Ning Li stopped and slowly turned around.
It was break time. Several young men and women were standing at the side, talking behind her back.
The few of them tacitly went blank for a moment when they got a clearer look at Ning Li’s face.
One of the girls pouted and showed contempt in her eyes.
“I really pity Ye Ci, that poor girl. She has to live with someone like her, a murderer’s daughter. Maybe this girl will follow in her father’s footsteps in the future.”
She did not suppress her volume at all, and every word she spoke entered Ning Li’s ears.
She did it on purpose because she wanted Ning Li to know.
“Her father killed someone! What if she follows her father’s footsteps and becomes a murderer?”
“Teacher, I don’t want to sit with her!”
“Her mother ran away, so there must either be a problem with her father or her.”
1
“Hahaha, so what if she gets first place? She’s just an ill-bred bastard who no one wants or likes.”
1
…
The irritating criticism filled her head, giving her a headache.
The harsh words reminded her of her youth. She had grown up under immense pressure and the harshest criticisms.
She was lost and helpless at first as she did not know what she had done wrong. The only thing she could do was run back home in tears.
Her grandmother hugged her while she sulked, saying, “Lili, it’s not true that no one wants you. You’re the best grandchild I could ask for.”
Her grandmother was telling her that she did nothing wrong, but her grandmother’s voice and support were feeble.
Ning Li tried countless ways but was still unable to stop the harsh criticisms and bullying.
Then, she learned to keep quiet and trained herself to become invisible among the group.
Her academic scores were average, and she became an introverted quiet person.
Slowly but surely, the people with vicious tongues found it boring to criticize her, so they left her alone.
Then, Su Yuan brought her back to the Ye family.
They told her to work hard and make the family proud.
She thought she would win their trust and acceptance if she worked hard enough, but when she beat Ye Ci in the first monthly test in her first month of school, what welcomed her were forced smiles and years of jealousy.
After dying once, she finally understood that even if she did nothing wrong, she would still become the target of criticism. She would still be pushed to the edge of despair.
Some malicious intentions were more natural than intentional. Keeping quiet and stepping back would only fuel their arrogance and wanton actions.
“What did you say? I dare you to say that again,” Ning Li said coldly.
She sounded flat and somewhat emotionless. Her beautiful but abysmal eyes showed a chilly gaze that could send chills down one’s spine with a glance.
The group of young men and women froze, their contempt and grins freezing as well.
The girl who said it out loud was scared. She then got angry from the embarrassment and argued back, “What? Did I say something wrong? Everyone knows that your father knocked someone over with his car. How can you be so shameless to get close to the Ye family now?! You—”
Ning Li strode closer and it terrified the girl. The girl’s heart skipped a beat, and the words were stuck in her throat.
The guy beside her noticed something was not right, so he stepped up and said, “Hey, what are you trying to do?!”
They were near the teacher’s office. What could she possibly do?
Ning Li kicked him in the shin without giving an explanation.
The guy cried out in pain as his face turned pale.
The few of them did not expect Ning Li to hit the guy without saying a word. She even did it in front of the teacher’s office!
How could she be so rude and arrogant?
Ning Li grabbed the girl by the collar and pushed her to the rail.
The girl felt a heavy thud at her back and half of her upper body was flung over the rail.
“Aaaah!”
The few of them were stunned by Ning Li’s action.
The girl was scared, terrified in fact. The arrogance on her face vanished and was replaced by fear.
1
“Ning Li!”
“Help!”
An angry bellow came from behind.
Su Yuan had left for a while to deal with some matters. She ran into Mr. Sun on the way back.
However, when they came up from the stairs, they saw the terrifying scene.
Su Yuan’s temples were twitching as she looked at the girl with a cold presence. She had a feeling that she would really push the female student over the rail.
2
“What are you doing?!”
The temperament that she trained herself to have from being in a wealthy family for over a decade vanished at that moment.
Su Yuan was so angry that her body was shaking.
Ning Li seemed to have automatically shut off Su Yuan’s shout. She stared at the terrified girl’s teary eyes and flushed face. A hint of coldness and mercilessness appeared in her eyes.
“Apologize,” she said.
The girl was frightened to her core as tears rolled down her cheeks endlessly. Her pale lips were shaking ceaselessly. “S-Sorry, I’m sorry.”
Ning Li was not surprised that they did not know her background.
Even though she had not been officially accepted into the school, when it came to Ye Ci, the students in the school would be happy to ‘lend a hand’ and spread the news about her.
These ‘helpers’ were just the first of many. There were many others in line who were waiting to step on her, diminish her, and criticize her for being in the Ye family.
If she stayed quiet and decided to endure the pain, she would put herself in an even more difficult situation.
3
“I think you should know what you should say and what you shouldn’t.”
The girl nodded nervously with tears over her face.
Ning Li then pulled her back and let her go.
The girl felt weak and almost fell to the ground.
Ning Li then looked at Su Yuan. “It’s nothing. I’m just saying hi to the new schoolmates.”
The corridor fell into a dead silence.
Sun Quan and Su Yuan did not know how to react to the situation.
They had clearly seen what she did to the poor girl and yet she claimed she was just saying hi?
Su Yuan said, “You came out and asked for a fight before you finished your test? Who allowed you to do that?”
She was ashamed of what Ning Li did.
Ning Li quickly corrected her. “I’ve finished my test.”
Finished? By finish did she mean she handed in a blank paper?
Sun Quan, the teacher in charge of student admission, walked over with a strict look.
“Mrs. Ye, I don’t think Yunzhou Second Senior High School can take in a student like her.”
Ning Li had not even been officially accepted and she already tried to push a student over the rail. No one could guarantee that she would not do something even crazier if she got accepted.
Admission was not possible no matter how powerful and influential the Ye family was.
Su Yuan was placed in a difficult situation.
It was already difficult for Ning Li to transfer to Yunzhou Second Senior High School, yet she did something even worse.
Aside from the fact that it would be almost impossible for her to get into Yunzhou Second Senior High School, but even the Ye family’s reputation would be affected now.
“Mr. Sun…”
Su Yuan wanted to defend her stand, but she realized she was in no position to negotiate.
The picture of Ning Li looking cold and cruel made her feel like she was looking at a stranger. She even felt scared.
‘Is this really my daughter? How could I have a daughter like her?!’
2
Sun Quan shook his head. “Mrs. Ye, I’m afraid we cannot accept her here.”
It was then the door to the teacher’s office opened abruptly. Zhou Fei rushed out and seemed to be looking for someone.
“Ning Li? Ning Li?!”
He looked around, and upon seeing her, he quickly came over to apologize.
“I’m so sorry, I gave you the wrong paper just now. You…”
It was then he noticed the awkward and strange atmosphere in the stairway. He paused and asked, “Uh… What are we looking at?”
“Forget about the wrong paper. We won’t be taking her in,” Sun Quan said.
“What?! No, how could you?!” Zhou Fei raised his voice higher.
Before Sun Quan could explain, Zhou Fei stuffed the paper into his hand. His face was filled with excitement that he could not conceal.
“Mr. Sun, look at this paper! This is the mock test paper for Rocket class last semester! She got full marks for Science, Biology, and even Chemistry!”