My Mission Was to Befriend the Protagonist, So Why Is the Crazy Second Female Lead Obsessed with Me? - Chapter 3:

Chapter 3: The First Day of School

After Xu Ming chose his Main Mission, the first day of school soon arrived.

On September 1st, at around 7:30 in the morning, Xu Ming rode his small electric scooter to school.

Although he had been given another chance at life, his high school entrance examination results were still nothing impressive. His score had only barely reached the admission threshold for Nanyue No. 3 High School.

The good news was that he hadn’t ended up at Zhongsheng Vocational High School next door, so at least he still had a proper school to attend.

The bad news was that Nanyue No. 3 High School was the central location of the novel’s plotline, which meant trouble was everywhere.

About How I Accidentally Stepped Into Every Trap in a Novel World.

After checking the class assignment list at the Academic Affairs Office, Xu Ming headed to the third floor.

He didn’t know whether the system had deliberately arranged this or whether his terrible luck had simply struck again.

His assigned class happened to be Class 3, Grade 11!

It was the infamous melting pot of characters from the original novel!

The protagonist, the female lead, the second male lead, the second female lead, along with all sorts of outrageous side characters and cannon fodder…

Everyone who was supposed to be there was there, and somehow, even those who shouldn’t have been there were there too.

This…

Holy crap…

System, did you choose this class for me?

How did you get it so perfectly accurate?

After silently cursing the system, Xu Ming quickly walked into the classroom.

At this hour, most of the students had already arrived.

He casually looked around.

There were almost no familiar faces. Even among the few people he recognized, he wasn’t particularly close to any of them.

Xu Ming initially assumed everyone could sit wherever they wanted. Just as he was about to choose a seat, a guy beside him suddenly reminded him, “Hey, bro, that’s not your seat. Look at the blackboard.”

Xu Ming smiled awkwardly and replied, “Ah… Oh, okay. Sorry about that.”

Following the unfamiliar student’s gesture, Xu Ming looked toward the blackboard and noticed a message written there.

[Check the seating chart on the bulletin board for your assigned seat.]

Xu Ming quickly walked over to the bulletin board beside the podium and checked the seating arrangement.

The moment he found his assigned seat, his eyes widened.

Zhou Cheng…

What the hell…

How did I end up as the protagonist’s deskmate?!

Wasn’t he supposed to sit alone in the original novel?!

Amazing…

Yes, Xu Ming had somehow become Zhou Cheng’s deskmate.

His position was particularly awkward. The two girls sitting directly in front of him happened to be the second and third female leads, and before long, someone important would also be sitting beside him.

Wonderful. Just wonderful…

You’re putting me right in the center of everything, aren’t you…

Xu Ming raised his eyebrows and walked to his assigned seat with a mind full of complicated thoughts.

Brother Cheng, the protagonist, hadn’t arrived yet. Neither had the second female lead.

However, the third female lead was already there, quietly sitting diagonally in front of Xu Ming on his left.

Xu Ming wasn’t particularly good at socializing. In fact, he had a slight fear of social interaction.

Although the third female lead was sitting directly in front of him, he didn’t take the initiative to start a conversation. Instead, he quietly observed the other students in the classroom.

[Ding! Side Mission issued.]

[Side Mission: Befriend the protagonist and the third female lead.]

[Completion Reward: 200 Points.]

Huh…

This counts as part of the mission too?

We’re already sitting this close together… Isn’t this bound to happen sooner or later?

System, why are you in such a hurry? You’re practically forcing me into this!

The sudden mission caught Xu Ming somewhat by surprise.

While he was silently thinking about it, a series of footsteps suddenly approached from ahead.

Tap, tap, tap…

Noticing someone approaching, Xu Ming immediately looked up.

The newcomer greeted him cheerfully, “Hey, bro. Nice to meet you.”

Flowing, slightly tousled hair, handsome and refined features, and that inexplicably roguish smile.

There was no doubt about it.

The newcomer was Zhou Cheng, the cheerful and outgoing protagonist of the original novel.

Xu Ming greeted him just as amiably, “Mm, nice to meet you, Cheng… Zhou Cheng.”

