Chapter 206: Chapter 208: Making a Big Fool of Oneself

Wei Jiani continued to cover her mouth, nodding continuously, yet now she wished she could just disappear.

Ever since elementary school, Wei Jiani had been a top student. She excelled academically, was attractive, and was known for her fantastic electronic keyboard skills. Everyone liked her and desired her approval. But now, she had made a fool of herself. How on earth was she to face her classmates at school?

She covered her face, not wanting to return to the classroom, until the school bell rang again. She wiped her tears, and reluctantly returned to class. Interestingly, the moment she stepped into the classroom, her hiccup stopped. It was uncanny, completely normal.

Keeping her head down, she walked in and sat down at her desk. She did not even take out her books. She dared not raise her head fearing the mockery and ridicule of others.

She wanted to cry even more sitting there.

“I heard she embarrassed herself during the English competition.”

Xu Miaomiao seemingly knew this from somewhere – she was always surprisingly well-informed.

“What do you mean by ’embarrass’?” Tang Yuxin propped her face on the table with her hands, her clear eyes shimmering like water as she smiled faintly. She was from the North yet she carried an elevating grace that felt like a woman of the South. Her elegance and sheer translucence were simply extraordinary.

In particular, the mild, cold fragrance that lingered on Tang Yuxin enchanted Xu Miaomiao to the point that she craved to take Tang Yuxin home and fill her house with that aroma. Plus, spending time with Tang Yuxin would also allow her to bask in some of that fragrance – natural perfume at its finest. It was a pity that the scent did not last long. Otherwise, she would have claimed Tang Yuxin as hers entirely and never let her go home.

Xu Miaomiao sneakily peeked at the head-lowered Wei Jiani, spun her eyeballs, and then leaned towards Tang Yuxin’s ear.

“So I heard that she kept hiccupping during her recital. Do you think she did it on purpose? Or maybe she ate something odd, or was too excited and overate?”

“Probably overate.”

As Tang Yuxin gently stroked the pages of the book in her hands, there was a lingering scent of ink on her fingers.

Indeed, she probably did overeat.

Reverting time back by several hours.

As a participant in the school’s English Competition, Wei Jiani was brimming with pride and superiority, as proud as a peacock spreading its feathers.

As she walked past Tang Yuxin, she sneaked a look at her from the corner of her eye.

“It’s amusing to see her pretending to be ill,” Li Hua joked, covering her mouth as she chuckled, “If she weren’t pretending to be unwell and ended up losing to you, it would have been so much worse. Now since she is ill, she at least has an excuse for the loss. Less embarrassing, I would say.”

“I, too, had hoped for a fair and square competition with her. Sadly, someone got cold feet.”

Wei Jiani rolled up her sleeves and sneered in disdain.

Tang Yuxin really didn’t get where Wei Jiani’s overflowing confidence came from, and whether this inflated confidence could support her imminent pride.

As they crossed paths, Tang Yuxin flicked her fingernails. Some barely visible minute particles stuck to Wei Jiani’s fingers. Overwhelmed with pride, Wei Jiani even bought herself a large chicken leg to feast on.

This girl indeed came from a wealthy family, having access to meat while in her past life, she didn’t even have chicken skin to eat. The meat was all for Wei Jiani.

Gathering herself, Tang Yuxin touched her closely trimmed nails, the smile line on the semicircular tops of her nails accompanying the curvature of her rounded, healthy pink nail beds. These represented the vibrant life of youth.

She figured she had done well, behaving exceptionally well, towards Wei Jiani. Otherwise, instead of something for hiccups, she would have laced her with a flatulence-inducing substance. Hiccups, at least, could be considered courteous whereas if Wei Jiani had uncontrollable flatulence during her recital, she would have become the biggest joke since the inception of their junior high school institution.

See, she truly was a good person. An extremely good one at that.

However, there was plenty of time for them to play these games. They weren’t in a hurry.

After Wei Jiani’s significant humiliation, her enthusiasm instantly faded. She was no longer that proud peacock, but rather a rooster with its tail burnt. Constantly downcast, this girl who was once considered the apple of everyone’s eye, Wei Jiani, tasted humbleness for the first time.

How did it feel to hit the dirt?

She couldn’t accept this sudden twist in her life. Even her studies weren’t her priority anymore, and her grades began to plummet.

“Lidong, you have to give it your all,” Tang Yuxin suddenly said to Li Lidong.

“Hmm, give what my all?” Chen Lidong, who had somewhat turned into a study maniac recently, lifted his face. The aura about him had become much more mature compared to before. He had grown up, albeit with a steep price to pay. Yet, no matter what, he was alive, and he had matured.

“Wei Jiani boasts about clinching the fifth rank. So, do you fancy surpassing her?”

Instantly, Li Lidong broke into a grin, “Pfft, is that all? I’ve set my sights on that fifth rank for a while now. Following Wei Jiani with her chicken-like screeching on the scoreboard is really disgusting.”

Tang Yuxin rested her cheek on her palm.

“So, your ambition is higher than that?”

Naturally, Chen Lidong did not enjoy studying earlier, but he was incredibly stubborn. Once he set his mind on something, ten bulls couldn’t pull him back. Now he wanted to study, study hard. He wanted to enter the best high school, the best university. He wanted his parents to regain their pride in front of his grandparents and his uncles. He wanted them to be able to hold their heads high and say with pride, “This is my son.”

“I don’t think I can get the first rank,” Chen Lidong never thought about getting the first rank, mainly because surpassing the reigning number one seemed almost impossible. Even Tang Yuxin, a genius, hadn’t thought about it, let alone a mere mortal like him.

Moreover, could he bear to surpass that poor wretch who only knew how to study, and nothing else?

Tang Yuxin had said that only studying and not knowing how to adapt would make it very difficult to adjust to society. But what was so hard about adjusting? Once they got to college and started working, their jobs would be arranged by the state. If they were capable, they might even secure a cushy job. Of course, he had asked Tang Yuxin about this, and she only responded with a smile and said nothing.

However, he still believed in Tang Yuxin’s words: “Reading a thousand books is not as useful as traveling a thousand miles.” It was accurate. Apart from studying, they had to adapt to some ups and downs and protect their eyes.