Chapter 25: Conflict Arises Again

Meng Fang could be said to be extremely expectant of this city-wide mock exam.

In fact, the entire senior grade was looking forward to it, eager to see just how high a score Wang Donglai could achieve this time.

The exam began amidst the anticipation of all the teachers.

In the first examination hall for liberal arts students, Wang Donglai also sensed that something was amiss during the test.

Normally, in an examination hall for the top thirty liberal arts students, the proctors would not be particularly strict or wander around aimlessly to avoid affecting the students' concentration.

However, right next to Wang Donglai, teachers would pass by from time to time, or even linger for a while.

Though he felt it was strange, Wang Donglai was not affected.

He did not hand in his paper early, nor did he intentionally delay.

Once he finished the questions, he left the examination hall immediately.

He ate, read books, and grinded for experience.

Two days flashed by, and the second city-wide mock exam came to an end.

Evening self-study.

Because grades had to be tallied and rankings organized immediately after every exam, no teacher came to supervise the evening self-study session, leaving the classroom exceptionally chaotic.

"Wang Donglai, do you have some kind of extracurricular books? Your grades are improving so fast; there must be some secret, right? Can you tell me?"

The girl speaking was tall. Although she couldn't be called strikingly beautiful, her mature style gave her an extra touch of charm compared to girls her age.

Her face was heavily made up, and her lips were stained bright red with lipstick.

As she spoke, her large eyes, adorned with false eyelashes, stared unblinkingly at Wang Donglai, awaiting his answer.

*Pretentious!*

Seeing this female classmate, whom he had never interacted with before, suddenly approach him with such a request, this was the first thought that flashed through Wang Donglai's mind.

This girl was named Hu Yujie. She had a beautiful name, but the person herself did not match it at all.

Coming from a county town, she carried a natural sense of arrogance when facing students from rural villages.

Because she knew how to dress up and possessed a certain level of beauty, she held a lot of influence among the boys.

Leading a group of girlfriends, she lived a very flamboyant lifestyle on a daily basis.

The two of them belonged to completely different social circles; Wang Donglai hadn't expected Hu Yujie to suddenly seek him out.

Looking at Hu Yujie, Wang Donglai remained calm and said indifferently, "I don't have any extracurricular books, nor do I have any secrets. Even if I did, they wouldn't be of any use to someone with your foundation. You'd be better off reading more books and mastering the basics; that's more practical."

Wang Donglai remembered very clearly that after Hu Yujie graduated from her junior college, she spent four years trying to obtain her teacher's certification before finally becoming a music teacher at a township primary school.

It was quite a dreamlike reality—in their class, which had the worst liberal arts performance, several eventually became teachers, some became civil servants, and others became hospital nurses.

In his past life, there was once a trending comment on Douyin: *I won't let my children return to my hometown, because I know what my classmates are like. I wouldn't dare imagine what it would be like if they taught my children, and I wouldn't feel at ease letting my family go to the hospital there.*

When he saw that sentence back then, Wang Donglai had thought of himself.

Hearing Wang Donglai's rejection, Hu Yujie let out a cold snort, her face showing obvious displeasure.

She wanted to throw a tantrum, but ultimately suppressed it, leaving the spot in resentment to return to the very last row of seats.

"I told you, why would he bother with you?"

"Exactly, a bumpkin from the countryside. What's the use of just knowing how to study? He'll still end up working for others in the end!"

"Even if he gets into a university and we get into junior colleges, it's not certain who will end up better off!"

"Small people acting big just because they've had a little success. It's just being a bit better at studying, what's the big deal?"

The last two rows were occupied by the troublemakers.

There were boys and girls—some who wouldn't study, some who couldn't study, and some who were just idling through school.

When Hu Yujie returned after being rebuffed, a few of her usual friends immediately stood up for her, speaking in a sarcastic and mocking tone.

Because Liu Feng had a previous conflict with Wang Donglai, he joined in the mockery as well.

"Some people are just selfish, disregarding classmate friendship. Once they do well in their studies, they look down on ordinary classmates like us..."

After Hu Yujie sat down, the more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and she began to insult him loudly.

Although she didn't name him directly, the commotion had long since drawn the attention of the entire class.

Naturally, everyone knew that Hu Yujie and her group were mocking Wang Donglai.

Hu Yujie, Liu Feng, and their gang were nothing more than delinquent students who were just passing time. Usually, other students were too intimidated by their aggression to provoke them, harboring their anger in silence.

Now, seeing this group turn their sights on Wang Donglai, the classroom became incredibly quiet.

Everyone still vividly remembered the previous conflict between Wang Donglai and Liu Feng.

Naturally, some worried that Wang Donglai might be provoked into a confrontation with Hu Yujie here.

