This duet was indeed a rare treat for Zhu Yaya's ears, but for her psyche, it was a fright. Hearing that familiar voice, she already guessed who had caught her red-handed.
Zhu Yaya silently turned her head, and just as she expected, it was Yan Heng again. He was holding several takeout boxes, his face expressionless as he looked down at her, their eyes meeting.
She thought gloomily, why does Yan Heng catch her every single time? She's almost getting a phobia of him!
Zhu Yaya closed her eyes with a look of utter despair, then had no choice but to open them again, forcing a smile and letting out an awkward laugh: "Hahaha, I wasn't doing anything! Just getting some air here, eating some watermelon. Oh, right, Brother Yan, do you want some watermelon?" She raised the fruit container to show him.
Yan Heng glanced at the nearly depleted watermelon pieces, his thin lips moving slightly: "I don't eat any. Aren't you supposed to be cleaning the toilets?"
Zhu Yaya was surprised: "How did you know I have to clean the toilets?"
"Li Hao told me."
Zhu Yaya: ?! How did Li Hao know! That news spread way too fast! She just left the office!
She looked at the several takeout boxes in Yan Heng's hands and asked hesitantly, "Brother Yan, you are...?"
"Delivering food."
"Delivering food, hahaha. Well, you should hurry then. Don't keep the customers waiting!" Zhu Yaya laughed awkwardly.
"No rush." Yan Heng's expression was calm.
Seeing his demeanor, Zhu Yaya suddenly understood. Of course, who would dare to rush Boss Yan's delivery!
But really, how many part-time jobs does Yan Heng have?
"Brother Yan, you just got here, right?" Zhu Yaya cautiously probed his expression, desperately hoping for a positive answer in her heart.
"Oh." Yan Heng's expression was indifferent as he turned and walked towards the fourth-floor stairwell.
Oh? What kind of answer is that! Did he just arrive, or has he been here for a while? Zhu Yaya gritted her teeth but still didn't dare to go up and demand a clear answer, afraid it would only make Yan Heng more suspicious.
Yan Heng turned his head and glanced at the girl standing sullenly in place, lost in thought, a faint smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
Actually, he had been on the fifth-floor stairs, on his way to deliver an order, when Zhu Yaya was imitating the two girls for the second time. He had caught sight of all her actions through the gaps in the railing. When Zhu Yaya changed locations, he went down one floor and wasn't far away. After Mai Sha and the others left and Zhu Yaya opened her fruit box to eat watermelon, he had quietly hidden not far behind her.
She was using this method to help the classmate being ganged up on, wasn't she? A bit silly, though.
A faint smile also appeared in Yan Heng's eyes. What can you say? Truly Uncle Zhu's daughter!
Zhu Yaya thought about it for a moment where she stood, then gave up. Whatever, if he saw, he saw. It's not like she did anything terrible, and Yan Heng didn't press her for details anyway. And with Yan Heng's taciturn personality, he wouldn't gossip everywhere like Li Hao.
Zhu Yaya sighed deeply, retrieved the hidden mop, and once again threw her energy into the grand task of cleaning the toilets.
Hard work pays off. Through Comrade Zhu Yaya's diligent labor, her important mission of cleaning the toilets was finally successfully and completely accomplished.
She washed her hands meticulously at the sink, splashed some water on her face for good measure, and returned to the classroom.
Xu Baoying handed over a bottle of mineral water, a look of sympathy on her face. "You've worked hard, Comrade Zhu Yaya."
Zhu Yaya took it casually, glanced at the exquisitely packaged bottle and the huge Murong Corporation logo. Wasn't this the "sky-high priced" mineral water advertised on TV every day?
She weakly handed the water back. "Mineral water that costs 288 yuan a bottle? Am I worthy of drinking it? Am I?"
"It's just 288 yuan, it's not that expensive," Xu Baoying said dismissively, waving her hand.
Zhu Yaya instantly felt as if a knife had been plunged into her heart, wanting to cough up blood.
