Even Top Students Fail

The Honor Student's Headache

Lilith glanced at her report card before returning to her seat. Lunchtime, yet most students were self-studying. Her deskmate, teary-eyed from poor performance, sat quietly. Lilith avoided upsetting her sensitive seatmate further.

Regarding Candy, her deskmate, Lilith felt helpless. Fate had cruelly paired them again, as in their previous life. Candy was a good student too, narrowly missing the advanced class. The homeroom teacher's well-meaning seating arrangement didn't thrill Lilith. She knew Candy best - a princess complex with possible paranoid delusions.

As Lilith sat, Candy hastily wiped her tears, maintaining a sour expression. Lilith knew this wasn't personal; Candy treated everyone similarly. Currently, Candy was like a bristling cat - even kind gestures could be seen as mockery.

Candy embodied a paradox of arrogance and insecurity, overly swayed by others' opinions. She couldn't stand anyone excelling her. In their previous life, their relationship soured slowly as Lilith's initially lower grades improved. This time, Lilith's top spot from the start had kept their relationship lukewarm.

Lilith's strategy was polite distance. She'd considered requesting separate seats but decided against it, seeing the teacher's good intentions. It was only two years - no need to fuss. With someone having both a princess complex and paranoid delusions, respectful distance was best.

Candy had deeply hurt Lilith before. Initially helpful when Lilith transferred in, Candy focused solely on studies. Lilith had fetched her water for over a year, shared snacks, treating her as a best friend.

But as they entered senior year and Lilith's grades improved, Candy's attitude changed. She grew cold, guarded, even suspecting Lilith of badmouthing her out of jealousy. Worse, Candy voiced these thoughts, leaving Lilith bewildered. Their once-close relationship became awkward and distant.

In that year's college entrance exam, Candy outperformed Lilith significantly, later pursuing graduate school. By then, Lilith had minimal contact, despite Candy's occasional attempts to reconnect. Lilith's stubborn core meant once someone was shut out, there was no return.

Lost in thought, Lilith was startled by a small paper ball from behind. She knew the sender without looking. Turning, she glimpsed him and sighed inwardly, wondering why life was so complicated. The crumpled note read: "Hey Lilith, brainiac! Moved up two ranks - treat me to candy?"

The note-passer was William, Lilith's first love in her previous life. Teenage hormones were raging, and despite Lilith's petite 5'2" frame, her snow-white skin, rosy lips, and doll-like face with dimples made her eye-catching.

First High was full of top students, but adolescent emotions didn't discriminate. Their class had several couples, with more harboring secret crushes, though few dared to reveal them, fearing their homeroom teacher's wrath.

William, their homeroom teacher's nephew, wasn't academically inclined but enthusiastically participated in extracurriculars, frustrating Mr. Zhao. Still, family ties had perks, and Mr. Zhao had seated William near the top students, right behind Lilith.

Though not a stellar student, William was tall, handsome, and energetic - like a young poplar. At this age, boys often tried to act cool, and William had indeed captured many girls' hearts. If not for his mediocre grades, he'd have been the school's undisputed heartthrob. In their previous life, Lilith had secretly liked him too, but parental expectations and academic pressure kept her feelings in check.

Even noticing William's subtle flirtations, Lilith pretended not to notice, though secretly pleased. Sometimes she'd daydream about them getting together in college, free from interference.

After failing to enter her dream university before, Lilith had drifted aimlessly. By the time she snapped out of it, William was attending reunions with his "significant other".

Now, facing William again after rebirth, Lilith felt conflicted. She didn't know how to approach him. William wasn't just her first love; he was the only person she'd ever liked. Seeing him again was awkward, even resentful.

Oblivious to Lilith's turmoil, William continued his daily attempts to win her favor. Perhaps because Lilith was more noticeable this time, his advances were bolder - love letters, fetching water, bringing snacks - he tried every trick.

By now, almost everyone knew about William's crush on Lilith.

In her previous life, William had found a new girlfriend the summer after the college entrance exam. That incident had left Lilith's heart scarred, making current interactions uncomfortable.

Nevertheless, Lilith genuinely wanted to help William study. In their past life, he'd barely scraped into a second-tier college.

First loves hold a special place in everyone's heart. Time tends to soften flaws while magnifying virtues.

As a result, their relationship in this life followed a similar path, remaining cordial but distant.

Lilith read the note without replying, simply tucking it away. Taking a deep breath, she focused on her self-study session.

Having experienced the college entrance exam before, Lilith knew blindly tackling difficult problems was futile. A solid foundation and thorough preparation of basics were key - even if you couldn't solve the toughest questions, you could still achieve a respectable score.

So in this life, she focused on building a strong foundation. Even during breaks, she worked on basic problems to reinforce her knowledge.

Behind her, William watched Lilith hopefully. Seeing her start studying, he sighed.

This Lilith was hard to c***k. He'd been dropping hints for a year, both subtle and obvious, but she remained coolly indifferent.

Could her heart really be that impenetrable?

Still, there was no denying Lilith's appeal at this age.

At this point in their lives, boys valued academic prowess over looks. Lilith was a top student, and her fresh-faced appearance seemed to give her an ethereal glow, even in the same uniform as everyone else. This combination made William quite smitten.

Of course, his feelings were mixed with self-importance. Despite being a poor student, William wasn't insecure. On the contrary, having been pampered and successful in other areas all his life, he was quite prideful.

When he first set his sights on Lilith, he thought winning her over would be easy.

The repeated rejections caught him off guard. If not for his stubborn refusal to admit defeat, he probably would have given up long ago.