Saving the Pitiful Villain (GL) - Chapter 26

It only rang once.

It seemed like a broom or some miscellaneous object had fallen and hit the door.

In the profound silence, the bristly sensation overlapping Yun Wu’s back gradually subsided.

She reopened the computer, no longer interested in continuing to look, logged out, and shut it down.

The next day, Yun Wu woke up very early, but Jiang Shangxue was up even earlier than her.

She wore a checkered apron over her nightgown, the sleeves rolled up. Her long hair was loosely tied at the back of her head. Her profile was bathed in the warm, tangerine-colored morning light, giving her a more gentle, capable, domestic air than usual.

Holding a jade-white porcelain bowl, Jiang Shangxue glanced at Yun Wu. “Go wash up and eat breakfast.”

Her tone was normal, as if this was their everyday interaction.

Yun Wu’s gaze trailed the sway of Jiang Shangxue’s hair before she withdrew it.

She softly hummed and walked into the washroom. In the mirror, her eyelids were still swollen, and the corner of her eyes held a hint of redness.

Reaching out to touch it, the icy feeling seemed to still linger. Thinking of her emotional outburst last night, crying hysterically in Jiang Shangxue’s arms, Yun Wu suddenly felt embarrassed.

After haphazardly washing up, Yun Wu walked to the dining table and sat down. After calling out “Auntie Jiang,” she lowered her gaze and ate breakfast very quietly.

The stray hairs around Yun Wu’s ears stuck out, and with her still-swollen eyes, she looked naive and slightly adorable.

Seeing her reserved manner, Jiang Shangxue’s fingers twitched slightly, but she restrained herself. She spoke gently.

“You can sleep in a little later tomorrow morning. Get some more rest. I’ll pack your breakfast and leave it on the table for you.”

Yun Wu had gone to bed late last night, and Jiang Shangxue guessed she wouldn’t fall asleep immediately after getting into bed. She had originally planned to pack her breakfast, but since Yun Wu woke up early, she let her eat at home instead.

The pressure of the senior year was immense, and sleep time was scarce. A little extra rest was always beneficial.

Yun Wu lifted her head. When she met Jiang Shangxue’s eyes, she immediately lowered them again.

Jiang Shangxue looked very natural, with no trace of deliberate effort in her eyes or actions.

Yun Wu nodded stiffly, not saying a word.

Their breakfasts were different. Yun Wu had egg custard, pan-fried dumplings, and a cup of hot milk in front of her. Jiang Shangxue only had a small bowl of porridge.

White steam curled upward. Through the hazy view, Yun Wu could see lotus seed hearts and several unrecognizable medicinal herbs floating on the surface.

A bitter astringency filled the air. Yun Wu felt as if the egg custard in front of her had turned bitter too.

Jiang Shangxue had been paying attention to Yun Wu’s emotions. She saw that Yun Wu seemed to have reverted to her sullen, distant self, as if the person who cried until her eyes were swollen last night wasn’t her.

Is she feeling shy?

A child’s thoughts were hard to fathom. Jiang Shangxue rubbed the end of her spoon handle, looking as if she wanted to speak but hesitated. Ultimately, she asked nothing.

She had finally managed to get Yun Wu to open up.

Now, she couldn’t rush her.

She would wait a few days for the right moment to ask about the finger cots.

The two finished breakfast in silence. Before Yun Wu left, the subtle, conflicting emotion swirling in her heart finally outweighed her rationality.

She stood at the door, her fingers tightly gripping the doorknob, and looked back at Jiang Shangxue.

“Auntie Jiang, if you have a stomach ailment, you must eat every meal on time.”

Concern radiated from Yun Wu’s eyes. Jiang Shangxue was stunned for a moment, and then a warmth instantly filled her heart. She nodded and said, “I know.”

After the incident yesterday, Jiang Shangxue increasingly felt that Yun Wu was well-behaved, sensible, and utterly endearing.

Unconsciously, a deep warmth emerged in her eyes.

