"Wait a minute, if she is the eldest daughter of the Chu Family, then who is she?"
Those quick-witted enough had already sensed something was wrong. At the reminder, everyone instinctively looked toward where Li Jiu was sitting.
Li Jiu was lounging with her chin propped on her hand, reading... a novel.
Despite the serene atmosphere she projected, her side profile was so captivating that everyone who looked her way found their gaze inevitably drawn to her.
The teacher adjusted his glasses and spoke with a stern face: "Student, have you walked into the wrong classroom?"
Li Jiu closed her novel with perfect composure. "This is the best class in the school. I haven't walked into the wrong one."
"What is your name?" the teacher asked.
Li Jiu's lips parted: "Li Jiu."
"Li Jiu? Li... I have truly never heard of that surname."
"Where did she crawl out from?"
The students muttered among themselves.
Just then, a boy holding a basketball at the back door was about to enter when he saw the girl in the last row stand up. Everyone else was wearing their own clothes, flaunting their wealth. Only she was in a school uniform, standing out from the rest.
Duan Qili sneered: "How well-behaved."
"Who? That eldest daughter of the Chu Family on the podium? She looks pretty well-behaved to me, hehe. I wonder whose 'white moonlight' she is?" Jiang Zhi leaned in to tease, clearly taken with the girl on the stage.
Duan Qili slammed his basketball against Jiang Zhi’s head: "Check your brain."
Duan Qili didn't go in; he leaned against the doorway to watch the spectacle. He hadn't intended to attend class anyway, but...
The teacher hurriedly opened the grade sheet to check. He scanned from top to bottom, looking for the name Li Jiu in earnest. By the time he reached the end, his face turned green. Seeing her act so arrogant, he had assumed she scored very high, but the result...
"Li Jiu, zero!" the teacher shouted angrily: "This student, did you come here just to stir up trouble on purpose?"
Upon hearing this score, Chu Yunyun let out a slow breath, a gloating smile curling the corners of her lips.
"Hahaha!" The classroom erupted into hysterical laughter.
"I’m dying of laughter. I could drop my answer sheet on the floor and step on it twice and still not get a zero."
"I heard before I enrolled that there was an idiot in the Capital who scored a zero. I never imagined it was her!"
"I remember now too. I was so curious at the time that I looked up who this 'god-tier' student was. I heard she came from the slums. No wonder the name sounded familiar."
"A zero-scoring contestant from the slums—how magnificent. Poor and stupid, hahahaha!"
The crowd mocked her wantonly, but Li Jiu’s expression remained as cold as ice; she didn't feel the slightest bit ashamed.
"I don't accept this grade. I demand a re-examination." Li Jiu’s voice rang out, making everyone laugh even harder.
"An idiot is an idiot. Even if she retakes it a hundred times, it will be the same!"
"You might as well start learning from the first grade of elementary school. It’s hilariously pathetic."
"My family's pig is smarter than you!"
"Hurry up and leave our class, stop embarrassing us."
"Student Li, this isn't a wet market. You should leave," Chu Yunyun said timidly at this moment.
This single sentence sent the crowd into a frenzy. As expected of a high-society heiress raised in seclusion—so gentle.
Li Jiu glanced at Chu Yunyun with disdain.
Did she really think... a wild pheasant had turned into a phoenix?
"Eldest Miss Chu, are you very worried about me retaking the exam?" Li Jiu looked sharply at Chu Yunyun.
Chu Yunyun instinctively took a step back. She was still wary of Li Jiu. It had to be said... Li Jiu’s aura was simply too overwhelming.
"What’s going on? Why does it feel like this eldest daughter of the Chu family is afraid of this good-for-nothing?" Jiang Zhi looked puzzled.
Duan Qili was intrigued: "She is no good-for-nothing."
She is... a dragon among humans.
"A zero-scoring student from the slums—if she isn't a good-for-nothing, then what is she?" Jiang Zhi didn't believe it.
"I don't have that intention; I’m just worried you’re wasting everyone’s time," Chu Yunyun explained in a low voice, her face flushing.
"I suspect someone tampered with my grades, so I demand a re-examination. If I pass this time, I demand an apology from the school. If I still fail, I will kneel down and apologize to all of you!" Li Jiu said firmly.
The teacher smiled contemptuously: "Student Li, you are overthinking it. The school has no time to play games with you! And we will certainly not waste school resources on one person!"
No sooner had the teacher finished speaking than a basketball came crashing in, brushing past the teacher’s glasses and hitting the wall behind with a heavy thud.
"I demand a re-examination." The devil-may-care voice drifted in. Li Jiu looked over instinctively.
She froze for a moment.
Duan Qili, the second young master of the Duan family, known for being idle and a notorious playboy.
Yet, from what Li Jiu could see, the man was quite handsome. His features were perfect, his slightly upturned lips carried a touch of cynicism, and with both hands in his pockets, he appeared somewhat lazy—but for some reason, Li Jiu felt this lazy temperament was three parts similar to her own.
The playboy act—it was fake.
Duan Qili didn't look at her; his gaze landed on the podium, unsure if he was looking at Chu Yunyun or the teacher.
Li Jiu straightened up, watching as Chu Yunyun’s face turned bright red. Li Jiu gave a faint laugh—look at that naive expression.
"Student Duan, you... you said you want a re-examination?" The teacher was dumbfounded.
The reason was simple: Duan Qili had scored thirty points on this exam, ranking second to last.
Duan Qili raised an eyebrow: "I feel I didn't perform to my true level, so I’m requesting a retake."
The teacher was helpless for a moment. He could flatly reject a student from the slums, but he dared not go against Duan Qili. Duan Qili might be incompetent, but he had the backing of the Duan family—the number one wealthy family in the Capital, with a century of foundation that no one could shake.
"Very well, I will make the arrangements." The teacher agreed quickly.
Duan Qili lowered his eyes, adding unhurriedly: "Bring that last-place student along. I need a rival."
Upon hearing this, Li Jiu looked at the cynical man in surprise. Just as she was about to speak, Duan Qili put his hands in his pockets and walked out through the back door.
"Since when... did Young Master Duan love studying so much? He’s actually taking the initiative to participate in an exam?"
"When Young Master Duan walked in, he was staring at that eldest daughter of the Chu family. He’s likely doing it for her, definitely wanting to get a good score to catch her attention!"
"That reason makes perfect sense."
When Chu Yunyun heard the crowd’s discussion, her vanity was greatly satisfied. Such a handsome boy was actually taking the exam for her, heh...
"It’s just that this poor wretch is also taking the exam. What bad luck."
"Exactly. A penniless pauper who can only score zero—does she really think she has some kind of luck on her side? She should look at her own worth!"
"It’s embarrassing just to be in the same class as her. I hope the exam ends quickly so she can get out of our school."
Chu Yunyun cleared her throat and spoke in a crisp voice: "Everyone, don't say that about her. We should give her a chance."
"Miss Chu is so kind!"
Li Jiu watched the people in the class with cold indifference, scanning them one by one.
She remembered... back then, all of these people had kicked her while she was down.
Everyone here... every single one of them—she wouldn't let any of them off!