Soul Returns to Hong Kong: From Tailor Shop to Richest Woman

Lin Ying didn't care at all. She walked to the gatehouse and handed her student ID to the old man inside.

The old man flipped through the register in his hand: "Fourth grade, Class 1, Lin Ying, you're the one who transferred in this year?"

"Yes," Lin Ying replied.

"Turn right on the second floor, it's the second classroom. Your homeroom teacher, Mr. Luo, is already here." The old man handed her the student ID and pointed. "It's the first day of school. There are signs in the hallway; just follow them and you won't get lost."

Lin Ying thanked them and walked down the corridor to the second floor; in the lobby on the first floor, there were several rows of tables for new students to register, and teachers were guiding the parents of first-grade students to fill out forms.

Lin Ying went up to the second floor, turned right, and walked to the door of the second classroom, which was half-closed.

She glanced inside. The classroom was spacious, even larger than the one where she took the summer exams, with four rows and six columns of high-quality solid wood desks and chairs arranged neatly. The blackboard was spotless, and in the center were the four large characters "Happy New Semester" written in white chalk.

Standing next to the podium was a male teacher in his early thirties, of medium build, wearing a white short-sleeved shirt and dark trousers, exuding a refined, scholarly air. He was looking down and flipping through a stack of student files in his hands.

Lin Ying raised her hand and knocked on the door frame.

The male teacher looked up and saw the little girl standing at the door. He was stunned for a moment, then opened the top file in his hand and a smile appeared on his face.

"Are you Lin Ying?"

"Yes, Officer Law."

Luo Sir put down the documents in his hand and strode to the door. He looked Lin Ying up and down. Her short hair was neat and tidy, her school uniform was flat and well-fitting, the straps of her high-end leather backpack were adjusted just right, her posture was upright and composed, and there was not a trace of the timidity of an ordinary transfer student who had just arrived.

"I've seen your transfer exam paper," Inspector Luo said with admiration. "100 in math, 100 in general knowledge, and 99 in Chinese. To be honest, in my eight years of teaching at this private school, I've almost never seen such an excellent paper in all the transfer exams!"

His words were both an affirmation and a way of telling Lin Ying the truth: in this class, ability is the best passport.

Faced with her homeroom teacher's straightforward praise, Lin Ying didn't take the bait; she simply smiled and nodded, "Thank you, Mr. Luo."

Inspector Luo waved his hand: "You're early, the other students haven't all arrived yet. Wait for me in the corridor for a few minutes, and I'll take you in to assign seats to everyone once everyone is here."

Mr. Luo turned around and walked back to the podium. He took out a seating chart that he had prepared in advance from the drawer, spread it on the table, picked up a red pen, and solemnly added the two words "Lin Ying" to the middle of the best-viewed cell.

Students passed by one after another in the corridor. Some wealthy children in school uniforms walked in twos and threes. When they passed by Lin Ying, they glanced curiously at this unfamiliar face and whispered to each other. Lin Ying just stood against the wall, listening expressionlessly, without taking the initiative to speak.

A few minutes later, the school bell rang.

Mr. Luo poked his head out of the classroom: "Lin Ying, come in."

Lin Ying took a deep breath and followed behind Luo Sir, walking steadily into the classroom.

The moment I stepped onto the stage, everyone in the audience turned to look at me.

Lin Ying stood at the edge of the podium, her gaze quickly sweeping over every face in the classroom.

Su Jun is not included.

She quickly scanned the faces in her mind and confirmed that Su Jun was not in Class 1 of the fourth grade.

"Class, please be quiet." Mr. Luo stood in front of the blackboard and waited until the noise from below the stage completely subsided before he smiled and spoke, "The new semester has begun, and we have a new student in our class today."

He turned to the side, giving Lin Ying the center position.

"Why don't you introduce yourself to everyone?" Sir Luo looked at her encouragingly.

Lin Ying stood in the center of the podium: "Hello everyone. My name is Lin Ying, I am nine years old and live in Sai Wan. Before coming here, I never attended any school and was always homeschooled. I entered this semester through the transfer exam, and we will be studying together from now on. Please give me your guidance."

It doesn't have to be many words, but every word is full of information.

Immediately afterwards, a flurry of whispers broke out in both the front and back rows.

"Never attended school?"

"You learned it at home?"

"How is this possible? How could someone who's never been to school get into São Paulo's transfer program?"

Mr. Luo raised his hand and pressed it down, signaling the class to be quiet: "Alright! Although Lin Ying is self-taught, her grades are outstanding. She entered the school this summer by passing the school's most difficult transfer exam, based on her absolute ability."

He paused deliberately, then dropped a bombshell: "As you all know, our São Paulo class is usually strictly limited to twenty-five students. But because this student is exceptionally outstanding, even the principal spoke up, and the school specially added a spot for her! So, now our class has twenty-six students."

The moment those words were spoken, the whispers from the audience noticeably grew louder. Many students' initial curiosity turned to shock. In São Paulo, where rules are paramount, everyone knows the "25-person limit" is an ironclad rule; even if your family donated a whole building, the principal might not be willing to add an extra table, let alone make an exception for just one person!

Mr. Luo pointed to an empty desk in the third row of the classroom, by the window, which was the best, most desirable spot in the entire classroom.

"Lin Ying, your seat is over there, the fourth one in the third row. Please go and sit down."

Lin Ying nodded, stepped down from the podium, and walked along the aisle to the third row.

The empty desktop was spotless, with a conspicuous white label on the upper right corner bearing the name "Lin Ying" in neat traditional Chinese characters. Even the matching chair was newly moved in, its color slightly newer than the old chair next to it, with a subtle color difference.

She calmly pulled out a chair and sat down, hanging her thick leather backpack on the hook on the back of the chair. She unzipped it and took out her textbooks, exercise books, and pencil case, arranging them one by one on the table.

Sitting next to her was a girl with a high ponytail. The girl turned her head, seemingly wanting to say something, but then hesitated.

Lin Ying did not actively cater to this curiosity. She placed the sharpened pencil neatly next to her textbook and looked up at the blackboard in front of her.

Mr. Luo had already picked up the chalk and turned around to write the title of the first class of the new semester on the blackboard.

The chatter in the classroom completely subsided and gradually quieted down, replaced by the sound of pages turning.