Damn capitalists! She almost forgot, her deskmate Xu Baoying was a rich second-generation heiress!
She still didn't take the mineral water, silently opening her own Pinduoduo-bought, ten-yuan thermal cup instead and taking a sip of goji berry tea to calm her nerves.
In the afternoon, Zhu Yaya was summoned again by her homeroom teacher, Chang Wen. In the office, she stood with her head bowed before Chang Wen, listening absentmindedly to her scolding.
It was nothing more than recent behavior, affecting studies, and so on. Although Scottsdale High School had a majority of students from well-off families, unlike other aristocratic schools in novels, it placed extreme importance on academic performance. Therefore, Yan Heng, who had repeatedly broken school records, no matter how poor his family background or how much gossip there was about him, no one dared to provoke him lightly. Of course, this also had to do with Yan Heng's formidable fighting skills and the rumors about his mental state.
Chang Wen droned on, also telling Zhu Yaya that if she didn't rank in the top 30 of the class in the monthly exam this month, she would have to leave Class 1, Grade 10.
Monthly exam!
Top-student Zhu Yaya's eyes lit up. Instead, she became excited and made a bet with her homeroom teacher Chang Wen, wagering that she would rank in the top three of the entire grade in this monthly exam.
"Top three in the grade?" Chang Wen's eyes held obvious disbelief, but she agreed readily. "Fine! If you can get into and consistently maintain a top-three position in the grade, I'll turn a blind eye to your little antics from now on. But if you lose..."
However, she was still cautious, adding the condition of "consistently maintaining a top-three position in the grade."
"I'll accept any punishment!" Zhu Yaya was full of confidence. After all, she'd already taken the college entrance exam once before, why fear a little monthly exam! And in Zhu Yaya's original world, she had always been the top student in her entire school.
It must be said, Li Hao's ability to gather information was excellent; he was always the first to know the news.
After making the bet with her homeroom teacher Chang Wen, seeing there was still some time before class, Zhu Yaya took a detour to Class 17, Grade 11 to hang out and look for Yan Heng and Li Hao.
As soon as she sat down next to Yan Heng, Li Hao shot her a look of admiration. "666! The top three in Scottsdale High's grade is not easy to achieve! Foreign Minister Zhu still has the leisure to come here instead of properly reviewing?"
Zhu Yaya replied very easily, "Just top three in the grade, not that hard!" Then, she looked Li Hao up and down with a suspicious gaze. "Wait, I just came from the office. How do you already know about the bet I made with Teacher Chang?"
Li Hao pushed the glasses on the bridge of his nose up and chuckled. "To be honest, Director Zhou is my uncle by marriage, and the female teacher sitting next to Teacher Chang Wen is my cousin... Anyway, I have quite a few relatives teaching here."
Zhu Yaya was solemn. "Don't tell me your homeroom teacher, Mr. Qiao Wei, is also your relative?"
"Hey! How did you guess? He's a distant relative of mine."
Zhu Yaya patted his shoulder sympathetically. "Your Spring Festival must be really... eventful."
Li Hao shrugged. "You said it! Every holiday, they gift me exam question banks. I've never had to buy study guides my whole life. I didn't even need to hire a tutor. For all nine subjects, I have a specialized relative to teach me."
"Then your grades must be pretty good!"
"Hahaha, just the tenth from the bottom in my grade, actually." Li Hao scratched his head sheepishly. "I... I really did try my best. But my grades just wouldn't improve. There's nothing I could do about it!"
Li Hao changed the subject. "Hey, do you want to borrow Yan Heng's notes from first year?"
Zhu Yaya waved her hand. "No need, I'll manage!"
"But you ranked fiftieth in the grade for the high school entrance exam. That's still a pretty big gap." Li Hao was still a bit worried.
"Really, it's fine." Suddenly, Zhu Yaya turned to Yan Heng, who had been quietly listening nearby, her eyes curving into crescents like moons. "Although, it wouldn't hurt to get a bit of Brother Yan's good luck before heading into the exam hall."
