Mr. Li's brow furrowed as his eyes scanned the attendance list again.
"Strange… I don't see your name anywhere," he said, looking back up at the tall boy standing in the doorway.
Lu Jingchen's tone was calm and polite. "My transfer was rather… impromptu. I arrived late because I was still finalizing the process with the administration."
Several students nodded in sympathy, murmuring about how tough transfers could be.
Su Xiaonuan, however, nearly choked. Finalizing the process? Finalizing my foot! You were cruising around in your fancy car! She clenched her jaw, resisting the urge to call him out in front of everyone.
Around the room, curious whispers floated through the air.
"Why would he transfer here of all places?"
"Maybe his family moved?"
"Are we lucky or what? He's actually in our class!"
"Quiet," Mr. Li said firmly, snapping the room back to order. "Mr. Lu, please take the seat beside Miss Su Xiaonuan. It's the only one left."
Xiaonuan's stomach dropped. No. No, no, no! Of all the empty chairs in the school, it had to be next to me?
Jingchen walked down the aisle with unhurried grace, sliding into the seat beside her. He didn't say a word, just gave her the faintest knowing smirk.
She looked away immediately.
When Mr. Li finished the roll call, he addressed the class. "For those who don't know me, I'm Li Zhenghua, your homeroom teacher and economics instructor. Some of you were in my class last year, some of you are new, and I'm new to some of you as well. So let's start with self-introductions."
Xiaonuan's stomach tightened. Ugh… self-introductions. She hated them. All eyes on her, waiting for her to say something interesting...no thanks.
The students went in order, each one standing and rattling off their name, a hobby, maybe a quick joke. When it was her turn, she hesitated, then slowly rose to her feet.
"I… I'm Su Xiaonuan," she began, her voice softer than intended. "I hope to get along with… books and reading my classmates."
The words hung in the air for a second before laughter broke out around her.
Her face turned bright red. Oh no, no, no; did I just say I want to read my classmates?!
"I mean...get along with my classmates and… read books," she corrected quickly, sinking back into her seat.
"Smooth," Mengmeng mouthed from across the room, grinning.
She groaned.
When it was Lu Jingchen's turn, he stood with quiet confidence.
"I'm Lu Jingchen. I transferred from my former school due to personal reasons," he said, voice steady but warm. "I hope it won't be too much trouble for the class to help me adjust to the school's atmosphere and feel at home here." He gave a polite bow before sitting down.
The class reacted instantly.
"Wow, so polite!"
"Handsome and humble!"
"Marry me!" someone whispered dramatically from the back.
Xiaonuan resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Such a show-off.
Mr. Li raised a hand for quiet. "Alright, settle down. I know you're all excited to have a celebrity in the room, but have some self-respect. Next week we'll be voting for class prefect, so use this time to get to know each other."
With that, he left the room.
The moment the door shut, chatter exploded. Students swarmed around Jingchen, bombarding him with questions about his hobbies, his old school, and of course, whether he was single.
Xiaonuan took the chance to escape. She slid out of her chair and made a beeline for Mengmeng.
"Spill!" Mengmeng demanded. "Why were you late? And don't tell me it's because you overslept, because you had that 'I was running from the law' look when you came in."
"It's a long story," Xiaonuan sighed, but before she could finish, the classroom door opened again.
Their first teacher of the day had arrived.
The woman who walked in had the kind of beauty that made people pause mid-breath. Her hair was glossy and perfectly styled, her makeup subtle but flawless, and her tailored suit fit her like it was made for her. She was elegance wrapped in authority.
"Good morning, class," she said with a warm smile. "I'm Teacher Song Qian, and I'll be teaching you mathematics this year."
A ripple of awe went through the room. Even the class clowns were suddenly on their best behavior.
Xiaonuan hurried back to her seat, still mid-whisper to Mengmeng, but decided it was safer not to test Teacher Song's patience on the first day.
Teacher Song began writing on the board, her chalk strokes neat and precise. The class was hanging on her every word, well, most of them.
Xiaonuan was too busy digging through her bag, a growing sense of panic gnawing at her.
Where's my math textbook?
She rifled through every pocket twice. Then it hit her—she'd never seen it this morning. Which meant… she'd left it at home.
She groaned softly, pressing a hand to her forehead.
Teacher Song turned, hearing the sound. "Miss Su, is there a problem?"
Xiaonuan jolted upright. "No! No problem at all!" she said quickly.
Beside her, Lu Jingchen sat with his math textbook open, his pen poised. His eyes flicked sideways to her, reading her distress without her saying a word.
"Forgot something?" he murmured.
She hesitated, then leaned toward him with a pleading expression. "Can I… borrow half your textbook space? Just for today?"
His mouth curved into a slow, almost wicked smile. "Tell me, Su Xiaonuan… how many things are you going to owe me for in just one day?"
She blinked at him, momentarily speechless.
And as she sat there, staring at the smug transfer student beside her, one thought settled in her mind with alarming certainty.
This seatmate thing… is cursed.
.
.