Chapter 26.2
After the teacher finished speaking, everyone began to whisper, casting their gazes toward the girl who had once falsely accused Su Xianxian.
At that moment, the girl pretended to be unwell, slumping on her desk and burying her face in her arms.
The two class representatives who had caught the girl secretly reporting to the teacher this morning were both telling their desk-mates what they had heard.
“No way, she’s actually that kind of person? She usually seems to have a good temper and doesn’t talk much. Her grades were good too; I didn’t expect her heart to be so bad. We should have less contact with her in the future.”
“Exactly…”
Hearing the teacher’s words, the girl felt she could no longer stay. She got up to leave the classroom. When she passed by the two whispering girls, a class representative immediately nudged her desk-mate with her elbow and tilted her chin to signal; the desk-mate immediately went silent.
During the exercises, Su Xianxian stood on the large platform and was praised by the principal over the loudspeaker.
But she had seen many such scenes in her original world, so there wasn’t much surprise on her face; she remained calm and composed.
Su Xianxian’s reaction caused many Su Faction members to be ecstatic.
Watching Su Xianxian’s proud and glorious appearance on the stage, a surge of hatred suddenly rose in that girl’s heart.
“What are you posing for? Didn’t you just cheat? Money really makes the world go round. What a crappy school; everyone is a hypocrite.”
The girl muttered in a low voice, but standing right next to her was a fanatic Su Faction member.
Moreover, she was the desk-mate of the class representative and had already known what the girl had done this morning.
“The teacher has already proven Su Xianxian’s innocence. Why are you still spitting filth here? You’re the one who cheated, right? Before the school installed surveillance cameras, you were tenth in the grade every time. As soon as the cameras were installed, you dropped over three hundred places. If you keep talking nonsense, believe it or not, I’ll have the school re-investigate your previous test papers and take back all the scholarships you received.”
The student who retorted was held back by other classmates.
They all said things like, “Don’t lower yourself to her level.”
The girl felt as though there was an invisible barrier between her and her classmates. They were all accusing her with their eyes; no one was on her side.
She felt extremely wronged. She felt everyone was siding with Su Xianxian.
If it weren’t for Su Xianxian, she wouldn’t have tested so poorly.
If Su Xianxian hadn’t pointed the matter out in front of everyone and made them blame her, how could she have been isolated by everyone, affecting her mood for studying? If Su Xianxian hadn’t insisted on placing second in the whole school and making her suspicious, how could she have become so disliked?
The top ten students in the grade had to take turns sharing their study tips to encourage other students to study together.
After Su Xianxian finished saying those words she had already memorized by heart and stepped off the stage, there were classmates waiting for her.
The girl bit her lip. Not wanting to be isolated by others anymore, she also pushed forward, wanting to apologize to Su Xianxian.
But Su Xianxian was surrounded by people and couldn’t hear what she was saying at all, and then she was led away by Jiang Cuo.
The girl was jostled by students and suddenly fell to the ground. A sense of grievance rose from her heart, and tears began to fall pitter-patter.
The students who had heard her say bad things only gave her a cold glance, rolled their eyes, and turned to leave.
“She’s a grown person; if she accidentally falls, does she really need someone to help her up? Look at that ‘bullied’ act of hers.”
The girl did not reflect on her own mistakes at all; she blamed everything on Su Xianxian.
Clearly, Su Xianxian saw her coming forward but didn’t take the initiative to listen to her apology.
The girl’s heart gradually became distorted.
After returning to the classroom, she didn’t listen to a single lesson all day. Instead, she looked at the notebook in front of her, thinking about the 3,000-word self-reflection the teacher made her write.
She didn’t write a single word until school was over. She returned home in low spirits.
“Daughter’s back! How did you do on the monthly exam? I heard from other parents that the grades are out. Why don’t you know yet? What’s your rank this time? Did you get a scholarship again? Your brother has his eye on a new phone. Lend the money to Mommy first, and I’ll pay you back when I get my salary.
“I also heard that the daughter of the city’s richest man transferred to your class. She’s very rich, named Su Xianxian. How is your relationship with her? Usually, try to build a good relationship with others; maybe our family can benefit a bit. Today the grades must be out, right?”
The girl stammered, afraid to speak.
“They’re not out. I don’t know, and no one told me.”
“How is that possible? I heard from other parents that the grades were released long ago—they knew yesterday. I asked them about your grades, and they were too embarrassed to tell me. Tell me the truth: did you fail? Or do you just not want to hand over the scholarship money? I told you, it’s a loan; I’ll pay you back when I get my salary.”