Zhou Cheng grinned and asked, “Hey, bro… You’re Xu Ming, right?”

Xu Ming nodded, “Mm, that’s right.”

After briefly greeting Xu Ming, Zhou Cheng quickly turned his attention to the girl sitting in front of him.

He gently poked her arm with his finger and said with a cheerful smile, “Hey… Front-row neighbor, nice to meet you. Let’s get acquainted. My name’s Zhou Cheng. I’ll probably be sitting behind you for the next two years.”

Hearing him, the girl turned halfway around.

She looked at Zhou Cheng, then at Xu Ming, before introducing herself, “Mm-hmm, nice to meet you both. My name is Zhao Xiaomin.”

Zhao Xiaomin’s lips curved into a gentle smile as she greeted them with a hint of shyness.

Zhou Cheng seemed delighted that she had responded. He smiled broadly and said, “Zhao… Xiaomin… Oh, okay, okay.”

Still enthusiastic, he raised his hand and greeted her once more, “Mm, nice to meet you, nice to meet you.”

Xu Ming also gave her a polite smile and introduced himself, “Mm, nice to meet you. I’m Xu Ming.”

After the three finished introducing themselves, Lin An, the last to arrive, finally made her belated appearance.

Huh?!

Why is it him?!

The moment Lin An recognized Xu Ming sitting behind her as the young man she had encountered a few days earlier, her eyebrows rose slightly.

She had barely sat down when the extremely sociable Zhou Cheng started performing again.

Zhou Cheng greeted her enthusiastically, “Hey… Nice to meet you, Student Lin An. I’m Zhou Cheng. Unless something unexpected happens, I’ll probably be sitting behind you for the next two years. Please take care of me.”

Zhou Cheng greeted Lin An with the easy familiarity of someone who could strike up a conversation with anyone.

His sudden interruption finally drew Lin An’s attention away from Xu Ming.

Lin An nodded and replied somewhat indifferently, “Mm, nice to meet you. I’m Lin An.”

As soon as she finished speaking, her deskmate Zhao Xiaomin eagerly joined the conversation.

Zhao Xiaomin smiled and waved at her, “Hehe… Nice to meet you, deskmate. I’m Zhao Xiaomin. You can just call me Xiaomin.”

Lin An gave her a faint smile in return and greeted her warmly, “Mm-hmm… I’m Lin An. You can just call me An’an.”

Seeing that Zhou Cheng and Zhao Xiaomin had both introduced themselves, Xu Ming understood that he should follow along.

Without hesitation, he politely greeted Lin An as well, “Mm, nice to meet you. I’m Xu Ming.”

Lin An replied, “Mm, nice to meet you. I’m Lin An.”

Huh?!

Xu Ming suddenly felt as though Lin An’s attitude toward him was strangely cold.

However, the thought only lasted for a moment before he dismissed it.

Hmm… Must be my imagination…

She acted the same way toward Zhou Cheng…

Besides, she’s naturally cold toward people anyway…

Xu Ming casually rationalized the situation in his mind, completely unaware that Lin An really was being deliberately cold toward him.

Heh… Is he seriously going to pretend this hard?

He can’t even bother to smile…

Seeing Xu Ming’s expressionless face, Lin An suddenly felt that his attitude was perfunctory. An inexplicable irritation rose in her heart.

She couldn’t understand what was going on.

They had clearly met only a few days ago. Back then, he had even held tightly onto her hand and refused to let go for quite a while.

Yet now that they had met again, why was he suddenly acting so distant?

Heh… What’s he pretending for?

What a joke!

After giving Xu Ming that indifferent greeting, Lin An decided that what she couldn’t see couldn’t annoy her. She simply turned around and ignored him.

If Xu Ming knew what she was thinking at that moment, he probably would have burst out laughing.

Compared with how he treated Zhou Cheng and Zhao Xiaomin, his attitude toward Lin An might indeed have seemed somewhat perfunctory.

But those two were his mission targets. Wasn’t it perfectly normal for him to be a little more enthusiastic toward them?

Besides, when two strangers first met, unless there was some other reason involved, who would immediately act overly friendly?

Wasn’t he simply greeting a stranger like any normal person would?

…