Wang Qiqi and Shi Man returned to class after finishing lunch, only to find the previously lively chatter abruptly silenced upon their entrance. She knew this was because of her.

"Hmph, I initially thought someone was taking leave because their parents passed away and they had to observe a mourning period. Turns out, they were just home grinding away," a jealous girl suddenly interjected. "It's entirely possible she was deliberately hiding her ability before, and this time, she really showed off."

Wang Qiqi pursed her lips. She was prepared for dissatisfaction directed at her, but she wouldn't bother refuting anything. After all, Shi Man was the only one in this class who treated her well; the rest, in her previous life, had either kicked her when she was down or stood by, coldly watching her make a fool of herself. Wang Qiqi never cared about their opinions of her.

Shi Man grabbed Wang Qiqi's hand, looking at her anxiously. She knew how Wang Qiqi had spent her days off—through long, lonely nights where the only companions besides her aunt and uncle were math notebooks. Though Qiqi hadn't mentioned it, Shi Man knew that Qiqi's rapid improvement in math was directly related to her staying up all night reviewing and completing practice problems.

Although only Gu Hong voiced her opinion in the class, the others remained silent, their expressions betraying their attitudes. Shi Man’s mouth moved, wanting to retort, but just then, Wang Qiqi held her back. "I brought a melon. Let's eat some melon." After finishing the melon, she could rest a bit and gather the energy for the afternoon lessons.

Shi Man immediately agreed—right, eat something, why bother thinking about what they think? They are a bunch who are thrilled when you're miserable and intensely jealous when you succeed. "Right, eat the melon."

The two returned to their desks. Wang Qiqi pulled a melon from her bag, took out a miniature fruit knife, and began slicing, adopting an air of, Say what you want; we're eating.

Initially, although the class wasn't entirely pleased with Wang Qiqi's performance today—after all, no one likes being implicitly criticized by the math teacher—they wouldn't embarrass her to her face. But since someone had jumped out, and Wang Qiqi acted as if she heard nothing, returning to her seat to eat melon, everyone became furious.

"Hmph, I'd say it was just a fluke. But it was a good thing she managed to answer, otherwise, the teacher would have suspected her homework yesterday was copied."

"Exactly. Why else would Teacher Xia call on Wang Qiqi specifically to answer?"

Hearing the accusations from her classmates, Juliana could only shake her head. While she was quite annoyed, feeling Wang Qiqi’s actions were excessive, she reasoned that even if Wang Qiqi had been hiding her abilities before, it was still because she managed to find someone willing to teach her. Furthermore, she felt asking Wang Qiqi about the math homework was better than constantly copying Huang Li's work.

There were others in the class who shared Juliana's thoughts, but their numbers were fewer, and after all, they were just kids; they didn't have that many complex ideas. During lunch, a few pointed words from Huang Li had reignited everyone's anger.

Huang Li sat at her desk, working on her advanced math assignment, a wide grin spreading across her face. She was delighted. Wang Qiqi, oh Wang Qiqi, haven't you always considered yourself more popular than me in class? Turns out, you're nothing special. Enjoy the taste of being attacked. But then again, your status as Gao Kai’s girlfriend is enough to breed jealousy. Now that your math scores have suddenly improved, don't you think everyone will have opinions about you? Your good days are numbered.

Shi Man ate the melon, listening as the comments grew increasingly malicious, until she finally couldn't hold back. "Whether Qiqi hid it or revealed it, it's her true ability. What business is it of yours that her math grades have improved?"

"And what about the rest of you? Don't act like you're so much better, talking about how you watched TV at home and didn't study at all. Haven't you all been diligently reviewing until late at home, even hiring private tutors? Why didn't your tutors improve your math scores? Now that Qiqi’s scores are up, you all jump out. So, Qiqi is just easy to bully?" Shi Man thought they were all hypocrites; their discussions about what TV they watched were likely fabricated, perhaps just things their parents watched and repeated back in the morning. What was the point?

Wang Qiqi looked at Shi Man, who was furiously defending her, and sighed, pulling her down to sit. "I know my math scores were bad before, but are you only happy when my grades are poor?" Wang Qiqi’s gaze swept the room, noticing some people lowering their heads, unwilling to meet her eyes. Ah, they really are just children, lacking experience in certain situations.

