The School Prince is a Girl - Chapter 5

While Bai Xi was still lost in wild thoughts, the scrawny little blonde boy from opposite suddenly rushed closer. He squinted, examined her carefully for a long time, then turned back and buzzed something into the ear of the towering 1.9-meter giant.

“What?! This is the sickly young master of the Bai family?” The giant wasn’t as quick-witted as the little blonde boy; he instantly yelled out, his already small eyes wide open. He slapped the blonde boy clinging to him away and then approached Bai Xi, circling her twice.

Having been stared at for a long time like a resident species at a zoo, Bai Xi finally took a deep breath, unable to tolerate it any longer. “Are you guys a bunch of jokers? If you want to fight, then fight. Do you think I’m a giant panda? Are you addicted to sightseeing?” Looking at the young man standing tall and slender in the dappled shadow of the willow tree, his delicate and noble features showed clear impatience, and the words he spoke were utterly arrogant and unrestrained!

The group of people was stunned by this effeminate young master. They looked at each other, instantly feeling that their dignity and reputation, built over many years of “mixing on the streets,” were completely lost. Their anger immediately flared up.

“You have guts, pretty boy! If we don’t beat you until you beg us to be your grandfathers today, then we’ll be your grandsons!” The tall leader stomped his foot, rolled up the sleeves of his school uniform, and gritted his teeth viciously, looking ready to fight as he threw down a harsh threat first.

Secretly instructing 002 to apply her past life’s physical constitution to her current body, Bai Xi skillfully flexed her fingers. She was a little excited to possess her former strength again. Heaven knew how weak her current body was due to Madam Bai’s torment; no matter how much Bai Xi trained, it had been useless.

“My Bai family does not have grandsons like you. That is simply an insult to our family.” Bai Xi glanced disdainfully at the group opposite her, completely unconcerned about provoking more hatred. Anyway, she was eager to test if her martial arts skills had deteriorated after so long without action.

“You! You’re asking for death!” The leading giant swung his massive fist and charged toward Bai Xi. Bai Xi could actually feel the ground beneath her feet shaking.

She snorted with contempt. For high school students who fought purely through brute force and reckless charging, without any technique or training, Bai Xi genuinely used to disdain moving a muscle. But since the opponent had actively brought the fight to her, Bai Xi would not be polite.

The giant’s movements seemed like slow motion in Bai Xi’s eyes. Her slender yet powerfully built figure easily evaded the giant’s fist. She backhanded and grasped the joint of his wrist. With only her middle finger and thumb pinching it, she gave a deceptively light twist. The next second, they heard the giant’s howling wail. He staggered forward a few steps, clutching the wrist Bai Xi had pinched, kneeling on the ground, barely able to stand up.

The surrounding group of hooligans, clearly also seventeen or eighteen years old, were obviously frightened by Bai Xi’s move. Seeing the giant’s limp hand, they wondered: Did she break it?!

With that thought, everyone’s gaze toward Bai Xi completely changed. Moments ago, they saw her as a fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered; now, they realized she was a wolf hidden beneath sheep’s clothing!

Amid the giant’s cries, the remaining people—apart from a few who bravely rushed forward out of loyalty to their friends, only to be knocked down by Bai Xi’s few hook punches and kicks—lost all courage to continue charging. They dragged the giant and the few recently downed “brothers” away, glaring fiercely at Bai Xi as they retreated.

“Just you wait for us! When our boss gets back, he will definitely get revenge for us! You’ll be dead then!”

It seemed incomplete to lose a fight without uttering a threat like that. Bai Xi picked up her school bag and 002, which she had casually tossed on the ground, and paid no mind to the fleeing group. She even had the presence of mind to wipe her hands with a wet tissue.

It turned out that exercising her muscles occasionally was this comfortable!

In her previous life, when Bai Xi was young, she was quite the notorious female delinquent. She had basically fought her way through schools within a hundred-mile radius. In the end, if Old Master Bai hadn’t intervened in time and sent her abroad, it’s estimated Bai Xi would have fought her way through every middle school in the city.

