Can We Get Married First?  77

Chapter 77

Today was the day to return to school – a reminder from her phone’s calendar.

Chi Lin hadn’t planned on going out, but she couldn’t stay in this house any longer.

Why did she have to switch back?

Why?

Wouldn’t it have been better to just let her die?

Chi Lin grabbed her bag and left, head down. Given her personality, she wouldn’t have even considered going to school today.

But she was back, back in her own body for some reason, and she didn’t know for how long.

Her mind felt foggy. She wanted to analyze the current situation but couldn’t figure out where to start, so she just walked towards school out of habit.

South Lake Third High, she was back.

Chi Lin had left in such a hurry that she hadn’t washed her face, brushed her teeth, or combed her hair. She was still wearing her pajamas under her school uniform, looking disheveled.

She didn’t care. Dragging her feet, she walked inside and saw a familiar figure up ahead.

Liu Huixin.

Damn, what bad luck.

Chi Lin felt a surge of nausea.

The first classmate she encountered after returning was her. What an inexplicable fate.

Back then, if she hadn’t been so friendless, she wouldn’t have hung out with Liu Huixin.

She knew that Liu Huixin treated her like a sidekick. She also knew that Liu Huixin didn’t consider her a true friend, but who wasn’t using whom?

Chi Lin just wanted someone to kill time with, so she wouldn’t be too awkward when paired up for activities.

“Hey—” Chi Lin called out Liu Huixin’s name in a listless drawl.

Liu Huixin, who had been walking perfectly fine, abruptly stopped at the sound, almost falling.

“What?” Chi Lin walked up to her, grinning. “Don’t you recognize me anymore?”

Liu Huixin looked at her as if she had seen a ghost, backing away repeatedly, terrified:

“Stay away from me!”

Chi Lin: “Huh?”

“You’ve already ruined my life. What more do you want from me?!”

“What are you talking about?”

“Thanks to you, I lost my scholarship! I can’t even hope for a top university anymore. Now I just want to get into a regular university peacefully. Can you please stop bothering me?”

With that, Liu Huixin ran off. Chi Lin called after her several times, but she didn’t respond.

What was going on…?

Chi Lin was confused. Had she fallen out with Liu Huixin?

Even though she hadn’t liked Liu Huixin to begin with, now that Liu Huixin had run off, wouldn’t she be alone again?

Damn… Chi Lin cursed the person who had transmigrated into her body.

She had seen her “own” glorious deeds online and had even secretly returned to observe the current “Chi Lin.”

The Chi Lin borrowing her body had dolled herself up, looking utterly nauseating.

She didn’t miss her old life at all. If it meant getting rid of her disgusting mother and the Lou family, she would be overjoyed!

Although her new family wasn’t wealthy, at least they were an original couple, a complete family.

Most importantly, her parents didn’t interfere with her life at all. She could do whatever she wanted.

What could be better than this in life?

A few months ago, in an internet cafe booth, she had swallowed a popular suicide pill.

The pill was said to be colorless and tasteless, allowing one to die painlessly in their sleep.

Similar to euthanasia.

Chi Lin had long felt that life was meaningless and hadn’t hesitated at all when she decided to commit suicide. She just swallowed the pill.

Unexpectedly, she didn’t die, but instead transmigrated into the body of a girl named Jun Jun.

This Jun Jun, a first-year high school student, had been slapped by two senior girls and pushed down a flight of stairs in a stairwell, falling to her death.

When Chi Lin transmigrated, she stood up, covered in blood, scaring the wits out of the senior girls who were panicking over her apparent death.

Later, she discovered that she had miraculously transmigrated. Following the clues from various items in the school bag, she returned to the unfamiliar home to investigate.

Fortunately, this home was complete, with both parents present.

The more she stayed in this home, the more comfortable she felt.

Her parents were both factory workers, working from dawn till dusk. They returned home close to midnight and had no time to supervise her.

They gave her 100 yuan every day, and she could eat whatever she wanted. She could eat instant noodles for a whole month, and no one would say a word because no one would even notice.

Her biological father had spoiled her like this too. After her parents divorced, her mother had made her life too suffocating, too unbearable.

When she heard about Chi Lin from South Lake Third High becoming famous online, she knew that after her soul left, someone else had taken over her body.

