Please, I'm Trying to Study, Your Highness! - chapter 38

The tormenting curse cycle begins anew.

This body, a mere machine, finally completes its forced reboot with the coming of dawn.

6:00

The Gift of the Grind King yanks me out of the abyss of dreams, right on schedule.

My eyelids open heavily, the familiar monotonous gray-white of the ceiling coming into view.

The blessing of Unyielding erases the negative effects of last night’s overload, leaving only mental exhaustion and a numb clarity from being drained dry.

The routine that follows is the same as always.

Shower, brush teeth, get dressed.

After breakfast, I head out, mask donned once more.

A new day, and the script must continue.

…..

I step into the Class Three classroom.

Xia Shiyu is sitting at her desk. When she catches my gaze, she waves proactively in response.

But I keenly sense a subtle difference from usual.

The playful and probing look that always lingered in her peach blossom eyes is gone, replaced by a bright smile I’ve never seen before.

Even her face no longer wears that standard sweet fake smile.

Instead, it’s more like… the delight an ordinary girl shows when she sees something she likes?

More specifically, there’s a box of exquisitely packaged imported milk placed neatly on my desk.

Beside it, a small pink sticky note is pressed down.

On it, a line of elegant handwriting:

“Good morning, make sure to get enough nutrition, Xiao Huihui~”

A bright red heart is drawn at the end.

Why does she seem so much more enthusiastic than usual…

I react as one should in the [Wavering] stage, calm yet tinged with the fluster of a young, inexperienced boy, stuffing the milk into my desk.

My fingertips still retain the warmth left by the packaging.

I pull out my chair and sit down, my mind automatically whirring.

I retrieve all data on Xia Shiyu, building a model for analysis.

Her gaze

Her smile

That abrupt shift from “ambiguous push-pull” to “tender care” in her behavior.

The result, after computation, points to…

No abnormality in the dangerous target?

Huh?

Is that right?

But somehow… it also feels right.

According to the logic of a top hunter:

Once the “prey” is confirmed to have fallen into the core of the trap after school yesterday, the bait is decisively increased to complete the hunt as soon as possible.

If it’s detected that the “prey” craves care and will step up as a “good person” at critical moments,

Then playing the role of a “good girl” who is equally sincere and attentive is clearly the optimal strategy.

So… is it just an illusion?

After reaching this conclusion, a faint self-examination quietly surfaces in my heart.

Have I… been too tense lately?

Ever since I blocked Su Wanqing’s harassing texts that day, every nerve has been drawn taut like a bowstring, always on guard for the slightest disturbance.

Any situation that deviates even a little from expectations is immediately fed into my threat assessment system, analyzed and responded to with top priority.

But this… really affects my studies….

I suddenly recall a historical anecdote I learned back on Blue Star.

Cao Cao, in his lifetime, excelled in both civil and military affairs, a rare talent of his era.

Yet in the end, wasn’t it his deep-seated suspicion that cost him the final step to becoming emperor?

I must take this as a warning.

As long as I keep the big picture in hand and the goal stays on course, why waste so much effort dissecting these little tricks and schemes along the way?

She acts, I’ll act along.

It’s all just trivial matters that can be discarded at any time on the ultimate path to “provincial top scorer.”

Alright.

Time to study.

—

Last period in the afternoon, as agreed with the teacher, I sling my backpack and head to the math competition group’s dedicated classroom as usual.

I push open the door, but the expected scene of quiet discussion isn’t there.

The room is empty, save for a slender figure sitting quietly by the window.

It’s Shen Ruanruan.

She’s holding a thick book filled with English, reading with deep concentration.

She doesn’t even notice me entering.

Focused as she is…

Isn’t it a bit inappropriate for the leader of the math competition group to be reading humanities content in the dedicated classroom?

I cough lightly.

Only then does Shen Ruanruan look up as if waking from a dream.

Seeing it’s me, a gentle smile tinged with apology blooms at the corner of her lips.
“Lin Classmate, you’re here. I’m really sorry, it looks like it’ll just be the two of us today.”

