Chapter 9: The Cold School Beauty’s Fierce Love
In the evening, by the roadside, the bike repair shop owner, having worked all day, was preparing to pack up and go home for dinner.
A luxury car slowly stopped in front of his shop, its long body perfectly blocking the narrow, somewhat messy storefront, attracting attention with its gleaming paint.
Even without recognizing the car logo, one could discern its considerable value from the details.
Just as the old man thought the driver had mistaken the location, the driver’s side door opened, and a middle-aged man in a full three-piece suit and white gloves stepped out.
Uncle Liu politely said, “Hello, I’m here to repair a bike.”
Seeing Uncle Liu, who looked like a wealthy family’s butler straight out of a television drama, the old man blurted out, “I can’t repair your car, you’ve come to the wrong place.”
“…” Uncle Liu said, “Not this one, this one.”
Following the white-gloved hand’s direction, the old man finally saw the old bicycle on the car roof and was immediately bewildered.
All eyes had been drawn to the car’s body, completely missing the incongruous bicycle on the roof.
Are the hobbies of you rich people really this unique?
A few minutes later, the fan in the repair shop whirred, and the old man squatted on the ground, removing the tire. He washed it while looking for the puncture, a few patches beside his feet.
Xu Qiuyi stood to the side, placing cash on the table next to the payment QR code: “Uncle Qian, I’ve left the money here.”
She didn’t have a phone and couldn’t pay electronically, so she always carried cash with her.
Uncle Qian squinted, searching for the leak, and said without looking back, “It’s just a small repair, no need to pay.”
Xu Qiuyi shook her head: “No, you’re running a business.”
Seeing the imposing driver walk away, Uncle Qian tilted his head in that direction and asked softly, “Judging by your uniforms, you’re classmates?”
Xu Qiuyi nodded: “Yes, from the same class.”
Uncle Qian lowered his head and continued working: “I haven’t seen you bring anyone here in all these years. Seems like this friend of yours has good character.”
Xu Qiuyi followed his gaze. Not far away, another girl in a school uniform sat on a small stool. The stool provided by the repair shop wasn’t tall, so her long legs were tucked up awkwardly.
Her side profile was delicate, her eyes downcast as she frowned at something in her hands.
The usually flamboyant and playful Tao Ning actually looked quite innocent when quiet, her highlighted hair easily overlooked.
Uncle Qian had always believed that students shouldn’t be distracted by anything other than their studies.
Tao Ning pondered over a few lines of text, then filled in a “C” in the answer bracket.
A shadow fell on the test paper, and a jade-like voice came from above: “Correct. I only explained half the concept for this question, you grasped it quickly.”
Tao Ning’s fingers on the test paper curled, and she looked up blankly: “Huh? I got it right? I followed the student exam bible.”
Xu Qiuyi’s attention immediately shifted from the test paper to her face: “What bible?”
Tao Ning looked at her as if she was clueless: “If there are three long options and one short one, choose the shortest. If there are three short options and one long one, choose the longest. When in doubt, choose C.”
Xu Qiuyi: “…”
For a top student who understood everything instantly, this kind of bible was ridiculously funny, but coming from Tao Ning, it wasn’t that strange.
520 said faintly: [Host, did you use this method for your entrance exam?]
Tao Ning said mysteriously: “This is a secret not to be shared with outsiders.”
520 fell silent, still unable to get over that 0.5 handwriting score, because it had never heard of such a thing during its own selection!
Tao Ning reached out and grabbed another small stool. She said, “Class representative, don’t stand, have a seat, have a seat. Just two more fill-in-the-blank questions and then we’re onto the long-answer questions.”
“I’m the chemistry class representative, not physics,” Xu Qiuyi chuckled and sighed. She found herself feeling increasingly helpless around Tao Ning. She obediently sat down and leaned closer to look at the test paper.
Tao Ning, needing her help, was very accommodating, making space for her: “You’re the class representative for all subjects, regardless of which one it is.”
“Which other question?” After looking carefully, Xu Qiuyi noticed a few notes in the corner that weren’t in her handwriting. She liked people with good handwriting and praised, “Your handwriting is really beautiful, you must have practiced.”
Tao Ning’s mind flashed with the original owner’s love for cursive script and immediately said vaguely, “It’s alright, I know many different styles of writing. I’ll show you sometime.”
Then, her finger pointed here and there, not missing a single question, and she said confidently, “I don’t know how to do any of these.”
Old Chen naturally knew his students’ level. The questions he gave Tao Ning were all made up on the spot by changing the numbers in the textbook, eliminating the possibility of cheating while also lowering the difficulty to a basic level.
In other words – giveaway questions.
However, Tao Ning told her she couldn’t do any of these giveaway questions. Ignoring the possibility that she was lying and teasing her, Tao Ning genuinely didn’t know how to do them.
Xu Qiuyi asked doubtfully, “You don’t know anything at all?”
Tao Ning: “…” Can’t break the bad student character.
Seeing Tao Ning’s evasive expression, Xu Qiuyi asked, “How many hours do you study a day?”
If Xu Qiuyi had asked how many hours she played games a day, it would have been easy to answer. But asking about studying made the answer embarrassing.
Xu Qiuyi clearly saw the truth behind her silence and tactfully and patiently changed the subject: “Actually, this question is quite basic. Just remember this formula, and use it for similar questions in the future.”
As she spoke, she wrote more on the test paper with her pen, her handwriting neat and elegant, just like her.
Fortunately, Tao Ning wasn’t slacking off, listening attentively until the tire was repaired.