The girl watched her mother busying herself in the kitchen without even raising her head to look at her. Although she wanted to speak out the resentment in her heart, as soon as her mother opened her mouth, it was all about scholarships and grades. She immediately lost the desire to speak.
“I said they’re not out, so they’re not out.”
At this moment, a phone suddenly rang.
The girl remembered that the class teacher wanted to see her parents tomorrow. She immediately became alert and took a step ahead to pick up the phone. Seeing the caller ID, it was indeed the class teacher.
“What are you grabbing for, kid? Let me see whose call it is.”
“I…”
“It’s from your class teacher. Could it be that they forgot to give you the scholarship and are calling to compensate?”
At the mention of scholarship money, the girl’s mother’s eyes instantly lit up. She snatched the phone away and answered it.
“Hello, Teacher. My daughter said the monthly exam results aren’t out yet—what’s going on? And the scholarship money hasn’t been brought back. Did the school forget to issue it? This child of mine doesn’t really know how to use a smartphone…”
However, what the teacher said on the other end caused the mother’s face to instantly turn cold.
“Oh, okay, Teacher. I’ll make time to see you tomorrow morning.”
After hanging up the phone, the mother’s expression could no longer be described as merely “extremely poor”—it was completely black.
She raised her hand and slapped the girl.
“So you’ve learned to lie, have you? You did so poorly on the grand list this time; the teacher even called to mock me. I wash dishes and scrub pots every day to earn money for your schooling—is it for you to go play? You even dare to cause trouble at school. Do you think your family has some kind of background? You dare to provoke people you can’t afford to provoke. I might as well beat you to death. What did I give birth to you for? You money-losing thing! You can’t even get a scholarship. Look at Fang Jingjing, look at that Jiang Cuo who’s first in the school—which one of them isn’t better than you? What use is raising you? You’re just a drag on your brother.”
The slapped girl covered her cheek, her eyes filled with tears and a look of resentment. Her other hand was tightly clenched into a fist, as if suppressing the inequality in her heart. Then she shouted back:
“Money, money, money! You only gave birth to me for money, right? Then why didn’t you just sell me?”
Slap! Another slap.
“And now you’ve learned to talk back, have you? With your current grades, what kind of good university can you get into? Why did I rent a room in the city to pay for your schooling? If you go back to the village with these grades, you’ll be laughed to death. If I were you, I would have died long ago.
“The teacher said you even provoked that one named Su Xianxian in class? Why did you provoke her when she’s so rich? Can you afford to? Our whole family will be dragged down by you. You jinx! I have to go to the night shift tonight. No one’s going to see the teacher with you tomorrow; figure it out yourself.”
“Mom, I’m back.”
The mother had stopped her scolding halfway through when she heard the door open and a clear male voice.
“Oh, my son is back! Wash your hands and eat quickly. Was school tiring today? Do you have enough pocket money? Should Mom give you a bit more tomorrow?”
Upon seeing her son, the tone of her voice changed 180 degrees.
During dinner, the only meat dish was placed closer to the son.
The girl reached out her chopsticks to grab a piece of meat, but a sudden voice rang out.
“Tested so poorly and you still have the nerve to eat meat? Your brother is still growing; you should eat less. Our family only has this much food. Fortunately, your old drunkard father died early, or someone in our family would have starved to death.”
Hearing her mother’s words, the girl could only sullenly withdraw her hand, looking down at her rice bowl. She then set down her chopsticks, got up, and went back to her room.
“Mom, what’s wrong with my sister?”
“Don’t worry about her—she’s a useless thing.” She then shouted loudly toward the girl’s room, “Remember to wash the dishes later. You’re so old and don’t understand anything; you’re really regressing the more you live. And don’t forget that self-reflection the teacher made you write.”
“Mom, I’ve already found the link for the phone. When can we buy it?”
“We’ll buy it tomorrow. Mom will give you your sister’s food money. Your sister ranked over three hundred on the grand list—it’s truly embarrassing. No wonder those parents didn’t tell me her score when they saw me. Why eat? She probably just took the money to play at school. I won’t indulge this bad habit of hers.”
The boy didn’t show a bit of concern after hearing this; he looked indifferent. “Oh.”
Even though the girl had gone back to her room halfway through the meal, the mother and son still didn’t save half a bite of food for her.
…
Back at the villa, Su Xianxian had already eaten and drunk her fill. She was dressed neatly, sitting at the desk in her room, waiting for Jiang Cuo to tutor her.
Su Lian had also been acting as a “third wheel” (light bulb) for a long time.
A text message arrived on Su Lian’s phone.
It was sent by Su Jianxiu.
