Chapter Forty: A World of Ice and Fire

Passing by them as well were Lin Feng and Yang Lili, both dressed in oversized trench coats, tall and elegant, an undeniably perfect match. Suddenly, Dong Yanyan felt a pang of sourness in her heart. Hadn’t she seen this scene before? Every memory of him, bit by bit—how could she ever forget?
“So quickly, everyone’s paired off already. Really—” Leng Yue laughed, a hint of envy in her voice.
Dong Yanyan shrugged, pretending indifference, then wrapped her arm around Leng Yue’s and tilted her chin up with a smile. “Sister, you and I can be a pair too!”
Leng Yue’s eyes curved in a pure, innocent smile—so innocent that Dong Yanyan envied her.
*
That evening, Dong Yanyan hugged her books and returned to the classroom for evening study. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to slack off and rest, but her dormitory was far too gloomy; she dared not stay there alone at night. The classroom was perfect—with so many classmates, full of lively energy and bustling warmth.
She ran into He Jingxuan coming down the stairs in the corridor.
“Little Duck, I heard you scored a hundred in politics?” he teased, flashing his white teeth with a grin.
Dong Yanyan lifted her eyelids, her voice hoarse as she smiled, “Sweet?”
“It’s our beloved head teacher’s! She’s been broadcasting it so much that nearly the whole school knows! Little sister, you’ve elevated her teaching career to new heights—congratulations!”
“Thank you, senior. Congratulations to you as well.” Dong Yanyan didn’t bother to chat further, turning to enter her own classroom, head down as she returned to her seat.
“Yanyan, you’re amazing! Got a hundred in politics—did Xiaohan tell you?” Lin Feng, sitting beside her, smiled cheerfully.
Did Xiaohan have to? The whole world knows! Dong Yanyan thought, half laughing, half crying.
“If you cared about my health rather than my grades, I’d feel warmer. Can’t you tell I have a cold?” she looked at him pitifully. Truthfully, when she returned to the dorm that afternoon, she hoped he would come see her—but he never did. To say she wasn’t disappointed would be a lie.
Lin Feng paused for a moment, then smiled awkwardly. His right hand clenched and loosened, but in the end, he did nothing.
Dong Yanyan felt a chill in her heart. Then, her head was sharply flicked from behind. She turned—and sure enough, it was Yang Xiaohai, wearing that irritating expression as always.

“I’ve told you a thousand times not to hit my head! Forget it, I don’t even want to argue with you!” she groused, then lowered her head to work on her assignments.
Yang Xiaohai left, bored.
Her deskmate, Song Mingcheng, pushed his notebook toward her, helping out in a pinch.
“Thanks, but I’ve decided not to copy homework anymore,” she refused his kindness with determined pride.
“It’s not homework, it’s class notes,” Song Mingcheng replied with a smile.
Dong Yanyan blushed, stuck out her tongue sheepishly, then buried herself in writing. Just as she was happily copying, she felt someone touch her arm. Instinctively, cold sweat broke out all over her; she looked up to find Teacher Liu Qing smiling at her—it was her turn to check evening study tonight.
“I heard you got full marks in politics. Promising!” Teacher Liu smiled meaningfully, then drifted away.
Dong Yanyan was left speechless.
It wasn’t wrong to get full marks in politics, but the problem was scoring high in non-major courses while her major grades were abysmal. Worse still, she’d never passed this teacher’s P.E. class, and tomorrow was her last chance…
Just as she was feeling gloomy, the grade director, Teacher Tang, entered with a stern face. The class fell silent. As she passed Dong Yanyan’s desk, she smiled approvingly, “Dong Yanyan, I heard you got full marks in politics. Well done!”
Political and theoretical courses were usually neglected, even by their own teachers, so Dong Yanyan’s full marks naturally surprised and delighted the glamorous Ms. Yang. After all, no teacher is immune to vanity, and no woman is either.
Yet Ms. Yang’s high-profile boasting truly surprised Dong Yanyan. Apparently, He Jingxuan hadn’t exaggerated—almost all of Ms. Yang’s students and colleagues knew about her perfect score. What was going on?
“Teacher, I’m ashamed—I almost didn’t make it into the top ten,” she replied with modesty.
“No matter, keep working hard!” Teacher Tang patted her shoulder and left, unhurried.
Heavens! I just want to live quietly, but life won’t let me. I swear it wasn’t on purpose! Dong Yanyan never imagined she’d one day utter such melodramatic lines, like the heroine of those over-the-top time-travel novels.
Song Mingcheng glanced calmly at her haunted expression and tossed her six words, “Classmate, you’re about to be famous!”

“Braised pork chops, but I don’t think it’s a good thing! My grades in these subjects are as polarized as a capitalist society—makes me feel split in two!” she retorted instinctively.
“As long as you know. Prepare for a storm tomorrow,” Song Mingcheng said gleefully.
Dong Yanyan opened her pencil case and checked tomorrow’s timetable, instantly wanting to cry: Advanced Math, Electrical Engineering Basics, P.E.!
Oh heavens, isn’t this too much? The whole day will be a gauntlet! Just thinking about it was painful.
*
The next morning’s math and electrical engineering classes passed without incident. Teachers only remembered the best and worst students, so she was splendidly ignored. Dong Yanyan felt she’d survived a disaster—she’d worried too much; she was so insignificant, teachers had no time to fuss over her.
The afternoon P.E. class was usually her favorite—it meant freedom. But today was different: it was the winter summary class, with assessments in high jump, long jump, and sprinting. Unfortunately, none were her strengths. Her only strong suit was long-distance running, but only in the range of eight hundred to fifteen hundred meters.
During the two-hundred-meter sprint, groups of three were formed. The teacher put her together with Xiaohan and Xinran; seeing her teammates, she knew none of them would pass. She strongly requested to be grouped with Liu Ying and Yang Lili instead.
Teacher Liu Qing was very surprised, “With your short legs, running against two long-legged girls will be a tragedy!”
That was a bit mean! Dong Yanyan’s tender heart was wounded.
“Teacher, I perform better against strong opponents. Only with the fast group can I pass! You wouldn’t want me to fail, would you?”
“Alright, the three of you, ready—set—run!”
At the sound of Liu Qing’s whistle, Dong Yanyan locked onto Liu Ying and stayed close behind her. It was her habit: in a group, if she couldn’t lead, she’d follow the fastest, so she was never the last.
“17 seconds, 18.2 seconds, 19 seconds—all passed!” Liu Qing shouted.