See You at the Top of the Class [Reborn]

[Previews: Pretend to Be Gay and The System Is a Godsend Assist, plus the complete campus novel Can't Trust the Persona They Show. Click the author's profile to read.] Jiang Yu of No. 7 High, Gu Zhi of South High. Two legendary figures from North City, famous for tying for first place in the provincial high school entrance exam. Rumor had it that Jiang Yu was ill-tempered and unruly. Though he was one of the top scorers in the Z City high school entrance exam and ranked first in the North City high schools' liberal arts joint exam, he was extremely arrogant and conceited. He was the problem student and academic genius that the teachers at No. 7 High both loved and hated. Rumor also had it that Gu Zhi was easygoing and gentle. He, too, was a top scorer in the high school entrance exam, and together with Jiang Yu, he dominated the science and liberal arts rankings across North City's high schools. Yet he was exceptionally modest and humble. He was renowned among students at South High and No. 7 High, a more perfect academic genius than Jiang Yu. As the subject of all those rumors, Jiang Yu, who had somehow been reborn, initially thought only the rumors about him were just a case of hearsay and couldn't be trusted. That was until he accidentally ran into the legendary Gu Zhi himself at a bookstore. Gu Zhi: What a joke. A liberal arts student who just memorizes everything thinks he's an academic genius? Jiang Yu: ??? Wait, never mind whether he's an academic genius. How is that gentle and humble??? * Young people have always had plenty of spirit. If you can't win the steamed bun, at least fight for your pride. Forget everything else. He'd been called out of nowhere, and insulted on top of that... So Jiang Yu transferred to South High without hesitation to prove himself: "You're Gu Zhi, right? I'm Jiang Yu. Thanks for looking down on me. I've come to study science." "..." Gu Zhi, seated at his desk working through problems, propped his head on one hand and looked up at him with leisurely amusement. After a moment, he gave the pen in his hand a light twirl and chuckled. "The strong don't waste time arguing?" Jiang Yu: "See you at the top of the grade rankings!" ------Scene from later in the story------ Gu Zhi: "Honestly, I don't think you'll want to be on that list when the time comes." Jiang Yu: "?" Gu Zhi: "You'll understand when you go see it for yourself." [Important: The story itself is different from the blurb. The top doesn't look down on liberal arts students, nor is he arrogant or contemptuous toward the bottom or anyone else. Every line is foreshadowing, and there's another reason behind it.] Gentle on the surface but ruthless, a flirtatious, sweet-faced schemer top x Competitive, straightforward bottom who responds to kindness, not force Blurb for Pretend to Be Gay: Bottom's POV On the first day after an unexpected family disaster stripped him of his rich-kid halo and forced him into the ordinary world, Mu Xia felt like Zhuang Xu seemed to especially dislike him. The evidence: Not only had they met like sworn enemies at first sight, they'd also disliked each other for a long time. Especially after hearing Zhuang Xu's absolutely serious nonsense. Zhuang Xu: I'm prejudiced against the rich, and I hate homosexuality. Same-sex love, that is. Mu Xia: ??? Wait, fine, you don't like the rich. But is that really how you use "homophobic"? Still, given his usual "keep away from me" attitude, Mu Xia could believe that he hated people in general. Until later Top's POV As a cool, aloof young man who'd spent years keeping to himself and had practically made solitude a habit, Zhuang Xu found Mu Xia irritating from the moment they met. The reasons: He talked too much, was spoiled, and had every rich kid's bad habit. Especially those eyes. They always managed to throw him into confusion for no apparent reason. But later Later. Mu Xia had originally pretended to be gay and flirted with Zhuang Xu just to annoy him. He thought, You're homophobic, right? Then I'll make a point of being gay just for you to see. But one day, unexpectedly, Zhuang Xu grabbed him by the head and kissed him until his legs went weak. Zhuang Xu: You'd better really be gay. Mu Xia: ?????? It was just... way too sudden... Aloof, proud, and not at all used to being pursued, a closeted top (Zhuang) x Proud, willful, and recklessly pretending to be gay bottom (Mu) Theme: Take care of yourself and reject rebellion