Chapter 5: Not scientific.
Here's your revised passage with grammar and spelling corrected, sentence flow improved, and a slight polish to make the narration clearer and more vivid—without changing the original meaning or reducing the word count. Some minor phrasing was adjusted for clarity and smoother reading.
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The more she looked, the more familiar he became.
It's him.
Xiao Zhan frowned as he sensed a shadow fall over his face. He pried his eyes open and saw the kid he had saved from the bullies that morning.
What is she doing here? It couldn't be that she had come to give him more boba, right?
Shen Waqing was equally surprised to see him. She gave a quick nod before sitting down at the desk in front of him.
Teacher Wang assigned them a math exercise to work on before being called away by another teacher for something urgent.
He warned the class to behave, yet an uproar erupted the moment he stepped out the door.
Everyone immediately broke into chatter. There was constant shuffling and noise echoing around the room, turning it into a chaotic mess.
Shen Waqing looked around. Except for a few students, most had abandoned their classwork and were preoccupied with other things.
She even spotted a group huddled in one corner, heads crammed together, playing mobile games.
It was a stark contrast from Homeroom A, where every second was packed with worksheets and relentless studying.
Withdrawing her gaze, Shen Waqing focused on the exercise and completed it in less than ten minutes.
"Hey, new transfer!" a voice called from ahead, and she looked up. A boy-and-girl pair were sitting at the desk in front of her.
The girl had turned around, smiling brightly. The top two buttons of her uniform were undone, her bowtie missing. A delicate blue flower was pinned to the side of her bangs.
"My name is Lin Xinyu. The 'Xin' means gentle, and 'Yu' like the rain—elegant, like spring rain. What about you?"
"Shen Waqing."
"Waqing, like the 'Qing' in youthful...?"
"No. Waqing as in graceful and pure," Shen Waqing corrected.
"Cool! your name is very pretty. Nice to meet you Waqing!" Lin Xinyu said cheerfully, then leaned in curiously. "I've never seen someone transfer classes at the end of the semester…"
Her deskmate kicked her leg under the table, making her glare at him. "What?"
"Shut up," he muttered.
Shen Waqing didn't mind. "My grades dropped. That's why."
"Huh?"
"They fell from ninth to twenty-third."
"In the class?"
Shen Waqing shook her head. "In the whole school."
"Damn! If I ever made it into the top thirty, my mom would go to the temple and offer incense," Lin Xinyu said with a dramatic sigh, then grinned again. "Don't worry, everyone in our class is super nice. Way better than those uptight people in Homeroom A. You'll like it here more."
Shen Waqing was taken aback, staring at her speechlessly for a moment before nodding uncertainly. "...Okay."
"Good! Let's have lunch together sometime. It's already the end of the semester, so it might feel a little awkward at first, but since I'm around, you definitely won't be bored!" Lin Xinyu grinned with confidence.
Shen Waqing smiled softly in return. Maybe switching classes wasn't such a bad idea.
The last period was followed by three hours of self-study.
Teacher Wang only returned at the end to collect their classwork, then left again, leaving the class to themselves.
The room was a whirlwind of noise.
Shen Waqing, tired from her lack of proper rest the night before, bowed her head on the desk to take a short nap.
The class remained noisy, with everyone talking at once.
Unaccustomed to such an environment, it took her a while to fall asleep properly.
By the time she woke up, the noise had subsided significantly.
She was roused by gentle taps on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw Lin Xinyu.
"Time to go home," she said.
Shen Waqing let out a soft hum, still a bit groggy. The classroom was nearly empty. Checking her phone, she saw it was only two minutes past the official closing time.
She blinked in surprise. Everyone had left so quickly—it was as if they couldn't wait to escape.
Turning around, she noticed the seat behind her was now empty.
Xiao Zhan was gone.
Although, come to think of it, she wasn't sure he'd even stayed through the self-study session.
There was a new message on her phone.
Glancing at the name, she saw it was saved as "Mother."
Shen Waqing hesitated before opening the chat.
> come home for dinner.
She furrowed her brows, staring at the message intensely.
This didn't happen in the novel. Which meant either Pei Yuwei had rejected the invitation, or it was irrelevant to the plot, so the author didn't bother to include it.
That cheap author…
Packing her books, Shen Waqing walked toward the school gate with Lin Xinyu and her deskmate.
They were heading in different directions, so they parted ways at the gate.
"Yuwei!" a songlike voice rang out behind her, followed by quick, light footsteps.
Seeing who it was Shen Waqing halted in her step.
They were both wearing the same uniform yet Shen Waqing couldn't help but be doubtful.
Her eyes gleamed with a bright spark like sunshine on water, waist lenght, long, black hair that fluttered in the non existent wind, flowing behind her like a veil of calm dark sea.
Shen Waqing unconsciously held out her hand to feel where exactly this wind was blowing from.
This isn't scientific!
She stared at the girl, her eye twitching involuntarily.
What the…
A soft glow seemed to descend from the heavens, bathing the girl in a golden light. It was as if a crack had opened in the sky, shining directly on her.
And only her.
Am I the only one seeing this?!
The girl stopped right in front of her, panting lightly from running.
Her long eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings as she looked up at Shen Waqing.
"Yuwei, let's go together! Mom and Dad are home, so we're having dinner as a family tonight."
Shen Waqing stood frozen.
This is Pei Ruxue—the female lead.