Saving the Pitiful Villain (GL) - Chapter 14

“Randomly written?”

Yun Wu put down her pen, glanced at Ye Mei, a faint smile on her face. She didn’t offer any explanation, instead pulling out another test paper—this one for Liberal Arts multiple-choice questions.

Again, she didn’t write immediately, choosing to read silently.

These were self-assessment materials provided by the school and wouldn’t be discussed during class time. Typically, the teacher would project the answers onto the blackboard during the break for everyone to check.

If there were any questions, students could ask during the break.

Ye Mei was bored. When the answers were projected, she grabbed Yun Wu’s test paper and began checking the answers.

“Th-th-this… this… how is this possible?”

Ye Mei checked again and again, confirming she hadn’t misread it. They were all correct?

Holy crap! Unbelievable!

With her eyes wide open, Ye Mei poked Yun Wu in disbelief. “You got them all right! You actually got them all right!”

“Mhm,” Yun Wu responded softly, her expression nonchalant.

She was slightly annoyed by the Liberal Arts questions but didn’t show it at all.

Yun Wu was immensely gifted in mathematical logic. Therefore, a brief review of high school mathematics concepts easily solved what Ye Mei considered difficult problems.

However, Liberal Arts not only required rote memorization but also the ability to integrate that memorized knowledge.

Yun Wu had practically forgotten all of her high school Liberal Arts knowledge.

Ye Mei saw her serious expression and quietly shut up. Taking even less time than before, Yun Wu began writing after half an hour of reading.

She also finished filling in the one hundred multiple-choice answers in just one minute.

Ye Mei exclaimed in astonishment, “My goodness, you’re clearly a straight-A student! Why are you pretending to be a slacker?”

Yun Wu calmly replied, “I just guessed. I was lucky just now.”

Ye Mei: “Do you think I’d believe that?”

Yun Wu remained silent, signaling for Ye Mei to check the Liberal Arts paper to find out.

Ye Mei continued checking the answers skeptically. This time, her eyebrows furrowed high, and she couldn’t stop muttering, “How? How can you only get 26 right on the Liberal Arts paper? Your subject imbalance is too severe.”

Ye Mei couldn’t understand. Even she only got about ten Liberal Arts multiple-choice questions wrong. If Yun Wu aced the math, why couldn’t she do well in Liberal Arts?

At least the accuracy rate is above a quarter. Yun Wu sighed inwardly and began reading the Liberal Arts textbook.

In the atmosphere of everyone studying diligently, Ye Mei felt out of place and also picked up her test paper to work on it.

She didn’t forget to try and bond with Yun Wu. “Want to go to the Mu Ye Book Bar after school? They have a gold-medal lecturer giving a talk on Liberal Arts Gaokao concepts there. It’s free.”

Yun Wu was silent for a while, then nodded.

She chose to stay at East Villa because the school’s teaching style would help her prepare faster and better for the independent admissions exams. In this life, Yun Wu vowed to snatch the tied-for-first place spot from Zhao Changming and Xu Chacha in Nanzhou University’s independent admissions exam.

Nanzhou University’s long-standing rule was that only the top scorer in the independent admissions exam qualified for early entry into the National Research Institute of New Economics in their freshman year.

That institute was a sacred place that countless scions of business families yearned to enter. The ability to predict future economic trends faster and more accurately alone drew people in droves.

That meant countless naked future opportunities for immense wealth.

Yun Wu needed to prepare for the Gaokao and the independent admissions exam simultaneously, making time very tight—extremely tight.

As for basic Liberal Arts concepts, having a teacher guide her would save more time than accumulating and digesting the knowledge herself.

Seeing that her goal was achieved, Ye Mei giggled twice and stopped talking.

Zhao Rongrong turned her head several times during class. When she heard Ye Mei say that Yun Wu got all the math questions correct, her first reaction was that Ye Mei was joking.

How could that poor Yun Wu possibly get all of Old Man Ge’s math questions right? Even Zhao Changming and Xu Chacha missed two or three.

But she was also afraid it might be true. Just as she was debating whether to check the situation, she heard Ye Mei say that Yun Wu only got 26 multiple-choice questions right on the Liberal Arts paper.

Immediately, a scornful smile appeared on Zhao Rongrong’s face. She instantly blamed herself for overthinking it. With Yun Wu’s impoverished and odd demeanor, it would be a miracle if she got everything right.

Thanks to Ye Mei, Yun Wu had a whole day to study quietly.

When the bell for the eighth period rang, the multi-colored buzz-cuts appeared punctually at the back door of Class Two.

Ye Mei grabbed Yun Wu, and the boisterous group headed toward the school gate.

Unexpectedly, Yun Wu was stopped not far from the school gate.

It was Uncle Li.

Dressed in a black suit with a bow tie, Ye Mei immediately recognized him as a butler.

Ye Mei didn’t follow them, choosing to wait about fifteen meters away.

Uncle Li took large and small bags from the car and handed them to Yun Wu. “Miss, these are the clothes prepared for you.”

Yun Wu’s first thought naturally went to Jiang Shangxue. She didn’t take them immediately but asked:

“Were these prepared for me by Madam Yun?”

Yun Wu rarely smiled, and when she frowned, she looked even colder. Uncle Li chuckled twice. “Of course not. All the juniors in the Yun family have clothes, so naturally, you should have them too. I’ll bring the catalog next time, and you can pick out whatever you like.”

Yun Wu didn’t believe him.

However, since they had been delivered, Yun Wu saw no need to refuse.

She took the bags and thanked him flatly. “Thank you.”