Alas, the period during which her full talent and martial prowess bloomed was too short. After becoming an adult, apart from occasionally sparring with trainers in restrained matches, she never again had the opportunity to fight someone as satisfyingly as she once did.

【002: So you were a school bully in your last life, too?】

【Bai Xi: Yes, when did I ever say I wasn’t?】

【002: …Who the heck would imagine that the CEO standing atop a high-rise office building in the city center, managing the salaries of tens of thousands of people, was a school bully who only thought about fighting when she was young?】

【Bai Xi: That’s because your brain capacity isn’t big enough to conceive of it. What does that have to do with me?】

002: …How suffocating.

【002: I’m taking back the past life physique I applied to you. Prepare to die, you little trash!】

002, curled into a ball in the school bag, sounded extremely arrogant in Bai Xi’s mind. Before Bai Xi could say anything, she felt the strength abruptly drain from her body. Her knees went soft, and she nearly fell straight to the ground. The school bag in her hand was tossed away. Startled, 002 shot out of the bag and bounced a long distance away.

Bracing herself with one hand on the ground in front of her, Bai Xi knelt on one knee, cold sweat beading on her forehead. Her whole body seemed to be shaking. She shot a furious, gritted-teeth glare at 002 in the distance, who was still soothing its frightened little heart. This unreliable system! Did it have to withdraw the power so quickly?

Just as Bai Xi was struggling to get up and go catch 002, Ye Ying, who had watched the entire brawl from start to finish, cautiously glanced at the giant, the little blonde boy, and the others who had long since run away. She then looked back at Bai Xi, who was still kneeling on the ground. In the end, she couldn’t let someone suffer like this.

Walking up to Bai Xi, Ye Ying reached out and poked Bai Xi’s shoulder. “Hey? Bai Xi? Are you still alive?”

Hearing the movement behind her, Bai Xi’s body tensed up, thinking the others had returned. She was about to contact 002 to quickly figure out a way to save herself when she heard Ye Ying’s hesitant voice and felt the finger poking her shoulder, like a child poking a downed bird to see if it was dead.

Realizing it was Ye Ying, Bai Xi’s heart immediately relaxed. The body that had been taut suddenly gave way, and she tipped directly to the side.

Ye Ying, who had intended to turn around and check on Bai Xi’s face, was startled by Bai Xi’s sudden collapse. She quickly retracted her finger and took a few steps back. “Don’t try to frame me! I was just passing by! I didn’t do anything to you!”

Bai Xi, who was lying flat on the ground: “…”

She cast a speechless gaze at the startled Ye Ying and rolled her eyes weakly. This female protagonist was quite interesting. At first, when they weren’t familiar, she pretended to be gentle and ladylike. Later, when Bai Xi, by mistake, kindly helped the person she was trying to sabotage, she started pretending not to know her. Now, seeing her “seriously injured,” she dropped all pretense and even dared to run over and mock her!

Ye Ying, who honestly just wanted to check if Bai Xi was okay this time, saw the young man’s expression of disgust, anger, and suspicion as he lay on the ground and felt baffled herself. This guy had caused her so much trouble before, forcing her to temporarily avoid returning to the dorm. She was coming over now, putting aside her previous grievances, and he still dared to look down on her?

Fine, then you can fend for yourself.

Seeing that Bai Xi had no obvious injuries while lying there, Ye Ying couldn’t be bothered to care for this young master any longer. Anyway, a crowd of people would surely rush to attend to him. Why should she stay here and endure Bai Xi’s attitude?

With that thought, Ye Ying turned to leave.

Seeing that Ye Ying was actually going to leave, Bai Xi, lying on the ground, felt a little panicked. It was early morning, and school had just started. Everyone else was busy organizing their dorms or tidying their desks. Who would have the free time to come to this out-of-the-way corner? And she didn’t know how long her state of exhaustion would last. Lying on the damp grass for a whole morning in the September weather—Bai Xi thought about her delicate body—would surely cost her half her life!

“Hey, you’re not actually going to leave, are you?” Bai Xi ultimately chose health over face. What was face? Could it be eaten?

