The Strongest Brain in the Interstellar

Because she didn’t sleep the night before, Jiang Hui got herself ready early the next morning and headed out. The freshman campus handbook mentioned that during the registration period, students could come and go from campus. However, the school advised against this, encouraging students to spend these three days exploring the campus and familiarizing themselves with their future learning environment, as many areas were open to new students.

In addition, she still had various tasks to complete, such as picking up her campus gear, obtaining her student ID, registering for the campus network, reporting to her designated class, and participating in activities not mentioned by the school.

Jiang Hui woke up early, planning to tackle these miscellaneous tasks throughout the day. She headed straight for the cafeteria.

Schools are different; even at just a little past six, the cafeteria was already bustling with people. Most were second- and third-year students, making her feel out of place as a newcomer.

The downside of starting school is that she hadn’t even received her uniform yet, so it was obvious to everyone that she was new.

Jiang Hui wasn’t shy, but as a seasoned selective social anxiety sufferer from Blue Star, she still found it uncomfortable to be the center of attention.

When she noticed the many eyes on her, her first thoughts weren’t about whether her hair was neat, her clothes were put together, or if her face looked good. Instead, she wondered if she should enter with her left foot or right foot first, or if she should just hop in.

In the end, she wasn’t sure how she actually walked in. By the time she got her meal, the novelty had worn off, and she no longer felt the intense stares.

After placing her order, Jiang Hui found a secluded spot to sit and quietly ate her breakfast, thinking about what she should do next.

As she ate absentmindedly, she noticed someone approaching. Not wanting to feel like a zoo animal being watched, she had deliberately chosen this empty area.

Was someone really coming this early?

Instinctively, she looked up and recognized a very familiar figure.

Wasn’t this the classmate, Clarens, who had helped her with the registration yesterday?

Seeing that he was walking fairly close to her, she thought about casually saying hello. However, he walked right past her as if he hadn’t seen her at all, sitting down at a table far away.

Fortunately, Jiang Hui wasn’t particularly eager to engage. She had only wanted to greet him casually, so pulling back her hand was easy and didn’t feel awkward.

Well, they really weren’t familiar with each other. After working for so long, she had developed some social habits, regardless of her inherent personality.

But did Clarens really have to sit so far away? The entire area was empty, and he chose a table that was the furthest from her, even sitting at an angle that turned his back to her. It made Jiang Hui feel as if she were some kind of dangerous person to avoid.

Never mind, though. He had helped her responsibly on the day of her registration, so it wasn’t right to judge him. He might simply be uncomfortable around new people.

With that thought, Jiang Hui lowered her head again and continued eating her breakfast. Hmm, the cafeteria’s food wasn’t bad; it was actually better than what she had at the hospital.

Just as she was nibbling on a piece of bread, Jiang Hui felt someone gradually approaching her, a gaze distinctly landing on her.

Jiang Hui: …

The girl slowly swallowed her food and looked up at the newcomer.

—It was Clarens, the classmate who had avoided her like the plague just moments ago.

“Is there something you need?” Jiang Hui politely inquired.

She understood that some people were just like that—more reserved, perhaps even a bit reclusive, which was simply a personal trait. But the problem was, his behavior seemed quite abrupt, conflicting with how he had acted earlier.

One moment, he wouldn’t even say hello, practically dodging her; the next, he was standing right in front of her with a cold expression. Jiang Hui wasn’t easily intimidated, but during this pleasant breakfast time, she would have preferred to enjoy the scenery of the campus rather than stare at his indifferent face.

She felt she was being polite enough, especially considering she was nearly twice his age.

“We need a female contact person to help coordinate some matters with the female students,” he said somewhat stiffly.

His choice of words felt abrupt and lacked context; it was quite disjointed.

It took Jiang Hui a moment to process that he meant they were looking for someone to help contact the female students… and that he was asking for her help?!

Honestly, she thought his communication skills needed some improvement. If he hadn’t kindly pointed her in the right direction yesterday, she might have assumed he held some sort of prejudice against her.

Although there are differences between genders, aren’t they all students at this age? Moreover, they were in the Combat Mech Department, where the distinction between genders isn’t so pronounced. During training, it’s uncertain who will outperform whom; they surely wouldn’t hold back.

So, was it a communication issue on his part, or did Clarens actually have something against her? Jiang Hui was genuinely puzzled.

Clearly, he didn’t think there was anything wrong with his way of communicating, and in the same stiff tone, he asked if she could leave now…

So was she supposed to agree?

Jiang Hui felt like there should be a question mark stamped on her forehead.

In the end, she did agree. But her condition was that she would finish her meal first—eating was the priority, and no one could interrupt her. Whatever the issue was could wait until she was done.

Thus, in a daze, Jiang Hui became the unofficial guide for the new class, helping to contact the female students who hadn’t registered yet, reminding them of some important points in the girls’ dorm, and finally returning to assist with the distribution of school supplies—

It was only when Jiang Hui sat down in the cafeteria, two tables away from Clarens, eating her dinner, that she realized she had been tricked into working all day for nothing.

Fortunately, she didn’t feel too bad; while helping out with the orientation, she had also gone through the necessary processes herself. By now, she had completed almost all the procedures needed for enrollment and could simply wait for classes to start.

But after a whole day, she really wanted to know if Clarens was actually socially anxious.