Secretly observing the current Chi Lin’s life, she was amused.

What a sucker, to be so unlucky as to transmigrate into a blended family with a pro-gamer goddess for a stepsister.

How much pressure would she face in the future?

She would probably always live in Lou Mi’s shadow.

Peng Ziyuan would look down on her, Lou Mi would look down on her, the whole world would look down on her.

Chi Lin was delighted – I’m finally free!

During her time as Jun Jun, Chi Lin had gained 15 jin, and her parents hadn’t even noticed.

She skipped classes, fought, smoked, and was close to trying drugs. Teachers visited her home five hundred times, but her parents remained indifferent.

Perfect.

The 17-year-old Chi Lin loved these parents.

After that, Chi Lin stopped paying attention to her former self, barely even using her phone or computer.

She got a boyfriend and spent her days hanging out with his friends, living a life of drunken revelry.

She never expected to transmigrate back…

Walking towards the teaching building, Chi Lin’s mind was filled with thoughts of how to reunite with her boyfriend.

Would anyone believe her if she said she had transmigrated?

Or should she swallow another suicide pill and see if she could switch back?

Lost in thought, Chi Lin saw Xu Yifang, Liu Huixin’s friend.

“Hey.” Chi Lin hurried over to her, hoping to find out from Xu Yifang what had happened between her and Liu Huixin.

To her surprise, Xu Yifang also reacted as if she had seen a ghost, running away in terror without giving her a chance to speak.

Chi Lin: “…”

What had the person in her body done?

Everyone was so afraid of her. Wasn’t she even worse off than before?

Chi Lin continued to curse the person in her body. She saw Teng Jiang, the school heartthrob from Class 1, and a group of boys from the basketball team walking towards her, chatting and laughing. Chi Lin didn’t dare to look directly at them, intending to walk around them and steal a few glances.

“Hey—Chi Lin!” Unexpectedly, Teng Jiang greeted her, and the group surrounded her.

Chi Lin trembled in surprise: “Wh-what do you want?”

Teng Jiang’s “national first love” face smiled, as handsome as Chi Lin remembered:

“I wouldn’t dare to do anything. I just haven’t seen you for a whole winter break, and I missed you.”

Chi Lin: “??”

Say that again, who did you miss?!

“What’s with the look today? Quite unique.” Teng Jiang examined Chi Lin’s messy hair and laughed. “But you look good no matter what. I have a match at the gym this afternoon. Come watch if you have time. I know you probably won’t, but the first row VIP seat is always yours.”

After Teng Jiang finished speaking, his teammates booed him loudly.

He seemed sincere, pushing away a few of them who were teasing him, and looked back at Chi Lin with a smile as he walked away.

Chi Lin was so stunned she couldn’t react for a while.

What was going on?! The school heartthrob was being affectionate with her?

Entering her senior year, the classroom hadn’t changed, just the sign on the door.

As Chi Lin stepped out of the elevator, Wei Zhuoning and Lin Xiaozhi happened to be on their way to the restroom, meeting her face to face.

Wei Zhuoning was about to greet her when she noticed that Chi Lin didn’t glance at them at all, as if she hadn’t seen them.

They passed each other, and Wei Zhuoning was utterly confused.

“What’s wrong with her?” Wei Zhuoning said. “Why didn’t Lin acknowledge me?”

Lin Xiaozhi watched Chi Lin’s retreating figure, pondered her attire and appearance, and then suddenly smiled:

“This is interesting.”

Wei Zhuoning: “Huh?”

Chi Lin, habitually walking with her head down, bumped into someone.

Damn it, who walks without looking!

Chi Lin cursed inwardly, then looked up and saw Gao Xiang.

Gao Xiang was 1.85 meters tall and was said to know many people in the underworld, often getting into knife fights.

Chi Lin’s boyfriend was similar, although slightly less intimidating. So far, she hadn’t witnessed the spectacle of a group fight, so she was still afraid of Gao Xiang.

Just as she was about to shrink past him, he grabbed her.

Chi Lin’s heart sank. Was she going to get beaten up as soon as she returned? …How unlucky.

“Did you bring them?” Gao Xiang’s face came close.

