Saving the Pitiful Villain (GL) - Chapter 16

It had been drizzling for several days, and a coolness permeated the air.

In mid-March, A-City experienced a small drop in temperature, unlike the wet and muggy weather of the previous period.

East Villa High School, along with several other private high schools, had just held its first diagnostic mock exam a few days ago. There would be six more such formal joint mock exams before the official Gaokao (College Entrance Exam).

In between, countless smaller tests, weekly exams, bi-monthly exams, monthly exams, and the independent admissions exams for top-tier prestigious universities would be interspersed.

Today, the results of the first mock exam were released, and the class teacher, Fang Wenli, was so proud that her eyebrows seemed to be flying to the sky because the top student was once again in her class.

She was the first to get the grade sheet from the grade-level office, but she kept dragging her feet, waiting for the other homeroom teachers to arrive so she could boast to each one.

“Oh, the pressure is immense! The top twenty students are always in my class. If, by chance, the top scorer for Nanzhou University’s independent admissions exam and the Gaokao champion aren’t in my class, how upsetting would that be? It drives me crazy; I can’t even sleep well.”

“You have no idea. Since teaching the twelfth grade, I haven’t slept properly. I wake up every day at two or three in the morning. So much to worry about.”

Fang Wenli, with her round, smooth appearance, showed no signs of being overworked. The homeroom teacher of Class One, unable to stand her, scoffed and retorted, “Yes, you worry well. The last and second-to-last places in the grade are also in your class. A good teacher shouldn’t neglect the poor students.”

The last place was Yun Wu, and the second-to-last was Ye Mei.

Fang Wenli was suddenly choked up, and her expression immediately changed.

She huffed loudly, walking past the other teachers haughtily. “I know, you’re just jealous.”

The Class One teacher snorted dismissively and waited until Fang Wenli was far away before cursing.

“I don’t know what she’s so proud of. Which teacher here isn’t better than her? She only got into East Villa by giving herself to Director Tie and then relied on Director Tie to give her the best student source. I don’t know where she gets her confidence!”

The other teachers exchanged glances, remaining silently in their seats.

Fang Wenli’s diploma and teaching level were indeed far below East Villa’s requirements. East Villa’s students were already wealthy or influential. Students like Zhao Changming and Xu Chacha all hired private tutors for after-class instruction.

Their ranking first and second had nothing to do with Fang Wenli.

As for the scene of her affair with Director Tie, it had been witnessed firsthand by other teachers.

Given that Director Tie was the principal’s nephew and practically ran the school, the other teachers wisely kept quiet to protect their jobs.

Only Fang Wenli still acted as if no one knew her secret.

Fang Wenli, walking into the classroom, felt increasingly uncomfortable the more she thought about it. After reading the test results as usual, she began to vent her frustration through cold sarcasm.

“Some people, I don’t know where they get the face to sit in this classroom. If I were her, getting last place every time, I’d rather just die. Jump off a building or into a river—anything to avoid the shame.”

“I don’t know how she got into East Villa. Raised without a proper mother or father. She probably used some despicable means to get in.”

“It’s absolutely hilarious. I wonder what her mother must have been like to raise such a shameless daughter.”

Fang Wenli had heard a lot of gossip and was a firm believer in the rumors that smeared Yun Wu. Seeing that Yun Wu wasn’t as embarrassed and mortified as she used to be, but rather ignored her completely, appearing remarkably composed, Fang Wenli felt that her authority was being disrespected. She was furious and slammed her hand hard on the desk.

“No wonder she’s an orphan with no mother or father! She doesn’t even know basic respect for her elders and teachers!”

Over fifty pairs of scornful, mocking eyes in the classroom fell upon Yun Wu’s seat. Many people let out muffled laughs.

Xu Chacha felt particularly pleased. Although she looked down on Fang Wenli, it didn’t stop her from viewing them as a source of amusement.

Yun Wu remained silent and bowed her head the entire time, her eyes fixed on her textbook, motionless, like a stone statue that heard nothing and cared about nothing.

Only Ye Mei, sitting next to her, could see that when Fang Wenli cursed Yun Wu’s parents, her face instantly turned white, and her pale fingertips trembled violently.

Fang Wenli continued her tirade from the podium. Ye Mei finally snapped. She had initially planned to keep her distance from Yun Wu and not get closer.

But Fang Wenli was too vicious, too overbearing.

