Feng Xueling stepped through the classroom doorway, the faint scent of chalk dust and sun-warmed paper washing over her after the long bus ride. The usual Monday lethargy was gone—today the air itself hummed.
It was the final week before Gaokao, the week when even breathing seemed tied to exam prep. One more stretch of self-study, and then the most decisive test of their lives. But instead of anxious silence, the room vibrated with chatter, the kind that sparks before a thunderstorm.
"Xueling! Over here!" Jiang Xiaoman waved from their shared desk near the window.
Instantly, the conversations around them thinned to a hush. Like a bowstring pulled taut, the mood shifted. Eyes followed Xueling as she crossed the room—curious, wary, disbelieving.
No one had forgotten.The daring bet with Zhang Qiqi had become legend overnight—a bottom-ranked student challenging one of the school's top fifty, with her own future as collateral. So close to Gaokao, it was nothing short of academic suicide.
And yet, here she was.
Xueling walked unhurriedly to her seat, her expression calm, unreadable. The late-morning sun poured through the windows, catching faint glints in her dark hair as she slid into her chair.
Xiaoman leaned over, whispering, "You have no idea how crazy it's been since Friday. Half the class thinks you've already been expelled; the other half swears you must've cheated. Qiqi's been strutting around like a peacock."
Xueling uncapped her pen, tone mild. "And what do you think?"
Her friend blinked. "I think the results board goes up any minute, and they're all going to choke on their words."
Across the room, Zhang Qiqi turned sharply, her expression tightening when she saw Xueling sitting there, serene as ever. Beside her, Feng Xueyao murmured something, all soft tones and sympathetic eyes, the perfect picture of sisterly concern.
"Do you think she even passed?" someone whispered near the back.
"Please, she probably bombed. Last in the grade again."
"Then why does she look so calm?"
Because, Xueling thought as she flipped open her notebook, she already knew the answer.
The school loudspeaker crackled to life, a teacher's voice brisk with announcement:"Class 3-A, your monthly exam results are posted on the main board. Please proceed quietly to check."
Every chair scraped back at once. Even Zhang Qiqi's confident smile faltered.
Xueling rose last, stretching lazily before following the tide of students out into the hall, her heartbeat steady, her lips curving just slightly.
The hallway was already packed—students clustering around the bulletin board like moths around a flame. The moment Feng Xueling stepped out of the classroom behind Xiaoman, the whispers sharpened.
Zhang Qiqi's giggle rang out first.
"Oh look, the bottom-ranked celebrity has arrived."
A few of her followers snickered.
"What's she even walking over for? Does she think the ranking fairy blessed her this time?"
"Should we call the cleaning auntie? Someone's about to cry and make a mess."
"Pack your bags early, Feng Xueling! The Feng family is already embarrassed enough."
More laughter.
Feng Xueyao, ever the white lotus, clasped her hands delicately, lips trembling just so."Qiqi… don't be so harsh," she murmured, loud enough for everyone to hear."I'm sure my sister is just… curious. Even if she failed again, she will always have a home with us. Don't mock her."
Her friends gasped in admiration.
"So kind!"
"She really is the best big sister."
Behind them, someone muttered, "I thought Xueling was the older one?"They were promptly elbowed into silence.
Xueling didn't spare any of them a glance.
She moved through the crowd like a quiet breeze, untouchable. Her back straight, her expression serene, her steps unhurried—as though she were walking toward a result she already knew.
This, of course, only infuriated Zhang Qiqi.
"Hey! I'm talking to you!" Qiqi snapped, stepping in front of her. "Why are you even checking? The loser is supposed to admit publicly that she's talentless trash. Shouldn't you skip to the part where you apologize to Yaoyao and drop out?"
Students drew back, forming a ring, hungry for drama.
Xueling lifted her gaze at last, her dark eyes calm and cool as winter water.
"Make way," she said.
Qiqi scoffed. "Or what? You'll pretend you passed?"
A faint smile tugged Xueling's lips.
"No," she replied lightly. "I'll let the rankings speak. Isn't that what you wanted?"
Her tone was soft.Her confidence was not.
Even those jeering fell silent for a heartbeat. Something in her voice pressed down on them—quiet, but absolute.
Xueyao stepped forward, voice dripping sweetness."Sister, don't feel pressured. Even if you rank dead last again, mother and father won't abandon you. They're just… disappointed because you made that awful bet with Qiqi. If only you had thought before acting—"
"Are you finished?" Xueling asked calmly.
