Chapter 3 Chap 3: Dream Of Love

The school-wide broadcast finally came to an end.

The classroom was like a gathering that had just dispersed some students stretched lazily, others sighed with relief.

Emma and her deskmate Seven occasionally exchanged a few words.

"So you and your sister are fraternal twins?"

Seven was a bit curious. "It's really hard to tell."

Emma gave a reluctant nod, trying to suppress the boredom rising inside her. She had no idea how many times she'd answered this question growing up.

Are you really twins?

Why do you two look nothing alike?

Oh, fraternal twins.

Your sister is really pretty.

You're quite delicate and obedient too.

Emma had lost count of how many times she'd heard things like that.

Seven continued to pry, "Your mom must be really beautiful too, right?"

Emma thought for a moment. "Yeah."

Michelle Lu was indeed very beautiful. Even though she was getting older, she still knew how to take care of herself. All that money spent on spas wasn't wasted. Since childhood, she had taught her daughters the importance of skincare.

Seven hugged her pen to her chest and squinted, "So jealous."

Jealous of what?

Jealous of having a beautiful mother, or a beautiful sister?

Emma turned to glance at Seven.

Her round, chubby face was dotted with the signature acne of puberty.

Emma simply smiled and said nothing.

"I used to be in Class 10-A3."

Clearly wanting to get to know her new, seemingly quiet and refined classmate, Seven brought up another topic. "I remember you and your sister were in Class 10-A7, right? Your sister was really popular in our grade."

Emma twirled the ink pen in her hand and casually flipped through a book until she found an old man's portrait and began filling in the shadows with black ink.

Seven leaned closer and lowered her voice. "The boy sitting behind you is also really famous, you know. He's great at basketball, top of the class academically, and I heard his family is super wealthy too."

Thinking Emma didn't know, she leaned in even closer and whispered, "And... he's really handsome."

Emma pressed her lips together and said knowingly, "That last part is what matters to you the most, huh?"

Seven blushed, clearly flustered from being exposed. Girls at this age read too many romance novels, their heads often filled with wild fantasies.

In fact, the reason she had studied so hard to get into Class A1 this year wasn't just to test her limits the thrill of being in the same class as the school's most popular students made her feel like she'd stepped into another world.

A girl sitting in front of Seven overheard and turned her head to join in, "But he's got a bad temper."

Seven blinked. "How do you know?"

"I used to be in the same class as him, duh. Once, someone accidentally woke him up during a nap, and he completely lost it in front of everyone."

The girl glanced discreetly toward the back of the class, clearly eager to spill more tea.

"No way, really?" Seven's eyes widened.

"Seriously. His deskmate was a girl named Julia. She was so scared she started crying."

The girl, afraid they wouldn't believe her, added a solemn tone to her voice.

Just a little exaggeration won't hurt, she thought.

In truth, you couldn't really blame Ethan. He was the type who'd get cranky if he didn't get enough sleep everyone knew that and generally avoided bothering him.

That day, Julia had been playing around with a friend. Her friend saw Ethan napping at his desk, cap pulled low over his face, and thought it'd be fun to mess with her. So she pushed Julia toward him five or six times.

Teen girls all had their little crushes - at this age, even the smallest touch between boys and girls could set off a round of teasing.

Julia resisted a bit, but mostly she was just embarrassed.

No one expected her to actually bump into Ethan.

Her entire body hit his back.

Startled, Ethan sat up straight, his eyes flashing with irritation. His brows furrowed, and his sharp black eyes swept over the two girls who had disturbed him.

Julia and her friend froze, unsure what to do.

It looked like he was about to explode but in the end, Ethan said nothing. He muttered a curse under his breath, kicked the desk hard, shoved his cap onto his head, and stormed out of the classroom.

A few girls watched from the corners of their eyes.

Julia, overwhelmed by the embarrassment and tension, burst into tears.

Seven was speechless for a moment before finally saying, "...Kinda badass, actually."

The girl in front Kelly nodded in agreement.

Emma tugged at the corner of her lips. That's what people called badass these days? Still, she was secretly relieved someone else had taken over chatting with Seven.

