Chapter 14

The small antics between Wen Leyu and Li Ye could not possibly escape Teacher Ke’s notice.

She did not deliberately stop their paper-passing, since they had known each other before, and in her impression, Li Ye was a slightly naive but extremely kind boy.

This mattered greatly—especially for her daughter.

She found it strange: after just a few months apart, Li Ye felt entirely different in demeanor.

Just now, his denunciation of class monitor Xia Yue had been logical, sharp, and precisely targeted—nothing like the shy boy he used to be.

Had it not been for Li Ye’s unmistakable face, Teacher Ke might have thought she’d mistaken someone else for him.

[Lu Jingyao’s departure may not be a bad thing for this child.]

Teacher Ke graded the tests quickly; students in Class One submitted their answer sheets one after another, and by the time the last one was handed in, she had nearly finished grading.

Through reading passages and the in-class quiz, she had already gained a preliminary sense of the class’s English proficiency.

Then Teacher Ke wiped the blackboard and wrote a full board of English exercises, beginning a detailed explanation.

This time, most of Class One could follow along; when she occasionally asked students questions, she received decent responses.

[A master!]

Li Ye could not help but admire Teacher Ke’s precise control—he believed that because of her arrival, the school’s English scores this year would rise significantly.

Just before class ended, Teacher Ke assigned homework and asked who the English class representative was.

Xia Yue stood up proudly: “Teacher, I’m the English class representative.”

Teacher Ke gestured for her to sit down, then said: “Remember to hand me your homework before tomorrow morning. Dismissed!”

“Stand up!”

“Goodbye, Teacher!”

The moment Teacher Ke left the classroom, Xia Yue hurried to the podium.

On the podium table lay the students’ answer sheets just submitted; since Teacher Ke left no instructions, Xia Yue, as English class representative, naturally assumed it was her duty to announce the results.

“Wu Chi, 31 points.”

“Liu Mang, 34 points.”

“Hu Man, 49 points.”

“Jin Shengli, 50 points.”

“Xia Yue, 55 points.”

When Xia Yue read her own score, her lips curled upward involuntarily.

Hu Man had been the former class monitor of Repeat Class Two—now defeated by her. Who else could possibly challenge her for Class One’s monitor position?

“Li Dayong, 33 points.”

“Hong Zhiyuan, 26 points.”

As the answer sheets on the table grew fewer, Xia Yue grew more triumphant—these were the top students of County No. 2 High; in English, no one could match her.

Until the last two bottom scores were revealed.

“Wen Leyu……”

Xia Yue stared in shock at the full page of red checkmarks; after several seconds, she struggled to utter two words: “One hundred.”

And what followed stunned her even more.

The final answer sheet was Li Ye’s—equally full of checkmarks, not a single cross.

Xia Yue instinctively turned on Li Ye: “Li Ye, did you cheat?”

Li Ye was writing his English homework; hearing her accusation, he looked up coldly: “Can you speak like a human? Stop barking like a dog all day.”

「..........」

It took Xia Yue two full seconds to grasp his meaning—then she exploded.

“Who are you calling a dog? Who are you calling a dog? Who are you calling a dog?”

Li Ye slowly capped his pen and said calmly: “The ones who bite anyone they catch are dogs. I was just bitten by a dog—who’s the dog?”

“Li Ye, you bastard—”

In a rage, Xia Yue hurled curses without restraint. (Don’t think girls can’t swear.)

Then she saw a book fly through the air and slam hard against her forehead.

Xia Yue was dazed; since becoming class monitor, no one had ever defied her, let alone physically harmed her.

“You wait… you wait…”

After a brief stunned pause, Xia Yue bolted out of the classroom, heading straight for the teachers’ office.

Telling on someone was a tactic she knew better than anyone.

No matter how skilled or strong you were, as long as you were a student, you still had to kneel before a teacher.

Seeing Xia Yue storm out, Li Dayong sidled up, whispering anxiously: “Bro, Xia Yue’s no good—she can turn black into white. You gotta get your story straight with Little Mute.”

“Get our stories straight?” Li Ye blinked. “You think I cheated?”

“I didn’t mean… I just…”

Li Dayong stammered, unable to speak.

[Bro, don’t you know your own limits? Your Gaokao score was worse than mine! Cheating for sixty or seventy points is one thing—but a hundred? You think everyone’s blind?]

Li Dayong seethed inwardly but dared not confront Li Ye directly—he was left choking on frustration.

Then suddenly, he felt a chill run down his spine—he looked up and saw Wen Leyu staring at him coldly.

“Who are you calling Little Mute?”

Wen Leyu’s lips, at 37 degrees Celsius, released a temperature colder than the coldest winter—yet as melodious as a nightingale’s song.

“………”

Li Dayong had visited Liu Qiao Primary School with Li Ye—he’d seen Wen Leyu before—but never like this.

[Why is it fine when others call her Little Mute, but not when I do?]

“Sorry, sorry, I misspoke…”

Li Dayong apologized repeatedly, bewildered—but Wen Leyu kept glaring at him fiercely until Xia Yue returned to the classroom.

Xia Yue lifted her chin high and said to Li Ye: “Li Ye, Wen Leyu—Teacher wants you both in the office.”

Li Ye had expected this—but hearing Wen Leyu was involved too, he frowned: “What does Wen Leyu have to do with this? Don’t go biting anyone who crosses your path.”

Xia Yue gritted her teeth, chest heaving: “You copied her answers—how is that not relevant? She’s the key witness.”

Li Ye finally understood why Xia Yue was so certain he cheated: both he and Wen Leyu had perfect scores,

and they were desk partners; Li Ye had once been a poor student—these facts together formed a complete chain of suspicion.

So on the way to the office, Xia Yue, walking ahead, was visibly elated—as if she were moments away from sentencing Li Ye to execution, dragging him out for the dog’s head guillotine.

Perhaps she was thinking: I reported him for opening mail without permission, he reports me for cheating—let’s call it even… no, his offense is worse.

Li Ye watched her back and couldn’t help a silent sneer.

[You think you’re outsmarting me? You don’t realize I’ve been outsmarting you all along.]

Ever since he learned he’d be placed in Repeat Class One, Li Ye had decided to deal with Xia Yue.

Let someone who always tries to PUA others become class monitor—wouldn’t she twist every tiny bit of power into a weapon?

Like a toad hopping on your foot—it doesn’t bite, but it’s enough to make you sick.

Must be crushed.

So Xia Yue thought she had caught him red-handed—but from the moment she started cursing, she had already lost.

Li Ye gets scolded for cursing; but a class monitor cursing—what does the teacher think?

It’s like that weak-looking girl online who asked:

“I’m going to ZB for barbecue—is it safe there at night?”

“Very safe—everyone there is preparing for civil service exams.”

Status determines expectations.

Minor squabbles are pointless—only a big scene in the office can solve the problem.

The teacher appointed you as class monitor to resolve and eliminate class troubles, to lighten the teacher’s burden—you keep running to the teacher with nonsense—doesn’t the teacher need rest?

What good are you?