"Ugh…" Gu Qianran rubbed her sore wrist, forced to finish a whole set of political exam questions, and handed it over to Bai Ziyuan with a helpless sigh. She had to admit, this political paper probably accounted for a third of all writing on the exams. The saying went: advise someone to study medicine and the heavens strike, advise someone to study law and they are torn apart a thousand ways.
"Only two mistakes?" Bai Ziyuan looked surprised. Normally this person didn't show off at all, yet she was secretly a top student? If she was this good at studying, why did she have to pick the exact moment for greeting her during seat assignments? Was she overthinking it?
Realizing she might have overthought it, Bai Ziyuan felt a little embarrassed. She hurried to make up for it: "Qian Ran, so you are a top student too! Since your politics is so good, you don't need me to teach you. Can you help me with math instead?"
Gu Qianran thought:" …I was a top student in my past life too, graduated from Qingbei, and interrupted by family scheming. With these trivial questions, getting two wrong is because I have no idea about the political climate of this world. And your blatant freeloading on my science skills—are you sure you are not just exploiting me?"
But when she looked at the female lead, she saw no mocking smirk, only a bright, genuine smile. Honestly, Bai Ziyuan was beautiful, a kind of striking beauty that demanded attention. But at this moment, her expression was a little silly, completely at odds with her looks. Her beautiful eyes shimmered with tiny sparks of light that drew people in effortlessly.
It seemed the female lead wasn't cold or aloof, just a little naive. Something must have happened before Gu Qianran arrived to make her this way. A pang of protectiveness rose in her chest. The novel didn't describe the female lead's background in detail, likely to keep her as the male lead's supporting character. In the second year of middle school, she had been betrayed by friends. Gu Qianran hadn't paid much attention before, but now she realized this incident must have hurt the innocent girl deeply, explaining her distant demeanor around strangers. Poor thing.
Come to think of it, both she and the female lead had been hurt by others' hearts.
Gu Qianran sighed and looked at Bai Ziyuan. "Bai Ziyuan," she called softly. The female lead blinked her clear, wide eyes at her. They were so pure, not a trace of corruption. Gu Qianran had a gut feeling: whether or not she was the female lead, this pure girl could be trusted. "From now on, we're friends."
The little girl's eyes widened, then filled with tears. She recounted the story of being betrayed by those despicable friends, carefully watching Gu Qianran: "Qianran, you wouldn't do that, right?" Gu Qianran felt her heart ache and instinctively patted the girl's head. She said firmly, "If you ever don't understand a problem, come to me. I won't betray a friend. You can trust me."
Finally, Bai Ziyuan smiled, roughly wiped her eyes, and lowered her head to tackle the math problems.
Gu Qianran watched her. The female lead was unbelievably pure—she revealed everything about herself at first meeting without fear of Gu Qianran being a bad person. Since the girl was unexpectedly adorable and trusted her, Gu Qianran felt she had to do something to deserve that trust. After all, who wouldn't want to protect a pure, cute girl?
Do something… yes, she decided to save the female lead from the scumbag male lead. Gu Qianran didn't feel like the overly worried mom Bai Ziyuan once had.
[Host, please pay attention to character design,] the system reminded, lagging a beat.
"Character design? What the hell is that?" Gu Qianran rolled her eyes. A real person just shattered their character before her, and now for a seemingly cold, clever but actually naive female lead, she should be worried about character design? She ignored the system completely.
"Qian Ran, how do I solve this quadratic function problem?" The question-loving Bai Ziyuan never stopped asking Gu Qianran. "Ah, first find the intercept, then plug in point C…" For a study-loving little girl, Gu Qianran's top-student nature was fully activated. She explained the key points clearly and directly. Enjoying the admiration in the little girl's sparkling eyes made her happy.
After explaining three or four problems, Bai Ziyuan got a bit tired and leaned on Gu Qianran's shoulder, startling her. Her body tensed instinctively. "Ah, Qian Ran, relax… but you're amazing. I didn't think you were this good at studying. How did you become a genius all of a sudden…" The fifteen-year-old girl's voice was soft, warm, with a tiny playful hook at the end, irresistible. Compared to Gu Qianran's cool tone, Bai Ziyuan's voice was sweet. Even Gu Qianran had to admit: this girl was extremely captivating. No wonder the male lead liked her.
She trusted her, really regarded her as a friend. Thinking that, Gu Qianran relaxed and softened her gaze. Bai Ziyuan, feeling comfortable, mumbled: "That's right, Qian Ran. Since we're friends now, I'll cover for you if anything comes up! And for politics, I can teach you too!" The one-meter-sixty-two Bai Ziyuan said this to the one-meter-sixty-nine Gu Qianran.
