She walked in a complete daze toward the school. The final exam results were going to be officially announced today. She felt incredibly tired and sleepy, her eyelids heavy from her late-night studies. Thankfully, Feng Yue was right beside her, holding her arm and helping her walk in the right direction. If she had not been there, Yu Qi might have already wandered off and collapsed right in the middle of the road.
"What exactly were you doing late last night?" Feng Yue asked, tightly holding Yu Qi's hand to guide her.
Using her free hand, Yu Qi covered her mouth as she let out a massive yawn.
"Just handling some private matters." Yu Qi replied softly, not bothering to elaborate any further.
The two of them slowly walked into their classroom, finding that most of their classmates were already there. Because they had not seen each other for almost two full months during the break, everyone was eagerly greeting one another.
"Hi, Yu Qi! Hi, Feng Yue!"
A few of their classmates called out cheerfully as they walked in.
"Oh, hi guys." Feng Yue answered with a warm smile.
"Why does Yu Qi look so incredibly sleepy today?" One girl whispered.
"I have no idea." Another replied.
"Maybe she has just gotten used to waking up late since we don't have to attend daily classes anymore?"
"No way. I always see her out running early in the morning, even during the holidays."
Really? Wow, that's dedicated."
The very person they were whispering about was already fast asleep, her head resting heavily on the wooden desk. Seeing how exhausted she was, Feng Yue decided to just let her sleep in peace. There was still a full hour left before they all had to gather in the school hall to receive their exam results and their high school graduation certificates.
When the time finally came, Feng Yue gently woke Yu Qi up. Groggy, Yu Qi got up and headed straight to the ladies' restroom to splash some cold water on her face. The moment she walked into the restroom, she immediately ran into her old enemy, Wang Fu Ya. Wang Fu Ya looked noticeably slimmer and more haggard than before. Choosing to completely ignore her presence, Yu Qi casually walked up to the sink and washed her face.
"Yu Qi... Are you genuinely happy now? After what you did to my family?" Wang Fu Ya suddenly hissed, turning to face her with a venomous glare.
"I don't feel anything toward you guys." Yu Qi answered her coldly, her expression entirely blank.
It was the truth. She had never wasted any genuine emotion on the Wang Family because they were completely insignificant to her now.
"What did you say?" Wang Fu Ya retorted, her face flushing red with anger. "You completely destroyed my family! After you threw my father into prison, my mother had to work day and night just to survive. I have also been forced to work endlessly!"
"So what if you did? If your family had not harboured such malicious intentions toward me in the first place, your household might still be perfectly fine today. You guys brought all of this misery upon yourselves. Please don't try to blame your downfalls on me." Yu Qi replied with a sharp, sarcastic edge to her voice.
"Yu Qi, what's taking you so long? We really have to get to the school hall right now." Feng Yue nagged loudly as she suddenly walked into the restroom.
Feng Yue instantly spotted Wang Fu Ya standing there. She merely spared her a brief, unimpressed glance before turning her full attention back to Yu Qi.
"Are you done washing up? Let's go." Feng Yue said, completely freezing Wang Fu Ya out of the conversation.
"Okay." Yu Qi replied, drying her face before following Feng Yue out the door.
Left behind in the restroom, Wang Fu Ya stood alone, grinding her teeth in pure frustration. She felt a burning rage consuming her inside. Yu Qi was just an unwanted orphan! Why on earth was she always so ridiculously lucky? Why was she always the one who got everything she wanted, while others suffered? It should have been her instead.
"What on earth were you talking about with that fake white lotus?" Feng Yue asked curiously as they made their way down the corridor toward the school hall.
"She told me that I was the one who destroyed her family's happiness."
"Humph! She actually still has the nerve to blame you after all the horrible things she put you through?"
"Let her be. She can't actually do anything to me anyway. Just let her roam around and talk." Yu Qi said, offering a small, carefree smile.