Stopping, Ye Ying turned around. She truly couldn’t figure out this young master of the Bai family. The first time they met, she felt the young master seemed gentle and quite decent. But later, Ye Ying realized she had misjudged him. This young master of the Bai family looked like a person but didn’t act like one. Moreover, his temperament was capricious and extremely eccentric—the very type of person Ye Ying disliked the most.

To Bai Xi’s slight surprise, Ye Ying walked to the spot above Bai Xi’s head and stopped. She bent down slightly, her dark hair hanging down from her shoulder. Her warm smile was gentle, harmless, and very approachable, but the words she spoke chilled Bai Xi to the bone: “I only came back to tell you that, yes, I am really going to leave. Bye-bye. Goodbye. I wish you good luck.”

Bai Xi: “…I see. The enmity is sealed.”

In the end, Ye Ying didn’t truly walk away. At the very least, on her way back to the classroom, she happened to pass the infirmary and conveniently informed the medical staff that she thought she saw the eldest young master of the Bai family fall down near the school’s biology corner.

For Bai Xi, this help from Ye Ying was worse than none. Just as she felt she could climb up, she saw a swarm of doctors and nurses rushing toward her as if performing an emergency rescue, surrounding her densely. They even used a stretcher.

On the first day of school, the ambulance siren echoed throughout Nanluo High School.

When Bai Xi, with a dark expression, returned to school in the afternoon after completing a full body check, she successfully received a chorus of sympathetic and caring glances. The news that the young master of the Bai family had accidentally fallen and been hospitalized on the first day of school successfully became the top headline for the new semester at Nanluo High School, sweeping across the student forums.

Wearing a white, loose three-quarter-sleeve T-shirt and loose black cargo pants, with a simple silver pendant around her neck, Bai Xi returned to school right when the first class of the afternoon began. It was that inhumane—except for the very first class, all others were held as normal on the first day of school.

Bai Xi stood empty-handed at the door. Because she had gone to the hospital, 002 was left on the grass. Bai Xi had just contacted 002 through her mind and learned that the thing had found a place to sleep, carrying the school bag with it. Bai Xi simply ignored it and went straight to the classroom she should have reported to that morning.

The young English teacher stood on the podium, looking at the young master who had caused chaos throughout the school the moment he arrived. Meeting his pale complexion and somewhat confused eyes, she felt a flicker of compassion and paused her lecture. “Bai Xi, please go to your seat. Don’t stand for too long.”

Bai Xi, who was actually standing at the door because she had no idea where her seat was, scanned the entire classroom. The spacious and bright classroom had only about twenty or thirty students. The uniform but exquisitely crafted and comfortable seats were neatly arranged.

Bai Xi’s gaze fell on the only empty seat in the middle of the second row. She hesitated. “Teacher, where is my seat?”

“Right here,” the young English teacher did not notice Bai Xi’s yearning for the back row and motioned toward the empty seat in the second row.

For such a seat reserved for top students, Bai Xi wondered, What did I do to deserve this? More importantly, how was she supposed to comfortably enjoy her campus life in such a prominent position?

But this was no time to fuss. Bai Xi didn’t want to continue standing at the door like a spectacle, so she said no more and sat down in the empty seat in the second row.

Nanluo High School did not use individual desks but a two-person desk configuration, reportedly to foster camaraderie among students.

After sitting down, Bai Xi had the presence of mind to turn her head and size up her deskmate—a divine person who was sleeping like a dead pig from head to toe, with only a little black hair visible.

Very good. A like-minded soul. Bai Xi slightly raised an eyebrow and was quite satisfied with this deskmate. She casually took out her English textbook from the desk, which Butler Ye had tidied earlier, and flipped through the pages listlessly.

In her previous life, she had grown up traveling between China and abroad since childhood. Just before turning adult, she was even sent abroad to live alone for five years. It was no exaggeration to say that she knew all the world’s major languages, and she had even dabbled in some less common minority languages. Therefore, she truly couldn’t be bothered to look at this kind of childish material.

She rummaged through a few more books, chose a comfortable position, and rested her head on the desk with a thump. She, too, fell asleep.

