Rebirth: A Cinderella's Counterattack

Chapter 355: Chapter 337: Familiar Place

Time passed quickly, and before I knew it, it was already March. After school started, Luo Qianqian took a long leave to review her liberal arts courses, preparing to return for the final exams at the end of March.

”This time, I won’t accompany you. Listen to Hu Si,” Hei Yu instructed at the airport.

Luo Qianqian nodded, standing next to Hu Si with her backpack, silent.

During this time, even through the New Year, she stayed inside Area A undisturbed, quietly revising, quietly advancing her studies. To say nothing of Xu Tianyi, even Luo Xiying had to notify Hei Yu in advance to see her, which forced the Luo Family’s New Year’s Eve dinner to be reluctantly held at a restaurant close to the base.

Her leg was largely unobstructed now, but she still couldn’t engage in vigorous exercise. The hundred days needed for the injury to heal had long passed; on one hand, she followed the doctor’s advice, and on the other, she was just lazy.

”Come back right after the exam. This is the reserved hotel, don’t go meeting friends,” Hei Yu said, handing an envelope to the two of them. Luo Qianqian obediently nodded without saying a word.

With equanimity, Hei Yu turned around and left. Hu Si escorted Luo Qianqian into the waiting hall. Seeing Luo Qianqian’s quiet demeanor, he frowned slightly but said nothing. During this time, Luo Qianqian had become completely silent. Xu Tianyi had returned to the Xu Family after a competition, and now, the two of them barely saw each other, as if it were deliberately arranged.

”Do you want to go home and have a look?” Hu Si hesitated for a moment before asking.

Luo Qianqian looked up, then shook her head, and bowed her head again, flipping through another page of the ”Required Morality and Ideology Course.”

Hu Si, finding himself unentertained, didn’t say anything more. The journey was quite uninteresting. The unchanging part was the book in Luo Qianqian’s hands; what changed was Hu Si’s sleeping posture.

They took a taxi to the hotel and then, accompanied by Hu Si, Luo Qianqian went to the school to collect her admission ticket.

During lunch break, Tang Chen was originally waiting at the door. He was somewhat surprised to see Luo Qianqian since he hadn’t seen her in a long time, but he quickly felt something was amiss. A man was following her, and her face lacked the smiles of before, instead, it was filled with cold indifference, expressionless, bearing no relation to the Luo Qianqian of old.

Upon seeing Tang Chen, Luo Qianqian’s eyes flickered for a moment, but she quickly resumed her indifferent demeanor, acting as if she didn’t recognize him, and passed Tang Chen on her way into the school.

Tang Chen watched the man who followed Luo Qianqian, his stance unchanged, pretending to wait for someone else, but he looked curiously at the two people. Only after they had walked past did his expression darken, recalling the mouth shape Luo Qianqian had just made, which clearly read: ”Stay away from me!”

Not seeing any familiar faces, Luo Qianqian breathed a sigh of relief and went straight to the director’s office, knocking, ”Teacher, I’ve come to get my admission ticket.”

Inside the office, the director, looking at the somewhat unfamiliar girl before him, hesitantly asked, ”Luo Qianqian?” The only ones coming to collect their admission tickets were those taking the final exams tomorrow, and the only exception was a sophomore who had bizarrely taken a leave of absence and then just as bizarrely decided to take this year’s college entrance exam, thereby skipping ahead to take the final exams.

Luo Qianqian nodded, glanced behind her, and sure enough, Hu Si was at the door watching her. She took the admission ticket handed over by the teacher and whispered, ”Thank you, Teacher,” without lingering a moment longer.

The teacher was a bit dumbfounded. What was with this complete disinterest in further communication?

”Let’s go,” said Luo Qianqian decisively as she descended the stairs, showing no desire to visit her friends. She felt several gazes, excitement or concern, but she could not turn back.

”Shall we get something to eat?” Hu Si asked, as if oblivious to those gazes, following the girl away.

Luo Qianqian nodded. After getting into a taxi, she looked back at the school twice, barely managing a forced smile before leaving.

Tang Chen, however, wasn’t in a hurry. Luo Qianqian might not know, but he was well aware that tomorrow they would be in the same examination hall.

”What’s wrong with Qianqian?” He Wenyu watched Luo Qianqian leave, utterly perplexed. Just who was the person following her?

