Xue Jiao saw it from a distance, her gaze resting on Chu Sheng’s name.

The college entrance exam is like a mountain. Along the way, there are diverging paths, muddy terrain, and treacherous obstacles—unavoidable challenges for most people in their lifetime.

Xue Jiao had essentially already climbed to the mountaintop with difficulty, and then turned back to climb it again.

This time, she avoided all the wrong paths, heading straight toward her goal in a better way, without any detours.

The first semester exams for second-year high school weren’t difficult, and Xue Jiao had already experienced them once.

But even for such an exam, Chu Sheng scored 730, only nine points lower than her “cheating” performance.

No. 7 High School truly deserved its reputation.

Xue Jiao’s gaze deepened. These thoughts flashed through her mind in an instant, and she immediately strengthened her resolve, filled with fighting spirit.

Soon, someone interrupted her silence.

“Gu Xue Jiao?! How is that possible?! Wasn’t her performance really bad?!” Liu Yazhen raised her voice, pointing at the first name with disbelief.

Other parents didn’t care about the past; they followed her finger and then grabbed their children beside them.

Some were earnest—

“Look at her! 739! Only lost 11 points! She did so well, why have you dropped so much since the first monthly exam?!”

Some were exasperated—

“Look at her. You all had the same questions, how come you scored nearly a hundred points lower than others?!”

Some were furious—

“I want to beat you up!”

…

The students from Classes 1 and 2, however, were all shocked with widened eyes, looking utterly incredulous.

Gu Xue Jiao… there wasn’t anyone in these two classes who didn’t know her!

After all… her appearance was truly extraordinary!

Someone had once said that Gu Xue Jiao’s looks were even prettier than the acknowledged goddess Gu Shiyun! However, because Gu Shiyun had always excelled in both looks and academics, no one questioned her goddess status.

Thanks to the bet between Cheng Mingjiao and Gu Xue Jiao last time, everyone in Classes 1 and 2 knew about Gu Xue Jiao—extremely beautiful but with terrible grades.

But… what the hell was this about being ranked first with 739 points?!

Class 1 was also shocked. They were more familiar with Xue Jiao than Class 2 was. Although everyone knew she studied somewhat diligently, her performance in the last monthly exam was indeed poor.

They never imagined that Xue Jiao would achieve such an incredible score this time!

This was crushing everyone and ascending straight to the top!

The students from Classes 1 and 2 had their jaws dropped, mouths slightly open, and minds blank.

Of course, they didn’t know yet that what they were witnessing was just the beginning of a brilliant life.

This dominance would forever remain in their memories.

Liu Yazhen, seeing that her shout hadn’t attracted attention, couldn’t help but approach the teacher, raising her voice: “Teacher, I’m Gu Xue Jiao’s second aunt. Her previous performance has always been particularly terrible. How did she do so well this time? Isn’t the authenticity of this score still questionable?”

Her words attracted quite a bit of attention, especially from the already dumbfounded Wu Wanjun and Gu Shiyun.

Hearing this, Yin Fang looked at Gu Xue Jiao standing calmly in the distance and took a deep breath.

“First of all, I guarantee that this exam was fair and just, and it reflects the students’ true abilities. We’ll discuss the rest in the classroom.”

Yin Fang’s shock was no less than Liu Yazhen’s.

Time went back to yesterday afternoon.

They had finished grading all the test papers for the entire grade in the morning and were tabulating scores in the afternoon. She first received the English scores, and at that time only felt that Gu Xue Jiao had performed exceptionally well in English, achieving an unexpected score.

Then, around five o’clock in the afternoon, all the scores were released.

The teachers of the second-year grade group were stunned. Yin Fang was completely bewildered.

Gu Xue Jiao? 739?!

“Teacher Yin! Your class’s Gu Xue Jiao got 739?!” The voice of Class 2’s homeroom teacher shook the entire office.

Yin Fang swallowed and said stupidly: “This time… there wasn’t any leak of exam questions, right?”

When asking this, she was also quite uncertain, since her English paper was only finalized just before the exam and was prepared at home. It was only sent to the reviewing teacher a few days before the exam.

She hadn’t leaked anything, and the reviewing teacher was the grade director, who was always strict and orderly. There couldn’t be a leak.

