Chapter 175: Spotting Shen Qing and Gu Ting

When Shen Qing returned to the classroom, she saw Zhu Xi waiting at the door.

"Sister Qing, you're finally back."

Shen Qing walked in through the back door and sat down at her desk. "What's wrong?"

"A lot of people in school are saying you cheated on your exam." Zhu Xi started with a troubled expression. In just the span of a lunch break, the news that Shen Qing had scored 745 points had spread everywhere, but many people on the school forum were claiming her score was fake.

Shen Qing didn't even raise her head, letting out an unhurried, "Oh."

Seeing that Shen Qing wasn't worried at all, Yao Panpan felt relieved. She patted Zhu Xi on the shoulder. "Oh, don't you worry about it. Since Sister Qing is so relaxed, everything must be fine. Besides, Sister Qing's score is definitely real."

"I don't doubt the authenticity of Sister Qing's scores, it's just that I find it infuriating how they're slandering her."

At this, Shen Qing raised her head to glance at them, speaking lazily, "Since they can't outscore me, paying attention to them is just a waste of time."

The two girls were momentarily stunned, before Yao Panpan quickly chimed in with flattery, "Of course! Our Sister Qing astounds everyone with a single feat, and will astound them all over again!"

***

Just as evening self-study began, Yu Min'er packed her things and prepared to go home.

"Lin Ruiyang, are you heading to the office?" As soon as she stepped out of the classroom, she ran into Lin Ruiyang.

"Yeah." Lin Ruiyang gave a faint nasal affirmation and walked past Yu Min'er.

Yu Min'er paused for a moment, and just as Lin Ruiyang was about to disappear around the corner, she spoke up, "I heard you got first place in the entire city. Congratulations."

First place?

Lin Ruiyang's footsteps came to a halt. After about a second, he slowly said, "Someone scored higher."

"Oh, you're talking about Shen Qing, aren't you?" Yu Min'er smiled with her lips pressed together. "However, everyone is saying that Shen Qing's score was obtained through cheating."

"What do you think?" Lin Ruiyang turned around and looked at Yu Min'er.

The boy's face was delicate and handsome. Yu Min'er felt her heartbeat flutter under his gaze. She licked her lips and lowered her voice, "I don't know either. But then again, maybe Shen Qing just made astonishing progress these past two months."

Lin Ruiyang looked at her for a few seconds without answering. Lowering his gaze, he turned and went up the stairs.

Yu Min'er lowered her eyes, a smile curling the corners of her lips.

A rapid progression in just two months? Wasn't this simply slapping Lin Ruiyang in the face?

When the college entrance examination arrives, let's see if Shen Qing can still manage to cheat.

Yu Min'er straightened her hair and turned to head downstairs. After stepping out of the teaching building, she caught sight of a man standing beside a black van.

Isn't that the physical education teacher from Class Three?

Yu Min'er took a second look, walked over to a dark corner, and took out her phone to photograph the van's license plate. She noticed it wasn't from the capital, but from Fancheng.

"After all that fuss, it turned out to be a false alarm." Yu Min'er glanced at it again and was about to put her phone away when she spotted a figure heading toward the van. Her eyes widened—it was actually Shen Qing.

Why isn't Shen Qing attending evening self-study, and what is she doing with a teacher?

Yu Min'er curled her lips, opened her camera app, and snapped several pictures of them.

"What's wrong?" Gu Ting opened the car door for Shen Qing, but the girl had stopped and hadn't gotten in.

Shen Qing scanned her surroundings and shook her head. "Nothing."

Gu Ting smiled. "Alright, get in quickly." With that, he gave the girl a gentle nudge, causing Shen Qing's brows to knit together slightly.

Gu Ting quickly got into the car as well, pulled the door shut, glanced diagonally across the lot, and narrowed his eyes. "Eleven, drive."

***

Gu Ting dropped Shen Qing off at Tianyuan and had Eleven carry a large number of things upstairs.

"The snacks are in these two boxes, and those boxes contain the calming incense." Gu Ting arranged the items neatly in the living room, while Erniu happily trotted around the two of them in circles.

Shen Qing glanced at the two stacked boxes that stood half a person high.

Gu Ting smiled at her expression, walked over, and gently flicked the bridge of her nose. "I have to leave now. You mustn't forget about me."

Shen Qing frowned, ignored him, and walked over to inspect the packaging of the calming incense. There were six small, antique-style wooden boxes. She picked one up and gave it a light sniff; a faint fragrance wafted out.

"Agarwood?" Shen Qing asked, holding up one of the wooden boxes.

Gu Ting raised an eyebrow slightly and took a step toward Shen Qing. "Even this little kid knows about it?"

"Thank you." Shen Qing took a step back.

Seeing Shen Qing's guarded, as-if-facing-a-formidable-enemy expression, Gu Ting laughed softly. Suddenly remembering something, he said, "I have one more thing for Erniu."