The Sole Male Student at Saint Hwa Angel Academy

Having only just arrived, Auntie isn’t… isn’t quite familiar with this place yet… and will need to travel to Xijing at that time… so… so…

Rinzi stammered out her explanation, a flurry of hurried words.

All the while.

Her gaze, brimming with an almost desperate hope, fixed upon the young man before her.

Chen Ran, however, merely reconfirmed the date with the woman: the twenty-sixth of September, a Saturday, at the end of the month, leaving just under half a month until then.

“A Saturday, then…”

Chen Ran murmured to himself.

He mused that, when the time came.

His girlfriend, Duanmu Hui, would likely still summon him over for the night.

“Xiaoran, do you have other plans? If so, please don’t worry about it…”

Though disappointment was clearly etched across her features, Rinzi still spoke in a soft, wavering tone.

Yet Chen Ran simply shook his head.

He recalled how Duanmu Hui hadn’t responded to his messages, even as recently as this very morning…

“Alright, I’ll go with you then.”

It was of no particular consequence to him.

“Wonderful! Then, when the time is right… Auntie will inform you!!”

“Understood.”

With a nod of agreement, Chen Ran waved farewell to the elegant woman before him, then turned and set off in the direction of the Jiang family convenience store.

****

In the blink of an eye, a week had elapsed.

Chen Ran resumed his usual routine.

He managed the store, visited Duanmu Hui on Saturdays, and rested at home on weekends, a pattern that felt almost like a small, recurring loop.

Nevertheless.

On this particular Monday morning, however, he found himself not preparing to head to the convenience store for his usual shift.

Instead, he shouldered his schoolbag.

He was preparing to attend school alongside Jiang Lengleng.

The school arrangements, which had been discussed previously, were finally finalized a few days prior.

Chen Ran was now a first-year student at Saint Hwa Angel Academy, exactly like Jiang Lengleng.

There was a catch, though.

Saint Hwa Angel Academy was not only an exclusive private aristocratic institution but also an all-girls school, a fact that made Chen Ran, as its sole male student, feel perpetually out of place.

The explanation itself was not overly complex.

Saint Hwa Angel Academy, originally an aristocratic girls’ school, intended to gradually transition into a co-educational institution.

As an initial step, they would admit a single male student for a “trial period.”

Should this trial prove successful, they would then proceed to admit a greater number of male students.

Chen Ran, therefore, became this singular “lucky recipient”—though ‘lucky’ might not be the most accurate term, considering he had passed Saint Hwa Angel Academy’s entrance exam purely on merit, achieving a perfect score and securing a full scholarship.

Had it not been for this, he would never have been able to attend Saint Hwa Angel Academy.

After all, the Jiang family already struggled immensely just to afford Jiang Lengleng’s tuition at this prestigious school.

Despite these circumstances.

Chen Ran couldn’t shake the feeling that it was all incredibly peculiar, almost as if it were ripped straight from some fictional premise…

‘The sole male student in an all-girls academy;’

‘The only male manager in a dormitory inhabited solely by married women;’

‘Or what have you…’

From any angle, it seemed utterly bizarre, didn’t it?!

Yet, when it came to his enrollment at Saint Hwa Angel Academy, Jiang Lengleng proved unexpectedly “stubborn,” absolutely insisting that he attend.

“Xiaoran is only seventeen, what else would he do if not study?”

“He could just mind the convenience store at home; that’s perfectly acceptable, isn’t it?”

Jiang Zilin, who had casually offered the suggestion, promptly recoiled, shrinking her neck back in fear under her younger sister’s “death glare,” before hastily amending her statement.

“Exactly, exactly! Xiaoran really must study hard!! He can’t turn out like big sister, you know!!! Otherwise, what will become of our family later? Big sister will be at home with the children, so Xiaoran will need to go out and work, mhm mhm mhm…”

“In any case, Saint Hwa Angel Academy is one of Xijing’s finest high schools, understand, Xiaoran?”

“I understand…”

On certain matters, Jiang Lengleng could be overwhelmingly forceful.

Not only did Jiang Zilin fear her, but even Chen Ran sometimes hesitated to cross her.

