13 – He is my own brother
If those words hadn’t come from the teacher’s mouth, Zhou Yuchuan wouldn’t have believed it.
His little deskmate was actually the only one in the entire grade to get a perfect score in English?
Zhou Yuchuan tilted his head to look at Xin Jushang, seeing the person in question sitting very obediently in her seat at that moment, looking no different from usual.
As if this was something she had expected all along.
Zhou Yuchuan was furious. He couldn’t help but tug on Xin Jushang’s sleeve, lowering his voice: “Little liar, with grades this good, you were pretending to be a slacker before?”
Xin Jushang looked utterly innocent, blinking her beautiful almond-shaped eyes, “It was you who kept treating me like a slacker, so I just went along with it.”
Zhou Yuchuan was speechless with anger.
His little deskmate, lying so shamelessly.
After class, as soon as the teacher stepped out of the classroom, the students in the class erupted into chaos again.
They all discussed Xin Jushang’s perfect English score, with some students believing she was an all-around academic genius. But there were still some who thought Xin Jushang only had English to show for herself.
“I never expected Xin Jushang to be so amazing. Did you see the teacher’s face change just now? So dramatic!”
“I don’t believe it. If Xin Jushang is really that good, why didn’t she go to No. 1 High or Hengmu back then, but instead tested into No. 3 High?”
“Yeah, yeah, if she’s really that impressive, why would she go to such a lousy school like No. 3 High?”
“It means she must be unbalanced in her subjects! Probably only English is her strong suit!”
…
Regarding the others’ biases, Xin Jushang didn’t speak up to defend herself, instead letting them argue fiercely.
The last class was Old Hu’s homeroom session, which was when everything would truly be revealed.
Everyone stared intently at the grade sheet in Old Hu’s hands. They weren’t very concerned about their own scores anymore but wanted to know Xin Jushang’s results in all subjects.
Everyone has a gossip-loving heart.
Every time before announcing grades and rankings, Old Hu would give a nearly full-class personal speech.
This time, the students had no patience at all to listen to Old Hu’s lengthy lecture. They just wanted to know the result quickly.
So, a straightforward male student boldly spoke up from below:
“Teacher Hu, we want to know how many points the two new transfer students from No. 1 High and No. 3 High scored this time?”
Hearing this, Old Hu was taken aback, then shook his head with a smile: “Confidential.”
A chorus of groans erupted below. Everyone’s hearts felt like they were being scratched by a kitten’s paw, making them unbearably restless.
They waited until Old Hu finished his talk, and it was almost time for the bell to ring. So Old Hu didn’t have time to continue reading everyone’s grades and rankings and had to ask the class monitor to post the grade sheet on the blackboard at the back of the classroom after class.
As soon as Old Hu handed the grade sheet to the class monitor, he was instantly surrounded by classmates frantically eager for the gossip.
“Hey… everyone, don’t grab… don’t tear the grade sheet…”
The class monitor’s struggle was in vain because the next second, the grade sheet in his hands was snatched away by other students.
“The first place is actually—Xin Jushang!!”
The male student who grabbed the grade sheet shouted loudly.
Everyone was ignited once again—
“Holy shit, let me see!”
“She’s also the grade’s first! So amazing.”
“Math and English are both perfect scores! Science composite 295! This must be first in the six-school joint exam, right?”
“I’m convinced. Who were those blind people saying that the student from No. 3 Middle School had poor grades?”
…
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Zhou Yuchuan’s face was as sour as it could get. He felt utterly humiliated right now.
Xin Jushang, on the other hand, appeared completely unfazed, as if getting first place was nothing out of the ordinary for her.
Xu Zhiyan, sitting in the front row, turned around, resting her chin on her hands, gazing at Xin Jushang with starry-eyed admiration. “Jushang, you’re really amazing!”
Xin Jushang felt a bit uncomfortable under Xu Zhiyan’s intense, starry-eyed gaze, but she was genuinely in a good mood today. So, for the first time, she took the initiative to invite Xu Zhiyan—
“I’ll treat you to bubble tea after school.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, Xu Zhiyan was overjoyed, as if she had won the lottery, and she squealed excitedly.
At that moment, Zhou Yuchuan, who had been silent beside them, suddenly spoke up—
“What about me?”
His tone was pitiful, like a neglected puppy.
Xin Jushang was taken aback for a moment, then slowly replied, “If you don’t mind, you can join us.”
“I want double pearls and double taro paste, and you’re paying,” he said without hesitation.
“Fine.”
After school, the three of them walked to the bubble tea shop together.
Just as they stepped out of the shop after buying their drinks, they ran into Xu Yinan, who was riding past on his bicycle.
Xu Yinan was in his third year at No. 17 Middle School, located near Hengmu. Since it was Friday, school had let out early, and he had come to pick up Xin Jushang on his way home.
Seeing a tall, gray-haired boy standing next to his sister, Xu Yinan immediately flared up. He quickly dismissed Xu Zhiyan as a third wheel, threw his bike aside, and stormed toward Xin Jushang.
Xu Yinan stopped in front of Xin Jushang, pointed angrily at Zhou Yuchuan, who was chewing on pearls beside them, and demanded, “Sis, who is he?”
“My deskmate,” Xin Jushang replied calmly.
“I don’t believe it.”
Xu Yinan glared at Zhou Yuchuan with hostility, as if trying to bore a hole through his face.
To him, this boy didn’t look like a decent person at all.
Could it be that his sister had been swept off her feet so soon after arriving at Hengmu?
“He really is my deskmate,” Xin Jushang explained patiently, then introduced Xu Zhiyan, who was standing on her right. “This is Xu Zhiyan, my friend from my new class. The results came out today, and I did pretty well, so I treated them to bubble tea.”
Xu Yinan stared suspiciously at Xin Jushang, as if trying to find a flaw in her expression.
“Is that all?”
Xin Jushang nodded.
Just then, Zhou Yuchuan finished chewing the pearls in his mouth. He shoved Xu Yinan’s shoulder, his tone full of annoyance. “Who are you? Are you my deskmate’s boyfriend? Mind your own business.”
He felt nothing but hostility toward this suddenly appearing, aggressive boy.
What annoyed Zhou Yuchuan even more was that Xin Jushang, who was usually so quiet around him, seemed to be so obedient to this boy who had appeared out of nowhere.
“I’m not Xin Jushang’s boyfriend.”
Hearing Xu Yinan’s answer, Zhou Yuchuan became even more arrogant.
He shoved Xu Yinan’s shoulder again, pushing the boy several steps back.
“Zhou Yuchuan, stop.”
Xin Jushang couldn’t take it anymore. She stepped forward, wrapped an arm around Xu Yinan’s shoulder, and calmly met Zhou Yuchuan’s fiery gaze. “This is my younger brother.”
As soon as the words were spoken, the milk tea in Zhou Yuchuan’s hand fell to the ground with a crash, pearls scattering everywhere.
“Sis, let’s go.”
Xu Yinan grabbed Xin Jushang’s hand, swiftly pulling her away. Before leaving, he glanced at Zhou Yuchuan and turned his head to warn Xin Jushang, “Sis, don’t associate with this kind of person in the future.”