Xueyao stiffened, color draining from her cheeks.
Xueling walked past her without another glance.
Even Xiaoman swallowed hard. Whoa… this version of Xueling is terrifying.
The crowd parted instinctively as she approached the bulletin board.
The paper fluttered slightly under the hallway's warm draft.
At the very top, in sharp black ink:
Rank 1 — Feng Xueling — 748/750
A heartbeat of absolute, total silence.
Then—
"WHAT?!"
"Is this real?!"
"748?! That's higher than last year's province topper!"
"Wait wait wait—Feng XueLING? Not Feng XueYAO?!"
Zhang Qiqi shoved people aside, eyes wide, face draining of blood.
"This—this—this must be a mistake!!" she screeched.
Xueyao stared at the ranking list as if it were a death sentence, lips trembling for real now, not for show.
And Xueling?
She simply glanced once at her score and nodded. That language score is still not ideal she thought as she stepped away from the board and walked away with the same unhurried pace.
Xiaoman squealed and tackled her in a hug."XUELING YOU MONSTER GENIUS!!"
But Xueling only smiled modestly and returned Xiaoman's hug. "It was an easy paper" she said. The surrounding students were shocked. Look, is that even human speech? The final test before the Gaokao is always ruthlessly tough, and this one had been the hardest paper in the history of No 1. High School. The second place after Xueling's score was 700, almost 50 points less than her.
"NO!!! THIS—THIS IS WRONG!! THIS CAN'T BE RIGHT!!!" Zhang Qiqi shrieked as she shoved two classmates aside and moved towards the ranking board. She slapped both hands against the sheet, as if she could smudge the ink off the page.
"Teacher!! TEACHER!!" she wailed, her voice cracking. "There's a mistake! A massive mistake! Feng Xueling—rank one??! IMPOSSIBLE!! SHE CHEATED!!"
A ripple of gasps tore through the crowd.
Cheating during the most monitored exam of the year? One has to be incredibly brazen or incredibly stupid to do that. If discovered, they would definitely be marked with major demerits and be unable to take the Gaokao that year. And even if they cleared the Gaokao, no decent university would take them. A history of cheating is a black mark forever!
"Don't be absurd!" snapped Xiaoman. "Xueling didn't cheat".
"Then how could she have topped the hardest exam ever?! How else can a bottom feeder student ace such a paper?"
"Our Xueling is a genius ofcourse" said Xiaoman immediately.
"Don't make false accusations" Cut in Xueling smoothly. "I can sue you for rumor mongering and defamation."
"Defamation? Calm down, sister." Said Feng Xueyao, trying to act like the benevolent and generous friend "Qiqi is just a little upset, there is no need to escalate it, right? We are all classmates.."
"I am escalating it? Feng Xueyao, you are so funny. When Zhang qiqi accused me of cheating why didn't you think she was escalating it? Is itnthat you don't know the impact such a label can have on a student about to take the Gaokao? Why didn't she consider me as a classmate then? And why didn't you advice her that I am a classmate? Is it that you care even less about your family than an outsider?" Xueling ripped apart Xueyao's hypocritical face, not giving her an inch.
The surrounding students could also see the truth in Feng Xueling's words and started whispering.
"Yes, Xueyao is just too unfair. Why is she favoring outsiders over family?"
"Hmmph. She usually projects herself as the nice sister…what a white lotus"
"The talented daughter of the Feng family is only that much…."
"No! No! It's not like that… sister.." Feng xueyao tried again, looking pitiful with tears of misery dripping down her face.
"Oh please spare me the theatrics" said Xueling. "Either acknowledge that I won the bet and fulfil the promise, or give me solid proof that I cheated. Nobody has time to waste here with you".
The bet! That's right! How could they have forgotten about the bet?! Just as the students were all discussing the pros and cons of the event, the head teacher Mr.Pei made his way to the ranking board. The commotion had reached the staff room and he was under strict orders to control it before it escalated. Afterall, there were enough rich kids and important families in No.1 High School and nobody wanted a scene.
"Make way! Make way! What's the commotion" said Teacher Pei as he navigated the sea of students and went to the ranking board.
"Teacher!!!" cried Zhang Qiqi in relief. Finally someone of authority who could take her side. "Feng Xueling cheated in the exam! I want to report her for cheating!"
"Cheating? That is a big accusation." Said Teacher Pei neutrally. Inside, he was thinking about how quickly to resolve this without affecting his relationship with the important families. The Zhang family and the Feng family had reasonable influence in Jinhai. He himself has received numerous benefits from them. And my nephew's promotion depends on the Zhang family he thought as he quickly calculated whom to favor.