“It’s impossible on my end, and her Chinese answers were exceptionally good. Even if there were a leak, she couldn’t have answered that well,” said the Chinese teacher. She had always liked Gu Xue Jiao, with her neat handwriting and attentiveness in class.

So she continued: “Besides, student Gu Xue Jiao performs exceptionally well in daily life, and her answers match the style in her workbooks. Based on her usual practice questions, I think this truly showcases her abilities. She just didn’t perform well in the last monthly exam.”

The physics teacher nodded: “It’s rare to see such an obedient student as Gu Xue Jiao. I’ve noticed several times that she previews lessons does homework and practices questions ahead of time. When I give problems in class for them to solve on the spot, I see she solves them quickly. I had been puzzled about why such a diligent child didn’t have ideal grades…”

When not mentioned, these things went unnoticed, but once attention was drawn to them, previously overlooked details suddenly emerged.

Some teachers took out her assignments, and after a flurry of discussions, they concluded that while luck might have played a role in her excellent performance this time, she genuinely had the ability. Her poor performance last time was due to a weak foundation, which she had gradually made up for.

Class 2’s homeroom teacher was as stunned as Yin Fang.

He looked at Yin Fang: “I remember when your class’s Gu Xue Jiao first arrived in Class 1, her math score was only nine points, and everything else was also in terrible shape…”

Yin Fang nodded: “Yes… in last month’s exam, she barely passed everything…”

“From nine points to ninety?!” the Chinese teacher exclaimed.

The math teacher was also stunned for a moment, then said: “From nine points to ninety in the first monthly exam, and then from ninety to full marks in the second monthly exam…”

“This student Gu Xue Jiao must be very hardworking and talented…”

“Teacher Yin,” Class 2’s homeroom teacher’s words had a hint of sourness, “your class’s Gu Xue Jiao did extremely well this time, even surpassing Chu Sheng. Since the class rearrangement, without humanities subjects holding him back, Chu Sheng has always been at the top…”

Hearing Class 2’s homeroom teacher mention the student she often talked about, Yin Fang immediately raised her chin: “How about that? Our class also has someone who can rank first. Chu Sheng is indeed impressive, but didn’t Gu Xue Jiao just exceed him by nine points?”

Class 2’s homeroom teacher pursed his lips: “That’s just a coincidence, just good luck. Chu Sheng’s talent and ability aren’t something ordinary people can match.”

“Then we’ll see in the next monthly exam!”

Yin Fang said this, but in her heart, she already assumed that Xue Jiao’s performance this time was indeed mainly due to luck. It would be difficult to surpass Chu Sheng again next time.

Back to the present.

Although Yin Fang herself had doubted Gu Xue Jiao’s scores, there wasn’t any step where exam questions could have been leaked.

So she only told Liu Yazhen to wait until they were in the classroom.

“But…”

Liu Yazhen wanted to say something more, but Yin Fang interrupted her: “Parents, please enter the classroom first!”

As the homeroom teacher, once she said this, the other parents quickly went inside.

Li Sitong stood frozen. Seeing her motionless, Xue Jiao walked over: “Let’s go in.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she was grabbed by Li Sitong, who lowered her voice and said fiercely: “What’s going on with your grades?! Did you cheat?!”

Xue Jiao: “…”

After a moment, she said: “No. Wouldn’t the teacher know if I had cheated?”

With that, she walked in first.

Li Sitong opened and closed her mouth. Seeing that Xue Jiao had already walked away, she could only follow.

“Parents of our class, please go in quickly!” Class 2’s homeroom teacher organized the parents into the classroom.

Wu Wanjun squeezed Gu Shiyun’s hand, gritting her teeth: “What’s going on?! How could her grades suddenly become so good!”

Gu Shiyun’s expression wasn’t any better, her face filled with undisguised gloom.

“And didn’t you say you could be in the top three?!”

Gu Shiyun’s face looked even worse.

Without Gu Xue Jiao, her grades would indeed be in the top three, but Gu Xue Jiao had parachuted into first place. And… despite trying her best, why was she still inferior to others?!

Wu Wanjun took a deep breath, her steps angry. Gu Shiyun’s grades, which had always made her proud, had embarrassed her a bit this time.

