Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Changing Classes
Ashley Shaw gathered her thoughts and returned to her seat from memory.
Her deskmate, Ariana Grant, immediately leaned over and asked, "Ash, what were you doing with our teacher?"
Seeing Ariana, memories from the past flooded in, and Ashley Shaw’s eyes involuntarily turned red.
Ariana Grant was her good friend, but just when university graduation was approaching, Ariana was diagnosed with stomach cancer and passed away young.
The day they sent Ariana off for the last time was an overcast day. She was in a terrible mood and wanted to talk to Warren Prescott, but Warren only coldly replied, "I’m very busy, don’t bother me with these boring things."
Boring things?
Are there any truly boring things in this world? There are only boring people in the world.
He simply had nothing to say to her.
This time, she wanted to try and see if she could save her best and only friend.
"Ariana, did you have breakfast?"
She remembered Ariana’s meals were always irregular.
"Why are you asking that? You should answer me first."
"Oh." Ashley Shaw said flatly, "I told the teacher that I want to transfer to the science class."
"What?! You want to transfer to the science class?"
Ariana exclaimed in shock.
For a moment, the class fell silent, and everyone’s gaze turned towards them.
Ashley Shaw quickly pulled down the jumping Ariana.
"Be quiet!"
Ariana covered her mouth, gave a apologetic smile to the surrounding classmates, and then asked in a low voice, "Why would you suddenly choose science? The homeroom teacher in the first year did advise you to choose science because it was your strength, but didn’t you insist on choosing arts back then?"
It was precisely because she made the decision to choose science that she failed the college entrance examination the first time and had to repeat a year.
As for Ariana also repeating a year, it was because her parents were going through a divorce, and she didn’t even take the entrance exam.
The two ended up as classmates once again.
But the reason Warren repeated the year, she only found out after getting married.
It was for... his muse.
Ashley Shaw suppressed the complex emotions in her heart and forced a smile, "I was not clear-headed then. After going through some things, I’ve come to my senses."
"Boo hoo hoo, then you’ll leave me, won’t you?"
"The arts class is just downstairs, we’ll still see each other often."
"I’ll look for you when I need to use the bathroom! And we have to go to the cafeteria together."
Ashley Shaw nodded earnestly.
"From now on, I’ll eat with you at every meal."
She wanted to ensure Ariana ate on time.
Ariana was about to say something when suddenly they heard the sound of a chair scraping against the floor from behind.
Both of them instinctively looked back to see Warren Prescott standing up and leaving the classroom with a somber expression.
He barely acknowledged the teacher who was entering the room and walked straight out.
The teacher hesitated, but ultimately said nothing.
The Prescott family had donated the library to this high school.
Besides, Warren was always first in the class.
Ariana was startled.
"Did we talk too loud and upset the young master?"
"Ignore him and continue studying,"
Ashley Shaw said expressionlessly, pulling out her Chinese textbook to start reviewing.
Regardless of studying arts or science, Chinese was still required for exams.
She wasn’t worried about other subjects, her only concern was Chinese.
Ariana watched Ashley Shaw seriously take out her textbook and start reciting, with three question marks practically hovering above her head.
"Ignore him? But isn’t he your crush? Didn’t you like him the most?"
Ashley Shaw lifted her head slightly, "Maybe I liked him then, but I don’t anymore."
Now, she only loved those who were worthy of love.
Ariana pouted, clearly not believing her.
Just two days ago, Ashley had asked her to pass a love letter to Warren.
But Warren seemed to misunderstand and thought it was from her, tossing it in the trash without even looking.
She was afraid of Warren’s intimidating presence and didn’t dare explain.
So as not to make Ashley overthink, she hadn’t mentioned it.
When the class bell rang, Ariana lifted her head from dozing off, full of energy.
"Come on, Ashley, let’s go pee! I really need to go!"
Ashley Shaw was busy memorizing a passage.
She thought picking it up again would be difficult, but it turned out to be easier than she imagined.
After all, she had diligently studied for almost four years, so even after dropping it for six years, the knowledge buried deep in her memory still left a vague impression.
Now it was just a matter of consolidation.
"You go ahead, I’ll memorize ’The Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng’ once more."
As she spoke, she saw Ariana’s little face droop, looking heartbroken as she said, "Woman, you’ve changed. You haven’t even left yet, and you’re already not going to the bathroom with me. If you really switch to science, will you even greet me when you see me?"
Ashley Shaw couldn’t resist and had to put down her textbook.
"Alright, I’ll go with you, okay? My lady, please don’t be mad."
"Hmph! You have to say ’Princess, please forgive me’, then I’ll forgive you."
Ashley Shaw cooperated and said, "Princess, please forgive me."
Ariana immediately broke into a joyful smile and hugged Ashley’s arm.
The two of them walked hand in hand towards the bathroom.
The boys’ and girls’ restrooms at this high school were adjacent, separated by a wall, but the washbasins were shared.
They hadn’t reached there yet but saw smoke wafting around the washbasin area.
Through the haze, she saw Warren with a cigarette between his fingers, casually leaning against the wall, appearing noble and aloof.
She admired him for that; even among a group of delinquents, he still seemed dignified and otherworldly.
She’d never seen him lose his composure.
She even maliciously thought that it’d be great if he could lose composure just once.
Before those guys could notice her, Ashley Shaw quickly turned her gaze away.
All she heard was his gang of friends frivolously whistling.
Ariana had a phobia of delinquents, and her grip on Ashley’s hand tightened suddenly.
"Let’s go after the next class break."
Ashley Shaw also had a phobia of delinquents, but having lived once more, those things she used to fear greatly now seemed as light as a feather to her.
To her, they were just a bunch of kids who hadn’t yet experienced the weight of real life.
Nothing worth fearing.
She grabbed Ariana, who was about to leave.
"Don’t you really need to go? Don’t hold it in. I’ll go in with you, there’s nothing to be afraid of."
Ariana was indeed urgent.
After drinking a bottle of cold milk in the morning, her stomach was in great pain, gurgling loudly.
She gritted her teeth, "Alright! Come with me!"
She steeled her nerves, clinging tightly to Ashley’s hand, and walked past those boys without looking around.
However, just then, a girl rushed past them and bumped into Ashley.
Ashley’s glasses were knocked off, revealing the gentle eyes hidden behind the thick black frames.
She could feel all the boys looking over at her.
Among them, there was one particularly familiar gaze.
Warren Prescott.
Being stared at by him brought an inexplicable tension.
Even though she had let go, her mind was still a little restless.
But luckily, she was no longer a young girl and had learned how to hide her emotions.
So on the surface, she simply and calmly bent down, picked up her glasses, and followed Ariana into the girls’ bathroom.
From start to finish, she didn’t look around.