Fu Mingxue sighed, ”Chu Ci said that Qianqian’s brother had an accident, perhaps this is the aftermath of that incident?” Fu Mingxue had only had interactions with Luo Qianqian during military training, and after not seeing her for over a semester, she had nearly worn away those initial memories. Now, seeing that frail figure, she felt as if she was seeing her for the first time.

”How do we deal with feeling down?” He Wenyu turned to look at another nemesis in the class—Chu Yu, ”She used to stir up trouble frequently. It’s her fault that Chu Ci got involved.”

Gu Yanzhi stood in the corridor, watching the direction Luo Qianqian left in, squinting towards where the car had disappeared. Without hesitation, he entered the office of the grade director, only to come out dejectedly moments later.

Qiao Xiyang leaned against the door outside, ”Tried to move up to eleventh grade, but got rejected, right?”

Gu Yanzhi nodded; he didn’t need to hide anything from this friend.

”You’re too impatient,” Qiao Xiyang put an arm around Gu Yanzhi’s shoulder, ”We don’t need to rush. She’s going to take the exam, she’s going to take the college entrance exam, but that doesn’t mean she’s going to attend this university.”

Gu Yanzhi frowned, ”Xiao Ci got in touch with you?”

Qiao Xiyang nodded, ”Xiao Ci said that Qianqian is probably still going to process her leave of absence, there’s still no news from her brother.”

Gu Yanzhi clenched his fists tightly, ”Why can’t we help with anything?” It seemed as if he resented his own insignificance, as he punched the wall.

Qiao Xiyang quickly grabbed his hand, scolding him, ”What are you doing?! Does hurting yourself help her?”

He looked at his own hand, merely swollen and red, but Luo Qianqian’s injury was in her heart, and her inability to express it must be even more painful, right?

Out of the blue, he bizarrely quoted, ”When the heavens are about to place a great responsibility on a man, they must first frustrate his spirit, tire his muscles and bones, starve his body and skin, deplete his body, and disrupt his endeavors...” Gu Yanzhi laughed with tears in his eyes, ”Have we been living too comfortably? Look at Luo Qianqian, then at us. Is it that heaven has given her extra favor?”

Favor? Perhaps. Luo Qianqian had thought about this too. Maybe it was because of this life’s rebirth that she had to experience more, understanding that what she gains must be met with corresponding sacrifices. She understood this principle; she was already doing so much better than in her previous life. At this age in her previous life, she would have been sitting with He Wenyu, discussing which boys at school were handsome, which games were fun, and what snacks tasted good. She had changed so much, how could she possibly have everything she wished for?

Returning to the hotel, Luo Qianqian went back to her room. Hu Si was next door in another room, and even though Luo Qianqian was underage, they wouldn’t let her stay with an adult male.

She turned on her mobile phone, and after hesitating for a moment, she picked up the hotel’s landline and ordered room service for lunch.

Meanwhile, Hu Si was in his room looking at a big pile of documents, getting a headache. Hearing the room service knock, he smiled, not too bothered by it.

Although he dawdled a bit, the waiter left happily with the tip. Luo Qianqian absentmindedly stirred the food in front of her, forcing herself to eat a few bites. Soon after, Hu Si knocked on the door, entering with some medicine, seeing the barely touched meal, he sighed, ”I told you to eat out, but you insisted on coming back. Here are some sleeping pills.”

Luo Qianqian nodded and swallowed the pills unguardedly with half a glass of water she had just poured.

”Get on with your work, call me when you want to sleep,” Hu Si said, looking at the books spread out on Luo Qianqian’s bed, trying to comfort her, ”Don’t put too much pressure on yourself.”

Luo Qianqian nodded. The suitcase Hu Si had with him contained the equipment Luo Qianqian used for sleep, portable and for temporary use, only holding enough power for twenty-four hours. Thus, they could only stay here for two nights. Fortunately, the final exams were also just two days long.

Luo Qianqian went to bed early and woke up early as well. With a small bag containing her exam tools, she went to the exam venue. Seeing Tang Chen there, she wasn’t surprised. Instead, while waiting on the field, she innocently approached Tang Chen, ”Senior, could you please tell me where my exam room is?”

Tang Chen pointed in a direction, not missing the person at the door keeping an eye on Luo Qianqian, and asked in a low voice, ”Are you being watched?”