Li Sitong and Xue Jiao weren’t particularly early when they arrived at school. The entrance was already packed with cars, so they had to park further away and walk to the school.

After parting with Cheng Suo and his son, the two headed toward the second-year high school building. Li Sitong didn’t forget to say, “Your brother’s future is now secured. Jiao Jiao, you mustn’t slack off. Only after you’ve passed the college entrance exam can you truly consider yourself successful!”

Xue Jiao nodded. She certainly wouldn’t slack off even for a moment.

The college entrance exam was her dream, and she absolutely would not let herself down!

“By the way, your brother got a first-place award and can be directly admitted to Tsinghua University. You also won first place—can you get direct admission too?” Li Sitong suddenly turned her head. Although Xue Jiao’s grades were very good now, she still worried, fearing that things might suddenly change.

There was still more than a year until the college entrance exam. If Xue Jiao could secure early admission without going through the regular exam process, Li Sitong would have much less to worry about.

“I’m not sure.” Xue Jiao shook her head. “Direct admissions have limited spots. I don’t know if I can get one.”

“You won first place and you’re the top student in your grade. Surely they’d consider you first for direct admission!” Li Sitong immediately became anxious, her voice growing urgent as she stopped in her tracks.

Xue Jiao remained calm. In truth, she wasn’t very interested in direct admission. In her previous life, she had failed the college entrance exam. Getting a second chance was already a blessing, so she naturally wanted to make up for all her regrets.

She wanted to face that battlefield one more time.

“We’ll see. It’s too early to talk about this now.”

“All right then.”

Li Sitong nodded and fell silent. The two walked side by side toward Class 1.

——

At the announcement board.

“Shiyun, how did you do on the exam?” Gu Jingxu stood on tiptoe, trying to see the honor roll.

They hadn’t arrived particularly early, and quite a few people were already standing in front of the list, completely blocking the view.

Gu Shiyun was also anxious, frowning as she stood on tiptoe trying to see inside, but her view was completely blocked—she couldn’t see anything.

“Let’s go, let’s go in,” Wu Wanjun said anxiously, pulling Gu Shiyun to squeeze through.

She was desperate to see Gu Xuejiao being outperformed by Shiyun!

“What are you doing?”

“Don’t push, don’t push!”

“Ouch, you stepped on me!”

“Can’t you wait and look later?!”

“What’s wrong with you? Can’t you see there are people here?”

“Don’t push!”

…

Gu Jingxu frowned slightly but didn’t follow them into the crowd.

He watched as Wu Wanjun pulled Gu Shiyun into the crowd, a gesture that embarrassed him. Wu Wanjun was his childhood sweetheart. They had both grown up poor, and Gu Jingxu was single-mindedly focused on climbing upward.

He worked very hard, had good grades, and with his good looks, had started dating Li Sitong as soon as he established himself in the city.

Li Sitong was the typical rich, beautiful princess who had been pampered all her life. It wasn’t that Gu Jingxu didn’t like her; he just wanted to escape the years of being a kept man who relied on women to advance.

He had to treat Li Sitong delicately. She couldn’t cook or do housework, and he couldn’t say anything about it. Wu Wanjun was completely different from Li Sitong. He didn’t have to treat her delicately; rather, she would treat him that way. Li Sitong was pregnant when the Li family was at the height of their power, and Gu Jingxu could only treat her with the utmost care. With Wu Wanjun, he could find the dignity that a man should have. Wu Wanjun was willing to cook and do housework for him, wash his feet and his clothes.

Because of this, shortly after divorcing Li Sitong, he married his “true love.”

However, familiarity breeds contempt. As they spent time together day and night, many problems emerged.

For instance, the well-bred Li Sitong would never rudely pull her daughter through a crowd, pushing other people aside to squeeze in.

Even though Wu Wanjun was now wearing expensive clothes, Gu Jingxu found her embarrassing and vulgar.

Wu Wanjun had no idea that her impulsive actions had begun to annoy Gu Jingxu. Instead, she eagerly pulled Gu Shiyun deeper into the crowd.

But when the two got closer, they were stunned.

Name: Chu Sheng, Score: 736, Rank: 1;

Name: Gu Xuejiao, Score: 736, Rank: 1;

Name: Gu Shiyun, Score: 723, Rank: 3;

…

Like a bolt from the blue.

Gu Shiyun had truly done well on the midterm exam. She had worked extremely hard this semester, not missing a single point of knowledge.

