After leaving Teacher Lü’s office with a cheerful smile, Jiang Cheng first made a quick stop at another office.

When she came out, she had a small stack of papers in her hands. She walked while reading through them, nodding occasionally and sometimes shaking her head.

A group of teachers, filled with curiosity, peeked out from windows and doorways, watching her intently as she nodded and shook her head in the hallway.

“She just shook her head? Did she see my paper? I wasn’t too confident when I was solving that equation yesterday.”

“Maybe it was mine.”

“What kind of day is this? How did we all end up being controlled by a single student?”

The teachers retracted their heads and huddled together.

“This won’t do. I have to test Jiang Cheng myself. I refuse to believe this.”

One teacher, brimming with determination, grabbed a textbook and marched off to Jiang Cheng’s classroom.

After one lesson, the teacher returned with five sheets of paper.

“Well, having smart students is truly a blessing for teachers.”

The other teachers: Figure it out yourself!

Meanwhile, inside the classroom, Jiang Cheng, who had just finished testing the teacher, now turned to boost the morale of her classmates.

After an entire lesson of targeted questioning by the teacher, Jiang Cheng’s seamless answers left her classmates in shock.

When did this girl—who didn’t even finish elementary school—become capable of answering questions we ourselves can’t?

Some skeptical students deliberately brought their exercises to Jiang Cheng for questioning. She welcomed them all, patiently explaining and, in the process, feeding them a hearty dose of motivational speech.

“You overlooked this key concept, but now that I’ve explained it, you understand, right? That means you actually knew how to do it all along.”

“I didn’t even finish elementary school, and I managed to learn this. You can definitely do it too.”

“So what if you don’t know something? I used to know nothing. But with the teachers’ guidance, haven’t I improved?”

“Remember, everyone starts from not knowing and then learns—including our teachers.”

“So, keep going!”

The student left with newfound motivation, feeling encouraged.

The teacher of the next class quickly noticed that something was different today—students were more focused than ever.

Their intensity was a bit unsettling. Surely they aren’t all becoming like Jiang Cheng?

But there was no time to dwell on it—his students were just too engaged.

The learning atmosphere in class had never been this good before.

Even those who usually zoned out felt too embarrassed to slack off.

By the time school ended, two-thirds of the students actively greeted Jiang Cheng.

Meanwhile, He Dan, Zhou Xiaohong, and Zhang Cuijuan stood together, racking their brains over one question:

How on earth did Jiang Cheng become so popular?

Even Sun Jiandong wasn’t causing trouble anymore. In fact, not only was he staying out of it, but he even warned He Dan.

He told her to stop making misleading remarks, or else he would tell everyone the truth.

Zhou Xiaohong and Zhang Cuijuan exchanged suspicious glances.

“He Dan, what truth?”

“What does Sun Jiandong mean?”

Cold sweat trickled down He Dan’s back. She feigned ignorance, “Who knows what he’s talking about? I have nothing to hide. Just because he makes things up doesn’t mean he can tarnish my reputation.”

“Who knows what kind of nonsense Jiang Cheng has been feeding him to make him obey her like that.”

Zhou Xiaohong and Zhang Cuijuan weren’t entirely convinced.

Their relationship with He Dan wasn’t particularly deep. They only hung out together because they shared a common dislike for Jiang Cheng.

Zhou Xiaohong envied Jiang Cheng’s looks, while Zhang Cuijuan resented her ability to attract attention, feeling like Jiang Cheng had stolen her spotlight.

At the School Gate

Grandma Shen watched as a group of people followed Jiang Cheng out, reluctantly saying their goodbyes.

Sigh, another bunch of kids who’ve been thoroughly won over.

“You’re amazing, Big Sister!”

Little fan girl Shen Yue immediately switched into idol-worship mode. She truly believed Jiang Cheng was the most incredible person ever.

Shen Xing, who had a slightly better grasp of Jiang Cheng’s personality, was also curious and asked, “Big Sister Jiang Cheng, why are they being so enthusiastic toward you?”

Jiang Cheng pretended to ponder for a moment.

“Probably because they’ve all come to realize just how outstanding I am.”

“Here, have some sweets!”

Jiang Cheng opened her schoolbag, revealing a pile of colorful candies alongside her textbooks, as well as a large apple.

“My classmates are so kind and simple. They insisted on giving these to me, and no matter how much I refused, they wouldn’t take no for an answer. They’re just too warm-hearted.”

Grandma Shen quietly observed Jiang Cheng’s humblebrag. Shen Xing, even though he understood what was happening, had to admit—his big sister really was impressive!

Even though he didn’t quite get the full picture, that was okay. He could always write to his older brother—his brother would surely understand.

Shen Yue, on the other hand, was much simpler. The candy is sweet! Big Sister is amazing!

On the way home, Shen Xing excitedly told Jiang Cheng that his essay had been praised by the teacher, and he had read it aloud in front of the whole class that day.

“This is such an important achievement, and you’re only telling me now?!”

Jiang Cheng bent down dramatically, placing both hands on Shen Xing’s shoulders, and solemnly declared, “Comrade Shen Xing, you are the best!”

Shen Xing, slightly embarrassed, but after being around Jiang Cheng for days, mustered the courage to nod and say, “Big Sister is right—I am great!”

“Of course! No doubt about it!”

Jiang Cheng’s affirmation made Shen Xing smile foolishly.

Shen Yue chimed in, “Big Brother is the second best, because Big Sister is the best!”

Her innocent declaration made everyone burst into laughter.

Walking behind them, He Dan muttered just loud enough to be heard, “So fake, acting like they’re a real family. Just wait until something actually happens—then we’ll see how ridiculous this looks.”

Lin Chengyuan added, “Exactly.”

He Dan nodded immediately.

Say what you want about their character, but at least their worldviews were aligned.

Up ahead, Jiang Cheng and Grandma Shen overheard them.

They exchanged a glance and nodded.

“Grandma Shen, whatever happened to that daughter-in-law who poisoned her whole family?”

“Oh, that? The whole family’s dead. That daughter-in-law always put on a fake, sweet act, and the fools in that family fell for it.”

“I never would’ve expected it. But honestly, she was never a good person to begin with.”

“Exactly!”

Jiang Cheng and Grandma Shen bantered back and forth, perfectly in sync, leaving He Dan seething with rage.

But remembering how she’d made a fool of herself last time, she swallowed her anger, her chest tight with frustration.

“Chengyuan!”

“Just ignore them. They’re only jealous because we have such a big family.”

That comment made He Dan’s chest hurt even more.

Because the truth was—she didn’t even like her current family.

Both groups entered the courtyard, and with two loud bangs, their doors shut behind them, cutting off all interaction.

Over the next few days, Jiang Cheng stuck to her routine—working at the recycling station, studying with Teacher Lü, continuing to push teachers into self-improvement, and boosting the morale of her classmates.

Every day at school, Jiang Cheng received small gifts from her female classmates.

Since the human trafficking case hadn’t been officially resolved, their parents couldn’t publicly visit her to express their gratitude, so they showed their appreciation this way instead.

A few days later, after night school ended…

When Jiang Cheng walked out, she didn’t see Grandma Shen and the two children waiting for her.

Her heart sank.

She quickly ran home, where she was met by Old Sun from the courtyard.

“Jiang Cheng, Sister Shen asked me to pick you up.”

“Grandpa Sun, is Grandma Shen and the kids okay?”

Old Sun reassured her, “Nothing too serious—Shen Xing got into a fight at school and hurt his leg.”