Xue Jiao took a bite of the steamed fish that Lin Zhi Hua had just served her, followed by a spoonful of white rice, looking quite dejected.

She could only tell that Zhan Yi Chen’s way of speaking was somewhat strange and unlikable, but as for the deeper implications about Cheng Shuo’s motives, Cheng Ming Ze demonstrating his ability to solve problems, and so on—she hadn’t picked up on any of that.

Was the intelligence gap between her and Lin Zhi Hua and Cheng Ming Ze really that large?

Lin Zhi Hua looked at her expression and shook his head with amusement. This girl…

If she could calculate everything so clearly, her interactions with him, Cheng Ming Ze, and people like them wouldn’t be so relaxed.

He smiled and explained everything to her in detail. Lin Zhi Hua wouldn’t force growth, nor would he deliberately tell her about such scheming and calculation.

He would only explain things carefully when she encountered situations she couldn’t understand, but how to handle them and how to view them would be Xue Jiao’s own business.

It was like if there were a wall ahead, Lin Zhi Hua wouldn’t forcibly stop her from running into it.

He would only explain clearly, then extend his hand to protect her head, ensuring she wouldn’t hurt herself when she hit it.

Instead of desperately telling her not to do this or that, he shouldn’t dump all his extra ten years of experience on her at once.

He would explain and protect her, but he wouldn’t hold her back.

He had lived ten years more than her, but that didn’t mean he should make her skip those ten years, making her life ten years shorter, after all, every age had its precious moments.

The confusion and impulsiveness of youth would gradually fade with time and become cherished memories.

He simply gave her guidance and protected her in every way, but which path to take and which direction to go would be entirely her decision.

Love is protection, not indoctrination.

“First, when your father came to Beijing, he couldn’t possibly look for problems throughout the entire school—the scope would be too large and the target unclear. So your father suggested taking your roommates out for a meal, narrowing the scope while still being able to see many potential issues. Your brother is a smart person and immediately understood your father’s intentions.”

Lin Zhi Hua saw that she was listening intently, so he tapped his bowl and chopsticks. Xue Jiao quickly resumed eating, but her eyes remained fixed on him.

“Zhan Yi Chen emphasized several times that your family has resources, suggesting he suspects your brother gained opportunities through family connections. If a roommate harbors such suspicions, other classmates likely think the same.”

“How could they think that?” Xue Jiao frowned deeply. Regardless of whether Cheng Shuo had such influence, even if he did, he would never interfere.

Everything Cheng Ming Ze had achieved was through his abilities.

“However, your brother’s roommate isn’t particularly clever either. He’s both resentful and eager to please at the same time.” Lin Zhi Hua’s smile turned mocking as he turned the fish over and served the best part to Xue Jiao.

“Thank you,” Xue Jiao said.

“Your brother handled it well, responding neither too harshly nor too softly, leaving the other speechless. Clearly, your brother is capable of dealing with such people, but with the project being more urgent, he’s too busy to bother with it, which naturally reassured your father.” Lin Zhi Hua smiled.

After his detailed explanation, Xue Jiao wasn’t a fool and understood everything.

But she felt somewhat discouraged, her eyes and eyebrows drooping. “So the university isn’t as peaceful as I thought?”

“Whether it’s peaceful or not, people only become jealous when you excel. Would you give up excellence just for peace?” Lin Zhi Hua countered.

Xue Jiao shook her head vigorously.

“Right, and when you become extremely excellent or excellence becomes your habit, things can be peaceful again,” Lin Zhi Hua raised an eyebrow. “It’s like when you first ranked in exams, others might envy you and try to surpass you quickly. But once you’ve held the top position for years, hardly anyone will be jealous anymore. Because they’ve grown accustomed to it and accepted it. Your brother just made a big entrance, but by the time you arrive next year when others mention him, they might only feel admiration.”

Xue Jiao nodded in agreement. When she first ranked, there were too many skeptical voices, but after a few more times, except for Chu Sheng, everyone else’s comments changed to whether the first place would be Gu Xue Jiao or Chu Sheng.

