Chapter 128: Chapter 128: Slapping the Fake Heiress 29
Teacher Wu hurried to Class 1.
On the way, she ran into Xiao Yuan and Anning.
Seeing that Anning was all right, Teacher Wu breathed a sigh of relief.
"Anning, could you switch with Gao Nana? The teacher called the wrong name just now during roll call. You were supposed to take the exam in our class."
Anning smiled and replied, "Teacher, I got it."
Xiao Yuan accompanied Anning back to Class 12 and spoke a few words to Gao Nana before the two headed to Class 1 together.
The exam soon began.
The first subject was mathematics. After Anning received the test paper, she reviewed the questions and began to write her answers.
The invigilator was Mr. Bai, who taught mathematics to Class 1. He had been a top student in university and had taught mathematics for over twenty years, so his expertise was considerable.
Mr. Bai roamed around the classroom, mainly to check if students from Class 12 were cheating.
The students from Class 1 were all taught by him, and Mr. Bai was confident there would be no mistakes; he was worried that the students from Class 12 might try to copy from those in Class 1.
However, after making a round in the classroom, Mr. Bai found no issues at all.
Students from both classes were diligently working on their papers.
When he came to Anning’s side, he discovered that she had already completed the fill-in-the-blank and multiple-choice questions at the front and was turning the page to start the essay questions at the back.
Mr. Bai was taken aback.
He looked at his watch. It had been less than ten minutes since the exam started.
Surprised, Mr. Bai stood by Anning’s side to watch her solve problems.
After she finished the first major problem, Mr. Bai checked it. The process was detailed, impeccable, and the result was correct.
It took Anning just over a minute to write that answer, and that included the time for reviewing the question.
Anning also quickly finished the second major problem, and her answer was correct again.
Until she finished the last problem, Anning flipped back to the front, checked that her student ID and name were correct, and then raised her hand.
Mr. Bai, standing next to Anning, asked, "What’s the matter?"
Anning had been focused on answering questions and hadn’t noticed when Mr. Bai stood beside her. Startled, her face turned red, and she said, "Teacher, I’d like to turn in my paper."
The exam had only just passed the ten-minute mark, and normally, it would be too soon to hand in her paper.
But Anning had finished all the questions, and Mr. Bai had skimmed through her answers and found them all correct; he couldn’t force her to stay in the examination room doing nothing, so he collected her test paper: "Alright, you can go."
Anning left the classroom under the gaze of dozens of eyes.
After leaving, she didn’t go far but went to the cabinet in the hallway to retrieve her stored books, taking out one to read quietly.
For the next two days of exams, Anning was the first to leave the examination room every time.
This piqued the curiosity of the students from Class 1 who were taking the exam in Class 12. They talked about Anning with their classmates after getting back.
Of course, most didn’t think Anning could finish answering all the questions in such a short time. Many believed Anning would not know how to solve them, figuring it was better to hand in the paper early and leave to have fun rather than waste time in the examination room.
The chubby kid sitting next to Zhao Mingzhu winked at her: "That relative of yours is something else, huh? So small and looks like a well-behaved girl, yet she has the guts to hand in her paper without answering. That’s something."
Zhao Mingzhu spoke in what she believed to be an especially gentle voice: "Her grades aren’t good. She’s been in the small county town all the time, and of course, it can’t compare with the Capital. Plus, she neglects her studies, often skips school to hang out with ruffians, and won’t listen to anyone. Naturally, her studies have slipped."
Zhao Mingzhu relentlessly tarnished Anning’s reputation.
So, the day after Anning finished her exams, her name was on everyone’s lips throughout the second grade.
Rumors spread that the new transfer student Zhao Anning from Class 12 was unlearned and, at such a young age, had mixed with society’s riffraff.
The rumors morphed throughout the day, turning into claims that Zhao Anning had started to mix with bad company at a young age and had too many boyfriends to count, which was why, shortly after transferring to Class 12, she was already on good terms with those good-for-nothings.
There were also whispers of Zhao Anning having an unusual relationship with Xiao Yuan, speculating on what they might be doing secretively.
These rumors also reached Anning’s ears.
She learned about them from a conversation between two girls from Class 3 while in the restroom.
Hearing this, Anning’s complexion turned awful.
She returned to her classroom and sat at her desk, crying.
By coincidence, Xiao Yuan wanted to ask Anning a question and turned to see her crying, which completely startled him.
He couldn’t afford to be too close to Anning and signaled to Dong Xue with his eyes.
Dong Xue understood and went to comfort Anning.
"Why are you crying so hard? Did someone bully you?"
After crying for a while, with red eyes, Anning looked up at Dong Xue: "Dong Xue, am I... too weak?"
Dong Xue frowned.
"When I was beaten before, I didn’t dodge. Later, when I went back home, I was afraid of seeing Zhao Mingzhu, so I always tried to avoid her, thinking if I didn’t see her, she couldn’t harm me. But... The boys who hit me with a basketball on the playground are from Class 1. They did it because Zhao Mingzhu told them I was bullying her. Heaven knows I don’t dare see her, how could I bully her? Now she is spreading rumors that I’m up to no good, I’m... I’m wondering, is it true that being nice makes people take advantage of you?"
Dong Xue only now understood why Anning was crying.
Dong Xue was actually quite angry.
Anning had been in Class 12 for quite a while, and everyone was familiar with her character.
Anning was genuinely a very well-behaved girl who always considered others’ feelings.
And, despite her excellent academic performance, she never looked down on them for their poor grades; even if they were underachievers, Anning treated everyone equally.
This made most of Class 12 have a good impression of Anning.
Now, Anning, their mascot, was being bullied to tears, so Dong Xue was naturally very angry at Zhao Mingzhu.
"That Zhao Mingzhu is terrible."
Dong Xue clenched her fists in anger: "Don’t be sad, I’ll go vent your frustrations for you in a bit."
Anning quickly grabbed Dong Xue, shaking her head vigorously: "No need, this is my issue, and I need to solve it. I can’t keep troubling you guys. Ever since I transferred here, I have been a burden on everyone taking care of me. You’ve all been so kind, and I remember it in my heart. I can’t always hide, I have to learn to face things myself."
Dong Xue hugged Anning: "Alright then. You try first, and if it doesn’t work out, you have so many of us here to support and protect you."
Then, Dong Xue smiled again: "Now that exams are over, shouldn’t we relax a bit? How about we all go out and have fun this weekend?"
Anning also needed rest and relaxation, not just constant studying.
"Sure."
Anning nodded, her eyes red like a little rabbit’s. Coupled with her demure expression, she appeared even more pure and innocent.