Mu Zilin could not imagine that his brother had ulterior motives. Ziyu did not want Zilin and Shuishui's friendship to evolve into something else.
However, the members of the Li family were engaged in a heated discussion. Li Xue's eldest brother and second brother were arguing.
"The person that was planted has already been fired. What should we do now? Qian An has successfully cleared his name." Eldest Brother Li smoked a cigarette and sat at the side. "Little Sister should tell Qian An to arrange for us to go to the company. Otherwise, it will be too late."
Second Brother Li held his wine glass with a solemn expression on his face. "We have prepared for so many years. We definitely cannot let all our efforts go to waste. However, Brother, don't worry. After all, we also predicted the plan to fail. Qian An is not so easily defeated. If he is defeated now, we will not be able to obtain anything. Don't forget that what we want is not so simple to obtain."
The room was suddenly quiet.
They had their own thoughts and neither of them revealed it.
Naturally, Li Xue did not know that her brother planned for her family. It appeared that he desperately wanted to give it his all.
The Qian family was not so calm. However, Shuishui was completely unaware of what was happening.
Life would go on. Their plans and the rhythm of their footsteps would not be disrupted by others.
After the mathematics competition, the third high school welcomed the monthly exam. The atmosphere of the third high school was serious. The monthly exam was a big deal. Many people wanted to be proud of themselves. They aimed for the reward.
The students' seat numbers were all messed up. They were been assigned to other classrooms for the exam. A small number of people stayed in their own classroom. Shuishui happened to be in her own class for the exam, and she still sat in the front row.
The other students came in, one after another. They had to prepare for the monthly test. Although it was not as strict as the middle school test, teachers still patrolled outside the classroom.
Everyone found their seats and sat down. They waited for the teacher to arrive and distribute the papers.
The students did not dare to look around the room. They kept their gaze focused on the front and patiently waited for the papers to be handed out.
There were no other formal instructions. When the papers were handed out, everyone started to look at their own papers. Shuishui skimmed through the questions and carefully answered them one by one. The first test was math. She breezed through the math section and solved the equations without much thought. The math test was not too long, and it wasn't too difficult. The last equation was slightly more complicated for a first-year student. The teacher had not even discussed it thoroughly and had not given enough examples, but it was easy and simple for Shuishui.
She knew that she needed to get good results, so she did her best. There was no need to be too low-key.
"Students, pay attention to your own papers. Don't look around!" the teacher sternly said to the students behind him.
The students bowed their heads and quietly gazed at their own exam papers.
They didn't need to hand in their exam papers in advance. When Shuishui finished writing, she looked out of the window and started to daydream. When the bell outside rang and the teacher told them to submit their papers, Shuishui returned to her senses and handed her paper in.
The other students left, but Shuishui was still in her seat. She stretched and slowly walked out. There was another exam, so Shuishui went to the bathroom. When she returned, she saw Mu Zilin waiting in front of her seat. "Why are you here? Are you going to take the next exam?" she asked.
"Yes, but this month's exam is really troublesome. It will take three days to take nine exams. I went to the snack bar just now and bought you a bottle of water." Mu Zilin put the bottle of water on her desk and left.
Shuishui sat down and opened the water bottle. She drank it in big gulps. She put the water bottle on the ground beside her feet and prepared to take the exam.
Some of the students kept looking at Shuishui. They didn't know the relationship between Shuishui and Mu Zilin, but they felt that he was very good to her. They thought that they were openly dating.
Shuishui looked around and actually saw an acquaintance, Lin Wanbai. Shuishui saw her pair of angry eyes glaring at her. Lin Wanbai clenched her fists. Shuishui shook her head and kept quiet. She ignored her as it had nothing to do with her.
Shuishui did not know that when Mu Zilin came in, he did not even notice Lin Wanbai. He just waited in front of Shuishui's desk, gave Shuishui a bottle of water, and then left. Lin Wanbai thought that Mu Zilin deliberately ignored her and even gave Qian Shuishui water. Was he so good to ordinary friends?
Qian Shuishui looked over and shook her head. What was the meaning of this?
The next test was about the politics of liberal arts. Shuishui was not very passionate about liberal arts, but she still knew how to memorize what she had to memorize.
When she finished writing, she glanced at her paper and didn't bother to review it. After all, she wouldn't be studying liberal arts in the future.
The proctor happened to be Shuishui's math teacher. He had always thought highly of Shuishui. He looked at Shuishui and saw that she was frowning. It seemed like she did not like liberal arts. It was also a normal thing. Many science students didn't do well in liberal arts. Conversely, liberal arts students were not very good in the science subjects.