Out of a perfect score of 750, she had scored 723, meaning she had only lost 27 points!

But how was this possible?

How could Gu Xuejiao and Chu Sheng possibly score 736?!

How many points had they lost in Chinese and English combined? Only ten?

Why?!

Gu Shiyun stared at the scores as if struck by lightning, feeling angry and pained.

“Shiyun, didn’t you say you could do well?!” Wu Wanjun turned to Gu Shiyun, glaring at her in anger.

Her gaze was full of disappointment and disbelief.

Gu Shiyun deflated like a punctured balloon.

“I tried my best… This is the best score I could get…”

Wu Wanjun was both angry and upset. She poked Gu Shiyun’s forehead with her finger. “Forget it, forget it. It’s one thing if you can’t match others, but how could you be outperformed by Gu Xuejiao?!”

She wanted to question and scold Gu Shiyun for being incompetent, but seeing her daughter staring blankly at the score sheet, looking like she was about to cry, Wu Wanjun couldn’t find the words.

“Forget it, forget it. Gu Shiyun, it seems you still haven’t worked hard enough. You need to work even harder from now on! You must surpass Gu Xuejiao. If she could become number one after being so far behind you, you can do it too!”

Gu Shiyun nodded firmly as she stared at Gu Xuejiao’s name.

At this moment, Gu Shiyun still considered Gu Xuejiao merely a roadblock, a small obstacle she would overcome at the next stop.

She thought Gu Xuejiao was just a little pebble she could kick aside.

But what she didn’t know now was that Gu Xuejiao would become a mountain in her life’s path.

If she didn’t take a detour, throughout her entire life, Gu Xuejiao would remain a peak she could never climb.

After checking the scores, the two walked out in silence. When they reached Gu Jingxu’s side, they realized his expression was very unpleasant.

Gu Shiyun’s breath caught.

Wu Wanjun also shuddered slightly and stopped in her tracks. Did he know about Shiyun’s score?

She forced a smile and said, “Jingxu, although Shiyun is ranked third, her score is steadily improving. Seven hundred and twenty-three—if she keeps up this momentum, she can apply to any university after the college entrance exam!”

Hearing Gu Shiyun’s score, Gu Jingxu’s expression improved somewhat.

“Shiyun, keep it up, continue to maintain this effort. You must not be arrogant in victory or discouraged in defeat!”

“Yes, Dad.” Gu Shiyun sighed in relief, nodding obediently and nestling beside him.

Gu Jingxu’s dark expression had eased. He couldn’t stay angry with his precious daughter.

“How did Xuejiao do? What was her score?”

As soon as he asked this question, the expressions on Wu Wanjun and Gu Shiyun’s faces froze, leaving them momentarily speechless.

Gu Jingxu didn’t have time to wonder about their reaction before he suddenly saw Li Sitong and Gu Xuejiao approaching.

There were too many people, and both of them had their eyes on the announcement board, completely unaware of Gu Jingxu and the others nearby.

“Jiao Jiao, there are so many people. How can we see the scores?”

“Let’s wait until people disperse, or you can come back to the classroom with me. Teacher Yin will hand them out later,” Xue Jiao said calmly.

Li Sitong glanced at the parents crowded together. Regardless of the era or how things developed, as long as the college entrance exam existed, parents’ concern for their children’s grades would never diminish in the slightest.

Gu Jingxu stared blankly at Li Sitong. Today, Li Sitong had taken care with her appearance. She looked hardly different from when they had divorced, but suddenly he thought—Li Sitong was truly beautiful.

Xue Jiao resembled Li Sitong, with extremely delicate features, so naturally, Li Sitong couldn’t be ugly. She was certainly a great beauty.

This was Li Sitong. She would never rudely push her way into a crowd. In the past, Gu Jingxu had thought this was arrogance, but now, for some reason… he saw it as good breeding.

Wu Wanjun was nearly grinding her teeth to pieces. Gu Jingxu was staring directly at Li Sitong!

What did he mean by this?!

A woman who relies on a man has no status in the family. Even though Wu Wanjun was furious, she could only force a smile and tug at Gu Jingxu’s sleeve.

“Jingxu, shall we go to Shiyun’s classroom now?”

Gu Jingxu’s gaze followed Li Sitong, still lost in thought.

Li Sitong didn’t listen to Xue Jiao. Instead, she approached a student who had just walked out and smiled as she asked, “Excuse me, who ranked first?”

Coincidentally, Xue Jiao recognized that boy—Chu Sheng.

