On a rainy night, pouring rain drenched Zhou Xiu’s body.
She was waiting for her benefactor, the cold freezing wind creeping into her neck, causing the lips of the young girl to tremble and turn pale.
She was like stubborn and ordinary weeds in the corner of a wall, dressed thinly, so much so that passers-by couldn’t help but cast surprised glances at her.
But still, she was unwilling to take shelter in KFC to warm up.
Rainwater poured into her cheap plastic shoes, the young girl carrying a heavy snakeskin bag, wearing thin clothes, her shoulders thin.
Everything about her seemed out of place in this bustling metropolis.
At that moment, a black sedan slowly stopped in front of her.
A middle-aged woman stepped out from the sedan holding an umbrella, her makeup as exquisite as those on television. The woman, upon seeing the young girl, showed a hint of surprise on her otherwise cold face.
“Zhou Xiu? Get in the car.”
Mrs. Xi’s gaze fell on the urea snakeskin bag Zhou Xiu was carrying on her back.
Zhou Xiu suddenly felt embarrassed, her lips trembling as she explained, “This is… a little something from my parents.”
Zhou Xiu wasn’t tall, barely reaching 1.6 meters, but the snakeskin bag she carried on her back seemed taller than her, looking ridiculously oversized.
Some time ago, Mrs. Xi’s good friend happened to rescue a country girl while venturing into the mountains.
The good friend angrily recounted Zhou Xiu’s story over the phone:
“Zhou Xiu just entered high school, she ranked first in the school during the entrance exam, but do you know? For her cousin’s fifty thousand yuan dowry, her grandparents took it to arrange a marriage for her. She’s so young and has to marry a man over thirty! I even paid her the money, just…”
Having done a good deed, Mrs. Xi’s friend realized she had picked up a hot potato and casually tossed it to Mrs. Xi.
Mrs. Xi didn’t have the same overflowing sympathy as her good friend, but providing for a young girl’s basic needs was something easily manageable.
She politely said, “Get in the car.”
Zhou Xiu’s snakeskin bag was placed in the trunk by the driver. She got into the car dazedly, only to realize there was another boy in the car.
The boy in the car was wearing a light grey British-style diamond-patterned sweater, his sneakers were spotlessly clean, as if they had just been taken off the shelf in a store.
The genuine leather car seats in the sedan were equally flawless and pure white.
The car’s heater was very warm, making one yearn for it involuntarily.
However, as soon as Zhou Xiu lifted her foot, the poor-quality plastic shoes immediately split open at the seam, like a mouth opening, revealing the frostbitten toes inside.
Dirty water kept dripping from the shoes, making Zhou Xiu feel embarrassed as she retracted her toes.
The boy in the sedan slowly lifted his head. His handsome face seemed to have been bathed in sunlight, with elevated eyebrows, exuding the unique arrogance and confidence of youth.
He casually glanced at Zhou Xiu, as if appraising roadside trash.
Cold and disdainful.
Zhou Xiu’s face warmed up a bit, she turned her head away and used the towel handed to her by the butler to wipe away the dirt.
“Close the door, hurry up, I have another appointment later,” Mrs. Xi ordered impatiently.
Zhou Xiu murmured softly, “Okay.”
…
Zhou Xiu moved into the Xi family. That evening was plain and uneventful, without any waves. It was as if the family had simply gained an extra member, and nothing much changed.
Mrs. Xi rushed to a meeting overnight and didn’t return until morning.
The young master of the Xi family, that boy, also didn’t pay much attention to Zhou Xiu.
After taking a hot shower, Zhou Xiu lay warm and snug in her bed, and that night, she had a very long dream. She dreamt of her nightmare-like life.
In the dream, “Zhou Xiu” managed to escape the fate of marrying an old man from the countryside, but she stumbled badly with Xi Shaoyuan.
She fell in love with the young master of the wealthy family.
During her senior year of high school, Zhou’s father fell seriously ill and urgently needed fifty thousand yuan for surgery. Feeling embarrassed to ask the Xi family for money, “Zhou Xiu” could only work desperately during holidays to earn money.
Meanwhile, Xi Shaoyuan, while celebrating his girlfriend’s birthday, casually bought her a bracelet worth three hundred thousand yuan.
