After confirming that she really could study inside the Dimensional Gate, acquire knowledge, and successfully bring it back to the real world, Zhao Youyue happily finished breakfast and headed to school.
She rode in a luxury car, the interior smelling faintly of high end leather and a clean, subtle cologne. Naturally, the vehicle belonged to her father, Zhao Jiayi. She didn't know much about car brands in this world, but she knew this was a high end model. The level of comfort was on a completely different tier from ordinary sedans, with seats that felt like they were molding to her body, and the interior design was clearly done with meticulous care.
She liked connecting her phone to the car's sound system through Bluetooth, picking music she enjoyed. On the way to school, she felt relaxed and unhurried. Sometimes she would even watch videos on B site in the back seat. This B site was no longer called Bilibili by its full name, just a barrage video platform starting with the letter B. The car itself was equipped with tablet-like smart devices, though they required her phone's hotspot to function. She had never worried about data usage and had never paid a phone bill either, because everything was billed directly under her father's private hospital.
Zhao Jiayi's private hospital was obviously not an institution that served ordinary people. The patients there were either rich or powerful, so the money and connections it brought him were things an average hospital director could hardly imagine.
As usual, the luxury car stopped a short distance away from the school gate. This had always been Zhao Youyue's habit. She clearly didn't plan to use her family background to attract attention, feeling that it might cause trouble or unwanted expectations. It was probably some inexplicable sense of pride at work. Otherwise, even if she were completely ordinary, her status as a rich young lady alone would still draw a certain kind of attention.
Middle school students, however, were relatively simple minded and didn't place too much importance on money. This was probably the best stage for boys to win girls over with looks and talent rather than the contents of their bank accounts.
Although the current Zhao Youyue had a heart that wanted to stir things up and be noticed more, she still didn't plan to use her family background to attract attention. She felt that doing so was taking the lower path, as if she were too mediocre and could only force her way into showing off through money.
Of course, her personality hadn't changed much from before. Her soul had fully merged, perfectly inheriting past memories. Otherwise, she would struggle even with the basics of how to behave as her, and she would feel extremely awkward rather than so at ease in her own skin.
After the car stopped, the driver, Liu Zhongcheng, got out and opened the door for her. He stood tall, one hand hovering slightly under the top edge of the rear door to prevent her from accidentally hitting her head as she climbed out.
"Thank you, Uncle Liu."
Zhao Youyue stepped out of the car, feeling the morning breeze on her face. She slung her backpack over her shoulder and began the walk toward the school.
Liu Zhongcheng actually wanted to carry her bag for her, but since the young lady felt that would be too eye catching for the other students to witness, he could only give up on the idea.
He felt that being her personal driver was a very fortunate thing. She was easygoing, polite, and consistently respectful toward him. Getting along with her was relaxed and comfortable, unlike some of the other wealthy clients he had dealt with in the past.
From another angle, it could also be said that Zhao Youyue had absolutely no rich young lady aura at all. She moved with a quiet, unobtrusive grace.
Walking through the campus, she was able to carefully observe the high school she would spend the next three years in. Her memories of her own student days in her previous life had long since blurred into a hazy fog. The other version of her had never been qualified to attend an elite school like this, so she cherished this opportunity very much.
The school had excellent greenery, with manicured lawns and old trees that cast long shadows across the paths. There were complete facilities, including a large, shimmering swimming pool and a modern sports complex. Along the way, she saw many honor boards displaying outstanding alumni, their names etched in gold behind glass cases. They were academicians, entrepreneurs, and prominent leaders. There were also top students from recent graduating classes, whose honors included being admitted to Capital University or winning first prizes in national competitions.
After entering the teaching building, the walls along the corridor were lined with famous figures' portraits. Many of them felt both familiar and unfamiliar to Zhao Youyue. They were familiar because the former Zhao Youyue had known of them or at least heard of them in passing. They were unfamiliar because, with her merged memories, she felt that the things these figures had done should have belonged to a completely different set of famous people from her old world.
She couldn't be bothered to dwell on such messy thoughts right now. She entered the classroom through the front door and immediately saw the ranking board for the placement test held after school started, hanging on the right hand side. There were more than fifty students in the class. She was ranked twenty seventh, truly carrying mediocrity through to the end.
Along the right edge of the blackboard was a chart. Every day, the study committee member have write down that day's schedule so everyone knew what classes they had and could prepare their textbooks in advance. Many students, seeking convenience, simply stacked their main textbooks on their desks, piling them up like they were building a bunker, as if the wall of paper gave them a sense of security.
They would sneak in a nap during class behind these barriers, only to be caught red handed by the teacher anyway. Countless facts had proven that these "bunkers" provided nothing more than psychological comfort, but everyone still enjoyed the ritual.
Above the blackboard were eight big red characters: "Study hard and improve every day." In the middle was a red flag with a gear emblem. Yes, this world also had a great figure comparable to the Founding Father, with similar famous sayings, though under a different name. He had also made China the dominant power of the East. Goryeo and Dongying were both vassal states of China, and vast lands in the Far East also belonged to China. The world had formed a bipolar structure alongside Europe and America.
Along the left edge of the blackboard was another vertical line. Every day, the language teacher have lead everyone in reading it aloud once, their voices filling the room.
The projector screen was also on this side. Some teachers were already used to multimedia teaching with computers, but many old school teachers still preferred writing on the blackboard with chalk. After a full class, a board filled with neat, white handwriting gave a strong sense of accomplishment. It was just hard on the students taking notes, because sometimes the teacher wrote too fast and the characters became messy and hard to read.
Zhao Youyue walked further inside, the floorboards creaking slightly under her steps. Against the wall near the window at the very back was the water dispenser. After every PE class, it would be crowded with people, so clever students would fill their bottles one class ahead of time.
The entire classroom was filled with nostalgic memories of youth, from the scent of chalk dust to the low murmur of morning conversations.
Most of the students were already present. They were mostly boarding students. Their homes might not even be in the provincial capital of Jiangnan Province, so they could only go home once a month during breaks, which was quite a pitiful existence.
Boarding students also had to wake up early for morning exercises, their days starting while the sun was barely up. Compared to them, Zhao Youyue, a day student, was truly fortunate.
However, being a day student also meant she couldn't quickly integrate into the small circles that the girls had already formed. Roommates who lived together became close friends extremely quickly. After all, they ate and lived together. In fact, the school cafeteria even assigned tables by dormitory instead of individual servings. Supposedly, this was to prevent comparison between the students' backgrounds.
Her deskmate, Zhou Fang, already had a close friend. During breaks, she would always call out to her dormmate Zheng Wen when going to the restroom, yet she had barely spoken to Zhao Youyue, maintaining a distant politeness because they were still unfamiliar.
When Zhou Fang saw her arrive, she smiled in greeting and shifted her chair aside to let her pass.
Just as Zhao Youyue sat down, the subject representative came over to collect homework from her.