At that moment.

Guo Xing stood up. He turned around to face Hu Yujie's direction and, despite a hint of nervousness on his face, summoned his courage and said, "Hu Yujie, you just came to ask a question, and Wang Donglai answered you. He didn't say he was ignoring you. What do you mean by saying those things now?"

Before Hu Yujie could answer Guo Xing, Chen Mengni also stood up and said crisply, "Hu Yujie, we are all classmates. Don't you know what your own grades are like? If you want to study well, then study well and ask questions seriously. But coming up and asking about extracurricular books and study secrets—what is that supposed to mean? Does Wang Donglai owe you something that he's obligated to tell you?"

"Look in a mirror and see what you look like. You're ugly, but you sure have high expectations."

"And as for saying people are selfish and look down on ordinary classmates—don't you think that's hilarious? When have you ever looked up to us 'ordinary classmates'? We've been in the same class for two years; how many words have you actually spoken to Wang Donglai, and what have you ever done for this class? You never sweep or mop properly during duty, and you're never absent when it comes to causing trouble in class."

"Yang Han, Zhu Xue, Cheng Xiao—Wang Donglai has never offended you. Just because Hu Yujie didn't get what she wanted, you're all calling him a bumpkin and a small person acting big. Aren't you all going a bit too far?"

As soon as Chen Mengni spoke, it was like a thunderclap.

She had directly torn off the mask, exposing the behavior of Hu Yujie and her group.

Her words were sharp and merciless.

"You bitch! What the hell are you talking about? I'll tear your mouth apart!"

As soon as Chen Mengni finished, Hu Yujie's eyes widened. Her somewhat charming face instantly became incredibly ugly. She slammed her hand onto the desk with a loud *bang* and rushed toward Chen Mengni, intending to get physical.

Seeing this, the entire classroom suddenly became lively.

"Damn it, Chen Mengni, you bitch, are you looking for a fight? I'll give it to you!"

"Talking so nastily, see if I don't beat your mouth in."

Zhu Xue, Cheng Xiao, and the others were not to be outdone; following closely behind Hu Yujie, they also rushed toward Chen Mengni.

Wang Donglai hadn't expected things to escalate to this point, but seeing Hu Yujie and her group charging to hit Chen Mengni, he immediately stepped forward and blocked the path in front of Chen Mengni.

However, before Hu Yujie and the others could reach them, they were intercepted halfway.

"We're all in the same class, let it go!"

"The college entrance exam is right around the corner, why are classmates fighting?"

"What Chen Mengni said was a bit much, but she didn't lie about you, Hu Yujie. Why are you getting so worked up here!"

"Exactly. We usually let you act all high and mighty because we can't be bothered with you, but you really think you're some big shot in this class?"

"Wang Donglai's good grades are the result of him studying hard from dawn till dusk. You think you can just ask for his study secrets with one sentence? How thick is your skin to even ask that? You have no shame."

"Sigh, some people think they're the protagonist and everyone should cater to them. Once things don't go their way, they take it out on others. They don't realize that no one is their parent; why should anyone indulge them? They really think the whole world revolves around them."

"..."

Taking advantage of the chaos, many students who had long been dissatisfied with Hu Yujie's group began to speak up.

Furthermore, using their numbers, they directly blocked Hu Yujie and her gang, preventing them from getting anywhere near Wang Donglai.

"Alright, alright, everyone quiet down!"

"We are all classmates and about to graduate. Everyone, please exercise some restraint."

"Hu Yujie, you were in the wrong today. Stop causing trouble, or I will go get the homeroom teacher and the dean immediately!"

Song Yi stepped forward, his face cold as he spoke to Hu Yujie.

Hu Yujie had not expected so many people to have grievances against her. Her previously arrogant aura immediately slumped, losing its former ferocity and dominance.

"Class Monitor, you heard what Chen Mengni just said. Who gave her the nerve to bully me like this? And why should I just take it? I can't swallow this insult!"

Hu Yujie's face was filled with indignation as she glared at Chen Mengni with a fierce, hateful gaze.

"That's enough, Hu Yujie. You were also in the wrong in this matter. Let it end here!"

As the class monitor of Class 14, Song Yi did indeed command a certain level of respect. After speaking, he watched Hu Yujie silently. No matter how unwilling she was, seeing the dissatisfied looks from everyone around her, Hu Yujie could only mutter without further words.

"Alright, everyone disperse and focus on your self-study. We are all in the same class; don't cause any more conflicts in these final moments. It'll only make us a laughingstock if word gets out."

Seeing that Hu Yujie had fallen silent, Song Yi understood that she had backed down, and he turned to address the surrounding students.

The conflict dissipated as abruptly as it had begun.