The most unexpected turnout this time was that the first-place throne had shifted owners.
It had landed on Shen Zhiyi's head.
Bai Tingyu had always taken first place since he started studying, and this was the first time he fell to the second spot.
A trace of amusement finally aroused in his heart towards Shen Zhiyi—interesting, the poor girl he had always been bullying turned out to be at Academic God level.
He had a hunter's nature in his bones, and he was also unwilling to be second to anyone, not anybody.
Everyone was waiting to see how Bai Tingyu would make things difficult for Shen Zhiyi, but this time, Bai Tingyu merely said, "I hope you can hold on to the first-place throne, don't let me snatch it away from you."
Shen Zhiyi looked back undaunted and smiled faintly, "With me here, forget about first place, and I will always dominate Imperial City Academy's top spot. No one will possibly surpass me, and if you don't believe it, you can try."
This incredibly arrogant statement caused an uproar among everyone, and Bai Tingyu, unusually, revealed a trace of a smile, "Interesting, we shall wait and see then."
The love-struck girl seated in front of Ji Tian, with flushed cheeks, gazed infatuatedly at Bai Tingyu, "Ahhh, Bai Tingyu is smiling; I haven't seen him smile like this for so long."
Ji Tian clammed up completely. "..."
She made a strange face, "What's the matter? Is there a lack of jokes in the entire Capital City? He even knows how to smile."
The love-struck girl: "..."
Her fantasy had been shattered by reality by Ji Tian directly, but this was the Eldest Miss Ji; she wasn't Gong Dongxi who could target whoever she disliked on sight, so she just had to bear it and stay quiet.
Yet her gaze still wandered on Bai Tingyu, looking at Shen Zhiyi with eyes full of hostility.
Ji Tian couldn't help but twitch the corner of her mouth.
In this book, all females liked the male lead.
And all males were conquered by Shen Zhiyi's charm.
A very bloody Mary Sue story.
Shen Zhiyi thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of being the center of everyone's attention; not only could she take first place, but she would also delve into various fields in the future, transforming into an all-around powerhouse capable of gaining global fame.
This was still just a minor step for her.
She glanced at Bai Tingyu again. Just now, her affection value had skyrocketed from negative to a positive ten; he was finally taking her seriously.
This did not mean Bai Tingyu liked her already, though. She remembered from the book that it was only after a wilderness reality show, similar to "The Brain", where the two participated and spent nearly a month together day and night, that Bai Tingyu started to develop feelings for her.
Moreover, the female lead used this show not only to gain a large fan base but also to become slightly popular domestically, increasing her visibility, which added bricks and mortar to her future career.
She quietly waited for the arrival of the reality show, to help push the plot along.
Shen Zhiyi looked down at her phone. As soon as Ji Weinan found out she was the top student of the year, he sent her congratulations. She curved her lips into a slight smile—her prey had taken the bait.
On the day the results came out, the Ji Family, from top to bottom, learned about their scores.
Ji Tian was very anxious, fearing the next moment she would receive a call from Ji Lingyun. While sitting in the back garden eating with Qin Jiangsheng, she complained glumly, "Qin Jiangsheng, I didn't do well this time. I'm sure I'll have to face a family meeting and get criticized when I go home this afternoon. What should I do?"
Qin Jiangsheng ate the meal Ji Tian had brought for him, glancing at her with his tea-colored eyes without saying a word.
Ji Tian was used to him being a man of few words. She propped up her chin and sighed, "I saw your results. You're a bit better than my third brother, in the second-to-last place. I didn't expect you to be a study slacker too."
Qin Jiangsheng paused his hand for a moment. Regarding school rankings, he always submitted blank papers or just wrote randomly—those questions were too simple in his eyes.
Moreover, he couldn't afford to stand out too much to avoid arousing Bai Tingyu's wariness as it would slightly alter his plan to target the Bai Family.
He glanced again at the incessant Ji Tian – he disliked noisy sounds very much, and Ji Tian seemed like a talking pen that would never shut up.
Qin Jiangsheng held his patience once more, he couldn't expose himself. To prevent Ji Tian from continuing to annoy him, he decided to strike up a conversation with her to end this topic, "Because my foundation is weak and no one teaches me, I can't score well."
As soon as he finished speaking, as expected, Ji Tian quieted down. He looked up and saw obvious sympathy in her eyes.
Qin Jiangsheng: "..."
Is doing poorly on a test something that warrants sympathy?
He lowered his head, lightly biting the diced meat in his bowl, as if he wanted to chew up the annoying woman in front of him.
"Qin Jiangsheng, I should listen in class more and teach you," Ji Tian offered.
"Cough." Qin Jiangsheng choked on a piece of meat, coughed a few times, and for the first time his indifferent facade showed a slight different emotion, "What did you say?"
Ji Tian smiled faintly, "Teach you, that is. Although my grades aren't great, I'm ranked two thousand five hundred, which is higher than yours."
Great, she had found another shortcut to get closer to the antagonist.
She didn't even give Qin Jiangsheng a chance to respond, she just stood up, packed her lunchbox, and left, "It's decided then, let's start tomorrow at noon."
Qin Jiangsheng: "..."
It wasn't until Ji Tian's hopping figure was far away that Qin Jiangsheng's expression subtly changed, and ultimately, a mix of curiosity and peculiarity emerged.
This fool Ji Tian is going to tutor him?
He ate his meal slowly, tucking away the malice deep in his bones. He was counting down the days to Ji Tian's doom. When he would soon be free from the Bai family, he definitely planned to send her an unforgettable farewell gift.
...
After school that afternoon, Ji Tian went home, still pondering from where she should start tutoring Qin Jiangsheng when her phone rang.
It was Mrs. Ji calling, making her feel uneasy.
As she hesitated whether to answer, a private message from Father Ji popped up: [If you don't answer the video call, refund us the money.]
Ji Tian: "..."
Upon answering the call, Ji Tian put on a professional fake smile, "Dear Mom and Dad, are you having fun on your trip?"
Mrs. Ji was nearly furious, she shook her backup phone at Ji Tian, "Good baby! Explain to Mommy how you dropped from the fifteenth hundred rank to the twenty-fifth hundred, just mere five hundred places behind your third brother!"
What's inevitable always comes, there's no dodging it.
Ji Tian chuckled awkwardly, "Let me excuse myself..."
But Mrs. Ji didn't want to listen and bombarded her like a machine gun: "With such low marks, you'll be inferior to everyone when you walk out, no, directly inferior by two thousand five hundred ranks! Not studying properly is wrong, I hope you will correct your attitude towards your studies."
Ji Tian went from initial shame to eventful numbness; she even sat on the couch, cracking sunflower seeds while listening to Mrs. Ji's nagging.
When the crucial point was reached, she nodded in agreement.
Mrs. Ji was disappointed, "Studying itself is a pleasure, you have to learn to love it!"
In the end, Ji Tian went from sitting to lying down and eventually sprawled out fatly, she earnestly said, "I understand studying is a pleasure, but I don't love studying because I'm not a person who covets enjoyment."
Mrs. Ji: "..."
She clenched her somewhat stiff fist – it was time to find a place to give this rotten child a good beating.