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It was maths for the evening self-study period, but Tang Xiang Ping had something come up at the last minute, so she handed out the papers and asked the students to work on it themselves.
Song Yu Meng didn’t want to do it at all, and the teacher had left for a meeting anyway, so she sat at her seat and fooled around.
Yi Ran noticed that Song Yu Meng was holding a small, circular mirror up to look at her. The moment their eyes met, Song Yu Meng immediately put down the mirror and pretended to be busy with other things.
“If you want to look, do it openly. Why sneak around?” Yi Ran smiled.
Song Yu Meng’s face flushed and her heart rate spiked. “Who was looking at you? I… I was looking at your paper, okay.”
Yi Ran looked at Song Yu Meng’s paper, it was completely blank. She didn’t do a single question in the past half an hour. It was honestly kind of impressive.
“Don’t leave it blank, what if you’re found out?” Yi Ran pushed her paper over. “Hurry up and copy it. I’ll let you copy the questions at the back once I’m done.”
Song Yu Meng looked at her suspiciously. “Would you be so nice as to let me copy? I’m sure you’re gonna trap me then report it to the teacher again right? I’m not falling for it!”
Yi Ran took back her paper and smiled. “Well, your choice. Since you don’t want it, then make sure you finish these questions yourself.”
Song Yu Meng: “…….”
She looked at the questions, those unfriendly numbers making her head spin. How could she even want to do a single question? So she just zoned out until Tang Xiang Ping arrived.
She guessed all the multiple-choice questions a minute before they started going through the answers.
Tang Xiang Ping wrote the answers on the whiteboard and Yi Ran basically got them all correct. As for Song Yu Meng, there were a total of 16 questions, and she only got four correct.
Tabulating their marks, Yi Ran got 121 marks while Song Yu Meng got 20.
Yi Ran couldn’t help but mock her. “I told you to copy my answers. Your 20 marks are even lower than my 21 leftover marks.”
Song Yu Meng pinched Yi Ran’s thigh and said in annoyance: “Shut up, you.”
Tang Xiang Ping asked the people who scored above 120 to raise their hands, and Yi Ran raised her right hand proudly.
Song Yu Meng complained silently: Seriously, it’s not like you scored 121 on Gaokao.
Tang Xiang Ping said: “This paper isn’t hard, everybody should have at least 60 marks, even if your maths is really poor.”
Yi Ran looked at Song Yu Meng’s 20 marks and snorted. Song Yu Meng’s face was as dark as could be.
“Alright, students who didn’t score 60 and above, raise your hands.”
Not many students raised their hands, so she continued: “It’s just to understand your situation, I won’t scold you or anything.”
Another three students raised their hands.
Song Yu Meng felt it was too embarrassing and she didn’t want Tang Xiang Ping to ask about her marks, so she didn’t raise her hand.
Tang Xiang Ping realised Song Yu Meng didn’t raise her hand at all and was elated at her sudden improvement. She asked excitedly: “Student Song Yu Meng, how many marks did you get?”
Instantaneously, everybody’s attention was on Song Yu Meng. She really wanted to find a hole to hide in, how embarrassing! She should have just raised her hand!
Yi Ran really couldn’t hold it in any longer, and she laughed aloud. Tang Xiang Ping scolded her: “What are you laughing at? A student raising their grades is a good thing! Furthermore, this is your deskmate, you should be happy, how could you laugh at her?”
Yi Ran held back her laughter and nodded heavily. How was she not happy for her deskmate? She was almost delirious with happiness! Her face was red from holding back all her laughter.
Song Yu Meng was about to go crazy, she hoped Tang Seng would just shut up and stop asking!
Who knew Tang Xiang Ping wouldn’t do as she wished.
“Come, student Song Yu Meng, tell us how much you scored.”
Good god! Did Tang Seng really have to chase after her for an answer?!! Song Yu Meng was weeping in her heart.
The whole class was waiting curiously for her answer, and Song Yu Meng couldn’t bear to throw her face away by answering she only scored 20 marks. Wouldn’t she be the laughingstock of the class then?
So she weakly said “61 marks”. God knows how guilty she felt when saying this score, and she especially even looked at Yi Ran to warn her not to expose her lie.
Yi Ran just glanced at her and smiled, but didn’t say anything. She figured this scaredy-cat would explode in anger if she did.
“Not bad, not bad, there’s improvement, it’s worthy of praise!” Tang Xiang Ping looked at Song Yu Meng and applauded, with the students also joining in.
