Chapter 32: Gu Siqing: Are You a Gossiping Hag? You Learn One Thing and Start Spreading It Everywhere?

The few students in front kept chiming in with each other, and even if Gu Siqing didn’t want to listen, she still ended up hearing everything. She put down the book in her hands with a helpless expression.

“Keep your voices down,” she reminded them patiently, then reopened her book and continued reading. In a few more days, she’d be done with this one and ready to start a new one.

“What?” Zhang Yanran heard Gu Siqing only dared ask them to keep it down and immediately became interested. “Feeling annoyed, Gu Siqing?”

“If you ask me, a person should have self-awareness. What if you fail the exam? The whole medical department will see you as a joke!” Zhang Yanran shook her head as she spoke, wearing an expression like Gu Siqing was easy to bully.

Gu Siqing narrowed her eyes. She usually didn’t care to argue with these people, preferring to wait until the results spoke for themselves. But she hadn’t expected Zhang Yanran to push her luck even further? Alright then!

“You’re bold enough to talk about me in public even after I’ve heard it all. If you’re so great, why don’t you register for the skipping exam too? Even if I fail, so what? If I succeed, I’m better than you. If I don’t, I’ll still be in the same class as you. What exactly are you so proud of?”

“All you do is badmouth others—I’ve never seen you work hard at all. Did you go to college just to gossip and stir up drama?”

Gu Siqing gave her a cold glance. She was pretty enough, but her character was seriously rotten. She even had the guts to gossip right in front of the person involved—who exactly did she think she was shading?

“You—!”

The surrounding classmates, knowing who Gu Siqing was referring to, all gathered around to watch. After being mocked so thoroughly, Zhang Yanran was furious, especially when she saw the boys nearby smirking and whispering. She looked like a cat whose tail had just been stepped on.

She suddenly stood up and pointed at Gu Siqing, yelling, “I am talking about you! So full of yourself. You can’t even pull it off but dare say it out loud—aren’t you afraid of becoming the laughingstock of the entire medical department?”

“How do you know I can’t do it?” Gu Siqing also stood up, her whole demeanor turning sharp and cold.

“You think I didn’t hear the rumors? Since the start of school, I only told you I was going to take the skipping exam, and the very next day, everyone knew. Are you a gossiping hag? You hear one thing and immediately spread it everywhere?”

“I didn’t want to argue with a dog—after all, dogs don’t understand human speech. But you had to bring the fight to my doorstep? Do you even know me? How dare you say I can’t do it? Just because you can’t doesn’t mean no one else can.”

“According to your logic, since you’re not taking the skipping exam, no one in second or third year should either? Otherwise, they’re all full of themselves?”

“Sometimes it’s best not to speak in absolutes. Careful you don’t get a swollen face from the slap that’s coming.”

After saying this, Gu Siqing rolled her eyes, turned around, pulled out a chair, and walked forward to switch seats and continue reading.

Zhang Yanran was completely dumbfounded by Gu Siqing’s scathing words.

“She—she…” Zhang Yanran was fuming. Her friends, seeing their group being mocked and laughed at by the others, felt deeply humiliated and quickly grabbed their books and bags, hurrying to change seats.

Gossip was fun—until the mud got slung back at them. That, they weren’t ready for.

They had indeed doubted that Gu Siqing could successfully skip grades—after all, she was only a freshman, barely having studied anything yet. Jumping straight to fourth year seemed impossible.

But Gu Siqing hadn’t wronged them personally, so they’d just gossiped in private. None of them had taken it as far as Zhang Yanran, who kept bringing it up and loudly broadcasting it like she was afraid people wouldn’t know Gu Siqing was “overestimating herself.”

Now, with the boys openly laughing at her, Zhang Yanran buried her head in her arms and cried softly at her desk. Her goddess image was nearly ruined—all thanks to Gu Siqing!

But Gu Siqing paid it no mind. She switched seats and focused on her studies. Class soon began.

