After Biting the Female Lead, the Vicious Female Supporting Character Turned Alpha [Transmigration] - Chapter 44: 044

“That’s right!” Xu Jie said with a smile, “It’s Jiang Xuenian.”

Tan Ying’s serious face immediately broke into a smile. She took the report card from Xu Jie. The total score was 750. Shi Qingfan scored 735, ranking first in the entire school, followed closely by Jiang Xuenian, who scored 725, placing second in the entire school.

The difference in their scores was mainly in Imperial Common Language. This time, the Imperial Common Language exam increased in difficulty. Many words in the listening test were outside the textbook or were local Imperial slang. Jiang Xuenian had finished learning all the textbook knowledge but hadn’t had time to read extracurricular books, so she only scored twenty points out of thirty on the listening comprehension.

Tan Ying scanned their near-perfect scores in all other subjects, her mouth split into a wide grin. She asked the other homeroom teachers, “How many points did the third place get?”

The Class 10 homeroom teacher said, “Six hundred ninety-nine.”

In the entire Bin City, six hundred ninety-nine was a very good score. The Class 10 homeroom teacher was quite satisfied.

“How much did Shi Qingfan score this time?” other homeroom teachers asked curiously.

“Last time Shi Qingfan didn’t perform well and still scored seven hundred two. This time, it must be even better, right?”

“This exam was harder, so maybe not.”

“For a genius among geniuses like Shi Qingfan, the difficulty of the exam makes no difference.”

Tan Ying said, “Seven hundred thirty-five.”

“!!!” This score stunned all the teachers. The exam was clearly harder than last time, yet she scored fifteen points more. It was well-known that the higher the score, the harder it was to increase it.

The other homeroom teachers were green with envy. “With Shi Qingfan, the homeroom teacher’s bonus for the differentiation and college entrance exam is definitely yours.”

Xu Jie said, “That’s not necessarily true.”

“Director Xu, who else in our school could possibly score higher than Shi Qingfan? Why wouldn’t it be certain?”

Xu Jie raised her chin and asked Tan Ying, “How many points did Jiang Xuenian score in the last monthly exam?”

Tan Ying couldn’t quite recall. “Around three hundred? Maybe even less than three hundred.”

Xu Jie: “And this time?”

Tan Ying: “Seven hundred twenty-five.”

“Whoa! Rapid progress!”

Other teachers were incredulous. “You said Jiang Xuenian scored how many points???”

A score jump of four hundred points in one month? Was that even possible?

The Class 10 homeroom teacher was no longer satisfied at all. “Jiang Xuenian is second in the school with seven hundred twenty-five points, and Meng Baichun is third with six hundred ninety-nine points, a difference of twenty-six points… Teacher Tan, how is the feng shui in your Class Three so good?”

The Class 1 homeroom teacher frowned and said, “Even if Jiang Xuenian is good at liberal arts, this score isn’t quite right. I’ve been teaching for over twenty years, and I’ve never seen a student like this. Director Xu, shouldn’t we investigate Jiang Xuenian’s exam conditions?”

He finished speaking and saw Tan Ying’s expression darken, so he quickly added, “Of course, I’m not suspecting Jiang Xuenian of cheating. It’s just that her score increase is too terrifying. If other students knew, they would also question it. If we check the exam surveillance, it would be a proactive response.”

Xu Jie patted Tan Ying’s shoulder. “It’s alright. This time, we turned on the surveillance precisely so as not to wrongly accuse any excellent student.”

She said to the other homeroom teachers, “In fact, Principal Qian and I have already checked the surveillance. There’s nothing suspicious about Jiang Xuenian; seven hundred twenty-five points, it’s completely her own achievement.”

As soon as she said this, the others stopped questioning and were incredibly envious of Tan Ying.

Having one Shi Qingfan was impressive enough. With Jiang Xuenian added, Tan Ying could basically walk around St. Lyceum Academy with her head held high.