Yi Ran clapped the loudest, her palms all turning red. She would love to clap her palm on Song Yu Meng’s face.
Song Yu Meng’s face, on the other hand, was redder than a tomato, and she still had to act as if she really had scored 61 marks.
Plenty of students were applauding casually, except for Xu Yuan.
She was clapping too, but her typical warm and elegant smile had faded away to a blank expression, that could even be considered a bit dark, with doubt and mistrust in her eyes.
She didn’t believe Song Yu Meng could score above 60, there must be something going on.
Tang Xiang Ping: “It’s almost time to go home. If there are any questions you have, check with your deskmate first. If you guys both can’t figure it out, then come ask me. Also, Yi Ran, take down all your classmates’ scores and submit it to me.”
Yi Ran turned her head to face Song Yu Meng and said: “Tang Seng asked you to ask me questions, aren’t you going to?”
“You wish! Do you think I have even the slightest interest in maths? I’m not even scared of only scoring 20 marks.”
Yi Ran feigned a look of shock. “Ah? 20 marks? I thought you scored 61!”
Song Yu Meng glared at her angrily, hinting for Yi Ran to shut up and not mention this matter again.
After class, Xu Yuan walked over to Yi Ran to register her marks. Song Yu Meng saw her walking over and felt nothing good was going to happen, immediately stuffing her paper into her desk.
Xu Yuan was writing her marks down when she realised that on the sheet, Song Yu Meng’s marks were recorded as 61. She asked Yi Ran in front of Song Yu Meng: “Did she really score that high?”
Song Yu Meng saw Xu Yuan pointing at her scores and asking Yi Ran, and her temper rose. “What’s the meaning of this, Xu Yuan? You think I can’t score that much?”
Xu Yuan rushed to explain: “Ah, that’s not it. You must have been mistaken, I was just thinking that you’re really impressive for raising your score so much. I wasn’t doubting you.”
Song Yu Meng hated people putting on an act in front of her.
“Just say it if you suspect me! Stop acting, who doesn’t know that you’re the best at acting innocent?!”
The people watching in class were of mixed opinions. Some said Song Yu Meng was right to scold her, while others who were biased towards Xu Yuan said Song Yu Meng was being too vicious and vengeful.
Xu Yuan started crying. Covering her face with both hands, she used a particularly aggrieved tone and said: “I… I said it was a misunderstanding. How could you say that of me……”
She sniffed, all the boys who liked her felt like their hearts were breaking.
A boy who liked Xu Yuan stepped out and scolded Song Yu Meng. “That’s right! Xu Yuan never offended you either, she was just asking. Does that warrant you scolding her like that?”
This boy was definitely braver than the others. The rest of them were too scared of Song Yu Meng’s power and riches that they dared not speak up to her, only staying at the side and secretly gossiping.
“I’m talking about Xu Yuan, not you, so why are you coming out to speak?” Song Yu Meng folded her arms and leaned against the window, raising her chin and speaking arrogantly. “What? You want to stand up for our school flower because you like her? Do you think she needs you, this fool who likes her one-sidedly, to stand up for her?”
Yi Ran was still sitting down and she stifled a laugh. When had this fellow been so venomous with her words? No! She had always been like this!
She didn’t feel like Song Yu Meng was in the wrong either. Okay, maybe a little, but it didn’t matter. She would always be biased towards her.
“You!!!” The boy’s face darkened in anger, not knowing how to retaliate.
Some kind-hearted girl couldn’t stand it and gave Xu Yuan a tissue to wipe her tears with.
Xu Yuan wiped her tears dry and said: “Sorry, I didn’t know you hated me so much. It was my fault, I shouldn’t have said something like that to make you misunderstand me.”
With this, the boys who liked Xu Yuan in the crowd were all utterly displeased at Song Yu Meng. She was forcing Xu Yuan to the edge! It clearly was her fault, but she was pinning the blame on Xu Yuan!
But they had no courage to say anything.
At this moment, Liu Luo Yang pushed his way through the crowd. He ordered Song Yu Meng icily: “Apologise to her.”
Liu Luo Yang had just returned to the classroom and had no idea what had happened. He just saw his girlfriend crying and Song Yu Meng was standing there, so he immediately determined that it must have been her bullying his girlfriend again.
Song Yu Meng’s eyes went wide and she stared at Liu Luo Yang in disbelief.
What she couldn’t accept was that she didn’t do anything wrong in this matter. Xu Yuan provoked her first, and the one who was acting like the victim was also Xu Yuan.
