Chapter 6: A Clash of Wits

If it were the underage Jiang Mingzhi, the term “living under someone else’s roof” would have shattered her fragile heart.

But unfortunately, she was not.

Pei Jinyang received a solid slap across the face.

Jiang Mingzhi brushed his hand off, “You lost your own things and start barking like a dog, is that the kind of behavior your mother taught you?”

Pei Jinyang’s face changed dramatically after the slap, his eyes glinting as though they were sharp knives cutting across the girl’s face. He gritted his teeth and said slowly, “Don’t think I won’t hit a woman.”

“When I took the books, your dad was standing at the door. I didn’t touch anything but the books, so don’t make wild assumptions.”

Jiang Mingzhi couldn’t be bothered to argue with him. She threw him a parting remark and turned to leave.

What a nuisance—she didn’t even know what he was looking for.

Teenage boys with their volatile moods were such a pain.

From now on, they would just remain rivals for life.

She had taken just two steps, not yet out of Pei Jinyang’s reach, when he caught her again.

Pei Jinyang raised his chin and looked down at her, a cold, mocking smile playing on his lips. “You, a worthless thing with no family, have to live like a parasite under someone else’s roof. You speak so arrogantly. Be careful, or you’ll be kicked out.”

His eyes, like peach blossoms, were filled with arrogance and disdain.

This Pei Jinyang was even more bitter than the last one. Jiang Mingzhi didn’t understand why, but she also felt somewhat relieved—it should be this way. The bigger the contradiction, the more satisfying it would be.

Their gazes locked, and the air seemed charged with sparks. One wrong move, and it could all explode.

Jiang Mingzhi’s expression was calm, even carrying a faint smile, not one of mockery, but of satisfaction.

The smile on her face grew wider. Teenagers in their rebellious phase could be so insufferable, always poking at people’s most sensitive spots.

But she could do the same. She knew every phase of Pei Jinyang.

“The world only has one mom~ A child with a mom is like a treasure~”

Jiang Mingzhi hummed the nursery rhyme and walked briskly down the hallway, stepping on the colorful glass spots scattered along the floor.

She could be with her mom every day, but Pei Jinyang couldn’t.

His mother lived in another city, and three years ago, she had a new son, which meant that Pei Jinyang’s attention from her had lessened. At the same time, he was going through his rebellious teen years, causing him to feel both an intense desire and rejection for maternal love.

If he didn’t like her, she could just graduate from high school and move over to his mother’s place.

The quarrel between the two upstairs was unnoticed by the adults. However, the strange atmosphere between them had not escaped their notice, but because it was New Year’s Eve, they said nothing.

Every time Pei Jinyang looked at Jiang Mingzhi, the coldness in his eyes seemed even sharper than ice.

Jiang Mingzhi, however, completely ignored him.

Thus, the New Year passed, and Jiang Mingzhi continued to study hard, not making much noise. Many people didn’t even notice her presence.

Qiu Tang, on the other hand, was preparing for the moment when Jiang Mingzhi would successfully skip a grade, so she could show off her daughter to everyone in a more formal way.

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The new school year had arrived. It was Jiang Mingzhi’s second semester of high school, and Pei Jinyang was in his second semester of senior high.

The new high school was massive, almost like a university, with an international department.

Jiang Mingzhi didn’t want to study abroad, so she didn’t select it.

Pei Jinyang was also not in the international department, and both of them attended school on the same day.

Qiu Tang smiled as she sent both children off in the car.

“Are you sure you don’t need me to accompany you on the first day of school?”

Jiang Mingzhi waved her hand. “No, I can handle it on my own.”

She was quite familiar with the school, and there were times when she had to guide Qiu Tang around.

Qiu Tang nodded. “Right, and Jinyang is there too.”

As for skipping a grade, Uncle Pei had already made the necessary arrangements with someone. As long as Jiang Mingzhi passed the exam, she would be able to directly skip to senior high.