Chu Sheng pushed his glasses up. Next to him stood his mother, who was a distinguished intellectual.

“Are you Gu Xuejiao’s mother?” he asked softly.

Li Sitong was slightly surprised. “Are you classmates with Xue Jiao?”

“I’m Chu Sheng from the next class. Gu Xuejiao and I tied for first place with 736 points.”

After Chu Sheng calmly finished speaking, both the woman beside him and Li Sitong widened their eyes.

Chu Sheng looked at Xue Jiao again and pushed his glasses up. “Gu Xuejiao, although I still haven’t surpassed you, at least I’ve caught up. I’ll work harder for next month’s exam.”

Xue Jiao: “…”

She forced a smile. “All right, Chu Sheng. I’ll work hard next month too, striving not to be surpassed by you.”

The pressure of having an exceptionally talented classmate chasing hard behind was truly immense…

Xue Jiao was certain that if she hadn’t lived through this once before in her previous life, saving herself a lot of time, with Chu Sheng’s intelligence and hard work, she would have been left far behind by Chu Sheng long ago!

“Hello, Gu Xuejiao’s mother. I’m Chu Sheng’s mother,” the elegant woman suddenly spoke, smiling as she shook hands with Li Sitong.

Li Sitong quickly returned the handshake and introduced herself.

She might not be very clever, but her manners were excellent.

“My son studies like his life depends on it every day, trying to catch up to your daughter and get first place. He had never been like this before! His father and I are so worried!” Chu Sheng’s mother said with a worried expression.

Li Sitong nodded in agreement. “Xue Jiao is the same, studying from morning till night without ever stopping. She even brought a vocabulary book when visiting relatives during the New Year! Working hard is good, but sometimes I worry when she works too hard. Will she become a bookworm?”

Chu Sheng’s mother looked even more worried as she glanced at Chu Sheng with concern. “Your child is still better. I can see she’s poised and confident. Unlike my son—you can barely hear him when he speaks!”

“Ah.” Li Sitong sighed, holding hands with Chu Sheng’s mother as they comforted each other.

“These two children’s scores are good enough for any university. Chu Sheng has won many awards before. By the time they’re in their third year, both children should qualify for direct admission. Why are they fighting so hard for first place now?”

“Who knows? Jiao Jiao’s brother is Cheng Mingze from the third year, who just got direct admission to Tsinghua University. Mingze has been first every year, so Jiao Jiao probably feels the pressure!”

“Oh my, Jiao Jiao’s brother is Cheng Mingze? I’ve heard about him…”

The two parents chatted back and forth, holding hands as if they were old friends.

Chu Sheng and Xue Jiao stood to the side, exchanged glances, and seemed somewhat helpless.

Then Chu Sheng took out a small notebook filled with Chinese sentences and began to read silently.

Xue Jiao: “…”

Who doesn’t have their little notebook?

She took out her English vocabulary notebook and began to recite quietly.

The two parents were getting along well. Gu Jingxu had originally intended to leave with Wu Wanjun and Gu Shiyun, but then he heard a sentence—

“Her father is worried about him too, but he’s an auditor and doesn’t understand education issues at all!”

Gu Jingxu immediately stopped in his tracks.

Surname Chu? Auditor?

Could it be that…

He turned his head and carefully looked at Chu Sheng’s mother, his eyes suddenly lighting up.

It was her! That Chu family!

Seeing Li Sitong and the other woman hitting it off so well, Gu Jingxu had a strange feeling—

How had he never known that Li Sitong was so good at social diplomacy?

He turned to Wu Wanjun and said, “You two wait here for me. I’ll go say a few words and then we’ll leave.”

Wu Wanjun was stunned.

“Jiao Jiao! Did you get first place? That’s wonderful, wonderful!” Gu Jingxu smiled as he walked over, looking at Xue Jiao with fatherly affection.

Both Xue Jiao and Li Sitong frowned.

“And you are?” Chu Sheng’s mother asked hesitantly.

“I’m Gu Xuejiao’s father. Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Chu!” Gu Jingxu extended his hand with a broad smile.

“Mom… Dad is…”

Gu Shiyun stared blankly at Gu Jingxu standing next to Li Sitong, with Gu Xuejiao beside them—they looked exactly like a family of three.

In an instant, she was triggered by childhood memories.

“This Gu Jingxu! Is he trying to rekindle his relationship with that woman Li Sitong? Not if I have anything to say about it!” Wu Wanjun was getting angry. First, Gu Shiyun’s score had been surpassed by Gu Xuejiao, and now Gu Jingxu was staring at Li Sitong without even blinking.

