Chapter 3

The joint examination results came out.

I ranked first in my school.

And first across all eight schools, by a considerable margin.

Nearly thirty points ahead of second place.

Once my photograph and scores began circulating, Qing High stole the limelight from all the schools below it.

Our class won an award and received special praise.

I always wore a forgiving smile when it came to Zhao Mingzhu, who had bullied me. “It’s all in the past. As long as she’s learned from her mistakes.”

The more forgiving I was, the worse her reputation became.

Day after day, she watched me with venomous eyes, her hatred plain to see.

All I heard around me was praise.

“Academic goddess. Let this humble disciple bow down.”

“If I pray to her photo, can I get ten more points in chemistry? Eighty-five is all I’m asking. Please. How did she get full marks?”

“Full marks in math too… I surrender.”

“Even her essay score’s high. She’s got every base covered.”

“Definitely a genius. I sit next to her. Watched her all day yesterday. No makeup, and not even dark circles! Zhao Mingzhu’s just jealous. Spreading rumors that Mianmian’s fake. Unbelievable.”

When I returned to my seat, my desk mate asked curiously, “So many boys are after you, Mianmian. Do you like any of them?”

I shook my head again.

The boys Zhao Mingzhu sent were dull. So were the others who approached me. Their acting was painfully poor.

My desk mate whispered, “A true ice queen. Completely out of reach.”

Besides Li Changqing, there were one, two, three, four, five more boys pursuing me. More than I could count on one hand.

I liked novelty. Preferably someone who made me curious. None of them quite managed it.

Then a transfer student arrived in our class, with a face that could bewitch anyone.

He was very handsome.

He had well-defined abs too.

And his voice was sweet when he wheedled.

Most importantly, he was interesting. The others pursued me. He blatantly used his looks to seduce me.

I watched Shen Zhuo deliberately appear before me after someone had drenched him, his white shirt clinging to his waist. I smiled.

“Have they been bullying you again?”

I looked at him with pity.

He nodded, his black hair falling obediently across his forehead.

My fingertip came to rest an inch below his Adam’s apple. “Your button’s broken.”

Pitiful little creatures always made people want to love them. Hesitantly, he caught my hand, enticing me.

“Am I that awful? They say I look like a girl. They all bully me.”

I looked at his clean, neat appearance, then at the video someone had sent anonymously to my phone. My smile deepened.

In a noisy private room, Shen Zhuo splashed red wine over a woman approaching him. He looked amused. “Nice big tits. They’d make a good vase.”

He picked up a thorny rose and, as she watched in terror, pressed it against her without mercy.

“Get out.”

His tone was impatient.

He was a very good actor. Just then, a cherry blossom landed perfectly in his hair, making him look pure and innocent.

But the boy before me had no idea how frightening male jealousy could be.

The very first day I publicly called him handsome, someone had wasted no time exposing every last thing about him.

I took out a tissue and dried his hair. “Would you like to sit next to me?”