This monthly exam wasn’t just about whether Wen Ying could go to Macau as planned; two others also had to prove themselves through it.
First was Li Mengjiao. In the first month of school, she took several leaves of absence to participate in competitions. Whether she could continue getting leave and whether the school would be lenient depended on her grades.
Second was Wang Shuang.
During the summer, influenced by others, Wang Shuang suddenly decided to study seriously, getting a tutor and, in the first month of school, stopping her tardiness and early departures, fulfilling her duties as a student… Whether Wang Shuang’s efforts were fleeting or just empty talk to fool her parents would be clear from her exam results!
Wang Shuang was an even worse student than Wen Ying, ranking at the bottom of the entire grade. There wasn’t much room to fall, but plenty to improve.
The calmest were probably top students like Xie Qian and Qin Jiao.
A mere monthly exam was as simple as eating or drinking for them.
Xie Qian finished his paper early and glanced at Wen Ying working.
Wen Ying was scribbling furiously, deeply focused on her answers. Xie Qian nodded with satisfaction and looked away.
Whether she got them right wasn’t the point; her attitude was at least commendable.
While Wen Ying was engrossed in her paper, over at the junior high section, Shu Lu was also taking an exam.
Since the summer, when Shu Guobing was “promoted” by a “benefactor,” Shu Lu’s mindset had shifted. She used to study hard, knowing education was her only way out of a tough life. But with Shu Guobing’s newfound prospects, her motivation to study plummeted.
Later, when Shu Guobing was arrested and Shu Lu learned the truth behind their family’s “support,” her focus turned entirely to scheming against Wen Ying. In the first month of school, she set plenty of traps for Wen Ying, but Wen Ying dodged them perfectly every time… Those petty school bullying tactics would’ve worked in her past life, when Wen Ying was deeply insecure, even without Shu Lu’s deliberate attacks.
Now, they were useless.
Now, Wen Ying put herself second only to fate, constantly hyping herself up. No obstacle could stop her, let alone school bullying.
Wen Ying refraining from bullying others was already a show of restraint.
In her past life’s high school years, Wen Ying had some unpleasant memories. But since many things had changed in this life, the classmates who once bullied her were still in regular classes, and Wen Ying hadn’t actively sought revenge. She was touched by her own kindness!
Shu Lu secretly spread rumours on Tieba, calling Wen Ying a scheming manipulator, hoping to incite Xie Qian’s fangirls to attack her. But the fangirls didn’t believe their idol could be so blind.
With Wen Ying’s looks, how harmless did she seem!
If their idol had to have a female friend, Wen Ying filling that spot was just perfect, wasn’t it?
All the fangirls were totally at ease!
“…”
Shu Lu was practically fuming.
These girls were the blind ones, thinking Wen Ying’s plain looks meant she had no tricks?
Wen Ying’s schemes were beyond their imagination!
Shu Lu’s sneaky moves all failed, and she didn’t dare confront Wen Ying directly. Back home, Shu Lu’s popularity and connections at school outshone Wen Ying by miles. But at this provincial key school, Shu Lu wasn’t as well-liked as before, overshadowed by too many girls who outdid her!
In contrast, Wen Ying managed to befriend both of the school’s most popular freshmen. Who’d reject her friendliness?
As Wen Ying’s social circle grew, many of Shu Lu’s tactics fizzled out. Shu Lu spent the whole month obsessing over this, barely paying attention in class. When she got the monthly exam paper, she was stunned: Were the provincial key school’s exams really this hard?
Wen Ying was unaware of Shu Lu’s struggles. After finishing her exam, she awaited the results. Originally, grades were to be announced after the National Day holiday, but Chen Ru, ever vigilant, pulled strings through Lin Lin to get Wen Ying’s Chinese, Math, and English scores early on the night of the 30th.
“She did pretty well. I was a bit worried Wen Ying wouldn’t keep up with the experimental class’s pace, but her adaptability is impressive. The other subjects’ results aren’t out yet, but I asked the subject teachers, and in regular quizzes, Wen Ying hasn’t ranked last in any subject.”
No subject in last place meant her overall ranking couldn’t be at the bottom.
Wen Ying’s Class 16 was one of the three experimental classes in the provincial key school’s first-year cohort. With her entrance exam scores, she wouldn’t have qualified for Class 16 without Lin Lin’s help.
Keeping up with an experimental class and not ranking last meant Wen Ying’s parents had no reason to worry about her university prospects.
For students in the provincial key school’s experimental classes, failing to get into a university would be a joke. Or rather, across the whole school, including regular classes, those who didn’t make the undergraduate cutoff were a minority. For experimental class students, teachers expected more, at least aiming for first-tier universities.
As for the top performers in the experimental classes, no need to mention—they were destined for the country’s elite universities, with some opting to study abroad… As one of Chengdu’s top schools, with excellent students and faculty, Lin Lin, who’d taught there for years, was confident in the school’s teaching standards.
Chen Ru was secretly thrilled, but when Wen Ying leaned in to ask, she kept a stern face:
“Teacher Lin says you still have lots of room to improve!”
This made Wen Ying uneasy. Was her confidence in the exam just self-delusion? Did she actually do terribly?
“What about the Macau trip…?”
Chen Ru waved her off impatiently, “Go, the tickets are booked. Not going would be a waste of money. You kids have no idea how hard your parents work to earn it!”
Chen Ru wanted to lecture Wen Ying on the struggles of adult life, but then recalled how Wen Ying easily earned over ten thousand in dividends from her shrimp business. She changed her mind—how could she complain? Complaining would just make her seem less capable than her daughter!
Chen Ru thought again of Wen Dongrong’s suggestion.
No matter how tough English was, she should try for the master’s entrance exam.
She couldn’t really let herself sink to the point of being looked down on by Wen Ying!
Wen Ying had no clue about Chen Ru’s thoughts. Once confirmed for Macau, she immediately called Qin Jiao to confirm the airport meetup time for the next day.
Chen Ru warned her not to take advantage of the Qin family, and Wen Ying nodded vigorously.
“I definitely won’t embarrass our family!”
“…Hmph, you’d better keep your word.”
Chen Ru didn’t say much more.
Money doesn’t guarantee happiness, but financial strain makes it painful for parents when they can’t meet their kids’ needs. Some parents, unwilling to admit their shortcomings, turn that pain into irritable anger, scolding their kids for being ungrateful.
Others channel that pain into motivation.
Chen Ru was somewhere in between. She didn’t scold Wen Ying for “wasting money” on Macau, partly due to Shu Lu’s provocation, but also because her recent windfall performance bonuses gave her a hefty year-end reward. Money brings confidence and soothes tempers. The morning before Wen Ying left, Chen Ru even slipped her two thousand yuan.
“Mum, this is…?”
Chen Ru’s expression was a bit awkward, “Don’t look at me, this is from your grandma after you got into the provincial key school. I’m giving it to you now to manage yourself!”
