[Beauty Lisa, Comrade Jeon is as bad as you are! Not only did he ignore Old Manoban, he even got the guards to scare him off with a gun…Speaking of which, I was surprised that you didn’t do anything to him!]
Lisa took a towel and walked over to the bathroom. “The finals are coming, no use in giving myself the trouble.”
[You forgot to close the door!] The system spirit shouted.
Lisa responded with a single flick of her wrist, closing the door behind her with a resounding thump.
[At least your ancient martial arts is good for closing doors!]
“…Shut up!”
June the sixth was a day before the national finals would start.
At this time, all of the other students in First City High had already left the school, and the only exception was the Parallel Class that was on the fourth floor. In the classroom, a girl in a loose-fitting school uniform was writing on the blackboard with a piece of chalk.
Her words were written in regular script and were so tidy that it seemed like it was printed onto the blackboard.
After she finished writing everything, she threw away the chalk and leaned onto the podium. “These are a few things you should focus on for the exams. Even though there’s only one day left, but believe in yourselves and the Parallel Class, I’m sure we will all be able to ace these exams!”
“I’ll believe in myself, Beauty Lisa! I won’t disappoint you!” A boy shouted.
“I’ll get good grades and make you proud!” Shouted another girl.
“…”
Lisa couldn’t help but facepalm before she took three pieces of chalk with one hand and chucked them at the foreheads of the people that had spoken up. “Stop that! You’re doing this for yourself and your family, not me, got it?”
The class was plunged into silence, and Lisa patted the chalk dust off of her own hands in satisfaction, thinking that her words had gotten through before…
“F*ck! How did you do that Beauty Lisa?! You definitely played darts before!”
“Oh my god! She’s good at studying and even better at playing…What can I do?!”
“From today onwards, you’re my goddess!”
“…”
Lisa’s inner monologue: ‘Can someone deal with these demons?’
A day passed quickly, but none of the classmates were willing to leave the classroom, joking and chattering until dusk and even rioting for Lisa to lead them in running laps on the school field. Most of them weren’t as athletic as she was and stopped running after two or three laps, and the only person that could keep up with her was Jimin.
Lisa ran ten laps before slowing down and walking over to the crowd of classmates, the scene painted a brilliant rosy orange hue in the sunset. The crowd that had been chattering suddenly became quiet as she walked over, looking over at the mysterious girl.
They had thought that they had a basic grasp of who Lisa was after being in the same class for two months, but there seemed to be infinite veils of mystery that made her more and more amazing the more she revealed! Her reputation and position in the class had long since surpassed the class monitor and Old Ban, only because she had the ability and the attitude that made them follow her without question. Other than her, who would remember to give them extra classes at this crucial time?
At the moment, she was walking over to them with the sunset behind her, casting shadows in their direction. Even though she just ran ten laps, she didn’t even have a speck of dust and sweat on her. In terms of looks, she was a different type of beauty when compared to Rosé. Even though she wasn’t as eye-catching as she was, every action and expression of hers could be compared to a painting, to the point where once she caught your eye, it was hard to look away!
“Alright that’s enough. Go home and rest up for tomorrow, okay?” Lisa carried her bag and looked over at them.
Everyone blinked dumbly before reacting, and they walked together out of the school gates before bidding farewell to each other sadly.
“Beauty Lisa, we might not even be in the same state in the future, I’ll miss you…”
“Scram!” Jimin playfully kicked at the boy who said that before looking at the girl in question with a gloomy expression. “You two got to take the exams at the same place, and I’m the only one that’s taking it here at First City High.”
“It’s much more convenient to take it at First City High, me and Rosé have to go to Third City high to take out exams. That’s near the brink of the city!” Lisa glanced at him.
“But it’s not the same as taking it with you two…”
Rosé glared at him. “Stop being annoying!”
“…You’d be annoyed if you were in my position too!” Jimin replied, and the two of them started debating again.
Lisa saw the familiar car that was stopped at its usual spot and waved the two goodbye. “I’m going now. Good luck for tomorrow!”
Jimin stopped and squinted to see the face that was revealed as the car windows rolled down. He was sure that he didn’t know this person and that he had never seen him before, but when the man inside the car looked over at him, his mind went blank.
Even though the car was right in front of him, his mind couldn’t register the person that was inside properly, only noting a pair of glinting eyes and a white shirt.
