The Cannon Fodder NPC Went Too Far [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 39
Chapter 39
By the announcement board in front of the classroom, a dense crowd of students was packed together, craning their necks and eagerly peering in. Gu Ao Yu and Xu Lu Xi walked in just as the bell rang, encountering this scene immediately.
Gu Ao Yu raised an eyebrow in confusion, casually patting the shoulder of a student squeezed in the outer perimeter.
The student irritably pushed her hand away, about to curse, but then saw Gu Ao Yu’s cold face. Startled, he quickly explained the situation to Gu Ao Yu in a low voice.
“Oh, the report cards.” No interest. Gu Ao Yu pouted, her upright posture collapsing back into a lazy stance, her expression dull and listless.
She was about to return to her seat when she noticed Xu Lu Xi staring longingly toward the crowd.
“Let me through, let me through.” Gu Ao Yu wrapped her arm around Xu Lu Xi’s shoulder, aggressively pushing through the crowd, and quickly reached the very front.
She placed Xu Lu Xi squarely in front of the report card display and casually glanced at it.
At the very top of the list, Xu Lu Xi’s name was printed clearly.
“Xu Lu Xi, you’re first in your class and ninth in the grade!” Gu Ao Yu stared in shock at Xu Lu Xi’s fair profile.
She knew she was a top student, but she didn’t realize she was this impressive. She had only recently transferred, yet she was already class first. If she waited a few more days, would she be grade first?
Gu Ao Yu had never liked studying since childhood; even listening to lectures made her sleepy. Consequently, she held a strong reverence for top students like her, the kind of students everyone else’s parents talked about.
Even Xu Lu Xi’s gentle and obedient face was now filtered through Gu Ao Yu’s perception.
Her soft eyebrows were slightly lowered, with the ends slightly upturned. Her smooth cheeks seemed to tighten, and her red lips were slightly pursed. In this light, she looked somewhat intelligent and formidable.
Gu Ao Yu habitually scanned the very bottom of the list. Sure enough, her name was highlighted in red, lying dormant, completely motionless.
Gu Ao Yu blew a whistle nonchalantly, put her hands in her pockets, and swaggered out of the crowd. Xu Lu Xi obediently followed behind her.
The test papers were distributed to each student by the respective subject representatives. Gu Ao Yu casually flipped through hers. Double-digit numbers, outlined in red pen, were engraved in Gu Ao Yu’s dark eyes. Not a single subject was a pass.
She let out a huge yawn and carelessly placed the test papers under her head, slowly drifting off to sleep.
It wasn’t until she had slept for several classes, finally woke up, and yawned out of boredom, that she noticed something was off. Xu Lu Xi was still sitting upright at her desk, repeatedly flipping through the test papers with her large score written on them.
She used one hand to press down the test paper Xu Lu Xi was holding upright, leaned closer, and carefully scrutinized Xu Lu Xi’s unusually sharp-looking eyebrows.
She seems to be angry.
Why? Gu Ao Yu tilted her head in confusion, perplexed.
She had been right there the whole day. No one would dare to bully her.
That’s what Gu Ao Yu thought, and she asked her directly.
“Nothing.” Xu Lu Xi’s eyelashes fluttered. She quickly lifted her head and smiled at Gu Ao Yu as usual, but the light in her eyes flickered faintly, somewhat dimmed.
“Oh.” Since Xu Lu Xi was unwilling to talk about it, Gu Ao Yu wouldn’t impose. She returned to her desk, burying her head between her arms, closing her eyes, and trying to re-enter her dream world.
After a while, she irritably climbed up from the desk, anxiously twirling the naturally drooping silver highlights in her hair with her fingers.
What on earth is it?
She was still pondering the question as Gu Ao Yu slouched behind Xu Lu Xi after evening self-study.
Although Xu Lu Xi was excellent at concealing her emotions, making it hard to notice any flaws, Gu Ao Yu could just sense it. Normally, whenever she and Xu Lu Xi walked to and from school together, Xu Lu Xi would stick close to her, her gaze never leaving her.
But today, she was walking ahead with her head down, lagging behind. Gu Ao Yu pursed her lips and kicked a small stone by the path.
The silence continued all the way home. Watching Xu Lu Xi disappear behind the door, Gu Ao Yu was visibly displeased. She lagged several steps behind, breaking off several branches in the yard before stepping through the door.
The moment she entered, she heard Song Yu’s sharp scolding.
“The teacher sent the grades to the parent group. I’ve seen all of them. What is going on? Why did you score so low in Chinese and English this time, a difference of fifty or sixty points from the top of the grade? Why has your mother been saving money and desperately climbing up the ladder all these years? Isn’t it all for you? For better resources and a better environment. Is this how you repay me?”
Xu Lu Xi silently lowered her head. The dark shadow covered most of her face. She clenched her fists tightly, her fair fingernails digging into her skin, leaving streaks of bl00d.
Gu Ao Yu had just stepped through the door and saw Xu Lu Xi’s slender shoulders trembling slightly. She frowned and heavily tossed her backpack onto the sofa.
Upon seeing Gu Ao Yu enter, Song Yu’s face instantly changed. The look of reproach vanished without a trace. She gestured sharply at Xu Lu Xi and said in a low voice, “How dare you come back with grades like that? Go back to your room and reflect properly.”
She then quickly picked up a freshly cut fruit platter nearby, smiling brightly as she placed it on the coffee table.
