"You... estimated your score so accurately?" He was slightly stunned.
Xue Jiao rarely gave him a smile: "Guess?"
"..."
For some reason, Yi Tianyu felt Xue Jiao's score was too coincidental—so much so that it made him suspicious.
As her deskmate, he naturally had an unusual understanding of the person before him.
Xue Jiao was diligent, more so than many others he'd seen. The exercises in those workbooks hardly ever seemed to stump her.
Could it be...
She had exam syndrome?!
"Hey—" Yi Tianyu poked Xue Jiao's arm.
She lifted her hand irritably and turned to him: "What now?!"
"Nothing..." Yi Tianyu looked at her with sympathy.
In this world, something even more pitiful than a poor student failing exams is—studying hard but panicking during tests.
Though Yi Tianyu didn't say it aloud, his face clearly read—How can you be so pitiful? So pitiful!
Xue Jiao silently repeated to herself: "Don't argue with fools," "Don't argue with fools."
Only then did she regain her composure and resume reviewing her test paper, searching for areas where she could improve.
——
"Cousin! How did you do on the test?" Cheng Mingjiao asked knowingly, walking over with a grin.
She had done quite well this time, moving up two places to rank 18th in her grade.
Xue Jiao glanced up at her, then lowered her head again to continue reading.
"Cousin got 90 in English!" Cheng Mingjiao exclaimed loudly as she approached. "Cousin has really improved so much!"
Xue Jiao was reviewing her English test. Though the paper wasn't difficult, there were still some unfamiliar or less familiar words. She was noting them all down to fill in the gaps.
"Pfft—90 points? Our class average is 120. What a drag." Yu Fangfang, who had been in the same class as Gu Xue Jiao before, laughed.
"Did we have some feud before?" Xue Jiao looked up, eyeing Yu Fangfang suspiciously.
She truly didn't understand. While Cheng Mingjiao's dislike for her made some sense, what about this Yu Fangfang? As far as she knew, the original Gu Xue Jiao barely even attended school.
"Huh?" Yu Fangfang was taken aback.
Xue Jiao blinked: "If we didn’t have a feud, why do you keep snapping at me like a rabid dog?"
"You're the rabid dog!" Yu Fangfang flared up.
"But I don’t go around being sarcastic or obsessively targeting one person, do I?" She blinked again, her exquisitely beautiful face stunningly radiant.
"And, Miss Yu Fangfang, if I recall correctly, when you entered our class, your English score was 131. This time, it’s 121—a drop of 10 points. Meanwhile, mine... rose by 57 points. Since I could improve so much, it’s clear the test wasn’t difficult at all. So... Miss Yu Fangfang, do you really have the leisure to worry about me?"
Xue Jiao smirked: "Miss Yu Fangfang, I suggest you focus on salvaging your own precarious grades."
"You—"
"Hey, a good dog doesn’t block the path." Yi Tianyu, holding a basketball and drenched in sweat, tilted his chin up slightly.
He stood right behind Yu Fangfang, and the "dog" clearly referred to her, echoing Xue Jiao’s remark.
"Waa—" Yu Fangfang burst into tears, shoved Yi Tianyu aside, and ran off.
Yi Tianyu wiped his sweat, looking bewildered: "What did I do to make her cry like that?"
"Pfft!" Xue Jiao burst out laughing.
Her laughter made her eyes crinkle, her already exquisite face glowing even more brilliantly, radiant and dazzling.Yi Tianyu was momentarily stunned before quickly walking over and sitting down in his seat.
He thought to himself: The weather must really be too hot. Just playing basketball has exhausted me to this point—my heart is still pounding like thunder even after returning to the classroom.
Cheng Mingjiao's face had twisted into an ugly expression. Class One was an advanced class, and while there were plenty of high-achieving boys, none were as handsome as Yi Tianyu.
Add to that his love for basketball, his tall and striking appearance, and he had long been jokingly called the "class heartthrob" among the girls.
