Approaching Chu Miaomiao

Monday, flag-raising ceremony.

The first-year high school students had barely recovered from military training before they were already lining up outside their classrooms for morning exercises.

After the flag-raising, it was just the usual routine—listening to speeches from school administrators and a representative from the senior class.

It didn’t take up much class time and ended quickly.

When everyone returned to the classroom, Chen Xiaoya followed closely behind.

The first class was math, taught by their homeroom teacher, Chen Xiaoya.

Since it was her class, she continued with homeroom duties.

"Next, we’ll elect class officers—class monitor, academic committee member, class league secretary, life committee member, and so on. The PE committee member will be chosen by the PE teacher."

When mentioning the PE committee, Chen Xiaoya’s gaze naturally landed on Lin Mo.

News of Lin Mo overpowering the drill instructor had spread like wildfire, and nearly every teacher knew about this designated athletic prodigy in Class 8.

But the students were already discussing among themselves.

After all, class positions weren’t to be taken lightly.

Even these small roles carried real influence within the classroom.

Especially the class monitor—though the workload was heavy, it came with authority.

Lin Mo’s eyes settled on Ma Ruixiang.

Sure enough, as expected, Ma Ruixiang stood up.

All eyes turned to him.

"Hello, classmates..."

A few other students also stepped forward to nominate themselves for class monitor.

The position was the most coveted, even drawing in the troublemaker Su Mingzhao.

But Su Mingzhao was rude and ill-mannered, so no one would ever vote for him.

Everything was playing out exactly as it had in Lin Mo’s past life.

Except for Jiang Yunlu, who subtly glanced at Lin Mo.

"If you ran for class monitor, it’d be a breeze."

Given Lin Mo’s current popularity, he could easily outshine everyone else in the running.

Even Ma Ruixiang watched Lin Mo nervously, afraid he might stand up and nominate himself.

But Lin Mo shook his head.

"No, I can’t be bothered with all that extra work."

Being class monitor was nothing but trouble—constant communication between teachers and students, meetings, and other obligations.

Lin Mo wasn’t the type to seek out hassle, nor did he have any interest in these duties.

Seeing that Lin Mo didn’t stand, Ma Ruixiang let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Next came the other committee positions.

Xue Zigui became the academic committee member, while a boy named Mai Zirong took on life committee duties.

The arts committee went to a girl.

As for the PE committee, everyone tacitly agreed it would be Lin Mo.

Even if it came down to the PE teacher’s decision, Lin Mo was the obvious choice.

Jiang Yunlu didn’t volunteer for anything—she seemed just as uninterested in these roles.

With class elections over, math class officially began.

But Chen Xiaoya still appointed Xue Zigui, the academic committee member, as the math class representative.

No surprise there—Xue Zigui had the highest math score in the entrance exam.

Math was a peculiar subject. The topic could shift dramatically from one second to the next.

If you zoned out even briefly, the rest of the lesson might as well be gibberish.

Lin Mo had initially worried that after so long away from school, he’d struggle to keep up.

But when Chen Xiaoya revisited some concepts from middle school, everything clicked back into place instantly.

His comprehension and learning ability had improved.

Cultivation really did make you smarter.

On the first day, Chen Xiaoya taught two consecutive math classes.

By the end, everyone was already feeling mentally drained.

After class, Wang Qin, who sat beside Jiang Yunlu, slumped onto her desk.

"Oh my god, scheduling classes like this on a Monday is practically murder!"

Jiang Yunlu covered her mouth, laughing. "It’s not that bad. It’ll only get harder from here."

Hearing that, Wang Qin groaned and buried her face in her arms.

Soon after, Wang Qin dragged Jiang Yunlu off to the restroom.

Some students went to refill their water bottles, while others stayed seated, sneaking glances at their phones.

This wasn’t like ten years later.

High schools strictly banned phones back then.

A decade later, teachers might turn a blind eye, but at this time, schools were relentless about enforcing the rule.

Or at least, you had to avoid getting caught.

At that moment, Lin Mo stood up and casually strolled to the back of the classroom.

He stopped behind a girl, peering over her shoulder at the novel magazine in her hands.

It was a publication called Novel Sketch, filled with short stories and serialized novels.

The girl was currently engrossed in one of the ongoing serials.

The protagonist was in the middle of killing a python underwater.

"Don’t bother. This is the last installment—the standalone book will change a lot of things."

The girl looked up at Lin Mo.

It was the first time he had gotten a proper look at her eyes.

They were dark yet strikingly bright.

She blinked at him, then uttered a soft,

"Huh?"

"Never mind. Keep reading—you’ll see."

She was almost done anyway. Flipping to the next page, she saw the announcement: the serialization was on hiatus.

The conclusion would only be published in the physical book.

"What?! I need to know how it ends! Why did Yuan Zhinü do it?"

Lin Mo remained standing behind her.

"The serial version got derailed—the author couldn’t salvage it. But if you want to know the plot of the physical book, it’s completely different from what you’ve been reading."

In his past life, this girl—Chu Miaomiao—never got the chance to read the final version.

The reason Lin Mo paid attention to her was simple: in this class, she was the only one who shared his love for novels.

And Dragon King, this very serial, would remain unfinished even years later.

In other words, it was abandoned.

To be precise, Dragon King concluded with its third volume.

But Chu Miaomiao never got to read the complete version.

Her eyes widened. "How do you know the serial version got messed up? And how do you know the physical book’s plot?"

Lin Mo gave her a sidelong glance. "Do you want to hear it or not?"

"Yes, yes! I need to know what happens in the final version!"

Chu Miaomiao seemed genuinely earnest, driven purely by her thirst for the story.

"One reason the serial failed was because the protagonist had no compelling reason to trade a quarter of his life. It made him seem like a background character."

Chu Miaomiao nodded thoughtfully.

"So in the physical book, a female character who falls for the protagonist is introduced. She becomes his reason for making the trade."

"Wait, what?" Chu Miaomiao gasped, covering her mouth.

"But... what about Nuo Nuo?"

"Forget about Nuo Nuo."

While Lin Mo was explaining the plot, Jiang Yunlu returned from the restroom.

As soon as she stepped into the classroom, she noticed Lin Mo’s empty seat.

Her eyes swept the room until she spotted him standing beside a girl.

Her face instantly paled.

Wang Qin, trailing behind her, saw it too.