Indeed, Lin Zhi Hua was right.

Lin Zhi Hua smiled, ladled half a bowl of soup for her, and asked, “Would you like some more soup?”

Xue Jiao glanced at the soup, touched her stomach, and shook her head firmly.

She had been so absorbed in listening that she’d been eating continuously, and now she was too full.

“Too full?” Lin Zhi Hua frowned and asked almost as soon as he saw her gesture.

Xue Jiao nodded awkwardly.

Perhaps Lin Zhi Hua was so intelligent that she felt she hardly needed to think when she was with him.

She even seemed a bit slow.

“You’re not slow.” Lin Zhi Hua rubbed her head again, making her hair even messier.

“You guessed what I was thinking again?”

“Silly, it’s written all over your face. Let’s go, shall we? Let’s walk to the library to help digest. It’s fine to eat a bit more at lunch.” Lin Zhi Hua smiled as he picked up his backpack.

Xue Jiao reached out, “Let me carry it! Let me!”

Lin Zhi Hua raised an eyebrow. “It’s fine, I’ve got it. It’s not heavy.”

Xue Jiao looked at the hand holding his backpack, remembered how heavy it felt on her own back, and realized how different the strength between boys and girls truly was.

“The college entrance exam is getting closer. For teachers and others, it’s just an annual large-scale exam, but for students themselves, it’s a test of years of hard work and a stepping stone to the future. So, Jiao Jiao, you must work hard in this coming year. Don’t let small matters affecting family or friendships interfere with your studies.” Lin Zhi Hua continued to advise her on their way back to the library.

“Mm,” Xue Jiao nodded firmly.

“Also, and most importantly,” Lin Zhi Hua glanced at her from the corner of his eye while looking ahead.

“What?”

Lin Zhi Hua spoke with feigned casualness, “The pressure in senior year is intense, and many students can’t handle it, developing other thoughts instead. You’re good-looking, so some boys will confess and such. You can’t be distracted—try to keep your distance from boys, study hard. Nothing is more important than the college entrance exam right now.”

Xue Jiao nodded vigorously again, her expression showing complete agreement.

Lin Zhi Hua breathed a sigh of relief.

The two returned to the library and continued their morning work. After finishing mathematics, they started on the comprehensive science questions in the afternoon. These had more problems and Lin Zhi Hua had marked more sections for Xue Jiao, so they progressed somewhat slower.

By six in the afternoon, they still had two sets of comprehensive science questions left, Lin Zhi Hua hadn’t helped with Chinese, and they hadn’t started English yet.

“Chinese requires you to write on your own, and practicing English has many benefits. The remaining set of science questions won’t take long—you can finish them during your days back in the city. Tomorrow, spend time with your family.”

He had originally set aside two days to spend time with her, but they would be returning the day after tomorrow, and it was more important for her to spend time with her family.

He wasn’t in a rush for a day or two—there was a lifetime ahead.

“Okay.” Xue Jiao thought for a moment, then agreed.

Cheng Shuo and Li Si Tong had never traveled with her together, and now with one day available, she should spend it with them.

For the coming year, she would work hard, and so would they.

Xue Jiao turned to look at Lin Zhi Hua again. “Thank you.”

“I had free time and nothing else to do, no need to thank me.” Lin Zhi Hua smiled.

Xue Jiao stared at his handsome face, momentarily lost in thought.

She was truly grateful that she had gone out that day and saved such a wonderful man.

Someone as good as him deserved to live long and prosper, to live a hundred years.

Lin Zhi Hua reached out, waving his elegant fingers in front of her.

“What are you thinking about?”

Xue Jiao immediately snapped back to reality, smiled, and shook her head.

“Nothing.”

Lin Zhi Hua checked his watch and stood up. “Your parents should be coming to pick you up soon. I’ll head out first. Enjoy your day tomorrow.”

“Goodbye,” Xue Jiao waved.

Lin Zhi Hua reached out and, for the last time that day, patted her head.

