The moment Qi Donghai imagined the frustrated look on Zhang Minsheng’s face, all the irritation he’d been holding toward Zhou Yuwei for her disastrous Politics score vanished.
Earlier, he’d still worn a rather sour expression whenever he looked at her. Now, it could at least be described as “pleasant.”
Politics could always be improved later. It wasn’t a big problem. She just needed more practice. If she hated memorizing, then he’d simply make her do more exercises. Practice made perfect. Nothing to worry about!
Watching the changing expressions on her homeroom teacher’s face, Zhou Yuwei suddenly had a bad feeling.
What’s with that look? Is Teacher Qi plotting something?
A chill instantly ran down her spine.
“Zhou Yuwei.”
“Present!”
She immediately stood up straight.
“Keep up the good work. If you run into any difficulties, you can come to your homeroom teacher or to me,” Principal Tan said with a warm smile.
“Thank you, Principal. Um… may I ask for a few more days off?” Zhou Yuwei asked cautiously, glancing nervously at Teacher Qi’s expression.
“You’ve only just come back to school. Why are you asking for leave again?” Qi Donghai was practically furious.
“Well… Teacher Qi, my dad accidentally fell off his bicycle a few days ago. Someone has to take care of him at home,” Zhou Yuwei said with a perfectly straight face. “He’s bedridden now and can barely move. He can’t even manage his meals. If I don’t stay home to look after him, there’s no one else who can.”
“Your family doesn’t have anyone else? Why should a senior-year student be the one taking care of him? What about your mother?”
“She has to work.”
…
“Achoo! Achoo!”
Meanwhile, Zhou Kun had no idea why his nose had been itching all day.
“Old Zhou, what’s wrong? Caught a cold?” the old hunter asked curiously after hearing him sneeze yet again.
“No. I’m perfectly healthy. I don’t know what’s going on today—I just can’t stop sneezing.”
“Then someone’s probably talking about you.”
“…Achoo…”
…
“You don’t understand, Teacher. My mom is the only breadwinner in the family. My older sister only recently returned from the countryside and finally found a job. She leaves early and comes home late every day. Things are really difficult at home, so…” Zhou Yuwei continued earnestly. “Even if I stay at school, I won’t be able to focus on studying. I’d rather review at home while taking care of my dad.”
“Can you guarantee your grades won’t slip?”
“I guarantee it. My studies absolutely won’t suffer. If the school won’t approve my leave…” She hesitated before adding, “…then I guess I’ll have to suspend my studies.”
In truth, Zhou Yuwei simply didn’t want to spend all day at school.
She still wanted to make money.
And buy houses.
“Fine,” Principal Tan said seriously. “If your studies truly won’t be affected, then I’ll approve it. But only for a while. As soon as your father’s condition improves, you must return to school immediately.”
What else could he do?
The girl had practically said that if she couldn’t take leave, she’d have no choice but to suspend her studies.
Such an outstanding student…
There was no way he was willing to let her go.
“Thank you.”
…
After leaving the principal’s office with Teacher Qi, Zhou Yuwei said, “Teacher Qi, then I’ll head back to class.”
“Mm. Come to my office after school.”
With that, Qi Donghai headed downstairs first.
Zhou Yuwei froze.
That ominous feeling was back.
Her sixth sense had always been frighteningly accurate—
especially whenever something bad was about to happen to her.
…
As she reached the classroom door, she heard voices coming from inside.
“Hah! The results aren’t even out yet, and you’re already bragging. Just wait until Zhou Yuwei’s scores come out. We’ll see who’s crying then…”
Hahaha…
At least he wouldn’t have to scrub those stinking school toilets anymore.
“Hello there, grandson.”
Zhou Yuwei pushed open the classroom door and strode inside.
“Your great-aunt is right here. Aren’t you a rude grandson? Your elder is standing in front of you, and you don’t even know enough to greet her. Is this how your parents raised you?”
“Who are you calling a grandson, Zhou Yuwei?”
Wu Di’s face flushed crimson as he glared at her in fury.
“Aren’t you my grand-nephew?” Zhou Yuwei replied with a smile. “Didn’t you say that if I hadn’t cheated, you’d call me Great-Aunt? Well, your great-aunt is standing right here. Hurry up and pay your respects.”