"…I'm better at politics." Thinking that, Gu Qianran didn't crush the little girl's confidence, just responded softly. After spending the morning together, she realized the female lead wasn't annoying at all, but rather simple and cute. "Then show me this politics compendium of yours." Gu Qianran needed to relearn history and politics from scratch. She also planned to focus on arts to hide her intelligence, so she had to pass history.
The simple, cute girl observed Gu Qianran secretly. Sunlight poured in from the window, casting a golden glow on Gu Qianran's profile. Long eyelashes glimmered with gold, softening the girl's aloof aura. Gu Qianran read, and Bai Ziyuan couldn't take her eyes off her. "This classmate used to skip class or sleep, so why the sudden change? Not only that, but her profile was quite pretty? Hehe, this friend she made was worth it." Thinking of this, she smiled.
"Perhaps, there really are people who care wholeheartedly about you."
Gu Qianran, sensitive to gazes, noticed Bai Ziyuan watching her. The little girl sneaked a smile again. Was she funny? Though puzzled, Gu Qianran's mood lifted seeing her quietly grinning.
During four afternoon classes, Gu Qianran focused on history books. Bai Ziyuan wanted to say something but was shot down by a look. The little girl sulked, but after promising to buy her milk tea after school, she cheered up. Gu Qianran couldn't help thinking that milk tea was the ultimate bribe for middle school girls.
"What a cute little girl. Quiet and smart. Much better than certain humans who only yap. Right, system?"
The system, suddenly called out, replied: [Host, please do not mock the system. The female lead has not awakened yet.]
Gu Qianran curved her lips, surprisingly not arguing. After two lifetimes, she was practically an old aunt. But you can insult me, not my little charge! For some reason, after feeling Bai Ziyuan's kindness, Gu Qianran always felt protective of her. She classified it as protecting the student she was teaching.
"Awakened? You mean liking scumbags, blindly following the plot—that's awakening?" Gu Qianran said sarcastically. Two lifetimes had taught her the value of innocence. The system was silenced.
Gu Qianran didn't care. She looked at Bai Ziyuan, working on problems, and suddenly reached out to touch her head. Bai Ziyuan looked up, puzzled. Gu Qianran chuckled: "Nothing, just touching your head."
Bai Ziyuan: "…If you must, I'm a bird, not a dog." Why suddenly touch her? Top students have quirks, like her love for milk tea.
Indeed, Gu Qianran bribed Bai Ziyuan with milk tea simply because Bai Ziyuan loved it.
Gu Qianran laughed at the joking Bai Ziyuan. Such a cute little girl, soft hair, perfect to touch. How did she end up with the male lead?
Thinking this, Gu Qianran's gaze darkened. Not just the male lead, but her mother at home—these were obstacles she had to remove on her path to freedom. She was not the original girl, not a saint. Anyone who bullied her would get no mercy.
After a long afternoon, Bai Ziyuan bounced along, dragging Gu Qianran to buy milk tea. Gu Qianran didn't really like overly sweet drinks, but seeing Bai Ziyuan enjoy it as if it were a rare nectar, she took a sip too. Milk tea was still milk tea.
After escorting Bai Ziyuan to the street corner with a motherly mindset, Gu Qianran walked back, thinking about the day. What had she done? Read, crammed history and politics, and met a cute little friend.
Thinking of Bai Ziyuan's smiling face, Gu Qianran smiled slightly. But seeing the snarling shrew at her doorstep, her smile stiffened into a mocking curve.
Gu Qianran's mother saw her daughter's smirk and grew more upset, ignoring the curious neighbors and yelling at her.
"You unfilial brat!" Despite the tirade, Gu Qianran maintained the same expression, as if watching a show. Imagine this is your real mom? Arbitrary accusations and misused parental power—what a mess. Gu Qianran's dark thoughts brewed.
But still, trying to solo me? My cousin is higher level than you; who hasn't been through worse?
She raised an eyebrow and casually asked: "Who is my dad?"
Come on, dear mother, show us your performance.
===
Author Note:
Bai Ziyuan was still naive—her cold exterior only hid her silly, sweet heart.
Mini Scene:
Gu Qianran: Naive female lead, pay attention for once.
Bai Ziyuan: What? I don't like snacks.
Gu Qianran: Oh, what do you like? I'll buy it for you.
Ji Tang: Gu Qianran, where's your principle?
Gu Qianran: Gotta protect my girl, no principles.