By the time Shen Yue arrived, classes at Cloud City No. 1 High School had already been underway for a while.
Just ten days later, the monthly exams arrived as scheduled.
Cloud City No. 1 High School’s exam seating was arranged in no particular order, with no discernible pattern.
After parting ways with Shen Yun, Shen Yue found her exam room.
She was already somewhat well-known at school, and most of the people in the room knew who she was.
The moment she walked into the classroom, everyone’s eyes turned to her and followed her as she moved.
Her long hair hung loose, and she wore the same casual T-shirt and jeans as always, looking relaxed and unhurried.
They had only seen her in photographs before. Now that they were seeing her in person for the first time, they finally understood what it meant to be struck by someone’s appearance—and what real beauty was.
Just based on looks, the new school beauty really did leave Shen Jiao in the dust. But when they thought of her grades and that bet, they could only shake their heads regretfully.
Shen Yue walked to her seat without looking around and sat down. She took out her admission ticket and a pen, and the exam bell rang right on cue.
The proctor rapped on the desk to remind them, “The exam is starting. Quiet, please.”
The classroom gradually fell silent, leaving only the swish of pens on paper.
The first subject was Chinese, Shen Yue’s worst subject. She flipped through the paper before starting to answer.
The other students paused now and then to think, but once Shen Yue put pen to paper, she never stopped, as if divinely inspired.
The proctor had heard Shen Yue’s name more than once, so he kept an eye on her.
Forty-five minutes later, Shen Yue suddenly stopped. She looked at the paper, her delicate features furrowing slightly.
That was unusual. The proctor went over to take a look.
Oh, she’d reached the essay. He glanced at the students beside Shen Yue, who were still working on the third reading-comprehension passage.
Tsk. He actually thought they were taking a long time.
The students working at a normal pace: “??”
The proctor didn’t want to disturb Shen Yue while she wrote her essay, so he forced himself to stop watching her. Half an hour later, Shen Yue suddenly stood up.
The teacher was taken aback, then gave her a kindly smile. “Is something the matter?”
“Teacher, may I hand in my paper?” Shen Yue remembered that they were allowed to leave after an hour and a half.
The teacher assumed Shen Yue had finished. “You can, once you’ve checked it over.”
When they heard she was handing in her paper, the other students all glanced at her. Some began to panic.
After Shen Yue left, the proctor spoke up to steady the students.
He looked down at Shen Yue’s firm, powerful handwriting and found it pleasing to the eye.
But when he turned the page over, his expression darkened…
The English exam was that afternoon. Shen Yue could answer almost everything at a glance.
But to kill time, she stretched a paper she could have finished in forty-five minutes out to a full hour and a half.
The exams lasted two days. On the second day, they had math and the comprehensive science exam.
Shen Yue handed in both papers after an hour and a half.
……
The next morning, Song Qingyuan eagerly went over the answers with Shen Yue and Shen Yun.
He was surprised to find that Shen Yue had an exceptionally good memory. She remembered all the answers he could only recall vaguely.
After comparing answers with Shen Yue, both Song Qingyuan and Shen Yun fell silent.
Perhaps because of the elite class, the monthly exams had been much harder this time.
Song Qingyuan hadn’t been able to solve the final problem in either math or the comprehensive science exam, but Shen Yue had.
Song Qingyuan gave a quiet laugh. “Looks like I won’t be able to hold on to first place.”
Shen Yue raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
Shen Yun looked at Song Qingyuan strangely and frowned. “Why are you so sure my sister got them right?”
He believed his sister because he’d seen what she could do. But why did Song Qingyuan believe her?
Song Qingyuan rubbed his nose. “I saw the four tests she did.”
He hadn’t been able to get a perfect score on those tests, but Shen Yue had aced all four. That showed she was better than he was.
They were the four tests the principal and Song Qingyuan had asked Shen Yue to take when she came to Cloud City No. 1 High School.
Shen Yun hadn’t known about it, so Song Qingyuan explained.
As they were talking, someone approached them. Chen Xinyi headed straight for Shen Yue.
She rapped her knuckles on Shen Yue’s desk, then folded her arms and looked down at her.
“How can you still show your face at school? Do you have to see the coffin before you’ll give up?”
Chen Xinyi had a friend in Shen Yue’s exam room.