The two “sleeping pigs” thus blatantly occupied the prime student C-spot in the Nanluo High School International Elite Class. Several times, when various levels of leadership came for inspection, they could only exchange awkward smiles and could do nothing else.

Time passed fastest when her eyes were closed and then opened. By the time Bai Xi opened her eyes again, it was midway through the third class. An elderly, internationally renowned master of painting, dressed in distinct ethnic style clothing, was sitting on the podium explaining the stylistic features of several medieval art masters.

She rotated her stiff shoulders. Having not slept sprawled on a desk for too long, she felt a little uncomfortable after just a short nap.

【002: Warning! Warning! The female protagonist is skipping class! This does not conform to the female protagonist’s dedicated-to-studies character setting! Host, please go and investigate immediately! Please go and investigate immediately!】

Bai Xi’s mind, which was still hazy from waking up, was thoroughly startled awake by 002’s screeching. Bai Xi spun her pen, resting her cheek on one hand, gazing listlessly at the podium, but actually communicating with 002 in her mind.

【Bai Xi: What kind of character setting nonsense is that? Who hasn’t skipped a class or two while in school? This is nothing serious. Stop treating me like the female protagonist’s mother. I am the villainous supporting character, remember? I haven’t even settled the score with you for the last incident.】

The last incident was the one where the first cannon fodder tried to buy the female protagonist’s admission spot. That was entirely the female protagonist’s scheme, yet 002 was so frantic, urging her to cause trouble. As a result, she accidentally ruined the female protagonist’s financial plan and created a rift with her upon their first meeting. If Bai Xi hadn’t intervened, the female protagonist would have enrolled as usual without any problems.

【002: Do you think everyone is like you? The female protagonist is a bona fide top student who will eventually dominate the entire book with her grades. The classes she’s missed since childhood can be counted on one hand, and they were always due to force majeure. Yet, here she is, voluntarily skipping class on the first day of school! This is absolutely abnormal! Abnormal!】

002 was making her brain feel like it was about to explode. Bai Xi pressed her temple in discomfort, gritting her teeth mentally.

【Bai Xi: Stop yelling! I’ll go check, fine, but if the female protagonist is completely fine, I’m going to have grilled live cat tonight! You better watch out!】

Having banished the rambling voice of 002 from her mind, Bai Xi stood up with a look of menace. She glanced at the teacher on the podium, who was engrossed in his own world, and looked around at the students, who were all listless. She then calmly and openly left the classroom.

The students: “…” Do you think we’re blind?

With envious eyes, they watched Bai Xi’s receding figure. Then they looked at Bai Xi’s deskmate, whom Bai Xi had suspected was already dead from sleep. The numerous heirs—who would risk being stripped of their inheritance by their own fathers for skipping a single class—were on the verge of tears. They were all heirs, so why was the difference so huge?

After leaving the classroom, Bai Xi slowly walked down the stairs from the fourth floor. When she reached the third-floor landing, she saw the principal leading a group of school administrators coming up from the second floor. Both sides’ steps halted simultaneously, their eyes meeting, creating an extremely awkward atmosphere.

“I think we were going to the second floor just now, right?” The round-headed principal slapped his newly acquired, middle-aged-man’s special-use wig. He withdrew his foot from the stair without looking sideways and stiffly walked back toward the second floor they had just left.

“Yes, yes, yes! The discipline on the second floor definitely needs improvement recently. The principal needs to provide more guidance!” The group followed the principal’s steps, walking toward the fourth floor, openly speaking nonsense.

Only after the group disappeared up the stairs did Bai Xi’s lips curl into a faint smile. She scoffed lightly, ignoring the farce, and continued to stroll downstairs.

Meanwhile, the students in the second-floor competition class, who had just been inspected by the principal and the administrators, hadn’t even had time to breathe a sigh of relief when they saw the principal and his group suddenly turn back.

Does the principal’s inspection now include a surprise U-turn?

Completely unaware of the unwarranted disaster she had brought upon the students on the second floor, Bai Xi was now reluctantly following 002’s guidance to find the truant Ye Ying.