Chapter 40: Gu Ci Without Emotion

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“Cici, what did you mean just now?” Wen Zixin leaned over curiously, sensing from Gu Ci’s words that there must be something more going on between the two.

Gu Ci chuckled, pinching Wen Zixin’s soft cheek but said nothing.

Wen Zixin’s curiosity was insatiable; she was nearly ready to grab Gu Ci’s arm and gossip. Even Yan Moyu couldn’t help but laugh and called out across the room, “Xinbao, do you know what you look like right now?”

“What do I look like?” Even though she knew nothing good ever came from Yan Moyu’s mouth, Wen Zixin still asked, unable to resist.

Lu Youming picked up where Yan Moyu left off, winking at Wen Zixin. “What else? You look just like a nosy little roe deer poking its head around!”

Silly roe deer—the legendary creature that, even after being startled, would run back just to check what had happened.

Wen Zixin was stunned for a second before she realized Lu Youming was calling her silly. She let out an “ah,” stomped her foot in mock outrage, and flung her bag straight at him. “Lu Youming, you’re asking for it!”

The whole class burst out in good-natured laughter, even Gu Ci couldn’t help but let a hint of a smile slip into her eyes.

Watching the group’s lively scene, Shi Xuetong sat at her desk and rolled her eyes inwardly.

But she didn’t dare say anything at that moment.

With Huo Shuyue absent, she had almost no friends to talk to in Class Twelve, and without Huo Shuyue, these spoiled heirs wouldn’t bother with her at all.

She was like an outsider, shut out of their circle, and she subconsciously loathed that feeling.

Moreover, the head of discipline had just invited Gu Ci to join Class One, and she refused?!

What right does Gu Ci have?! If she didn’t want the opportunity, why didn’t she give it to someone else?

With those thoughts, Shi Xuetong’s gaze grew ever more resentful, her hand unconsciously reaching into her pocket for her phone, torn by inner conflict…

…

At noon, during the lunch break, Gu Ci was summoned to the office by the Class Twelve literature teacher, who specifically asked her to bring her midterm exam paper.

The literature teacher was a short, balding old man.

He stared at Gu Ci’s paper for a long time, sighing for the twenty-third time.

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Everyone in the grade—teachers and students alike—knew about Gu Ci, the transfer student, who had scored perfect marks in both math and English.

Originally, everyone assumed that the student transferring from a rural town would have a solid foundation in Chinese language arts, and that her other subjects would be disastrous. The reality, however, was the opposite.

What they thought would be Gu Ci’s “weak subject”—especially English—turned out to be her strongest. The “solid subject” they banked on was, in fact, her weakest.

As a result, her barely-passing grade in literature attracted even more attention than her perfect scores in the other two subjects.

As Gu Ci’s literature teacher, the balding old man felt tremendous pressure.

After reviewing her paper, he felt a pain in his chest.

Gu Ci had made no mistakes from the language usage section through to the dictation and classical Chinese passages; in fact, her answers were nearly flawless.

But trouble started with the reading comprehension and essay sections.

Her responses to the poetry and science reading questions were passable, but then came the literary and practical text analyses.

It was no exaggeration to say that Gu Ci’s answers made the teacher want to pry open her head to see what on earth she was thinking.

For instance, in question eleven—a lyrical prose prompt about the characteristics of the little boat in the author’s writing—the correct answer included three points: it was common and rustic, it preserved traditional culture, and it represented nostalgia for the past.

But what did Gu Ci write?

Easy to process, low density, poor seaworthiness, high collision damage rate, lacks a power system!

Answers like these filled her literary and practical reading responses.

Then there was her handwriting—a real heartbreak for the teacher.

Gu Ci’s penmanship was excellent, yet her exam paper was covered in countless black smudges, wasting her beautiful script.

For the essay, more than half the page was crossed out, and what remained was crammed with emotionless data—earning her the lowest essay score in the entire school.

Of course, excluding those in Class Twelve who hadn’t even participated and thus got zeros.

After much deliberation, the teacher said with a pained expression, “Gu Ci, let’s not worry about reading comprehension for now. Please work on your writing habits first. In the future, if you make a mistake, just draw two lines through the character; there’s no need to black it out completely.”

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At least the literature teacher could comfort himself that the student’s foundation was solid, her handwriting superb; as long as she could fix her messy paper and inject some feeling into her responses, there was still hope.

Gu Ci nodded obediently, but inwardly she was already reminding herself to get used to the simplified characters now being promoted in Mianzou.

Leaving the office, she carried several literary books the teacher had specially given her to cultivate her sensibilities.

When she returned to class, the atmosphere was lively.

But as soon as Gu Ci walked in, the mood turned awkward.

The reason was simple: Huo Shuyue had returned.

Those aware of the friction between the two didn’t know what to say to ease the tension.

Especially when Huo Shuyue saw Gu Ci—her eyes nearly blazing with fury. “Gu Ci!”

She stomped over, but her short stature put her five centimeters below Gu Ci, sapping her of any intimidation.

Glaring at Gu Ci, she strained on tiptoe, her expression fierce. “Did you do something to Xiao Yang last night?”

Just then, Lu Youming, who was drinking water, spat it out in shock and started coughing violently.

Everyone else looked on in disbelief, their minds racing with wild thoughts, almost to the point of short-circuiting.

But Gu Ci was entirely unfazed, not catching on to what everyone else was imagining.

“As you wish, everything I was going to do… I did it. Every. Single. Thing.” She sat with her legs crossed, drawing out each word, deliberately provoking Huo Shuyue.

She was referring to removing Xiao Yang’s cast and performing acupuncture last night. Huo Shuyue understood what she meant, but the rest of Class Twelve, clueless, let their imaginations run wild.

Shi Xuetong reacted most dramatically, leaping to her feet and blurting out, “Gu Ci, how can you be so shameless!”

At that, everyone frowned at Shi Xuetong—even Huo Shuyue turned to her in confusion.