Chapter Fifty-Six: The Worst Gift (Second Update)

“...” Jiang Muwen stared at the greeting card in her hand, momentarily frozen, at a loss for what to do.

Since childhood, Jiang Muwen had seldom received Christmas presents. Yet she could, without the slightest shame, declare—this was by far the most unforgettable, the worst gift she had ever received. No contest.

Oh well. At least she got a present for Christmas this year; compared to previous years, that could be considered progress.

Thinking this, Jiang Muwen casually flipped open the workbook that Santa Claus had so thoughtfully prepared for her. If she hadn’t opened it, it wouldn’t have mattered—but once she did, she was shocked all over again. She was dying to know just which Santa Claus cared about her so much—not only did they give her a workbook, but they’d also considerately torn out all the answer keys at the back.

Every workbook was like this, ripped clean, not a single answer key left.

She stared, dumbfounded, at the stack of workbooks, caught between laughter and tears.

Just then, her phone vibrated on the desk—someone had sent her a message.

Jiang Muwen picked up her phone. The message was from Wen Yichen: “Did you see the stocking at your door?”

Jiang Muwen replied, “Yes.”

Wen Yichen: “What was inside?”

Jiang Muwen looked at the screen, pausing for a moment. Wen Yichen was acting as if he had no idea about the stocking, yet her instincts told her that it was definitely from him.

Since Wen Yichen was playing dumb, Jiang Muwen decided to play along: “A Christmas present.”

Wen Yichen: “Hmm?”

After he sent that, Jiang Muwen replied with a forced smile emoji.

Wen Yichen: “Seems you’re not too happy with the gift Santa gave you this year.”

Jiang Muwen looked at the screen and let out a bitter smile. Not too happy? That was an understatement. She had no idea which wretched Santa would send her such a stifling gift.

After a while, Jiang Muwen replied, “No, I’m very happy. [/smile]”

Wen Yichen: “Then please cherish your gift from Santa Claus with a grateful heart.”

...

Actually, Jiang Muwen had long suspected that the Christmas gift left at her door was from Wen Yichen. But since he kept pretending not to know, she couldn’t be absolutely sure it was him. Until one day, when she went to Wen Yichen’s house to ask about some problems and saw a pile of torn-out answer keys beside his desk—that was when she finally confirmed the culprit behind the set of workbooks. It really was Wen Yichen.

Since Wen Yichen insisted on playing dumb, Jiang Muwen decided to act along with him.

Soon, December 31st arrived. On the eve of New Year’s Day, the school let them out early to go home. But these troublemakers were never ones to obediently go straight home. The moment school was out, the six-person study group started wandering around and having fun.

At dinner, everyone sat around the table and began the usual school gossip.

“I heard Class A always gets out a week earlier than the other classes for break. Is that true?” Gu Chen asked curiously.

Bai Xu perked up at the question. “I heard that too! But... they say if you don’t do well on the final exam, you might get kicked out of Class A.”

For Bai Xu and the others, this was just idle chatter, but when Jiang Muwen heard it, her face stiffened a little. Even though Wen Yichen always tutored her, her grades weren’t exactly stable.

Gu Nianxi had the same reaction; her eyes tensed, and she instinctively glanced at Yin Lizhe.

Jiang Muwen noticed Gu Nianxi’s little movement and followed her gaze to Yin Lizhe—who, for his part, looked completely unconcerned. Even though he was already teetering on the edge of failing, he still ate and drank as if nothing could bother him.

What nerves.

Watching Gu Nianxi worry on the side, Jiang Muwen couldn’t help but think: “The eunuch is more anxious than the emperor.”

Yet what puzzled Jiang Muwen was that Gu Nianxi’s fretfulness seemed different from normal concern. The way she acted, it was almost as if she couldn’t bear to see Yin Lizhe kicked out of Class A.

“Yin Lizhe, should we do a few extra tutoring sessions these days? Always scraping the bottom... it’s really not good.” Finally, Gu Nianxi spoke up.

Yin Lizhe responded cheerfully, “Sure!” He answered quickly and casually, as if he hadn’t taken any of their previous words to heart. It was clear he’d agree to anything Gu Nianxi said.

If, at that moment, Gu Nianxi had asked him, “Are you a big old rascal?”

Yin Lizhe would have happily kept eating and replied without missing a beat, “I am!”

Finally, Wen Yichen couldn’t take it anymore. He leaned forward slightly and asked curiously, “Yin Lizhe, aren’t you afraid of getting kicked out?”

Only then did Yin Lizhe pause his eating and look up, his bright eyes tinged with confusion. “Why should I be afraid?”

Everyone seemed to forget about Yin Lizhe’s background and status—a transfer student who’d joined Class A without any tests or assessments. Would someone like that really be afraid of being kicked out? And even if he was, he could just come back again.

As soon as Yin Lizhe finished speaking, Bai Xu chimed in, “By the way! Yin Lizhe, I heard you used to study in America?”

“Yeah.”

“Then how come you decided to come back and study here?” Bai Xu pressed on. Rumor had it that Yin Lizhe had gotten into trouble abroad and was forced to return—which was why, when he’d parachuted into Class A, the other students were a bit wary of him.

“I came back because I wanted to. Does there have to be a reason?” Yin Lizhe replied lightly.

“I heard... you got into trouble?” Gu Chen asked.

At this, Yin Lizhe’s eyes tightened a bit. That rumor was completely false. “If I told you I grew up eating tree bark, would you believe me?”

Gu Chen shook his head timidly.

“That’s that then.”

“So how did you manage to get straight into our Class A?” Bai Xu kept probing. “They say... you know the principal?”

At this, Yin Lizhe hesitated for a split second. The rumor about disciplinary trouble was false, but as for the principal... well, there was some truth to that.

“He’s my uncle.”