Chapter 14

This day at Quiwen Private High School was destined to be anything but peaceful.
The girl who had been ridiculed online over her previous report card had now swept through the entire grade in the midterm exams.
This explosive news quickly spread throughout the school, even reaching the ears of the senior students.
Chu Shi checked the sophomore rankings repeatedly in disbelief, while Gu Qiuzhe watched beside him, a faint look of surprise on his face.
That day outside the exam hall, he had even shared some of his "lucky energy" with Chu Yin. Now, it seemed the girl hadn’t needed it at all.
Once Chu Shi confirmed the results, a surge of intense pride welled up in him, even stronger than when he had won awards himself. His voice rose excitedly: "My little sister ranked first in the grade!!"
The boys around him who were close friends laughed: "Isn’t your sister ranked seventh?"
Chu Shi’s handsome face turned serious: "No, my sister is first."
Others didn’t catch the nuance, but Gu Qiuzhe, standing nearby, raised an eyebrow slightly and smiled.
Some things, buried for too long, could make the false seem real.
That girl had deliberately hidden herself, and though he didn’t know the reason, it was clear that some of her brilliance could no longer be completely concealed.
Could she really keep hiding forever?...
That evening, when Chu Shi returned home, he told his parents that Chu Yin had ranked first in the entire grade.
Their shock was palpable, their forks even clattered onto their plates.
"Is it true?"
"Xiao Yin ranked first in the grade?!"
Chu Qiuqiu, sitting across from them, looked utterly dismayed.
She had ranked seventh in the grade with a score of 661, a significant improvement from the previous semester. Under normal circumstances, she would have been proudly boasting to her parents. But now, in the face of the grade’s top scorer, her progress and achievements seemed insignificant.
Their biological daughter, who had missed out on a proper education for ten years, had somehow achieved such remarkable results. After the initial surprise, Madam Chu grew emotional and said, "Xiao Yin is so outstanding after all, truly our daughter!"
The words themselves weren't particularly offensive, but to Chu Qiuqiu, they felt like sharp needles. Was he implying that Chu Yin was smarter because she was their biological daughter? Her grip on the cutlery tightened unconsciously, her expression twisting slightly.
But Chu Yin remained unfazed.
"...Truly their daughter?"
All her achievements were the result of her own hard work, completely unrelated to blood ties or the Chu family's upbringing.
Chu Father and Chu Mother shared the same sentiment, swelling with pride that Chu Yin had proven herself worthy of the Chu family bloodline. Beaming with satisfaction, Chu Father said, "Our children are all outstanding, one more brilliant than the other! You're both my pride and joy!"
Chu Shi, observing his parents' elation, reminded them, "Since Xiao Yin scored so well, shouldn't she get a reward?"
Only then did Chu Father remember the tradition. "Of course! There must be a reward!"
In the Chu family, it was customary to give monetary rewards whenever Qiuqiu achieved good grades or showed improvement. Now that Xiao Yin had brought them such a delightful surprise and earned them face, she certainly deserved an even greater reward!
After the meal, Chu Father handed Chu Yin a card. "There's 200,000 in here. Take it as pocket money."
Chu Yin raised an eyebrow. Her parents' praise meant little to her, but the money was certainly welcome.
After all, she was determined to leave this family someday. As a minor, earning money through work was difficult, so building up her savings was essential.
"Thank you."
Chu Qiuqiu also received a reward, but hers was only 50,000.
The contrast was stark, whoever scored higher and performed better received the greater reward. Such was the rule in wealthy families.
Chu Qiuqiu had always considered herself the pride of the Chu family, but now Chu Yin loomed over her like a heavy shadow. And to make matters worse, Chu Yin was their biological daughter.
Would their parents prioritize Chu Yin for all future benefits?
A sense of unprecedented crisis surged within Chu Qiuqiu.
No, she couldn't allow this to happen...
After the midterm exams, Chu Yin became an overnight celebrity.
Strangely enough, when everyone was mocking her academic performance, no one had cared what she looked like. But now that her results had swept across the entire grade, people were eager to match her name with her face.
Yet, they were all disappointed.
"Why does she wear a mask?"
"No idea. And her uniform... well, it's really tacky."
"Maybe that's just how top students are..."
Fu Mingxuan had placed second in her class and fourth in the grade, beating Chu Qiuqiu by several ranks, but she felt no joy. Now that boys from other classes were crowding around Class 5's back door to catch a glimpse of Chu Yin, she, the class belle, felt even more displeased.
Xing Lan leaned in and whispered, "Mingxuan, I heard from a friend in the international class that Chu Qiuqiu got scolded by Lu Zhen the other day."
Hearing this, Fu Mingxuan finally perked up, a hint of glee in her voice. "Really? Why? Did she offend him?"
"Everyone in their class saw it," Xing Lan said hesitantly. "It seems... it was because Chu Qiuqiu accused Chu Yin of cheating in class, and then..."
Fu Mingxuan felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped over her.
Was Lu Zhen standing up for Chu Yin??
For the second time?!
Xing Lan quickly grabbed her arm. "Don't worry. Brother Zhen probably just feels responsible because she got criticized because of him before. There's no way he has any interest in her. Think about it, once she takes off that mask..."
Fu Mingxuan sneered. "You're right. I bet the lower half of her face is deformed. Otherwise, why would she hide it all the time?"