This latest development pushed her anger to the extreme.

She led Gu Shiyun over with purposeful strides, smiling as she took Gu Jingxu’s arm. “Jingxu, where did you disappear to in the blink of an eye?”

Gu Jingxu’s face immediately darkened.

Wu Wanjun hadn’t looked carefully. As someone who had been the other woman, she kept a close eye on Gu Jingxu, and now her gaze was fixed only on Li Sitong.

“Jiao Jiao, you got first place! Aunt Wanjun hasn’t congratulated you yet!”

Wu Wanjun smiled, presenting herself as the magnanimous legal wife, completely oblivious to how utterly displeased Gu Jingxu had become.

Li Sitong gave a cold laugh. “Gu Jingxu, stop coming around and getting in my way. Jiao Jiao is with me. Stay away from us.”

Gu Jingxu’s face grew even darker, and he was embarrassed.

“Um… Xue Jiao’s mother, Chu Sheng and I will head to the classroom first. Let’s chat again another time!” Chu Sheng’s mother quickly spoke up, not even looking at Gu Jingxu.

What woman would like a mistress?

And what woman would like a man who kept a mistress?

Chu Sheng’s mother had almost immediately recognized the relationship between these people, but she didn’t say anything. She simply refused to look at Gu Jingxu again.

“Oh! Alright, I’ll arrange something next time!” Li Sitong replied with a smile, and they exchanged contact information.

After Chu Sheng and his mother left, Li Sitong gave Gu Jingxu a cold glance.

“All of you stay away from me and Jiao Jiao!”

With that, she led Xue Jiao away.

Almost as soon as Li Sitong left, Gu Jingxu turned around and roared in anger, “Why did you come over here?!”

Li Sitong, who hadn’t gone far, heard this and sneered, saying as she walked, “Jiao Jiao, in the future, you must keep your eyes wide open when choosing a man. There’s no need to waste even a second on scum! If he’s scum, even if he’s temporarily good to you, it won’t last!”

Xue Jiao: “…Oh.”

Don’t you think it’s a bit early to be thinking about this?

Meanwhile, Wu Wanjun, who had been yelled at by Gu Jingxu, looked at him in bewilderment. Seeing his unprecedented anger, she immediately fell silent out of fear.

“Dad…” Gu Shiyun opened her mouth.

Gu Jingxu glared at her too, angry at her failure. “Do you know what you just ruined? Not only did we fail to make a connection, but we also made them remember my poor character! Gu Shiyun, your mother is acting foolishly, and you’re going along with it?!”

“No… I…” Gu Shiyun opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say.

“Hmph!” Gu Jingxu angrily shook off Wu Wanjun and walked away.

“Dad—” Gu Shiyun called out.

Gu Jingxu had already gone far. They didn’t dare make too much of a scene and could only stand there in confusion.

After a moment, Wu Wanjun grabbed Gu Shiyun’s arm as if clutching at the last straw.

“Shiyun, you must make your mother proud!”

Gu Shiyun looked at her pleading mother and Gu Jingxu’s retreating figure, feeling completely lost.

——

Xue Jiao’s seat had improved greatly compared to her position in the last row before the New Year. It was now considered a prime location.

But—

“Is Yi Tianyu still your deskmate?!” Li Sitong’s face immediately turned sour.

Xue Jiao looked bewildered.

Li Sitong glanced at her, then deflated as she glared at Yi Dafa’s back.

As if sensing it, he turned around and enthusiastically stood up—

“Xuejiao and Jiao Jiao’s mom are here! Come, sit down!”

Li Sitong: “…”

Yi Dafa was too enthusiastic, speaking so smoothly that Li Sitong couldn’t bring herself to say, “Your son shouldn’t sit with my daughter anymore!”

Yi Tianyu scooted over to Xue Jiao and bumped her. “Bookworm, I won’t congratulate you since you’re always first anyway.”

Xue Jiao: “…”

She was silent for a moment, then asked, “What about you?”

“We made it to the semifinals! Our school team made it to the semifinals!!” Yi Tianyu excitedly rubbed his hands together.

Xue Jiao: “…”

Her voice was emotionless. “I’m asking about your midterm results.”

Yi Tianyu: “…Oh, around one hundred and eighty.”

“You dropped in ranking?”

Yi Tianyu hung his head low, deeply ashamed.

