Chapter Seven: The Tenacious Emperor Shi Zhao

At first, Emperor Shi Zhaodi didn’t pay attention to what was happening behind her, until one time when she went to the restroom with Qian Duoduo and only then did she notice.

It turned out that every time she called for the class to stand, Zou Kai never stood up—not during class, nor after.

Throughout the lessons, he always lay with his head on the desk, asleep. Needless to say, he neither took notes nor paid attention.

“I really don’t know why he even comes to class. He treats the classroom like his bedroom and the desk like his bed,” Qian Duoduo muttered.

Shi Zhaodi washed her hands silently, saying nothing.

In truth, she had no particular impression of Zou Kai, but Qian Duoduo seemed quite concerned about him, often mentioning him in private.

Shi Zhaodi learned that Zou Kai was often solitary and frequently skipped classes.

One day after school, the homeroom teacher called Shi Zhaodi in.

Since she was the class monitor and generally well-liked, the teacher asked her to help the underperforming students a bit more.

The teacher planned to rearrange the seating the next day, placing Shi Zhaodi and Zou Kai at the same desk so she could assist him more easily, and asked if she had any objections.

Shi Zhaodi had no objections at all; she was fine sitting anywhere. Besides, as class monitor, one of her duties was to help her classmates.

---

The next afternoon during the class meeting, the homeroom teacher began adjusting the seating.

There was no large-scale rearrangement, just a few individual changes.

Shi Zhaodi ended up sitting in the empty seat beside Zou Kai.

Zou Kai didn’t even glance at her; he just continued sleeping with his head on the desk.

Shi Zhaodi seemed unaffected by his presence and took out a practice test from her backpack to work on.

The following day, Zou Kai didn’t show up for class.

Shi Zhaodi called the number listed for him.

Zou Kai seemed to be asleep and mumbled, “Who is this?”

“I’m Shi Zhaodi, your classmate Zou Kai. Why didn’t you come to school today?”

“Mind your own business!” Zou Kai snapped before hanging up.

Shi Zhaodi kept calling, but no one answered. After one class ended, she tried again.

“Are you done yet?!” Zou Kai shouted angrily from the other end.

---

“There’s a math test this afternoon. If you haven’t requested leave, you have to come, or it will affect your usual grades,” Shi Zhaodi calmly explained.

“Whatever. Stop calling me or I’ll beat you up.”

“You wouldn’t be able to beat me!” Shi Zhaodi replied evenly. “Remember to come to class this afternoon!”

For the first time, Zou Kai was completely defeated.

He wanted to curse but couldn’t find the words.

Inside, he felt unbearably frustrated.

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