Although they didn't know whether she was deformed or not, they almost all believed that Chu Yin was unattractive, otherwise, why would she cover her face? Good-looking people would flaunt it every chance they got.
Xing Lan suddenly thought of something and winked mischievously. "Mingxuan, the school beauty pageant is coming up in a few days."
Voting for the school beauty and school hunk was an old tradition at Quiwen Private High School. Last year, around this time, Lu Zhen had surpassed Gu Qiuzhe and was voted the new school hunk by all the girls in the school.
What made this year special was that the chosen school beauty and school hunk would have to dance together at the upcoming prom.
Since Lu Zhen was most likely to be the school hunk again, Fu Mingxuan absolutely did not want to let this opportunity go to any other girl.
Xing Lan's thought process was simple: her friend hated Chu Yin, so even if Chu Yin had proven herself with her grades, she still couldn't stand her.
She suggested, "Everyone is curious about Chu Yin, right? Let's post her photo when the time comes."
Fu Mingxuan thought it was an excellent idea. They could nominate Chu Yin, and their photos would be displayed side by side. Just the thought of outshining Chu Yin made most of the frustration from being academically crushed disappear.
"But how do we get her photo?"
"There's a swimming class next week. I don't believe she can wear a mask while swimming."
"Right?!"
...
Chu Yin paid no attention to the changes in her surroundings.
She now had the authority to alter sentences and a seemingly powerful item card, though she wasn't entirely clear on its rules. Her mindset was cautious.
Such high-level permissions were rare and had to be used on critical plot points.
After finishing her studies for the day, Chu Yin spent some time recalling the events of her previous life. Among the things that would happen next, there was indeed one particularly annoying incident.
Quiwen had a ridiculous pageant. In her previous life, she hadn't deliberately concealed her appearance and had been voted school beauty.
That scumbag Lu Zhen was the school hunk.
High school students seemed to favor such meaningless titles and automatically formed certain conventional pairings. From then on, Lu Zhen seemed to accept this concept and started pursuing her in a creepy way. At the same time, the targeting from the girls in the school suddenly increased, leading to endless troubles.
...This time, she absolutely refused to be paired with that scumbag. Whoever wanted to be school beauty could have it.
But.
Although she didn't want to be the stupid school beauty, she never expected that so many bizarre rumors would spread around the school.
After finishing her study tasks for the day, Chu Yin went to the restroom.
She was in the stall while outside by the sinks, a lively conversation was going on:
"I heard the top student in our grade looks terrifying!"
"I heard that too! They say the lower half of her face is deformed??"
"Oh my god, that's so tragic. Is that the price of good grades..."
The voices faded into the distance.
Chu Yin flushed the toilet expressionlessly, walked out, and glanced in the mirror.
...Deformed my ass!!!
These non-main storyline details weren't written in the script, so Chu Yin had no idea the rumors had spread like this.
Now when she walked through the hallways, people's gazes toward her became complicated, a mix of curiosity, pity, and even a bit of admiration. The moment she passed by, whispers would start.
Chu Yin took a deep breath and decided to simply ignore it. She put on her earphones to listen to music.
It was an old song she really liked, with a gentle melody, one she had loved in her previous life too.
But she hadn't listened to more than a couple of lines when one of her earphones was gently tugged out.
Chu Yin turned her head and saw Lu Zhen's face.
The boy was wearing a black hoodie, tall with long legs, fair-skinned and handsome. The reddish-brown teardrop mole at the corner of his eye was the finishing touch to his face.
The moment she saw him, Chu Yin remembered the rumors and the pitying looks she'd received along the way,
After all, who was she wearing a mask for?!
Who was she being gossiped about because of?! Because! Of! Who!!
And this bastard still had the nerve to be handsome and completely clueless!! I'll kill Lu Zhen!!!
Completely unaware, Lu Zhen lowered his head slightly, only feeling that the little nerd who usually wouldn't even glance at him had particularly bright eyes today. That fluttery feeling that had kept him tossing and turning for days once again quietly wrapped around his heart.
His fingers curled slightly, and he unconsciously softened his voice: "What are you listening to?"
Amid her surging murderous intent, Chu Yin suddenly realized this scene felt extremely familiar.
In her previous life, Lu Zhen had also taken her earphone like this and put it in his own ear.
That time, it was this same old song. Lu Zhen had said he liked this song too, and it seemed they would like the same things.
...What a flirtatious dog.
This time, Chu Yin wouldn't give him the chance. She skillfully tapped the system, opened the script, and found the line: [Lu Zhen puts on her earphone and hears the old song playing on her phone.]
With a flick of her light pen, she changed [old song] to [Buddhist scriptures].
Go ahead and flirt, keep flirting!
I dare you to flirt in front of Buddha!!!
Lu Zhen carefully observed her expression and, seeing no objection, curled the corner of his lips slightly as he put the earphone in his left ear.
Then, he heard a soft chanting,
"Om mani padme hum...
Om mani padme hum..."
Lu Zhen: "...?"
The girl looked at him innocently: "?"
Lu Zhen, rarely hesitant, asked: "You're listening to... the Great Bright Mantra?"
"Yes," Chu Yin nodded. "Reminding myself that all is emptiness."
Don't kill, don't act impulsively