Cheng Di turned his gaze to Shen Yue, looking a little surprised. “You know someone at Quanwangtong?”
Quanwangtong could deliver express packages anywhere in the country. For domestic deliveries, no matter where the package was sent from, it would arrive the next day.
It was fast, secure, and discreet. They often delivered things for people of some standing, and their prices weren’t cheap.
Cheng Di hadn’t expected to run into someone from Quanwangtong here.
A breeze stirred the wisps of hair around her face. Shen Yue lifted her eyes slightly. “A friend sent me a package. Is there a problem?”
Cheng Di took her words to mean that she was explaining she didn’t know about Quanwangtong.
He was about to ask who her friend was when Cheng Sui sighed and rubbed his forehead, cutting him off. Then he pointed at the package in Shen Yue’s hand.
“Your friend’s pretty impressive.”
Shen Yue shifted her gaze away from the invitation in Cheng Sui’s hand. “Maybe.”
Maybe? Cheng Di wanted to explain to Shen Yue what sort of people could call on Quanwangtong to deliver their packages!
Cheng Sui noticed Shen Yue looking at the invitation and, without any hesitation, lifted it in his hand.
“It’s an invitation to an auction. Would you like to go?”
He didn’t seem to consider whether Shen Yue knew about the auction. He simply held out the invitation to her.
Cheng Di, standing beside him, stared in disbelief, his expression changing by the second.
Shen Yue shook her head. “Thanks, but I still have class. I don’t have time.”
Beside her, Shen Yun… raised his eyelids slightly.
At her reply, Cheng Sui withdrew his hand and chuckled. “I forgot Miss Shen is still a student. A good student really should focus on her classes.”
Shen Yue nodded in agreement and waved. “This good student has to get to class. Goodbye.”
……
That afternoon, the two returned to the classroom. The looks directed at them were strange.
She had barely sat down when Song Qingyuan asked her in a low, disapproving voice, “Where did you go this morning? Did you know someone dug up your past and posted it on the school forum?”
Shen Yue was unusually puzzled. Could anyone really dig up something on her?
Shen Yun had already found the forum post about Shen Yue.
—The Untold Past of First High School’s New Campus Belle
It turned out someone had commented about Shen Yue on the post announcing the campus belle selection.
Then a nosy student saw the comment, took a screenshot, and actually went looking into Shen Yue’s past before posting about it on the school forum.
There was nothing particularly secret in it.
Most of it was about Shen Yue’s grades, skipping class, and daily life—things anyone who knew her could tell you.
It also mentioned that Old Master Shen had invested twenty million to get her into First High School.
Some of the comments attacked Shen Yue, saying she didn’t deserve to be the campus belle or attend First High School. Some even called on the school to expel her.
Shen Yun showed no reaction after reading them. He simply made a note of the ID that had posted the thread and the ID that had commented on Shen Yue’s past.
He handed his phone to Shen Yue. She scrolled through the comments without saying a word.
Just as Song Qingyuan was starting to think she’d been hurt by them and regretted asking, Shen Yue spoke.
“That’s it?” Her tone carried more than a hint of disdain.
Song Qingyuan froze, unsure what she meant.
Shen Yun kindly explained, “My sister means they’re all making the same few points. It’s nothing new.”
Shen Yue had heard things like this countless times since she was little. She was long past being affected by them.
Song Qingyuan: …A dark line seemed to appear across his forehead. He’d been worried for nothing all morning.
Shen Yue pointed a slender finger at a photo of a math test in the post, showing a score of just 25 points.
“That isn’t the test paper I got 25 on. So this post isn’t accurate.”
Song Qingyuan: “??”
A sudden snicker made Shen Yue look up. Chen Xinyi’s face was full of scorn, as if she’d just heard a joke.
“You say the post isn’t accurate, but your 25-point score is real.”
As she spoke, she laughed.
Shen Yue gave Chen Xinyi a look as if she were an idiot.
“I suggest you get your hearing checked, Classmate Chen.”
When Chen Xinyi didn’t understand, Shen Yun once again stepped in as translator. “My sister means she never said her 25-point score was fake.”
He paused. “Classmate Chen really should get her hearing checked.”
Song Qingyuan silently gave the siblings a thumbs-up. One of them dared to say it, and the other dared to back her up.
