Your Highness, The Class Monitor Episode 1 Recap
> Your Highness, The Class Monitor Recap
Su Nian Nian, a dedicated student who had studied diligently for twelve years with the dream of attending Tsinghua University, faced a devastating setback. A car accident caused her to miss her comprehensive liberal arts exam. On the day college entrance exam results were released, she anxiously went to an internet cafe, praying for a miracle, even as she admitted to herself that admission to Tsinghua was impossible.
Her hopes were dashed when the screen displayed "Good luck, continue to work hard." Distraught, she left the cafe and was accidentally bumped into by a porter, falling into a flowerbed, adding to her misery. Su Nian Nian called her father from the internet cafe, who then picked her up.
She tearfully confessed she had let him down, but he calmly reassured her, highlighting her excellent scores in other subjects—129 in Chinese, 127 in Math, and 139 in English—while acknowledging her zero in the liberal arts portion. He comforted her with a metaphor about God closing a window but opening a door, even as he accidentally burned himself while trying to get her some chicken soup.
Unbeknownst to Su Nian Nian, her father had consulted a doctor who explained that her fainting spell, which occurred during the bike accident, was not due to the fall but rather extreme pressure and mental overexertion, leading to oxygen deprivation in her brain. The doctor strongly advised against high-intensity study and urged her father not to reveal the true cause of her illness to avoid adding more stress.
Meanwhile, Gu Zi Chen, a wealthy young man who had just returned to China, faced his own family struggles. His family constantly dictated his life choices, which he resented. Upon arrival, he dismissed his father's secretary and immediately went to Jing Ying Internet Cafe to meet his friend, Ye Xing Yu. Ye Xing Yu was surprised to learn Gu Zi Chen was returning for university, asking if he had angered his father again.
Gu Zi Chen vaguely attributed it to fate. Back home, his mother tried to mediate as his father, Gu Wei Ye, angrily confronted Gu Zi Chen for his lack of discipline and for ditching his secretary. Gu Zi Chen retorted that he felt like a pet, forced abroad for university and then pulled back, accusing his father of only caring about "honor" and controlling his life. Gu Wei Ye, infuriated, questioned how he could entrust the Gu Group to him.
Gu Zi Chen dismissed his father's concerns, confidently stating Gu Wei Ye could run the company for another thirty years and reiterating his lack of interest in the family business before storming off. His father later called the principal of Qun Ying University to arrange Gu Zi Chen's enrollment. He then instructed his secretary to ensure Gu Zi Chen attended, suggesting he live in the dorms to foster integration and placing "informers" to report on his activities.
Though hesitant, the secretary complied. Su Nian Nian soon received an admission letter from Qun Ying Machinery and Electrical University. She initially dismissed the school as an unknown institution, but her father proudly declared it his and her mother's alma mater, emphasizing its past reputation and high employment rates. Despite his reassurances, Su Nian Nian checked online, finding numerous negative comments describing it as a "gathering place for NCEE losers" and bemoaning the scarcity of female students.
She declared her intention to retake the college entrance exam for Peking or Tsinghua. Her father firmly rejected this, citing their financial difficulties due to her previous hospitalization, which had depleted her tuition savings. He proposed she try Qun Ying for a short period, promising to support her decision to drop out and retake the exams if she genuinely couldn't adapt.
Su Nian Nian, with a secret plan to attend for a few days and then find an excuse to withdraw, agreed. Ye Xing Yu, facing financial hardship and a bedridden mother, was also forced to abandon his music dreams and enroll at Qun Ying University. On the day of registration, Gu Zi Chen was driven to the university by his father's secretary.
During the drive, the secretary lectured him on parental love and maintaining a low profile, but Gu Zi Chen ignored him. He later met up with Ye Xing Yu at the university. Su Nian Nian arrived at the school with her father. At the registration desk, her dismay grew upon learning her incoming class had only eight female students in total.
Her father, however, was delighted by the school's progress, especially its job placement program, and proudly chatted with the teacher as an alumnus. Afterwards, as her father reminisced and wandered ahead, Su Nian Nian was left to be gawked at by male students who she found "abnormal." When her backpack was accidentally knocked to the ground, Ye Xing Yu stepped in to pick it up for her.
Su Nian Nian felt a sense of relief, thinking he was the only "normal" person she had met. Ye Xing Yu, in turn, was puzzled to find such a high-achieving student enrolling at Qun Ying. Inside her dorm, Su Nian Nian's father continued to try and soothe her anxieties, affirming that he made his choices for her benefit and reiterating his promise to let her withdraw if she remained unhappy.
Just then, Song Yuxi, an energetic fellow student, burst in, introducing herself and unilaterally declaring Su Nian Nian her best friend. Su Nian Nian's father was delighted and asked Song Yuxi to look after his introverted daughter, which Song Yuxi eagerly agreed to do. Song Yuxi then told Su Nian Nian about their third roommate, Yin Chu Xia, who had a peculiar personality.
Expressing her enthusiasm for the male-dominated campus, Song Yuxi offered to show Su Nian Nian around, explaining that she had already been there for two days and received campus gossip from her childhood friend, Xiao Huang, her "informer." As they walked through the campus, male students openly stared, making Su Nian Nian feel like a spectacle, while Song Yuxi enjoyed the attention. Su Nian Nian quickly pulled her away. They eventually found a quiet spot.
Su Nian Nian commented it would be a good place for morning reading, but Song Yuxi, ever the romantic, retorted that such a scenic place was ideal for dating, lamenting her lack of a boyfriend. When they were approached by another group of persistent male students attempting to flirt, Song Yuxi quickly dispatched them.
Su Nian Nian again complained about the difficulty of finding a quiet reading spot, but Song Yuxi assured her that the school had plenty of such places and promised to show her.