“I’m off. Bye-bye.”

With that, he turned and left.

Around the time he reached the doorway, Lin Zhi Hua looked back to see Xue Jiao still turned around, watching him leave.

Seeing him look back, she smiled and waved energetically.

Lin Zhi Hua’s smile, which had begun to fade due to the reluctance to leave, immediately brightened again.

Having guarded alone for so long, just a smile from her filled his heart with joy.

How wonderful.

Lin Zhi Hua also raised his hand, waved back, then turned and left with apparent ease.

Walking out of the library entrance, he moved forward to get his car.

“Old Cheng, what are you looking at?” Li Si Tong tugged at Cheng Shuo’s coat.

Cheng Shuo stood on tiptoe, looked around, and said with confusion, “I think I just saw Lin Zhi Hua.”

“Who?” Li Si Tong doubted she had heard correctly.

The figure was no longer visible, but Cheng Shuo insisted firmly.

“It must have been Lin Zhi Hua. His presence is incomparable to ordinary people. I guarantee it was him.”

After picking up Xue Jiao, the three sat in the car heading back to the hotel.

Cheng Shuo looked at Xue Jiao. “Jiao Jiao, how was your studying today?”

“It was fine,” Xue Jiao replied, feeling a bit guilty.

“Oh, that’s good.” Cheng Shuo nodded.

Xue Jiao also asked, “How was your day?”

The couple smiled simultaneously, exchanging glances, radiating an atmosphere that made single people feel uncomfortable.

Xue Jiao: “…”

Cheng Shuo shifted his gaze from Li Si Tong back to Xue Jiao and said seriously, “Jiao Jiao, learning is truly a long-term endeavor. The more excellent a person is, the more continuously they learn and improve.”

Xue Jiao nodded, continuing to listen to his teaching.

Unexpectedly, Cheng Shuo changed his tone and exclaimed excitedly, “I saw Lin Zhi Hua at the library today!”

“Cough, cough, cough!” Xue Jiao began to cough.

Li Si Tong quickly patted her back with concern, looking worried. “Why are you suddenly coughing?”

“It’s nothing, I’m just too surprised,” Xue Jiao felt even more guilty.

But Cheng Shuo was too excited to notice.

“Really! I never imagined that someone managing such a large enterprise as Lin Corporation, constantly advancing new projects, would still make time to study at the library! I’m not working hard enough. Jiao Jiao, look at him—isn’t it evident that learning is beneficial?” Cheng Shuo’s voice remained excited but now carried an element of persuasion for Xue Jiao.

Xue Jiao: “Okay.”

She thought she would probably never tell Cheng Shuo that Lin Zhi Hua had come to help her with her homework.

Cheng Shuo and Li Si Tong had visited the Badaling Great Wall, which Xue Jiao had seen before.

So the next day, the three of them visited the Forbidden City together.

Throughout the trip, Li Si Tong acted as their tour guide.

“See that? That was the imperial wedding chamber. In those days, everything from floor coverings to bed hangings was created by the most skilled embroiderers. The fabric was…” Li Si Tong pointed inside, giving a serious introduction.

Cheng Shuo listened attentively while Xue Jiao looked up at Li Si Tong.

She was quite an impressive person. Her father had raised her according to the standards for cultivating a proper young lady.

But later, after encountering a scoundrel and experiencing a family catastrophe, Li Si Tong gradually became what she is now.

Recalling the original story, Li Si Tong’s life was as tragic as Gu Xue Jiao’s.

This mother-daughter pair only appeared at the beginning of the story. Li Si Tong had been deeply hurt by a scoundrel, and just when she finally met a good man…

She and her daughter argued and fought every day, with the household in constant turmoil.

Later, she even lost her life while searching for her missing daughter.

Her life, except for the relaxed days when her father was still alive, had not a single day of peace in the time that followed.

Noticing Cheng Shuo smiling at Li Si Tong from the corner of her eye, Xue Jiao’s lips curled into a smile.

