The name “Xia Xiao Lan” was impossible to ignore.

Those who had seen her couldn’t forget her, and those who hadn’t could still see her test scores displayed there – you’d have to be blind to miss them. Transfer student, beautiful, excellent grades, mysterious… these were all labels attached to Xiao Lan, with “selfless” later added to the list.

Wasn’t she afraid others would surpass her grades?

Yet she shared her test papers with the entire grade for practice.

Then there were Chen Qing’s published study methods, effective not just for memorizing English vocabulary but for other subjects requiring memorization as well.

Even if Xiao Lan hadn’t already had a good reputation at County No. 1 Middle School, and even if she had been a troublemaker, how many people would still be grateful to her for these two things? Moreover, Xiao Lan appeared so rarely that even the girls found it hard to be jealous of her. She dressed simply, kept a low profile, and could win the goodwill of all the third-year students.

Was she afraid of others surpassing her?

Top students struggled to improve by even a few points, while Xiao Lan’s scores rose rapidly with each test.

Though others were also improving, they simply couldn’t keep up with her pace.

Of course, a few people made sour comments behind her back: “Why does she improve the fastest? She must be keeping even better study methods to herself!”

—Pah, she doesn’t owe you anything.

—If you don’t want what’s given freely, then don’t use the test papers Xiao Lan provided!

—Ungrateful wretches.

Most students had strong moral compasses, and those making bitter remarks were severely criticized. The college entrance exam was a competition with students nationwide – why fixate on Xiao Lan? With the same study methods, wasn’t it possible that Xiao Lan was simply particularly clever in applying them?

From Chen Qing, classmates learned that Xiao Lan had studied at home for three years after graduating from middle school.

They all assumed she had failed the high school entrance exam and couldn’t get into a technical school, but being a study genius, she could still qualify to take university entrance exams after three years of self-study!

There were also rumors that Xiao Lan was Xia Zi Yu’s cousin… Xia Zi Yu had left County No. 1 Middle School only half a year ago, accepted by Beijing Normal College. Her name on the school’s honor board hadn’t even completely faded, and many still remembered her.

However, the study genius Xiao Lan didn’t look much like Zi Yu.

Xia Zi Yu wasn’t ugly, of course, and had attracted plenty of attention at school, but compared to Xiao Lan, she fell far short.

This was especially true from the male students’ perspective. The repeating students from Xia Zi Yu’s year who had spoken with her found her gentle and refreshing… but when Xiao Lan appeared, they didn’t dare look at her directly.

They would steal glances and blush – she was as beautiful as someone from the movies.

“Classmate Xiao Lan, I have a pen here.”

“Xia classmate, use mine, this pen writes smoothly.”

How did Xiao Lan discover her popularity? During the Politics exam, she dropped her fountain pen, and its nib was too damaged to use. When she asked the proctor if she could borrow a pen, more than half the exam room wanted to lend her one!

“Maintain discipline!”

The proctor shouted from the platform – the exam room was about to descend into chaos, and what if people tried to cheat?

Although final exam scores didn’t affect the college entrance exam, some students still liked to deceive themselves, so the proctor had to ensure test integrity. Xiao Lan was startled and could only accept the pen from the person closest to her, repeatedly saying thank you.

She was completely overwhelmed by the attention!

In her previous life, her grades were good too, but she had been poor and unsophisticated during school, with low self-esteem and terrible relationships. Despite being at school every day, there were still people who couldn’t remember her name after three years of high school… Now it was different – though she rarely came to County No. 1 Middle School, she was the center of attention.

After the first day of exams, when people heard Xiao Lan was staying at the guest house, several girls from Class 3 invited her to stay at their homes.

Others offered to squeeze together in the school dormitory to give her a bed.

Xiao Lan knew that no family had spacious living conditions these days, so she wouldn’t impose on her female classmates, and she definitely wouldn’t accept them giving up their beds for her.

“We need good rest for the exams. You’re all too kind, but for better performance tomorrow, I appreciate everyone’s goodwill but must decline.”

Unable to take no for an answer, several girls decided to at least escort her to the guest house.

Xiao Lan felt she had too little interaction with her classmates normally, so she happily agreed.

