It was already September, yet Jing Da remained vibrant with life. The unique sunset clouds of evening cast a warm crimson glow across the entire campus.
Qiao Man walked leisurely along the tree-shaded path. Just as she was about to turn a corner, a burst of cheers erupted from the nearby basketball court.
She glanced casually in that direction before hugging her books and walking away.
A perfect three-pointer swished through the net, accompanied by fresh cheers as both teams began their halftime break.
“Hey Zhou Feng, isn’t that Qiao Man from your class? Is she heading to the library? Going to the library at this hour?” Someone spotted Qiao Man and asked casually.
Zhou Feng sneered: “Fake.”
Those two short words dripped with malice.
His companions exchanged awkward glances before someone broke the silence: “Don’t underestimate her. She might actually do well on the exam.”
Everyone at school now knew about Qiao Man’s declaration that she would rank in the top ten to join Gu Hantian’s study group. Whenever she was mentioned, this topic inevitably came up.
“She won’t accomplish shit,” Zhou Feng scoffed. “This exam was jointly designed by several professors from North Campus. Do you know why South Campus teachers weren’t involved? Because they’re not qualified!”
Everyone at school knew that before the two campuses merged, although they offered the same majors and subjects, most North Campus professors had longer teaching experience and better research achievements, while South Campus mainly consisted of newer teachers.
This imbalance in faculty allocation existed because students were tacitly assigned by ranking during enrollment—higher-ranked students went to North Campus, while lower-ranked ones were assigned to South Campus.
“She only ranked 35th in South Campus. After the campuses merged, her ranking directly dropped to over 180th. And she only maintained that position because South Campus exams were easier than North Campus ones. Now that North Campus professors are setting the questions, just watch—she’ll do even worse.” Zhou Feng spoke with smug satisfaction.
Someone found this hard to stomach: “That’s not necessarily true.”
“What do you mean not necessarily? Want to bet on it?” Zhou Feng immediately perked up.
The other person paused: “Bet what?”
“Bet whether that fake can make top ten,” Zhou Feng’s eyes gleamed. “I bet she can’t. If I lose, I’ll…”
Before he could finish, a basketball suddenly flew over and hit Zhou Feng directly in the face.
Zhou Feng howled and fell to the ground, his miserable state provoking laughter from the crowd.
As he struggled to sit up, a pair of limited-edition sneakers suddenly appeared in his line of sight.
“Sorry, my hand slipped.” Jiang Sui smiled.
Zhou Feng touched his nose—it was bleeding. His temper flared immediately: “You fucking…”
“Zhou Feng!” A tactful classmate quickly rushed over, handing him a pack of tissues. “Don’t be angry. Jiang Sui didn’t do it on purpose.”
“I’m bleeding!” Zhou Feng glared angrily at Jiang Sui.
Jiang Sui: “What were you saying you wanted to bet on just now?”
“What’s it to you?” Zhou Feng retorted irritably.
Jiang Sui: “Well, it sounded interesting. How about I bet with you instead?”
Zhou Feng paused: “You want to bet with me?”
“Shall we bet?” Jiang Sui curved his lips.
Zhou Feng began discreetly sizing him up.
Limited-edition sneakers, luxury brand clothes—this entire outfit probably cost tens of thousands.
After his assessment, Zhou Feng haphazardly wiped his nosebleed and asked with feigned casualness: “Sure, what do you want to bet?”
“Anything’s fine with me. You name the terms.” Jiang Sui let him set the conditions.
Zhou Feng’s eyes shifted, and he said with indifference, “Betting money is too vulgar. How about this: whoever loses has to buy something for the other person? Let’s keep the price under 100,000.”
Just as Jiang Sui was about to speak, someone nearby couldn’t hold back: “Everyone knows Qiao Man can’t possibly rank in the top ten. What’s the difference between this and extortion?”
“Who’s extorting anyone? He’s the one who insisted on betting with me,” Zhou Feng retorted righteously.
The person wanted to say more, but Jiang Sui raised a hand to stop him.
“Fine, but buying things is pretty boring too,” Jiang Sui said unhurriedly. “How about this: if she doesn’t make the top ten, I’ll buy you something. If she does make it, you don’t have to buy me anything—just do something else instead. How about that?”
Zhou Feng hesitated. “Do what?”
“You scared?” Jiang Sui shot back.
Zhou Feng instantly took the bait. “Who said that? As long as it’s not illegal, I’ll do anything!”
A minute later, Qiao Man’s phone suddenly vibrated.
She kept her eyes lowered, finishing a question before pulling out her phone.
It was from Jiang Sui: Study hard.
Qiao Man: ?
Jiang Sui: My money doesn’t grow on trees.
Qiao Man: …
He’s acting crazy again.
Qiao Man put away her phone, glanced at her shoe that had come unglued again, and continued working on problems.
The exam covered all closed-book subjects from the past two years—it was a comprehensive test. Yet she only had three and a half days to prepare. Fortunately, she had majored in economics in the real world too. Though she’d graduated three or four years ago, she hadn’t forgotten some of the knowledge.
The library was extremely quiet, with only the sound of pen tips scratching paper and pages turning.
Qiao Man kept her gaze lowered, her attention entirely on the textbook, completely unaware she was being secretly photographed.
Ten minutes later, the candid photo of her was posted on the forum, garnering dozens of replies within a minute.
“Yuanyuan, look—there’s another post about Qiao Man,” Jia Xin called out to Yi Yuanyuan in their dorm room.
Yi Yuanyuan curled her lip. “I already saw it earlier.”
“Everyone’s laughing at her for cramming at the last minute,” Jia Xin scrolled down. “What do you think she’s actually thinking?”
“She just wants attention. I never realized she was like this before,” Yi Yuanyuan was still stewing over what happened earlier that day.
