Lin Ran nearly exhausted himself, as if he were about to swear an oath to heaven and earth, just to convince the skeptical teacher, Liu Chun, that he truly had no intention of harassing his beloved student. Reluctantly, Liu Chun spared him once again.

Lin Ran felt a wave of relief wash over him. But then, feeling irritated, he stole a glance at the culprit sitting beside him. His desk partner, the school beauty, had already turned away as if nothing had happened, her expression cold and focused on the teacher at the podium, genuinely seeming to pay attention to the lecture.

This left Lin Ran feeling somewhat uncertain. Could it have been an illusion? It seemed quite possible… After all, his desk partner was known as the Ice Queen, and this distant, proud demeanor was the most familiar version of her to him.

Could she really have been resting her chin on her hand, gazing at him? Lin Ran didn’t believe he possessed such charm. It had to be an illusion; perhaps the overload of information from his rebirth had left his mind a bit clouded. He needed to take a moment to recover…

Muttering to himself, Lin Ran shifted his focus back to the teacher’s droning lecture, trying to avoid drawing any more unwanted attention.

Little did he know, while he averted his gaze, his desk partner maintained a seemingly indifferent expression, but a barely perceptible smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

“Of course, I’m pretending to pay attention,” Su Qingyan thought. “Teasing my benefactor is quite amusing.”

However, the clever Su Qingyan also realized that even though she had been reborn, she needed to be careful to hide her true feelings. She had to maintain her persona as the proud, unapproachable Ice Queen in everyone’s eyes at school.

If she suddenly became overly friendly towards Lin Ran, it would raise eyebrows and possibly scare him off, which would be undesirable. After all, they were just classmates; there would be plenty of time to interact in the future. There was no need to rush.

With this in mind, Su Qingyan smiled again, instinctively licking her lips, revealing a hint of alluring charm that could easily be mistaken for a thousand-year-old nine-tailed fox.

In the back row of the third group, a male classmate was sneaking glances over, nearly falling off his chair upon witnessing Su Qingyan’s moment of grace, which drew the attention of other classmates and earned a stern reprimand from teacher Liu Chun.

As for Su Qingyan, she quickly resumed her icy, untouchable demeanor, as if nothing had happened.

However, her cold facade didn’t last long. Su Qingyan found herself unable to resist sneaking glances at Lin Ran again.

It felt a bit like being a fan. Before her rebirth, she had read through all his diaries, seen various awards and photos in his bedroom, and her familiarity with him was nearly second only to his parents.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Now, the young man who would one day save her was sitting right next to her, so close that she could carefully observe his features and compare them to the thoughts and experiences she had read about in his diaries. It brought her an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.

Moreover… the more she looked, the more she liked him!

On the surface, Su Qingyan appeared calm and collected, but inside, a tiny figure was cheering, almost bursting with excitement!

So cute!

Ah, his hair looks so fluffy and soft; I want to ruffle it!

His face is so fair and tender; I want to pinch it!

This shy, introverted boy— I want to tease him!!

In this new life, as a beautiful, thirty-something ice queen CEO, she had always maintained a strong, aloof persona in the workplace, admired by many but feared and avoided. That was why she had remained single for so long.

Who would have thought she would become such a "silly" girl?

Even Su Qingyan herself was surprised by this transformation.

But in this moment, she was enjoying herself, continuing to sneak glances at the boy beside her while the teacher was distracted.

…

Lin Ran could no longer endure it. From the very start, he felt a chill, as if being eyed by a seductive fox spirit. He could feel a pair of beautiful eyes openly staring at him, even without turning around.

But every time he glanced over, his desk partner would quickly turn her head back, returning to her composed, high-and-mighty demeanor. The moment he looked away, he could feel her gaze sneak back onto him.

This endless cycle left Lin Ran’s mouth twitching in annoyance. He scribbled a note and slid it over:

“What do you want, sister?”

The aloof school beauty merely glanced at the note, her expression still icy, before pushing it back. On the back, she had written:

“Don’t pass notes in class.”

The strong strokes of her writing radiated a cold aura even through the paper.

Lin Ran thought, “I give up.” “Impressive.”

Unbeknownst to him, while Su Qingyan maintained her cold facade, the tiny figure inside her was cheering wildly.

Oh my gosh, what should I do? My heart is melting!!

He called me ‘sister’!!

…

One class. The beautiful school beauty was beside him.

Time felt like an eternity.

Finally, the class ended, and Lin Ran sprang up from his seat as if propelled by springs, rushing out the back door of the classroom.

Stepping into the hallway, he breathed a sigh of relief, finally able to take in some fresh air and collect his thoughts.

That was too eerie…

How many times had he felt the school beauty glancing at him during class? If it weren’t for knowing her personality, he might have suspected she was trying to flirt with him.

At that moment, a male classmate approached him, flashing a thumbs-up and grinning widely:

“Ran, nice job! You’ve got the school beauty’s attention, that’s awesome!”

This guy was Zhao Ke, one of Lin Ran’s close friends from high school—outgoing and fond of gossip.

Lin Ran sighed, “I really didn’t mean anything by it…”

She was the one who made the first move!

Zhao Ke nodded knowingly. “I get it! After all, she’s the recognized school beauty at Yunan High School, with plenty of admirers. It’s normal to feel insecure and think you’re not good enough for her.”

Then, he shifted his tone and earnestly advised,

“But at least you’re sitting next to her! That’s an advantage most people don’t have. You have a chance to get closer, and if you actually win her over, that would be amazing!”

“Besides, even if you don’t succeed, it’s not embarrassing. It’s definitely better than being a lapdog for Shen Lingshan, right?”

Shen Lingshan?

Lin Ran paused, suddenly recalling a not-so-glorious chapter from his high school past…

Just as he was lost in thought, he heard a familiar, delicate voice behind him:

“Lin Ran—”