And when she thought about how smug she had been in front of Li Sitong just now, it felt like she had been slapped in the face, making her cheek sting painfully.

—

“Parents, I am Class 1’s homeroom teacher and English teacher, Yin Fang. I believe you all know me!” Yin Fang’s gaze swept across everyone, returning to her usual stern expression.

The parents sat in the students’ seats, with the students standing behind.

As soon as she finished speaking, the parents immediately began applauding in a scattered fashion.

Li Sitong sat at Xue Jiao’s seat, in the last row of the classroom, near the door. The teacher was at the front, and many students’ parents blocked her view.

If she didn’t deliberately straighten her body and spine, she could only see half of the blackboard, and even when stretching her neck, she still couldn’t see everything.

Her gaze unconsciously moved to the desk.

The desk was clean, with only a schedule pasted in the top right corner, written in neat handwriting.

Her gaze moved to the drawer, which was filled with books, all wrapped in black and white checked covers, with book titles written on the sides.

Li Sitong suddenly felt that she might have never truly understood this daughter…

“This time, our class’s performance has improved slightly compared to the first monthly exam. Although only four from our class made it into the top ten of the grade, two of them entered the top three of the entire grade! Especially…” Yin Fang paused here, her gaze moving to Gu Xue Jiao, her expression somewhat peculiar.

She remembered that she had once made a bet with her about class rankings, never expecting that the person would turn around and become first in the grade!

However, Yin Fang was someone who “judged solely by performance.” Xue Jiao had earned her face, and although her emotions were complex, she was mostly happy.

Especially being able to surpass that old fellow’s class student, Chu Sheng!

Although… Yin Fang felt that this time might just be a coincidence. In the next monthly exam, Chu Sheng would probably return to his position as first in the grade.

“Especially student Gu Xue Jiao, who achieved a high score of 739! Let’s congratulate her together!”

Yin Fang was the first to applaud. At this moment, a voice sounded from the door—a gruff male voice: “What?! Someone scored 739?!”

Everyone hurriedly looked toward the source of the voice. A middle-aged man wearing a suit and sunglasses stood at the back door.

He was dressed quite properly today, but people could tell from various details that this person had a “big shot” image, with an extremely arrogant aura.

Compared to his exaggerated appearance, Yi Tianyu, who followed behind him, drew much more attention.

Yi Tianyu was tall and handsome, wearing a hoodie and jeans, with a face full of youthful vigor.

This father-son pair were both eye-catching figures.

Yi Tianyu tugged at Yi Dafa’s clothes, lowering his voice angrily: “Be quiet!”

Yi Dafa pushed away his hand, smiling: “Where do you sit?”

“Right here.” Yi Tianyu reluctantly pointed to the nearest seat.

Yi Dafa frowned: “Son, why is your seat so bad?”

“Stop talking nonsense, sit down quickly!” Yi Tianyu pressed him into the seat, then wiped his sweat, scanning the back with his eyes, and walked directly to Xue Jiao in the corner.

Xue Jiao handed him two pieces of paper.

“…Thanks.” Yi Tianyu was stunned for a moment, then somewhat embarrassedly accepted them, gently wiping the sweat on his forehead.

Xue Jiao shook her head: “It’s nothing. Why are you so late?”

Yi Tianyu sighed: “My dad found out about my score this time and insisted on coming to the parent-teacher conference. He was too excited on the way and got into a car accident.”

His grades weren’t good, but Yi Tianyu’s parents cared a lot about his performance. They had found out his grades last night.

This morning, the two of them had a fierce argument about who would attend the parent-teacher conference and who would go to the company, which had wasted quite a bit of time.

“Ah? Are you okay?”

“The people are fine.”

Xue Jiao looked away and nodded.

Yi Tianyu leaned in slightly, lowering his voice with a smile: “Hey, are you worried about me?”

Xue Jiao gave him a sidelong glance, not saying anything.

Yi Dafa, who had just settled down, spoke again: “Teacher, is there a student who scored 739?”

His question was purely out of shock and curiosity.

Liu Yazhen’s eyes turned, and she first smiled at Yi Dafa, but the other party’s sunglasses were too dark, and he didn’t notice her at all.

Liu Yazhen retracted her gaze with disappointment and also smiled: “Yes, teacher, does student Gu Xue Jiao have any tips for achieving such a high score? Especially being able to rise from several hundred in rank to first in just a short month?”

