[Beauty Qiao, Comrade Jiang is as bad as you are! Not only did he ignore Old Gu, he even got the guards to scare him off with a gun…Speaking of which, I was surprised that you didn’t do anything to him!]
Gu Xiqiao took a towel and walked over to the bathroom. “The finals are coming, no use in giving myself the trouble.”
[You forgot to close the door!] The system spirit shouted.
Gu Xiqiao responded with a single flick of her wrist, closing the door behind her with a resounding thump.
[At least your ancient martial arts is good for closing doors!]
“…Shut up!”
June the sixth was a day before the national finals would start.
At this time, all of the other students in First City High had already left the school, and the only exception was the Parallel Class that was on the fourth floor. In the classroom, a girl in a loose-fitting school uniform was writing on the blackboard with a piece of chalk.
Her words were written in regular script and were so tidy that it seemed like it was printed onto the blackboard.
After she finished writing everything, she threw away the chalk and leaned onto the podium. “These are a few things you should focus on for the exams. Even though there’s only one day left, but believe in yourselves and the Parallel Class, I’m sure we will all be able to ace these exams!”
“I’ll believe in myself, Beauty Qiao! I won’t disappoint you!” A boy shouted.
“I’ll get good grades and make you proud!” Shouted another girl.
“…”
Gu Xiqiao couldn’t help but facepalm before she took three pieces of chalk with one hand and chucked them at the foreheads of the people that had spoken up. “Stop that! You’re doing this for yourself and your family, not me, got it?”
The class was plunged into silence, and Gu Xiqiao patted the chalk dust off of her own hands in satisfaction, thinking that her words had gotten through before…
“F*ck! How did you do that Beauty Qiao?! You definitely played darts before!”
“Oh my god! She’s good at studying and even better at playing…What can I do?!”
“From today onwards, you’re my goddess!”
“…”
Gu Xiqiao’s inner monologue: ‘Can someone deal with these demons?’
A day passed quickly, but none of the classmates were willing to leave the classroom, joking and chattering until dusk and even rioting for Gu Xiqiao to lead them in running laps on the school field. Most of them weren’t as athletic as she was and stopped running after two or three laps, and the only person that could keep up with her was Wu Hongwen.
Gu Xiqiao ran ten laps before slowing down and walking over to the crowd of classmates, the scene painted a brilliant rosy orange hue in the sunset. The crowd that had been chattering suddenly became quiet as she walked over, looking over at the mysterious girl.
They had thought that they had a basic grasp of who Gu Xiqiao was after being in the same class for two months, but there seemed to be infinite veils of mystery that made her more and more amazing the more she revealed! Her reputation and position in the class had long since surpassed the class monitor and Old Ban, only because she had the ability and the attitude that made them follow her without question. Other than her, who would remember to give them extra classes at this crucial time?
At the moment, she was walking over to them with the sunset behind her, casting shadows in their direction. Even though she just ran ten laps, she didn’t even have a speck of dust and sweat on her. In terms of looks, she was a different type of beauty when compared to Xiao Yun. Even though she wasn’t as eye-catching as she was, every action and expression of hers could be compared to a painting, to the point where once she caught your eye, it was hard to look away!
“Alright that’s enough. Go home and rest up for tomorrow, okay?” Gu Xiqiao carried her bag and looked over at them.
Everyone blinked dumbly before reacting, and they walked together out of the school gates before bidding farewell to each other sadly.
“Beauty Qiao, we might not even be in the same state in the future, I’ll miss you…”
“Scram!” Wu Hongwen playfully kicked at the boy who said that before looking at the girl in question with a gloomy expression. “You two got to take the exams at the same place, and I’m the only one that’s taking it here at First City High.”
“It’s much more convenient to take it at First City High, me and Xiao Yun have to go to Third City high to take out exams. That’s near the brink of the city!” Gu Xiqiao glanced at him.
“But it’s not the same as taking it with you two…”
Xiao Yun glared at him. “Stop being annoying!”
“…You’d be annoyed if you were in my position too!” Wu Hongwen replied, and the two of them started debating again.
Gu Xiqiao saw the familiar car that was stopped at its usual spot and waved the two goodbye. “I’m going now. Good luck for tomorrow!”
Wu Hongwen stopped and squinted to see the face that was revealed as the car windows rolled down. He was sure that he didn’t know this person and that he had never seen him before, but when the man inside the car looked over at him, his mind went blank.
Even though the car was right in front of him, his mind couldn’t register the person that was inside properly, only noting a pair of glinting eyes and a white shirt.
It was only until the car had driven away before Wu Hongwen came back to his senses. “Say…What would happen if I fought him…”
“Pfft!” Xiao Yun immediately broke out in laughter. “You?”
“Hey, don’t underestimate me!” Wu Hongwen rubbed his face, still feeling a harrowing chill on his back along with the cold sweat running down his back. “Wait, so you know that person?”
Xiao Yun’s car stopped next to her, and she looked at him pitifully before patting his shoulder. “Hm, you’ve seen Young Master Yin right? This person is even more…Than him, understand?” She pointed the sky as she spoke. “So don’t get your mind full of any ideas okay? It’s for your good.”
“F*ck…” Wu Hongwen went to his car, but before he got on he kicked the car in frustration, earning a distressed look from the driver.
Meanwhile, Gu Xiqiao was relishing a feast back at the mansion that Mrs. Zhang had prepared for her, including a medicinal soup that contained herbs that would help her pay attention and have a clear mind. As she served the food onto the dinner table, Mrs. Zhang continued talking about how she would send her to the exam hall the next day so that she could focus on the exam.
As she looked at the woman walking in and out of the kitchen, she felt both pressured and warm at the same time.
She didn’t remember much about her past life because it was just a blur to her, but she still had a faint recollection of the time leading up to the national finals because that was her only chance to create a future for herself at the time. The night before the finals, the Gu family had prepared a scrumptious meal for Gu Xijin, and even Master Gu came back to visit.
She was probably envious of it at the time, but…She had it now in this life!
She was content.
She walked upstairs with a smile and a cup of warm milk, and even though the exams were only a day away, she didn’t forget to do her daily missions, and it was already quite late when she came out from the virtual space. As she walked over to her desk, she was stunned by what was on it.
A sky blue rectangular box lay there with an elegant bow on it and it seemed like it was meant for a girl, and the velvet bow came undone with a simple tug.
Inside the box lay a black fountain pen on a bed of golden cloth, and the champagne colored metal glistened in the light. The pen looked quite pretty, and it seemed more like a carefully crafted piece of art than a pen.
Gu Xiqiao twirled the pen in her hand before she wrote down a few words using the pen.
[Ding! Calligraphy skill has leveled up to Advanced Level! The system has awarded you a hundred points, please keep up the good work!] The system’s voice rung out.
At the same time, Jiang Shuxuan was holding an old book in his hands while he sat comfortably in a vine chair, and his lithe fingers flitted through the pages, the yellowed paper contrasting and making his hands seem even paler.
He flipped the pages a few times before he put down the book and looked out the window, his gaze gentle and warm and devoid of its usual coldness.
He hoped she liked the present…