Chapter 21: Top of the Entire School

“Reading more is always important. As the old saying goes, ‘All trades are lowly, only studying is noble.’ Our Que Luo Town is remote and poor; without education, there’s no way out!”

Qu Zhan Yi immediately understood his meaning and sensed the goodwill behind his words. She smiled faintly and explained, “I haven’t dropped out; I’m in the third year of middle school. I just accidentally wet my clothes and asked for leave.”

“That’s good, that’s good…” The shop owner’s face showed a hint of embarrassment, then regret.

“This school isn’t what it used to be. The good teachers have left, and any good students with some connections or money have also gone. When I was studying, it wasn’t like this. Que Luo Middle School ranked in the top ten among dozens of schools in the city!”

Qu Zhan Yi didn’t respond. The owner felt his words were dull and quickly changed the subject with a smile, “Don’t mind me, after being a teacher for so long, I get like this.”

“Good teachers are like that,” Qu Zhan Yi flattered him, then asked, “Teacher, do you know which is the best high school in the province?”

Her voice was soft, lips curving in a gentle smile.

Judging by appearance alone, she seemed like a well-behaved and sensible girl, easy to overlook.

That was if one ignored the mature and composed black eyes that betrayed a wisdom beyond her years.

The owner glanced at Qu Zhan Yi again, intrigued by her question, and the conversation reopened.

“Provincial No. 1, No. 4, the affiliated No. 8, and No. 15 are all famous. Going to any of them guarantees further education.”

He sighed with regret, “But they’re tough to get into. In the provincial capital, there are countless people fighting tooth and nail to get in. For a small town like ours, you need to score a hundred points more than others just to be considered.”

Qu Zhan Yi listened without a trace of disappointment. She declared confidently, “The monthly exam is on Wednesday. Wait for me to show you the school’s top score.”

The owner was amused and stirred by her spirit, “If that really happens, come warm yourself by my fire every day, and I’ll treat you to a meal.”

“Don’t go back on your word~”

“Never!” The owner patted his chest with a solemn promise. “I’m an adult and a teacher—I won’t lie to a child.”

Qu Zhan Yi smiled brightly, her eyes curved in delight, “Then it’s a deal!”

Her clothes freshly washed, she left the clothing store holding two steaming hot oranges the owner had insisted she take.

The gloom in her heart lifted considerably, but before she could enjoy it for two minutes, the cold, mechanical voice of the system pulled her back to reality.

[System reminder: Xu Xinyou’s grades are only slightly above average, with a significant gap from the school’s top score.]

Qu Zhan Yi scoffed, “Then what good are you?”

[System cannot assist the host in cheating.]

“Did I say I wanted to cheat? Don’t underestimate me.”

The system remained silent.

As long as the host didn’t break the rules, it had no reason to intervene.

…

Qu Zhan Yi returned to the classroom as the afternoon bell rang.

She looked at the filthy desks and the pile of torn textbooks thrown in the corner, her face unreadable.

She turned and sat beside her former deskmate.

The smaller girl shrank away in fear—not of Qu Zhan Yi herself, but scared of being implicated and suffering retaliation from the local thugs.

She had already been victimized once while Xu Xinyou was hospitalized and dared not get involved again.

But Qu Zhan Yi had no choice. To complete her mission, she had to take the monthly exam starting Wednesday, which meant returning to class, and her old desk was no longer usable.

Fortunately, the thugs didn’t provoke her again, and she passed the monthly exams unscathed.

When school resumed on Monday, she was given her own desk.

It was moved from an empty classroom by Xu Xinqi and the boy who had informed her.

Qu Zhan Yi lay on the desk, clearly bored.

It was morning reading time, but she no longer had a textbook.

This gave the homeroom teacher a perfect excuse to pick a fight.

Zhao Wenjing hadn’t forgotten the hospital incident and especially didn’t want a troublemaker like Xu Xinyou in the class.

As soon as she entered the classroom, she yelled at Qu Zhan Yi, “Xu Xinyou, it’s morning reading time, and you don’t even take out your book. If you don’t want to study, get out!”

She slammed the grade report on the desk with a bang, “994 points! Tell me, how did you get this score?”

Qu Zhan Yi glanced at her indifferently, “I took the test myself. First place. Even if I cheated, I’d be letting others copy from me.”

Zhao Wenjing was momentarily speechless. Indeed, as Xu Xinyou said, she was the top scorer—forty points ahead of second place, clearly unmatched.

But Xu Xinyou’s usual grades barely hovered in the upper-middle range; such a drastic improvement was impossible without cheating.

She accused Qu Zhan Yi, “You brought your phone into the exam, didn’t you?”

Zhao Wenjing was certain, and Qu Zhan Yi couldn’t deny it—the phone’s ringtone had gone off during the test, an undeniable fact.

But she refused to be humiliated by this old woman.

“If you don’t believe me, give me another test paper and I’ll show you. You can’t just accuse people without proof, even if you’re a teacher.”

Zhao Wenjing’s face darkened with anger as she shouted, “Out here, now!”

Qu Zhan Yi was thoroughly displeased but had no choice but to follow her to the office.

It was class time, and only two teachers were inside.

Physics teacher Qin Shoucheng and Chinese teacher Yang Yiqing.

The homeroom teacher pointed to an empty desk, “Take the test here. Teachers Qin and Yang will supervise.”

Only then did Qu Zhan Yi realize these two were there specifically to proctor her.

The reason was obvious: a student with ordinarily average grades suddenly topping the entire school was likely cheating.

Especially since this test affected scholarship eligibility, they couldn’t allow any ‘fraud,’ so she had to retake it.

But Qu Zhan Yi froze when she saw the test paper.

The scope was much broader, covering nearly all middle school material.

She had only reviewed the monthly exam topics.

Helplessly, she asked the system for help.

[System unable to provide assistance. Please rely on your own skills.]

As expected. Qu Zhan Yi resigned herself and made a secondary request:

“Enhance and amplify Xu Xinyou’s memories for me. That can’t be a problem, right?”

[System has enhanced and amplified Xu Xinyou’s memories for the host.]

Qu Zhan Yi stretched, twirled her pen in hand, and began answering.

Nine test papers were spread over two days.

After finishing, her brain felt overheated; it was the first time it had been pushed so hard. Back in the dorm, she collapsed into sleep.

She slept for over ten hours and woke up cold and hungry. Checking the time, it was already past ten on Wednesday morning.

Reluctantly, she left her bed, grabbed a cup of soy milk, and headed to class.

Sometimes, luck really is a mysterious thing.