I Am Already A Queen

Chapter 88: Chapter 88: New Friends

However, seeing Qiao Meixia’s striking, sharp facial features, which bore absolutely zero resemblance to the campus goddess Jiang Yanna and instead radiated an entirely different, dangerous aura, they immediately put two and two together.

"Student Qiao, please introduce yourself to everyone." Peng Jian said warmly, gesturing toward the sea of expectant faces.

Qiao Meixia turned her body to face the class, her dark eyes scanning the room with absolute, unbothered composure.

"Hello. I am Qiao Meixia." Qiao Meixia said, her voice completely smooth, low, and flat.

"..."

A heavy, dead silence instantly fell over the entire classroom.

"Eh... That’s... that’s it?" Peng Jian blinked rapidly in sheer surprise, waiting for a follow-up. "Don’t you have anything else you’d like to share with your new peers? Hobbies? Former school?"

"No." Qiao Meixia delivered her one-word answer without the slightest thread of hesitation.

The students were momentarily left entirely speechless by her absolute bluntness before a male student near the middle row suddenly let out a loud, delighted laugh.

"Haha! Short and sweet! I like her style already!"

"It’s completely fine, Meixia! We have plenty of time over the semester to get to know each other!"

"Yeah! Let’s get along well, Meixia!"

"Welcome to our class!"

Peng Jian shook his head, a helpless smile appearing on his face as he raised a hand to quiet down the enthusiastic welcome.

"Alright... Alright... settle down, everyone." Peng Jian said, restoring order. "Student Qiao, you can go ahead and take that available desk over there."

His casual direction immediately silenced the classroom once more. Almost every single student instinctively turned their heads to look toward the very back of the room. There were only two empty desks left in the entire classroom, both positioned isolated in the last row near the tall windows.

Qiao Meixia walked over with a calm, measured pace. She glanced at both desks for a brief fraction of a second before choosing the one positioned directly beside the window, pulling out the chair smoothly and sitting down. The moment her seat was claimed, many of the surrounding students exchanged subtle, highly strange looks with one another, clearly shocked and intrigued by her choice.

Peng Jian noticed the silent dynamic shift in the back row, but he wisely pretended not to see their reactions.

"Alright, settle down. Let’s officially begin with morning roll call." Peng Jian pulled out the leather attendance roster and began systematically calling out the students’ names one after another.

"Here!"

"Present!"

"Here, Old Peng!"

Everyone responded lively until his pen reached one particular name near the bottom of the list.

Silence.

Peng Jian looked up toward the empty desk right beside Qiao Meixia, let out a soft, accustomed sigh, and quietly marked the student absent without making a fuss.

After finishing the attendance administrative work, he immediately flipped open his textbook and transitioned directly into the morning mathematics lesson.

In truth, Peng Jian had desperately wanted to proudly announce Qiao Meixia’s record-shattering, perfect-score Olympiad abilities to the entire school to raise their class prestige. However, Vice Principal Zhang had explicitly informed him that Qiao Meixia did not want any unnecessary, disruptive attention drawn to herself. Therefore, as a dedicated educator, Peng Jian could only strictly respect his new student’s personal boundaries.

It was Qiao Meixia’s very first time in her entire life sitting inside a real, physical classroom, listening to a qualified teacher systematically explain mathematical logic alongside dozens of peers her own age.

Throughout the lesson, the students interacted with Peng Jian frequently, shouting out answers, arguing over formulas, and bantering back and forth. Even though they constantly called him "Old Peng" to his face, it did not carry a single drop of genuine disrespect. Instead, the casual nickname reflected just how deeply trusted, close, and comfortable they felt with their homeroom teacher.

For the very first time in her isolated, shadowy existence, Qiao Meixia genuinely experienced what an ordinary, peaceful school life was supposed to feel like.

Before she even realised the passage of time, the bell rang, signalling the end of the forty-five-minute mathematics block.

"Class dismissed. Review Chapter four!" Peng Jian announced, gathering his chalk before stepping out of the room.