Jia Xin was also troubled. “I think so too. She seems to have changed a lot since school started—not as easy to get along with as before.”
“That means she was just pretending before. We were all fooled by her.”
As Yi Yuanyuan spoke, she came across a comment saying Qiao Man was pretty and curled her lip again. “She’s just pleasant-looking. Where’s the pretty part?”
Jia Xin paused, then nodded. “I think so too…”
Before she could finish, the door suddenly opened, and Qiao Man appeared before them.
Yi Yuanyuan gasped sharply, and Jia Xin immediately sat up straight.
Qiao Man, who had just pushed the door open: “?”
The air froze for three seconds before her gaze fell on the dorm’s shared trash can.
“…I’ll take it out right now,” Jia Xin grabbed the overflowing trash can and bolted.
Qiao Man raised an eyebrow, stepped aside to let her pass, then glanced at Yi Yuanyuan.
Yi Yuanyuan silently turned her face away, pretending nothing had happened.
Their acting was terrible. Qiao Man couldn’t be bothered with them. She sat at her desk, read for a while, then went to sleep.
After spending several consecutive days at the library, Friday finally arrived.
The moment her alarm went off, Qiao Man felt a dull ache in her lower abdomen. She suddenly had a bad feeling.
A trip to the bathroom confirmed it—her period had come.
By 8:30 AM, most third-year economics students had gathered.
The proctor began calling roll. When Qiao Man’s name was called, no one answered.
Gu Hantian sat in the corner of the last row, detached from the situation.
“Qiao Man.”
“Qiao Man?”
The teacher called three times in a row, but still no one responded. Students in the classroom began whispering among themselves.
“Did she chicken out at the last minute?”
“Who knows? Skipping the exam is better than failing it, I guess.”
“But isn’t it more embarrassing to not even take the exam?”
Amid the murmurs, someone asked Yi Yuanyuan: “Qiao Man is your roommate, right? Why didn’t she come?”
“How should I know,” Yi Yuanyuan distanced herself, “When Xinxin and I left, she was already up.”
“So she didn’t oversleep—she skipped on purpose. How embarrassing.”
“Quiet,” the proctor said with a frown.
The lecture hall immediately fell silent.
The teacher’s gaze swept over the students as she said displeasedly, “Although today’s exam won’t count toward your final grade, skipping will still deduct credits, and you’ll have to retake it. Does anyone know this Qiao Man? Send her a message and tell her to come quickly.”
Jia Xin and Yi Yuanyuan exchanged glances but said nothing.
After calling the remaining names, the teacher handed the test papers to the students in the front row.
“…Is Qiao Man really going to skip the exam?” Xiao Chen whispered, his purple hair swaying.
Gu Hantian didn’t even look up. “None of my business.”
“Didn’t say it was, I just feel bad for her,” Xiao Chen sighed. “If I hadn’t dragged her into the group without asking, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“She’s the one who said she wanted to rank in the top ten,” Gu Hantian said coldly.
As Xiao Chen took the test papers passed from the front row and was about to say more, a few knocks suddenly came from the door.
Some students had already started answering, and though the knocks weren’t loud, they were noticeable enough to draw everyone’s attention.
“Sorry, teacher, I’m late.” Qiao Man stood at the door, not immediately entering.
The teacher set her book down on the podium, her tone sharp. “Reason.”
Qiao Man’s lips were pale. “My period. Stomach cramps. I went to buy painkillers.”
The teacher coughed. “Come in.”
Qiao Man nodded, took a test paper, and sat in an empty seat.
The school clinic only had ibuprofen, which wasn’t very effective for her. Her lower abdomen still ached faintly.
With one hand pressed against her stomach and the other answering questions, Qiao Man broke into a sweat halfway through and had to stop.
Perhaps her complexion was too pale, because the teacher came over to ask, “Are you okay?”
Nearby students glanced at Qiao Man upon hearing the teacher’s question.
Qiao Man shook her head and asked, “Teacher, can I hand in my paper early later?”
“Sure.”
“Thank you.”
After resting a bit longer, Qiao Man continued answering. With half an hour left until the end of the exam, she directly submitted her paper.
Given the broad scope and large volume of the exam, most people had only finished about two-thirds when she handed in her paper. They couldn’t help exchanging glances with those beside them.
The class bell hadn’t rung yet, and the campus was mostly empty. Qiao Man trudged slowly toward the dormitory, then suddenly stopped.
“Your period?” Jiang Sui leaned against the outer wall of the girls’ dorm, sunlight catching the bridge of his nose.
Qiao Man glanced at him. “Yeah.”
“Figured.” Jiang Sui pulled a blue pillbox from his pocket and tossed it over.
Qiao Man caught it—it was her usual painkiller.
“Next time just hand it to me directly,” she said slowly. “After all, if I don’t catch it, I will lose my temper.”
Jiang Sui whistled. “Quite self-aware.”
Qiao Man took the medicine and went straight back to the dorm.
Half an hour later, after taking the medicine, she fell into a deep sleep, completely unaware of anything, and the exam was completely over.
“Qiao Man?” Once again stopped by someone nosy, Yi Yuanyuan shrugged. “I’ve never seen her have period pains before, don’t know what happened this time.”
“You mean… she was faking it?”
Yi Yuanyuan didn’t speak, just snorted with a laugh.
“Yuanyuan didn’t say that,” Jia Xin spoke up for her. “But Manman really never had period pains before.”
“Then she was faking it.” With two roommates as witnesses, the people around grew more certain.
Jia Xin smiled apologetically. “Let’s not talk about this anymore. Manman didn’t mean to do it intentionally.”
“Yeah, the results will be out on Monday. We’ll know then.” After saying this, Yi Yuanyuan exchanged a glance with Jia Xin.