Bang. Someone's pencil case accidentally fell on the floor.
The teacher walked down from the podium and picked up the case for the student. "Continue with the exam."
When the exam was over, everyone dispersed. Most of the students walked towards the cafeteria. Shuishui was no exception. Mu Zilin's classroom was closer to the cafeteria. They must have found seats already.
There were too many people. Shuishui did not like to be in crowded places, so she walked extremely slowly. She stopped and walked while she looked for the others.
Mu Zilin let Mu Qing save and occupy their table. He went to buy the food first and waited for Shuishui to arrive. When Shuishui finally reached them, she sat down. Mu Zilin returned with three portions of rice. "Shuishui, you're too slow. We've been waiting for you for a long time. Look, I've already bought my food."
"There are too many people. I don't want to squeeze in. Besides, you won't lose anything by getting food, right?" Shuishui was still very casual. It seemed that she did not hear what Zilin had just said.
"Really? But today we have braised pork and braised pork ribs. I brought some for you. The rest are vegetables." Mu Zilin knew what Shuishui would want to eat.
Shuishui picked it up and ate eagerly. "The food today is quite delicious. I must be too hungry."
"Ah, Zilin, why did you bring me so much fat meat!" Mu Qing was disappointed when she saw her portion.
"You can say whatever you want. I asked you if you want braised pork. You said you wanted it." Mu Zilin started to eat. He did not understand why Mu Qing was angry.
"I did say braised pork. Look at Shuishui's. Mine is so fatty. Did you do it on purpose?" Mu Qing looked at the fatty braised pork and frowned. It was simply too fatty.
Mu Zilin shrugged his shoulders and didn't mind at all. "Then go and ask that auntie why she gave you fatty meat. It doesn't matter. It will taste the same when you eat it. What's there to be angry about? Come, I'll give you some of my ribs. Look at how pitiful you are."
Shuishui hit Mu Zilin. "Don't talk so much. Mu Qing, you can eat my braised pork. I'll eat yours."
"Ah, Shuishui, it's okay. I'm not a delicate person. Besides, meat can sometimes be very fatty." She picked up a piece and put it into her mouth. Although it was greasy, it tasted much better when eaten with rice.
Shuishui looked at Mu Qing's plate. It was indeed all pork fat. It would be difficult for her to swallow the food without any braised meat. She took care of Mu Qing. "I have quite a lot here. You can get some."
She then helped Mu Qing eat her braised pork. "It's much better with rice."
They were happy and harmonious, and everyone saw that they had a pretty good relationship. Mu Zilin had been invited to lunch by other people, but he didn't go. He preferred to eat with Shuishui. The school year would soon end. He wanted to spend more time with Shuishui. Fortunately, they had Mu Qing with them. Otherwise, he would definitely be worried about leaving Shuishui behind.
They soon talked about junior high. Full of emotions, Mu Zilin said, "Actually, Shuishui and I had a lot of friends, but actually, we were only close to each other. We just called each other, and we would go out for a drink or something."
"I saw your photos from before. You indeed look very different now. Shuishui, it's like the difference between heaven and earth." Mu Qing bit her chopsticks and looked at Shuishui. The girl with the arrogant gaze and the heavy makeup was completely different from the Shuishui she knew.
Mu Qing took a sip of the soup, and her ears pricked up.
Shuishui then said, "In the past, I wasn't very serious with my studies. Now that my heart has calmed down, I don't go out much. I used to have a bad attitude. I basically didn't have any female friends, so I've always played with Mu Zilin." She said this based on the previous Shuishui's memories. She didn't have any friends. After so long, it was really only Mu Zilin. She felt that Mu Zilin had a unique personality. He loved to go out and was very carefree, yet when he met someone like Shuishui, he stuck with her. Even if they quarreled, they would quickly reconcile.
Mu Qing's mouth was slightly agape. She was in disbelief. She didn't have any female friends? It didn't seem like it. Because of Shuishui's charming personality, many people want to be around her. They all wanted to be her friend. She was a little envious of Shuishui's admirable qualities. Shuishui didn't do anything remarkable, but people would approach her just to talk to her. Some would even send snacks to Shuishui.
Mu Zilin put down his chopsticks. He burped and slowly opened his mouth. "Don't be so surprised. That's indeed the case. Let me tell you, girls hate Shuishui very much. Girls find it hard to talk to her. If you had met her, you would probably feel uncomfortable. She was simply too annoying."
