Why did you make me reincarnate?

During the few days he stayed at home on sick leave, Xu Chaoyang kept himself cooped up in his room.

He's frantically doing practice problems, trying to get back into form as quickly as possible. He doesn't expect to succeed as easily as he did in his previous life, but he at least needs to be able to pass the cutoff score for top-tier universities.

Fortunately, the results were quite good. His young brain worked very smoothly, and he successfully pieced together a set of test papers with similar question types.

After finishing the test, Xu Chaoyang estimated his score and found it to be quite stable. As long as he performed normally, getting into a top-tier university would not be a problem at all.

He got up, stretched, and looked at the sunlight streaming in through the window. He rubbed his face and said, "Damn it, after studying so hard for so long, shouldn't I go out and get some exercise?"

Just then, Qin Xuemei's voice came from the living room, "Oh, Shi Jun is here, come in and sit down."

It turned out to be Zhao Shijun, that kid. Seeing that I hadn't been to school for a week, he actually came to my house.

"Hello Auntie, is Xu Chaoyang home? I'd like to come and play with him."

The chubby boy greeted people sweetly, and his pleasing appearance made even the usually stern Qin Xuemei's tone soften considerably.

"Hey there, hey there. This brat said he wasn't feeling well, but he hasn't left the house for three days. He's been cooped up in his room doing his homework. I was worried he was overworking himself. It's good that you're here. Let him go out with you for a walk."

Qin Xuemei had initially thought that her son was entering adolescence and was worried that he would become rebellious and averse to studying. However, she did not expect that Xu Chaoyang would become obsessed and spend several days doing test papers, wearing out several pens in the process.

This crazy state of his was frightening her, and she actually hoped that Xu Chaoyang could rest.

Zhao Shijun immediately agreed: "I'll definitely take Brother Yang out for some fresh air."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Chaoyang came out of the room and stretched his sore wrists.

"Looking for me?"

Zhao Shijun leaned closer and lowered his voice: "What's wrong with you? You haven't been seen for a week."

"Studying, didn't you hear my mom say to reinforce the knowledge points?" Xu Chaoyang said calmly.

Zhao Shijun was dumbfounded when he heard this. Was this even human language?

What I fear most is that others are not only more talented than me, but also work harder than me.

My brother is secretly studying behind my back! No way! Absolutely not!

"You can't keep following Yang's example. You need to try to balance work and rest." Zhao Shijun looked at him with a disappointed expression. "Sitting around doing practice problems all day, your brain is getting stiff. Your study methods are wrong."

Xu Chaoyang suppressed a laugh and looked up, asking, "What exactly are you trying to say?"

Zhao Shijun immediately laughed, his tone slightly encouraging: "A new milk tea shop and an internet cafe with LCD screens just opened over at the Great World! It's packed with people, shall we go check it out?"

LCD screen computers are not uncommon these days, but seeing them in internet cafes is indeed quite rare.

Xu Chaoyang was silent for a few seconds. He had indeed been too tense these past few days, his mind was constantly racing, and he really needed to take a break. Going out for a walk would be a good idea.

The two boys greeted each other, then put on their coats and went out.

Qin Xuemei stood at the door and reminded her, "Don't stay out too late, come back early."

"understood."

As Zhao Shijun rode his bicycle towards the city, he continued to ramble on, talking about everything from class gossip to the latest games. Xu Chaoyang would occasionally respond, but his mind seemed to be elsewhere.

The two arrived at the Great World Shopping Center, which had always been the city's busiest shopping center until it was eventually surpassed by Wanda Plaza.

Zhao Shijun led the way into a stylish and novel milk tea shop. Just as they found a seat by the window, they heard a familiar voice behind them.

"Xu Chaoyang?"

Turning my head, I immediately saw the girl with bright eyes and white teeth.

I never expected that Jiang Banxia would be here too.

She was wearing a simple short-sleeved shirt and jeans today, with her hair casually tied up. When she saw Xu Chaoyang, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes, then she smiled sweetly.

"What a coincidence, what are you two doing here?"

Jiang Banxia's follower, Yu Li, was also nearby. She pouted and said, "Two big boys going out shopping... how pathetic."

Upon seeing the goddess Yulan, Zhao Shijun timidly replied, "Hello, Jiang... classmate Jiang."

As for Yu Li, the chubby boy believed that humans and dogs did not understand each other's languages, so he did not respond.

