Chapter 157 - The First Placer

Qing Jing hated having to put up with Yao Ran’s fakery.

She didn’t even come close to her Sister Tang’s level. Even if Yao Ran was envious, she should have known her place by now, and should be ceasing all of her useless schemes.

Lin Xin, on the other hand, didn’t have such vindictive thoughts. Instead, she was staring Yao Tang with unabashed admiration.

While everyone else was gripped with anxiety as they checked and rechecked their scores online, Yao Tang was leisurely enjoying her lunch without a care in the world.

Meanwhile, in the Teachers’ Office, Xi Yan had just learned of Qin Jing’s results.

Luo Hua leaned back against his seat, looking smug as he sipped his tea. “Ah, Yao Ran’s results are truly outstanding. I’m pretty sure we won’t see another student like her maybe even in the next few years.”

Huang Dan, the form teacher of Class 2, looked up from her desk. “I think so, too! My, if she were in my class, I would be jumping with joy right now. I heard that a student from Class 20 has also scored over 700 points, but she still fell behind Yao Ran by several points.”

Luo Hua sniffed. ‘She must be talking about that Qin Jing who recently transferred from Experimental High School. So she isn’t as good as Yao Ran, after all, eh?’

He cleared his throat and tried to keep his expression neutral.

“Well, it can’t be helped,” Luo Hua sighed. “If she had only scored a little higher, then maybe the top student would be coming from Class 20 again. What a shame!”

He took another, louder sip of his tea.

Of course, deep down, Luo Hua was very pleased with how things had turned out.

Huang Dan glanced at Xi Yan, who was standing behind them, and smirked.

“That’s right. I always knew that the first placer would come from Class 1. So what if the top student has always been in Class 20 lately? Our school tests are nothing compared to the national exams! As expected, only the finest classes could nurture an excellent student such as Yao Ran.”

In her eyes, Yao Tang had always been a good-for-nothing rascal who had probably just gotten lucky in their school exams.

Just then, a teacher from the Student Management Department came in with some documents. “Ah! I see that both of you are here. Please look this over, Director Luo. This is the summary of our students’ results in the national exams.”

Aside from being a form teacher, Luo Hua also happened to be head of the Grade Management and Learning Office, which meant that he was in charge of anything to do with the students’ grades.

“Thank you for your trouble, Teacher Ma. I apologize for making you come all the way here for this.”

The man called Teacher Ma handed the papers over. “No, no, it’s no trouble at all! I’m just doing my job.” He gave everyone in the office one last smile before turning to leave.

“Come here, Teacher Huang,” Luo Hua called. “Let’s check the results together.” As the form teachers of the top two classes, they naturally had a vested interest in such matters.

“Sure, sure. We need to determine the students’ weaknesses and address them quickly so that they can perform better next time.”

Huang Dan eagerly walked over. When she caught sight of the name on the top of the list, her eyes widened in shock.

She pointed at the big, bold letters and exclaimed, “How can it be her?!”

…

Class 1.

Yao Ran felt her phone vibrate from inside her pocket. She fished it out and saw that her father was calling.

She rushed out into the hallway before picking up. “Dad!”

“Ranran, how did it go with your exams?” Yao Yuan asked almost immediately. “Dad has been on edge all day, waiting for your good news!”

Sure enough, there was an urgency to his tone that was rather uncharacteristic of him.

“I got 719 points this time,” Yao Ran answered, sounding all too pleased with herself.

“Such a high score!” Yao Yuan praised, only to follow it up with, “And what about Yao Tang?”

Yao Ran’s eyes flashed with irritation at that, but her tone remained docile. “The official results haven’t been announced yet, so I have no way of knowing yet.”

“Well, that’s fine. Dad is very happy with your results. Tonight, your mother and I will take you out to World Haven to celebrate your achievement. We will have a feast in your honor!”

Yao Yuan was in high spirits.

This somewhat helped to dispel his daughter’s annoyance. “Okay, I’ll go home straight after class!”

They exchanged their goodbyes, and Yao Yuan ended the call with a satisfied grin.

Shortly after, Yao Ran decided to head to the Teachers’ Office downstairs. On her way, she spotted Yao Tang coming out of her classroom.

Yao Ran walked over, looking like the cat who had swallowed the canary.

“Hello, Yao Tang!”

Yao Tang paused and fixed the other girl with her usual cold glance.

Yao Ran was undeterred, however. “I scored 719 points in the national exams,” she said in a sickly sweet voice. “Dad called just now, asking about our results. He asked me to tell you not to be sad if you did poorly. You’re just a bumpkin, anyway, so it’s only expected that you can’t keep up with our school’s curriculum.”

Yao Ran’s expression suddenly shifted. A vicious light came over her eyes, and her next words were spoken rapidly.

“You never had a proper foundation, to begin with, and unfortunately for you, the national exams are all about the quality of education one has. I guess it’s good that you left the Yao family, since you won’t be able to embarrass us any further with your lousy grades.”

She was soaring in her victory that she threw caution to the wind and showed her true colors. Unbeknownst to Yao Ran, Qin Jing was standing right behind her.

Qin Jing crossed her arms over her chest and waited for Yao Ran to finish gloating. And then she opened her own mouth and spoke.