"Study, study, study! It's just studying, right?"
With things having reached this point, refusing to study would make it seem like they were scared.
Just to avoid looking cowardly, everyone had to agree.
Ye Qianying wasn’t surprised by their reactions. Only after they all nodded did she slowly add the second half of her sentence.
"I’m so glad you all agreed. Perfect timing—my tutor will be here soon. Let’s all study together."
"……"
The slackers trembled. The slackers were stunned.
Good heavens, she had first cornered them with her words, then immediately unleashed the hounds, trapping them like turtles in a jar.
Was… was this the feeling of betrayal by someone they trusted the most?
Their friends stared at Ye Qianying in disbelief, their eyes screaming, "Qian-jie, how could you become this kind of Qian-jie?"
How could you do this to us? As fellow slackers, don’t you know what this "agreement" really means?
Their agreement was just like every time they got their pitiful report cards, every time they made empty promises to their parents for limited-edition sneakers, every time they were dragged to the teacher’s office to write self-criticisms… It was just a momentary burst of enthusiasm!
It was symbolic, a formality, a psychological placebo—in short, they had no intention of actually studying in the physical sense!
"Qian-jie, I think I still need some mental preparation…" Lian Deng weakly raised his hand.
"Oh, I just remembered—my cat needs feeding." "I suddenly realized I haven’t cleaned my sneakers." "Actually, I have a guild battle today… Seriously, it’s always at 9 a.m. Look into my honest eyes if you don’t believe me."
Ye Qianying smiled. "Oh? What a coincidence, everyone’s busy all of a sudden."
The group exchanged glances, their consciences aching, but they still nodded frantically at her.
Ye Qianying sighed and waved her hand dismissively. "Fine, I won’t stop you. Go ahead and take care of your business."
With that, she turned her wheelchair around, slowly, very slowly, until her back faced them.
"……"
The slacker squad exchanged uneasy looks, their feet rooted to the ground as if glued. No one moved.
"Uh…" After a moment, Mu Pan cleared his throat. "On second thought, I’ll just buy new sneakers instead of cleaning those ones."
"No, go ahead and clean them." Ye Qianying flipped through her phone calmly. "I’ve thought it over. Since this is how everyone reacts, no wonder the forum doesn’t believe me… After all, we’re classmates. They all know how we usually perform."
Lian Deng jumped up at once. "The forum? Qian-jie, what did they say this time? Are they spreading rumors about you again?"
The group crowded around Ye Qianying, their heads bumping together as they scrambled to read the screen.
Under the post where Ye Qianying had challenged Xing Yuwei to an academic duel, the thread had already piled up over forty replies—and not a single one believed in Ye Qianying’s chances.
Someone had even dug up the last monthly exam rankings, using cold, hard facts to imply that the gap between Ye Qianying (bottom 300) and Xing Yuwei (top 60) was just too vast.
Ye Qianying: Oh, so this was my score in freshman year? I was actually going to ask someone about it. Thanks for finding my report card for me.
Beyond the silent mockery of posting the rankings, some outright ridiculed her, calling her delusional for thinking she could compete with Xing Yuwei academically.
The comments made Zhan Lulu’s face burn with anger, while Lian Deng and Mu Pan clenched their fists.
Eventually, the thread derailed completely, with later posts turning into a betting pool on who would win—Ye Qianying or Xing Yuwei.
(Of course, no one bet on Ye Qianying. Even at 1:1000 odds, no takers.)
Amid the crowd’s bloodthirsty cheers, Xing Yuwei finally made her grand appearance.
[Xing Yuwei] replied to [Ye Qianying]: I shouldn’t compete with you academically—I refuse to bully the weak. But since you heartlessly hurt Yuan Wen, I must seek justice for him.
[Xing Yuwei] replied to [Ye Qianying]: Fine, as you suggested—we’ll compare grades. You pick the exam. If I win, stay away from Yuan Wen.
[Xing Yuwei] replied to [Ye Qianying]: Of course, if you insist on setting the challenge three years from now at the college entrance exam, I can’t stop you.
"Damn it! Our Qian-jie dumped Qi Yuanwen first—who even wants your boyfriend?" Lian Deng fumed.
"I’m gonna puke," Zhan Lulu muttered, searching for tissues. "Look at her attitude, acting like she’s already won."
Mu Pan shot to his feet. "What’s with the ‘three years from now’ dig? You’d never dodge like that. Who does she think she’s looking down on?"
Ye Qianying quietly interlaced her fingers. "Yeah, I wonder… Why does everyone still think I can’t do it, even when I’m serious?"
Her gaze swept over them through her veil. Remembering their earlier behavior, her friends’ faces flushed with shame.
