"Xiao Rui, why haven't you gone home yet?" Wang Qiqi hadn't expected to spot a shadowy figure sneaking toward the exit in the crowd, and judging by the back, it belonged to someone who was supposedly already home after school.

Wang Rui hadn't anticipated Wang Qiqi would come out so soon; she panicked, wanting to bolt. How could she let anyone recognize her?

Shi Man and Julina followed behind Wang Qiqi. Hearing her call out Wang Rui's name, they found it odd. "Isn't your sister in the first year of high school? By this time, she should have been home ages ago." Now, the only people left in the school were the third-year teachers and students; the first and second years had long vanished without a trace.

Wang Qiqi let out an "Oh," but she couldn't stop staring at the fleeing silhouette. "Did I see wrong?" Wang Qiqi thought to herself. If someone didn't want to admit it, fine, but she wouldn't mind looking at them with a questioning gaze.

Wang Qiqi knew for a fact that everyone present loved gossip; those who didn't would have packed up and left long ago, why linger at this hour?

"Saw wrong?" Shi Man thought there was no way Wang Qiqi could mistake someone. She took a closer look, and indeed, the person looked quite familiar. Alright, she admitted, she didn't recognize that it was Wang Rui, but the question was, why did the person run faster the moment Wang Qiqi named her? Besides, the clothes the runner was wearing were the exact style Wang Rui had on today.

Julina scrutinized the fleeing figure. "Qiqi, that is your sister, Wang Rui. Why is she running?" Julina figured that showing up this late and running so fast upon hearing Wang Qiqi call her meant there had to be something going on. Perhaps she was here looking for Gao Kai, only to find that Gao Kai was looking for Wang Qiqi instead.

Wang Rui realized that both of Wang Qiqi's classmates had recognized her, and they weren't quiet about it. Her pace quickened, and she had already slipped past the crowd. No one could stop her now; she was running incredibly fast.

Wang Qiqi, watching Wang Rui's speed from behind, thought she should really show this to her physical education teacher. That speed was incredible—even an 800-meter race wouldn't match it. "I must have been mistaken. My sister isn't fast; the person running that quickly probably isn't her."

"Isn't she? The more I look, the more she looks like your sister." Now it was Shi Man insisting it was Wang Rui. "Lina, what do you think?"

Julina nodded. "It should be Wang Rui." Hmph, running away so frantically—if there wasn't a problem, that would be the problem.

"Alright, let's go back. We still need to eat," Wang Qiqi said, clutching her stomach and urging Shi Man and the others to hurry up.

The three of them left, leaving the remaining people buzzing with speculation. The topics of discussion were varied, but the main focus was whether the figure who slipped away was Wang Rui, what Wang Rui looked like, and how she managed to 'take down' Wang Qiqi.

Gao Kai hadn't expected things to turn out this way. Wang Rui, who shouldn't have been there at all, had shown up. This was a major deviation from his original plan.

Wang Rui ran home at a light jog. Because she was in such a hurry, her knocking was quite forceful, startling Li Cui, who had been waiting impatiently. "You little rascal, why are you only getting back now? The first-years all went home ages ago." Li Cui opened the door to see Wang Rui standing at the entrance, gasping for breath, and asked with annoyance.

Normally, Wang Rui would have shot back a retort, but right now, all she wanted was to get inside quickly to eat. "Teacher kept me for extra lessons."

Li Cui had been worried her daughter was out on a date. Upon hearing her mention extra lessons with the teacher, her expression instantly softened. "This tuition fee was definitely worth it." She wondered if the school teacher kept her back because her grades weren't good enough.

"Xiao Rui, go wipe off your sweat, put your bag away, and then come out to eat." Hearing her daughter sound so eager to improve, Li Cui resolved that since they didn't have much food today, she would definitely buy some fish and shrimp that her daughter loved tomorrow.

Wang Rui changed her clothes and returned to the living room. Seeing the dishes on the dining table, she let out a long sigh. The food at home was worse than what she had at noon.

Wang Dagui noticed his daughter's expression wasn't great. Looking at the meal, he said, "Li Cui, buy more of the dishes Xiao Rui likes tomorrow." Wang Dagui truly couldn't understand. With his salary combined with hers, even without the subsidy from his elder brother and sister-in-law, how could the family only be eating vegetables? Here, eating meat was a luxury.

Li Cui, currently in a good mood, replied, "I'll go buy some fish and shrimp tomorrow."

Wang Dagui had only mentioned it casually; he genuinely hadn't expected Li Cui to agree so readily. "Ah?" Wang Dagui felt embarrassed saying that maybe Li Cui's mind had gone astray.

Wang Rui's eyes darted around. "Mom, are you really buying fish and shrimp tomorrow? I haven't had shrimp in ages." When her eldest uncle was around, even in winter, she could often eat shrimp. But now, she hadn't had more than a few bites of shrimp even in summer. "Can I have a little more shrimp?"

