Half an hour earlier, in the top experimental class, Class One of the third year at Chuning County No. 1 High School.
Teacher Yang stood at the lectern in gold-rimmed glasses and a floral dress. In her thirties, she smiled at the youthful students seated before her and said, "Class, the results of your latest mock exam are out."
"You all did wonderfully, and I'm proud of you. There's only one month left until the college entrance exam. We've spent over ten years studying through cold windows, all for this one chance to change our fate."
"Work hard to get good scores, get into good universities, and change your own fate and your parents' fate. Let's work even harder over this next month, all right?"
"All right!" the students answered in unison.
"Now, let me announce your results for this mock exam. The total possible score was 750, and one student achieved an excellent score of 720. Can you guess who it was?" Teacher Yang asked, her face wreathed in a spring-breeze smile.
With luck, her class might produce the provincial top scorer this year. Even if it did not, it could still produce a student in the province's top five.
Teaching a student like that would mean a promotion and a raise for her. It really was a delightful prospect.
"Teacher, I'm guessing Li Ru. She's come first in every exam for all three years of high school. Even the runner-up is a whole stretch behind her," Chen Qianxue hurried to answer when she heard the teacher's question. The other students nodded in agreement. Li Ru was the undisputed academic ace.
This good friend of hers studied harder than anyone. When others played, she reviewed her lessons. When others slept, she reviewed her lessons in the dormitory corridor. When others ate, she held a textbook and reviewed her lessons while eating.
Looking at the thin girl in glasses beside her, Chen Qianxue sighed inwardly. My good friend is pretty, smart, and hardworking. Why is the gap between us so huge? I work pretty hard too.
If the other students had heard Chen Qianxue's musings, they would certainly have rolled their eyes and scoffed. You, study hard? If what you do counts as studying hard, there isn't a single person in this class who doesn't.
Still, everyone knew Chen Qianxue's father was a big businessman, reportedly worth over a hundred million. With a father that rich, did she even need to study? Not at all. At worst, she could go home and inherit the family fortune.
Beside her, Li Ru blushed when she heard her only good friend say that she was the one who had scored 720. Lowering her head, she whispered, "Qianxue, don't go saying that. Teacher Yang hasn't announced it yet. It might not be me."
Losing her father at eight had turned this once-lively girl timid and insecure. It had also driven her to study with all her might, because she knew that studying was the only way to change her fate and her mother's, and to fulfill her wish of buying her mother a big house.
"Hehe, that's right. Our Li Ru scored 720 this time. If she can maintain this form during the college entrance exam, she may have a shot at becoming our province's top scorer. You should all learn from Li Ru. Let's give her a round of applause."
Enthusiastic applause immediately rang out. No students were jealous of Li Ru for achieving such an excellent score. Perhaps some had been jealous the first time she came first, but none were now. She had always been first and had never lost. There was nothing surprising about it, so there was no jealousy to speak of.
After announcing Li Ru's score, Teacher Yang read out the other students' results one by one. Just as Chen Qianxue had said, the second-highest score was 680, a whole stretch behind Li Ru's.
"Xiao Ru, let's go eat. You didn't even have breakfast. Look how thin you are-even those are almost gone. Hehe." After class ended at noon, Yang Qianxue draped herself over Li Ru's shoulder, looking at her good friend's airport runway of a chest as she giggled.
Li Ru turned to look at her only good friend in high school, her eyes full of gratitude. To study better, she always saved her meal money to buy study materials, so she ate only one meal a day.
Her good friend had noticed. At mealtimes, she would sometimes claim she had no appetite eating alone and ask Li Ru to keep her company. Every time, she would get a great deal of food, then share it with Li Ru on the pretext that she could not finish it. In truth, they both knew exactly what was going on.
Li Ru nodded slightly. She was introverted and could not voice her gratitude, but she always kept this kindness in her heart.
In the school cafeteria, Li Ru bought her usual one-yuan portion of rice and a serving of the cheapest vegetables. Beside her, however, Yang Qianxue's tray was piled high with all sorts of dishes: chicken drumsticks, kung pao chicken, braised fish, and braised pork intestines. Their colors, aromas, and flavors were all enticing, enough to whet anyone's appetite at a glance.
After getting their food, the two found an empty table and sat down together. Yang Qianxue said the braised pork intestines were too fatty and tasted bad, asking Li Ru to help eat them. Then she said the braised fish was a fish, and she did not eat fish, so she asked Li Ru to help eat that too.
Seeing Chen Qianxue's clumsy acting, Li Ru smiled knowingly, put several of the dishes together, and said, "Let's eat together."
Halfway through their meal, seven or eight girls poured through the cafeteria entrance. They looked around, and one of them said, "Sister Gu, that vixen's over there." She pointed as she spoke, straight toward Li Ru and Chen Qianxue.
"Come on. Let's go see just which vixen dared steal my boyfriend." With that, Gu Mengqi and the others marched menacingly over to Li Ru.
Before saying a word, she reached out and flipped the tray in front of Li Ru onto the floor.
Startled, Li Ru and Chen Qianxue sprang to their feet.
"What are you doing?" Chen Qianxue demanded angrily.
"Is this the little vixen who stole my boyfriend?" Gu Mengqi turned sideways to ask a girl behind her.
"Yes, it's her. I saw Ximen Jin give her a love letter with my own eyes."
Smack! A vicious slap struck Li Ru's face. Already lacking color because she was so thin and frail, her face instantly turned deathly pale. Her gold-rimmed glasses fell to the floor and shattered, and traces of blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.
Seeing her good friend struck, Chen Qianxue was instantly furious.
"Who are you? How can you hit someone?" As she spoke, she shoved Gu Mengqi aside and turned to Li Ru. "Xiao Ru, are you all right?"
Li Ru lowered her head and shook it, covering her cheek as she whispered, "I'm fine. Qianxue, let's go."
But when she turned to look for her glasses and saw them lying shattered, this strong girl, who had not cried even after being slapped hard enough to bleed from her mouth, suddenly burst into tears.
Her mother had saved for a long time to buy those glasses, which had cost over fifteen hundred yuan. Now they were broken, and the college entrance exam was just around the corner. Where would she find the money for another pair? At that thought, she could no longer hold back her tears.
"Chen Qianxue, I know your dad has a bit of money, but do you know who my brother is? You'd better stay out of this."
"This little vixen dared steal my boyfriend, so I'm going to teach her a lesson."
Looking at Li Ru's clothes, washed so often they had faded white, Gu Mengqi curled her lip and cursed again. "A pauper who can't even afford clothes dares steal my boyfriend? You're really courting death."