"How else could she have gotten that score?!" Shrieked Zhang Qiqi.
"That's right! Explain how you got that score, Student Feng Xueling, or admit you cheated and accept consequences" said Teacher Pei loftily.
"Explain how I got that score? Because I am a genius ofcourse" said Feng Xueling, abandoning modesty for the first time in her life. "And what does Teacher Pei mean by explain or admit? Is this what a good teacher does? Lead accusations and put the burden of proof on the victim? Isn't it your job to conduct a thorough investigation? I know you get benefits from the Zhang family, but you don't have to so blatantly favor them and slander an innocent."
Wow! Our family Xueling is on a roll! Thought Jiang Xiaoman as the students started whispering about Teacher Pei and his unfairness.
"You…You….. insolent!!" said Teacher Pei, unable to argue with Xueling's hard hitting accusations. They were all true afterall…
"YOU—YOU DID THIS!" Zhang Qiqi pounced on her like a rabid dog. She couldn't bear to see Xueling's composed confident look. "You bribed someone! Or swapped papers! Or—or—snuck in answers beforehand!!"
Xueling blinked once, slowly."…Are you done?"
Qiqi trembled with outrage. "DON'T PLAY INNOCENT! YOU—"
"Zhang Qiqi!"
It was the Principal—Old Liu, known schoolwide as the strictest examiner alive. He stormed towards the ranking board as he shouted Zhang Qiqi's name to keep her in check. He had heard all about the commotion and had made it there just to witness Teacher Pei's unfair accusations. The students parted to make way for him as he huffed all the way to the front, his face red with the exertion.
"You dare accuse a student without proof?!" he roared
"There IS proof!" Qiqi jabbed a finger at Xueling. "She's always been LAST! Suddenly getting almost full marks—it's OBVIOUS she cheated!"
Old Liu slapped the exam list on the wall.
"NONSENSE!"
He pointed toward the end of the hallway where security cameras gleamed above the ceiling.
"The ENTIRE exam was recorded. Not one blind spot. And Feng Xueling requested to sit in the frontmost seat, directly under three cameras."
Students murmured—many remembered the quiet, steady way Xueling had insisted on the front seat.
Old Liu continued harshly:
"She came in early. She didn't speak to anyone. She didn't look around. She didn't even stretch. She simply… wrote."He exhaled, still in awe."Her paper was collected first. And she finished in one hour. No cheating is possible."
Zhang Qiqi's face crumpled.
"That— that's still impossible. IMPOSSIBLE!! She's trash! She's—"
Xueling stepped forward.
Every whisper died.
Her voice was quiet, but razor-sharp:
"You're right about one thing."
Qiqi froze.
"In your mind"—Xueling tilted her head slightly—"I am trash. Weak. Stupid. Easily crushed. Something beneath you."
Qiqi opened her mouth, but no sound came.
Xueling continued, her tone unhurried but icy:
"So tell me, Zhang Qiqi… if I'm all those things—what does that make you, since you lost to me?"
A collective gasp erupted.
Even Xueyao paled.
Zhang Qiqi staggered back as if slapped.
"That— You— you tricked me! You—"
"I solved the same questions you did," Xueling said softly. "Under the same rules. Same conditions. Same pressure."
Her eyes—clear, dark, and calm—met Qiqi's panicked ones.
"You failed because you relied on arrogance instead of skill."
She turned slightly, her voice carrying without effort:
"And you challenged me. Don't forget that."
Students murmured, excitement rising again.
"Damn, she's right—Qiqi started the whole bet…"
"Qiqi's been bragging for weeks, and she didn't even break top 30…"
"Xueling was in the camera view the whole time… I saw the feed when teachers were monitoring."
"Yeah, she didn't look up even once."
Old Liu cleared his throat loudly.
"The results stand. Anyone who slanders Feng Xueling again will face academic punishment. Teacher Pei, come with me. I want to discuss how you handled the situation just now." So saying, Principal Liu walked away with a rather pale faced Teacher Pei.
Zhang Qiqi's watched them walk away in dismay. Her eyes filled with panicked tears and her lower lip quivered. She could not believe the humiliation.
"You… you'll regret this…" she whispered shakily.
Xueling only smiled faintly.It held neither pity nor cruelty—just truth.
"Zhang Qiqi, I don't have time to regret small obstacles."
