One hundred and thirty, a freshman in high school.

Seeing six pairs of eyes filled with gossip staring at her, Lin Xia couldn't help but chuckle.

"The uncle is just a friend of Sister Qing. I’ve only met him a few times; there’s nothing going on. Besides, he’s so much older than me—you all are really overthinking this." Lin Xia bit down on her straw. "With the way he looks, he wouldn't even notice a plain little sprout like me!"

"Nonsense, you’re not plain at all," Xie Xitong chided. "Don't sell yourself short. You are so outstanding; in time, you will surely be someone others look up to."

Lin Xia possessed a calm and composed temperament; she was not easily swayed by external gains, nor did she ever wallow in self-pity. For someone like her, it would be strange if she didn't succeed.

"Then I’ll take your kind words for it," Lin Xia said with a faint smile, steering the conversation away. "I hear Sister Xin and Brother Chen have been discussing the debate competition lately. They seem quite busy. How is that coming along?"

"Oh, what more is there to say? The topic is 'Whether it is advisable to judge a hero by their success or failure.' They’re both busy digging up research," Xie Xitong said. "My brother has lost a lot of weight these past two days; he even seems to have developed dark circles under his eyes."

Sun Xiaoxiao asked curiously, "How come I haven't noticed Brother Chen losing weight?"

Zhao Qian rolled her eyes at her. "Their Class 7 is up against Class 3 this time, which is a liberal arts class. Just think about it: what do liberal arts students do other than spend all day flapping their gums? Even with Brother Chen and Sister Xin teaming up, I think this match is going to be a tough one."

Lin Xia smiled to herself. This was probably what life as a high school student was all about.

Striving for the victory of a competition, working desperately to top an exam, and when there is free time, gathering with friends to eat snacks, drink beverages, chat about gossip, and plan where to go for fun or what the latest news is.

Whether you are the most ordinary person, you live this way; even if you have a fortune, you live your whole life without worrying about food or clothing, you still have to live this way.

Life is just like this, so why trouble yourself?

Meet challenges as they come, stay composed, assess the situation, and protect yourself.

Her own Lin family had shallow roots and little foundation. If the Xu family really decided to take action, she could only distance herself to ensure the safety of her family.

Doing what one can and not dragging her innocent family into their grievances was what she urgently needed to do.

If she truly angered those people in the capital, they could uproot the Lin and Xia families with a single finger.

Even if there were grievances, who could she complain to?

Looking at it from another angle, if she provoked the Xu family, would the Chen family stand up for her?

No, they wouldn't.

That was only human nature. If she didn't have the skill, she shouldn't take on the task.

The Zhao family’s life was getting better and better, and the relationship between the Chen and Zhao families was growing closer and their cooperation tighter. She wondered what role Zhao Xin played in all of this.

Let Zhao Xin play the saint. If she wants to marry Chen Zimo, she has to pay the price. Besides, she is also a reincarnated soul; naturally, she can foresee the future and control the development of events.

A saint? What’s wrong with being a saint? If one could meet a true saint in reality, that would be a blessing cultivated over eight lifetimes.

But in reality, there are no saints—only selfishness, self-interest, and greed.

And she, Lin Xia, if she really waded into these muddy waters, it would be difficult to pull herself out.

It wasn't that she was heartless or fickle.

She just needed to find a good way to remind Xie Xitong at the right moment.

Furthermore, observing from the sidelines, Xie Xitong had changed quite a bit recently; she was much more steady in her words and actions, and her social skills had improved significantly.

It seems the ancients were right when they said that reading makes one wise.

Reading history books really does teach a person a lot.

Xie Xitong stretched, revealing the beautiful, youthful curves of her figure. She draped her arms around Lin Xia's neck, nuzzled against her, and said lazily, "Don't worry, in this debate, even with Liu Ziqing joining them, my brother will win. You all shouldn't worry about things that don't concern you."

Feeling the soft touch on her arm, Lin Xia drank her warm water with an expressionless face, her heart entirely calm and composed.

Of course, she wasn't like this when she first reincarnated.

Heaven knows, the first time she was hugged by Xie Xitong while sleeping, she had a million curses running through her mind.

In her past life, after the age of ten, she had almost never curled up in her mother’s arms. For nearly twenty years after that, she hadn't had such intimate physical contact with anyone of the same sex.

She had once read in a magazine that an expert claimed many people possess a bisexual complex. If measured on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is purely heterosexual and 10 is purely homosexual, the rest fall somewhere between 1 and 9. Even if the degree varies, everyone has some homosexual tendency.

This is why a certain phrase once went viral online: "Before meeting the man they love, every man thinks he loves women."

After reading that report, Lin Xia had carefully considered which category she fell into.