Yet this outstanding boy always took Gu Xue Jiao's side, fueling Cheng Mingjiao's jealousy and resentment.
She gritted her teeth. "Cousin, you’ve gone too far! How can you be so heartless, hurting others like this?"
Xue Jiao pointed a finger at Yi Tianyu beside her. "Cousin, I think your eyes and ears might not be working properly. The one who hurt her was him, wasn’t it?"
"Pfft—hahaha!" There were muffled laughs around them.
"Gu Xue Jiao!" Cheng Mingjiao seethed. "Cousin, no matter what, she still scored better than you! And she didn’t drag anyone down!"
Xue Jiao raised an eyebrow.
"Cousin, I hope you do well on the final exams this semester. After all, you did say you’d surpass me." Cheng Mingjiao’s smile was mocking as she turned her gaze to Yi Tianyu. "Yi Tianyu, I think you should apologize to Yu Fangfang. Just because Gu Xue Jiao insults people doesn’t mean you should follow her lead!"
She lifted her chin slightly, angling her best side toward Yi Tianyu, her expression full of righteous determination. "So, Yi Tianyu, please apologize!"
Cheng Mingjiao’s fearless, resolute demeanor was a perfect imitation of the strong, rational Cinderella heroines on TV—a carbon copy of Shan·Mingjiao·Cai.
However—
Yi Tianyu turned to Xue Jiao. "Has your cousin lost her mind?"
Xue Jiao: "Seems like it."
"Is rabies contagious?"
As soon as Yi Tianyu spoke, the two of them leaned back in unison, clearly trying to put distance between themselves and Cheng Mingjiao.
"You—you—!" Cheng Mingjiao was so furious she dropped all pretense. "Yi Tianyu! Has Gu Xue Jiao bewitched you?! She’s just like her mother—a fox spirit!"
"Bang!" Xue Jiao shot to her feet.
She reached out, grabbing Cheng Mingjiao by the collar, her eyes suddenly sharp. "Apologize!"
"What do you think you’re doing?!"
Xue Jiao swept a glance around the classroom before fixing Cheng Mingjiao with an icy stare. "First of all, my mother was single and divorced. Uncle Cheng lost his wife ten years ago. It was Uncle Cheng who pursued my mother—they didn’t even know each other before that. So tell me, what exactly is a 'fox spirit'?"
"Let go of me!" Cheng Mingjiao struggled.
Xue Jiao continued, "Cheng Mingjiao, not every woman who is loved by her husband is a fox spirit! And divorced women have every right to pursue happiness. The way you talk makes me question your intelligence. Or are you still living in the Qing dynasty?"
As soon as Xue Jiao finished speaking, the female classmates around them nodded in agreement. Why couldn’t a divorced woman remarry?
By Cheng Mingjiao’s logic, remarrying after divorce made someone a fox spirit?
With that thought, the way everyone looked at Cheng Mingjiao changed.
"Gu Xue Jiao!" Humiliated by the stares around her, Cheng Mingjiao lashed out, raising a hand to claw at her.
Xue Jiao kicked her in the knee, her face cold.
Though she didn’t yet feel maternal affection for Li Sitong, she could sense the guilt lingering in her body—perhaps a remnant of the original Gu Xue Jiao...Since she had taken over Gu Xue Jiao's body, she naturally had to fulfill the obligations that came with it.
Cheng Mingjiao was kicked to her knees by Xue Jiao, leaving everyone around stunned.
Mingjiao, as if gone mad, scrambled to her feet and lunged at her.
Xue Jiao tightened her grip.
Just then, someone shouted from the front—
"The teacher's coming!"
—
Xue Jiao and Cheng Mingjiao stood in the office, both heads bowed in silence.
The office door burst open as two women rushed in—Liu Yazhen and Li Sitong.
"My poor daughter!!!" Liu Yazhen wailed, pulling Cheng Mingjiao into a tight, comforting embrace.
