"I never thought the quiet girl would not only be tall but also have such a pretty face. This can't be the girl from the simulation… unless I was truly blind to think she wasn't attractive," Tony Snow thought to himself after quickly sizing her up.
"Excuse me?" The girl frowned as she noticed Tony staring blankly at her. Her voice was quiet, but her expression showed discomfort.
Only then did Tony realize how impolite he was being. He quickly snapped out of it and apologized, "I'm sorry, really! I didn't mean to stare."
He hurriedly handed her the book. "Here, take it. I was going to return it anyway. You can return it later after you're done."
In Tony's mind, even if this girl came from a tough background, she'd earned so many scholarships that she should be able to buy a copy of Cell Biology. Why borrow it from the library?
Still, Tony didn't voice his doubts.
"Ah, I… are you sure?" the girl asked, clearly caught off guard.
"It's fine," Tony said, casually handing her the book and walking off before she could say more.
"I'll return it later and then borrow it using my card," she said to his back, accepting the book with a somewhat embarrassed smile.
Tony returned to his seat, pulled out a copy of Postgraduate English Vocabulary, and started from the beginning.
"A. Abandon…"
Just a few minutes later, he had already flipped to the section with words starting with 'B'.
"Huh?" Tony furrowed his brow, puzzled, then delighted. He quickly flipped through the rest of the book — C, D… all the way to Z.
"In the last few simulations, even though I got into grad school, my English was still mediocre. I didn't expect to gain so much this time."
To confirm, Tony pulled out a past exam paper and began working through a recent postgraduate English test.
There was no listening section. It began with a long cloze passage. Tony read through the article effortlessly and filled out the answers in just a few minutes.
He completed everything except the essay within an hour, then checked his answers — his accuracy was shockingly high.
"So much knowledge... I must've worked hard even after starting grad school in that simulation."
Tony recalled: in his previous simulated life, he had failed to get into his dream university but was admitted into an average-tier graduate school. Despite the setback, he kept pushing forward—studying, doing lab work, and strengthening his English by reading numerous scientific journals.
Later, he exposed his advisor for academic fraud and was expelled. He then started over, reapplying for graduate school and further refining his academic knowledge and research abilities.
"This explains why I gained so much this time around. He never stopped grinding, even after being knocked down."
Tony shook his head in admiration at his simulated self. "Except for the essay, everything's practically full marks. Too bad registration for the advanced English certification is over. I could've aced it."
He paused.
"My major courses and English don't need much attention anymore. That just leaves politics... or in our case, social studies and critical reasoning. But everyone says there's no rush to memorize that yet, and I don't even have materials."
Suddenly, Tony thought of the girl from earlier. If she was reading Cell Biology for exam prep, she might also have the social studies material he needed.
He had noticed earlier that she wasn't sitting far from him. No wonder she had caught up to him so quickly when he stood to return the book.
Tony stood and walked over to her desk. He saw her working through an English mock exam. Her focus was intense. Because he approached quietly, she didn't even notice him standing there.
After watching for a moment, Tony spoke softly, "That question? Even though it has a contrast signal, the writer's true opinion is actually in the first part. If you consider the whole article, the author clearly sympathizes with the radical environmentalists. So, your choice was off."
The sudden remark startled her. She turned and looked at him with both surprise and mild irritation, but flipped to the answer key anyway.
Her brows furrowed.
He was right.
"I remember your technical English almost failed in our first and second years," she said, clearly baffled.
"People can change," Tony smiled. "We've been apart for over three months since the summer break. That's more than enough time for a metamorphosis."
He then added, "You're using Cell Biology for your entrance prep, right? Do you happen to have a copy of the social science review materials?"
The girl nodded. "Yeah, but it's a bit old — passed down from a senior who graduated recently. You still want it?"
"As long as it's not missing pages or smeared in ink, I don't mind," Tony replied.
She pulled a slightly worn but intact book out of her bag and handed it to him.
As she did, Tony glanced at her backpack. It was packed with review books and mock tests.
"You're prepping for grad school too? What school are you aiming for?"
She gave a slight smile. "Northbay University."
Tony nodded, then decided to share as well. "I'm going for Horizon Institute of Science and Technology."
She blinked in surprise. "Whoa, that's top-tier. I wouldn't dare aim that high."
"You? Come on. You've always been the best in our department," Tony said honestly.
"That's different. Horizon is on another level entirely," she said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Anyway, enough talking. Time to grind."
Tony didn't argue. He pulled up a seat beside her and opened the social studies book.
And so the two of them, once worlds apart in class rank and reputation, now studied quietly side-by-side — not yet friends, but perhaps no longer strangers either.