“I finally understand what Director Xu meant by ‘not necessarily.’ The bonus will definitely be Teacher Tan’s, but first place might not be Shi Qingfan. Given Jiang Xuenian’s rate of progress, she might even surpass Shi Qingfan in the next monthly exam.”

After enjoying a round of compliments with a smile, the class bell rang. Tan Ying took the report card and pushed open the door to Class Three.

The students’ gazes immediately fell on the paper in her hand.

No need to ask, it had to be the report card.

Tan Ying’s face was serious. Standing at the podium, she said, “The monthly exam results are out. How do you all think you did?”

Everyone looked at Tan Ying’s expression and felt that the results might not be very optimistic.

“Teacher Tan, how would we know? Please don’t keep us in suspense.”

Tan Ying scanned the students below the podium, observing each person’s expression.

Given Shi Qingfan’s scores, there was no reason for her to be anxious, yet Tan Ying detected a faint sense of urgency in Shi Qingfan’s eyes.

Jiang Xuenian still had her gentle, good-natured demeanor, her dark eyes shining, showing no sign of eagerness or otherwise.

Her deskmate, Yin Yan, was quite anxious. From his movements and expression, he looked as if he wanted to run over and snatch the report card.

As for Gong Linglang, she was a zen-like slacker; there was nothing to say.

Tan Ying said, “Yin Yan”

“Yes, Teacher!” Yin Yan took out a blank piece of paper, poised and ready.

Jiang Xuenian took out a notebook, spinning her pen between her fingers.

“Shi Qingfan, Math 150 points, Integrated Sciences 145 points, Integrated Humanities 146 points… Total score 735 points.”

“Wow—” Even though they knew Shi Qingfan had good grades and was the undisputed top student in the school, the students in Class Three still didn’t expect her to score such a high mark of 735.

“The Class monitor is too amazing.”

“There’s a wall between gods and mortals. Why didn’t heaven grant me a good brain?”

••••

Tan Ying waited until they had finished exclaiming, then said, “Alright, let’s continue reading.”

She noticed that the urgency in Shi Qingfan’s eyes remained even after knowing her own score.

Hmm? Wasn’t she curious about her own grade?

Tan Ying continued to read with faint doubt: “Jiang Xuenian, Math 150 points, Physics… Total score 725 points.”

Unlike the commotion after Shi Qingfan’s results were announced, the students simply froze in astonishment.

Tan Ying glanced at Jiang Xuenian, who turned to meet Shi Qingfan’s gaze. Shi Qingfan smiled at her. Tan Ying detected a different feeling, but before she could ponder it, she was interrupted by Yin Yan’s cautious voice.

“My goodness, Teacher Tan, you didn’t read the name wrong, did you?”

Tan Ying snapped back to attention and said, “I didn’t read it wrong, these are indeed Jiang Xuenian’s scores.”

“Goddess Jiang, you truly are Goddess Jiang!” Yin Yan was as excited as if he had scored second in the school himself.

The others, who had good relationships with Jiang Xuenian, were genuinely happy for her.

Only Gong Linglang remained unusually silent.

Tang Xiuran patted Gong Linglang’s arm: “Hey, now you have no reason to stop Jiang Xuenian and Qingfan, right?”

Gong Linglang stubbornly said, “Unless Jiang Xuenian scores first in the grade, surpassing Qingfan.”

Tang Xiuran paused: “Have you ever heard a saying?”

“What saying?”

“Don’t easily set up a flag, because it will backfire.”

Gong Linglang scoffed, “Impossible. Jiang Xuenian was taught by Qingfan. Do you think she could have scored second in the school without Qingfan tutoring her every night? Surpassing Qingfan? Impossible.”

Tang Xiuran was silent for a moment: “Qingfan used to tutor us three and Feichen too. Do you see any improvement in our grades?”

Gong Linglang: “…”

Jiang Xuenian’s scores caused a sensation in Class Three. After that, no other scores appeared that could make them scream.