Li Cui scooped out the rice and brought it over. "Yes, as long as your grades improve. Although it won't be as much as when your auntie was here, our meals will certainly be several times better than they are now."

Wang Rui was surprised her mother was so agreeable. It turned out her earlier words had made the stingy woman so generous for once. Thinking about the real reason she was late, she found this meal a bit distasteful.

Li Cui sat down and noticed her daughter sitting there blankly. "Are you thinking about your studies? Eat first, don't overthink things." Li Cui even preemptively placed a large pork rib into her daughter's bowl, shooting a glare at Wang Dagui—this man didn't understand how hard his daughter studied, yet he dared to try and take her food.

Wang Dagui saw that the only piece of meat with substantial flesh on the table was that rib, so he could only pinch his nose in resignation. Alas, they bought a rack of ribs, only to shred the meat finely to stir-fry with vegetables, and then stew the ribs with winter melon soup—truly making one portion of meat serve two dishes.

When Wang Qiqi returned home, she found that Aunt Gong had prepared fish soup and shrimp today; the meal was excellent. "Home-cooked food is still the best." Although she had eaten twice at noon, the first meal was unpleasant, and the second was fast food, which tasted terrible. "Han Tao, eat more. We'll need your help later."

Han Tao grunted and ate quickly. "I heard the motivation to study at your school is very high now. Rumor has it that during breaks, everyone discusses problems." It was rumored that their own school was planning countermeasures so they wouldn't be surpassed by Qiqi's school.

Wang Qiqi was surprised her school's reputation was so widespread that even Han Tao knew about it. "Yes, exactly. Everyone is very focused during class time. During breaks and even lunch breaks, we don't rest; we sit at our desks and review right after eating. And in the mornings, we go to school early to discuss problems."

"It's more than that. Fewer people are copying homework now, but there are also more petty people," Julina sighed. "Before, everyone would discuss problems together, but now everyone keeps their methods hidden, worried someone will surpass them and get them kicked out of the fast track class."

"The number of people hiring tutors has also increased," Shi Man could only shake her head. "It's rumored that at least a third of the class has hired tutors now, and some have even hired tutors for both Math and English."

"What?" Julina was stunned. "Goodness, someone hired two tutors? What am I going to do?" Her results in the last division exam were already precarious, and the mid-term exams were in just over a month; her pressure was immense.

"We'll sleep four hours every day from now on," Shi Man declared. "Huang Li is already sleeping just four hours. It seems she studies until one, sleeps for four, and gets up at five. Lina, shouldn't we do the same?"

Shi Man knew Wang Qiqi wouldn't sleep only four hours, so she only tried to persuade Julina, knowing Julina would likely agree.

Julina considered it but shook her head. "Forget it. I see Qiqi goes to bed around midnight and wakes up at six to exercise, and she even takes a nap at noon. Qiqi was right; we need more rest to study with energy."

Wang Qiqi looked at Shi Man's disappointed expression, realizing she was panicking. Many people in the class looked sleep-deprived lately. "The college entrance exam isn't tomorrow, or the day after, or even next month. It's only mid-September; we still have less than ten months to hold on. Do you think you can keep sleeping four hours a day until next July?"

Shi Man shook her head; of course, she knew it would be hard to persist. "But everyone else can do it. Besides, if I get used to sleeping at that time, I'm sure I can keep it up." When she was in elementary school, she had to sleep by eight; in middle school, it was ten. Now she had pushed her bedtime to midnight, and she hadn't seen any issues.

"Yes, but can your body handle it? The length of study time doesn't matter as much as the quality. How much do you think they actually absorb from that long stretch of fatigued study? Han Tao, am I right?"

Han Tao nodded. "Shi Man, I think you should prioritize rest. When you're reviewing, don't let your mind wander. As long as you fully utilize your study time and listen carefully during class, you'll really be fine. Besides, you aren't on the borderline with your grades." Han Tao hadn't expected the competition to be so intense that even Shi Man felt restless. He knew Shi Man's grades ranked in the top thirty in the liberal arts stream for their grade, and her Math scores had been improving lately; she shouldn't worry this much.

"Shi Man, I think we should rest when it's time to rest. I already skip my afternoon nap. I can't sacrifice my nighttime sleep," Julina said, watching Wang Qiqi rubbing her eyes constantly, wondering if Wang Qiqi was actually that sleepy.

"Yes, the noon break is very important," Wang Qiqi yawned, inwardly cursing Wang Rui. If Wang Rui hadn't caused so much trouble at noon, would she have had to skip her nap just to put on a show? "I didn't rest at noon today, and I felt unwell all afternoon. I still feel out of sorts now." (To be continued.)