Su Lian had discussed it with Su Xianxian; she only needed to convey a message to Su Jianxiu that she wasn’t living well here.
Su Lian: [Papa, when will you pick me up? I don’t have enough to eat or wear here. Big sister scolds and beats me every day.]
Su Lian: [Papa, I feel like the butler uncle looks at me with weird eyes.]
Su Lian: [Papa, I have to delete my messages after I send them, or I’m afraid Su Xianxian will find out if she checks my phone.]
Su Jianxiu: [My good daughter, Papa’s company lost money recently. You’ll only suffer more if you follow me. Stay at your sister’s place for now.]
Su Lian: [Papa…]
Su Jianxiu: [Be good.]
After Su Lian finished messaging, she proactively showed her phone screen to Su Xianxian.
Su Xianxian scanned it roughly and nodded.
Not long after, Jiang Cuo appeared as usual, carrying her backpack and holding a textbook.
Today, Jiang Cuo had tied her hair into a casual bun. Her thick hair made the “widow’s peak” on her forehead look very beautiful.
This gave the usually cold-looking Jiang Cuo a bit of an approachable aura.
When Su Xianxian thought about how Jiang Cuo had taken out test papers that looked carefully preserved this morning, she felt a strange sensation in her heart.
Furthermore, some corners of the full-mark test papers were even decorated with colorful little flowers.
It was a huge “gap moe” (contrast in character).
“Class is starting. What are you dazing about?”
The voice, like clear spring water, brought Su Xianxian back to her senses.
She found Jiang Cuo sitting as usual between her and Su Lian. At this moment, the two were looking at each other, and the distance seemed a bit close. If they both happened to move a bit closer, their lips would touch.
Su Xianxian immediately turned her head away, her face feeling a bit hot.
Su Xianxian used her right hand to fan her face. It must be because Jiang Cuo pinched it today—it definitely wasn’t because she was shy.
How could she be teased by a “little kid”?
“No, I wasn’t thinking of anything. Teacher Jiang, let’s start class.”
Su Xianxian said dully.
Jiang Cuo’s expression was calm as she moved her gaze from the back of Su Xianxian’s head back to her textbook.
Originally, having Su Lian join the class was to avoid the awkwardness of being alone with Jiang Cuo. But today, Su Xianxian suddenly felt that Su Lian being there made her even more uncomfortable.
It was as if something were really going on between her and Jiang Cuo and she was trying to avoid suspicion.
Jiang Cuo tutored every night from 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM—two hours of teaching time.
At 9:20 PM every night, Su Lian would take the place of Su Xianxian’s servants and go warm a glass of milk for her.
At this time, Jiang Cuo would also give Su Xianxian a ten-minute break or ask some simple questions.
When Su Lian went down to warm the milk this time, the two of them suddenly found themselves face-to-face with nothing to say.
If it were before, Su Xianxian would have already been attracted by what Jiang Cuo was teaching and they would have discussed it together.
But today, Su Xianxian felt strange in her heart, feeling as though Jiang Cuo was also different from usual.
Then Jiang Cuo suddenly turned around and rummaged through her backpack for something.
Su Xianxian suppressed her curiosity and didn’t stretch her neck to peek.
Jiang Cuo took out a somewhat exquisite gift box from her backpack, which had a rather clumsy handmade bow tied on it.
Although Su Xianxian had somewhat guessed what it was, she still didn’t dare to be certain. “This is?”
Jiang Cuo: “A gift.”
Anyone would be very happy to receive a gift.
Moreover, the gift Su Xianxian received was from Jiang Cuo.
[Trash System: Congratulations, Host, for completing the task of Jiang Cuo giving a gift to the Host and the task of placing in the top ten of the monthly exam grand list. Reward: Host’s integration with the system world has increased by 10%. Current integration with the system world is 72%.]
Su Xianxian took a long breath to suppress her racing heart.
She tried her best to attribute this extra joy to completing the tasks issued by the system.
“Can I open it now?”
“Of course.”
Su Xianxian’s eyes sparkled as she gently pulled apart the bow that Jiang Cuo had handmade.
The gift box was a long, thin little box.
But the outside had been specially painted with patterns using oil paints by someone who cared.
Although one could tell the painter’s skill wasn’t that great, every part was made as detailed as possible.
One could tell a lot of thought had gone into it.
Because the six sides of the box were painted with different little people and different backgrounds.
There was a little person sitting at a desk in a room, clutching messy braids and poking her forehead with a pen; there was a little person in a garden leading a little dog; there was a little person sitting in a classroom answering questions seriously; there was a little person playing volleyball on the playground; and there was one in the infirmary curled up in bed in pain, with a pained expression.