The Class 10 homeroom teacher entered the classroom, first read Meng Baichun’s score, and particularly praised her. “Meng Baichun has made great progress this time. Students should learn from her.”

“Meng Baichun, would you like to come up and share your secret to progress with the students?”

Meng Baichun stood up and said, “Actually, there’s no secret. It’s just that last time, when I participated in the city-wide league with Shi Qingfan and Jiang Xuenian, I learned some methods from Shi Qingfan, and it was as if something suddenly clicked for me. I didn’t expect to score third in the entire school.”

In the last monthly exam, Meng Baichun only scored a little over 650, ranking tenth in the school.

“Good, Meng Baichun, please sit down.”

Luo Yue looked at Meng Baichun with both jealousy and envy.

If she and Meng Baichun were still friends, she would definitely share Shi Qingfan’s study methods with her, instead of only thinking of herself.

Ultimately, it was still Jiang Xuenian’s fault.

Even though Luo Yue lost to Jiang Xuenian in the exam competition and saw Jiang Xuenian’s outstanding performance in the city-wide league, she still believed Jiang Xuenian had stolen her spot in the competition.

If it had been her who went, perhaps she would have been the dark horse who stole the show.

Luo Yue gritted her teeth, raised her hand, and asked, “Teacher, may I know who the top two are?”

The homeroom teacher said, “Of course. Actually, even if you didn’t ask, I was planning to tell you all later.”

“First in the grade, no need to guess, everyone knows it’s definitely Shi Qingfan. Shi Qingfan’s scores this time are excellent, reaching seven hundred thirty-five points, only losing fifteen points in total.”

The students of St. Lyceum Academy had long been accustomed to Shi Qingfan’s excellence, and even such high scores didn’t surprise them.

“As for second place… you’ve all heard the name before, you can try to guess.”

A few students guessed the names of the previous top ten in the school, but they were all denied one by one.

Meng Baichun suddenly thought of someone, “Teacher, could second place be Jiang Xuenian?”

Luo Yue said, “Heh, how could it be…”

The homeroom teacher’s eyes lit up: “Yes, it’s Jiang Xuenian!”

Luo Yue: “…”

The homeroom teacher said, “Shi Qingfan tutors Jiang Xuenian every day. Meng Baichun said you improved by learning Shi Qingfan’s methods. I think Jiang Xuenian is the same.”

Everyone else got excited, “Teacher, what good methods does Shi Qingfan have? Can you tell us!”

“Yeah, I’ll even pay for it!”

The homeroom teacher said, “Don’t rush, don’t rush. The school is already making arrangements, but they will pilot it in Class Three first, and only promote it after seeing results.”

At the same time, similar scenes were playing out in other classes.

Because Shi Qingfan’s and Jiang Xuenian’s scores were too incredible, every homeroom teacher would mention them to their students, especially Jiang Xuenian, who improved by four hundred points in a month—even a shuttle mech wasn’t that fast.

After the city-wide league video, Jiang Xuenian was once again deified, with some even comparing her to Shi Qingfan.

“Originally, when I heard about the XueFan CP, I thought Jiang Xuenian wasn’t quite worthy of Shi Qingfan. I didn’t expect to be proven wrong so quickly. Is there a more perfectly matched couple in the world than Jiang Xuenian and Shi Qingfan??? No!”

Returning to the dorm after evening self-study, Jiang Xuenian first went back to her room to take a shower, put on long-sleeved pajamas and long pants, and wrapped her hair in a dry hair cap. She was about to go find Shi Qingfan to study extracurricular Imperial Common Language when her phone suddenly rang.

Only a few people knew her phone number. Jiang Xuenian pressed the answer button.

“Xuenian, it’s me.”

Jiang Xuenian was startled. It was Qiu Fanrou’s voice.

She shivered whenever she heard that voice now.

“Hmm, is something wrong?” Jiang Xuenian frowned. Qiu Fanrou calling her at this hour made her unable to help but overthink.

