By the time this happened, the morning self-study session was already halfway through. Class Five’s classroom was filled with the sound of students reading aloud—until two girls suddenly barged in, looking ready for a fight.
In an instant, everything stopped. Dozens of voices cut off at once, and just like that, every pair of eyes turned toward them—sharp and focused like spotlights.
Well, that was fast. They had only just sent their challenge over, and the other side had already come charging back?
Then again, it made sense. The challenge had been issued by them in the first place. Maybe the other side had already prepared something in advance.
At first, everyone’s attention went straight to the tall, striking girl. She had that kind of presence—confident, commanding. But unexpectedly, the one who stepped forward was the girl beside her.
She was slender, almost delicate-looking. At a glance, she even seemed a little fragile.
From the third row, Xie Chen saw her and slightly raised his brows. Then he slowly straightened in his seat.
Su Yunluo unfolded the sheet of paper in her hands. Her gaze swept across the classroom like a blade of frost—cold and precise. When her eyes landed on Xie Chen, she narrowed them slightly, as if locking onto a target. Then she lowered her gaze and began to read.
“Student Xie Chen,
I’ve heard your bold words. I’ve read your challenge.
You take pride in your talent and place confidence in your gender, making careless judgments about others’ potential—frankly, it’s laughable. Have you not heard that ‘arrogance brings loss, while humility brings gain’? You ranked behind others when entering school, yet instead of focusing on your studies, you indulge in empty talk. Isn’t that putting the cart before the horse?
The path of learning is like rowing against the current. Even if talent differs, can hard work not make up for weakness? Even if there are differences between men and women, are there not outstanding women as well? Hua Mulan went to war—how was she any less than a man? Liang Hongyu beat the war drums—did she yield to any hero?
Though I may not be exceptional, I understand this: ‘Set your ambitions high and work diligently.’ My ranking is earned through my own determination, effort, and sweat. I will defend it with my pen, my ink, and my strength—why should it concern you?
As for the monthly exam challenge, I will gladly accept. When the time comes, we’ll let our answers speak, and our scores decide the outcome.
And as for talent performances, I have no fear. I only worry that the one who ends up on stage might not be me—but you. I simply hope that when you lose, and after you’ve performed, you’ll come to your senses: the sea of knowledge has no end, and there will always be someone better. Don’t make such reckless claims again.
That is all. I’ll see you in the exam hall.
Class One, Grade Six—Su Yunluo.”
As she read, the entire Class Five seemed to have their throats sealed shut. No one made a sound. The only thing left in the air was her voice—clear and sharp, like wind striking jade—each word falling crisp and cold like tiny beads of ice. Even after she finished, it felt like her voice was still faintly echoing against the ceiling.
Su Yunluo calmly looked over the room.
But inside, she was quietly pleased, like a smug little version of herself sitting back with crossed legs.
Throughout middle school, even when her overall grades slipped, her Chinese had always stood out. She wasn’t sure whether it came from inheriting her father’s strength in the humanities or from all the books she read with her grandfather when she was young. Either way, by fifth grade, she was already reading Shishuo Xinyu as bedtime stories and treating Shan Hai Jing like a picture book.
She was confident this reply would take her opponent quite a while to digest. Hopefully, it would rattle them enough to affect their performance in the monthly exam.
And sure enough, the silence dragged on for a full two minutes before a boy in the fourth row scratched his head and finally blurted out, curiosity written all over his face, “Uh… can someone translate that?”
“Translate nothing!”
Xie Chen’s deskmate, Li Zhe—the Chinese class representative—shot him a sharp look, then forced a grin and called out toward the platform, “Hey, top student, which website did you copy that from? Send us the link so our class can learn too!”
“Copy your head!”
Yuan Weining dashed forward in a single step, standing protectively beside Su Yunluo. “Go ask around in Class Six if you don’t believe it. Yunluo wrote this on the spot—just now! Xie Chen had barely left, and she finished it in less than ten minutes!”
