“For this exam, I want to particularly commend our classmate Ruan Xing, who made an incredible comeback from the bottom of the grade rankings to the top fifty in just one month. Everyone should learn from Ruan Xing’s example.”
Huang Yi stood on the podium with a beaming smile, feeling increasingly fond of this student.
Amidst waves of applause from below, a sharp voice suddenly cut through: “Teacher, Ruan Xing must have cheated.” The classroom fell into complete silence as soon as these words were spoken.
Ye Qingqing stood up in a rage, pointing angrily at Ruan Xing.
After a moment of silence, classmates began whispering among themselves.
“Holy crap, could Ruan Xing really have cheated?”
“That makes sense, considering her previous scores were always at the bottom.”
“Exactly, no one improves that fast, especially not in senior year.”
“Do you think Ruan Xing did this for Huo Jing? I heard Huo Jing is really close with Ruan Xing’s sister. He likes Lu Wan, whose grades are undeniably excellent. Ruan Xing must have cheated out of jealousy to show Huo Jing she’s just as good.”
“That makes perfect sense. I saw Ruan Xing arguing with her sister recently, and they’ve rarely been seen together since.”
…
As the whispers grew louder, Ruan Xing couldn’t help but furrow her delicate brows.
Wu Jiali carefully observed her deskmate’s expression, feeling increasingly unsettled to see her appear completely unbothered.
As the murmurs drew nearer, Wu Jiali’s eyes filled with fiery anger. She abruptly stood up and turned to glare fiercely at the students behind them.
“Are you all blind? Ruan Xing works harder than anyone! When you’re all playing after class, she’s at her desk studying. When you’re having lunch, she’s still at her desk. When you’re going to bed early at night, she’s staying up late with her notes. How dare any of you say such things about her?”
Every word Wu Jiali spoke was an accusation. She couldn’t understand why everyone was treating Ruan Xing this way when she… was clearly working harder and was smarter than anyone else.
After Wu Jili spoke, the two whispering students behind them immediately deflated, and others who had been gossiping lowered their heads in shame.
Deep down, they all knew about Ruan Xing’s recent transformation and efforts. But no one had stood up for her simply because she had achieved in one month what none of them could. None could accept being outperformed by her, and driven by jealousy, they had all chosen to oppose her.
Now that their true motives had been exposed so bluntly, how could they not feel ashamed?
Ruan Xing wasn’t particularly upset. Having lived a second life, such trivial matters no longer affected her. She only felt uncomfortable hearing people link her with Huo Jing.
In her previous life, she had no real friends and had always considered Lu Wan her best friend and sister. But looking back carefully, during all those times she had been bullied and criticized, Lu Wan had never once stood up for her or even spoken a word in her defense.
In fact, whenever Lu Wan did speak up, the situation only worsened—like adding fuel to fire. Back then, she had been foolish enough to believe Lu Wan had her best interests at heart.
Only after meeting her first true friend in this life did Ruan Xing finally understand what real friendship meant.
Her heart felt both sour and warm; Wu Jiali always seemed to stand unconditionally on her side like this.
“Enough! What are you all arguing about? Every exam room has surveillance cameras installed this time. If Ruan Xing had cheated, how could it possibly go undetected?”
Huang Yi slammed the table forcefully, finally quieting the classroom. Her expression was far from pleasant at the moment.
“Ye Qingqing, sit down and mind your own business. You dropped dozens of places in this monthly exam, yet you have the nerve to falsely accuse others.” Abandoning her usual gentleness, she stared at Ye Qingqing with evident disappointment, her tone stern.
Ye Qingqing’s face flushed crimson with humiliation; she hadn’t expected this outcome.
The afternoon sun slanted westward.
After school, Ruan Xing went early to Lin Shen’s school to wait, not daring to waste a single second, as if afraid Lin Shen might slip away.
No. 18 High School let out twenty minutes later than No. 3 High School. Ruan Xing arrived by taxi just as No. 18 was dismissing.
Unlike No. 3 High, which admitted students purely based on academic performance, No. 18 was a gathering place for underachieving rich kids. Along the way, she saw nothing but red-haired and green-haired youths, each looking like edgy teens—utterly stereotypical “rebels.”
She had thought her previous style was already extreme, but seeing this crowd made her realize there were always others more extreme; compared to them, she was merely a novice.
The girl’s face was far too striking—she was undoubtedly eye-catching. Passing students couldn’t help but let their gazes linger on her.
Some bolder ones even approached her directly for her contact information.
“Hey little girl, leave me your number. I’ll take you out to have some fun,” a silver-haired rebel strode over, admiration undisguised in his eyes.
The moment Lin Shen stepped out of school, he noticed Ruan Xing under the tree. She had always been this radiant, but his eyes darkened when he spotted the silver-haired boy beside her.
They stood neither too close nor too far, and Lin Shen could clearly hear their conversation.
“Little girl, do you have a boyfriend? If—”
“Yes, I have a boyfriend.”
Ruan Xing cut him off before he could finish.
Feeling increasingly uncomfortable and troubled, she began glancing around, as if waiting for someone to appear.
Finally catching sight of the familiar figure across the street, the corners of her eyes lifted, her smile instantly crescents.
“My boyfriend’s here. Please stop bothering me.” With that, Ruan Xing dashed toward the opposite side.
Hearing Ruan Xing’s words clearly, the tips of Lin Shen’s ears burned hot, though his expression remained unchanged.
How… how could she call him her boyfriend?
Wasn’t she afraid of being laughed at?
“You’re finally here! I’ve been waiting for you so long,” Ruan Xing naturally ran up to Lin Shen, sounding somewhat complaining.
The silver-haired boy watched helplessly as the little fairy before him ran toward Lin Shen from their school. His face darkened, and he couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath.
Her boyfriend was Lin Shen, that demon? Was she joking?
He didn’t recall that demon ever showing mercy to girls.
Just as the silver-haired boy expected Lin Shen to angrily tell Ruan Xing to get lost, the two simply walked away together—nothing happened.
Damn, since when did Lin Shen become so easygoing?
He still remembered how there were girls who dared to approach Lin Shen before, and every single one of them ended up returning in tears.
Could it be that the little fairy was just too beautiful? Yes, that must be it.
After all, when compared side by side, purely in terms of appearance, those girls who had approached Lin Shen before were simply not worth looking at.