Chapter 28

The students stared in disbelief, unable to believe it.

A renowned university instructor actually admitted that he lost to an ordinary high school student, one who had never even been heard of before.

Jiang Zhiyu stopped in her tracks, stunned. The eternal second place had admitted defeat?

How could that be?

Did she hear wrong?

“I said I lost,” Shen Xingyi repeated.

The atmosphere became even more tense, so quiet that the sound of a leaf falling to the ground could be heard clearly.

In her past life, the eternal second place never admitted defeat. Every time someone beat him in a competition, he would angrily say things like, “I will beat you next time.”

Jiang Zhiyu never thought he would admit defeat. Shen Xingyi’s behavior today made her uneasy. The words about making him cry were just said out of frustration.

“Teacher Shen, don’t belittle yourself like that. In this competition, our speeds were the same. If I won, it’s only because I’m younger.”

Seeing Shen Xingyi turn around and point to his mistake, Jiang Zhiyu quickly added, “Teacher, the bell has been ringing for a while, but you haven’t started class yet. Are you going to extend the lesson today?”

Shen Xingyi slowly lowered his hand and smiled. Although his name was the same as the Jiang Zhiyu from his youth, their behavior was completely different.

“She” would never make excuses for herself in front of everyone. “She” always tried to outdo him.

“Class will begin now!”

Although Shen Xingyi couldn’t compare to the eternal second place from before, his lessons were truly excellent, much better than the high school teachers, especially in the past couple of years’ exam papers, which he had analyzed thoroughly. Jiang Zhiyu knew she had come to the right place.

The lesson ended smoothly, and after assigning homework, it was already evening.

Shen Yuexi ran out to catch up with her. “Zhiyu, where do you live?”

“I live in Longcheng Community.”

“That’s a coincidence, me too!” Shen Yuexi said excitedly. “Can we walk home together?”

Jiang Zhiyu asked in confusion, “Doesn’t your brother walk with you?”

“He’s grown up; of course, he lives on his own,” Shen Yuexi said as she took a mint-flavored lollipop from her bag and offered it to her. “Try this flavor; it’s so delicious.”

Jiang Zhiyu felt like she had something she wanted to tell her, so she waved her hand and politely declined the candy.

Shen Yuexi lowered her head, awkwardly walking for a while before finally saying, “It seems like my brother has a special feeling for you. Don’t mind it; maybe it’s because your name and abilities remind him of someone from his youth.”

Did she not know this? Jiang Zhiyu remembered that when Shen Yuexi was in elementary school, they had met once, so she teasingly pretended not to understand and asked, “Someone from his youth? Who is it?”

“She was the national champion from my brother’s year. I met her once. She had a cold and elegant aura, like a wild plum in winter, beautiful beyond words. She was proud and upright, like a moonbeam in my brother’s heart.”

Jiang Zhiyu couldn’t help but twitch her mouth. Was she really being praised like that…? Was she the one they were talking about? She was being complimented in a different way than usual…

She thickened her skin and replied, “That girl must have been really great.”

Shen Yuexi sighed again. “Who’s to say? She wasn’t able to overcome the illness in the end. If she had, she would’ve been my sister-in-law.”

What?! Sister-in-law? How did she not know that she was supposed to be married to Shen Xingyi?

Seeing Jiang Zhiyu’s shocked expression, Shen Yuexi quietly smiled, a hint of pride in her recollection. “Yeah, she was my sister-in-law. My brother got together with her, don’t you think the national first and second place make a perfect match?”

Who would match with an eternal second place?! No, no, Shen Xingyi wasn’t the eternal second place anymore. Now he was the eternal sixth place, boasting about himself. How pitiful and ridiculous.

Ding-ding-ding~ The alarm rang with a cheerful rhythm. Jiang Zhiyu lazily got out of bed, another new week.

Her school pants were originally loose and easily dragged on the ground. Over the weekend, Jiang Zhiyu asked her mom to alter them, and now they fit perfectly.

She looked even more polished.

Today, Jiang Zhiyu arrived early, not rushing to school before the bell rang. She had plenty of time.

Some students were already seated, seemingly starting their morning reading.

A thick stack of books rested on Jiang Zhiyu’s desk as she prepared to sit down when He Shiduo screamed.

“Sis Yu! Don’t sit!”

Jiang Zhiyu paused, looking at the chair. She found a huge dead cockroach on it, and if she sat down, the white eggs in its belly would likely explode, splattering all over her.

It seemed that He Shiduo had changed her attitude because of Xu Leyun’s influence. Looking closely, she noticed the dark circles under her eyes, probably from playing too many games.

Almost all the girls in class followed He Shiduo, so this was likely the work of a boy.

Upon closer inspection, she saw a boy with his bangs covering his eyes, laughing sneakily.

A cockroach?

She wasn’t afraid of dead insects at all. If it were a living one, it would be a different story.

Everyone knew Jiang Zhiyu had stopped crying so much, but no one knew why her courage had grown so much.

She actually grabbed the cockroach’s antenna and walked straight toward the boy with his hair covering his eyes.

“Hey, handsome, is this your gift to me?” Jiang Zhiyu smiled, and anyone with a sharp eye could see that her smile hid a knife, ready to kill.

The boy panicked. This girl was grabbing a cockroach with her bare hands and speaking in such a calm tone, but her words were terrifying.

“What… what do you want to do?” His legs trembled, fear surging in his heart. He knew that a crazy woman could do anything.

“Why are you provoking me?” Jiang Zhiyu raised her eyebrows, shaking the cockroach’s antenna. “If you don’t tell the truth, I’ll throw this cockroach in your shirt.”

Although the boy’s eyes were covered by his hair, he could still see the fear in his eyes. He tightly covered his school uniform collar, afraid that Jiang Zhiyu might throw the cockroach into his shirt when he wasn’t paying attention. If that happened, he’d really be scared to death. After all, he was just a delicate boy.

“I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you! It was a crazy fan of Ye Xiaohua seeking revenge for her. She said you kept provoking Ye Xiaohua, and told me to give you a little lesson. She said this is just the appetizer, and the real show is tonight.”

Seeing how frightened the boy was, Jiang Zhiyu knew he had revealed everything as soon as she asked. She didn’t believe it was really Ye Muwan’s crazy fan, but rather, Ye Muwan had exaggerated her complaints.

A big show tonight?

“You mean the school bully? What he does will have serious consequences. Why would a girl cause such a commotion to get the school bully involved?” He Shiduo asked with clear discomfort, her mind buzzing. The school bully’s name was well-known in the school for being notorious for beating people. It was said that he had beaten more people than he had eaten meals.