Yi Dafa was curious, but Liu Yazhen was completely targeted, smiling mockingly, as if certain that Gu Xue Jiao’s score was problematic.

The student’s parents were shocked—from several hundred in rank to first?

Li Sitong clenched her teeth, her gaze fixated on the teacher.

“That’s incorrect. Student Gu Xue Jiao’s performance didn’t improve in just a short month. When she first joined our class, her total score was just over a hundred.”

“Boom—” These words were like a bombshell, frightening the class’s students and parents.

“But this semester, student Gu Xue Jiao has been particularly diligent. For each subject, we bought two supplementary materials, and Gu Xue Jiao bought an additional one herself. She previews before class, pays attention during class, and reviews after class. All the teachers have seen Gu Xue Jiao’s efforts.”

Sometimes it’s like this—if you don’t have good grades, others might acknowledge only a fraction of your effort.

Even with that little acknowledgment, people would doubt: if she’s so hardworking but her grades are still poor, is she not working hard enough?

Even if they confirmed that you were very hardworking, people would say—she’s so hardworking but her grades are still poor, is she not suited for studying? Is she using a foolish method to study?

But once you have achieved good results, all your efforts are seen by others, afraid to miss even a bit.

Yin Fang paused for two seconds, then continued: “So, under such efforts, student Gu Xue Jiao scored 451 in last month’s exam and 739 this month. This improvement is the result of correct effort! Parents, you can see from Gu Xue Jiao’s performance that heaven rewards those who work hard. As long as children put in the effort, nothing is impossible!”

“Good!” Yi Dafa shouted, clapping enthusiastically.

“Children, you are in the second year of high school now, and half of the first semester of your second year has passed. You are getting closer and closer to the third year, closer to the college entrance exam! It’s not too late to work hard now. Gu Xue Jiao is an example! Moreover, if you think your grades are okay and you relax, there are countless others still working hard! The college entrance exam is like a single-plank bridge. If you don’t work hard, you’ll be pushed off by hardworking classmates!” Yin Fang raised her voice.

“That’s right!” Yi Dafa was the first to applaud again, and the other parents also followed, clapping vigorously.

“High school is the most crucial time for children, and parents also need to do their part. The college entrance exam is not just one person’s affair. Children’s performance depends on teachers, and also on you!”

As Yin Fang raised her voice to talk about what parents should do, Yi Tianyu stood beside Xue Jiao, as if struck by lightning.

“You-you-you-you-you—” he stammered.

Xue Jiao turned her head, looking at him with a smile.

Yi Tianyu took a deep breath, and after a long while, said: “You… scored… 739?”

739?!

Is this a score that a human could achieve?!

His gaze was so shocked that Xue Jiao couldn’t help but want to laugh: “Mm…”

Yi Tianyu leaned slightly to the side. This was far more shocking than “thinking someone was bronze but they turned out to be a king”!

Yin Fang said Xue Jiao was diligent, and had been constantly improving since the beginning of the school year. Yi Tianyu unconsciously thought of their first meeting, how she had talked confidently, and from the start of school until now, how she had perfectly completed practice questions in advance…

And also… last month’s exam…

“Just barely passed…” she said after the first monthly exam.

“Mm, I performed to my full potential,” she said after the second monthly exam.

“Boom—” His brain exploded instantly. Yi Tianyu stared incredulously at the calm girl beside him.

She was as beautiful as ever, her big eyes blinked gently, her long and thick eyelashes fluttering like a disturbance at the heart.

Standing at one meter sixty next to his one meter ninety, she looked particularly petite.

But it was this seemingly obedient and fragile girl who actually—

Yi Tianyu lowered his voice, gritting his teeth: “Gu Xue Jiao! You! It was all an act! Last month! You deliberately only scored ninety!”

Xue Jiao raised an eyebrow and turned her head, surprise in her eyes.

Yi Tianyu had that much intelligence?

Seeing her not deny it, Yi Tianyu was so angry he took deep breaths: “You—are something—”

By this time, Yin Fang had more or less finished her instructions and picked up a stack of grade reports from the podium. “These are the grades of everyone in our class, including scores for each subject. They are printed in order of class ranking. The third column is the grade ranking, and the last column shows the change in ranking. Parents, you can compare and see.”