After the tire was fixed, Tao Ning still seemed unsatisfied, exclaiming that learning never ends and begging the top student to continue tutoring her. She offered to treat Xu Qiuyi to dinner somewhere and conquer the last question together.
However, the top student, Xu Qiuyi, who could usually solve anything, looked troubled by the last question.
Tao Ning asked, “You can’t do this one either?”
Xu Qiuyi looked at her, paused, and said honestly, “This is an advanced question. I’ve seen it before in competition papers. I can solve it… it’s just that you…”
Tao Ning understood her unspoken words.
Staring blankly at the last question for a few seconds, Tao Ning suddenly realized: “That old Chen is deliberately setting me up!”
Angrily, Tao Ning pointed at the paper: “The previous questions are all basic. If I can’t do them, I’ll get scolded. This last question is advanced. If I solve it, it’s considered cheating, and I’ll still get scolded.”
Xu Qiuyi: “…” That seemed to be the case.
Tao Ning sighed deeply: “Just to scold me, Old Chen is so sinister, such deep schemes, deceiving my innocent little heart.”
After a moment of silence, Tao Ning sensed an unspoken tension from Xu Qiuyi. Lowering her eyes slightly, she saw Xu Qiuyi’s still medicine-scented bruised hand resting on her other hand, fingers intertwined.
The second rejection, finally.
Xu Qiuyi said, “No, I don’t think you’re innocent.”
“What?” Tao Ning turned, meeting Xu Qiuyi’s clear eyes. Those light-colored pupils reflected her own face.
Under the plastic awning of the bike repair shop, two girls in school uniforms sat on stools. People came and went on the street, schoolchildren laughing and running home together. Facing each other, they saw their own reflections in each other’s eyes.
This distance… was a bit too close.
Xu Qiuyi, who usually disliked being close to people, didn’t flinch. She looked at Tao Ning intently for a long moment, then said, “There’s nothing in your eyes, but everything is in your heart.”
520 said: [Oh no, host, she’s saying you’re aloof and scheming.]
Tao Ning raised her hands and suddenly grasped Xu Qiuyi’s arms, asking with a smile in her eyes, “How about you take another look?”
Xu Qiuyi looked up.
Those obsidian pupils were filled with her reflection, completely full of Xu Qiuyi.
Finally, Xu Qiuyi couldn’t take it anymore and turned her head away, her ear tips slightly red.
As the atmosphere turned delicate, Uncle Liu walked over: “Miss, the car is ready, we can leave now. Miss Xu, is it the same address as yesterday?”
Tao Ning answered first: “Yes, the same address as yesterday.”
Xu Qiuyi was surprised, expecting a denial. After what she had just said, shouldn’t Tao Ning be angry and leave, feeling misunderstood?
Tao Ning had her driven back to the same place as yesterday. The new luxury car brought a fresh wave of shock to the small restaurant.
After getting out of the car, Xu Qiuyi immediately turned around and saw the car window lower, Tao Ning leaning out and waving with a smile: “See you tomorrow, class representative.”
In this scene, Xu Qiuyi was also infected, and she smiled back: “See you tomorrow.”
But she thought to herself: What a strange person.
The diners in the small restaurant were shocked, saying that Xu Laosan’s daughter had actually made a rich friend. Many of them went home and discussed with their wives the idea of sending their children to private schools to network.
But after considering the exorbitant tuition fees, they all abandoned the idea.
They also said that Xu Qiuyi was destined for this. She had never worried her parents, her grades were so good, even a prestigious school like Ming Rui had teachers personally recruiting her, offering free tuition and even scholarships. Whose child could achieve what Xu Qiuyi had?
Certainly no one in Xiao’an Village.
Many people in Xiao’an Village knew Xu Qiuyi. She was the typical “child of another family.” Whenever a child was scolded, they would hear “Look at Xu Qiuyi, how she…” which earned Xu Qiuyi a lot of resentment.
Being driven home by a wealthy classmate for two days in a row naturally reached many people’s ears, especially since the car was different each day, proving just how rich the classmate was.
Those who were initially excited, upon learning it was a female classmate, felt a strange sense of disappointment mixed with a touch of indignant bitterness
“A female classmate? If it were a male classmate, it would be easier. She could just marry into the family after graduation, and Xu Laosan could enjoy a comfortable life ten years earlier.”
“How do you know there isn’t anything going on?”
“What do you mean? Is there something happening?”
“Let me tell you, I heard from my wife’s brother’s mother-in-law’s friend, who works as a cleaner at Ming Rui, that many people like Xu Laosan’s daughter. The most persistent one recently is someone from the Nangong family.”
“Nangong? The Nangong of Feiheng Group?”
“Is there another Nangong?”
“My god, if she’s really caught the eye of someone from the Nangong family, that’s incredible.”
“If only I could send my child to Ming Rui…”
The news naturally reached the mahjong parlor.
The room was filled with smoke, lively and boisterous. Xu Laosan, wearing an old undershirt, sat on a stool, his eyes glued to the mahjong table.
It was hot in here, even with the air conditioning on. The owner had said this morning that the air conditioner was broken and brought a large industrial fan to blow air around the room.
As for the effect, the powerful fan only served to create ambiance in this heat, not actually cooling things down much.
Even so, it didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the mahjong players.
“I win!”
“Sigh, one more round. I’ll switch places with you, I don’t believe my luck is this bad!”
“Forget it, I’m hungry. I’m not playing the next round, I’m going home for dinner. Anyone want this lucky spot?”
As soon as she finished speaking, someone else chimed in, saying they wanted to play and to save the spot for them.
Xu Zhihong opened his mouth, then closed it again.
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