Ye Ci paused in her footsteps and continued to walk downstairs.
“Well…it’s my fault that I didn’t do well in the test.”
“But she should’ve said something about it at least.” Cao Jingxuan followed Ye Ci. “She got first place in class, so if she spoke out, Zhang Yan wouldn’t go so overboard just now.”
First place in class.
Ye Ci heard this and felt stifled.
She and Ning Li were not on good terms, so Ning Li probably felt good when Ye Ci was being humiliated. Why would Ning Li speak up for Ye Ci then?
Ye Ci said softly, “Sister Ning Li never likes to get involved in these matters, and I don’t want to bother her.”
Cao Jingxuan looked at Ye Ci’s expression and suddenly understood something.
She could tell since yesterday that Ning Li and Ye Ci did not have a good relationship.
Ye Ci was still polite and attentive to Ning Li, but Ning Li was very cold towards Ye Ci.
Looking at what had happened today, their situation seemed even worse than Cao Jingxuan expected.
‘Reorganized family…’ Cao Jingxuan thought and wisely changed the topic. She comforted Ye Ci by saying, “Forget it then. Just rest well tonight and adjust your mental state. I’m sure you can catch up soon.”
Ye Ci forced a smile. “I hope so.”
…
By the time they got back to the dormitory and washed up, it was already 10:30 pm.
Everyone only had this short time before bed to look at their phone.
Song Mengtang had turned on the small desk lamp and was studying the new materials.
Ye Ci took out her phone, looked at Song Mengtang, then went out to make a call.
Su Yuan answered quickly.
“Hello? Lil Ci? Why did you call so late?”
Su Yuan knew that the winter camp was a fully closed-off training and that Ye Ci could only get her phone at night, but she had not expected that it would be so late.
“Well, the evening study period ended at 10:00 pm. I just got back to the dorm.”
Su Yuan was heartbroken and said, “That’s tiring… Are you adapting well on your first day?”
Ye Ci’s eyes were red as she stammered.
“M-Mom…”
Su Yuan instantly heard the abnormality in Ye Ci’s voice and quickly asked, “What’s wrong? Please talk to Mommy…”
Ye Ci huffed a little and forced back her tears.
“Nothing, I just…I just miss you and dad…and Lil Cheng.”
Su Yuan was relieved at this.
“We all miss you, too! There are 13 days left until this winter camp is over. Hang in there a little longer, okay?”
Su Yuan thought that Ye Ci was simply homesick because this was the first time she was away on her own. Su Yuan never could have imagined Ye Ci’s situation today.
Ye Ci could not bring herself to tell Su Yuan about the day’s events either.
“If you encounter any problems, remember to tell your teachers in time, okay? By the way, where’s Ning Li?”
Ye Ci said, “Sister Ning Li is in the room. I came outside to make this call.”
Su Yuan was not in a good mood.
Ye Ci was not in a good mental state, and it sounded like Ning Li had not helped Ye Ci at all.
Before the girls had left for the Capital, Su Yuan had specifically urged Ning Li to take care of Ye Ci, but it had probably gone in one ear and out the other.
If Ning Li was nicer to Ye Ci, why would Ye Ci still cry because she was homesick?
“Mom, do you want me to put Ning Li on the phone?” Ye Ci sniffled and asked.
“There’s no need.” Su Yuan quickly refused.
Ning Li did not even take the initiative to call her, so why bother?
It was already hard enough for Su Yuan and Ning Li to communicate face to face, let alone over the phone.
“Lil Ci, don’t cry… How about this… All of us will go to the Capital and pick you up when your winter camp is over, okay?”
Ye Ci refused in a soft voice. “That’s too much trouble…”
“How can this be called trouble? It’s settled then. I’ll talk to your dad later. Lil Cheng has always wanted to go to the Capital too.”
Su Yuan’s tone was firm, so Ye Ci agreed.
“Thanks, Mom.”
…
Ning Li was going through some practice questions at her desk when her phone lit up.
It was a message from Lu Huai Yu.
[How was your first day of winter camp?]
Ning Li thought about it for a moment.
[It was good. Capital First High is big and beautiful.]
Lu Huaiyu looked at this message and raised his eyebrows slightly.
[You seem to have a good impression of First High School?]
[Mhmm.]
Ning Li hesitated and added. [Classes are in Building 3, Room 501.]
Lu Huaiyu knew where it was.
[That auditorium used to be used for public classes.]
He had been there before.
Ning Li suddenly recalled the graffiti that she had seen on the wall and wanted to say something, but she stopped herself.
[I’m going to bed now. Goodnight, Second Brother!]
Lu Huaiyu knew that Ning Li was pressed for time and quickly ended the conversation.
[Goodnight.]
…
Since Zhou Fei had received Li Guangyuan’s call, he had been very busy making calls.
It was not until after midnight that he finally took a long breath and laid down on the bed.
He looked at his phone and saw several people asking him to come online to form a team.
Zhou Fei had a headache and refused all of them.
He was certainly not in the mood to play games at the moment.
Ye Ci was a student of Yunzhou Second High School and was considered his student.
If the investigation found something wrong with Ye Ci, it would not only affect Ye Ci herself but also him and Second High.
Once there was a deeper investigation, it might also implicate more people.
All he could do now was to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible so that he would have time to make decisions.
Zhou Fei rubbed his temples in annoyance.
Had he known that this would happen, he would have already applied for a review when Ye Ci’s results had come out. At the very least, he should have tested her level before sending her to the Capital.
However, the school had been overjoyed by the good news at the time and did not care.
Zhou Fei had also overlooked this because it was close to the senior year final exams.
Who could have known that this would happen…
Zhou Fei lifted the blanket over his head and slept with his face covered.
…
The three days passed by in a flash. Soon, the students took their first official exam of the winter camp.
While handing out the papers, Li Guangyuan said, “The scope of this exam is the content of the past three days of lectures. The exam duration is still two hours. I hope that everyone can settle their minds and take the test properly.”
Li Guangyuan then swept a glance at Ye Ci.
The previous test that they had taken was just a small one that tested their foundations. This exam was to test the students’ learning abilities.
In the past, some students that had come in with average grades at the beginning eventually came out on top because of their fast learning skills and strong receptivity.
Ye Ci lowered her head.
The classroom was quiet, and the only sound was the friction between pen and paper.
Ye Ci looked at the paper in her hand.
There were only ten long questions on it.
It was indeed the content from the lectures from the past three days, but all of these topics had been somewhat modified.
The answers that Ye Ci had memorized by rote were simply useless.