Xu Lu Xi silently picked up the test papers her mother had thrown on the floor and went upstairs to her room.
“Xiao Yu, come, Auntie cut some fruit for you. Xiao Xi isn’t eating, so you eat it all.”
Gu Ao Yu glanced at Song Yu, her dark eyes as deep as a cold pool. She took out her crumpled test papers from her backpack, smoothed them out casually, and handed them directly to Song Yu.
Song Yu cautiously looked at her several times, unsure of her intention, but accepted them. She lowered her gaze and scanned them. Numerous crimson numbers swam before her eyes.
Seeing Gu Ao Yu watching her with a cold expression, waiting for her to speak, Song Yu could only offer a forced praise: “Ha, ha, Xiao Yu, you did well this time. Keep up the good work next time.”
“Auntie Song, Xu Lu Xi and I are worlds apart. Why don’t you scold me too?” Gu Ao Yu raised her eyebrow slightly. Although her words sounded nice, her mouth was slightly downturned, and her expression was fierce and rebellious. It was as if she would immediately explode if Song Yu didn’t say what she wanted to hear.
“Xiao Yu, why would you think that? Auntie knows your foundation has always been weak. Achieving these results is already the result of your long efforts. It’s really great. You are different from Xiao Xi. Auntie is too busy praising you, why would I scold you?”
Song Yu softened her voice, her eyes filled with tenderness, and her tone gentle and soothing. If one didn’t know she was Gu Ao Yu’s stepmother, her gentle and considerate words would suggest a motherly affection that even a birth mother would rarely show.
“How are we different? Why should Xu Lu Xi and I be treated differently? Auntie, are you looking down on me, or are you not considering yourself the old man’s wife?” Gu Ao Yu sprawled on the sofa, legs crossed confidently, watching with interest as Song Yu’s expression changed, then forced a smile.
“Xiao Xi, you know I don’t mean that…” Watching the playful mockery on Gu Ao Yu’s face, Song Yu secretly gnashed her teeth, stammering an explanation.
What different treatment? She was clearly here to cause trouble. Usually, Gu Ao Yu treated her with cold indifference but wouldn’t bother her. Now, she was accusing her as a stepmother of treating her stepdaughter and biological daughter differently.
“I don’t want this to happen again. Otherwise, I’ll be angry.” And no one knows what happens when I’m angry. Gu Ao Yu softly dropped the warning, pulled the test papers from Song Yu’s hand, put on her backpack, and went upstairs with the fruit platter.
That little girl Xu Lu Xi is something else. She managed to win over this devil incarnate in just a few months. She can’t be scolded now, can she?
Song Yu quickly figured out the source of the problem. Normally, she and Gu Ao Yu kept their distance. Although Gu Ao Yu mostly ignored her, she wouldn’t actively cause her trouble.
Thump, thump, thump. Gu Ao Yu went upstairs with a cold face. Even the short flight of stairs was marked by her rising temper.
She didn’t know why, but it felt like a blaze was burning fiercely in her chest. Perhaps it was because she felt Xu Lu Xi was undervalued.
Xu Lu Xi was the most diligent student she had ever met.
In the morning, when Gu Ao Yu finally dragged herself out of bed, washed up, ate, and got into the car for school, Xu Lu Xi had already memorized a page of vocabulary. At night, when Gu Ao Yu was sound asleep, the desk lamp in Xu Lu Xi’s room was still on.
Not to mention in class, wherever Gu Ao Yu looked, Xu Lu Xi was always studying. She sat upright at her desk, her eyes bright and fixed on the teacher, never looking tired.
Her textbooks were densely filled with notes. It gave Gu Ao Yu a headache just to look at them, yet Xu Lu Xi would flip through them every few days, tirelessly.
So, Xu Lu Xi is in a bad mood because she thinks she didn’t do well on the exam?
That’s being too hard on herself.
Knock, knock, knock. Gu Ao Yu lightly knocked on Xu Lu Xi’s door, holding the fruit platter she had taken from downstairs.
She was just here to deliver the fruit platter her mother cut for her.
“Come in.” A hoarse, low voice came from inside the room. Gu Ao Yu pushed the door open.
Her long hair was like a waterfall, scattered haphazardly over Xu Lu Xi’s body, obscuring most of her face. She sat blankly on the bed. A single desk lamp shone lonely on the desk; there was no other light source.
The rest of the room was shrouded in darkness, and even Xu Lu Xi’s silhouette was outlined by a dark edge.
“Why don’t you turn on the light?” Gu Ao Yu frowned, placed the fruit platter on her desk, and slowly walked toward her.
Xu Lu Xi looked up at Gu Ao Yu, her pale cheeks framed by dull, lackluster eyes. Her normally neatly folded collar was messily stood up, like a piece of black cloth covering her upper body. She had temporarily put on a school jacket.
A slight curve lifted the corners of her half-lit, half-shadowed face. Xu Lu Xi said hoarsely, “Ao Yu, I want to be alone for a while, okay?”
“Xu Lu Xi, what are you doing?” Gu Ao Yu ignored Xu Lu Xi’s words. She slowly but surely approached Xu Lu Xi.
Thump, thump, thump. Her heart instantly beat beyond its normal capacity. A few drops of water slid down her paper-white skin. A few strands of hair on her face were wet and drooped on her cheeks. Xu Lu Xi maintained the curve on her face, instinctively hugging the jacket she was wearing tighter, watching Gu Ao Yu’s advancing figure with guard.