After washing up, Zhou Xiu stretched lazily, yawned, and got ready for bed. As she reached into the pocket of the coat draped over her chair, she felt the crisp, fresh bills inside—a total of 800 yuan. She smiled contentedly.
This time, Zhou Xiu earned more money than usual from completing her test papers.
Although she spent much of the winter break attending extra biology classes, the effort paid off. Now, Zhou Xiu could breeze through four test papers in one go without needing to constantly stop to look up information or ask her teachers questions.
Building a solid foundation might be a slow process, but the results were undeniable.
Bit by bit, the foundational knowledge she accumulated might one day transform into a power beyond her imagination.
The system chimed in: [Perhaps even more than that.]
Following the system’s suggestion, Zhou Xiu checked her livestream account. Besides the tips from the system, she noticed a few small tips from other viewers totalling several dozen yuan.
One viewer had tipped 100 yuan, leaving a message: [Help with 2016 multiple choice question 16. I saw that you noted a special case for the polycistronic operon. What is it? My teacher never covered this in class.]
Zhou Xiu earnestly pulled out some scrap paper and drew a detailed diagram of the splicing and processing of the polycistronic C. elegans operon. She filled an entire sheet of paper with her explanation.
Only after finishing did she log off.
…
At the end of February, Yude High School resumed classes.
Old Wang, the math teacher, opened his computer and took out last semester’s final exam papers from the eight-school joint exam to review. Although it wasn’t typical for regular class teachers to analyse and summarize exam results, Old Wang had a habit of scrutinizing the data.
For every exam, he would compare each student’s performance and adjust his teaching plan accordingly.
He glanced over the exam papers of Xie Cheng and Xi Shaoyuan and was very satisfied.
Old Wang specifically pulled up Zhou Xiu’s math paper. Her answers always managed to surprise him—he often found alternative solutions in her work.
Old Wang had a strong urge to transfer Zhou Xiu to the advanced Rocket Class.
Zhou Xiu’s math skills had developed in an unorthodox way, with her thought processes often being unconventional and different from most students’. If he could personally teach her, her performance might improve even more.
After reviewing the top students’ papers, Old Wang continued to look through the others until he reached Lu Lingshan’s paper. He asked the math class representative to bring Lu Lingshan to his office.
It was the registration day at the beginning of the new semester.
Zhou Xiu arrived at school to register, pick up her new spring and summer uniforms—three sets each—and pay her tuition and fees for the semester.
The students clustered around the payment area, each casually swiping their cards to pay their fees. Zhou Xiu, however, felt a weight in her heart.
Apart from the annual 90,000 yuan tuition fee, Yude required an additional 10,000 yuan per semester for miscellaneous fees and class fees. In an ordinary high school, 10,000 yuan could cover an entire year’s expenses.
On top of that, Zhou Xiu had to pay for the biology and math competition training fees. After making all these payments, she painfully withdrew her card.
The scholarships from the school and the system’s rewards barely had time to warm her pocket before they shrank at an alarming rate.
Zhou Xiu hadn’t planned on burdening her parents with the hefty tuition fees, but covering it herself was no small challenge.
After paying the fees, Zhou Xiu couldn’t help but once again entertain the idea of transferring to a regular high school.
Miss Li was at the payment desk, printing out the class payment list. Noticing the frown on Zhou Xiu’s face, she teased, “Didn’t your scholarship from last semester cover everything?”
“Well, you’ll just have to work harder for the midterm and final exams this semester. If you win any awards in the biology and math competitions, the school also offers scholarships for those.”
Miss Li sighed softly. She knew that Zhou Xiu’s family was struggling financially, but without qualifying for financial aid, there wasn’t much that could be done. Fortunately, Zhou Xiu’s grades were good, and she had a shot at earning scholarships.
Last semester, Zhou Xiu had received 25,000 yuan from the school in scholarships and another 12,000 yuan from the system, totalling 37,000 yuan. Additionally, the test papers and daily tasks she completed in January and February earned her 8,450 yuan.
But after swiping her card today, it felt like she was back to square one. Zhou Xiu could only hope that she could earn more tuition money this semester.