"Is it that interesting, staring only at me?" Wang Qiqi continued. "I don't know what's so alarming about my improved math scores. Have I blocked your path? I never felt that my current math scores were simply given to me. What I do know is that during my leave of absence, I spent over ten hours every day on math homework—constantly working problems, constantly memorizing formulas. Haven't you all put just as much energy into math at home?"

Everyone present did similar work, but none would admit how much time they spent on the subject at home. Unexpectedly, Wang Qiqi admitted it openly, making them feel that her return truly marked a significant change in her.

"Actually, our goals are the same: study hard and enrich ourselves so we can be confident facing the Gaokao next year. Our opponents are never the students in our own class; our opponents should be our peers across the nation. Remember, the quotas for our desired universities are limited each year. What we need to do is achieve excellent results and get into the universities we dream of." Wang Qiqi then tried to rally everyone. Although Huang Li hadn't spoken just now, Wang Qiqi didn't believe that none of the animosity stemmed from her influence. Hmph, you want everyone to resent me? Fine, I'll give you a big gift and see how you react.

When Wang Qiqi said this, everyone knew she was shifting the topic, but what she said was true. They were facing the Gaokao, and their opponents were numerous. They had no idea who these external competitors were. Resenting Wang Qiqi wouldn't reduce the number of rivals by even one. That was impossible.

"Talking about outside opponents now—our scores might not even rank within the top of our own school, let alone the class," someone remarked just as everyone was starting to follow Zhang Qian’s train of thought.

Wang Qiqi focused her gaze. It was Xia Yu, a girl with a boy's name, who was indeed quite tomboyish. In her previous life, she was a staunch follower of Huang Li, so it was natural for her to speak up now. Many times, when it was inconvenient for Huang Li to step forward, this gossip would emerge—and this time was no exception. "That shows your narrow vision. You’re always focusing on classmates, but even if you rank in the top five or ten of the liberal arts stream in school, do you think that ranking matters in the city?"

Is it really true that a short view comes from short hair? Why are you specifically targeting me? "If everyone feels my math scores are acceptable, we can discuss them together." Wang Qiqi thought, You just want to stir up trouble, so I'll be generous. I'll agree to discuss problems. But is your master as generous? When people ask her questions, her response is that she doesn't know them either. But if she genuinely didn't know, fine. Once or twice, people wouldn't bother her again.

"Really?" Hearing Wang Qiqi say this, everyone looked at her with pleasant surprise. Regardless of their previous feelings about Wang Qiqi, the most important thing was that Qiqi could offer them some guidance. How could they not understand the implication of her words? They had merely wanted to vent a little. Now that Wang Qiqi was showing goodwill, they wouldn't continue to target her.

Wang Qiqi nodded. "Yes, although I won't know every single problem, that's fine. I'll note down the ones I don't know, and once I consult someone about them when I get home, I can analyze them with all of you, how about that?" Since she was doing a good deed, she might as well see it through. She knew some classmates had access to internal materials circulated by other schools, yet they wouldn't share. If she opened this door now, they might not share immediately, but over time, would they still keep everything hidden?

Huang Li hadn't expected that the situation she had successfully engineered, turning everyone against Shi Man, would be reversed so quickly. The anger in her chest intensified, the grip on her pen growing tighter until, with a sudden rip, the paper tore. Seeing the notebook ruined, she angrily snapped it shut and stormed out.

Xia Yu saw Huang Li bolt out and had no time to waste arguing with Wang Qiqi; she ran out after her.

"The followers have left, you all," Shi Man said, having long held a poor opinion of these brainless people, though she hadn't dared to voice it then. "Qiqi actually mentioned discussing problems with everyone earlier, but you insisted on listening to someone's instigation. Do you really think she is a kind person? The moment your grades improve, she acts petty and unwilling to discuss problems with us? Have you all forgotten who in this class is the most secretive about their knowledge?"

Hearing Shi Man say this, everyone’s expressions darkened. They knew exactly who Shi Man was referring to, but asking them to apologize was something they couldn't bring themselves to do.

Wang Qiqi smiled slightly. "Actually, I just didn't mention it to everyone this morning. What I said just now wasn't empty talk. Our goal is next year's Gaokao; all previous exams are just ways for us to measure if the knowledge we’ve learned is solid."

Everyone nodded along as Wang Qiqi spoke. Some acted faster, picking up the problems the math teacher had assigned and beginning to ask for clarification again. (To be continued)