“What a joke! Just because you say you didn’t cheat doesn’t make it true!”
Knock, knock.
Just then, the principal’s voice came over the school loudspeakers.
“Students, regarding the rumors circulating on campus that Zhou Yuwei of Senior Year Class Eight cheated on this month’s examination…”
“Those rumors are completely false.”
“Student Zhou Yuwei has already proven through her own ability that her results were earned through hard work.”
“I hope every student will learn from Zhou Yuwei, study diligently, strive for excellence, and achieve outstanding results in next year’s National College Entrance Examination.”
“Believe in yourselves. The future of our nation belongs to you. As long as you’re willing to work hard, your efforts will surely be rewarded.”
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Thunderous applause broke out across the campus.
The students were visibly inspired.
Especially those in Senior Year Class Eight.
Everyone knew what Zhou Yuwei’s grades had been like before.
Seeing such a dramatic improvement was nothing short of astonishing.
Soon, groups of students crowded around her.
“Zhou Yuwei, how did you improve so much?”
“It’s actually pretty simple,” Zhou Yuwei replied calmly. “I don’t have any magical study method. It’s just that while you were sleeping, I was studying. While you were eating, I was still studying. You have to understand that true geniuses are rare. Most people can only achieve the life they want through hard work.”
“We’ll learn from you!”
Several classmates excitedly grabbed her hands.
“Come on,” Zhou Yuwei encouraged them with a smile. “You can do it too.”
…
Seeing the situation, Wu Di quietly tried to slip out through the back door.
Before he got two steps, Liu Changyun grabbed him by the back of his shirt collar and hauled him back.
“Well, grandson?”
“This time even the principal personally confirmed we won. So you’ll be cleaning the toilets by yourself this month, right?”
“Liu Changyun, you…”
“What, me?” Liu Changyun sneered. “Wu Di, a man should keep his word. Aren’t you supposed to be a real man? Then honor the bet. Otherwise, how are you going to keep calling yourself the boss of Sesame Alley?”
“I never said I wouldn’t admit defeat.” Wu Di clenched his fists so hard it looked like he was about to grind his back teeth into powder. “I’ve always accepted the outcome of a bet.”
“Good.” Liu Changyun nodded approvingly. “At least you’ve still got some backbone.”
“But…”
“You still haven’t called Zhou Yuwei ‘Great-Aunt.'”
“That’s right!”
“You were the one who said a real man honors his bets. So hurry up and say it!”
The rest of the classmates immediately chimed in.
“Liu Changyun, don’t push it too far!”
“We’re the ones going too far?” Liu Changyun spat. “You started this whole thing. If Zhou Yuwei hadn’t been able to prove she didn’t cheat, she’d have been forced to leave school in disgrace today. Now that you’ve lost, you’ve got the nerve to accuse us of going too far?”
“Pah!”
“I’ve never met anyone as shameless as you.”
“You’re the troublemaker of Class Eight!”
“Exactly!” another classmate shouted. “You went around telling everyone that someone from our class cheated on the exam. Do you know how that made the rest of the school look at us? Luckily Zhou Yuwei proved those scores were really hers. Otherwise we’d have been laughed at by those people in Class Seven. Just seeing how smug they were made me furious.”
Everyone in Class Eight knew that Teacher Zhang from Class Seven and their homeroom teacher had never gotten along.
If it had turned out that someone from Class Eight had copied someone from Class Seven, it wouldn’t just have been an embarrassment for their class—
it would have been a slap in their homeroom teacher’s face as well.
Old Qi had always treated them so well.
He worried they’d sleep too much, so he diligently assigned piles of homework every day.
Whenever he saw a student slacking off, he’d grab them and lecture them endlessly.
He devoted himself wholeheartedly to Class Eight.
And the thing that made them angriest was—
this whole mess had actually been started by someone from their own class.
If Wu Di hadn’t done something so idiotic, Class Eight wouldn’t have become the laughingstock of the school.
Before, everyone had been so focused on whether Zhou Yuwei had cheated that they hadn’t thought about it.
Now, after Liu Changyun pointed it out, they all suddenly realized what had really happened.
“That’s right! Wu Di’s a traitor to Class Eight!”
Everyone was filled with righteous indignation.
One after another, they surrounded Wu Di, demanding that he apologize to Zhou Yuwei.