Ye Qianying watched them calmly, her tone almost detached, tinged with a sigh. "This is hard to swallow—am I really that incapable? Are we really that hopeless? Honestly… I refuse to accept it."
"I refuse too," Zhan Lulu declared, flipping her hair. "Fine, I’ll study with Qianying. If she can push through with a cast and a wheelchair, what’s stopping me?"
"Yeah, Qian-jie, no more tricks this time. We’ll study with you."
"We’ll study with you."
As the scattered voices gradually unified, growing firmer and more determined, a faint smile touched Ye Qianying’s lips.
"Good. Then let’s study together."
She reopened her phone and typed rapidly.
[Ye Qianying] replied to [Xing Yuwei]: Deal. Let’s make it the arts vs. sciences placement exam at the start of next semester.
They were currently in the first half of freshman year, with finals just weeks away. At the start of the next semester, the school would assign students to either arts or sciences tracks.
"Whoa, Qian-jie, you set it so soon?" Lian Deng gaped at her screen.
"Exactly. So we’d better work hard." Ye Qianying put her phone away with a faint smile. "Now, why don’t you all start a new thread? Let’s give them something to gossip about."
Mu Pan hesitated. "Isn’t that risky? At least leave yourself an out."
"Don’t worry. Just steer the discussion when it matters."
For example, if someone asks, ‘Why does Ye Qianying dare to compete with Xing Yuwei in academics?’ you just say, ‘She must have some special advantage.’ No need to elaborate further—people will naturally connect it to my recent absence from class.”
Mu Pan pieced the clues together and was the first to understand. “Ah! I get it. If we guide the speculation this way, the most common conclusion people will draw is—your family hired a full-time tutor for you, which is why you skipped class and feel so confident about competing with Xing Yuwei!”
As Ye Qianying and Mu Pan laid out their plan, the confusion on Lian Deng’s face cleared instantly.
“I see now. This is a great method—it even ties up the loose ends from the previous post. Now, all those rumors about you being disfigured or breaking your leg won’t hold up!”
A faint smile flickered in Ye Qianying’s eyes as she adjusted her veil.
Once a rumor spreads, it can’t be silenced by simply deleting posts.
Especially in a place like school—a small, tightly-knit society where secrets are impossible to keep. Students gossip on their way to class, during PE, between exercises, at lunch… every moment is an opportunity to exchange juicy stories.
The more sensational and dramatic a rumor is, the deeper it etches itself into people’s memories.
The best way to suppress a rumor is to replace it with another explanation.
Mu Pan eagerly grabbed his phone. “I’ll post it right away!”
Halfway through typing the title, he paused and looked up. “Wait, Qianying, what if you’re not fully recovered by the start of next semester? Won’t the truth come out then?”
Ye Qianying waved a hand dismissively. “It doesn’t matter.”
It didn’t matter. News only shocks people the first time they hear it—that’s what makes it news.
The first time someone learns something is always more impactful than hearing it again later.
After all, it’s common for false rumors to spread like wildfire while corrections barely make a ripple. If a story keeps twisting and turning, the public grows tired—few have the energy to follow every update.
How many truths are buried beneath layers of reversals?
In the end, your joys and sorrows are just idle chatter for others. They’re not even obligated to learn the full story.
So, as long as people believe now that Ye Qianying is studying privately rather than recovering from an accident, their curiosity when she returns to school will lack the freshness of first-time discovery.
—Unlike last time, when the pent-up curiosity and voyeurism fermented over winter break hit her all at once, without warning.
Mu Pan nodded thoughtfully. “So…”
“So the key is that people tend to believe the conclusions they draw themselves. And what they infer depends on what you show them.”
Like now—all they’re seeing is Ye Qianying confidently accepting Xing Yuwei’s challenge.
“Wow.” Lian Deng had only grasped bits and pieces of the discussion, but that didn’t stop him from clapping like an excited seal. “Amazing, absolutely amazing, Qianying.”
Zhan Lulu sidled up and boldly ran her fingers through Ye Qianying’s hair.
From the moment she walked in, she’d been captivated by it—jet-black, soft as mist soaked in dew, or the finest silk, begging to be touched.
Now that she finally had her hands on it, the texture was divine, almost impossible to let go.
Seizing the chance, she kept stroking Ye Qianying’s hair while speaking. “So, Qianying, you must be studying really hard to be this confident about the bet with Xing Yuwei, right?”
Ye Qianying replied calmly, “Not really. I’m still starting from scratch.”
Zhan Lulu assumed, “Oh, like from high school material? That’s no big deal.”
Ye Qianying’s tone remained unshaken. “No, I mean from seventh grade.”
“…Huh?” Zhan Lulu was speechless.
“WHAT?!” Their friends collectively gasped.
From seventh grade?!
Did they hear that right?!
Qianying, what are you doing? Snap out of it!