When “Zhou Xiu” saw the price tag of the bracelet in Xi Shaoyuan’s study, her heart trembled as she counted the string of zeros. If she could marry into a wealthy family… all her troubles would disappear in this lifetime.
She began dressing according to Xi Shaoyuan’s preferences, desperately trying to please him.
In the end, she failed to win Xi Shaoyuan’s heart, but people in his circle had long looked down upon women like “Zhou Xiu” who harboured fantasies of marrying into wealth.
Finally, Mrs. Xi discovered “Zhou Xiu’s” intentions. She was severely humiliated by Mrs. Xi and sent back to her old home in the countryside to marry the old man…
“I’ve provided for your food, clothing, and education, and you repay me by trying to seduce my son?”
Outside the window, lightning flashed, thunder roared, and a silver light flickered, followed by a deafening clap of thunder.
Zhou Xiu woke up drenched in sweat.
This dream felt too real.
[Hello, young one, don’t doubt it. The dream you just experienced is your life that you will go through. Remember, relying on others is futile. This is a learning system. Please, young youth, make good use of your time and enrich yourself!]
[It’s difficult for those from humble origins to produce exceptional offspring. The Galaxy Interstellar Foundation for Supporting Underprivileged Youths, Learning System, is dedicated to serving you.]
Being sent back to her old home in the countryside, Zhou Xiu knew exactly what awaited her… having just been rescued from the abyss, she couldn’t be clearer.
The woman she had become in the dream, gradually transitioning from awkwardness to paranoia, the one who had become obsessed with Xi Shaoyuan, left Zhou Xiu feeling unfamiliar and lost.
Zhou Xiu ignored the strange voice in her ear.
In the morning, the maid from the Xi family woke her up for breakfast. Zhou Xiu was stunned when she saw Xi Shaoyuan dressed neatly and appropriately. Last night’s darkness had obscured her view of the young master of the Xi family.
His appearance was truly astonishing.
But Zhou Xiu remembered her dream from last night: falling in love with him meant being sent back to the countryside to marry an old man. Zhou Xiu couldn’t help but shiver, taking a step back.
The maid looked at Zhou Xiu with confusion.
“Don’t you two know each other yet? Why are you so reserved, Xiuxiu? Quickly introduce yourself to the young master.”
In the dream, Zhou Xiu was very happy and gave a long self-introduction, but she didn’t receive any response from Xi Shaoyuan.
Zhou Xiu calmly stated, “My name is Zhou Xiu.”
Xi Shaoyuan lazily murmured in response, not bothering to lift his eyelids, maintaining his posture as he lazily ate his breakfast.
It seemed that Zhou Xiu was nothing more than an inconsequential passer-by to him. As Zhou Xiu drank her rice porridge, she idly thought:
Indifference was indeed Xi Shaoyuan’s true personality.
The maid from the Xi family escorted Zhou Xiu to Yude Middle School for registration.
Zhou Xiu walked into her new classroom with a heavy heart.
Before coming to the big city yesterday, Zhou Xiu was full of expectations for her new school and classmates. But the premonitory dream from last night dampened her spirits.
They rejected her, looked down on her, teased her, with immense malice towards her.
Zhou Xiu wore the oversized, standard school uniform, her face looking thin. Prolonged malnutrition made her appear quite ordinary, with average looks. Apparently, such a transfer student couldn’t capture the interest of the boys and girls.
“Hello, everyone, my name is Zhou Xiu.”
After the hurried self-introduction, Zhou Xiu sat down at her seat, instantly becoming an inconspicuous figure in the corner.
[Believe me, studying can make you wealthy, while men cannot.]
[Dear, are you there? Hello. I need your response here.]
The learning system, having absorbed the civilization of this era overnight, quickly adapted to the trends of the times.
As the last physics class approached noon, Zhou Xiu’s stomach timely grumbled.
Mrs. Xi was an extremely career-driven woman, but she wasn’t particularly attentive to matters of daily life. On the first day of school, she forgot to give Zhou Xiu any pocket money.
Zhou Xiu and Xi Shaoyuan weren’t acquainted, and she would rather go hungry than deliberately ask him for anything to avoid trying to forge a connection like in her dream.
