Push Me Away When I Come, Don't Hold Me Back When I Leave - Chapter 45

Chapter 45: A Peerless Genius

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The school placed great importance on this mock exam, so all teachers had worked overtime to grade and compile the statistics before the activity.

“Xia Ruoming, 685 points, first in the whole school.”

When Xiao Qinghan announced Xia Ruoming’s mock exam score, the entire classroom fell dead silent.

Even Xiao Qinghan herself hadn’t expected this score. She knew Xia Ruoming’s English was already at a perfect score level and that there would definitely be another breakthrough in this exam, but she hadn’t anticipated such a big surprise.

Although the Education Bureau had clearly stipulated that student rankings were not allowed, it was almost impossible to actually implement this. Schools had thousands of ways to circumvent it, making it nothing more than empty words.

685 points was higher than even many science students’ scores, indicating that Xia Ruoming’s crowning as the province’s top arts student was just a matter of time.

“Hey, Wang Sheng, what did you say before the exam? Shouldn’t a man keep his word?” a girl wearing a hairpin teased, and the classroom instantly filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

“What did he say? I don’t know about this?” the girl sitting next to her whispered.

“None of your business!” Wang Sheng’s face turned completely red, looking like he might explode at any moment. Originally, his grades were among the top in the class. When Xia Ruoming used to be Xu Fengwu’s follower, he could often mock her about this, but ever since Xia Ruoming’s heartbreak, he couldn’t match her grades, and even the girls he liked were all pursuing Xia Ruoming instead. He had completely lost his composure.

“Oh, you’re getting angry now? Where was this temper when you were mocking Sister Ruoming before?”

Wang Sheng just gritted his teeth bitterly without talking back.

“The principal has arranged for you to represent our class in tomorrow’s activity. You should prepare for it,” Xiao Qinghan told Xia Ruoming as she approached the podium.

“Alright.” Xia Ruoming seemed rather indifferent, after all, she no longer needed the connections of that so-called excellent senior student Jiang Huaiyun. She already had her own “from the future” network of connections, and she held some small leverage over certain young masters from prominent families that would surely be useful at crucial moments.

These boring activities usually involved pushing excellent students onto the stage, taking photos with senior students, and each person giving a bowl of toxic chicken soup to feed to other students.

But making connections never hurt.

Then Xia Ruoming took her test paper with a smile, walking back to her seat in a slightly provocative manner.

Undeniably, there was a bit of satisfaction in slapping the faces of idiots.

Although there was no verbal attack, that mocking gaze was the greatest humiliation.

Whether it was Chu Suhe, Ji Chuan, or He Ya, they were all genuinely happy for Xia Ruoming.

Except for Xu Fengwu.

The moment she learned of Xia Ruoming’s score, the pen in her hand had already fallen to the ground.

Xu Fengwu had already worked very hard. Originally, her grades were better than Xia Ruoming, even to the point of being worlds apart. She thought that with her own diligence, even if Xia Ruoming’s grades could make a comeback, she wouldn’t be left too far behind.

Who could have known that while she was still carefully working toward getting into Zhejiang University, Xia Ruoming’s goal had already become claiming the top spot.

And that crown of the top student was already firmly in Xia Ruoming’s grasp. As long as she didn’t let it go herself, no one could snatch it away.

Here stands a genius, unmatched in the world.

She was anxious, even more so than when Xia Ruoming had proposed to end their relationship.

Actually, in the past, one very important reason why Xu Fengwu didn’t like Xia Ruoming was because of her grades. In her heart, someone worthy of her didn’t necessarily have to be more excellent than herself, but at least they should be on equal footing.

Because of her noble status, because she was too excellent, this was the pride that came with her status. How could those not in that position understand? Although Xu Fengwu was somewhat immature, she had always been indoctrinated by the tea masters around her with the idea that stories of rich young ladies falling in love with poor boys almost only appear in novels and TV dramas. Even if they managed to be together, how could it last? They would still separate within ten years. Therefore, her prejudice about matching social status was even deeper than some people who had been adults for many years.

“Was she… really this excellent before, just for me…” Xu Fengwu already felt her mind was somewhat dazed. She even felt that perhaps the past was just a dream. How could someone lose a person who was not only excellent but also unconditionally good to them, willing to protect them even at the cost of affecting their own future?

She had thought countless times in her heart that if Xia Ruoming would confess to her just one more time, no matter what, she would accept…

But… how could there be a next time…

The past Xia Ruoming had that unreachable moon in her eyes.

The present Xia Ruoming had that within-reach galaxy in her eyes.

“Wait for me, I want to get closer to you too…” the young lady thought this way, but Xia Ruoming had already waited for her for far too long, even willing to humbly follow behind her.

In the past, when the bird was trapped in a cage, she avoided it. Now that the crow has transformed into a phoenix, how could it return?

Xu Fengwu’s gaze wandered, seeing the metal double lotus hairpin on Xia Ruoming’s head, gleaming in the sunlight. It was just a few yuan’s worth of cheap craftsmanship, but Xia Ruoming wore it every day, never forgetting.

Chu Suhe was so shy that day, but after Xia Ruoming put this hairpin on her, she never took it off.

Wasn’t it said that cheap love would not be accepted?

The pure silver plum blossom hairpin that Xia Ruoming had given her, she had long since thrown it somewhere, and even now when she wanted to wear it to hint at her feelings, she could no longer find it.

“Xia Ruoming, last time you said the reason for your improvement was cutting off karmic relationships with a sword. Could you share your secret to success again this time?” Xiao Qinghan asked teasingly.

“It’s because of our great Class Monitor Chu,” Xia Ruoming gazed tenderly at Chu Suhe’s position. Hearing this, all the classmates also stared straight at Chu Suhe, making the class monitor very shy. If there had been a crack in the ground to crawl into, she probably would have done so.

“Because Suhe gave me courage, allowing me to face the future directly.”

This was true, of course, not about the current Chu Suhe, but you from the previous life, Xia Ruoming added in her heart.

“And you know, because Suhe teaches me well every day, that’s why I could improve so quickly. I also want to prove that our great class monitor’s teaching is very effective.”

This comment made everyone roll their eyes. You’re already at the top student level, Chu Suhe’s grades aren’t even as good as Xu Fengwu, her teaching you, isn’t this nonsense?

“Because it’s you who teaches me, so I want to work hard for you.”

Flirting in front of us, huh? Do you think we’re stupid?

Xu Fengwu watched Xia Ruoming’s tender gaze, clenching her fist to keep tears from falling, the pain from her nails digging into her palm far less than the heartache. That kind of tenderness used to belong to her alone in the past.