A new semester meant new hope.
The money was spent, but there would be a day when she’d earn it back.
Buoyed by Miss Li’s encouragement, Zhou Xiu flashed a smile, her tiger teeth showing. “I know.”
Carrying her heavy textbooks, Zhou Xiu returned to her class, walking through the hallway of the second-year section.
Today wasn’t the official start of classes, so Zhou Xiu didn’t wear her uniform. Instead, she was dressed in a simple white cotton dress that Liu Mei had bought for her, with her hair tied up in a neat ponytail. She looked clean and refreshing.
As she walked into the classroom, the once noisy room suddenly fell silent.
“Good morning,” Zhou Xiu greeted.
The underachievers of Class 24, who had been goofing around and bantering, were momentarily stunned when they saw Zhou Xiu. After a long pause, they finally returned her greeting, “Good, good morning.”
Tan Ming, who had been peeling an apple, turned to look at the girl walking into the classroom and was so shocked that he nearly cut himself with the knife.
Zhou Xiu set down her textbooks and greeted the classmates around her, “You all came so early today.”
Before she could organize her things, Zhong Simiao appeared at the door of Class 24 and called out to Zhou Xiu.
“Zhou Xiu, Mr. Wang wants to see you in his office.”
Zhou Xiu put down her bag and headed to the teacher’s office.
As soon as she left, the quiet classroom erupted into chaos again, like water splashing into a hot pan.
“Holy crap, was that our class’s top student just now?”
In their minds, Zhou Xiu had always been the quiet girl who wore her school uniform and sat silently in the corner studying. Her face was often sallow, her hair dry—she had the standard look of a good student, someone who could easily get lost in a crowd.
“Xiu’er must have spent the break at a beauty spa or something,” Du Feiyang concluded.
After not seeing her for a month, Zhou Xiu had become noticeably fairer. The dull, sallow skin she once had was now smooth and translucent, bringing a vibrant energy to her features. Her once plain face had been like a piece of jade covered in dust; now, its finely chiselled features were beginning to show.
When she walked into the classroom and greeted everyone, her pure and delicate beauty made her stand out.
Yu Qingyan tugged on Du Feiyang’s ear, “What are you talking about? She just got a bit fairer and filled out a little, okay?”
“Xu-jie had the best eye.”
Only now did the underachievers recall the time during the school sports event when Hua Xu had touched Zhou Xiu’s face and said she was beautiful.
At that time, Zhou Xiu had coincidentally been caught in an unflattering photo that was posted on the forum to compare her to Lu Lingshan. Everyone thought Hua Xu was just being nice, trying to comfort Zhou Xiu by saying she wasn’t ugly.
But now, seeing her, they realized she truly wasn’t.
Hua Xu and Yu Qingyan weren’t as shocked as the underachievers. They had seen Zhou Xiu a few times over the winter break while helping her with her English, so the change wasn’t as drastic for them.
Applying her lipstick, Hua Xu glanced at the stunned boys in the class and muttered, “So shallow.”
Men were such visual creatures.
Was it Zhou Xiu’s academic prowess that wasn’t impressive enough? Or her boldness in standing up to teachers that wasn’t admirable enough?
Xu Qing, who had been watching the scene unfold, quietly put away his phone and sent Zhou Xiu a message:
[There’s a biology test at 9:00 AM. Don’t rush off. By the way, the dress you’re wearing today is really pretty.]
….
In the second-year office.
The Rocket Class homeroom teacher handed Zhou Xiu an application form, explaining in detail:
“The science-focused Rocket Class consistently achieves a key university admission rate of over 95%, with several students being admitted to B University and Q University each year. It’s a top-tier class that Yude High School pours all its resources into nurturing.”
“Based on your performance last semester, you qualify to join the Rocket Class. After careful consideration by the subject teachers, they also agree that you would be a good fit for the class. Zhou Xiu, if you fill out this application, you can join the Rocket Class this semester.”
Zhou Xiu hadn’t expected that when she walked into the office, the Rocket Class homeroom teacher would approach her with such an offer.
She was stunned.