And what had she done? All she had done was speak the truth. At most her tone was a little harsh, but wasn’t what she said the truth? Why did everyone side with Xu Yuan and think this was her fault?
“I said, apologise to Xu Yuan.” Liu Luo Yang repeated himself with an angry expression.
“Based on what?!” Song Yu Meng met his cold stare, not intending to back down.
“Based on what you said to Xu Yuan!” Liu Luo Yang shouted, his gentle persona no longer in place.
There were a bunch of people crowding around to watch the show.
At this point, Yi Ran, who had been keeping silent, suddenly stood up and blocked Song Yu Meng from Liu Luo Yang’s gaze, her face incredibly solemn.
Anybody with eyes would have seen that a big battle was about to happen.
“I think you’re mistaken. Song Yu Meng didn’t do anything wrong, what are you asking her to apologise for?” Yi Ran said harshly, her eyebrows furrowed slightly and a cold edge to her eyes pressurising the person in front of her.
Liu Luo Yang’s imposing manner faltered and he didn’t know what to say. He had only dared to shout at Song Yu Meng and ask her to apologise in front of so many people because he felt that Song Yu Meng liked him and couldn’t do without him. Even if he scolded her, she wouldn’t hold a grudge against him.
But now, Song Yu Meng’s reaction was the exact opposite of what he had expected. She was no longer the same Song Yu Meng who would apologise and sulk when he scolded her.
Liu Luo Yang suddenly felt a bit lost, but it was just for a fleeting moment. The desire to protect Xu Yuan was much stronger.
Song Yu Meng stood in place, staring at Yi Ran’s back. She felt incredibly touched, she had never expected Yi Ran to stand up for her.
With the atmosphere turning tense, Xu Yuan realised the situation wasn’t in her favour and pulled Liu Luo Yang behind her quickly. She said to Yi Ran: “Sorry, this is my fault, don’t harm the harmony between classmates because of me.”
Yi Ran looked at Xu Yuan coldly and stepped aside, just enough for Xu Yuan to see Song Yu meng.
“The person you should be apologising to is her.” She pointed at Song Yu Meng.
“You!” Liu Luo Yang had just said a word when Xu Yuan stuck out a hand in front of him. Liu Luo Yang could only turn his head away in silence, keeping his anger in his heart and blaming Song Yu Meng.
Xu Yuan looked at the person she hated most and gritted her teeth. “Sorry.”
Song Yu Meng’s eyes swept over Xu Yuan and Liu Luo Yang, and she “oh”-ed perfunctorily. She didn’t care if Xu Yuan apologised to her or not, and she only felt Liu Luo Yang’s behaviour was ridiculous and enraging.
Xu Yuan pulled Liu Luo Yang away and the crowd scattered.
The bell rang and Song Yu Meng complained quietly: “Cheh! This lady doesn’t care for your apology.”
Yi Ran had managed to hear it, and her gloomy expression cleared as she smiled at Song Yu Meng, who started blushing.
“What are you looking at me for? Does this lady’s face have words on it?”
Yi Ran chuckled. “No words, but you’re blushing. What are you shy about?” She wondered, searching Song Yu Meng’s face for a hint.
“Who’s shy? You… You’re crazy!” Her face got even redder and warmer.
Yi Ran just smiled helplessly, unable to crack this lady who was blushing redder than a baboon’s butt.
The next class was art, and the art teacher put on a video for them to watch.
At the most exciting part, Yi Ran suddenly heard a whisper from her side: “Just now, thank you……”
The voice was soft and sticky, entirely at odds with the owner’s character. Yi Ran raised her left eyebrow and looked at her with a slight smile.
Song Yu Meng continued: “Why did you stand up for me just now?”
“This……” Yi Ran turned around to look at her seriously. “I just didn’t want others to be bullying you, okay? It’s fine if I bully you, anybody else can forget about it.”
The hidden meaning behind her words was that she was unique in Song Yu Meng’s heart, nobody could replace her or hope to compare.
Song Yu Meng seemed to have understood that meaning and she was so shy she was unable to say anything. She lowered her head so Yi Ran couldn’t see her blush and her heart was beating more erratically than rough currents in the sea.
Yi ran saw how nervous Song Yu Meng was and her mood lifted. “You must be sincere…..”
“When you thank someone, right?” Song Yu Meng seamlessly finished Yi Ran’s sentence for her, finally meeting her gaze.