After the class ended, some curious students with hidden motives tried to approach and ask her for study tips—half out of interest, half to test whether she had real skills. But before they could catch up, Gu Siqing disappeared into the crowd and left the campus, heading straight home.

It was Friday. The weekend was two days off.

As soon as Gu Siqing got home, she saw that Shen Mengzhou had brought over Dabao and Xiaobao. The moment the two kids saw her, they rushed into her arms like cheerful little birds.

“Mommy! We missed you so much!”

Seeing their energetic faces, Gu Siqing squatted down and hugged them tightly. “Did you behave at Grandpa’s house?”

Shen Mengzhou, standing beside them, laughed. “They were very good. The neighbors all like them too and let them play with their kids.”

Dabao and Xiaobao nodded. “Yeah! We made new friends!”

Smiling, Gu Siqing carried them inside and invited Shen Mengzhou to stay for dinner.

“No, thanks,” he shook his head. “I’ve got some work to finish. After your skipping exam, we’ll have dinner together. I’ll come pick them up again on Monday.”

He then left in a hurry.

Gu Siqing didn’t stop him. That afternoon, she cooked a delicious dinner and even prepared some preserved meat snacks to send to the Shen family the next day.

Though she was busy, she never forgot to care for the kids. She brought them food, made time to go back home to help Shen Qingyan with his rehabilitation—giving massages and acupuncture treatments.

Seeing this, Shen Mengzhou and Qi Yuan made up their minds: they had to treat Gu Siqing even better. She had done so much for their family—she deserved it.

Over the weekend, Gu Siqing would read after making breakfast, letting the two children play in her space. Sometimes Shen Qingyan would accompany them too. On Sunday, the whole family went for a short outing nearby since Shen Qingyan was still recovering.

Everything felt harmonious.

Back at school on Monday, Gu Siqing was informed by Liang Jingwen that the skipping exam would be in three days. It was time to choose which grade she wanted to skip to.

Gu Siqing filled in the form with her personal details and, after careful consideration, selected Year 4—a jump of three grades.

Liang Jingwen saw she still hadn’t changed her mind but didn’t stop her. She simply nodded and said, “I hope you succeed. To skip to Year 4, you need a score of at least 450 out of 500.”

“The test will cover a wide range of topics, with lots of detailed content. Make sure you review thoroughly.”

Liang Jingwen admired her, which was why she gave the extra advice.

Gu Siqing nodded. “Thank you, teacher. I’ve already gone through almost all the books.”

Liang Jingwen appreciated her calm and composed attitude and praised her again before leaving with the form.

Gu Siqing studied diligently for another three days.

Since that day she publicly roasted Zhang Yanran, there were fewer people gossiping behind her back. Most of them were bullies who preyed on the quiet. When Gu Siqing didn’t speak up, they thought she was a pushover. But once she fought back, they didn’t dare anymore.

Still, as the exam approached, more people started paying attention. They all wanted to see if she could really pull it off. How far could she go?

On the morning of the exam, as soon as Gu Siqing entered the school gates, she overheard whispers:

“It’s finally happening. I want to see how that freshman actually performs.”

“I think she was right when she snapped back the other day. We don’t know her—how do we know she’s not capable?”

“You don’t get it—there are tons of people like her, who know they don’t have what it takes but still talk big, just for attention.”

Gu Siqing walked past them calmly, carrying her stationery, and entered the exam room to wait.

Formal classes hadn’t started yet, and Zhang Yanran and her group showed up too. When they saw Gu Siqing walk into the farthest classroom, a new wave of murmuring broke out.

“Isn’t that the Year 4 skipping exam room?”

“Wow, is she really going to attempt jumping straight to Year 4?”

“The other students in that room are all from Year 2 or Year 3!”

“Maybe she’s not just putting on a show—maybe she’s actually capable.”

There were voices of doubt and support alike.

Zhang Yanran just scoffed. “Anyone can try to grab attention. Let’s see once the results come out. I don’t believe she can pass!”

With a cold snort, she turned and left.