She stepped closer—close enough that Qiqi could feel her breath.
"But you should start regretting the moment you challenged me."
Qiqi stumbled back. She looked around wildly unable to believe the predicament she was in, hoping to find some way out. Her eyes landed on Feng Xueyao who was standing much further away from her than before. "Yaoyao!" she shouted as she rushed towards Xueyao. "Help me! I cannot get dismissed, not now!"
"Ling jie…" began Xueyao pitifully "Please don't do this to Qiqi. After all, we are all classmates.."
"oh and what is it that I am doing to your precious Qiqi?" asked Xueling boredly. "Did I ask her to bet with me? Did I insist on the stakes? Did I tamper with the results?"
"That's right! What are you acting here for Xueyao?" interrupted Jiang Xiaoman harshly. "Don't you remember that day in the cafeteria when you guys came up to provoke us? At that time Qiqi insisted that we even knowtow and apologize to her… Did she think of us as classmates then? Why didn't you advice her then that we are all classmates? Or, if we had lost today, would she have let us go without knowtowing and apologizing? Hmmmph! Please stop your hypocritical acting. It makes me sick"
"No.. no.. it's not like that.." Feng Xueyao was now truly panicked. The students had all started whispering once again and this time it was disctinctly more unfriendly that before. She had originally thought this would be a great way to get Xueling, that bitch get dismissed from school. When Xueling loses the bet with Qiqi, she Yaoayao would pretend to intercede on her behalf. But the outcome would not change, because as the eldest daughter of the Feng family, how could Xueling not keep her word? So under the pretext of honor and righteousness Xueling could get kicked out of school. But now, not only had Xueling won the bet, she and that wretched Jiang Xiaoman have even exposed her schemes. No! this cannot be! She had to think of something fast!
"If Qiqi is really that precious to you, fine. I am willing to concede the bet.." said Feng Xueling. "All you have to do is admit your mistake in provoking me and apologize for the many insults you and your gang have piled on me in the past years. Do it at the school assembly in three days and bow down in full view of all students, I will let your precious Qiqi go."
"Yes!" said Zhang Qiqi hurriedly as she turned hopeful eyes towards Xueyao. Surely Yaoyao would help her! "Please agree Yaoyao. I can't get dismissed. It would ruin me!"
"Agree? My foot!" said Xueyao now truly panicked. "Why should I suffer humiliation for your mistakes?"
"Yaoyao… don't be like that! I am in this mess in the first place because of you. I wanted to teach Xueling a lesson for you. Please help me out just this one time.."
But even before Zhang Qiqi could finish her request Xueyao burst out "What do you mean you did it for me? How does your bet with Xueling become about me? Why should I suffer this humiliation? Ahh! You are all bullying me!" With tears pouring down her cheeks, Feng Xueyao ran away from the ranking board looking like she had suffered a great grievance.
Perfect! Thought Feng Xueling. You could always count on dear Xueyao to be selfish. It made things childishly easy to bring her down.
Feng Xueling approached Zhang Qiqi who was still looking in the direction Xueyao disappeared, unable to fully comprehend what had happened? Why did Yaoyao rush away? Why didn't she help me? Zhang Qiqi thought.
"That's your good friend Xueyao for you" Feng Xueling interrupted Zhang Qiqi's thoughts. "Remember, I have already given you a way out. Either get me the apology I deserve or get out of school."
"You..You…." stuttered Zhang Qiqi unable to think of a single retort.
"Or you can stay on and be known as the Zhang family's daughter who acts shameless and doesn't keep her word. I wonder how Old Master Zhang will feel about it."
Zhang Qiqi looked at Xueling, the enormity of her predicament finally dawning upon her. Old Master Zhang was the absolute authority in the Zhang family. It was under his leadership that the family had crawled its way up to the elite circles of Jinhai city. As a Nouveu rich, the only way for the Zhang family to claim any status in the circle is the pretense of being honorable and righteous. No matter how dirty or underhanded the business dealings, it was important for old master Zhang to keep up appearances and pretend to be clean and honest. The last time rumors of misconduct and shady business dealings came up in relation to the Zhang family, old master Zhang made one of his illegitimate sons the scapegoat and kicked him out of the family. If news of her losing a bet and not keeping a promise reached his ears, she Zhang Qiqi would be done for! Even my parents will be implicated thought Zhang Qiqi in panic. No! She has to get Yaoyao to apologise.
"You have three days" reminded Feng Xueling and walked away with her head held high.