“Bring… bring what?”

“Your sister’s private photos!” Gao Xiang’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

“Sister?”

“Sister Lou!” Gao Xiang hissed, looking at her sideways. “Stingy, what’s wrong with one photo? It’s not like Sister Lou will lose a piece of flesh.”

“Come on, Gao Xiang, stop playing dumb. Don’t you know Little Lin and Sister Lou are dating? How could she possibly give them to you?” Sha Xinyu, passing by, chided Gao Xiang.

Chi Lin was dumbfounded – Dating? Lou Mi?!

Gao Xiang snorted: “I don’t care. Even if they’re dating, it’s with Lou Mi, but HighTowerMiyuki still belongs to all of us fans. Chi Lin, you’re really not being cool. It’s just one photo… Tell me, what do you want in exchange? As long as it’s within my power, I’ll do it, no questions asked!”

Gao Xiang didn’t cause her any trouble, but instead lingered around her.

Chi Lin finally managed to break free from him and found her seat with her name on it.

As soon as she sat down, Dong Xiangwen, from the seat diagonally behind her, tossed her a bag of snacks.

Chi Lin turned around in surprise.

“Try it, the newest spicy flavor. Yes, the one that’s sold out everywhere in the supermarkets.”

Chi Lin: “…”

Ms. Qi arrived, and the class meeting officially began.

When Lin Xiaozhi sat next to Chi Lin, Chi Lin felt very uncomfortable.

As Lin Xiaozhi opened her tablet, she asked Chi Lin:

“How did you feel after you got home yesterday?”

Chi Lin mumbled “uh” and brushed it off.

“It’s all Zhuoning’s fault for giving you her cold. Are you feeling better today?”

Chi Lin’s lips twitched. She was never comfortable around beautiful people; it made her feel inferior and awkward.

“What’s with your hair? It’s so messy.” Lin Xiaozhi continued to ask. “I’m definitely going to scold Zhuoning later for what she did.”

“I’m fine…” Chi Lin finally spoke, forced by the situation. “It’s not like she meant to infect me.”

After hearing her words, Lin Xiaozhi studied her face for a moment, then nodded knowingly and stopped talking.

Ms. Qi summarized Class 6’s overall performance last semester, analyzed the average scores for each subject and their ranking within the grade, and most importantly, sounded the alarm.

“You are now officially senior year students. I think you understand better than I do what senior year means, so I won’t dwell on it. From now on, you need to focus all your energy on striving for the most important year of your lives…”

After saying she wouldn’t dwell on it, Ms. Qi continued to talk for over 40 minutes without pausing for breath.

After the summary and outlook, Ms. Qi suddenly called out Chi Lin’s name:

“Everyone should learn from Chi Lin. Look at her, she went from being last in the class to catching up and reaching the middle range! I believe if she works a little harder, she can soon reach the first-tier university admission scores! As you all know, during the final exams last semester, Chi Lin was delayed in reviewing other subjects because of a bet. I still have to criticize you for this. You can’t neglect any subject, and don’t make bets with others on a whim. Your academic performance is your own, not something to be used for petty squabbles. Of course, putting that aside, because of this incident, our class’s average English score ranked first among all the regular classes, something that has never happened before. I know you all like Chi Lin, so make appointments to study together more often. This is the power of idols and role models! I hope that in the final year of your middle school, you can all apply the same effort you put into English to all subjects, striving for first place in both sections! Do you have confidence?!”

Dong Xiangwen was the first to answer: “No—!”

The whole class burst into laughter and banged on their desks. Ms. Qi pointed at him: “You’re the only one with a mouth! Do you want to be sent out to stand in the hallway on the first day back?”

Chi Lin found this Class 6 unfamiliar.

When she was still here, Class 6 was lifeless, at the bottom of the rankings in all subjects, the class everyone considered a dumpster fire.

As a member of the trash heap, Chi Lin had been quite comfortable.

But what was with this harmonious atmosphere now?

First in average English score?

From what Ms. Qi said, it seemed this was because of a bet she made?

Chi Lin couldn’t imagine what had happened…

Ms. Qi laughed three times after every sentence. This wasn’t the homeroom teacher she knew.