“I knew you were going to say that.” She continued. “So as a reward, this lady will tell you a massive secret.”
“Tell me who it’s about first?”
“Of course it’s about this lady.” Song Yu Meng’s reaction was abnormally large. “Crazy Yi, I’m telling you. You can’t tell this secret to anyone else, or this lady will kill you!”
She’d even kill me, Yi Ran smiled. “Then hurry up and say it, I really want to know what kind of massive secret you could have.”
Song Yu Meng looked left and right and after making sure nobody was watching then, and that there was no teacher patrolling, she crooked a finger at Yi Ran.
Yi Ran obediently brought her ear closer, but she didn’t gauge the distance well enough and her ear almost brushed against Song Yu Meng’s lips. Song Yu Meng was startled and almost forgot what she wanted to say.
Inhaling deeply to calm her racing heart, she leaned in and whispered into Yi Ran’s ear: “I don’t like Liu Luo Yang anymore, I’m sure of it this time.”
She looked at Yi Ran, sounding entirely serious and not like she was joking.
Yi Ran looked at Song Yu Meng in surprise. “You’re serious?”
Song YuMeng nodded, with traces of red still on her face.
“Why? Didn’t you like Liu Luo Yang for five years? How could you just stop liking him like that?” Yi Ran’s eyes expressed both her surprise and her joy.
Song Yu Meng clamped a hand to her mouth and looked around them carefully. She only relaxed after seeing the students all watching the video seriously.
“Can you quieten down? I already said it’s a secret, and you’re still talking so loudly, is it on purpose?!” Song Yu Meng stared daggers into Yi Ran.
Yi Ran nodded her head quickly before Song Yu Meng removed her hand.
“So how did you suddenly see the light?” Yi Ran asked quietly, her eyes filled with both curiosity and undeniable happiness.
“How do I explain it?” Song Yu Meng felt shy. “It’s just, a sudden thing. I just don’t like him anymore, okay?”
“Oh, it’s like that……” Yi Ran didn’t understand, but she acted like she did.
“What? Can’t I? Weren’t you the one rushing me to give up on him every day, and now that I have, you’re not happy about it?” Song Yu Meng had gone back to her usual, arrogant self.
“How could I dare to be unhappy about this miss’ decision?” Yi Ran smiled. “But you still owe me a favour.”
“What?!” Song Yu Meng accidentally spoke louder than the video’s volume, causing everybody to look at her.
“Please keep quiet during class time.” The male art teacher pushed up his spectacles and said in a deep voice.
Song Yu Meng bowed her head and even used her hands to pull her hair to the sides of her face to block it from view, wishing to find a hole to hide in.
When all the students were focusing on the video again, Song Yu Meng moved her hair aside and covered her mouth with her hand, asking petulantly but not daring to be too loud.
“How can you be like this! Didn’t I already tell you my secret? Why do I still owe you a favour?”
Yi Ran smiled. “Because you owe me two favours. Once was when I didn’t expose you in front of Tang Seng, and the other was when I just spoke up for you. You told me a secret, so that’s one gone. Isn’t there still one favour to return to me?”
Song Yu Meng rolled her eyes. This person was too calculative?!
“So how about it, do you want to tell me another massive secret?”
“Scram! Where would I get so many massive secrets to tell you? Besides, even if I have one, I wouldn’t tell you.”
Yi Ran shrugged. “Up to you. You have to return a favour to me anyway.”
Song Yu Meng was about to get mad looking at this shameless Crazy Yi, and she rubbed her forehead. “Then what do you want this lady to do?”
“Emmmm——” Yi Ran rubbed her chin, deep in thought. “I haven’t thought of it yet. When the time’s right, I’ll tell you. You can’t escape!”
“Crazy, this lady never said she would escape.” Song Yu Meng rolled her eyes again. “But I’m warning you, if the request is too much, this lady won’t agree to it.”
“Relax, Scaredy-Cat.”
“You’re the scaredy-cat!” Song Yu Meng pinched Yi Ran’s thigh again in anger.
“Ow it hurts, it hurts!” Yi Ran bent her body and asked for mercy. “I’m the scaredy-cat! I’m the scaredy-cat, okay!”
Song Yu Meng let go of this “scaredy-cat”. “Hmph! That’s more like it, see if you dare to speak ill of this lady again!”
Yi Ran rubbed her thigh pitifully, with tears in her eyes, thinking: This woman is too vicious, no wonder she’s the vicious villainess in the novel!!