There was a short five-minute break before the next subject teacher arrived. Almost immediately after Peng Jian exited, a cheerful girl sitting in the row ahead turned around and walked straight over to Qiao Meixia’s desk with a bright, welcoming smile.

"Hi there! I am Shou Meiling. It’s so nice to officially meet you, Meixia." Shou Meiling introduced herself warmly, leaning slightly against the desk. "Oh... is it okay if I call you Meixia directly?"

"Hmm..." Qiao Meixia gave a small nod, her tone even. "It’s fine."

"Well, Meixia... I have to ask because many students are talking about it." Shou Meiling leaned in slightly, her eyes brimming with pure curiosity. "Is it really true that you are actually Jiang Yanna’s fraternal twin sister?"

The moment the question was uttered aloud, several surrounding students in the nearby seats instantly perked up their ears, quietly listening in as they eagerly awaited Qiao Meixia’s direct confirmation.

"Huh... Oh..." Qiao Meixia paused for a brief moment, her dark eyes blinking as her logical mind evaluated the question. "That... probably... yes?"

Her response was remarkably, strangely vague.

In reality, her mind was quickly assessing the political situation. The Jiang Family clearly wanted to bury the truth regarding the real biological daughter and the adopted daughter to preserve their high-society image. Yet, to be entirely honest, not a single person from the Jiang Family, neither her cold mother nor her manipulative father, had ever bothered to discuss the cover story with her or instruct her on what she was legally supposed to say to outsiders. So, facing the direct question, she genuinely did not know what exact narrative she was expected to deliver.

"Eh? Why on earth do you sound so completely unsure about your own family?" Another girl, Ruan Jiaojiao, chimed in, turning around in her seat with a puzzled expression.

"I knew it." A third girl nearby, Han Mengyu, remarked thoughtfully, tapping her chin as her sharp instincts flared. "There is definitely something deeply suspicious and weird going on with that Jiang Family setup..."

However, before they had the chance to continue their intriguing gossiping, the next subject teacher entered the classroom with a stack of textbooks. Seeing the authority figure at the podium, the students immediately returned to their respective seats, bringing the conversation to a temporary halt for the time being.

Qiao Meixia quietly focused on the front board, listening to the lecture just like any other ordinary student in the room. Occasionally, she lowered her head and gracefully wrote a few key notes in her fresh notebook whenever she encountered a concept she deemed worth remembering.

While everyone in the room was paying close attention to the teacher’s lesson, the heavy back door of the classroom was suddenly, violently pushed open with a sharp, loud bang. The harsh sound instantly shattered the quiet atmosphere, abruptly interrupting the teacher’s lecture mid-sentence.

The teacher stopped speaking entirely, and every single student in the room instinctively turned their heads toward the rear entrance. Qiao Meixia calmly did the same.

A tall, lean boy casually strolled into the classroom with a completely arrogant demeanour, acting as though no one else in the room existed. With one hand tucked loosely into his uniform pocket, he headed straight toward the back corner where Qiao Meixia was currently sitting. He came to a sudden halt the moment he realised someone was occupying the desk.

"Why on earth are you sitting in my seat?" The boy asked coldly, his eyes still lazily fixed on his phone as he spoke, and did not bother to look up. "Move."

Qiao Meixia looked up at him with absolute, unbothered composure.

"This happens to be your seat?" Qiao Meixia asked flatly, her voice entirely even.

"Hell, yeah, it is. Why do you sit at my seat in the first place?" The boy frowned impatiently, his tone turning sharp. "Scram to another desk... Otherwise, I will beat you up."

However, when he finally lifted his head and caught a clear view of Qiao Meixia’s face, he suddenly froze completely in his tracks. His eyes widened slightly in sheer shock, as if he had just seen something entirely unexpected and unbelievable.

Qiao Meixia tilted her head slightly to one side, looking at his frozen expression with genuine, quiet confusion. She truly did not understand why this rude boy had suddenly transformed into a motionless statue.

"Student Yin, please take your seat quietly and stop interrupting the ongoing lesson." The teacher at the podium reminded him with a stern, authoritative voice.

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