Wasn’t Zhong Simiao just telling her that Mr. Wang wanted to see her?
Miss Li’s heart was in her throat when she heard the Rocket Class teacher trying to recruit Zhou Xiu.
Although she knew that Class 24 wasn’t the best environment for studying—given that most of the students there were underachievers—Zhou Xiu would definitely have access to better resources in the Rocket Class.
But when Mrs. Xi pulled some strings to get Zhou Xiu into Yude, Miss Li was the only one willing to accept her. It didn’t seem fair that now, when Zhou Xiu was excelling, the Rocket Class wanted to snatch her away.
Miss Li watched Zhou Xiu intently, her heart in suspense.
Zhou Xiu’s family wasn’t well-off, so she would likely choose the Rocket Class for the sake of her future academic prospects.
The Rocket Class homeroom teacher smiled and said, “If you’re interested, you can turn in the application form to me by Monday.”
She had heard rumours about Zhou Xiu’s conflicts with the Class 24 math teacher and knew how much Mr. Wang valued Zhou Xiu. The Rocket Class teacher was confident that Class 24 couldn’t compare to what the Rocket Class could offer.
Just as Zhou Xiu was about to refuse, the Rocket Class teacher said encouragingly, “There’s no need to rush your decision. Discuss it with your parents and think it over. Your future is important, and you need to take responsibility for it.”
Zhou Xiu hesitated, taking the application form with her as she walked over to Mr. Wang.
Mr. Wang glanced at Zhou Xiu and said, “Wait a moment.”
He handed her a test paper and said, “Go find a seat and work on this.”
Zhou Xiu took the test paper to the tutoring desk outside the office and began to work on it.
Mr. Wang was dealing with Lu Lingshan’s situation. He held her exam paper and asked, “How did you get this score?”
Mr. Wang had graded the papers himself, so it wasn’t easy to brush him off with a simple “I wasn’t feeling well.”
Last semester’s final exams had used a different set of papers because Mr. Wang had unexpectedly gotten his hands on the joint exam papers used by the top high schools and decided to use them instead.
Strictly speaking, Yude wasn’t considered a top high school. Its graduation rates were propped up by the star students the school paid heavily to recruit, but the school itself couldn’t produce top-tier students. Because of this, it had always been looked down upon by the older, more established high schools.
The top schools rarely included Yude Private High School in their joint exams. When Mr. Wang got the papers from No. 4 High School, he just wanted to see how his students would stack up against the real top students.
As a result, in the math final exams, out of the eight top schools, there were only three perfect scores, two of which came from Yude.
Mr. Wang had been walking on air all winter break.
But now, as he looked at Lu Lingshan’s chaotic paper, he frowned deeply.
After a long pause, Lu Lingshan finally responded, “I’m sorry, teacher, I… wasn’t in the right state of mind.”
Frowning at the sight of the student who was dressed flamboyantly, Mr. Wang’s head began to ache. He said coldly, “I think you should drop out of the math competition class this semester.”
“Your focus isn’t on studying at all.”
Meanwhile, outside, Zhou Xiu checked Xu Qing’s message—there was a biology test at nine. She sped up her pace and finished Mr. Wang’s math test paper.
After completing the test, she walked back into the office and handed the paper to Mr. Wang.
Mr. Wang had been sternly reprimanding Lu Lingshan when Zhou Xiu handed him the paper.
His angry expression deflated like a punctured balloon, replaced with a look of surprise. “You’re done already?” he asked.
Zhou Xiu nodded. “Yes, I had done similar problems during the break, so it didn’t take much time.”
“Is there anything else, sir? I have another test soon.”
Mr. Wang: “…”
Was there really a student busier than the teacher?
“Alright, since you’re in a hurry, I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Go on, then,” Mr. Wang said kindly.
Lu Lingshan stood silently, head bowed, taking Mr. Wang’s scolding with the demeanour of a repentant student. But as Zhou Xiu left, she clenched her fists, her nails digging deep into her palms.
Mr. Wang continued, “Learn from Zhou Xiu—she’s diligent and serious. Hard work and solid effort will always be recognized, no matter where you are.” “Think about that carefully when you go back.”
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