The massive school hall was already packed to the brim with students. They quickly found their designated rows and took their arranged seats. A few minutes later, the graduation ceremony officially commenced. It began with the traditional Principal's speech. To the students watching, the Principal seemed unusually jittery and excited, making everyone wonder what could possibly have put him in such a brilliant mood.
Soon after, the teachers took the microphone to begin announcing the top ten scoring students of the final exams. As each student's name was called out, they proudly walked up to the grand stage to receive their official results, accompanied by enthusiastic clapping from the audience.
Feng Yue's name was eventually called out as well. She had secured an impressive fifth place overall. She happily went up to the stage, accepted her results packet, and jogged back down to her seat beside Yu Qi.
"Look, Yu Qi! My score is so much better than last time! With a result like this, I can definitely get into a top-tier university. Thank you so much, Yu Qi!"
"My dear, this was entirely the result of your own hard work. I only helped guide you a little bit along the way."
"And now, for the first-place honour, I will announce her name," the Principal's voice boomed through the speakers. "Before I do, I want to share something truly extraordinary about this particular result. This score did not just rank first in our school. It achieved first place in the entire nation. It is a flawless, perfect score across every single subject. Congratulations to Miss Yu Qi! Please come up to the stage!"
The moment the Principal made the shocking announcement, a wave of stunned gasps rippled through the entire student body. First place in the nation! A perfect score across all subjects meant she had answered every single question correctly without making a solitary mistake. No wonder the Principal had looked so incredibly ecstatic since the beginning. This historic news would instantly make their school famous nationwide.
Yu Qi calmly stood up and walked up the steps to the stage. She maintained a perfectly serene and composed expression while receiving her history-making results. The Principal looked at this exceptional student with deep admiration. He could not help but notice how incredibly grounded she remained, whereas any other student would be crying tears of joy or jumping around on stage.
Following the exam announcements, the official presentation of the graduation certificates began. Every single third-year student was called up by name, one by one, to walk across the stage and collect their hard-earned certificates.
Yu Qi, who had been struggling against her exhaustion since early this morning, finally gave in and rested her head on Feng Yue's shoulder. Feeling the sudden weight on her arm, Feng Yue turned her head to find that Yu Qi had fallen into a deep, peaceful sleep, and she stayed out cold right up until her name was finally called.
Once the entire ceremony concluded, a group of teachers urgently requested to meet with Yu Qi. Since this was officially her absolute final day as a student at this high school, she politely obliged and went to the staff room to see them. Most of the questions the teachers threw her way were centred around her impending choice of higher education.
"Have you officially made a decision about which university you want to attend?" One teacher asked eagerly.
"Yes. I plan to study at Starlight University." Yu Qi answered without hesitation.
"Why on earth would you choose that school?" Another teacher chimed in, looking surprised. "You should easily choose the number one institution, Hanwei University! With a historic score like yours, they would practically beg you to join them."
"I want to pursue a medical degree." Yu Qi explained calmly. "Starlight University currently provides much better advanced facilities and clinical resources when it comes to their medical courses."
"Ah, I see. You want to become a doctor. Well, in that case, Starlight University really is the absolute best choice for medical studies."
"Hmm... Teachers, if there's nothing else, may I be excused now?"
"Yes... Yes, of course. You may go now."
Yu Qi let out a long, relieved breath the moment her feet stepped outside the suffocating staff room. She quickly walked back to her familiar classroom to gather her things.
"Hey guys, Yu Qi is back! Quick, let's take a class photo together!" One of the boys shouted, hurriedly setting up his camera on a tripod and waving all of his classmates over.
Feng Yue laughed and immediately pulled a tired Yu Qi into the centre of the crowd. They took two distinct shots: one standard, formal picture for the school archives, and another fun, freestyle picture where everyone struck goofy poses.
"I will get these printed out for everyone in two days, okay?" The student with the camera promised loudly over the chatter.
***This novel is a contracted work with w e b n o v e l. c o m. Thank you, from your shameless author, ZerahNeko**
This chapter is edited by Tzin99... Thank you for your help...