She crumpled a piece of paper and distracted herself by writing on the test paper.
After completing a multiple-choice question, she squeezed her stomach.
[Ding—Please try to solve an independent math problem. Correct answers will be rewarded with 10 RMB.]
That annoying voice rang out again.
Zhou Xiu’s gaze fell on the math test paper, and she didn’t believe the statement. But with nothing to lose, Zhou Xiu started solving the math problem.
It was a geometry problem. Zhou Xiu sharpened her pencil, drew auxiliary lines, and patiently worked through the problem step by step.
She frowned, becoming frustrated several times and feeling like throwing away the draft paper.
It was clear that this prestigious school was in no way comparable to the remote mountain primary school Zhou Xiu attended. Zhou Xiu racked her brains.
Hua Xu was Zhou Xiu’s seatmate. She had just woken up and found a new seatmate beside her. She was a quiet and reserved girl, with a yellowish complexion and signs of malnutrition. Despite the morning passing, she hadn’t uttered a word.
Usually, it was Hua Xu who displayed aloofness towards others, but no one had ever shown such indifference towards her. However, for the first time in her life, Hua Xu encountered someone equally uninterested in her.
Hua Xu was quite satisfied.
After school, Hua Xu casually took out her makeup and touched up her powder, then reapplied her lipstick.
The new seatmate didn’t leave but instead took out the math test paper and started working on the math problem.
In the back seats, two girls were working quietly, one on her test paper and the other applying makeup in front of the mirror. They kept to themselves, not bothering each other.
Yude school’s math teacher, Old Wang, was notorious for being eccentric. He always liked to throw some unusual and tricky problems at everyone. Hua Xu, feeling bored, glanced at the answer key.
Square root of five.
She got it right… Hua Xu glanced at Zhou Xiu and tapped her desk.
“After you finish your work, let me copy it.”
Her tone was a bit arrogant, but Zhou Xiu didn’t mind.
“Oh, find it yourself.”
[Correct answer, your reward of 10 RMB has already been placed in your pocket.]
Zhou Xiu finished the remaining math problems in one go, ready to rest for a while by leaning on her desk. However, as she unconsciously put her hand into her pocket, she felt a piece of paper.
Taking it out, she saw an old blue-grey bill smiling at her.
Zhou Xiu rubbed her eyes, feeling stunned.
She was sure her pocket was empty, and this bill seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.
[Dear, please enjoy the fruits of your labour in a timely manner. The rewards earned through knowledge exchange are incredibly sweet.]
Making money through learning?
This sounded too incredible, but the money in her hand reminded Zhou Xiu that it was real! It was so surreal!
It lay quietly in her pocket, giving her a sense of security.
Various foods floated before Zhou Xiu’s eyes: steaming hot noodles, soft and sweet steamed buns, and eggs with a hint of scallion fragrance. Zhou Xiu tightly clenched the money and swallowed her saliva.
She hurried to the school cafeteria.
Yude High School’s cafeteria was generous. The soup was free, as were the rice, porridge, and steamed buns. Even though they were free, the taste was surprisingly good.
Zhou Xiu ordered some meat. Pork had become expensive, costing ten yuan per serving, which surprised her.
After ordering the meat, she regretted it; it was a bit expensive.
Zhou Xiu was starving. The braised pork was fragrant, with thick and savoury gravy, making it rich but not greasy.
She devoured five steamed buns in one go until she felt so full she could burp. She gently rubbed her belly, feeling a bit sore but incredibly satisfied.
On the second floor of the cafeteria, at a quiet table.
“Pfft—”
“When will that girl stop eating? She’s already had five!”
“She’s a transfer student from the neighbouring class. I heard her family is quite poor. The water cup she’s using was donated by the Hope Project!”
Xi Shaoyuan heard the voices and casually glanced over, catching sight of the impoverished student his mother was sponsoring. He saw her with a bowl of porridge on her left, a bowl of rice on her right, and an empty tray in front of her.
He averted his gaze.
“She looks so skinny. Isn’t she afraid of eating so much and getting sick?”
Hua Xu, who had always viewed money as worthless, watched her seatmate go get another serving of free fruit and fell into contemplation. It seemed like her seatmate… was a bit poor?
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