“Xi Yan, your students will be staying for tonight’s self-study period, right?” Luo Hua returned to the office to see Xi Yanfinishing up a few papers. He cocked up his eyebrow in curiosity.

Xi Yan tilted her head up in surprise. “Yes, I’ll be overseeing the class tonight. Why?”

“That’s brilliant. There’s something I need your help on for later tonight,” he casually said before sitting down on his side of the desk.

While Xi Yan was confused, she didn’t say anything else.

…

In the afternoon, students piled around the courtyard. School was over, so they grasped the chance to enjoy the cool breeze and sunny skies while they still could. Mindless chatter echoed across the fields as a few students walked out the gates.

Yao Ran stood in one of the gardens that overlooked the school gates. There weren’t many people flocking around the area, making it just the perfect meeting place. She spotted Zhou Xuewalking from afar and waved at her.

“Ranran,” she immediately comforted her. “You’ve done your best. The results shouldn’t define who you are. It’s just that… Yao Tang is really smart. That’s it.”

When she found out that Yao Ran had gotten a second place, she was a little bit surprised. However, after a while of mulling it over, Zhou Xuefound it quite understandable.

After all, Yao Tang was truly a level above all of them. She was like a goddess.

Yao Ran was smart, but she certainly couldn’t rival the goddess herself.

“No, I’m fine. I’ll be fine.” Yao Ran took a deep breath as a bitter smile wove its way into her lips. “How did you do on your exam?”

“I actually did quite well.” Zhou Xue beamed.

The difficulty of the current exam had actually doubled from the last set. However, her results had improved despite the obstacles, showing just how much progress she had made over the past few months.

“That’s awesome!” Genuine happiness spread across her features as she clasped her friend’s hands. “I’m happy for you!”

“Thank you!” Suddenly, something occurred in her mind. “Right, why did you ask me out this time? If you need help, I’ll be happy to lend a hand.”

“Thank you so much!” Touched, Yao Ran pulled a book out of her back. Her smile deepened as she motioned toward it. “I actually have something I want to ask from you.”

“You know that my relationship with my sister had taken an even darker turn. She got so angry with my Mom that she just ran away to her dormitory… After what happened, I just hope she’s well.”

Yao Ran took a deep breath. “Despite our differences, we are still – well, we will be the future legacy of the Yao Family, so it is integral that we watch each other’s back, right? I just… I found a book of my sister’s from the study room, and she doesn’t really want to speak to me, so I was hoping you’d return it for me.”

“Oh, you want me to return the book?” Zhou Xue took the book that was given to her and glanced at the cover. It was a reference book.

“Yeah, and I was hoping you can keep it a secret. I just had a fight with Qin Jing, and if she finds out… I’ll be in deep trouble.”

Yao Ran rubbed her forehead and sighed.

“Sure. That’s no problem at all.” Zhou Xue shrugged, taking the book from her friend’s hands. “I’ll put it in her drawer later. They wouldn’t even notice!”

“Thank you so much!” Genuinely touched, Yao Ran pulled her into a hug.

“It’s really no problem.” Without another word, the two said their goodbyes and Zhou Xue retreated to her classroom.

It was already their break, so the classrooms were empty. As soon as Zhou Xue entered Class 20, she immediately looked around to catch any familiar faces. Seeing that there was nobody there, she slipped the book into Yao Tang’s drawer and ran to the cafeteria. Mission accomplished!

…

In the classroom of Class 20.

As soon as Yao Tang had finished her meal, she picked up her foreign language book and continued to read. After reading around one chapter, she yawned and napped for a while in preparation for the long lecture ahead.

Just when the class was about to end, a knock sounded at the door.

Luo Hua, the class teacher of Class 1, was standing by the doorway. His eyebrows were furrowed and his mouth was set in a thin line. “Everyone other than Yao Tang, you may all be dismissed.”

He looked like a predator in a hunt for his prey.

His gaze swept around the classroom, before settling on Yao Tang’s lazy figure. His gaze hardened.

Meng Yang, upon noticing this, stood in between them. “What the heck do you want to do now, Teacher Luo?” he demanded. “Did Sister Tang offend you? If you want to wrong her again, you have to go through me!”

Go through him?

The old man averted his gaze to Teacher Xi. “Is this how you teach your students?”

Xi Yan pursed her lips. “Please, everyone evacuate your classroom. There might be some misunderstanding. Don’t worry, I’ll see to it that everything will be fine, okay?”

Meng Yang shot one last, unwilling glare before stomping out of the classroom.

Qin Jing was about to say something else when he tugged her arm. “Let’s wait outside, then we’ll listen in from there.”

“Okay, Teacher Xi, we’ll wait outside. Call us when you need us!”

Xi Yan nodded at them reassuringly, and the rest of the students did the same.

Soon, the classroom was already empty, except for the teachers and Yao Tang.

Yao Tang sat still as she fixated her gaze on her book. She flipped a page, unbothered by the new arrivals.

Yao Ran smirked.

Now that her most loyal supporters had been chased out, they could now easily corner her.

Luo Hua also had a fierce gaze set on his face.