At the back of the room, Jason held Lily's schedule in hand, visibly excited. "Language Arts class! It's gotta be Ms. Li with the braids!"

"I swear, are we really gonna do that self-introduction thing again?" Andrew Hsu said, furiously tapping away at his PSP as it entered the final level.

Lily turned her head. "Why do you call her 'Ms. Braids'?"

"Hehe, you'll see. Out of 365 days in a year, she wears braids 366."

Kevin slung an arm around Ethan's shoulders and chuckled mischievously, "Hey Ethan, you gonna pull the same stunt as last year?"

"Remember how you nearly drove Ms. Braids insane during the first class? Come on, do it again this year!"

Jason's eyes sparkled with mischief.

Ethan lowered his head and chuckled, clearly unbothered.

Riiing! The bell for first period rang.

Lily, still confused, frowned slightly. She took her schedule back from Jason and sat up straight.

Emma noticed the old man in her textbook was now fully shaded in black. She closed the book and slipped her pen into the case.

Ms. Li entered the classroom with a thick stack of lesson plans, exuding a commanding presence.

The noise in the classroom faded until everything fell silent.

She picked up the seating chart and leaned on the desk, saying, "Let's stick with these seats for now. No changes this semester."

Before she could finish, the class was already whispering among themselves.

Ms. Li cleared her throat and turned to the blackboard to write her name.

"My name is Grace Li. I'll be your homeroom teacher and also your Language Arts teacher."

"All fifty of you here are among the top students in the entire grade. Making it into this class is no easy feat."

Her serious gaze swept across the room. "This eleventh-grade year is extremely demanding. I hope all of you set high expectations for yourselves and don't slack off just because you made it into Class A1. There will be constant tests and pressure ahead."

"Especially those of you who are distracted and don't pay attention you're not just hurting yourselves, but also ruining the classroom atmosphere for everyone else."

She stared directly at someone in particular, putting extra emphasis on her last point.

Andrew, Kevin, and Jason chuckled quietly, while Jason boldly poked the person in front of him.

Ethan looked up at Ms. Li with a hint of defiance and smirked casually.

Ms. Li sighed quietly and clapped her hands. "Since this is the first class of the semester, and I don't know all of your names yet, let's start with introductions so we can get to know each other."

Groans immediately echoed throughout the classroom.

Jason raised his hand, speaking in an exaggerated tone. "Miss, we all know each other already. No need for introductions!"

Andrew added, "Yeah, Miss. We're all familiar by now. For the new girls, we can just introduce ourselves after class."

The whole class erupted in laughter.

Someone joked, "Andrew, how exactly are you planning to 'introduce' yourself?"

Ethan leaned back lazily in his chair, then turned around and smacked the two troublemakers behind him.

"Jason, Andrew shut it. Sit properly. What the hell kind of posture is that?"

Ms. Li raised her voice sternly. She glanced at the list and read the first name aloud, "We'll start with the top scorer, Simon Shen."

Not wanting the class atmosphere to spiral, she quickly moved the process along.

Emma watched the boy sitting two seats away stand up. He was average height, wore thick glasses, had a bowl cut a model student if there ever was one.

Something felt off. Was *he* really the top scorer in the entire grade?

"Hi everyone, I'm Simon Shen. Let's all work hard to get into college. I love studying, so if you ever need help with homework, feel free to ask me."

Jason called out shamelessly, "Hey Simon, what if we *don't* need help with studying can we still hang out with you?"

Simon pushed his glasses up and replied seriously, "Hang out doing what?"

Laughter rippled through the classroom.

Another boy chimed in, "Whatever you want to do."

Simon quickly sat down, clearly embarrassed.

Ms. Li glared at Jason, then read the next name off the list with a frown.

These boys are way too mischievous, she thought. If it were any other class, fine - but all of these kids had somehow ended up in A1.

"Ethan."

No one stood up.

Ms. Li narrowed her eyes and called his name again.

Everyone turned to look curiously.

Emma turned her head as well.

Only then did Ethan slowly rise under the gaze of the entire class, hands in his jacket pockets.

Emma realized he was almost two heads taller than Simon Shen. His nose was straight, his features striking. Those dark eyes held a kind of rebellious spark, and his uniform...