately starting to work on the problems.

Watching Ah Xin’s serious approach to solving the problems, as if this place were a classroom, made Qiao Wei forget everything else for a moment. After a brief pause, she followed Ah Xin’s lead, squatting down beside her and starting to work on the practice questions.

After completing two questions, she couldn’t help but sneak a glance at Ah Xin, who didn’t even need scratch paper and was quickly writing out the solution steps and answers. Qiao Wei was both surprised and impressed. Indeed, the top student in the grade, no one could match her speed and mental calculations without using scratch paper.

By the time she had completed five questions, Ah Xin had already flipped the page and continued without slowing down. Perhaps influenced by Ah Xin’s presence, she grew quiet and fully immersed herself in solving the problems.

Unconsciously, the bell rang, and Ah Xin stood up while holding her practice book. “Let’s go back to the classroom; the physical education class has already ended.”

“Oh…” Qiao Wei hesitated for a moment, then looked down to realize that she had also completed a page of practice questions, much more efficiently than usual, although still not as fast as the “monster” beside her.

Thinking about returning to the classroom and facing various strange looks, as well as the people she disliked and those who hurt her, Qiao Wei felt a bit timid and hung her head without moving.

“Legs numb?”

“No…”

“Are you planning to skip class then?”

“No…” Qiao Wei didn’t raise her head, feeling a bit sour inside. She hadn’t expected that as the rich daughter of the Qiao family, would one day be like a rat crossing the street, fearing everyone’s gaze.

Hasn’t she always enjoyed being in the spotlight, basking in the attention of others?

“In that case, get up. What are you dawdling for?” Ah Xin bent down, grabbed Qiao Wei’s wrist, and pulled her up. Her voice remained flat as she said, “Do you know that in the time you’ve been dawdling, I could have done two math problems already? Qiao Wei, this won’t do. Dawdling for a while is two problems, dawdling a bit longer is four problems. How many times a day do you plan to dawdle? How many practice questions will you miss?”

Qiao Wei clenched her teeth and grabbed the practice books. She wanted to say, “Can we skip the practice questions? Can’t you see I’m not in a good mood? I almost jumped off a building earlier.” This bookworm, does she have any empathy at all? We’re classmates, can’t she just let her be sad for a while?

She pursed her lips and let Ah Xin pull her wrist back to the classroom. She didn’t have friends now, and only Yun Xin cared about her, even though she was just a bookworm who only knew how to do practice questions. At least, she was someone who didn’t look at her with strange eyes.

Ah Xin sat back at her desk, and Qiao Wei suddenly noticed that she and Yun Xin were desk mates.

Why hadn’t she noticed that before?

Right, she took a closer look at Yun Xin’s attire—very ordinary. She remembered now. Yun Xin had been admitted to this school with outstanding grades, just like Lin Xia Ai, with exceptionally good academic performance. But Lin Xia Ai couldn’t compare to Yun Xin; she had won all the top scholarships in the school.

Back then, as the rich daughter of the Qiao family, she would never have become friends with someone of Yun Xin’s caliber. Now… she looked around and realized that her once-close friends had only glanced at her in secret. As soon as they caught her eye, they quickly turned their heads away. Qiao Wei’s eyes dimmed.

“This class is chemistry. Instead of standing there doing nothing, why don’t you review the content from the previous class? The chemistry teacher likes to call students up to write equations.”

Ah Xin proficiently took out the chemistry textbook and marked a few key points on it. She placed the book in front of Qiao Wei. “Take notes.”

“Okay!”

Qiao Wei suddenly found that the bookworm wasn’t so bad after all. Despite her conservative appearance and ordinary clothing, she was genuinely a good person. Qiao Wei had fallen on hard times, yet this person was still helping her.

Qiao Wei looked at the chemistry textbook, and a faint smile unknowingly crept onto her lips. She earnestly copied the equations and content marked by Ah Xin. She even ignored the murmuring and strange looks from her surroundings.

Ding-ling-ling, the class bell rang.

When Qiao Wei was called up by the teacher, she couldn’t help but silently applaud Yun Xin in her heart. Yun Xin confidently stepped up to the podium and wrote out the equations flawlessly. As she walked back to her seat, she smiled at Yun Xin, who remained expressionless and focused on the blackboard.