This was probably the first time something like this had happened.
Following that person’s remark, the rest of the class couldn’t help but turn their eyes toward Ye Shaohua. Their gazes were filled with astonishment. Even though exams were just around the corner, the proud elites of Yunshui High were whispering among themselves.
Occasionally, they would glance at Ye Shaohua, their expressions far from friendly.
It wasn’t that people who resented the wealthy didn’t exist—especially in Yunshui High, where most students were ordinary kids who had tested in from various places.
They had to go through multiple rounds of exams to secure one of Yunshui High’s coveted spots.
Yunshui High enrolled students from across the entire province.
Only five hundred were admitted each year, and nearly everyone scrambled desperately to get in.
Even though they knew the tuition at Yunshui High was exorbitantly high.
Yunshui High had a hundred-year history, yet Ye Shaohua was the only exception—a student with abysmal grades who had been admitted anyway.
Everyone knew her grandfather had once been the principal of Yunshui High. Because of this, her classmates deeply resented her as someone who had gotten in through connections.
Exam time arrived quickly. The first test was Chinese.
Ye Shaohua received the exam booklet but didn’t start working right away. Instead, she began absorbing the storyline.
This joint exam was extremely important—it was tied to recommendation quotas for university.
Even though most students at Yunshui High had excellent grades, who could say if something unexpected might happen during the college entrance exams?
As soon as the papers were handed out, everyone began reading and writing with intense focus.
Among them, Ye Shaohua stood out—spinning her pen, staring at the exam paper as if in a daze.
The two proctors never expected someone to space out during such an important exam. They walked over to her desk and, upon seeing the name “Ye Shaohua” written on the answer sheet, were no longer surprised.
They thought to themselves, just as the school rumors said.
Shaking their heads faintly, the proctors moved on.
[Host, receive the storyline now? Not waiting until after the exam?]
“No need to wait. Begin.”
As soon as she finished speaking, a sharp pain shot through her head, and a flood of information rushed in.
This was a modern society. In this world, her identity was the daughter of Ye Sheng, a wealthy magnate from the south. She also had a younger brother.
With a background like that, the original host should have lived a peaceful life under her father’s doting care.
But no one could have predicted that her father would make a mistake in an investment deal, causing massive financial losses and trapping countless stockholders. He ended up jumping to his death. Not long after, the original host’s mother followed him in suicide.
Even though Ye Sheng was dead and the Ye Corporation was a shadow of its former self, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. Countless people had their eyes on the Ye family assets.
Including the original host’s uncle.
Since the original host and her brother were both minors, the company and assets were temporarily entrusted to their uncle. They were supposed to be transferred to Ye Shaohua once she came of age.
The uncle and aunt treated the original host and her brother extremely well—giving them whatever they wanted, never scolding them no matter what mistakes they made, and providing them with large allowances.
They were spoiling the original host and her brother rotten.
Their goal was to seize control of the Ye Corporation completely.
Especially during an important provincial joint exam—the uncle pretended to have the original host’s best interests at heart and obtained the answer key for her in advance.
The original host truly believed her uncle was trying to help her. Without a hint of suspicion, she copied all the answers directly.
Aside from the Chinese essay, she scored perfectly on every other section, instantly ranking in the top three of her grade!
How could a good-for-nothing who only knew how to eat, drink, and have fun possibly score in the top three? It just so happened that officials from the Ministry of Education were conducting an inspection. When they learned about this, they immediately launched a strict investigation.
They discovered that Ye Shaohua was indeed a complete idiot and were furious.
Ye Shaohua was expelled from school. Not only that, under the manipulation of her uncle and others, her story was reported online.
Everyone knew her existence had broken the school’s fairness and balance. The Ministry of Education was cracking down at the time, using her as a prime example to打击 those who lined their own pockets. For a time, it stirred up a storm.
Because of this, not a single middle school was willing to accept Ye Shaohua.
She hardly dared to leave the house.
Her younger brother was also affected.
Only Uncle Ye’s family was willing to take in Ye Shaohua, and the siblings regarded them as saviors.
Everyone thought how benevolent Uncle Ye was for being willing to take in such siblings.
But with that black mark on Ye Shaohua’s record, no school dared to accept them.
Without even a high school diploma, how could they take over the company?
The two siblings were no longer any threat to Uncle Ye’s family.
Uncle Ye openly took possession of the Ye Corporation.
Later, while Ye Shaohua’s younger brother was hanging out with a group of troublemaking friends, he was caught in a gang crossfire and killed.
