Chapter 12

At the same time, the classroom erupted into heated discussion.

"She even got the extension questions right—wasn't she a transfer student?"

"How do you know which school she transferred from?"

"Our Hende High is still one of the top five high schools nationwide. With her ability, could she be from the capital city?"

"Don't be ridiculous. There are two top-ranked high schools in the capital, ranked first and second nationally. If she were that strong, why would she come to Hende?"

Shen Danxue snorted coldly. "Even if she came from the capital, she shouldn't be put straight into the gifted class. Our class doesn't accept transfer students."

That made sense.

Even among the top schools, many fall short of their level.

Taking a spot in the gifted class without any score proof naturally earned little favor.

...

Teacher Zhou returned to his desk and looked up at her.

"Which school were you at before?"

The question caught Ye Chunxi off guard.

Seeing her silence, Teacher Zhou did not press further.

"What matters is you're here now at Hende. Did you study that concept we covered in class ahead of time?"

Ye Chunxi raised an eyebrow. "Yes."

As soon as she saw the question, the answer came to her instantly.

Teacher Zhou naturally assumed her progress was ahead of the gifted class.

"At your level, what I teach in class probably isn't challenging enough," Zhou said as he rummaged through his desk and pulled out a workbook. "Take this home and try the problems. If you have any questions, feel free to come to me."

The gifted class gathered the best students in the grade, and although the pace was faster, not everything was covered.

That workbook spanned the entire high school curriculum.

Ye Chunxi frowned slightly, somewhat reluctant about the extra homework but did not refuse Zhou's kindness.

"Thank you, Teacher Zhou."

"Work hard," Zhou smiled and patted her shoulder. "You might become the top scorer in a subject next exam."

Back in the classroom, the once noisy class fell into an eerie silence.

Ye Chunxi scanned the room; most faces looked guilty, clearly having spoken about her after she left.

She remained calm and returned to her seat.

...

After school in the afternoon, everyone had left the classroom to eat.

Ye Chunxi stared at the workbook, a faint crack appearing on her expression.

Thinking to kill time, she flipped through a few problems in class, only to find she knew every solution.

She completed several sets in a row; checking the answers, they were all correct.

Ye Chunxi found it hard to explain.

Did this mean she had already completed the entire high school curriculum?

Suddenly, she felt like dropping out.

A notification sounded. Ye Chunxi glanced at her phone—it was a message from Butler Kong.

"Miss Ye, is the school food to your liking?"

She looked at the time and realized school had been out for almost ten minutes.

Heading to the cafeteria now would mean long queues.

She closed the finished workbook, picked up her phone, and typed: "I’m not planning to eat at the cafeteria."

The reply was quick: "Would you like me to send someone to pick you up for a meal? Or deliver food to you?"

Clearly, Butler Kong treated her like a child.

"No need, there’s a snack street near school."

The food at Luyuan was indeed good, but the trip took too much time.

"Miss Ye, outside food isn’t healthy," Butler Kong admonished earnestly.

Ye Chunxi was unconcerned: "But it tastes good."

Butler Kong was speechless.

She was picky but only about the tastier food.

Since it was far away, Butler Kong had no control and relented.

Ye Chunxi put away her phone and headed out the school gate.

She left late, so the streets were less crowded.

Around Hende, many small stalls lined the street; the snack street was about a block away, a popular choice for students.

...

At the entrance of the snack street, a group was walking out.

Young and dressed in increasingly bold fashion, some with dyed hair, looking like petty gangsters.

In the center, a girl with straight black hair down to her waist, with two strands dyed pink.

She wore a black and pink biker jacket, with alluring curves just hinted beneath.

Standing about 1.7 meters tall, her presence was commanding; passersby kept their distance.

A younger boy tugged her arm. "Sister Qiang, look at that girl, she’s really pretty."

Gu Qiang followed his gaze.

The girl wore a Hende school jacket, holding a skewer of candied hawthorn, strolling while eating.

Sunlight flickered, casting a soft glow on her porcelain-like skin, haloing her figure.

Effortlessly beautiful.

Gu Qiang’s expression shifted; she glanced sideways. "Since when did our school have someone like her?"

The boy shrugged. "Such a pretty girl, I couldn’t have missed her. Probably a transfer."

Another boy chimed in, "I heard the gifted class got a new transfer student today—most likely that really pretty girl."

"Transfer students in the gifted class? That’s rare."

The others agreed, puzzled.

The gifted class was fiercely competitive; the students there looked down on failures like them.

Gu Qiang watched Ye Chunxi enter a restaurant and stepped forward to follow.

The boys were slow to react, chasing after her. "Sister Qiang, where are you going?"

"To eat?"

The boys were stunned.

Didn't she just finish eating?

Only when they entered the restaurant did they realize Gu Qiang wasn’t there for food—she was clearly drawn by the transfer student’s beauty.

Ye Chunxi ordered and took a seat.

Gu Qiang kicked the closest boy. "What are you looking at? Order some food already!"

"Huh?"

They had already eaten.

But Gu Qiang sat at the table next to Ye Chunxi, ignoring him.

The boy reluctantly ordered a meal for himself.

Ye Chunxi lowered her head, long, slender, pale fingers lightly tapping her phone screen.

So pristine and spotless, glowing faintly, with tips touched by a subtle pink hue.

Bluetooth earphones hung from her ears, cutting off the outside world.

Her demeanor was as cold and pure as snow on a mountain peak, yet her face was enchantingly beautiful like a blooming rose.

This stark contrast captivated Gu Qiang instantly.

She turned her head and looked at the boy who mentioned the transfer student.

"Do you know her name?"

The boy was dazed, then stammered, "I think her last name is Ye... something like Chunxi?"

Gu Qiang’s expression changed immediately. "You can’t even remember the name of such a beautiful girl?"

The boy lowered his head, sneaking glances at Ye Chunxi.

Gu Qiang angrily kicked him. "Go ask her now!"

Then she paused and stopped the restless boy.

"Forget it. What if you scare the poor girl? I’ll go myself."

The boy glanced at her pink eyeliner and the heart drawn on her cheekbone and thought: Sister Qiang, you seem more like the villain here. I haven’t even dyed my hair!