Qiu Fanrou paused at Jiang Xuenian’s cold tone, then continued: “I heard your scores for this monthly exam were excellent. Is there any gift you want? Mom will buy it for you.”

“No need for gifts. By the way, where did you hear about my scores?” She had mentioned to Tan Ying not to call Qiu Fanrou, so it shouldn’t have been Tan Ying who told her.

It was quite a coincidence that Qiu Fanrou knew Jiang Xuenian’s scores.

She was currently on a touring performance. Her new friend, the wife of the Minister of Finance, told her that her daughter had scored third in the entire school, speaking with great pride. Later, she proactively mentioned the top two students at St. Lyceum, stating their names and scores, marveling at their excellence.

Qiu Fanrou heard Jiang Xuenian’s name and it took her a moment to realize it was her own daughter.

Jiang Xuenian had been improving, and there had been signs before.

Although she mistakenly thought Jiang Xuenian’s improvement was due to cheating, after she reminded the school to treat Jiang Xuenian the same as other students, Jiang Xuenian shouldn’t have had the opportunity to get the answers in advance.

This meant that her second-place score was genuinely earned by herself.

The name Jiang Xuenian immediately transformed from “useless person” to “promising talent” in Qiu Fanrou’s mind.

Thus, this phone call.

“Okay, if you need anything in the future, call Mom with this number. Your father and brother are two big men who don’t understand girls. Some things only Mom can help you with, right?”

Jiang Xuenian didn’t want to chat with Qiu Fanrou. This woman only cared about personal gain. She perfunctorily replied a couple of times and hung up the phone.

Taking paper and pen, she went to Shi Qingfan’s dorm. Gong Linglang was still playing on her phone in bed. Shi Qingfan wasn’t there.

Jiang Xuenian greeted Gong Linglang and heard water running from the bathroom. She asked, “Is the Class monitor taking a shower?”

Gong Linglang suddenly put down her phone, sat up hugging her quilt, and seriously asked Jiang Xuenian, “Why do you always call Qingfan ‘Class monitor’?”

Others in Class Three also called her ‘Class monitor,’ so this didn’t show Jiang Xuenian’s specialness at all. If it weren’t for Jiang Xuenian’s overly ambiguous behavior, she would have doubted if Jiang Xuenian even liked Shi Qingfan.

“Huh?” Jiang Xuenian was confused. “Because Qingfan is the Class monitor.”

Gong Linglang hesitated for a moment, then magnanimously said, “Never mind. I know you’re worried about me being unhappy. I agree that you can also call her ‘Qingfan.’ Calling ‘Class monitor’ is too distant for your relationship with Qingfan.”

“???”

Jiang Xuenian considered her IQ to be fine, but she couldn’t understand what Gong Linglang was saying.

Just then, Shi Qingfan pushed open the bathroom door and walked out. The pure white steam quickly dissipated as she emerged. Shi Qingfan’s cheeks were flushed, her damp long hair rested on her bathrobe, and water dripped continuously like beads, wetting a small area behind her.

“Xuenian? I thought you weren’t coming, so I went to shower…”

Jiang Xuenian grabbed a dry towel from nearby and went behind Shi Qingfan, lifting her long hair to help her dry it.

Shi Qingfan’s body stiffened slightly, then quickly relaxed.

“Don’t even get me started. My mom heard about me scoring second in the grade from somewhere and called me. She kept hinting at wanting to repair our relationship. I had to string her along for half an hour before I could hang up.”

“Is your relationship with your mother not good?” Shi Qingfan asked.

“It’s more than just ‘not good’… I’ll tell you the details when I have time.” She had something more important to discuss with Shi Qingfan.

“Qingfan, just now Linglang said that our relationship is very good now, and that me calling you ‘Class monitor’ is too formal, so we can call each other by name. From now on, can I call you ‘Qingfan’? You can also call me ‘Xuenian,’ or my nickname ‘Niannian.’”