Well, this person was doing quite well now.

At least in the latter half of her life, Cheng Shuo had appeared—someone who loved and protected her.

The Forbidden City was extremely crowded during the National Day holiday. It took them an entire day to complete their tour of both the Forbidden City and the museum.

They returned to the hotel to rest in the evening and headed home without delay the following day.

Cheng Shuo returned to work, and Xue Jiao continued with her homework and revision.

On the evening of October 6th, Li Si Tong received a text message.

“Jiao Jiao!” Her voice rose, suddenly becoming somewhat shrill.

Xue Jiao put down her pen and hurried downstairs. Even Cheng Shuo, who had just returned, was startled.

“What is it? What happened?”

Li Si Tong held her phone, her face suddenly breaking into a broad smile.

“Jiao Jiao ranked first in the city in the first mock exam!” Her face beamed with pride.

The daughter who once annoyed her so much she didn’t want to mention had become her pride.

“You scared me.” Xue Jiao sighed in relief, patting her chest.

Li Si Tong read aloud, “Congratulations to Gu Xue Jiao of Senior Class 1 for achieving an excellent score of 721 points in the city’s first mock exam, ranking first in the entire city. We warmly congratulate Gu Xue Jiao on such an outstanding achievement.”

Cheng Shuo also smiled, “Good news, good news! What would Jiao Jiao like to eat? Let’s celebrate tonight! Haha, our Jiao Jiao is amazing!”

“Yes, yes, what would you like to eat, Jiao Jiao? Mom will cook it for you herself.” Li Si Tong looked at the text message, cherishing it as she spoke happily.

Xue Jiao: “…”

To be honest, she wasn’t very eager to eat Li Si Tong’s cooking.

Xue Jiao looked at Cheng Shuo: This was your idea, what do we do now?

Cheng Shuo returned an ugly face: You’re today’s star, you refuse!

Xue Jiao: …

She forced a smile, “Mom, let’s have noodles. I’m craving noodles.”

“I agree.”

Li Si Tong looked slightly surprised, “Don’t you want some stir-fried dishes too?”

Xue Jiao and Cheng Shuo said in unison, “Not necessary.”

After all, only your noodles are somewhat edible; as for the rest…

This text message didn’t have much impact on Xue Jiao, since she had already been first in her class. This time it was just a city-wide ranking.

Until the college entrance exam, all glory cannot be considered true glory.

But for many families, it brought different ripples.

October 8th, the official start of school.

Xue Jiao got out of the car at the entrance, and many people around looked over, each with complicated expressions.

She was confused, but quickly put aside all doubts and calmly walked through the school gate.

When she reached the senior high school building, Xue Jiao was stunned.

The electronic screen above the first-floor entrance of the teaching building, which usually displayed encouraging words, now displayed in large characters:

Congratulations to Gu Xue Jiao and Chu Sheng for achieving excellent scores of 721 and 719 respectively in the first mock exam.

Xue Jiao: “…”

A hand patted her shoulder, and Xue Jiao turned to see Yi Tian Yu.

He looked at her, raising an eyebrow, “Bookworm, impressive, first place again!”

Xue Jiao: “…”

“What’s wrong? Too happy?”

Xue Jiao extended two fingers, removed his hand, and looked at him with raised eyebrows, “Yi Yu, it’s not the first time I’ve ranked first. Why would I be too happy?”

Yi Tian Yu: “Fine.”

After a moment, he sighed, “You did well, but you’ve ruined things for the rest of us.”

Xue Jiao frowned, puzzled, “What did I do?”

Yi Tian Yu said, “What did your text message say?”

“Just my score, with the total score at the beginning, followed by each subject’s score,” Xue Jiao was even more confused.

Yi Tian Yu smiled bitterly, “Our text messages were like that too, but at the end there was an additional note: ‘Warm congratulations to Gu Xue Jiao of Senior Class 1 for achieving the excellent result of first place in the city, with a total score of 721. We hope all students learn from Gu Xue Jiao.'”