Jiang Banxia's gaze gently fell on Xu Chaoyang, her tone natural, as if chatting casually: "Yu Li and I were just talking about you, and then we ran into each other..."

Huh? Goddess Jiang is actually discussing our Yang Ge with her best friend?

Zhao Shijun, who considered himself the best wingman, immediately followed up by asking, "What were you guys talking about just now?"

Hearing Zhao Shijun's response, Jiang Banxia's lips curled up slightly, and she fiddled with her straw, saying, "It's about what happened in the exam hall that day, and that girl, she seems to be quite famous, what was her name again..."

She actually knew Shen Ju's name, but deliberately glossed over it, her eyes silently fixed on Xu Chaoyang's face, carefully observing his expression.

Xu Chaoyang frowned slightly: "A girl? Which girl?"

"That thing that was somewhat related to you before, since you've been away from school these past few days, that's been the most talked-about topic. Everyone's waiting to confirm it with you personally."

Jiang Banxia continued to subtly hint, her tone sounding nonchalant.

Xu Chaoyang finally understood. Back then, Jiang Banxia liked to do this, leaving things unsaid and making you guess.

As a young man, he was indeed deeply infatuated with this kind of flirting, but now he's thoroughly tired of it.

Get the hell out of Gotham, you riddle teller!

"I don't know her," Xu Chaoyang answered honestly, without the slightest ripple of emotion. "We have absolutely no connection, and we're not close at all."

A hint of smugness flashed quickly in Jiang Banxia's eyes, and even the smile on her lips became more genuine.

After that day, all the students at Yulan High School were talking about Shen Ju, practically calling her the number one school beauty in Wenzhou, and saying that Xu Chaoyang must have some kind of relationship with her.

Jiang Banxia had been secretly concerned about this matter for some time, and when she heard Xu Chaoyang deny it with her own ears, the inexplicable tension in her heart instantly relaxed.

She spoke with her usual gentleness: "If you don't know me, that's fine. I was just mentioning it casually."

After ending the conversation, she casually brought up the upcoming college entrance examination, saying, "Actually, I'm more concerned about filling out college applications lately. I've pretty much decided what to apply to; I plan to apply to Zhejiang University..."

She immediately looked at Xu Chaoyang after she finished speaking, her eyes clearly probing: "Your grades have always been excellent, you could even compete for Tsinghua or Peking University. Which university are you planning to apply to?"

Yu Li looked over curiously at this moment, and Zhao Shijun forgot to speak, waiting for Xu Chaoyang's answer.

Holy crap, is this some kind of agreement? Like, getting into the same university and then being together?

Xu Chaoyang looked into Jiang Banxia's seemingly clean but actually scheming eyes and saw through her tricks in an instant.

By proactively revealing her own ideal university aspirations, she was simply trying to get herself to agree with her and apply to the same university as her, thus satisfying her vanity of being admired.

In his past life, he would probably have happily followed her wishes, but now Xu Chaoyang only finds it boring.

He didn't expose him, nor did he show any impatience. He simply replied calmly, "I haven't decided yet. Let's talk about it after the exam."

With a single, casual remark, all of Jiang Banxia's probing attempts were effectively shut down.

Jiang Banxia's smile froze slightly, and an uncomfortable sense of disappointment welled up inside her.

In her mind, Xu Chaoyang should be just like before, answering all her questions and having his heart and eyes revolve around her.

But now his attitude is indifferent, and his perfunctory attitude is so undisguised that it makes her inexplicably lose control.

She was certain that Xu Chaoyang still liked her, otherwise why would he be in such a hurry to distance himself from Shen Ju?

Pretending to be indifferent is just a way of putting on a fuss; boys are too embarrassed to admit it directly. A boy's inferiority complex is really troublesome.

Thinking about it this way, the little bit of secret joy in her heart hadn't dissipated when Xu Chaoyang's attitude reignited her anger.

Jiang Banxia's smile faded, and her tone turned colder: "If you haven't thought it through, then forget it. Lily, let's go."

Seeing that the atmosphere was tense, Yu Li quickly nodded, "Yes, let's ignore him."

Jiang Banxia didn't look at Xu Chaoyang and Zhao Shijun again, her departing figure clearly showing her resentment and displeasure.

Zhao Shijun stared in the direction they left, looking completely bewildered: "What's going on? They were fine just now, how come they just left like that?"

Xu Chaoyang withdrew his gaze, picked up the milk tea on the table, took a sip, and showed no change in expression.

"Who knows? Let's go check out that internet cafe you mentioned."