She walked down from the podium, handing one sheet to each parent, continuing: “There are quite a few students who have made particularly significant progress this time, such as Gu Xue Jiao, Li An, Liu…”

After naming a few, she paused: “Also Yi Tianyu, who scored over two hundred points more than in the first monthly exam. These are all improvements. As long as they continue this trend, getting into university shouldn’t be a problem. Parents must supervise their studies.”

“Yes! I will supervise, definitely supervise!” Yi Dafa smiled, showing two rows of teeth. Fortunately, he hadn’t taken off his sunglasses, so his eyes weren’t visible anyway.

Yin Fang was startled by him and took a breath before continuing: “Of course, where some improve, others decline. Students like Yu Fangfang, Cheng Mingjiao, and others have shown significant regression. Parents, take a look at the last column. Parents of those who have declined must have a chat with their children, find the problems. It’s already the second year of high school, time waits for no one!”

“Take a look, everyone. I’ll go out to find the subject teachers to chat with you all.”

As soon as Yin Fang left, the classroom became lively.

Liu Yazhen stared at the grade report, looking fixedly at Cheng Mingjiao’s score.

Cheng Mingjiao, 668, ranked 99th, dropped 81 places.

Looking again at Gu Xue Jiao’s shocking score, she wanted to bite her to death.

Gu Xue Jiao!

She didn’t believe that girl could score 739! Did she think she hadn’t gone to school?

Cheng Mingjiao not only attended classes at school but also went to cram school on weekends. Her best score was only 18th.

How could Gu Xue Jiao, who used to be a delinquent with red hair, score so well?

She didn’t believe that a child raised by Li Sitong could be good!

But since Yin Fang had already confirmed that there was no issue with Gu Xue Jiao’s score, Liu Yazhen had nothing more to say.

As for Cheng Mingjiao…

To drop so much?!

Liu Yazhen looked back, glancing over at Cheng Mingjiao, biting her teeth.

Yi Dafa looked at the grade report, somewhat taken aback. Yi Tianyu had improved too much in his view, yet he was still second to last in the class, though his grade ranking had risen considerably.

He looked at Gu Xue Jiao’s score with full marks in multiple subjects again and again, feeling as if she were almost divine.

What kind of parent could raise such a child?

His gaze drifted to the woman beside him who was staring blankly at the grade report. The woman looked quite old but was still beautiful.

Yi Dafa was certainly not a man who would hit on someone just because they looked good. He just thought that since she was sitting in such a terrible position like him and was staring blankly at the grade report, perhaps… she was the parent of the student ranked last.

So, he turned his head, took off his sunglasses, and smiled profoundly.

“Mrs., how did your child do on the exam?”

Li Sitong emerged from her daze, moved her stiff head slightly, looked at the “nouveau riche” beside her, and didn’t speak.

Forgive her for the large shock she had received today.

Yi Dafa had a look of “as expected” and smiled: “My son’s grades aren’t good, his seat isn’t good either, but at least he’s working hard. You know, he never studied before, even beating him wouldn’t work. Asking him to study was like asking for his life! Recently, under our education, he finally knows to study seriously. Every night he reads books at home, and his mother and I help him with tutoring…”

Yi Dafa talked on and on, and Li Sitong’s thoughts drifted again.

It seemed that since Xue Jiao started studying seriously on her own, she had stopped paying much attention to her studies, focusing more on other things.

Last time… she had even hit her.

“So a child’s improvement is inseparable from the parents’ efforts. I constantly pay attention to his studies and encourage him. With my son scoring two hundred more points, I feel that I’ve done a decent job as a parent!”

Li Sitong nodded, looking at him with some admiration: “You’re right, and you’ve done well. I should learn from you.”

“Heh heh heh, yes, I will continue to work hard in the future, supervise his studies, tutor him!” Once Yi Dafa started boasting, he found it hard to stop. “By the way, is your child Xi Junyang?”

Li Sitong shook her head, looked at him, and said seriously and calmly—

“No, my daughter is Gu Xue Jiao.”

Author’s Note: Yi’s father/smiles: I was boasting to Gu Xue Jiao’s mother… I’m so amazing.