Xue Jiao: “…”

“My dad originally thought my score was pretty good, showing improvement, but after seeing your score, he wanted to hit me.”

Xue Jiao: “…”

“He muttered about it all night the night before last. Look, I can even recite this message by heart now.” Yi Tian Yu frowned.

Xue Jiao blinked, stunned for a moment, then said, “No wonder.”

“Hmm?” Yi Tian Yu looked confused again.

“No wonder they all look at me so strangely.”

Yi Tian Yu patted her shoulder, “It’s fine, don’t worry. I don’t want to hit you.”

Xue Jiao glared at him, then looked up at the electronic screen.

“This must be Teacher Yin’s doing.”

Yi Tian Yu had a knowing expression, “It’s not like you’re meeting Teacher Yin for the first time. Those words are obviously hers. Because of your terrifying score this time, who knows how many students will get beaten at home.”

Xue Jiao: “…”

She felt somewhat depressed as she walked towards the classroom with her backpack.

“Bookworm, wait up! Lend me your homework to copy this time! I’m running out of time. I still have several sets of papers to complete—too many to finish!” Yi Tian Yu caught up to her.

Xue Jiao did end up lending him her homework to copy. She herself had received help from others, and indeed, there was a lot of homework this time. Many people hadn’t finished, and if they weren’t copying from her, they’d be copying from someone else. She decided to lend it to him just this once.

Xue Jiao sat down at her desk and took out her vocabulary book to start memorizing.

Yi Tian Yu sat behind her, furiously copying without lifting his head.

As class time approached, Liu Jia Xue ran into the classroom with her backpack, her face completely red.

Xue Jiao was slightly startled and tentatively asked, “What’s wrong with you?”

Her face… it looked like she had been hit?

“I don’t want to study anymore,” Liu Jia Xue sat down, tears streaming down her face.

“What?” Xue Jiao exclaimed in surprise.

Liu Jia Xue turned her head, her eyes filled with despair.

“Jiao Jiao, I ranked one hundred and tenth in our grade this time.”

Xue Jiao was stunned, shocked.

When she first arrived, Liu Jia Xue had been in the top five of their grade. Later her performance had declined, but she had still been around thirtieth in the grade. How had she fallen below one hundred this time?

“Jia Xue, did something happen? Tell me about it,” Xue Jiao reached out and gently patted her.

Liu Jia Xue’s tears wouldn’t stop. “I can’t study anymore. When I look at books, my mind wanders to other things. When I see homework, I get irritated. My mom scolds me and hits me, which makes me hate studying even more.”

She cried uncontrollably, her face full of despair.

Xue Jiao frowned, gently patting her.

“Jia Xue, you can’t think like that. We’ve worked hard for so many years, how can we give up at the final stretch?”

“But I really can’t study anymore. I don’t want to study. I really can’t get high scores anymore, and my mom… my mom hits me when I don’t,” Liu Jia Xue cried so hard she could barely breathe.

She didn’t know how to express her feelings. She was too agitated, with a sense of collapse and suffocation.

No one understood the pressure she was under. She knew her grades were slipping, so she panicked, and the more she panicked, the worse she performed.

After several exams, she began to fear tests.

Today, she even feared coming to school.

“I know, Jia Xue, I know,” Xue Jiao reached out, gently patting her back, speaking softly.

“I understand your pain. I said at the oath-taking ceremony that senior year is tough, so tough that just thinking about it feels like a great ordeal in life. Anxiety, pain, wanting to do something well but being unable to—it really makes you want to give up. We’re so young, yet we might be so tired we can’t sleep, so anxious we lose hair.”

Liu Jia Xue didn’t speak, just continued crying.

“But is giving up really the best choice? Can you bear to abandon all these years of effort? Many people want to give up, but there’s no way out. This is a baptism many must go through. As long as it’s not over, we must keep fighting.” Her gaze was very serious, and Liu Jia Xue stared at her blankly.

Xue Jiao handed her some tissues, “Here, wipe away your tears. Once you’re at school, forget all the unpleasant things. Study hard, pick up your pen, and find your former self.”