On her way to see her brother, the original host’s car brakes failed, and she was killed in a collision with an oncoming truck.
When her story broke online, not a single netizen expressed pity. Instead, they said she deserved to die—that heaven had finally opened its eyes to rid society of its parasites…
[This time, there’s only one mission: protect the original host’s younger brother.]
Ye Shaohua had arrived at just the right time.
She had just received the complete answer key Uncle Ye had obtained for her.
Right now, that answer key was tucked in her pocket.
Thinking of this, Ye Shaohua lowered her gaze to the exam questions. Without hardly any thought, she picked up her pen and began writing line after line on the answer sheet.
She didn’t look at the answers in her pocket, but she didn’t hide her ability either.
Hmm… cheating, was it?
No matter. The original host may have cheated, but she wasn’t the original host.
If her uncle thought he could use this to bring her down, he was in for a surprise.
Tch.
The exams lasted a day and a half. Ye Shaohua finished all four major subjects.
During the science comprehensive exam, Ye Shaohua took a little extra time. She even wrote an additional line on the last question before leisurely turning in her paper.
After the final subject of the joint exam, Yunshui High had a two-day break.
Senior year students only got one break a month.
Ye Shaohua followed the crowd out. Someone ahead dropped an Olympiad math book.
She had intended to walk around it, but the wind blew the cover open just then.
On it were three powerfully written characters—
Ning Yunshu.
Just the handwriting alone had an elegant, refined feel to it.
Ye Shaohua noticed the surrounding noise suddenly quiet down.
She had been about to leave, but that name gave her pause. Almost without thinking, she bent down and picked up the book.
“Thank you.” As she straightened up, a shadow fell over her.
A somewhat cold voice spoke, its tone very light.
Ye Shaohua narrowed her eyes slightly and saw a young man with an elegant demeanor. He was also wearing the oversized school uniform, but it didn’t look bulky on him like it did on other boys.
His eyes were slightly downcast, his features exceptionally cool and composed.
With distinct, well-defined fingers, he took the book Ye Shaohua handed him and glanced at her.
“You’re welcome,” Ye Shaohua replied equally coolly.
For some reason, Ning Yunshu, who had been about to leave, found he couldn’t move his feet. His eyes flicked to the school ID badge hanging on her uniform. “Class 3?”
He seemed about to say something more when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He glanced at the caller ID, looked at Ye Shaohua once more, then hurried off.
It seemed like something had come up.
Not far away, Ye Jia clutched her own books, her fingers gripping them tightly.
Every school had its one or two famous figures.
In this year’s Yunshui High, the most famous was this young master of the Ning family, Ning Yunshu. Rumor had it that even before graduating high school, he had already submitted his application to Stanford.
Countless students from other schools came just to catch a glimpse of him.
It was said that on the school forum, a single secretly taken photo of him could sell for a hundred yuan.
“Jiajia, isn’t that the connected one from your family?” The girl next to Ye Jia, noticing where she was looking, patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry, our untouchable god on the pedestal wouldn’t have anything to do with her. Just look at what her father did. Forget about top students, I doubt even the Ning family would give her a second glance. You’ll have your chance if you just make a move.”
Hearing this, Ye Jia’s fingers tightened.
She was one of Yunshui High’s top students herself.
In the last midterm exams, she ranked second in the entire school, right after Ning Yunshu.
“I heard from people at school that your dad hired Teacher Lin for you last month. He’s a world-renowned master,” the girl said enviously, looking at Ye Jia. “He’s only taken three students in our country, but I heard he was nearly driven mad by that connected one.”
Ning Yunshu was his prized disciple.
And Ye Jia was one of those three. Teacher Lin said Ye Jia had great talent in this area.
Hearing this, Ye Jia merely pressed her lips into a faint smile, not denying it.
Thinking of this, Ye Jia slowly let out a breath and caught up to Ye Shaohua. “Shaohua, how do you think you did on the exams? If you don’t do well this time, the teachers will probably be angry.”
Ye Shaohua slung her backpack over her shoulder and said carelessly, “So-so. Good enough to take first place, probably.”
“Pfft!”
Before Ye Jia could respond, someone nearby who overheard couldn’t hold back.
Ye Shaohua was practically as famous as Ning Yunshu at school—quite a few people knew her.
“Damn! Who does she think she is? Is she mentally disabled? If she can even take second-to-last place, I’ll live-stream myself eating shit!”