Li Sitong approached Xue Jiao and raised her hand—
"Slap!"
A sharp strike landed on Xue Jiao's face.
Xue Jiao froze.
"Hey—no hitting! Parents, no hitting!" Yin Fang quickly intervened, stepping between them.
Li Sitong seethed through gritted teeth: "This girl never listens, always causing trouble, and now she's even hitting her own sister!"
"Wahhh…" Cheng Mingjiao continued to sob.
"Gu Xue Jiao! You wretched girl, not only do you refuse to better yourself, but you also bully Mingjiao? What does our Cheng family owe you?! Apologize to Mingjiao right now! How dare you bite the hand that feeds you!" Liu Yazhen wailed as if she had suffered the greatest injustice.
"Quiet! Parents, quiet!" Yin Fang bellowed, glaring at the group.
Liu Yazhen finally shut her mouth, though Li Sitong still fumed.
"Now that the parents are here, I'll keep it brief. These two fought in class today, and it was highly disruptive! Regardless of the reason, both must write self-criticisms!"
"Yes, yes, teacher, we're so sorry for the trouble Xue Jiao has caused!" Li Sitong forced a smile.
Over the years, she had become all too experienced in dealing with the messes Gu Xue Jiao created—smiling awkwardly and groveling with apologies were the least of it.
There had been fights before, and she had always apologized and compensated. But this time, it was Cheng Mingjiao who got hit. Who knew what storms awaited them back at the Cheng household?
Gu Xue Jiao had just promised to become her pride and joy—how could she start causing trouble again so soon?
Li Sitong's face was full of disappointment.
"Why should she?!" Unlike Li Sitong's profuse apologies, Liu Yazhen was downright furious.
She lifted her chin haughtily. "My daughter was hit by Gu Xue Jiao—she's the victim here! Shouldn't Gu Xue Jiao be the one apologizing? Why does my daughter have to apologize too?!"
Yin Fang frowned slightly. "From what I heard, Cheng Mingjiao provoked Xue Jiao first. Both are at fault!"
"What did my daughter provoke her about?! No matter what, she shouldn't have hit her! Teacher, tell me—how can a delinquent like Gu Xue Jiao compare to my daughter? She doesn't even study properly, yet she bullies her own sister! Someone like her should be expelled! Right, sister-in-law?" Liu Yazhen sneered at Li Sitong.
Li Sitong forced another awkward smile. "It's Jiao Jiao's fault. She should apologize properly to Mingjiao. But expulsion is too much—Jiao Jiao is already in her second year of high school..."
"What does that matter? Can a girl like yours even get into college? Last time, she pushed Mingjiao down the stairs, and now she's hitting her in class—she deserves to be expelled!" Liu Yazhen pressed relentlessly.
Li Sitong felt a pang of distress and yanked Gu Xue Jiao forward. "Apologize to Mingjiao right now! Beg for her forgiveness!"
Xue Jiao remained frozen.Li Sitong gritted her teeth in frustration. Who was she doing all this for? Wasn't it for this girl?!
"Speak up! Are you mute?! You should apologize when you've done wrong!"
Xue Jiao seemed to snap out of her daze, suddenly raising her head and brushing off Li Sitong's hand.
"I was indeed wrong—wrong in defending someone who didn't deserve to be defended."
The others were stunned. Liu Yazhen glared at her: "What nonsense are you spouting?!"
Ignoring her, Xue Jiao turned her cold gaze to Yin Fang: "Teacher, before a judge passes sentence, they should at least hear both sides of the case and understand the full context, right?"
Yin Fang was taken aback, then said, "But none of you were speaking earlier."
"Well, I'm willing to speak now. Teacher, could you call some classmates to testify? Everyone who was in the classroom at the time knows what really happened."
Her face was icy. Her delicate features, already naturally aloof, now carried a chilling intensity that pushed people away.
"Witnesses?" Li Sitong was startled.
Could there be... more to this matter?
OpenNovel