Chen Xinyi had meant to use the post to humiliate Shen Yue. She hadn’t expected Shen Yue not to care—and to turn the humiliation back on her.
Anger flared in her. She stood up in a huff, scraping her chair across the floor with a harsh squeak, and glared at Shen Yue.
“Your grades are so bad. How can you bring yourself to pay your way into First High School?”
“Anyone here could beat you without even trying. If I were you, I’d be so ashamed I’d never show my face again.”
Shen Yue handed the phone back to Shen Yun. “Good thing I’m not you, Classmate Chen. You’re so fragile, you’d have been too ashamed to show your face by now.”
She dropped her lazy air, and her expression turned serious. Somehow, it made people uneasy.
Her eyes beneath those long lashes seemed able to see right through people. No one dared meet her gaze.
She took out her phone and set it on the desk.
“You say I paid my way into First High School, Classmate Chen. Do you have any proof?”
Shen Yue looked around the classroom and continued, “Everyone knows what kind of school First High School is. If you say that without proof, the school and I can sue you for spreading rumors.”
Shen Yue’s words finally brought many of the students to their senses.
As one of the country’s top ten schools, First High School was known for its impartiality and for judging students solely on their grades.
Everyone knew that no amount of money could buy your way in. Those who got into First High School were proud of it.
They had heard that a student with bottom-of-the-class grades had paid to get in, and anger and jealousy had clouded their judgment.
They had completely forgotten what spreading such claims could do to the school’s reputation.
If the school’s reputation suffered, it certainly wouldn’t let the people who spread those claims off the hook. And they had no evidence to defend themselves with.
The students who had been watching the drama lowered their heads and stopped looking on, hoping the matter wouldn’t escalate.
Their families might be well-off, but this was one of the country’s top ten schools.
Chen Xinyi was also shaken by Shen Yue’s words. Instinctively, she looked toward Shen Jiao.
When she caught Shen Jiao’s eye, she immediately regained her confidence.
Shen Yue had always been at the bottom of the class. Chen Xinyi couldn’t believe she’d gotten into First High School on her own merits.
She lifted her chin and looked down her nose at Shen Yue.
“Fine. Since you’re so confident, let’s see whose monthly exam score is higher. Whoever loses has to leave First High School voluntarily.”
After she said this, she didn’t notice that Song Qingyuan and Shen Yun were looking at her as if she were an idiot.
Shen Yue, meanwhile, was taken aback. Then she hesitated. It was the first time anyone had challenged her to a grade competition, and she was tempted.
But wouldn’t that be too unfair? The other girl was a senior, after all.
Chen Xinyi took Shen Yue’s hesitation for fear and continued to provoke her.
“What’s wrong? You know your grades are bad, so you don’t dare compete?”
Song Qingyuan couldn’t stand the look of smug self-satisfaction on her face and urged Shen Yue to accept.
Shen Yun knew what Shen Yue was worried about. “It’s fine, Sis. No one will find out.”
The others couldn’t understand why they were reacting like this. A huge question mark appeared in their minds.
Weren’t these two supposed to be on good terms with Shen Yue? Why were they trying to hurt her?
How could Shen Yue’s grades compare with Chen Xinyi’s? In that instant, it was as if they could see the two hundred million from the Shen family floating away in the water.
Chen Xinyi and Shen Jiao didn’t understand either.
After Shen Yun spoke, Shen Yue finally responded. Her dark eyes swept across the room, then settled on Chen Xinyi.
She rubbed her chin. “Fine. I’ll humor you.”
Chen Xinyi sat down and leaned toward Shen Jiao. “Jiaojiao, she actually agreed.”
Shen Jiao kept her head lowered, her expression mocking. “It’s like an egg trying to smash a rock.”
She hadn’t lowered her voice, and everyone in the class heard her clearly.
The whole class had witnessed the bet, but Chen Xinyi was afraid Shen Yue might back out. She had someone post the challenge on the school forum.
She even paid to boost its visibility. Since Shen Yue was already somewhat well-known at school, word of the bet spread across the campus in no time.
The school authorities never intervened.
As the days passed, some students couldn’t help looking forward to the results, even though they knew the outcome was already decided.
More than anything, they wanted to know how Shen Yue had gotten into First High School.