Her eyes were encouraging. Liu Jia Xue looked at her and slowly reached out to take the tissues and wipe her tears.

Then she said, sobbing, “Okay.”

She then stiffly turned around and began taking out her books one by one.

Her movements were very slow. Xue Jiao saw this and could only sigh quietly.

Yi Tian Yu, sitting behind her, reached out and patted her shoulder.

“What?” Xue Jiao turned back.

“I never thought you cared so much about your classmates,” Yi Tian Yu raised an eyebrow.

Xue Jiao rolled her eyes at him.

“Bookworm, I suddenly feel you’re really good,” he said jokingly, but his eyes were serious.

Xue Jiao didn’t bother to look at him and only said, “Don’t you want to copy the homework anymore?”

Yi Tian Yu: “I do.”

That day, almost all the teachers discussed the first mock exam scores and questions. Xue Jiao didn’t listen much since she didn’t make many mistakes. She needed to spend more time on improvement, as the first mock exam questions were quite simple.

The next day, some teachers began discussing the holiday assignments.

“The homework situation in our class this time was quite poor,” the math teacher stood on the podium, shouting vehemently.

“Copying homework is too common! Do you think I can’t tell when you copy? Do you think I’m blind?” The teacher glared fiercely.

Below, the classmates all lowered their heads like quails, not daring to speak.

Xue Jiao flipped through her error collection, not wasting a single second.

“Some people copying homework is one thing, but they’re copying at such a low standard. This disappoints me greatly.” His gaze swept over everyone below and suddenly he shouted, “Yi Tian Yu, stand up!”

Yi Tian Yu was stunned and stood up in confusion.

What’s going on?

“You copying homework is one thing, but when Gu Xue Jiao wrote 83 plus 29 incorrectly as 111, you also wrote 111. Since you like copying homework so much, copy your math homework again.”

“What?” Yi Tian Yu was anxious.

“Make that twice.”

Yi Tian Yu reluctantly agreed, “Fine.”

Xue Jiao was also quite confused. A calculation error?

That didn’t seem likely. Based on her understanding of Lin Zhi Hua, he was a very careful person.

When Xue Jiao occasionally had problems while solving questions, he could immediately point them out, never being careless.

Xue Jiao found it strange.

That evening, Xue Jiao asked Lin Zhi Hua:

Did you write 83 plus 29 wrong, or was it deliberate?

The reply came instantly:

Hmm, I probably wrote it wrong. Did someone copy your homework and get punished?

Lin Zhi Hua silently thought: I did it on purpose. That guy copying your homework needed to know that homework isn’t something to be copied casually.

Especially homework I wrote.

The corner of his mouth twitched, his fingers tapping on the table, his eyes filled with amusement.

Xue Jiao: Oh, oh, oh. My classmate who sits behind me, my former desk mate, copied my homework and got caught and criticized, and was punished with copying it twice.

The corners of Lin Zhi Hua’s mouth curved up even more, and he even happily moved his foot.

Serves him right.

His fingers tapped as he calmly replied:

Oh, is that so? He’s really unlucky.

With a smile at the corner of his mouth, the words he typed did carry a hint of sympathy, as if he truly felt sorry.

Xue Jiao never learned the truth about the error. As the falling leaves swirled, looking out the window, the trees began to appear bare.

Winter arrived.

This winter, they had several light snowfalls, and these past few days it had been snowing heavily.

The arrival of winter meant the new year was approaching, which also meant that the year of their college entrance exam was coming.

This college entrance exam belonged to them.

After the winter break for first and second-year high school students, a week became six and a half days of classes, with half a day off.

On top of the monthly exams, they now had weekly exams.

Being numb from exams was no exaggeration.

“Everyone, keep your spirits up! I know everyone’s tired, but the teachers are tired too! Everyone wants to celebrate the New Year, but you’ll be free when you go to college next year.” Yin Fang clapped her hands, cheering everyone up.