It was only until the car had driven away before Jimin came back to his senses. “Say…What would happen if I fought him…”
“Pfft!” Rosé immediately broke out in laughter. “You?”
“Hey, don’t underestimate me!” Jimin rubbed his face, still feeling a harrowing chill on his back along with the cold sweat running down his back. “Wait, so you know that person?”
Rosé’s car stopped next to her, and she looked at him pitifully before patting his shoulder. “Hm, you’ve seen Young Master Yin right? This person is even more…Than him, understand?” She pointed the sky as she spoke. “So don’t get your mind full of any ideas okay? It’s for your good.”
“F*ck…” Jimin went to his car, but before he got on he kicked the car in frustration, earning a distressed look from the driver.
Meanwhile, Lisa was relishing a feast back at the mansion that Mrs. Zhang had prepared for her, including a medicinal soup that contained herbs that would help her pay attention and have a clear mind. As she served the food onto the dinner table, Mrs. Zhang continued talking about how she would send her to the exam hall the next day so that she could focus on the exam.
As she looked at the woman walking in and out of the kitchen, she felt both pressured and warm at the same time.
She didn’t remember much about her past life because it was just a blur to her, but she still had a faint recollection of the time leading up to the national finals because that was her only chance to create a future for herself at the time. The night before the finals, the Manoban family had prepared a scrumptious meal for Eunha, and even Master Manoban came back to visit.
She was probably envious of it at the time, but…She had it now in this life!
She was content.
She walked upstairs with a smile and a cup of warm milk, and even though the exams were only a day away, she didn’t forget to do her daily missions, and it was already quite late when she came out from the virtual space. As she walked over to her desk, she was stunned by what was on it.
A sky blue rectangular box lay there with an elegant bow on it and it seemed like it was meant for a girl, and the velvet bow came undone with a simple tug.
Inside the box lay a black fountain pen on a bed of golden cloth, and the champagne colored metal glistened in the light. The pen looked quite pretty, and it seemed more like a carefully crafted piece of art than a pen.
Lisa twirled the pen in her hand before she wrote down a few words using the pen.
[Ding! Calligraphy skill has leveled up to Advanced Level! The system has awarded you a hundred points, please keep up the good work!] The system’s voice rung out.
At the same time, Jungkook was holding an old book in his hands while he sat comfortably in a vine chair, and his lithe fingers flitted through the pages, the yellowed paper contrasting and making his hands seem even paler.
He flipped the pages a few times before he put down the book and looked out the window, his gaze gentle and warm and devoid of its usual coldness.
He hoped she liked the present…
On July the seventh, Taehyung came to see Jungkook early in the morning and also had breakfast at the mansion too.
Jungkook waited for Lisa to get prepared while Taehyung finished his meal in a rush, before looking at Jungkook that hadn’t even budged from his place with a shocked expression. “Bro, aren’t you going to leave?”
The National Base project was going to be carried out that day, and he had come here in the first place to go together with Jungkook to the meeting spot. If Jungkook weren’t there, no one would dare to activate the plan, so his presence was quite crucial, but it was already less than half an hour away from the agreed meeting time of half-past eight…
Taehyung was actually quite anxious and urgent as the matter was extremely important, and he could only sit there as if he were sitting on a cushion of needles, but he didn’t dare to rush Jungkook.
He was Young Master Jeon after all!
Lisa walked downstairs slowly with a white t-shirt and a pair of jeans, and while she wasn’t all that tall, her proportions were good and her legs were long, and Taehyung’s gaze couldn’t help but be attracted to her figure.
She had always had a calm and cool aura to her, but she seemed particularly alluring on that day.
A split second later, he immediately moved his gaze away and internally berated himself for even thinking the slightest indecent thought about her, all while wondering how Jungkook could control himself with such a beauty in his home.
“Did you remember to bring everything?” Jungkook snatched up his car keys from the table and glanced over at her transparent pencil case, smiling as he spotted the black fountain pen that he had gifted her the day prior.
The pen represented a person’s academic achievements and was commonly used to encourage one to work hard, and he thought there was no better gift for her at this time.
The exam pass, her identification card, all her stationery, and a watch were all in the pencil case, and Lisa waved it in front of her. “I’ve got everything, let’s go.”