Su Xianxian’s heart felt as if it had been poked by something, and it instantly became soft.
Her eyes were even a bit moist.
This gift box was really so careful and detailed.
She had asked Jiang Cuo to give her a gift only because of the task issued by the system. She had said it without much thought, but she didn’t expect Jiang Cuo to take it to heart.
Su Xianxian looked up at Jiang Cuo’s face and saw that the coldness in her eyebrows seemed to be replaced by tenderness as she looked at her seriously.
What Su Xianxian found most touching was that the little people on each side of the box were all things that had happened after she came to the system world—it wasn’t the original Su Xianxian.
It gave Su Xianxian the feeling that she truly existed in this world.
After slowly opening the gift box, a golden, extremely shiny fountain pen appeared before Su Xianxian.
Su Xianxian didn’t know much about fountain pen brands, but her intuition told her this pen was very expensive.
If it were in her original world during her high school days, she would have had to save her pocket money for a long time to afford it.
Su Xianxian carefully picked up the fountain pen and found three characters engraved on the tail in seal script.
“Your name, Su Xianxian.”
Perhaps seeing the confusion in Su Xianxian’s eyes, Jiang Cuo immediately reminded her softly.
“You engraved this yourself?”
“Yes. I spent three days engraving it under a magnifying glass. Luckily, I didn’t ruin the aesthetics of the pen.”
Su Xianxian was completely moved.
Jiang Cuo was really so thoughtful.
[Trash System: Ta-da! Congratulations, Host, for triggering a daily random mini-ambiguity task.
The system detects that the Host, having received Jiang Cuo’s gift, is now experiencing an increased heart rate and is greatly moved. Please, Host, gently pinch Jiang Cuo’s chin with your fingers, then kiss her on the cheek once to express your gratitude.]
Su Xianxian: “??”
Her heart full of emotion was interrupted by the Trash System’s notification sound.
[Trash System: A warm reminder to the Host—there will be no reward after completing this task, but if the Host fails the task, 15% of the integration will be deducted.]
Ha?
“Why do such a weirdly grateful action? It’s really misleading.”
[Trash System: The Host’s preferences are like this, but that doesn’t mean Jiang Cuo is like this. This is just gratitude between good friends. The Trash System is also very pure.]
“Bullshit, you even called it an ambiguity task.”
[Trash System: Task countdown is two minutes. Timing starts.]
Jiang Cuo saw Su Xianxian suddenly freeze, the smile on her face also stiffening, and her expression gradually cooling down.
“Do you not like it?”
Su Xianxian came back to her senses and turned her head stiffly to look at Jiang Cuo’s face.
“I… I really like it very much.”
Jiang Cuo also didn’t know what her heart was clenching for. In short, she only breathed a sigh of relief after hearing Su Xianxian say she liked it.
Her very serious explanation for giving Su Xianxian a gift was that she was serious about everything she did. If she was going to give one, she had to treat it seriously.
Before Jiang Cuo could say the next sentence…
She saw Su Xianxian suddenly reach out, gently pinch her chin, and then kiss her on the cheek.
In the quiet room, it made a “mwah” sound.
Jiang Cuo: “…”
Su Xianxian said, “Student Jiang, I’m just too happy. I really can’t think of any other way to express my joy. You won’t mind, will you, Student Jiang?”
Before Jiang Cuo could answer, Su Lian had already come in with the hot milk.
Because of her guilty conscience, Su Xianxian snatched the milk and drank it all in one gulp, which was so hot she kept sticking her tongue out.
With Su Lian back, Jiang Cuo and Su Xianxian immediately changed their mindsets and continued with one teaching and the other listening.
Seeing that Jiang Cuo was as usual and her expression hadn’t changed much, Su Xianxian thought she probably hadn’t taken the cheek-kissing just now to heart. She secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
She became even more serious about answering the questions. She perfectly wrote out a rather difficult problem, not missing a single step.
Then Jiang Cuo suddenly took out a small piece of sticker from her backpack—it was one of those colorful little flowers pasted on the papers.
With a cold expression, Jiang Cuo took off a little flower with her cold white fingertip, scanned Su Xianxian’s face, and then pasted the little flower on Su Xianxian’s cheek.
It was in the exact same spot where Su Xianxian had kissed her.
Then, she deliberately lowered her voice and spoke in a low, ghostly, yet kind tone.
“I ‘thank’ Student Su for listening well and doing this problem so perfectly.”
Su Xianxian: “…”
Retaliation. This is definitely retaliation!
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