A perfect score on the college entrance exam? The Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng has astonis

Su Wanci pursed her lips into a thin line.

Tang Tang didn't notice, or rather, she did notice but chose to ignore it.

She continued speaking, her pace quickening, as if she were trying to unleash a torrent of words she had been holding back for a long time.

"Isn't Zhao Tianyu great? His family owns a company, so his conditions are excellent, right? He's also a good student, handsome, and so attentive to you."

"How many times have you rejected him? Has he given up? No, right? Where can you find a guy like that?"

She counted on her fingers, as if she were doing a proof problem.

"What about Chen Mo? Aside from being a little bit handsome—"

She pronounced the words "a little bit" very lightly and quickly.

"What else is there? Your grades aren't good, your family's financial situation isn't great, and you'll go your separate ways after you go to university. You'll go to a top-tier university, while he might not even get into a first-tier one. What kind of future do you two have?"

Su Wanci put down her milk tea cup.

The sound of the cup hitting the table was very soft, but Tangtang's words came to an abrupt halt.

"Are you done talking?"

Su Wanci's voice was calm, but the calmness was completely different from Chen Mo's calmness just now.

Chen Mo's calmness was composed, while Su Wanci's calmness was the stillness before the storm.

Tang Tang opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but Su Wanci didn't give her the chance.

"Tangtang,"

Su Wanci looked directly into her eyes and spoke, word by word.

"Don't say things like that to me again."

Her tone wasn't harsh, but every word was like a nail driven in.

Tang Tang's face flushed slightly: "Wan Ci, that's not what I meant, I just—"

"I know what you mean."

Su Wanci interrupted her, "But I don't need it."

She glanced at Chen Mo, then turned back, her voice becoming soft but firm.

"His test scores, what university he went to, whether he'll be successful in the future—these things have nothing to do with you, and nothing to do with Zhao Tianyu. They have to do with me. But I'll make my own judgment; I don't need anyone else to tell me what to do."

Tangtang's lips moved, but in the end she didn't say anything.

She lowered her head and poked at the pearls in the cup with the straw, looking somewhat embarrassed.

Su Wanci stood up, picked up her bag, and turned to look at Chen Mo.

"Let's leave it at that."

The three people came out of the bubble tea shop and walked along the corridor toward the escalator.

Su Wanci walked ahead, her steps quick, her skirt swaying gently with each step.

Chen Mo followed behind, half a step behind, maintaining a just-right distance.

Tangtang followed at the very back, head down, tapping on her phone, seemingly texting someone.

As the escalator descended to the fourth floor, a group of people came towards us.

The one leading them was Zhao Tianyu.

He was wearing a black trendy brand T-shirt.

The logo of a luxury brand is printed on the chest.

He was followed by three or four boys—all from his class, the ones who usually hung around him.

Some were carrying shopping bags.

Some were holding milk tea, and another was holding a phone, seemingly filming something; they looked like a group of entourage surrounding a prince.

The two groups bumped into each other at the escalator entrance.

Zhao Tianyu's gaze first fell on Su Wanci, and his eyes lit up.

Then she quickly moved to Chen Mo behind her.

That glimmer of light seemed to have been doused with cold water.

It went out with a hiss, replaced by a cold light that carried a chill.

"Yo."

Zhao Tianyu's lips curled up slightly, revealing a half-smile.

"Isn't that Chen Mo? Shopping at the mall too?"

The boys behind him immediately understood and surrounded him.

Su Wanci frowned and subconsciously took half a step closer to Chen Mo.

Zhao Tianyu noticed this small gesture, his smile remained unchanged, but the temperature in his eyes dropped a few degrees.

"Just going shopping."

Chen Mo replied casually, "Is there a problem?"

"No problem, of course no problem."

Zhao Tianyu put his hands in his pockets and shrugged slightly.

He exuded a sense of superiority.

"You need to relax after the college entrance exam, I understand."

"after all--"

He dragged out the last syllable, his gaze sweeping over Chen Mo from head to toe, as if he were appraising a discounted item at a street stall.

"Some people can only relax. Anyway, the subsequent college application and admission notices have nothing to do with them."

The boys behind him laughed in unison.

The laughter was neither too loud nor too soft.

Just enough for passersby to hear.

Tangtang stood to the side, her expression somewhat complicated.

She was already upset after being scolded by Su Wanci at the milk tea shop, and when she saw Zhao Tianyu appear, she instinctively took half a step back and stood in the direction of Zhao Tianyu's group.

Su Wanci glanced at her, said nothing, but a thin layer of disappointment appeared in her eyes.

"Zhao Tianyu, can you please stop talking so sarcastically?"

Su Wanci's voice was not loud, but it was very clear.

"Am I being sarcastic?"

Zhao Tianyu spread his hands with an innocent expression.

"What did I say? I just said he should relax a bit, is that not allowed? Wanci, you're being too sensitive."

A boy behind him immediately chimed in.

"That's right, Tianyu isn't wrong. Some people estimated their college entrance exam score to be 700, so they should relax a bit, right? After all—700 points! Hahaha!"

Another boy laughed along:

"Yes, yes, 700 points! I estimated 580 and thought it was unlikely, but he went straight for 700. He's aiming to be the top scorer!"

"The top scorer?" The third boy's eyes widened dramatically. "750 is the maximum score, and people estimated 700, so he's still 50 points short! A top scorer who's 50 points short?"

"Hahaha--"

The group burst into laughter.

Laughter echoed in the mall's atrium, attracting curious glances from several passersby.

Zhao Tianyu did not laugh along.

He just stood there, hands in his pockets, a half-smile playing on his lips, looking at Chen Mo as if waiting for his reaction.

He was waiting for Chen Mo to blush.

After Chen Mo tried to explain, Chen Mo became angry and said some even more ridiculous things.

Then he could throw those words back like a boomerang, letting Su Wanci see for herself how pathetic the person she was protecting was in front of everyone.

But Chen Mo didn't react at all.

He just stood there, expressionless, looking calmly at Zhao Tianyu, as if he were looking at a child throwing a tantrum on the side of the road.

That calmness wasn't feigned.

Zhao Tianyu could sense it.

That calmness comes from genuine indifference.

This made the thorn in his heart even deeper.

"Alright, alright, stop laughing."

Zhao Tianyu waved his hand dismissively, stopping the laughter of the boys behind him.

Then he turned to Chen Mo, his tone becoming "sincere".

"Chen Mo, to be honest, I really admire you. 700 points, that kind of courage isn't something everyone has. I'm embarrassed to even mention my 642 points, but your 700 points—amazing, truly amazing."

...

...