A god-level beauty system? But I'm already a god-level beauty!

"Yes, it wasn't me."

Mu Jingyan lowered her eyes, her face devoid of any extra emotion, her expression so calm it was almost indifferent.

She repeated it again, her tone completely flat.

This flippant reply completely ignited Qin Xian's anger.

Qin Xian took a step forward, looking down at her eldest daughter, and a sharp reprimand came out of her mouth.

"What promises did you make to me back then?!"

"You told me yourself that you would definitely get first place in the grade, and now the results are right in front of you, and this is your answer?!"

Her chest heaved violently, and the powerful aura she had cultivated over the years pressed down on her two children.

"It's just a public junior high school! You can't even get first place in your grade! What have you been doing all this time?!"

"Did you get carried away as soon as you entered junior high, becoming rebellious and lax, and not taking your studies seriously at all?!"

A barrage of questions rained down, delivered at breakneck speed.

Mu Jingyan opened her mouth, but couldn't get a single word in her defense.

She was already used to her mother's unexplained accusations.

Next second,

A small, thin figure suddenly took a step forward.

Mu Jinghuan broke free from her sister's hand that was hidden behind her back, stood directly in front of Mu Jingyan, and spread her slender arms to block her.

The little girl was more than half a head shorter than her older sister, and had a slender and thin figure.

Even with all her might, she couldn't completely block Mu Jingyan behind her.

But she stood firm, raising her head to look directly at the furious Qin Xian.

Her clear voice carried a hint of stubbornness: "It's not my sister's fault. She's been working very hard lately."

Qin Xian suddenly stopped uttering the reprimand that was on the tip of her tongue.

She paused for a moment, looking at her youngest daughter in surprise.

From childhood to adulthood, Mu Jinghuan has always been the most obedient and timid, never daring to contradict herself.

No matter how much he scolded her, she would just stay quietly to the side and never interrupt.

Today, she actually dared to stand up and talk back to her sister.

Overwhelming rage instantly shattered Qin Xian's last shred of reason.

He instinctively raised his wrist and slapped Mu Jinghuan hard across the face.

The air seemed to freeze.

"return!"

Mu Jingyan's heart suddenly tightened, and her pupils contracted sharply.

She knew her mother's temper all too well.

She's already angry, and her sister talking back is just adding fuel to the fire; she'll only get punished more severely.

Mu Jingyan reacted quickly, stretching out her arm and forcefully pulling her younger sister back into her arms.

At the same time, his head instinctively turned to the side to dodge.

"call out--"

The sound of the wind whistled past my ears.

The slap narrowly avoided her face, but grazed Mu Jingyan's fair and delicate right cheek.

Qin Xian's long, exquisitely styled nails were sharp and pointed; the moment they brushed against her skin, a sharp, stinging pain instantly spread.

A thin red scratch immediately appeared on her fair profile.

Bright red blood slowly seeped out along the edge of the scratch, looking particularly glaring.

The stinging sensation on my face wasn't severe.

Mu Jingyan didn't take this minor injury to heart at all.

She instinctively took two steps back, tightly holding Mu Jinghuan in her arms.

His back tensed slightly, and a clear sense of vigilance and wariness surfaced in his eyes.

The girl stared intently at Qin Xian in front of her, wary of her making another move.

The moment the slap was delivered, Qin Xian froze on the spot.

She looked at her two daughters, who were a few steps away, huddled together.

The two children's eyes held fear, alienation, and defensiveness.

That fearful and resistant look was like a bucket of cold water being poured over my head.

The anger surging in his chest inexplicably dissipated by more than half.

The spacious master bedroom fell into complete silence.

No one spoke.

Only the faint sound of the air conditioner emanating from the room echoed.

......

The cold silence lasted for three or four minutes.

Qin Xian calmed her surging emotions, suppressed the remaining resentment, and broke the silence with a cold and harsh tone.

What was your total score?

Mu Jingyan was slightly taken aback.

She didn't expect that after her mother calmed down, her first words wouldn't be to continue scolding her, but to ask about her grades.

"Seven hundred and thirty-five."

She truthfully reported her total score for the monthly exam.

735 isn't number one?!

Qin Xian quickly reviewed the conversation in her mind.

The second-place team was fourteen points behind the first-place team.

Seven hundred and thirty-five, plus fourteen points.

749!

When this number came to mind, a clear look of shock flashed across Qin Xian's eyes.

749 points!

What kind of genius is this?

A storm raged within her, her mind filled with disbelief.

To score 749 out of a possible 760 is a level of achievement that cannot be attained through ordinary effort alone.

Mu Jingyan's loss was not unjust.

However, her years of assertiveness and pride prevented her from showing her shock on her face.

Qin Xian remained expressionless, suppressing all her emotions, and pointed to the door with a blank face.

"You two go out first."

She issued the order to take action.

"Each person should write a 2,000-word self-criticism and hand it in to me before going to bed tonight."

"Cancel all outings this weekend and stay home to reflect. I will contact a counselor to come to your home for extra lessons this weekend."

Without any room for discussion or explanation, and with an unyielding tone of command, Qin Xian's consistent style of doing things is to command without any room for argument.

Mu Jingyan gently hugged her younger sister tightly.

The two sisters exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with helplessness, and neither uttered a word of argument.

He turned around silently, tiptoed out of Qin Xian's master bedroom, and closed the door.

The moment the heavy, solid wooden door closed.

The oppressive, suffocating atmosphere in the room finally dissipated.

The hallway was softly lit, a stark contrast to the cold, glaring light in the master bedroom.

The two returned to their double bedroom one after the other.

The moment I closed the bedroom door, my tense nerves finally relaxed.

Mu Jinghuan immediately went to her sister's side, her little brows furrowed tightly.

The girl stared at the blood-tinged scratch on Mu Jingyan's cheek, then quickly ran to the desk drawer and pulled out a box of pink lace-trimmed medical bandages.

He gently pinched the band-aid with his fingertips, his movements exceptionally gentle.

Carefully avoiding the wound, I gently pressed my hand against the tiny bloodstain.

The little girl's eyes were almost brimming with worry, and her voice was muffled as she asked, "Sister, does it hurt? Are you alright?"

"It's nothing, just a minor injury."

Mu Jingyan raised her hand and gently patted her sister's hand to comfort her.

His expression was calm, showing no sign of grievance.

Seeing that her sister looked relaxed and not upset, Mu Jinghuan felt relieved.

She stared at the band-aid on her sister's face, hesitated for a long time, and then spoke softly.

"Sister, Mom today..."

She didn't continue, but Mu Jingyan fully understood the unspoken subtext.

In the past, Qin Xian's anger never ended easily.

No matter who makes the mistake, we will not stop until we have scolded them for an hour or two and explained the reasons to them until they admit their mistake.

But today, even though I hit him and was at the height of my anger, I ended it hastily, only punishing him with a self-criticism and extra lessons.

That's outrageously abnormal.

Mu Jingyan raised her hand and gently stroked her younger sister's soft hair, speaking in a calm and soothing tone.

Don't overthink it.

She looked down at the table, her heart filled with lingering fear.

I narrowly escaped this time, but what will I do next time?

The girl could only pin her hopes on the next exam.

Shen Ye, I will definitely surpass you!