Jiang Mingzhi originally wanted to directly skip to the third year of high school.

But she forgot that the registration period for the college entrance exam had already passed, so she could only skip to the second semester of senior year.

In her previous life, she pushed herself to study a major she didn’t like just to gain more leverage and make money as soon as possible.

In this life, she wanted to be a “mama’s girl,” relying on her mom and Uncle Pei. She didn’t want to earn her own money. She wanted to do the things she enjoyed.

In the car, Jiang Mingzhi was reading a collection of essays.

High school essays mainly focused on argumentative writing, and although she could write project plans, she struggled with argumentation. She needed to accumulate more material.

The car was very quiet, with only the occasional crisp sound of flipping pages.

Pei Jinyang sat not far from her, and the air between them seemed as though a galaxy was separating them.

Seeing her reading so intently, he sneered, “There’s no one else here, who are you trying to impress by pretending to work hard?”

He had always thought that Jiang Mingzhi was pretending to be obedient, faking her effort to maintain a “good girl” persona.

During this time, Pei Zhaohua had praised her several times in front of Pei Jinyang.

Pei Jinyang didn’t know about Jiang Mingzhi’s plan to skip a grade. She had asked Uncle Pei to keep it a secret, planning to reveal it only after she succeeded.

The car was quiet, and Jiang Mingzhi didn’t respond. Pei Jinyang felt a little annoyed but didn’t continue provoking her.

Half an hour later, the car slowly stopped at the school gate.

When Jiang Mingzhi put her book into her bag, Pei Jinyang had already gotten out of the car and walked into the school.

Before they left, Pei Zhaohua had told him to take Jiang Mingzhi to Class 14, but he refused. It would be better if she got lost and was late to school.

Jiang Mingzhi wasn’t in a hurry to get out of the car. She slowly organized her bag, thanked the driver, and then opened the car door.

She walked to the high school’s first-year teachers’ office with ease.

The head teacher of Class 14 was Ms. Wei, a strict-looking woman in her forties.

She didn’t immediately take the students to class. Instead, she had Jiang Mingzhi sit down and asked her a few questions.

The school leadership had told her there was a student transferring to her class who wanted to skip a grade, and she was quite surprised.

Previously, the leadership had told her: “This student is from a small southern city and might struggle a bit at first, so please look out for her.”

Three days ago, the leadership had informed her: “This student wants to skip a grade. Please arrange her entrance exam as soon as possible so she can get her results quickly.”

Strictly speaking, skipping a grade halfway was not allowed, but since the family had connections, a little maneuvering wasn’t a problem.

Jiang Mingzhi placed her hands on her knees, appearing like a well-behaved student.

Ms. Wei asked, “Have you already studied the second semester of the first year and the first semester of the second year?”

Jiang Mingzhi nodded.

Ms. Wei asked, “Did you study these on your own?”

Jiang Mingzhi replied, “No.”

Ms. Wei was silent. She knew that the children from wealthy families generally progressed quickly with their studies, and by the time they finished high school, they already had knowledge equivalent to university-level. But it was unusual for someone to want to skip a grade midway through the semester—if they were going to skip, it would have happened earlier, not after half a semester.

“Well, you can go to class first. I need some time to organize the exam papers.”

Jiang Mingzhi stood up. “Okay, teacher.”

Ms. Wei led the way, and Jiang Mingzhi looked at the familiar hallway and classroom building, feeling a mix of emotions.

Although she was physically there, she felt like her soul was detached, as if she were part of an immersive drama.

There were about forty students in the class. They were sizing her up as she introduced herself from the podium, and she was sizing them up as well.

Most of their faces were unfamiliar, and she even forgot their names, only vaguely remembering a few.

Zhang Lanxi, who liked Pei Jinyang, had been difficult toward her but had also tried to curry favor with her.

Lin Wan, very friendly, was seated next to her. They had taken the same elective subject, but their friendship didn’t last.