Chapter 119: How Could She Possibly Get a Perfect Score?

Upon hearing this, Chu Shixian’s pupils contracted sharply.

Once the initial shock subsided, she felt as if she had just heard an enormous joke. Instead of rushing to drag Gu Zhiran away, she folded her arms across her chest, her tone dripping with heavy sarcasm. "I assumed that if you were going to brag, you would at least choose something grounded in reality. Who knew you could just spout such a monstrous lie so casually?"

Turning to Su Wan, she added, "Sister-in-law, really? You believe everything Gu Ci tells you? Perfect scores in two subjects and qualifying for the Youth Math Olympiad? How could you fall for such an obvious fabrication?"

Without a word, Su Wan retreated into her room and returned with Gu Ci’s two perfect-score exam papers, which she slapped down in front of Chu Shixian.

"Look at A-Ci’s papers for yourself!"

Ever since Su Wan learned from Gu Jinling that Gu Ci was doing exceptionally well, she had pestered Gu Ci for these papers, photographing them for her social media and insisting on showing them off whenever guests visited. Now that Chu Shixian was questioning Gu Ci’s performance, she didn't hesitate to pull out the proof.

"As for the Youth Math Olympiad, you can ask Zhiran or check the official announcement from the First High School. Do you really think I would lie to you about something like this?" Su Wan stood with her hands on her hips, looking immensely proud.

Chu Shixian stared at the papers—which were indeed the test papers from last week—her gaze fixed on the red scores before locking onto the name written at the top.

The name "Gu Ci" was written in bold, sweeping strokes.

Chu Shixian’s eyes widened in disbelief, her gaze bloodshot as she stared at those two characters. Her mind was in total disarray. How could Gu Ci possibly score perfectly in math and English? How was she capable of such a thing?

A sudden thought occurred to her, and she turned her neck stiffly toward Gu Zhiran, her voice thick with indescribable complexity. "Zhiran, is Gu Ci also going to participate in the Youth Math Olympiad?"

Gu Zhiran was completely frozen. Seeing the terrifying expression on Chu Shixian’s face, she bit her lip, unable to bring herself to speak. However, the others were staring at her unblinkingly, as if they wouldn't look away until she answered.

She pinched her palm to suppress the fury rising within her and replied meekly, "...Yes."

Chu Shixian’s face turned a pale, sickly shade as she looked at Gu Ci, who was standing behind Su Wan with a languid, indifferent air.

Struggling to suppress her anger, she let out a laugh and put on a facade of magnanimity. "Well, Gu Ci certainly performed beyond her usual level this time. But my Zhiran ranks eleventh in the entire school; Gu Ci still needs to keep working hard to catch up to her."

Chu Shixian couldn't quite remember Gu Zhiran’s exact scores from the last round, only that she held the eleventh rank. Even if Gu Ci had been lucky enough to get perfect scores in math and English this time, what of it? Her Chinese scores were atrocious; surely her overall ranking couldn't possibly be higher than Zhiran’s?

However, upon hearing this, Gu Zhiran’s complexion turned ghastly.

Su Wan beamed. "Oh dear, it seems she doesn't need to catch up to your Zhiran at all. My A-Ci ranked tenth in the entire school last time. Sister-in-law, please don't jinx my A-Ci into a lower score!"

...

Chu Shixian returned to the car with a gloomy expression, carrying the skincare products Su Wan had forced back into her hands. As they passed a trash can, she slammed the bag into it with a loud thud. Gu Zhiran followed behind with her head hung low, not daring to utter a single word.

Once inside the car, Chu Shixian’s chest heaved with agitation. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Suddenly, she threw her Gucci bag aside and snapped at Gu Zhiran, "Why didn't you tell me Gu Ci got perfect scores in those two subjects? Well?"

Gu Zhiran instinctively clenched her hands and whispered, "I'm sorry, Mom. I wanted to tell you, but... you told me last time that you didn't want to hear anything about my sister..."

Chu Shixian frowned for a long moment before finally recalling the incident. She remembered that on the day the exam results were released, Gu Zhiran had intended to tell her, but after hearing about Gu Ci's poor Chinese grade, she had assumed all her marks were low and had cut her off.

It seemed it hadn't been an intentional concealment by Gu Zhiran. Even so, Chu Shixian still felt stifled and lashed out again. "Could you not have told me later?! Forget it..." Remembering something, her expression softened slightly, masking her irritation as she asked, "And what is this about the Youth Math Olympiad?"

Hearing this, Gu Zhiran’s eyes reddened instantly. She looked up at Chu Shixian, her tone a mix of stubbornness and grievance. "Shouldn't you and Dad know more about that than I do?"

Chu Shixian was bewildered, having no idea what Gu Zhiran meant. Seeing her daughter’s sudden display of hurt, her frown deepened, and she couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy. "Why are you crying? Just tell me properly; I’m not blaming you."

Gu Zhiran sobbed quietly, "The selection exams were already over, as you know. My sister’s spot... was given to her by the principal personally... Don't you and Dad really know?"

Gu Zhiran omitted the part about the bet and the fact that the principal had granted the spot based on Gu Ci’s actual skill. She simplified the entire event into a single statement: the principal had given her the spot.

That simple sentence was enough to send Chu Shixian’s mind racing. It was obvious: Gu Changfeng must have taken Gu Ci to see the principal, pulled strings to get her enrolled, and the principal, due to their family connections, had mistakenly granted her that spot! And here she was, the true lady of the Gu family, yet she couldn't even get an audience with the man!

That Gu Ci had simply lucked out!

Still, she wasn't certain if Gu Changfeng was aware of the situation. Her expression shifted, and she slapped the seat in frustration. "Look at the foolish things your father does! He’s handed all the principal’s connections and favors to Gu Ci!"

Gu Zhiran kept her eyes lowered, saying nothing, merely wiping the tears from her face. Chu Shixian realized she had misunderstood Gu Zhiran and hurt her feelings, so she began to comfort her. Yet, the thought of Gu Ci’s perfect math and English scores continued to weigh heavily on her heart.