I nodded, waiting quietly for what would come next.

“Teacher Zhang assigned a set of additional problems today to prepare for the national competition. They’re quite difficult, so Xu Hao and the others with a strong foundation went to the library together to look up materials.”

Shen Ruanruan closed her book. “A few other classmates are student council members.”

“There’s a meeting this afternoon to prepare for next month’s sports day, so they’ve taken leave as well.”

“The remaining two had urgent family matters and reported to me early this morning.”

Her words were clear and logical, explaining everyone’s whereabouts thoroughly and reasonably.

Yet I still felt something was off.

No matter how busy everyone else is, it’s too much of a coincidence for only her to be left here, isn’t it?

Does she really have nothing to do?

I was just about to analyze this “anomalous event.”

But another thought quickly erased my previous suspicion.

This is Shen Ruanruan, after all.

The gentle goddess with zero negative reviews on the campus forum.

Why would she lie to me?

Could she really go to such lengths to be alone with me, scheming to send away all the other dozen group members?

At that thought, I almost laughed out loud.

What an utterly ridiculous idea.

I had just reflected on myself this morning, reminding myself not to be as suspicious as Cao Cao, yet here I was again.

“I was actually planning to go to the library too, but then I remembered you were coming today. If you saw the classroom empty, you might feel uncomfortable.

“So I stayed to wait for you, Lin Classmate.”

As I pondered, Shen Ruanruan’s gentle voice continued, “Let’s study here. It’s quieter.”

At that moment, it was as if I could see a soft, understanding glow radiating from her.

So that’s how it is…

I really shouldn’t be so suspicious. Almost wasted brainpower.

After a few seconds of silence, I agreed, “Alright.”

Although I felt a bit uneasy being alone with the Saintess, it was still better than going back to face Xia Shiyu.

The last trace of doubt in my heart vanished. I picked a seat not too close but not too far from Shen Ruanruan.

“Um… Lin Classmate.”

I had just opened my book when Shen Ruanruan stood up with her notes and walked over, probably wanting to discuss a study question.

I immediately became alert.

To avoid repeating yesterday’s “accidental closeness,” I spoke up before she could, politely saying,

“Sorry, Shen Classmate, I’m stuck on a key idea with these problems and want to try solving them on my own first.”

Shen Ruanruan’s step paused almost imperceptibly.

After listening, she didn’t seem upset at all.

Her smile only froze for a fraction of a second, and her almond-shaped eyes flashed with an emotion I couldn’t decipher.

But soon, she returned to her gentle, composed demeanor. “Mm, you think first. If you need anything, just ask me.”

Good, crisis averted.

I lowered my head and immersed myself in the sea of problems.

My senses went into low-power mode.

Study time flew by.

When the melodious bell rang outside, I let out a long breath and began packing up.

But Shen Ruanruan was cleaning up, not preparing to leave like I was.

Her movements were light, probably so as not to disturb me.

She carefully swept the floor, first gathering scraps of paper and dust from the corners.

Then she cleaned the aisle.

Whenever she came across chairs and desks that weren’t neatly arranged, she’d stop and patiently move them back into place.

Seeing this, I couldn’t help but feel something.

I remembered Teacher Zhang saying in the competition group chat that there were no strict requirements for cleanliness in these dedicated classrooms.

As long as everyone kept things from getting too dirty or messy, it was fine.

I hadn’t expected that Shen Ruanruan, the heiress of the Shen Group, would voluntarily take on a task outside her responsibilities all by herself.

And throughout the process, she was meticulous in her cleaning.

She never asked me to stay and help.

Her thoughtful effort, gentle kindness, and lack of expectation for anything in return…

With all these qualities, I could finally understand why so many boys at school see Shen Ruanruan as the white moonlight in their hearts.

Just her willingness to take on public cleaning duties without complaint puts her miles ahead of Xia Shiyu and her manipulative ‘green tea’ act.”