Xue Jiao touched her chin. “That’s still acceptable. As long as you get first place in your competition, you might still get into a good university with these grades.”

Yi Tianyu’s eyes lit up.

Xue Jiao added, “But there’s still a year to go. If you don’t give it your all, you might not be able to attend the university you want.”

Yi Tianyu: “…”

His ears immediately drooped again.

——

Today’s parent meeting seemed like a small award ceremony for Xue Jiao. Almost every teacher who took the stage would praise Xue Jiao.

Perhaps in the past, they had worried that Xue Jiao’s performance might be unstable, but she had consistently remained in first place and even won a first-prize award in mathematics.

The teachers naturally showered her with praise. Yin Fang especially mentioned Gu Xuejiao repeatedly.

By the time it was over, almost everyone knew Xue Jiao and Li Sitong.

This experience of being the object of everyone’s admiration was something Li Sitong had never experienced before.

She raised her chin slightly, her smile never diminishing as she listened to the teachers’ various praises.

This was probably the happiest parent meeting Li Sitong had attended in many years.

Even after the meeting ended, many people sought out Li Sitong to chat. The two of them slipped out during a break.

“Jiao Jiao, if the pressure gets too much, you must tell Mom, okay?” Li Sitong looked at Xue Jiao with loving eyes, reaching out to gently place her hand on her head.

She had rarely been so affectionate toward Xue Jiao before. Today, perhaps because Xue Jiao had brought her so much face, she felt that Xue Jiao was truly her treasure!

Xue Jiao: “…Mm.”

She slightly averted her gaze, lowering her head, and Li Sitong’s hand hovered in the air.

Li Sitong’s expression froze slightly. At this moment, she suddenly understood what Cheng Suo had once said—she had broken Xue Jiao’s heart, and it would be difficult to warm it back up.

Li Sitong suddenly felt regretful, recalling her past suspicions, distrust, and hurtful behavior…

It felt like a knife stabbing into her.

If Xue Jiao’s coldness caused her such pain, how heartbroken must Xue Jiao have been back then?

Looking at Xue Jiao’s lowered head, Li Sitong’s heart ached terribly.

Silence fell between them.

At this moment, a bespectacled man walked out from the neighboring class.

He was originally going to pass by Xue Jiao and Li Sitong but suddenly stopped and turned to look at them.

Li Sitong was startled and asked uncertainly, “You are…?”

Xue Jiao quickly raised her head, smiled faintly, and said to Li Sitong, “Mom, this is Teacher Li, the homeroom teacher of Class 2. Teacher, this is my mother.”

“Ah, it’s Teacher Li. Hello, hello!” Li Sitong quickly extended her hand, smiling in greeting.

Li Ping also extended his hand, shook hers briefly, and then smiled, saying, “Hello, Xue Jiao’s mother. I’m the homeroom teacher of Class 2 and I teach chemistry.”

“Oh~” Li Sitong had a look of sudden realization, though, in reality, she was very confused.

This teacher… did he need something?

Li Ping soon revealed his purpose. He leaned slightly closer to the two and said in a low voice, “Teacher Yin is a strict teacher. My teaching style is quite different from hers. Um… would student Xue Jiao like to join our Class 2?”

“Huh?” Li Sitong was taken aback and looked at Xue Jiao.

Xue Jiao was equally confused, her face full of bewilderment.

“Our class’s average score is higher than Class 1, and the learning atmosphere is better too. If student Xue Jiao wants to join Class 2, I represent Class 2 in welcoming her!” Li Ping smiled, showing two rows of white teeth. “Student Chu Sheng is also in our class. Xue Jiao can encourage and learn from each other with Chu Sheng daily, which will surely make both of them better and better.”

“This…” Li Sitong’s face was full of hesitation.

Switch to Class 2?

She thought switching to Class 2 might not be a bad idea, especially since Yin Fang had given them the cold shoulder at the beginning of the school year.

Most importantly, Xue Jiao was still a deskmate with Yi Tianyu. If Xue Jiao went to Class 2, wouldn’t they be legitimately separated?

“If you’re willing, I’ll handle the transfer. Student Xue Jiao just needs to pack her things, and I’ll bring students to help move them to…”

Before he could finish, a furious shout came from not far away—

“Li Ping, what do you think you’re doing?!”

Author’s Note: Yin Fang: How dare you touch the Master’s territory! Yi Tianyu: Today is a day when I only appear once! Cheng Mingze: Today is a day when only my name appears! Lin Zhihua: Today is a day when not even my name appears…