The person called Vlad Bundy pushed up his glasses.
He didn't speak, just nodded quickly like someone timid and nervous.
Summer Lin let out a breath of relief.
"Then Autumn, you can sit here for now. You might need to buy your own textbooks later. After school, I can go with you to the bookstore."
But the moment Autumn James saw Vlad's face, she froze completely.
A wave of fear surged through her. A chill ran down her entire body, and her face went pale.
Her feet stopped, as if nailed to the floor—she couldn't move an inch.
That person… Vlad Bundy…
He was the one who killed her in her past life!
She would never mistake him, even if he'd changed his hairstyle and his bangs covered his eyes—she could never forget that face!
Summer noticed that Autumn wasn't moving and softly called her name again.
Autumn snapped back to herself, cold sweat dripping down her forehead.
Suppressing her fear, she nodded and walked to the seat beside Vlad, keeping as much distance between them as she could.
Vlad Bundy was sick—literally.
Mentally unstable.
In her previous life, that was why even after he killed her, he wasn't punished too harshly—only served a few years in prison.
In this life, she would stay as far away from him as possible.
Others might only dare to talk big, but someone as obsessive and unhinged as Vlad Bundy was capable of doing anything.
Not long after she sat down, the bell rang.
Coincidentally, it was Chinese class.
The Chinese and math teachers for the Science A Class were the same as for other classes—the only difference was the Chinese teacher.
When the Chinese teacher walked in, she immediately noticed Autumn's empty desk.
Her sharp eyes landed right on Autumn."Miss James, why are you here? Aren't you from the liberal arts class? And where are your books?"
Before Autumn could answer, Summer Lin stood up and spoke firmly, without arrogance or fear.
"Teacher, Autumn James has already been officially approved by the school to transfer to our Science class. Mr. White asked me to help her get used to it first. I'll take her to buy books after school today."
The teacher's name was Zelia Watson, a middle-aged woman in her forties.
Zelia always favored high-achieving students, and she despised anything that smelled like privilege or favoritism.
She didn't believe that someone with Autumn's grades could have earned her way into Science A Class.
After all, girls usually struggled more with science, and Autumn hadn't even done that well in the liberal arts class. How could she possibly qualify for the Science A Class?
Of course, Zelia knew about Autumn's background.
Most likely, she'd gotten in because of her father—the school director.
But Summer Lin was different. She was top of her class in every subject—a favorite among teachers.
So seeing her defend Autumn made Zelia even more annoyed.
"Enough! Stop making excuses for her! It's one thing if she doesn't have her science books, but what's this? You don't even have your Chinese, math, or English books? What did you even do in your old class—skip every subject?!"
Her voice rose sharply; her anger was obvious from how fast she spoke.
Summer wanted to explain further—
—but one sharp glare from Zelia made her stop.
Autumn stayed silent.
It was true—this was her fault.
Her Chinese grades had never been great, and Zelia had never liked her.
But Autumn didn't think Zelia was unfair—because she didn't just dislike her.
She disliked every student with poor grades. Including Anna Hawthorne.
Seeing Autumn stay quiet only made Zelia angrier.
"Go back to the liberal arts class and get your books! Then come back!"
Autumn could only nod, stand up, and accept her fate. She just didn't know which teacher was teaching that class right now…
She sighed inwardly.
But just as she turned to leave, a lazy voice came from behind her.
"Teacher, she can use my book. I won't be needing it anyway."
Zelia turned toward the voice, and her fury instantly flared higher.
"Luke Warren! You've got some nerve saying that! Did you even look at your Chinese exam score? Only a hundred points? Do you have any idea that the college entrance exam—"
"—is like thousands of soldiers crossing a single bridge? You've said it so many times, aren't you tired yet?" Luke cut her off mid-sentence.
"You—!" Zelia was furious.
But before she could catch her breath, her star student spoke softly.
"Teacher, it's really not a big deal. How about I lend Autumn my book for this class?"
After Summer spoke, more students joined in:
"Yeah, Teacher, she shouldn't go back now. The liberal arts class is having their own lesson."
"We all have our books anyway—she can just share with us."
Their voices rose together, one after another.
Zelia's blood pressure nearly spiked. She gave a cold, sarcastic laugh.
"Fine, fine! What a united class you are! Let's start the lesson! Luke Warren, stand in the back!"
Just like that, the matter was settled.
Warmth filled Autumn's chest, spreading all the way to her fingertips.
It had been so long since she'd felt this way—being defended by others.
Meanwhile, Luke Warren wasn't new to being punished.
He'd been sitting in the back row anyway, so he casually moved to the side, leaning against the wall like a guard statue.
Before leaving his desk, he handed his book to the person in front of him.
That student passed it forward, and then another, until the classmate behind Autumn tapped her shoulder.
"What's up?" Autumn didn't dare turn fully around; she just leaned back slightly to ask.
The student didn't say a word—just handed her a book.
She took it and glanced at the cover. It was the Chinese textbook they were using for this class.
A bit surprised, she opened the front page.
On it, in a loose, confident scrawl, was a name—
Luke Warren.
Autumn whispered the name in her heart, didn't turn around, but quietly remembered it.
Zelia saw all this but forced herself to say nothing.
This Science A Class really was full of troublemakers—she'd definitely be talking to White Miller about it later.
Forty-five minutes later, class finally ended.
As soon as the bell rang, Zelia stormed out of the room, leaving behind a classroom full of students trying not to laugh.
Autumn walked over to Luke's desk, holding out the book.
"Here's your book. Thank you."
She smiled slightly—she didn't smile often, but when she did, it was sweet.
Luke raised an eyebrow and leaned lazily against the wall.
"That's it? Just a verbal thank you?"
Autumn hadn't expected that reaction. She arched her brow too. "Looking for repayment?"
Luke's eyes curved, playful and charming. "So what if I am? Are you going to repay me?"
"I'll treat you to lunch. Anywhere you want." Autumn didn't bother arguing; she still needed to go back to the liberal arts class and grab her own books to avoid this happening again.
"Deal. No time like the present—let's eat in the cafeteria today."
Luke hadn't expected her to agree so readily, but he accepted smoothly.
Autumn didn't say anything more, just nodded and turned to leave.
Luke watched her slim figure as she walked away, a faint grin tugging at his lips. Lunch suddenly seemed a lot more interesting.
Meanwhile, Summer Lin had been watching them the whole time.
When she saw their conversation end, she immediately stood up.
"Do you want me to go with you to get your stuff from the liberal arts class?"