After Transmigrating, I Became the Most Cowardly Kid (GL) - Chapter 3

After a period of aimless thought, students returned to the classroom one after another. Her deskmate, Chen Qin, plopped down and took out a wet wipe to clean the sweat from her forehead.

“It’s a good thing you didn’t go out for the exercises. It’s too hot, it’s killing me.”

The deskmate complained quietly. Chi Zhihuai just “Mmm’d” and didn’t respond further.

Chen Qin looked around, then leaned in and whispered, “Right, I just heard that Shang Han got into trouble again a few days ago.”

Chi Zhihuai was inexplicably interested in this delinquent beauty. Her previously drooping head slowly perked up, and she asked, “What did she do?”

Chen Qin scrunched up her face, describing it as if she had been there: “I heard she beat up one of her underlings, holding the person down and hitting their head with a brick. There was blood everywhere. The hospital almost couldn’t save them. It was terrifying.”

“…” Chi Zhihuai felt it necessary to ask the system if this was even a society governed by law.

She was no stranger to fighting, as action was often quicker than talking when dealing with certain people. She had also been taken to the police station a few times in junior high, but she found it hard to believe someone who nearly killed another person could return to school unscathed.

How much backing did Shang Han have to casually crack someone’s skull?

Chi Zhihuai figured this was how Shang Han was gradually being demonized by rumors.

She complained internally, but put on a terrified expression, asking in disbelief, “Really? She almost murdered someone?”

“Yes! Since she noticed you today, you should be careful.”

Chi Zhihuai made a perfunctory gesture of hugging herself tightly: “I will, thank you.”

Tsk, she didn’t quite believe that Shang Han was a murderer, but she was probably a heart thief.

At noon, walking to the cafeteria, she subconsciously glanced at Class Six but didn’t see Shang Han.

She couldn’t help but sigh. School was so exhausting, and they wouldn’t even let her look at a pretty girl. Life was too bitter.

After all, Chi Zhihuai hadn’t seriously attended classes like this for many years. She had the energy to pretend to listen during the first two periods, but by the next two, she was hungry and sleepy. Coupled with the stuffy heat, she felt like she was suffocating.

Fortunately, there was P.E. class in the afternoon, and as an admitted patient, she could legitimately stay in the classroom and sleep soundly.

After a painfully long day of school, Chi Zhihuai desperately wanted to slap her past self who had insisted on returning to school early.

Serves you right for running your mouth! Wouldn’t it have been better to comfortably play her match-three game at home, instead of seeking death at school!

When the dismissal bell rang, Chi Zhihuai weakly packed her schoolbag. Chen Qin was muttering next to her, criticizing the English teacher for being so heartless as to assign three full test papers.

Chi Zhihuai opened the notebook where she recorded her assignments, and her fragile little heart was pierced again.

Damn it! She had forgotten that she still had to do homework tonight!!

The tail end of summer still carried the heat of the dog days, and even in the evening, the roads seemed to be radiating warmth.

Fewer people were coming and going from the hospital than during the day. As night fell, the hospital building was shrouded in moonlight, making this place—full of life, death, separation, and human drama—eerily quiet.

At the hospital entrance, two rebelliously dressed girls got out of a car. One held the door open and said something to the person inside. Then, another tall, slender girl stepped out, side-first, and strode towards the hospital.

While waiting for the elevator, Shang Han’s phone rang. She carelessly glanced at the screen and answered, “Hello.”

The man on the other side asked with a laugh, “Where are you messing around now?”

Shang Han stared at the blinking numbers above the elevator: “Spit it out.”

“Don’t be so aggressive. I just paid five thousand yuan for you. It’s not too much to ask for a favor, is it?”

“Say it.”

Shang Yuan coughed, “Grandpa’s sixty-sixth birthday is next Saturday. The family wants everyone together to make the old man happy. Can you please show up and not cause trouble?”