In the end, she confirmed she was a 0—a completely heterosexual person.

The mere thought of hugging and kissing a body with the exact same anatomy as her own made her shiver with disgust and tremble, let alone having any other thoughts.

Of course, Lin Xia did not discriminate against homosexuals; she just couldn't accept such things happening in her own life.

One must know that humans are creatures heavily influenced by their environment.

In her past life, there was a report that in a university male dormitory, there was one homosexual student. The others felt they were "modern" people who should have the courage to accept new ideas and not discriminate.

Four years later, the entire dormitory had become homosexual, and that dorm room became famous at the school as the "Home of Homosexuality," causing other normal students to avoid it at all costs.

In her past life, Lin Xia attended middle school in Xishui Town, and none of her close friends had ever hugged her so intimately. By high school, her friends had all gone to different schools, and because of the cliques among girls and her rural background, Lin Xia felt deeply inferior.

Throughout high school, she buried herself in those empty, fictional stories, failing to make a single close friend, and her vision became severely nearsighted from reading day and night.

Who knew that city girls were this "bold"? As long as they decided you were a friend, they were incredibly intimate. At first, Lin Xia thought Xie Xitong might have those tendencies, but after interacting with Sun Xiaoxiao and Zhao Qian, she realized they were the same and had no strange thoughts, which made her realize she had been overthinking.

"Brother Chen and his team are the negative side; their stance is: 'It is not advisable to judge a hero by their success or failure.' By the way, which side do you think is more correct?" Zhao Qian asked.

"The ancients said, 'A true man acts with justice; do not judge a hero by success or failure.' This supports the idea that it is not advisable. But there is also the saying, 'The victor is the king, the loser is the bandit.' Take Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty; he was just a commoner from the streets, speaking in a thick local dialect. Yet, of all his ministers and generals, who dared to question him? If he wanted to kill someone, regardless of whether it was for selfish reasons, who dared to advise against it? It shows that as long as a person succeeds, who would care about their past, or dare to care? This suggests that 'it is advisable to judge a hero by their success or failure.' I really think this topic is hard to choose; both sides seem to have a point."

Lin Xia laughed, "That’s exactly what makes it a good debate topic. A good topic must be fair to both sides, allowing both to have something to argue and speak about; therefore, the topic itself is never the absolute truth. A good topic will inevitably lead to an exciting debate, and an exciting debate often offers many insights. I’m quite looking forward to it."

"Is that so? I don't know much about this, but I believe in my brother," Xie Xitong said, thinking to herself that this sounded a lot like the debating techniques of the Spring and Autumn period. It looked like there would be an exciting battle of wits.

"Alright, it's getting late. Let's head back; classes start tomorrow," Lin Xia checked her phone, packed her things, and stood up.

"Ugh," Sun Xiaoxiao stretched, "Back to the days of school. The carefree, leisurely days are gone forever."

As one of the top-ranked high schools in Rongcheng, Rongcheng No. 1 High School was truly excellent when considering all factors.

Because she had already made arrangements with their homeroom teacher, Qian Rong, ahead of time, Lin Xia and her friends were seated together just like in middle school.

In the familiar campus, surrounded by unfamiliar teachers and classmates, Lin Xia sat at her desk, feeling a momentary sense of bewilderment.

Everything had finally changed.

She was no longer that hopeless, aimless shut-in from her past life.

"Everyone, be quiet," their homeroom teacher, Qian Rong, said as she stood on the podium.

Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried a natural authority, and the murmuring in the classroom instantly died down.

Lin Xia carefully observed the teacher on the podium. In her past life, she had heard of Qian Rong’s reputation but had never been taught by her.

She looked to be in her forties, of average height—about 1.6 meters—thin and tall. She wore a navy blue short-sleeved shirt and plain suit trousers. Her appearance was ordinary, and her expression was calm. She scanned the class with a blank look, her lips pressed into a thin line, and her gaze could only be described as sharp.

Indeed, wherever her gaze fell, the students would instinctively look away.

However, when her eyes landed on Lin Xia’s area, they paused slightly before moving on.

"Do not think that just because you were admitted here and placed in this class, you can rest easy. I’m telling you, if any of you think that way, it would be better for you to leave this class early, so as not to affect the studies of others." Seeing that the class had gone quiet and everyone was sitting up straight, Qian Rong was satisfied and began to instill a sense of crisis and pressure in the students.

"Why did we fight so hard to get here? Why did we want to get into the best high school and the best class? There is only one goal." She held up her index finger to emphasize her point. "The National College Entrance Exam!"

"What is the college entrance exam? It is a narrow bridge that thousands of soldiers and horses are fighting to cross. Only by passing this bridge can you head toward a different path and lead a different kind of life."