Chapter 77: Exposed

As usual, Ye QiuXie placed her bag on the sofa, but unlike usual, she didn't start cooking.Ye QiuXie was utterly exhausted, both physically and mentally. She didn't feel like saying a word.

She leaned back on the sofa with her eyes closed, her mind reminiscing.

Ye QiuXie disliked people who willingly sunk into degradation, relying on their family's wealth to do as they pleased.

HuMing was a prime example of that.

But when she saw other parents personally picking up their children from school, caring for them with warm words and gentle gestures, she finally understood why some classmates could live happily without feeling guilty, even if they didn't work hard in their studies.

It was a world she had never been a part of, one she couldn't understand,  just how beautiful life could be when cared for by loving parents.

While others her age were basking in the love and care of their parents, she had already learned to rely on herself, climbing step by step on her own.

When it came to her parents, all she could remember was endless fighting. They blamed each other for everything, shirking their responsibilities entirely.

Sometimes, she wondered, if they hated each other so much, why did they bring her into this world?

And after she was born, they abandoned her. Was she just proof of their mutual hatred?

As the sun descended, the room grew dim, and her shadow stretched across the wall. Outside, the distant sounds of children's laughter and playful voices drifted in through the open window.

She felt tired, longing for sleep.

But she knew too well that she couldn't afford to collapse here. What would happen if her grandmother were left alone?

Forcing herself to stand, she wavered like a wind-up doll on the verge of winding down. seaʀᴄh the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

...

The next day at school, HuMing heard some explosive news.

SuLiu's past was out in the open, showcasing one incident after another from her middle school days, all exposed to the public eye.

Everyone was talking about it, and the school tried its best to suppress the situation.

After all, someone had posted SuLiu's old middle school photos on the school forum.

In the photos, SuLiu was smoking, her movements carefree and unrestrained, completely different from the innocent and cute image she portrayed at school.

In an instant, the goddess-like image of SuLiu in many people's minds shattered.

Some were so angry and humiliated that they cursed SuLiu, calling her worse than an animal.

The once high-and-mighty SuLiu had become an outcast, like a rat everyone wanted to drive out.

It seemed that SuLiu might have gotten wind of the situation in advance, as she didn't come to school today, and no one knew where she had gone.

HuMing sat at his desk, his eyes drifting towards Han ShuYi, who was teaching the other students at the front of the class.

Han ShuYi seemed normal,  unaffected by the situation.

But HuMing knew exactly whose handiwork this was.

To so easily destroy someone---that's Han ShuYi for you.

No wonder he so easily manipulated the original.

Han YunXi ran into HuMing's classroom, looking like she had just stumbled upon the juiciest gossip. She rushed up to HuMing, her excitement barely contained.

"Have you heard? SuLiu used to be a delinquent!"

"So what? It doesn't matter that much.

"Did you know about this already? Is that why you stopped pursuing her?"

As soon as Han YunXi spoke, many students in the class turned to look.

Indeed, HuMing had once pursued SuLiu intensely, even confessing his feelings in front of many people. Anyone who went to such lengths would have to be genuinely in love. Otherwise, who would want to be a simp?

But suddenly, it was as if HuMing had a change of heart, completely ignoring SuLiu.

SuLiu had even lowered herself and tried to ask him out, only to be rejected by him.

To them, this shift in behavior seemed very strange.

Now, with SuLiu's past unveiled and Han YunXi's comment, everything HuMing had done made perfect sense.

HuMing didn't care about their speculations.

He waved his hand and said, "Why bother with gossip? She's probably going to drop out anyway. There's no need to dwell on it."

Seeing HuMing's lack of interest, Han YunXi decided not to press further.

Suddenly, the homeroom teacher called for HuMing from outside the classroom.

HuMing looked up and met the homeroom teacher's stern gaze.

HuMing sighed in resignation, his expression somewhat unnatural,  and considered whether he should turn in Ye QiuXue.

He got up and walked outside, where he saw the homeroom teacher holding a test paper. The teacher looked at HuMing, and HuMing's face betrayed no sign of guilt, which reassured the teacher somewhat.

At least from HuMing's demeanor, he didn't seem guilty.

"HuMing, do you know how many points you scored on yesterday's math test?"

"It should be close to 140," HuMing said, scratching his head and stating his estimated score. He couldn't help but feel amused by the teacher's surprised reaction.

If he told the teacher he could even guess the exact score, would the teacher be shocked?

At that moment, the homeroom teacher felt bewildered and realized that if HuMing could guess his score so accurately, it meant he was confident about it.

But his previous scores had never even come close to this.

140 points! It was hard to believe, considering HuMing used to score as low as 40 before!

"HuMing, your progress is so rapid that it's hard not to be suspicious. But the teacher believes this is your true ability. Tell me, did you just not put in effort before, or have you been studying intensively recently?"

"..."

"This matter is actually somewhat related to me."

Just as HuMing was about to respond, a voice came from behind him.

Looking toward the source of the voice, the homeroom teacher was surprised by the person's arrival and was also quite interested in what they had to say.

"Ye QiuXue?"

"Hello, teacher. Are you talking about HuMing's test results?"

"Yes, yes, Ye QiuXue, you said this is related to you. Can you tell me about it?"

Ye QiuXue glanced at HuMing, who responded with a playful wink, his small action filled with mischief.

Ye QiuXue managed to hide her amusement and kept a composed demeanor.

"Actually, I've been tutoring HuMing recently," Ye QiuXue said, looking at the test paper in the homeroom teacher's hand.

"May I take a look at the test paper?"

The homeroom teacher handed the test paper to Ye QiuXue.

She flipped through it and carefully examined the questions.

After some time, her expression turned somewhat peculiar as she silently looked at HuMing, a fake smile plastered on his face.

She returned the test paper to the homeroom teacher and then explained.

"Teacher, most of the questions on this test are ones I've had HuMing do. I'm not surprised he scored this well."

Hearing this, the homeroom teacher was dumbfounded.

Ye QiuXue's tutoring even includes predicting questions?"