She’d heard all about Shen Yue’s behavior during the exams: handing in her papers early, leaving the Chinese essay blank—and she still thought she could compete with Chen Xinyi?
Chen Xinyi had assumed Shen Yue had given up, but she hadn’t expected her to have such a thick skin as to dare come back to school.
Shen Yue slowly raised her head, displeasure at being interrupted while reading showing on her face.
She leaned back lazily, her slender arm resting loosely on the desk. “The results aren’t out yet. In such a hurry to die?”
Chen Xinyi laughed without mercy. “Do we even need to wait? Isn’t the outcome obvious?”
The students around them said nothing, implicitly agreeing with Chen Xinyi. It really did seem obvious.
Seeing the others’ reaction, Chen Xinyi’s sneer grew even wider.
Shen Yue said nothing. She only narrowed her eyes and furrowed her brow, then calmly reached up to smooth her loose hair.
Shen Yun caught the movement out of the corner of his eye. Without drawing attention to himself, he shifted his chair farther away and pulled his desk back.
Then he fixed his gaze on Chen Xinyi, a glint in the depths of his eyes.
Song Qingyuan still hadn’t realized what was about to happen. He simply couldn’t stand Chen Xinyi’s behavior, and his expression turned cold.
Out of consideration for their being classmates, he meant to warn her.
“That’s enough, Chen Xinyi. We’re classmates, so know when to stop. Don’t push it until things get out of hand.”
He said the last part meaningfully, but Chen Xinyi didn’t catch the implication.
Still, she was willing to give Song Qingyuan some face. Though she was jealous that he was speaking up for Shen Yue, she didn’t want to offend someone as talented as him.
“Student Song, I was only trying to warn her so she wouldn’t embarrass herself when the results come out. Since you’ve spoken up, I’ll wait and see.”
Shen Yue, whose hands were already on the edge of the desk, watched Chen Xinyi walk away and felt a little disappointed.
Shen Yun silently pulled his desk back into place and looked up at Song Qingyuan, seeming to think he’d meddled unnecessarily.
Song Qingyuan: “??”
As Shen Jiao passed them on her way to throw away some trash, she shot them a cold look and murmured something only the three of them could hear.
“If I were you, I’d stay home and keep out of sight. You’re making a fool of yourself.”
……
After school that afternoon, Shen Jiao returned to the villa. Only Su Yuqing was home.
At dinner, Shen Jiao hesitated several times. Su Yuqing noticed and, assuming something was wrong, quickly set down her chopsticks and asked.
In her eyes, anything concerning Shen Jiao was important.
“What happened?”
Shen Jiao shook her head. “Nothing. She made a bet with a classmate.”
Su Yuqing knew that “she” meant Shen Yue, and her brow immediately furrowed.
After what had happened before, she really didn’t want to hear anything about Shen Yue.
But if Shen Jiao had brought it up, it couldn’t be trivial, so she patiently asked for details.
Shen Jiao told Su Yuqing everything, including how Shen Yue had handed in her papers early.
At the end, Shen Jiao paused. “Pretty much everyone at Cloud City No. 1 High School knows about it now.”
The more Su Yuqing heard, the darker her expression grew, as if Shen Yue were her enemy.
With a sharp smack, she put down her chopsticks, her face cold.
“All she does is make me lose face. You focus on your studies and leave her alone. Tell your classmates not to worry about the Shen family’s reputation.”
Su Yuqing paused. “Don’t tell your father or your Grandpa about this. Let them see for themselves whether Shen Yue is worth anything.”
She had no appetite left. She got up and walked away.
Shen Jiao lowered her eyes, took out her phone, and sent Chen Xinyi a message, her face expressionless.
【Mom says the Shen family won’t get involved.】
Elsewhere, Chen Xinyi read Shen Jiao’s message and finally felt at ease.
The Chen and Shen families had business ties, and Chen Xinyi had worried that the Shen family might step in to protect Shen Yue. If they did, there’d be nothing she could do.
Fortunately, the Shen family wouldn’t intervene. What could a discarded daughter of the family do? She’d have no choice but to admit defeat and get out of Cloud City No. 1 High School.
That night, Chen Xinyi was in an especially good mood. Even in her dreams, she saw Shen Yue being driven out of Cloud City No. 1 High School by her.
She had no idea what was waiting for her…