"Can you give me an example? Without an example, I won't be able to imagine how annoying you were." Mu Qing was really curious and gossipy. She looked at Shuishui eagerly. "Shuishui, why don't you demonstrate and let me experience it?''
Shuishui was surprised. She felt that the previous Shuishui's behavior was a little too much. Her personality was different form that of the previous Shuishui, so she kept silent.
"Let me tell you—it would start with a slight disagreement and Shuishui would start to belittle the other person. I think I've said it before, but it's not a big problem if you have a bad mouth. What's important is that you know what exactly to say. Shuishui is very smart. When those women talk back, she will allow me to do what I do." Zilin meant that whenever he saw that the girls would fight back, he would go and defend Shuishui and protect her.
Mu Qing looked at Shuishui once again. 'It can't be. She's so cute.' Mu Qing couldn't imagine it. Shuishui looked like a very quiet person.
Mu Qing laughed. "Don't be silly. Shuishui is now studying sanda from a retired special forces soldier. She's not as weak as you think." Mu Zilin was speechless. Shuishui seemed to have also learned boxing. If he offended Shuishui in the future, would he be beaten badly? At that moment, Mu Zilin could not help but swallow a mouthful of water. He felt that it would be better to not offend Shuishui in the future. If they were to quarrel and she punched him, wouldn't he end up with a bruise?
They disposed their lunch boxes and returned to the classroom together. There were already people in the classroom reviewing the materials for the next two exams that afternoon—physics and chemistry.
Shuishui sat down and took out a small life science book from her bag. It was actually a general knowledge book on science.
Mu Zilin looked at Shuishui angrily. "So what if you study well?''
"It's okay," Shuishui replied to Mu Zilin with two words.
Her cold reply made him unable to vent his anger. He was just jealous of Shuishui. Shuishui would always be preoccupied with memorizing, reading books, and organizing information. She would take her time and attend to her own affairs. She was very confident.
Mu Qing was also a little indignant. "If you study well, people will hate you."
Shuishui did not respond.
Shuishui put down the book and said, "If there is anything that you don't understand, just ask."
"No? Then I'll continue reading. If you have any questions, you can ask me again." Shuishui continued reading.
Several girls approached Shuishui and asked her questions. Shuishui was also very friendly and answered them one by one. She did not hide her knowledge because those who approached her were all her classmates.
Noon passed by quickly, and the bell rang. They packed their things and went to their assigned exam room.
Shuishui said encouragingly, "You two, do your best. Don't be too anxious to write."
"Yes. I know." Mu Qing nodded. She was not good at science and she was also a little uncertain. But she decided to let fate guide her. It was only the first monthly exam, so she could still make up for her grades in the other monthly exams.
The two exams that afternoon were generally easy for Shuishui, but for some students, one hour was not enough.
The students in the corridor gathered and began to discuss the answers they had written. The most enthusiastic were the students from the key class. They had been selected into the key class, so they naturally could not do worse than those in the ordinary classes. That would be very embarrassing. They were naturally proud and expected good results.
When Shuishui leisurely passed by the key class, everyone inadvertently looked at her.
Some of the key class teachers had told their students about Shuishui. The teachers had mentioned how Shuishui had been selected for her exemplary English speaking skills and that she was also qualified to enter the second round of the mathematics competition. Those were things that no one else had been able to do. The teachers of the key class talked about Shuishui to remind their students to not be too complacent, because there were outstanding students in other classes such as Qian Shuishui.
Many teachers had a high evaluation of Qian Shuishui. Some of the key class teachers had underestimated Shuishui, but they later realized that she was different. She had already participated in two types of competitions. The competitions were all relatively advanced, and first-year students were rarely chosen to participate in them. They were surprised to learn that they had a student who was outstanding in both English and mathematics.
The oral debate competition hadn't started yet, but it had already been decided. Of the three students, Shuishui was one of the qualifiers. The debate competition had started late, and students had been preparing for it for a long time.
The results of the mathematics competition would be released after their monthly exams. No one had thought that it would be easy for Shuishui to qualify. She had successfully passed the first round, but in the second round, she would have to be really good to qualify for the next level. She was a first-year student, but her knowledge was advanced. The other students wondered if there was anyone else who had a solid foundation as good as Qian Shuishui's.
They felt that it was fine if she was very intelligent, but they found it difficult to understand how she was also very beautiful and had a charming personality.
Shuishui walked downstairs. She would usually choose to ignore the stares of others and would not feel awkward because she was used to it. During the speech, it would just be a group of people staring at her. She would not have stage fright. She had trained herself to have that courage and willpower.
"Shuishui, let's go together."