The one who arrived was Lin Jingqiu.
Gao Qingyang felt his face flush, quickly withdrawing his gaze, only to accidentally lock eyes with his seatmate.
His expression immediately turned as ugly as if he had swallowed a fly.
"Gao Qingyang, you look terrible. Are you feeling unwell?" his seatmate remarked lightly, patting him comfortingly on the shoulder. "Well, he did save our beauty queen Lin yesterday. Probably just here to thank him. No need to overthink it."
Gao Qingyang snorted coldly, turning his head aside. "As if I needed you to tell me!"
He sneered bitterly, adding, "Just watch. With Chen An's shabby look, he'll embarrass himself in no time!"
Crossing his hands behind his head, Gao Qingyang leaned back into his chair, eyes fixed unwaveringly on the boy sitting by the window in the back row.
He desperately wanted to see nervousness, embarrassment, or foolish pride flash across Chen An's face. But Chen An hadn't even lifted his head.
Damn it, what's this brat pretending for? Didn't you see Lin Jingqiu personally calling out to you?
Lift your head and respond already!
Gao Qingyang raged internally.
Suddenly, Lin Jingqiu at the door began to move. With a faint, confident smile and graceful, carefree strides, she simply walked straight into their classroom, displaying none of the bashfulness typical at their age.
She instantly captured the attention of everyone in Class Two.
It was perfectly natural, for a girl like her inevitably became the center of attention wherever she went.
Under the eyes of the entire classroom, Lin Jingqiu walked straight up to the boy with his head down, reached out two slender, fair fingers, and lightly tapped his desk.
"Student Chen, what's going on? Ignoring me?"
Chen An was certainly not someone who pretended to be aloof. Raising his head, he calmly met Lin Jingqiu's gaze and answered honestly, "Not at all. I was thinking about something and didn't notice you arrive."
He was telling the truth.
Just moments ago, he had been examining his body with spiritual consciousness, blocking out external disturbances as he studied the reward granted by the System.
"Undying and Imperishable."
From now on, Chen An would be the only true immortal in this world.
His lifespan was no longer a limitation, and his body merely an insignificant shell. He was truly, literally, undying and imperishable.
Even if one day Chen An was blown to smithereens by a nuclear bomb—turned into tiny particles—his soul would remain eternal, and his body would eventually regenerate.
Nine lifetimes of struggles had earned him this reward. Truly generous.
To live as long as Heaven itself—even in a world of immortals—this was the ultimate dream that countless cultivators chased through centuries of painstaking effort.
Yet Chen An had arrived at this finish line from the very moment of his birth, standing high above the world.
Some people were born as beasts of burden, while others were born standing in Rome.
"So, did you need something?" Chen An asked.
Lin Jingqiu tilted her head silently, taking two steps forward. Her eyes softened at the sight of Chen An's bandaged hand hanging beneath his desk.
"Does it still hurt?" she asked gently.
Chen An shook his head. "No pain."
In reality, his hand had healed completely in less than a millisecond after the injury. He had just allowed it to appear naturally wounded, so as not to seem monstrous.
As for pain, not even mentioning how he had long since learned to ignore it, the agony of a pierced heart he had endured countless times before was far worse. This minor wound meant nothing to him.
Lin Jingqiu, however, evidently didn't see it that way. Frowning slightly, she assumed Chen An was merely pretending to be tough.
They say all fingers connect directly to the heart—even accidentally breaking a fingernail was unbearably painful, let alone such a terrible piercing injury.
She reached out, wanting to hold his hand and examine it closely. Although the doctor had said Chen An had an extraordinary physique and excellent healing abilities, she still couldn't rest easy, prompting her to hurry over early this morning.
But before she could realize her intent, her hand was gently pushed away midair.
Lifting her eyes, she met Chen An's puzzled gaze.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
Lin Jingqiu bit her lip, realizing she might have overstepped. After all, holding a boy's hand in public was too forward. She quickly justified it in her mind—concern had caused her impulsiveness.
"I just wanted to see your wound clearly. Why such a big reaction?" She puffed up her cheeks slightly, voice carrying a hint of small grievance.
This girlish reaction instantly sent a shock through all those secretly observing.
My goodness—is this the famously confident, radiant campus beauty Lin Jingqiu?
In all their time as classmates, when had anyone ever seen her behave this way?
In a corner of the classroom, Gao Qingyang stared in utter disbelief, eyes wide.
Is this still the Lin Jingqiu I know? She was ice-cold and unfeeling when rejecting me yesterday!
This soft demeanor was entirely different from yesterday's icy indifference!
Gao Qingyang banged his forehead repeatedly against the desk, muttering incoherently, "Impossible… This isn't logical… No…"
His seatmate sighed deeply, patting Gao Qingyang's shoulder again. He opened his mouth to say something comforting but eventually gave up, choosing instead to secretly observe the unfolding drama.
Chen An spoke calmly, "The wound isn't serious; it'll heal in a couple of days. If that's your concern, you can head back now."
He spoke naturally without emphasizing or pausing at any specific word—simply offering an unemotional clarification.
Though Lin Jingqiu knew rationally that Chen An meant nothing personal, his blunt manner still made her a bit irritated.
He made it sound like she had begged him to let her come see him!
The tuft of hair atop her head moved slightly in irritation. She fished out a black bank card from her pocket and slapped it onto Chen An's desk, huffed lightly, and turned to leave.
Chen An glanced at the bank card and then at the girl's angrily retreating figure, suddenly realizing something.
Lin Jingqiu acted surprisingly fast. Just yesterday, he casually mentioned needing money, and here she was delivering it already.
After a brief pause, he called out, "Student Lin."
Lin Jingqiu stopped immediately, turning back with noticeably brighter eyes. "Yes?"
The audience in Class Two instantly perked up again. All eyes and ears fixated intently on the unfolding drama, leaning forward unconsciously in anticipation.
Was he finally making his move with a bold confession? Or perhaps… something else?
Amidst eager gazes, Chen An pointed at the bank card atop the desk. "Well, you forgot to tell me the password for the bank card."
Thud!
The sounds of multiple bodies falling from their seats echoed across the classroom.