But…

Sha Xinyu secretly sent her a WeChat message. Chi Lin opened it:

“Your hair is so messy, I’ll help you comb it later!”

Followed by a cute bunny emoji.

Chi Lin’s heart skipped a beat.

Ms. Qi paused the class meeting halfway through for a break. Sha Xinyu really came over and combed her hair, even gently adjusting her uniform collar.

“That’s better.” Sha Xinyu smiled at her warmly.

Chi Lin had always thought Sha Xinyu was cute, but she had never imagined talking to her.

Chi Lin went downstairs to the convenience store to buy a Coke, hoping to calm her nerves. Someone quietly came up and put their arm around her, whispering in her ear:

“I didn’t expect to run into my cute little Shifu just by casually strolling around my alma mater. This is fate, this is destiny.”

Chi Lin turned around with difficulty. The person behind her was so close that she almost kissed them.

Tan Luo?

That popular senior?

Chi Lin froze. Noticing her reaction, Tan Luo, whose scar on her nose bridge throbbed faintly, immediately stepped back with a smile, retreating to a safe distance:

“Still so fierce after all these days, how scary.”

A hundred trucks seemed to rumble through Chi Lin’s mind, shaking her to the core.

No way… Did she have a thing with Senior Tan Luo too?

Senior Tan Luo was her first love, someone she only dared to admire from afar.

Tan Luo’s embrace had left Chi Lin speechless and flustered, her stunned silence likely misinterpreted as seriousness.

“It really was a coincidence, you have to believe me.”

After starting university, Tan Luo had shed her high school uniform. In her casual clothes, she looked even more alluring. Her smile almost made Chi Lin faint.

“Alright, I won’t tease you anymore, or this pretty face of mine will get bruised again.” Tan Luo pointed to the scar on her nose with a pink fingertip. “I’m back at school for some business today. Shifu, are you here for the return to school day?”

Shifu? What kind of strange roleplay was this?

Were they playing games now?

Chi Lin pondered how to prolong her time with the goddess, who then said:

“I’ll come find you after school tomorrow to get the antidote, okay?”

“Mm…” Chi Lin unconsciously began to maintain a certain assumed persona.

“Take me off your blacklist, okay?” Tan Luo said, smiling, and left.

Chi Lin stood alone outside the convenience store for a long time, trying to process everything.

Everyone seemed to like her.

Everyone seemed to be infatuated with her.

This feeling was really…

Chi Lin took a deep breath.

Amazing!

Absolutely amazing!

Chi Lin chugged a large bottle of Coke, trying to suppress her excitement. Humming, she walked towards the teaching building.

Lin Xiaozhi, standing in a corner on the second floor, had witnessed the entire interaction between Chi Lin and Tan Luo.

“What’s wrong?” Wei Zhuoning had run two blocks to buy Lin Xiaozhi her favorite chestnut cake from a particular bakery. When she returned, excited, she found Lin Xiaozhi sitting on the stairs leading to the rooftop, looking troubled.

Seeing Wei Zhuoning’s worried and sincere face, Lin Xiaozhi smiled and said:

“I get unhappy when I can’t see you, even for a moment.”

Wei Zhuoning hopped over to her like a little bunny and sat down, holding up the cake:

“I went to buy you a treat, see?”

“It’s hard to get this, the lines are always so long. How did you manage to buy it?”

“I got a number when I came to school this afternoon. It was my turn just now. Aren’t I clever?”

“Yes, yes, our Zhuoning is the cleverest.”

Sensing that Lin Xiaozhi still had something on her mind, Wei Zhuoning didn’t ask directly, choosing to stay by her side quietly.

While eating the chestnut cake, Wei Zhuoning tried to guess what could be bothering Lin Xiaozhi…

Lin Xiaozhi looked at her dazed profile, thinking, this silly girl would never guess that I’m complaining about her being slow.

After the class meeting, Chi Lin, Sha Xinyu, Gao Xiang, and the others walked out of school together, chatting happily along the way.

A familiar figure suddenly appeared in her peripheral vision. Chi Lin looked towards the bushes near the school gate.

Jun Jun…

Chi Lin gasped. Sha Xinyu asked her:

“What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing…”

Chi Lin forced a smile and quickened her pace, leaving quickly.