Her complexion was also far less vibrant than at the beginning of the school year, and even when scolding, she lacked energy.

To give the senior students something to look forward to, almost all schools portrayed college as a free, relaxed, and happy world.

But having seen Cheng Ming Ze in college, Xue Jiao didn’t believe it at all.

Cheng Ming Ze had returned yesterday, on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month.

“Tomorrow is the senior year’s final exam, also known as the second mock exam. If you want to have a good New Year, do well in the exam for me.”

“Ah!” There was a chorus of wails from below.

“What are you crying about?” Yin Fang glared fiercely.

“The teachers have it worse than you. You finish the exam on the twenty-eighth and go home, but we must grade everyone’s papers before the evening of the twenty-ninth.”

“Teacher,” Yi Tian Yu raised his hand and said, “You don’t have to grade them. We’re not in a hurry to see our scores. You can grade them after the New Year when we return to school.”

“Hahaha.” The class erupted in laughter.

“Be serious!” Yin Fang angrily slapped the table. “Anyway, this time’s scores will be sent to your parents before the New Year. Don’t think you’re amazing just because you all passed the first-tier university line last time. That was because the questions were easy. This time, everyone better give it your all. If you can’t make the first-tier line, I’ll have another word with you.”

“Ah!” Another wave of wails.

Only when the second mock exam actually began did everyone understand why Yin Fang had said that.

The questions in the second mock were unprecedentedly difficult.

“Damn, isn’t the school being too harsh? Making such difficult questions and still releasing the scores before the New Year—they really don’t want us to enjoy the holiday!”

“Exactly, it’s terrible!”

“By the way, I heard the Chinese and math papers have been graded, and they’ve started on English.”

“My goodness, can we find out our scores?”

“I don’t dare, I don’t dare!”

This time, the teachers didn’t assign much homework. Both students and teachers were exhausted during this period. It was the New Year, so they agreed not to assign too much homework.

“Everyone, quiet down! Leave the school in an orderly manner later. Remember to be safe and send me a message when you get home,” Yin Fang announced loudly from the podium.

“Okay!” they replied in unison. Holidays were always exciting for students.

“Many scores are already out. Some students did very poorly… Well, let’s not talk about that now. Everyone go home quickly. Happy New Year!”

“Happy New Year!”

After saying this, Yin Fang dispersed the students.

Xue Jiao picked up her backpack, preparing to leave, when she suddenly noticed water on the desk next to her.

She looked up to find Liu Jia Xue crying silently but continuously.

Xue Jiao’s heart tightened.

She understood Liu Jia Xue’s pressure. She was only sixteen, a year younger than the current Gu Xue Jiao, yet she bore tremendous pressure.

She had worked very hard these past few months, but her results were always unsatisfactory.

Instead of improving, she had fallen back a bit more.

Yin Fang used to talk with her frequently, but each time Liu Jia Xue would only cry. Now Yin Fang no longer approached her.

She was under great pressure, like a headless fly, but she could never find a way out.

“Jia Xue,” Xue Jiao called softly.

Liu Jia Xue didn’t respond.

“Jia Xue, what’s wrong?” Xue Jiao tentatively reached out.

Liu Jia Xue suddenly wiped her eyes and hurriedly said, “Jiao Jiao, Happy New Year. Be happy forever.”

After saying this, she immediately ran out.

For some reason, Xue Jiao’s heart tightened, and she quickly chased after her.

“Hey, bookworm!”

Yi Tian Yu saw Xue Jiao running out and followed, backpack in tow.

Liu Jia Xue, with unexpected strength, ran very fast.

After leaving the school gate, she ran to the right.

Xue Jiao knew her home was to the left, and she also needed to go left to catch the bus.

Suddenly, thinking about what was to the right, Xue Jiao’s face went pale and her legs gave way, causing her to fall to the ground.

“Jiao Jiao!” Yi Tian Yu quickly helped her up.

Xue Jiao’s voice trembled as she pointed ahead:

“Quick, Yi Tian Yu, stop her!”