She couldn’t stand it anymore!

Ye Mei jumped onto the desk and slammed a thick, brick-like review book onto the podium.

Clang! The book hit the blackboard, making a dull, massive sound.

Fang Wenli shrieked in surprise. Her left foot tripped over her right, and she stumbled clumsily off the podium, falling flat on her face.

She crawled up, trembling, and looked at Ye Mei, her face flashing through red, yellow, blue, and green.

“Ye Mei! Are you trying to overthrow the heavens?!”

When Fang Wenli questioned Ye Mei, her voice was clearly weak, and she was shaking. She knew Ye Mei was a “steel porcupine” not to be messed with. Director Tie had specifically warned her not to provoke Ye Mei unnecessarily.

Ye Mei gave her a cool look, jumped off the table, and wiped the desktop clean. “Teacher Fang, it’s time for class. If you keep talking, you’ll affect our studying.”

Not wanting to escalate the situation, Ye Mei spoke relatively politely.

Fang Wenli dusted the grime off her clothes, her expression changing instantly. Taking the graceful exit, she immediately smiled awkwardly. “Yes, yes, yes. It’s time for class. We’ll summarize the mock exam tomorrow then.”

Fang Wenli scurried away, and the classroom returned to silence, quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

Many people silently lamented in their hearts that Ye Mei was truly arrogant to an unprecedented degree.

Affect her studying? Dear Lord, has she ever studied?

Yun Wu turned her head to look at Ye Mei, her lips tightly pressed until they were white, but she still didn’t speak.

She continued flipping through the history book, page by page. If one ignored her abnormal paleness, she showed no other signs of distress.

Ye Mei leaned closer, teasing her in a deliberately relaxed tone.

“I said, I helped you out, and you don’t even say thank you.”

Ye Mei’s smile was mischievous, bordering on roguish.

After a while, Yun Wu tore off a piece of paper, took out her pen, wrote a few strings of code on it, and pushed it toward Ye Mei.

“Give this paper to Chairman Ye Jianwei. The three stock codes at the top are for purchasing. The three at the bottom must be sold before the end of the month.”

Ye Mei’s blank expression clearly showed she hadn’t processed the change in subject. Yun Wu paused and continued, “Consider it a thank-you gift. Believe it or not, it’s up to you.”

When she said this, Yun Wu’s tone was completely flat. She rarely smiled, and after this incident, Ye Mei felt the air around her was cold enough to freeze.

After suppressing her curiosity again and again, Ye Mei folded the paper Yun Wu handed her and put it away. After nervously scratching her head for half an hour, she still couldn’t resist her inquisitive nature.

“Yun Wu, I mean no harm, but are you really an orphan? No mother?”

Yun Wu’s movement of taking notes didn’t stop. She didn’t even look up.

Just when Ye Mei thought she wouldn’t answer, a voice tinged with coldness reached her ear.

“It’s true.”

“Was it an accident?”

Ye Mei scratched her head, regretting the question as soon as it left her lips. She wasn’t good at comforting people, so she quickly blabbered a few words she thought were reassuring.

“There’s no mother in the world who doesn’t love her child. Even if she’s gone, she must have loved you very much.”

Rumors occasionally contained a grain of truth. Ye Mei knew Yun Wu was likely Yun family’s long-lost daughter and that her mother was Yun Yuandao’s mistress back then.

Logically, even if Yun Yuandao refused to acknowledge his illegitimate daughter, the Yun family should have provided enough child support. Her mother shouldn’t have lacked the money to raise a child.

Ye Mei was lost in thought and didn’t notice Yun Wu’s abnormal reaction.

The blood in Yun Wu’s limbs and body suddenly rushed and violently clashed beneath her left ribs due to Ye Mei’s unintentional words, causing a sharp, agonizing cramp. The pen in Yun Wu’s hand dropped from her fingers.

She slowly clenched her hand into a fist, and her usually straight back suddenly hunched over.

There’s no mother in the world who doesn’t love her child?

Ha. Then what am I?

That’s right. I was always the redundant person in the world. No one will ever love me. No one will ever think I’m important.

Not even I can stand myself.

Yun Wu laughed softly, the laughter growing frantic until she couldn’t breathe, giving way to a desperate, low cough.

Author’s Note:

Jiang Shangxue: My heart aches, my heart aches, my baby. Mama’s hug~