Familiar People

Lin Yu was currently in his senior year of high school. In a normal school, the atmosphere in a senior class would be heavy and oppressive, with everyone studying hard to prepare for the life-altering college entrance exams coming next summer.

But this was Sanzhong High.

A notorious dump of a school, infamous for its abysmal academic performance, violent students, and general lack of discipline.

So, in this classroom, you could find students doing just about anything.

Some were glued to their phones, others snacked openly, chatted loudly, or chased each other around.

And then there were those two idiots making out shamelessly, showering everyone around them with their obnoxious public display of affection.

In any slightly more respectable high school, any of these behaviors would at least warrant a disciplinary record—let alone the two lovebirds, who’d be expelled on the spot.

But this was Sanzhong.

So none of this was a big deal. It was all tacitly allowed.

Generally, as long as students showed up and left on time, and didn’t take their misbehavior too far, the teachers at Sanzhong wouldn’t bother intervening.

The discipline was abysmal.

This was one of the main reasons Sanzhong was known as the worst high school in the city.

In short, if parents had any other high school options—even vocational schools—they wouldn’t send their kids to Sanzhong.

However, over the past two years, the school’s reputation had improved ever so slightly in the eyes of the public.

The principal, perhaps tired of being constantly criticized or for some other reason, had made an expensive decision.

Starting two years ago, he began offering generous scholarships to attract top-performing middle school graduates, hoping to drag up the school’s embarrassingly low average scores.

Where there’s money, there are takers. Many bright students from poor families chose to enroll.

The balding principal knew exactly what kind of students filled Sanzhong’s halls. To keep them from disrupting the scholarship students, he split the school into two campuses.

The original campus, now called Campus A, housed the delinquents and slackers. Meanwhile, a newly cleared section became Campus B, reserved exclusively for the high-achievers he’d lured in.

For over two years, the two groups coexisted peacefully—until recently, when cracks were discovered in Campus A’s lab building. The entire A campus was deemed structurally unsafe, condemned, and scheduled for demolition.

Left with no choice, the principal had to relocate Campus A’s troublemakers to Campus B.

Tang Manman, the female lead of this story, was Campus B’s undisputed "commoner’s campus belle."

And now, even before the merger was complete, she’d already caught the attention of some troublemakers.

Thinking about this, Lin Yu couldn’t help but mutter under his breath,

"In some filthy places, beauty itself can be a crime."

The noisy lunch break soon ended. The homeroom teacher of Class 6, Grade 12 strode into the classroom and announced to the sea of students with wildly dyed hair:

"No classes this afternoon. Pack up your things—we’re moving to Campus B."

"Woo!"

The class erupted in cheers. Not because they were excited about Campus B, but because they were thrilled to skip class.

Not that they ever paid attention in class anyway. They’d still be eating, playing, and goofing off—just more discreetly now.

The two campuses weren’t far apart, but moving desks, chairs, and teaching equipment kept Class 6 busy all afternoon.

While hauling things to Campus B’s building, Lin Yu spotted a vaguely familiar face.

That sense of familiarity didn’t come from the original "Lin Yu’s" memories—it was from Lin Yu himself. Someone he faintly recognized.

Since Lin Yu had only transmigrated into this world yesterday, he couldn’t possibly know anyone here. Which meant this person had to be a character from the original… adult comic.

Given that Tang Manman was Campus B’s beloved campus belle, this gentle-smiling guy was undoubtedly her nameless childhood friend.

Once he realized who the guy was, Lin Yu quietly carried his load upstairs, making no effort to interact.

His strategy wasn’t just to avoid the female lead—he had to steer clear of anyone she was involved with too. Unnecessary friction could lead to her downfall, and he wasn’t about to let that happen.

Better to keep his distance from all of them.

He’d only step in when absolutely necessary, making sure none of them got dragged into any… unsavory scenarios.

With that basic plan in mind, Lin Yu continued upstairs, a chair in each hand...

...

After a busy afternoon, school finally let out.

Lin Yu turned down his former friends’ invitations to hang out, packed his bag, and—under the stunned gazes of his teachers—asked for that day’s homework before leisurely slinging his tattered single-strap bag over his shoulder and leaving.

Since the school year had just started, the textbooks in his desk hadn’t been completely destroyed by the original owner yet. They were still usable.

Aside from avoiding the main characters and preventing any… unfortunate plot developments, Lin Yu also planned to study hard. He needed to prepare for the future.

He couldn’t just keep living as a delinquent, making a living off fights and extortion, could he?

If he wanted to change his fate, studying was the easiest and safest way.

He had to seize this opportunity.

With a rough plan for the future in mind, Lin Yu left the school.

Instead of heading home as the original owner would have, he urgently searched for a barbershop. That long, obnoxious blond hair had to go.

It was early autumn, and the heat wasn’t as brutal as summer, but even so, Lin Yu was sweating buckets under that ridiculous fringe covering half his face. He had no idea how the original owner had survived summers with this mop.

Didn’t he worry about frying his brain?

...

Then again, maybe it was already fried.

What kind of sane person would keep a haircut like that?