Chapter 23

Jiang Zhiyu was once again the first to hand in her test paper. As soon as she finished, she left the classroom.

Her father was pacing back and forth outside. The moment he saw Jiang Zhiyu walk out, his eyes lit up, but upon noticing no one else behind her, the fire of hope in his heart quickly dimmed again.

His hands trembled as he thought: My daughter must’ve been stumped by the test, probably only answered the multiple choice and true-or-false sections. But that’s okay—it’s still brave of her to take the challenge.

“Let’s go home, Yu’er.”

“The results aren’t out yet. Why go back?” Jiang Zhiyu sat down on a bench in the corridor, yawned, and waited for the final outcome.

She was 99.99% confident she would get into Sunlight Eagle Academy. The remaining 0.01% uncertainty depended on luck. If luck failed her, there was nothing she could do.

Her father didn’t understand why she was so insistent on seeing the results. He sighed and thought, Why put yourself through this embarrassment?

He lamented how much his daughter had changed. She used to avoid moments like this, but now, she seemed to be asking for humiliation.

As time passed, her father grew even more anxious. He stood by the door, visibly uneasy.

“If you’re busy, you can head home first,” Jiang Zhiyu, observant as ever, noticed her father’s change in mood.

Of course, her father would never say anything discouraging. While comforting her, he also reminded himself not to lose heart: “No matter how you did, your dad will accept it.”

More students began filing out of the classroom after the exam.

A girl in a pink dress looked at Jiang Zhiyu and smirked, “You finished so fast—don’t tell me you only did the multiple choice and true-or-false questions?”

Her father’s thoughts aligned perfectly with this. He looked at his daughter, unsure how to defend her, and silently thought, You’re on your own, kid.

Jiang Zhiyu didn’t bother arguing. The girl’s mannerisms reminded her a bit of Ye Muwan, though she wasn’t nearly as pretty.

Then another girl, whose looks weren’t striking but who gave off a pleasant vibe, chimed in, “Saying that just makes you sound ignorant. Or maybe, she knew the answers so well she didn’t even need to think too hard.”

The girl in pink sneered, “Oh really? We’ll see when the results come out.” Then she walked away and sat down with her hands on her hips.

The elegant girl smiled warmly at Jiang Zhiyu and sat beside her.

Her face wasn’t familiar, but her profile seemed vaguely recognizable. Maybe a friend from a past life? Jiang Zhiyu wondered.

She sneaked a glance, only to find the girl already looking at her.

“Your name is Jiang Zhiyu?” the girl asked sweetly.

Jiang Zhiyu was puzzled—how did this girl know her name? Then she looked down and realized her name was written in big characters on the corner of her document folder, surrounded by doodles of Pikachu and decorative patterns. Embarrassed, she quickly tucked it away.

The girl smiled, “It’s cute. No need to be shy. I’m Shen Yuexi.”

Jiang Zhiyu, who always appreciated graceful and refined girls, felt instantly drawn to her and was happy to make a new friend.

Her father, aware of Jiang Zhiyu’s social struggles at school, had once thought of transferring her. But the process was too complicated and their family lacked the means, so it had been delayed again and again.

Now, seeing his daughter making a friend, he was genuinely happy.

Just then, the tutor knocked on the metal door. Everyone turned their attention toward him.

“The test results are in. We won’t announce who ranked first or last, nor will we share the actual scores. We’ll only announce the names of those admitted. The order has nothing to do with ranking.”

Jiang Zhiyu’s dad felt a flurry of emotions. This prep class is quite humane after all. At least her bad grades won’t be publicly exposed. Listening to the admitted names should be enough to help his daughter move on.

Jiang Zhiyu also sighed in relief. Based on her performance, she felt she could easily place in the top three. She had been fretting over how to explain it to her dad.

Now, she could just blame it on luck.

The teacher’s tone was solemn: “We’re accepting fifteen students. If your name is called, please proceed to the front desk to complete registration.”

He began to call names:

“Shen Yuexi,
Liu XX,
Zhang XX…”

He read 14 names in one go.

Jiang Zhiyu’s father, assuming she didn’t make it, had already moved to the entrance, ready to leave. He had even prepared a few comforting words in advance.

But when the teacher read “Jiang Zhiyu,” her father nearly fainted.

His daughter… got in?

Everyone knew that students came to Sunlight Eagle Academy for the prestige of its teachers from Jingbei University. Only the best students were accepted out of the 70–80 applicants.

Was it really just luck for his daughter?

Jiang Zhiyu grinned at her stunned father. “What are you doing, Dad? Not planning to register me?”

He scrambled toward the registration desk, never having imagined his daughter would have such incredible luck.

If only she could be this lucky during the college entrance exam, he thought. I don’t even expect her to get into a top school—even a second-tier one would be a blessing.

The girl in the pink dress was furious. Her name hadn’t been called, and seeing Jiang Zhiyu and Shen Yuexi accepted made her feel utterly humiliated.

The teacher gathered the fifteen accepted students and arranged their seats.

“Classes officially begin tomorrow. Your math teacher will be Mr. Shen Xingyi, a professor from Jingbei University. More than capable of teaching you.”

Shen Xingyi?

Jiang Zhiyu was a little shocked. She recalled the Shen Xingyi from her past life—her clingy follower who always ranked just behind her.

But she quickly dismissed the idea. Probably a coincidence. That Shen Xingyi went abroad after high school—how could he be teaching at Jingbei University?

Class would officially begin tomorrow. The teacher handed out a packet of “must-know key points for the college entrance exam,” asking students to memorize them by heart.

Jiang Zhiyu smiled as she skimmed through it. This teacher knows their stuff—these key points weren’t in any materials she’d seen before.

After class was dismissed, she ran over to meet her waiting father.

She glanced at Shen Yuexi, who was pulling on a boy’s sleeve and calling out joyfully, “Brother!”

The boy wore glasses and had permed hair. He was around 185 cm tall and had a similar air to Shen Yuexi.

Jiang Zhiyu almost didn’t recognize him.

Wasn’t that Shen Xingyi—the runner-up from her past who went abroad?

What a coincidence…