After Scumming The Eldest Lady Of A Wealthy Family - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Just before the bell rang, Wen Yan dashed breathlessly into the classroom.

Class 1 of Grade 11 was the best class in the entire grade, composed of the top 50 students from the final exams of the previous year. It was rightfully considered the elite class.

During the early morning self-study session, most students were memorizing texts or vocabulary. The soft murmurs blended into a surprisingly harmonious hum—not noisy at all.

The class monitor sat at the teacher’s desk. When he saw Wen Yan rushing in, he glanced at the clock on the back wall and reminded her, “Come earlier next time. Don’t be late.”

City No.1 High had strict discipline—arriving late for morning study meant having your name written down. If it happened repeatedly, you’d be called out during class meetings, and your parents would be notified at parent-teacher conferences.

Wen Yan didn’t bother to explain. She just nodded perfunctorily and walked toward her seat.

The classroom had three main seating sections—left, center, and right. Each row had eight students. Including Wen Yan and Xie Buchi, there were 52 students in total, making seven rows.

Wen Yan sat on the right side, near the wall, fifth row in. To get to her seat, she had to pass by her deskmate, Zhang Hao—but it never went smoothly.

“Excuse me.”

Wen Yan lightly tapped his desk with her knuckles. Zhang Hao shot her a sideways glance and reluctantly shifted forward a little, leaving just enough space for her arm to squeeze through.

If she wanted to get by, she’d have to brush past awkwardly.

Fang Sihui, who sat behind them and was working on a test paper, looked up and silently pulled her desk far back, creating a large enough gap for Wen Yan to pass through.

Wen Yan thanked her and used the gap to return to her seat.

Zhang Hao turned around with an unfriendly look and muttered, “Busybody.”

Fang Sihui snorted, “Better than picking on people for no reason.”

After placing her backpack down, Wen Yan turned slightly and glanced back.

One row behind, Xie Buchi had a pair of over-ear headphones on and was lying face down on her desk—her face hidden from view.

Since the first day she transferred in, she had always been like this—lazy and disengaged during class, and as soon as class ended, she’d put on her headphones and shut everyone out. The cold, distant aura she carried was enough to make others feel she was untouchable. Eventually, the crowd that initially gathered around her slowly dispersed, and she became nearly invisible in the classroom.

Still, countless eyes couldn’t help but sneak glances at her.

Everyone had assumed that since Xie Buchi’s family was so wealthy and she didn’t pay attention in class, her grades must be terrible. But when the first monthly test results came out, Xie Buchi blew everyone away by taking first place in the entire grade—nearly 30 points ahead of the second place.

Wen Yan, sulking in her dark thoughts, couldn’t help but feel bitter: How can someone who doesn’t pay attention in class score that well?

She convinced herself that Xie Buchi must be faking it—pretending to be a slacker, then cramming like crazy at home, studying until the middle of the night!

Lying on her desk with headphones? Probably catching up on sleep after all-nighters—or secretly listening to English audio practice!

Wen Yan withdrew her gaze, sat down, and started finishing the homework she hadn’t completed by checking the schedule.

Zhang Hao deliberately kicked the leg of her desk and said nastily, “Weren’t you blocked this morning? How come you still made it on time? What, did you beg them to let you go? Did you—”

“Class monitor!” Wen Yan couldn’t be bothered to listen to his nonsense. She raised her hand and interrupted, “Zhang Hao’s harassing me again and distracting me from my studies!”

Zhang Hao was furious and wanted to retaliate, but the class monitor gave him a warning look and occasionally glanced their way, forcing him to hold back. He glared at Wen Yan viciously.

Wen Yan ignored his glare completely and focused on catching up with her work.

Midterm exams were coming up soon. Although the school had allowed her to temporarily remain in Class 1 after returning to school, she had to stay within the top 50 in the midterms—or she’d be reassigned to another class based on her performance.

She ranked 13th in the first monthly test and had steadily improved since. In the last weekly test, she ranked 4th. As long as she performed normally, staying in Class 1 wouldn’t be an issue.

Seats were reassigned after every midterm and final based on test rankings. If she maintained her current performance, Wen Yan expected to be placed next to Xie Buchi again. If anyone tried to switch places with her again, she’d finally have a legitimate reason to say no.

The morning study session ended with furious scribbling. Wen Yan managed to finish her homework just in time. Her fingers reached into her backpack and hooked onto a plastic bag with some buns.

She hesitated for a moment, heart aching slightly, then reached deeper into the inner pocket and pulled out a five-yuan note. She stood up and walked to the last row.

Xie Buchi seemed unaware of the break bell and still lay motionless at her desk. Even slumped forward, her back remained perfectly straight. The dark blue collar of her uniform exposed a small sliver of her pale neck—cool-toned and elegant.

Wen Yan leaned in slightly. Whether the headphones were just that good or simply not playing anything, she couldn’t hear a thing.

“What do you want?”

A voice suddenly came right next to her ear. Wen Yan paused but then straightened up with a composed smile and sincere tone:

“Thank you for calling the teacher this morning. If it weren’t for you, I might’ve been in real trouble.”

“Let me buy you a drink to thank you. What would you like? Coke? Black tea? Green tea? Or something else—”

“It wasn’t me,” Xie Buchi cut her off with her eyes closed.

It was better if it had been her, but even if it wasn’t, it didn’t matter. Wen Yan just wanted an excuse to start a conversation.

“Well, if you don’t speak up, I’ll just pick something for you?”

Xie Buchi remained lying on her desk, acting like she hadn’t heard anything.