“Got it,” Shang Han said plainly as the elevator opened. “I’m going out to play. Hanging up.”

Stepping into the elevator, she watched the doors slowly close and let out a light breath.

What nonsense was her cousin talking about? Their family would never be completely reunited.

On their way to the ward, the three of them were constantly subjected to curious stares. The two accompanying girls, dressed in studs and skulls, looked like spiky hedgehogs. Their eyes seemed to hold sharp nails, glaring fiercely at everyone they saw, emanating hostility.

Shang Han kept her eyes fixed forward until she stopped outside a hospital room.

“You two stay here.”

She spoke, opened the door, walked in, and quickly closed it again.

The room was illuminated by a faint white light. Shang Han knelt beside the hospital bed and gently took a withered, frail hand.

She suddenly thought of the hand she had touched on the fence this morning—fair, soft, and slender, with fingers that gave off a gentle white glow in the sunlight.

The moment of contact, the other person had recoiled like a startled little rabbit, instantly pulling her hand back. Yet, when their eyes met, the other person didn’t look more afraid; instead, she looked somewhat relieved.

Thinking of this, Shang Han lifted the hand on the bed and gently rubbed it against her own face.

Half an hour later, she walked out of the ward. The girl on her left asked, “Boss, where are you going tomorrow?”

Shang Han paused, thinking of something, and slowly uttered two words—

“School.”

After watching the news broadcast, Chi Zhihuai dutifully helped her parents clear the dishes, then went to her room to do homework.

She took a deep breath, staring at the test papers and workbooks. She jumped into the ocean of knowledge as if facing death, but the next second, the water choked her, and she scrambled back onto the shore in panic.

The sea of learning is boundless, but she just wanted to lie on the beach and be a salted fish!

This is killing me! Did she really learn any of this today?

Chi Zhihuai resignedly pulled out her Chinese workbook, copied Li Qingzhao’s two ci poems three times each, and put a checkmark next to “Copy Chinese text 3 times.”

Okay, the easiest assignment was done. What now?

Chi Zhihuai spread out her math workbook, looked at the content she needed to complete for the day, and tried hard to recall the key points the teacher had discussed in class.

She didn’t recall the key points; instead, she remembered getting distracted thinking about what to eat for lunch.

…Wait, that wasn’t something a top student should be doing!

Chi Zhihuai felt remorseful and made a firm decision—she would listen carefully in class tomorrow!

Truthfully, this was the first time in her life she had worried about homework. Thinking about the days of folding test papers into paper cranes and using workbooks to cover instant ramen were gone forever, Chi Zhihuai weakly summoned the system: “888, if I can’t finish my homework, will I be screwed?”

The system was an honest one, answering directly: “Yes, and you’ll be completely screwed.”

“…” Chi Zhihuai lay on her desk, pretending to be dead for a minute. She then got up and bravely opened her math textbook and guide, studying while doing her homework.

To boost her confidence, she consoled herself internally, thinking it wasn’t her fault if she couldn’t solve the problems, as she had fallen behind on a lot of work while hospitalized.

At 10:30 PM, she yawned, picked up her assignment notebook, and her eyes rolled back.

Physics preview notes, chemistry solving 10 equations, and English still needed two test papers completed…

Help me!

Why was there so much homework!

What happened to reducing the burden on students? Where did it go?

Tears welled up. There was a gentle knock on her door. She quickly adjusted her state and answered, “Come in.”

Mom Chi walked in, looked at her daughter’s slightly messier-than-usual desk, and said, “Huaihuai, is your homework heavy today?”

“…Yes,” Chi Zhihuai answered without much confidence. She actually thought this amount of homework wouldn’t be much for the original owner.

Mom Chi said worriedly, “Your body hasn’t fully recovered yet, so go to bed early. I’ll call your teacher about the homework; you don’t have to turn it in for now.”