Jungkook nodded and walked out the door together with her, and Taehyung didn’t even have the chance to ask what was happening.
“Mrs. Zhang, what’s the deal with them?” He didn’t dare to ask Jungkook, so he slipped into the kitchen and found Mrs. Zhang.
Mrs. Zhang wiped all of the bowls and plates dry, before putting them disinfection cabinet and smiling. “Don’t you know, Young Master Yin? Lili is going to have her national finals today! Wait!” Mrs. Zhang suddenly slammed her palm onto the cabinet. “I forgot to give her the talisman that I got from the temple yesterday!”
After saying that, Mrs. Zhang immediately scurried out the door and shouted for Lisa to wait for her.
Meanwhile, Taehyung was left there speechless. The national finals?
Realizing that the exams were on that day, Taehyung berated himself internally for forgetting the date that Lisa was going to have her finals. He had accepted her as his younger sister in name, and he forgot such a crucial moment in her life? He remembered how back when he had his finals and the way a bunch of his friends gave him their blessings and even hung a banner in front of First City High for him…
Thinking of this, he took out his phone and dialed up a number, before musing to himself. No wonder Jungkook was acting so strangely!
Lisa sat on the car with a yellow talisman that Mrs. Zhang stuffed into her hands before she got onto the car, along with a, “Lili, don’t be nervous and do the best you can, your I’ll be waiting for you with lots of good food when you come back!”
The car drove steadily, and they arrived at Third City High at half-past eight. There were many cars on the way, and many of the roads were decorated with banners—Some encouraging the students that were about to take their exams, others to warn drivers against sounding their car horns. Many of the roads nearby the exam sites were blocked from traffic, to not disrupt the students with any noise.
At this time, there were butterflies in all the stomachs of the students that were about to have their exams, including Lisa who had been affected by the overall atmosphere of it all.
The next second, on the last road leading to Third City High…
‘May Lili Manoban do well on her exams!’
Seeing the banner, Lisa couldn’t help but facepalm in embarrassment.
God, who did such an idiotic thing?
At the same time, the banners with the name Lili Manoban were hung up all over the city, and more surprising was the fact that none of the authorities did anything to take them down, attracting the attention of the press and making many people guess who this mysterious person was.
After a while, they arrived at Third City High.
“Go on, do your best.” Jungkook got off the car and ruffled her head, and at this moment there were already students waiting to enter the exam hall outside the gates of the school.
Lisa nodded and walked towards the crowd before she heard a voice calling her and turned back to see Taehyung running over. He had a few drops of sweat on his forehead, and his hair was matted with sweat, attracting the attention of a few girls nearby.
In contrast to Jungkook’s oppressing aura, Taehyung seemed like a standard bad boy that was attractive to the regular high school girl.
Lisa was already in line to enter the exam hall so Taehyung didn’t go any closer and only waved at her encouragingly. “Good luck!”
Lisa smiled and looked back to the front, seeing the white walls illuminated by sunlight and letting the staff check her exam pass before letting her in.
A bunch of parents stood there in front of the school gates silently in contrast to how they acted usually, and some even brought water and umbrellas to wait for their children to finish.
This situation wasn’t rare, and Jungkook looked in interest at the families that converged in front of the gate.
If it weren’t for him, would Lisa have had to take her exams all by herself?
Jungkook glanced over at Taehyung who had made his way over to him and raised his chin slightly. “Let’s go…And also, take down all of those banners.”
“I…I’ll take them down.” Taehyung rubbed his nose sheepishly. He thought Jungkook would have praised him for it!
Didn’t he think that it was cool?
“No it’s not cool, it’s quite dumb.” Jungkook glanced at him and spoke as if he read his mind.
“…”
They had to go through a metal detector before they entered the exam hall, Lisa stood there and let the teacher use the detector on her calmly, thanking her choice to not wear a wired bra.
Lisa got through and found her own seat, and the metal detector kept going off when it scanned the shoes of the boy behind her, and the boy took off his shoes and let the teacher scan them by themselves, and the shoes still rang.
The main examiner walked over. “Put on your shoes and come in!”
“Roger that officer!”
The other students smiled when they saw this scene, and Lisa paused in twirling her pen and looked up at the boy that was walking in. The boy was in a short-sleeved school shirt and a pair of bleached pants, and he seemed…Quite familiar?