“Miss, this is my duty. There are still a few more things you can’t carry at once. I’ll send them to you over the next few days.”

She held four or five bags in each hand; they were quite heavy.

Yun Wu nodded and walked over to Ye Mei. “I can’t go today. Let’s go tomorrow.”

Ye Mei glanced at the things in Yun Wu’s hands and nodded. “Alright, we’ll go tomorrow.”

She watched Yun Wu’s retreating figure as she slowly walked toward the East Villa community for a long time, so long that the minion next to her couldn’t take it anymore.

“Boss, the person is out of sight. Why are you still staring? Are you a waiting-for-wife stone?”

Ye Mei glared at him sideways, her hands in her pockets. “Let’s go. Time to listen to the lecture.”

The buzz-cuts were still loud and energetic on the way, but Ye Mei was unusually silent.

She recognized the Yun family’s car, the one with the A36 license plate.

Initially, she approached Yun Wu because she felt her identity was not simple. Although the rumors about her were terrible, if they were true, how did she manage to get the recording of Zhao Rongrong?

Faintly sensing that Yun Wu might be able to continue helping the Sanlin Group, Ye Mei took the trouble to befriend her.

She never expected that Yun Wu might be the Yun family’s long-lost daughter—a pitiful little girl whose biological father was dead, who was disliked by her stepmother, and who had virtually no chance of inheriting the family fortune.

If Madam Yun, who never showed her face in public, found out about her closeness with Yun Wu, it might even bring trouble to her own family.

While Ye Mei’s mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, Yun Wu’s situation was no better.

The Yun family had brought her back over two months ago but had never cared for her. She didn’t even have basic living expenses, let alone concern for whether she had clothes to wear.

All the changes had occurred after Jiang Shangxue’s appearance.

These clothes were most likely sent by Jiang Shangxue through Uncle Li.

Avoiding Jiang Shangxue’s gaze, Yun Wu nodded very lightly, then went into her room.

The chicken soup was simmering deliciously. As soon as Jiang Shangxue opened the ceramic pot, the aroma spread. The broth was rich, topped with wolfberries and red dates, along with a few restorative medicinal herbs.

Jiang Shangxue ladled out a large bowl for Yun Wu, while she only had a small teacup in front of her.

Yun Wu looked at the large and small bowls, then at the medicinal herbs in the pot. Remembering that Jiang Shangxue had taken her for a medical check-up, Yun Wu realized with a start that the chicken soup might have been specially prepared for her.

“Thank you, Auntie Jiang,” Yun Wu sat down next to Jiang Shangxue, her eyelashes fluttering.

The girl looked awkward. Jiang Shangxue, after taking a sip of the soup, patted her hand reassuringly.

“It’s fine. I can’t finish this alone, and it would be a waste if you didn’t drink it.”

The movement was meant to be comforting, but it instantly stiffened Yun Wu’s spine, and her abdomen clenched up.

They were sitting close together. As Jiang Shangxue leaned in, Yun Wu’s nose was filled with that faint but pleasant floral scent.

Yun Wu turned her head. Jiang Shangxue’s profile came into view.

The bright light from above shone down, making Jiang Shangxue’s skin look fine as an oil painting. From her brow to her lips, every curve was exceptionally soft and beautiful.

Today, she was wearing a gray sweater and a fitted long skirt, with a vintage belt cinched at her impossibly slender waist. Her entire being exuded a gentle aura.

A mature, intellectual gentleness that was both elegant and poised.

A subtle emotion slowly swelled in her chest. Yun Wu silently sped up her pace of drinking the soup.

Still thinking about the documents on the table, Yun Wu feigned an accidental movement and spilled the remaining chicken soup in her bowl when Jiang Shangxue wasn’t looking.

Most of the soup splashed onto Jiang Shangxue’s skirt, dripping down her calves.

“Auntie Jiang, I’m sorry,” Yun Wu stood up, looking panicked, and grabbed tissues to wipe Jiang Shangxue.

Yun Wu felt nervous. She wasn’t sure what limits Jiang Shangxue’s tolerance had.

If it were the Jiang Shangxue from the previous life, she would have been violently kicked away.

Jiang Shangxue had changed, but at her core, Jiang Shangxue was still Jiang Shangxue. In either life, they were the same person.

But before Yun Wu could think further, Jiang Shangxue grasped her hand, pulling her aside.

“I’m fine. Were you scalded?”

The instinctive concern didn’t seem faked. Yun Wu licked her upper lip, saying hoarsely, “No, only a few drops splashed onto me.”

Jiang Shangxue examined her up and down. After confirming she was truly fine, she realized that the girl’s face was completely flushed, and the self-reproach in her eyes was nearly overflowing.

Unexpectedly, Yun Wu could express such strong emotions. Jiang Shangxue reached out and pinched her earlobe, comforting her.

“It’s really fine. I’ll clean up here first and then go shower and change.”

“No, no, Auntie Jiang. You go shower. I’ll clean up here.”

Seeing the girl about to cry, Jiang Shangxue nodded helplessly. “Alright. But be careful not to cut yourself with the porcelain shards.”

“Mhm.”

After Jiang Shangxue entered the bathroom and the sound of running water started, there was no trace of self-reproach left on Yun Wu’s face.

Her dark eyes were deep. She wiped her hands, then softly and quickly walked to the sofa, rapidly flipping through the documents on the table and taking notes of key information on a piece of paper.

Author’s Note:

Yun Wu: “Just guessed” hahaha.

I suddenly realized I’m quite fond of Ye Mei. If I could have a friend like her in real life, haha, every day would probably be a riot~