Yun Wu, however, seemed to be burned by the warmth in Jiang Shangxue’s eyes. Her eyelashes trembled violently. She closed the door, suppressing her emotions.

But she couldn’t stop her mind from continuing to think.

Was Jiang Shangxue happy about what she said?

Was she truly happy?

While taking the elevator, Yun Wu unconsciously stared at the number 12 button, looking at it repeatedly.

Even after sitting down in the classroom, Yun Wu’s mind was still restless.

But preparing for the exam was the most urgent matter at hand. Yun Wu forced herself to suppress the hidden anticipation in her heart and continued practicing questions.

The more she suppressed it, the more active and clear her thoughts became.

Her writing speed grew faster and faster.

Ye Mei chewed on her pen cap, watching Yun Wu’s intense output. She subtly swallowed, then turned her head away, letting out a soft “Tsk.”

“Small potatoes. As if I haven’t seen that before.”

Class, practice, organizing mistakes, restructuring thought processes.

Time passed unknowingly, bit by bit. Fang Wenli entered the classroom just before the lunch break, holding the scores from the weekly test.

However, she didn’t mention the scores first. Instead, she announced the change in the Nanzhou University independent admissions exam date.

The exam, originally scheduled for the end of April, was moved up to April 16th, advancing it by half a month.

This meant Yun Wu had only half a month left to prepare.

It was completely unexpected.

Yun Wu’s movement of practicing questions paused. Her gaze dropped. She seemed lost in thought.

After Ye Mei slipped back into the classroom from the restroom, she clearly felt the atmospheric pressure around Yun Wu had changed, becoming more suppressed and low.

Did someone bother Yun Wu while I was gone? Glancing at Fang Wenli on the podium, who was fawning over Zhao Changming and Xu Chacha, Ye Mei immediately grew more displeased.

Zhao Changming and Xu Chacha’s grades had consistently taken the top two spots in the entire grade since entering the senior year. Although the Nanda independent admissions exam hadn’t started yet, Fang Wenli was already overly smug, constantly flaunting it in front of the other homeroom teachers in a high-pitched voice.

“Oh, I keep telling those two children not to be nervous and to relax, but they still work so hard every day. They just won’t listen to my advice.”

“It breaks my heart to be their teacher. How can I bear to let them overwork themselves for one admissions exam?”

“Whether they get first place or not is irrelevant. As long as the students are well, I genuinely don’t care.”

Fang Wenli was notoriously vain and snobbish. The other homeroom teachers completely dismissed her words as nonsense.

But her arrogant attitude made her act as if first place was already guaranteed for her class. She was constantly buzzing around like a fly on feces—so annoying and disgusting.

Still, a sense of resignation was unavoidable. Zhao Changming and Xu Chacha had such excellent academic foundations that they were indeed the most likely candidates to claim first place.

Ye Mei frowned, letting out an extremely impatient “Tsk.” Then, she leaned toward Yun Wu and asked her seriously.

“Who came to bother you now?” Her manner was heroic, as if she would overturn the world if Yun Wu asked.

Yun Wu put down her pen. Her expression showed no fluctuation, but seeing Ye Mei’s indignant face, she still spoke.

“No one. No one bothered me. Continue with your practice questions.”

Yun Wu was telling the truth.

The variables that had appeared in this life were not just Jiang Shangxue, but also Ye Mei.

The experience of being ostracized, discriminated against, and bullied at East Villa in the previous life had not been repeated thanks to Ye Mei’s presence.

Ye Mei pouted her lips and didn’t speak further.

On the podium, Fang Wenli had just finished praising her two little darlings and began handing out test papers.

As she spoke, she glanced at Yun Wu. “I told you earlier, some students have bad intentions. Not only did they use underhanded methods to enter East Villa, but they also delusionally try to get high scores by cheating.”

“I must have had eight lifetimes of bad luck to encounter such a troublemaker.”

“If her parent still doesn’t show up for the next parent-teacher meeting, I will definitely talk to the principal and have her removed from my class. I simply cannot keep a cheating student.”