“Xiao Lan, want to get something to eat?”

“Yes, let us treat you to a meal, Classmate Xiao Lan!”

“We must treat you – you rarely come to class, and everyone’s so curious about you!”

With Xiao Lan’s emotional intelligence, charming a group of young girls who hadn’t yet entered society was child’s play. They all found her beautiful and approachable, genuinely enjoying chatting with her, each eager to treat her to a meal.

These girls’ families were relatively well-off, so spending a few maos wasn’t a burden.

The group surrounded Xiao Lan, suggesting they eat at Zhang’s, but Xiao Lan pointed to the newly opened shop across the street:

“Why not try this place?”

“Let’s follow Xiao Lan’s suggestion!”

“Yes, let’s try something new.”

Across from Zhang’s snack shop was “Sister Huang’s Fast Food.”

Sister Huang had moved quickly indeed.

However, Zhang’s snack shop had existed near No. 1 Middle School for three years, with its taste and reputation deeply rooted in people’s hearts. For now, Sister Huang’s business wasn’t particularly busy. When Xiao Lan led the group of girls into the store, she winked at Sister Huang, who played along and pretended not to know her.

“What’s rice with gravy?”

“It smells good, like beef… only 60 fen per serving?”

“Xiao Lan, what flavor would you like?”

Amid the chatter of ordering, Sister Huang showed them what fast food meant. In the time it took to cook a bowl of noodles, the rice with gravy was ready.

The rice molded and turned over on the plate, thick sauce, meat chunks, and vegetables together – the aroma made them even hungrier. People started out chatting with Xiao Lan but soon were all focused on eating.

The “rice with gravy” was quite tasty.

Zhang’s snack shop had always been the sole business near County No. 1 Middle School’s gate.

Until New Year’s Day, when “Sister Huang’s Fast Food” opened across the street. After some firecrackers were set off, Zhang Cui discovered her shop had a competitor. When Sister Huang first brought people to clean the store, scraping walls and mopping floors, Zhang Cui had a bad feeling. In just two or three days, “Sister Huang’s Fast Food” was open for business, the speed catching Zhang Cui and Xia Chang Zheng completely off guard.

The couple discussed strategies late into the night, and Xia Hong Xia, sensing their low spirits, behaved herself during the day and didn’t dare wander off.

After two days of Sister Huang’s Fast Food being open, Zhang Cui’s expression became more relaxed.

What was this “rice with gravy” they were selling? Customers weren’t buying it much – middle school students and passing workers still preferred eating at Zhang’s. Sister Huang’s business was quite mediocre.

They only sold noodles in the morning and fried rice and rice with gravy at noon – too limited in variety.

Unlike Zhang’s, which had many breakfast options: buns, steamed buns, dumplings, and shumai were just the basics, plus spicy soup and lamb noodles. That’s why they needed to hire several people – multiple dishes meant more work, and everything needed to be made by hand.

The hard work paid off.

Zhang’s food wasn’t particularly delicious, but every dish was well-balanced.

While morning noodles were one thing, at lunchtime, Sister Huang would lift the pot lids in her shop, releasing rich beef and lamb aromas that attracted some people to try her food, stealing some of Zhang’s customers.

Zhang Cui had Xia Hong Xia keep an eye on the competition, but today Hong Xia saw her most despised Xiao Lan surrounded by a group of middle school girls, being escorted into “Sister Huang’s Fast Food.”

“Aunt, look!”

Xia Hong Xia jutted her chin, and across the ten-meter-wide street, the situation in Sister Huang’s shop was easily visible.

Xiao Lan sat facing the street, so of course Zhang Cui saw her.

Zhang Cui now had no way to deal with Xiao Lan. Principal Sun’s channel was blocked, and Xiao Lan was like a slippery eel – they could never catch her doing anything wrong. Zhang Cui couldn’t understand why her previously foolproof methods suddenly stopped working. She and Xia Chang Zheng hadn’t come up with any solutions, so they were patiently waiting for Xia Zi Yu to come home on break and offer advice – though that was the plan, seeing Xiao Lan’s face just made Zhang Cui so angry!