She lifted her chin, looking down at everyone with open disdain. “Now do you realize you’ve kicked a steel plate? Going up against someone like this and you still aren’t kneeling yet? You might as well admit defeat early!”
A wave of sharp gasps swept through the classroom. Mixed in were murmurs of “No way,” “Are you serious?” and “I can’t even finish a leave note in ten minutes.”
Then, one by one, all eyes turned back to Xie Chen. Their expressions clearly said the same thing: Man… you really picked the wrong opponent this time.
Leaning back in his chair, Xie Chen looked at the girl on the platform, his gaze unreadable.
She lifted her chin and met his gaze head-on.
Her face was small and pale, almost porcelain-like. In the soft morning light, her skin looked smooth and faintly luminous. At first glance, she seemed like a fragile doll that might break with a touch—but those misty, expressive eyes of hers were full of attitude, practically saying, So? Still arrogant now?
He watched her quietly for a few seconds.
Then the corner of his lips curved slightly into a calm, polite smile. “I’ve learned something today. In that case, I’ll see you in the exam hall.”
Su Yunluo rolled her eyes cleanly and without hesitation.
She handed the challenge letter to Yuan Weining with a casual flick. When Yuan Weining went to post it, she even gave a small hop and slapped it onto a spot higher than the blackboard, as if making a statement.
Then the two girls walked out, heads held high like victorious generals returning from battle.
Su Yunluo felt quite satisfied with how everything went.
She could tolerate how Xie Chen’s challenge letter had looked down on Class Six as a whole—that was just part of the challenge. But the line about “men being superior to women” hit a nerve.
Words reveal the heart. There was no need to get to know him further—she already knew what kind of person he was. In essence, he was no different from Teacher Sun, from her father, from so many inexplicably confident men in this world—people with a deeply rooted bias against women.
And this Xie Chen in particular… at such a young age, and already thinking so outdatedly. It completely ruined the decent first impression she had of him. For a moment, she had even thought his calm, expressionless face carried that so-called “Tsinghua–Peking University-level aura” Teacher Sun liked to praise.
Now?
Gone.
What kind of “top student material” writes something like that?
That realization sharpened her vague competitive spirit into something firm and clear. Honestly, she even started to suspect his rank—thirty-second in the grade—was just luck, something he barely held onto with an unusually good exam.
And even at his best, he still didn’t beat her.
So what exactly was he so arrogant about?
Meanwhile, Class Five had completely exploded like a pot of popcorn.
“Damn, that’s what you call a challenge letter!”
“That doesn’t even sound like something a high schooler could write!”
“Compared to hers, ours looks like trash…”
“It’s a total dimensional gap—it’s not even the same level!”
Li Zhe quickly stepped in to calm everyone down. “Hey, calm down! A challenge letter is just pre-game hype, okay? The monthly exam isn’t only Chinese. And besides, it’s not you guys competing—it’s Xiao Xie! Stop shaking his confidence!”
He leaned closer to Xie Chen, lowering his voice, though concern still slipped through. “Bro… this girl, rank sixteen… she’s actually got real skill.”
“She does,” Xie Chen said.
He lifted his phoenix-shaped eyes and looked at the neat yet sharp handwriting on the board. Then he smiled faintly at Li Zhe. “Her writing is way better than yours. Honestly, in the whole grade, it’s probably top-tier.”
Li Zhe coughed. “Why are we talking about me? I’m talking about you! Be honest—are you feeling any pressure right now?”
Xie Chen thought for two seconds, then nodded openly. “Yeah.”
A collective groan filled the classroom.
His tone stayed calm as he added, “My writing really isn’t at that level.”
“Wait, you’re not going to lose, right?!”
“Xiao Xie, hang in there! The pride of all the guys depends on you!”
“What do we do? I don’t want to go do volunteer work in their class!”
“Oh right, what about the talent part? What can you even do?”
“Is it too late to sign up for a crash course in guitar or suona?”
“Why not learn a magic trick? Even if you lose, at least lose with style!”
Amid all the panic, Xie Chen simply reopened his English book, completely at ease, and smiled faintly.
“That won’t be necessary.”