Chapter 4: New Campus

“Hurry up, we’re almost at school.”

An Ling looked up and saw the school sign: “M City First High.”

So soon? 

Her carefully prepared plan hadn’t been carried out at all, and here she was arriving at school together with Li Yang.

Whatever.

An Ling swished her tail, shaking the thought out of her head.

To get to school safely, there was no helping it. 

Besides, he had bought her breakfast—refusing now would be rude.

M City First High was one of the best high schools in the city. 

Still, compared to the one in An Ling’s memories, it had changed quite a bit.

Li Yang led An Ling to the school gate and stopped. 

“You just need to report to the academic affairs office. I think it’s on the third floor of the administration building. Want me to go with you?”

“No need.” 

An Ling shook her head. 

“I can go by myself. You head to class first.”

Li Yang checked the time. It really was getting late, but he still felt a little uneasy. 

“You sure you’ll be okay alone?”

“I’ll be fine. I know the way.”

“Alright then.”

An Ling’s ears twitched, and she turned toward the administration building.

Li Yang watched the small figure with the schoolbag on her back disappear around the corner before jogging off toward the teaching building.

***

The academic affairs office on the third floor of the administration building had its door open.

An Ling stood at the entrance and gently knocked on the open door panel.

“Please come in,” came a middle-aged man’s voice from inside.

An Ling walked in. 

The office wasn’t large. 

A middle-aged man wearing glasses sat behind a desk, sipping tea from a thermos. 

When he saw a student enter, he set the cup down.

“Student, what can I do for you?”

“Hello, teacher. I’m the transfer student reporting in today. My name is An Ling.”

“Oh, An Ling.” The middle-aged man flipped through the folder beside him.

“Transfer student, right? From H City?”

“Yes,” An Ling replied. “I did elementary school here in M City. I studied junior high and first year of high school in H City.”

“Mhm, correct. Day student, right?”

“Yes, we have a house here nearby.”

“Alright. It’s not very convenient for someone like you to board anyway. Your paperwork is complete, and tuition has been paid. You’ll be in Class 3 of Year 2. Your homeroom teacher is Ms. Zhang. Her office is downstairs in the middle section. Go find her, and she’ll take you to the classroom.”

An Ling nodded. 

“Thank you, teacher.”

“Great, off you go. Come find me if you have any questions.”

An Ling thanked him again and left the academic affairs office.

An Ling found the homeroom teacher’s office on the second floor in the corresponding location.

The door was ajar. An Ling knocked and slowly pushed it open.

Only one teacher was in the office right now—a young woman who looked no older than thirty.

“Student, who are you looking for?” 

The teacher saw An Ling, set aside what she was doing, and asked.

“I’m looking for Ms. Zhang, the homeroom teacher for Class 3, Year 2. I’m the new transfer student in her class.”

“Oh, that’s me. Come on over.”

An Ling was called over to the homeroom teacher. 

The teacher completely set aside her work and looked over her new student.

She remembered it was supposed to be a boy transferring in. 

But no matter how she looked, this didn’t seem like one.

“You’re a boy?”

“Yes.” 

An Ling lied, but since she would change back once the future issue was resolved, she figured a little lie was no big deal.

“If you don’t believe me, teacher, I brought my ID.”

As she spoke, An Ling reached into her bag to pull out her ID card.

“No need, I don’t need to see it. It’s fine if you say so.”

“Anyway, just remember I’m your homeroom teacher. My name is Zhang Jingyi. You can call me Teacher Zhang. I’ll take you to the class in a moment and introduce you to everyone.”

“Okay. Thank you, Teacher Zhang.”

Zhang Jingyi stood up, picked up a folder from her desk, and waved An Ling over. 

“Let’s go. They should be in morning self-study right now. Perfect time to introduce you.”

An Ling nodded and followed the homeroom teacher out of the office.

In the hallway, students occasionally hurried past. 

Whenever they saw Zhang Jingyi, they called out “Good morning, Teacher Zhang,” but their eyes would stick to An Ling and refuse to move away.

An Ling’s ears unconsciously pressed back, and she kept her head down, trying to make herself look less noticeable.

It clearly didn’t work.

Class 3, Year 2 was at the east end of the third floor in the teaching building, right at the end of the corridor.

When Teacher Zhang led An Ling to the classroom door, it was noisy inside—some students reading aloud, others chatting and laughing. With no teacher present, the classmates were letting loose.

“Wait a moment,” Zhang Jingyi said, then knocked on the classroom door.

Instantly, the classroom fell silent. 

Even the students who had been napping were nudged awake.

Zhang Jingyi pushed open the door and walked in. An Ling stood at the entrance and took a deep breath.

The classroom had become eerily quiet compared to moments ago.

“Everyone sit properly,” Zhang Jingyi said as she stepped onto the podium, her gaze sweeping the room. 

“Let me introduce a new classmate. She’s a transfer student and will be joining our class from now on.”

She waved toward the door. “An Ling, come in.”

An Ling steeled herself and walked inside.

The moment she stepped into the classroom, she felt dozens of gazes lock onto her at once, scanning her from head to toe like spotlights. 

Those eyes lingered on her face, on the ears atop her head, on the tail behind her, then returned to her face.

“Oh, it’s a beastkin. Kind of cute.”

“Is it a dogkin or a wolfkin?”

“What a cute girl.”

An Ling’s ears pressed back uncontrollably, and her tail curled up slightly. 

She stood beside the podium, trying her best to look calm, but she didn’t know where to put her eyes.

Suddenly, among the crowd she spotted a familiar figure—Li Yang. 

How were they in the same class? Hadn’t Mom said everything was arranged?

That’s right! Mom didn’t know about the memory fragments. 

When she said she’d help arrange things, she would definitely pick a class with someone familiar. Why hadn’t An Ling thought of that before!

An Ling regretted it. How could she have overlooked something so important!

Zhang Jingyi rapped the podium. “Quiet.”

“An Ling transferred from H City. She did elementary school here in M City, so she’s half-local.” 

Zhang Jingyi flipped through the folder in her hands. 

“Her grades are good—she came from a key school in H City too. Everyone, please take good care of her.”

“Oh, right. She’s a boy, so those of you who like to mess around, watch what you say and don’t bully anyone.”

She looked up, scanning the classroom, then pointed at an empty seat in the fifth row by the window. 

“There’s a spot over there. You can sit there for now.”

An Ling followed her pointing finger.

The good news was she wasn’t sitting with Li Yang. 

The bad news was she was right behind him, and next to a cute, slightly chubby girl.

Li Yang looked at An Ling and waved happily.

The classmate next to him elbowed him.

“What? Brother Yang, you know her?”

“My childhood friend. We’ve known each other since we were in diapers,” Li Yang replied without turning his head.