NOVEL NEXT Chapter 73: Our Role Model
On Sunday afternoon, despite the half-day holiday coming to an end, evening self-study continued as usual for both day students and boarders.
Of course, in Class 1-3 of the first-year, there were students like Marcus, day students who always skipped Sunday evening self-study.
In his view, if there was a half-day holiday in the afternoon, it should clearly include the evening as well. That's why he couldn't be bothered to rush back to school just for evening self-study before going home; how much time would that waste?
Sometimes, he wouldn't rush home immediately after a Sunday afternoon off but would rather fiercely play basketball with a group of friends on the court, engaging in a heated battle, sweating profusely. Afterwards, he'd take a comfortable shower at home and then indulge in online surfing and gaming...
Evening self-study? He wouldn't bother with that at all!
It could only be said that with a wealthy familia and no worries about his future, and with teachers in school turning a blind eye, it was indeed this comfortable. Teachers had no expectations of him either; as long as he didn't violate school rules or disturb others' studies, that was good enough.
Now, Xanthia, who enjoyed privileges, could also skip Sunday evening self-study like Marcus. Class teacher Emmanuel would definitely turn a blind eye as well.
But Xanthia didn't reject staying in school for evening self-study. After all, where else could she play with her phone, read novels, and comics?
There was more atmosphere at school, and the harder other classmates buried themselves in books and homework, the more relaxed and joyful Xanthia felt. As the saying goes, happiness is always relative.
In her class, Xanthia was surrounded by classmates with whom she could chat and joke around. Their relationships were pretty good.
Humans are social creatures after all, generally preferring company to loneliness. So Xanthia found it interesting to stay at school, play around, and chat with classmates.
Before formal evening self-study classes began, there was a lot of free time.
Some students ate quickly and returned to the classroom early; the conscientious ones continued to study diligently, while those looking to relax would sneakily play with their phones or read some random books...
Or they simply wouldn't rush to the classroom but would return to the dormitory to kill time.
This free time could also be used to take a shower and change into more stylish clothes for evening self-study. After all, the school didn't specify that students had to wear uniforms for evening self-study, which was a great opportunity to exploit.
Indeed. A society where meritocracy is valued above all else.
Some girls who loved beauty, or boys who were a bit flashy, treated evening self-study time as their own fashion show.
They felt a sense of superiority and pleasure standing out from other students wearing uniforms by wearing their own stylish brand-name clothes.
Don't think this kind of psychology among high school students is immature; they are in a phase where they eagerly want to assert their uniqueness albeit youthful 'ego'.
After 'enlightening' Dematero, it was time for dinner. Xanthia went to the cafeteria with Luciel to have dinner together.
Lhoraine La Bustamante didn't join them; she wanted to take a shower today, so she decided not to waste time going to the cafeteria for dinner and instead returned directly to the dormitory.
She also found the shower water in the dormitory too little, making washing her hair troublesome, so she took her change of clothes and went to the school's public bathhouse to wash.
Along the way, she encountered many students going to the public bathhouse to shower, classic with a basin in their arms containing shampoo, shower gel, soap, and other items, and of course, some who carried brand-name handbags instead of a basin.
Lhoraine didn't share a dorm room with Luciel or Elena. Her dorm was a mixed one, housing girls from other classes as well.
That's how school dorms worked; it was impossible to have all students from one class together. There were always a few unlucky ones who ended up in a dorm with students from other classes.
Lhoraine had a good personality—outgoing and talented. Although she was quite gossip-prone, the girls liked her for being well-informed about all the latest rumors.
"Hey, Lhoraine, are you close with Xanthia from your class?" Millie asked as they walked to the public bathhouse together.
Lhoraine chuckled proudly. "Oh, we're quite close. Xanthia sits right behind me. We get along really well, talk about everything. We're like kindred spirits! She's got a great personality, and I really like her."
"Oh, I see. You, the gossip queen with discerning eyes. I didn't expect you to approve of her that much. No wonder some guy from our class asked me to get Xanthia's contact info," Millie exclaimed.
"He asked you? But you're not from our Class 3..." Lhoraine teased.
"Yeah, I was confused at first too. Then it hit me—he must've figured since I'm rooming with you and a few girls from your class, he could get Xanthia's contact through me."
"And you didn't agree, did you?"
"Of course not. Xanthia is the top student in your class, and she's so pure-looking. Such a beautiful girl isn't someone our Class 9's bunch of mediocre guys should try to approach."
"Hahaha! Well done..."
"But I didn't expect Xanthia to become so popular even in our Class 9."
"The influence of the campus forums is indeed not to be underestimated."
"Isn't her story so inspiring? From a poor background, diligent in her studies, even though she messed up in the initial exams, she didn't give up. Instead, she worked harder and ranked 18th in the midterm exams! Such a girl is truly our role model!" Millie said dreamily.
Lhoraine's expression turned strange, and she hesitated to speak.
Mainly because she had become quite familiar with Xanthia. Although she didn't know about Xanthia's identity as a wealthy heiress, she was certain Xanthia had nothing to do with being 'from a poor background.' She felt Xanthia probably came from a normal, well-off familia.
During their lunch today, Xanthia had insisted on paying the bill, displaying a generous and dignified demeanor.
As for being 'diligent in her studies,' Lhoraine had no idea how to comment on that.
If anyone was diligent, it was her deskmate Luciel.
Xanthia was more of a player in her studies, always finding loopholes to goof off. She absolutely didn't waste any time on actual studying...
At first, Lhoraine worried that her frequent gossip sessions with Xanthia might affect her academic performance. But in the end, she realized Xanthia was a genius who could grasp knowledge effortlessly whenever she decided to study. Lhoraine started worrying that her own grades might suffer instead—it was truly bizarre.
Lhoraine even felt Xanthia probably welcomed people coming to chat with her or hang out with her. She was the kind of girl who was always thinking about how to have fun, and that made her endlessly interesting.