Wen Yan scoffed silently in her mind.

A minute ago, she could hear her through the headphones—now suddenly she couldn’t?

Without lingering, Wen Yan returned to her seat.

“Shut down again?” Fang Sihui saw her return and lowered her voice, glancing at Xie Buchi. “That rich girl looks down on us from the bottom of her heart. No matter how nice you are to her, she won’t appreciate it.”

Wen Yan just shook her head and smiled without responding.

Words of kindness cost nothing. Even small gestures of help required no real effort. If she failed, she lost nothing. But if she succeeded—the return would be a hundred or even a thousand times more.

Wen Yan was best at calculating cost and benefit. To her, making the smallest investment for a chance at infinite returns was a no-brainer.

The next two periods were math. The teacher was going over homework, and Wen Yan only listened to the problems she got wrong. The rest of the time, she worked ahead on the day’s assignments.

Time was precious to her. She had to race against it just to catch her breath.

Two periods passed. After the bell, the loudspeaker crackled and began an announcement.

It had rained the night before, and the track field was still wet. That day’s large break exercise was canceled, and the class immediately erupted in cheers.

City No.1 High required daily group exercises. Middle school students ran inside the track; high school students ran around it. Two laps equaled at least a kilometer for the high schoolers. Skipping it for a day was reason enough to celebrate.

Wen Yan went to the restroom. After washing her hands and returning, she was about to continue working when Fang Sihui called her over.

She said the homeroom teacher had sent someone to get her and asked her to go to the office.

Wen Yan had a good guess why. As she left, she couldn’t help glancing at Xie Buchi’s seat.

Empty.

—

“Wen Yan, a teacher mentioned you’ve been looking tired in class recently. And you skipped class last night. Is something going on at home?”

Wen Yan pursed her lips slightly. Her fingers gripped the hem of her school uniform. Her face was filled with guilt and remorse, not a trace of dishonesty:

“I’ve been working late these past few days and haven’t gotten enough sleep. Yesterday my little sister said my mom needs a follow-up at the hospital… I’m sorry, teacher. I promise I’ll try harder to balance home and school. I won’t fall asleep in class again.”

Ms. Zhou sighed and felt a bit regretful—and mostly concerned: “Why didn’t you tell me sooner? How’s your mom doing now? Do you have enough money?”

“She’s getting better.” Ms. Zhou wasn’t obligated to help with Wen Yan’s family, nor was she wealthy. Unless absolutely necessary, Wen Yan didn’t want to burden her.

Seeing that Wen Yan didn’t want to say more, Ms. Zhou sighed again and lowered her voice: “The aid for underprivileged students will be distributed soon. And after the sports day next week, we’ll go straight into midterms.”

“The school is planning to offer scholarships after every major exam—1,500 yuan for first place, 1,000 for second and third, 800 for fourth and fifth.”

“It’s still being discussed, but it will likely start this midterm. With your current performance, it shouldn’t be hard for you to earn one.”

“Thank you, teacher.” Wen Yan bowed. Ms. Zhou quickly stood to help her up.

“Alright, go back and study hard. Try to get into the top three,” she encouraged with a smile. “And if anything happens at home again, just ask for leave.”

Wen Yan nodded. Then, a bit sadly, she added, “I actually tried to ask for leave yesterday but couldn’t find you… so I asked the class committee rep—Gao Yu. She said she’d tell you. Maybe she was too focused on studying and forgot.”

Ms. Zhou was well aware of Gao Yu switching seats with Wen Yan and pulling petty stunts in class. But since she hadn’t done anything too outrageous yet, and considering the pride and sensitivity of students at that age, she hadn’t called her out—hoping she’d correct herself.

“She’s already dropped out of the top 100, and her weekly scores keep slipping. At this rate, she won’t even stay in Class 1 after the finals,” Ms. Zhou sighed. “When you get back, send her over—I need to talk to her.”

Wen Yan shook her head gently and suggested, as if sincerely concerned: “The exam’s right around the corner. Maybe wait until after midterms? If she really just forgot, bringing it up now might mess with her mindset.”

Ms. Zhou considered it and nodded. “You’re right. Let’s wait and see.”

When Wen Yan entered the office, she hadn’t noticed who else was inside. But as she left, her gaze swept around and suddenly landed on a familiar figure.

Her mind went blank. Her back stiffened.

Xie Buchi.

When had she come in?

Had she heard everything she said to Ms. Zhou?

Would she tell anyone…? Probably not. Xie Buchi never talked to people anyway. Even if she did, it didn’t matter—Wen Yan hadn’t lied. At most, she had just embellished a little.

Lost in thought the whole walk back, she only snapped out of it when someone poked her in the back.

Fang Sihui blinked at her, full of curiosity. “Hey, hey, Wen Yan, what did the teacher want?”

Wen Yan replied helplessly, “Asked why I didn’t come to class yesterday.”

“Exams are after the sports day, right? Did you hear any inside info in the office?”

Wen Yan’s expression didn’t change. She kept flipping through her workbook and gave a flawless smile. “Nope.”

The scholarship amounts weren’t small, and no one else knew about them yet. The fewer rivals she had, the better.

Behind her, a chair scraped against the floor. Wen Yan instinctively turned and saw Xie Buchi’s indifferent expression as she pulled a red pen from her pencil pouch and walked out the back door.

Wen Yan’s heart skipped a beat. She tightened her grip on her pen and stared at the spot where Xie Buchi had been.

Her smile faded.

She heard it.