Because of Ye Mei’s presence, Fang Wenli had slightly restrained herself, but the scornful, self-assured look on her face suggested she wished to kick Yun Wu out immediately.

A few snickers broke out in the class, with Peng Huahua’s being the loudest.

They all knew Yun Wu was always last place. They couldn’t believe she was stupid enough to try and turn her situation around by cheating.

The math answer sheet was passed down from the front. Yun Wu was the only one with a perfect score.

The last question on the weekly math test was beyond the curriculum, set by the head of the East Villa 12th-Grade Math Department. It was wide-ranging in scope, with the problem-solving path potentially leaping from the Hodge conjecture to the Stokes theorem. Although the problems were simplified, even Zhao Changming and Xu Chacha had never achieved a perfect score.

The answer sheet reached Xu Chacha. She didn’t immediately pass it down. Instead, she looked at the answer to Yun Wu’s last question.

The handwriting was neat and beautiful, but some of the steps Xu Chacha couldn’t understand.

Xu Chacha, who had also been sneering inwardly, immediately stopped smiling. She had a strange intuition that Yun Wu might have solved it herself.

No one else solved it. Who could she have copied from?

Zhao Changming sat behind Xu Chacha. She held the paper, her eyes unreadable, then suddenly, as if by accident, knocked over her water cup. The water soaked the answer sheet, and coincidentally tore it, so the final answer was missing when she passed it down.

Zhao Changming had initially been curious to see how Yun Wu solved the last question. Seeing this, he shook his head dismissively.

I must have lost my mind to even consider looking at Yun Wu’s answer sheet.

With her background, her best option was to find a rich, powerful man to attach herself to. He had thought she was different, but it turned out she was just hypocritically virtuous—so disappointing.

Ye Mei slammed the table, ready to lash out again. Others didn’t know, but she knew Yun Wu didn’t need to cheat. They were all prejudiced idiots.

Yun Wu quickly grabbed her arm, subtly shaking her head. “It’s fine. I don’t care.”

Having been thwarted repeatedly by Yun Wu today, Ye Mei was visibly unhappy.

As the two stood in deadlock, Fang Wenli had already left.

“What is wrong with you today?” Ye Mei sat down, fuming.

Yun Wu didn’t answer, continuing to practice questions with a cool, detached expression.

Ye Mei: …

She was extremely frustrated, venting her rage in silence.

When school ended, Yun Wu didn’t go to Mu Ye Book Bar but headed straight home.

No one was in the living room, but the study door was open, and a very faint sound of typing could be heard.

Hesitating for a few moments, Yun Wu called out toward the study. “Auntie Jiang, I’m home.”

The typing sound abruptly stopped. Jiang Shangxue’s voice came out. Her speaking speed was fast. She sounded busy.

“Wu Wu, the soup ingredients are ready in the kitchen, but it hasn’t started simmering yet. Go press the button. Remember to drink it later.”

“Okay.”

Yun Wu stood by the bedroom door for a while. Jiang Shangxue didn’t come out. She walked to the kitchen, pressed the slow-cook button for the soup, and her gaze fell on the sink—it was empty.

Did she already wash the dishes, or did Jiang Shangxue simply skip lunch?

Yun Wu’s eyes darkened slightly. She returned to her bedroom.

Taking out her computer, Yun Wu skillfully logged into a mathematics forum that gathered problems and solutions proposed by math enthusiasts around the world.

Mathematics occupied a large section of Nanda’s independent admissions exam.

However, Yun Wu was unusually slow to immerse herself in it. Her gaze lingered on the screen, motionless for a long time.

Jiang Shangxue hadn’t come out earlier, and her tone seemed a little impatient.

Her chest felt as if it were squeezed full of damp, cold air—moist and heavy. Even her breathing seemed to become more difficult.

After an unknown time, Yun Wu suddenly snapped out of her daze, realizing abruptly that she was overly concerned about Jiang Shangxue’s attitude toward her.

She hadn’t had any expectations at all in the beginning.