Chapter 34: Zhou Mengrui’s Transformation

Yu Zihan was a decisive person. Once she made up her mind about something, she acted on it immediately.

She and Zhou Mengrui had always been inseparable, but up until now, their free time was mostly spent with Yu Zihan chatting with Zhou Mengrui.

However, starting this semester, they no longer had any free time, as Yu Zihan had unilaterally taken away Zhou Mengrui’s leisure hours.

Zhou Mengrui’s after-school time was now more exhausting than her class time. Where she once eagerly anticipated the bell signaling the end of class, now she dreaded it.

What terrified her even more was her best friend, Yu Zihan. She was either being forced to solve problems, memorize passages, or memorize vocabulary by Yu Zihan.

She felt like she was being driven crazy by Yu Zihan, and she began mentally avoiding being around her.

As soon as the bell rang, she wanted to escape to the outdoors for some fresh air, but it seemed as if Yu Zihan knew her thoughts. Wherever Zhou Mengrui went, Yu Zihan followed her.

She wanted to say to Yu Zihan, “Hey, can we just take a short break? Even a little bit of time apart would be fine.”

But before she could speak, Yu Zihan would catch her and make her study. She felt like being with Yu Zihan was even more tiring than being in class!

In class, if she didn’t feel like studying, she could zone out. But when she was with Yu Zihan, she was constantly being watched. If Yu Zihan caught her slacking, she would give her a hard look.

At first, Zhou Mengrui understood Yu Zihan’s good intentions. However, breaking old habits was difficult.

She felt like she was suffocating under Yu Zihan’s relentless pressure, so she went to her parents to complain about Yu Zihan’s “evil actions.”

When Uncle Zhou and Aunt Zhou heard their daughter’s complaints, their eyes started sparkling with surprise. They looked at their daughter in shock.

Zhou Mengrui thought her parents would be upset about Yu Zihan’s almost obsessive control over her. However, to her surprise, her parents reprimanded her.

They said seriously, “You don’t know how fortunate you are to have a friend like Yu Zihan. You’ll realize what a rare and precious friendship this is when you go into society.”

“Hahaha, I never expected you to have such good fortune! Be satisfied with it! If you’re still not happy, I’ll break your legs!”

Uncle Zhou had never been angry with his daughter before, but today, because of Yu Zihan, he was livid.

Zhou Mengrui was a kind-hearted girl, and her greatest strength was her ability to empathize with others. She began to reflect on her own behavior.

She realized she had truly been blind to her good fortune.

After being scolded by her parents, Zhou Mengrui fully understood what Yu Zihan’s actions meant.

After all, the second semester of the third year of middle school was more valuable than anything else, and Yu Zihan could have focused on her own progress. Yet, she took time out of her own schedule to help Zhou Mengrui keep pace with her learning.

For Yu Zihan, this was time being wasted. Once Zhou Mengrui came to this realization, she was deeply moved by her best friend’s selflessness. She made a firm decision to study hard and use her academic performance to repay her good friend.

Yu Zihan initially thought it would take a long time to change Zhou Mengrui’s study habits and was ready for a long battle. However, to her surprise, within less than half a month, Zhou Mengrui became proactive in her studies and even developed her own study methods.

Yu Zihan was thrilled by Zhou Mengrui’s transformation. This lifetime, not only did she want to make sure she and her mother lived well, but she also wanted to help everyone who had appeared in her previous life when she was in need. She was determined to help them in advance this time and build a powerful business empire for herself.

Zhou Mengrui truly experienced the joy of studying during their first monthly exam. In this exam, Yu Zihan unsurprisingly achieved first place in her grade, with almost perfect scores across all subjects. The only deductions were two points in the Chinese composition and one point in the English writing section. The rest of her subjects were full marks.

This monthly exam allowed Yu Zihan to assess the results of her hard work during the winter break.

The teachers were stunned. The difference between first place and first place was significant. This time, Yu Zihan’s first place was highly meaningful—no one in the entire city or province could compete with her.

As a result, after this exam, Yu Zihan became well-known in schools, and her name was used as an example by teachers in various institutions.

What was even more surprising was Zhou Mengrui’s performance. She had managed to place in the top 100 of her grade.

To put this into perspective, their grade had more than 600 students, and in the past, her highest ranking had been around 400th.

When Zhou Mengrui saw her results, she immediately rushed over to Yu Zihan, tightly hugging her. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably, and she couldn’t stop crying.

This happened during class, and the teacher and classmates watched in shock as Zhou Mengrui made such a bold gesture in front of everyone.

They were stunned but also understood. Going from 400th place to the top 100 in just one month was no small feat. Anyone achieving such a result would be ecstatic!

For Zhou Mengrui, this result meant that if she kept up this performance, she would have a good chance of entering the high school division of their school. It was a huge breakthrough in her academic journey.

The teacher saw Zhou Mengrui crying so uncontrollably and was moved as well, though she quickly stepped in to stop her from continuing.

“Zhou Mengrui, it’s fine to be happy, but save some energy to keep studying. While it’s great to achieve good results, I hope you can maintain them. There’s always room for improvement. Everyone has the opportunity to achieve good results; it’s all about how hard you’re willing to work.”

Zhou Mengrui slowly calmed down with Yu Zihan’s comfort. When she heard the teacher was going to use her as an example to motivate others, she didn’t want to be in the spotlight anymore.

So, she quickly ran back to her seat. The teacher, realizing his intentions had been seen through, resumed the lesson.

In the following days, Zhou Mengrui continued to study energetically, though her progress began to slow down. She couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious.

Yu Zihan noticed her friend’s situation and decided to help. She found the practice problems she had worked on in her space and gave them to Zhou Mengrui to focus on.

After practicing those questions, it was as if Zhou Mengrui’s mind had been opened. She finally entered the phase of independent learning and began to find great joy in the process.

Yu Zihan watched her friend and felt happy for her in her heart. She knew that now Zhou Mengrui no longer needed her help; she could do it on her own.

As a result, Yu Zihan no longer treated her the way she had before. Everyone had their own path, and each person walked their own journey in their own way.