Chi Zhihuai, however, felt things couldn’t go that way. Although she hadn’t studied much before, it didn’t mean she had a low IQ. She knew that when it came to studying, you couldn’t incur debt—a little bit of debt today, a little more tomorrow, and it would be very difficult to catch up later.

Besides, others study for exams and college, but she had a more pressing reality—studying was necessary to survive.

Chi Zhihuai’s brain raced, and she quickly came up with a good excuse: “Mom, I’ve already missed several days of class compared to others. I can’t sleep if I don’t catch up.” Afraid her mother might disagree, she added, “I heard other classmates study until midnight. I don’t want to lose out on diligence and hard work. Please let me study for a while longer.”

Her speech was so moving it almost moved herself. Whether other students actually studied until midnight, she didn’t know. All she knew was that she used to go clubbing until midnight.

Surely someone out there was studying harder than she was clubbing?

After Mom Chi sighed and left, Chi Zhihuai was practically smitten with her own cleverness.

She really was a little genius.

Taking a sip of water, Chi Zhihuai bent her head and continued her battle of wits against the English test papers.

The result of the struggle was that the next day, she was so tired her feet felt like they were stepping on cotton, her walk was floaty, and she felt like she could fall over at any moment.

She just couldn’t understand why she could be energetic after dancing all night but turn into a tired dog after studying until midnight.

Chi Zhihuai slept in Dad Chi’s car and looked confused when she got out, even leaving without her backpack.

Later, Dad Chi caught up, holding her backpack, and handed it to her under everyone’s watchful eyes.

Chi Zhihuai was thick-skinned and didn’t feel embarrassed. She picked up her backpack and was about to leave when she heard the system’s alarm.

She quickly covered her face with her hands, rubbed her cheeks forcefully twice, and ran away with a bright red face.

The corresponding internal monologue was—Wuwuwu, that was so embarrassing. How can she face anyone in school now!

Chi Zhihuai successfully acted out this scene for half a minute, confirmed the system was quiet, and then dropped her hands and darted upstairs once she entered the school building.

As she walked down the corridor, Chi Zhihuai realized her gaze was unconsciously fixed on the Class Six sign.

Humans have an innate yearning for beautiful things, just like she strongly wanted to see the pretty girl now.

…She was truly talented to come up with such a philosophical thought.

Passing the back door of Class Six, Chi Zhihuai’s eyes were practically glued to the glass door. She didn’t see the person she wanted to see. She regretfully pouted and sped up toward her own classroom.

However, she hadn’t taken two steps before she suddenly felt someone watching her.

It was a subtle feeling. Chi Zhihuai instinctively turned her head and, separated by one classroom and one office, saw the person she wanted to see.

Shang Han was standing not far behind her, quietly watching her.

In the classroom beside her, chairs and desks were colliding, people were quietly reciting texts, and others were quickly copying homework… Chi Zhihuai met her gaze, and suddenly, through the cacophony, she heard another sound.

Thump, thump…

The next second, Chi Zhihuai’s eyes snapped open.

Shang Han lifted her foot and continued walking forward. Chi Zhihuai clutched her backpack, took half a step back, turned around, and ran into her classroom.

Sitting at her desk, she couldn’t calm her mind for a long time.

Because that sound just now told her—

Chi Zhihuai, besides the path of the top student, you have other paths you can take.

Studying to save her life was certainly feasible and the best way to honor the original owner, but if she truly couldn’t do well, she couldn’t waste her chance to live just because of poor grades.

So, if she could get to know some students who didn’t like to study or who caused trouble, and consequently became a little “bad,” would the system perhaps ease up on its academic demands?

Of course, she wouldn’t revert to her previous reckless ways. She just wanted to use this method to give herself a greater chance of survival.

Thinking of this, she quickly consulted the system. System 888 hesitated for a moment and said, “Yes.”

The future, which had been shrouded in fog, suddenly cleared up. Chi Zhihuai rubbed her hands together excitedly.

It was time for the system to witness her true acting skills!