And so, the matter was settled.

Until their mother, Jiang Ruohua, returned, Jiang Zilin would manage the store.

From Monday to Friday, Chen Ran and Jiang Lengleng would relieve her after school each day, allowing her to go home, cook dinner, and then bring it back for them.

On weekends, either Chen Ran or Jiang Lengleng would take turns minding the shop.

Naturally, working six days a week at the convenience store proved quite demanding for Jiang Zilin.

Consequently, Chen Ran decided to contribute a portion of his own salary to hire another part-time worker; however, until a suitable employee could be found, Jiang Zilin would have to bear the burden.

And thus, the arrangements were finalized.

“Xiaolin-jie, we’re heading out~”

“Waaah, big sister’s only Xiaoran has been stolen away by Lengleng too, boohoohoo…”

“…”

With a decisive ‘snap,’ Jiang Lengleng simply shut the door, completely disregarding her sister’s theatrical display of woe.

It had to be said.

Jiang Lengleng’s approach was remarkably effective when it came to handling Jiang Zilin.

“Let’s go.”

“Mm-hm.”

Shouldering their schoolbags.

They also carefully stowed away the lovingly prepared bento boxes made by Jiang Zilin.

Chen Ran fell into step beside Jiang Lengleng, and together, they boarded the subway, journeying towards Saint Hwa Angel Academy, nestled within Xijing’s Bunkyo Ward.

The journey passed in comfortable silence.

Chen Ran, for his part, had grown accustomed to Jiang Lengleng’s quiet demeanor whenever they were together.

What’s more, the young girl even pulled out a small notebook to study during their subway ride—apparently memorizing vocabulary for some foreign language.

It filled Chen Ran with a profound sense of respect.

Before his transmigration, Chen Ran’s academic performance could be described as unremarkable; he typically ranked among the top students, yet he harbored little genuine interest in studying and rarely exerted much effort, relying instead on innate talent to achieve passable test scores.

In his previous life.

Earning a perfect score across all subjects to gain admission into Saint Hwa Angel Academy would have been an impossibility.

However, within the ‘King’s Game’ app, Chen Ran had already boosted his “Intelligence” attribute to a formidable 10 points—he distinctly recalled it starting at a mere 6.

The outcome was striking.

Following Jiang Lengleng’s supplementary lessons, the questions on those exam papers now seemed as straightforward to him as basic arithmetic—simple addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division—to a primary school student.

Truly, the cheat ability proved incredibly useful!

****

Jiang Lengleng and Chen Ran separated at the school’s main gate.

As a newly enrolled male student, Chen Ran would be escorted by a designated teacher to familiarize himself with the campus, before being led to his new classroom, assigned a seat, and commencing his lessons.

All of these arrangements, naturally, did not concern Jiang Lengleng.

Thus, the young girl waved her hand, instructing Chen Ran to contact her should any issues arise.

Afterward.

She promptly returned to her own classroom.

During morning lessons, a faint, dreary drizzle began to fall outside the window, and the distant sound of textbook recitations drifted in, mingling with the gentle patter of the rain.

Jiang Lengleng sat in the front row before the podium, leading the class in reciting from the textbook, all the while her thoughts lingered elsewhere.

‘I wonder if Chen Ran is settling in, having just arrived at school.’

[I’ll go check on him during the break.]

The young girl decided, feeling a sisterly responsibility to look after Chen Ran while they were at school.

Yet.

The moment the dismissal bell chimed, Jiang Lengleng pulled out her phone, about to inquire about Chen Ran’s assigned class.

Just then, an incredibly chaotic clamor erupted from the corridor outside the classroom.

A large throng of female students, a flurry of activity, scurried past like a scattered flock of butterflies, all rushing in a single direction.

Even her classmates within the room were affected.

Numerous girls exchanged hushed whispers, then quickly formed groups and exited the classroom.

Before long, she was almost entirely alone…

“Lengleng, what are you still doing in there?!”

A familiar female classmate, peering in from just outside the classroom window, urgently beckoned to her.

“There’s a super handsome guy who just enrolled in school! They say he’s incredibly good-looking!! Aren’t you coming to see him?!”

“…”