Chapter 22

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Volume 1 + Chapter 22: The Second Competition

“Suddenly, I feel like just making you be my maid for two days is such a loss,” Bai Yuxuan said with a hint of regret.

“You jerk!” Ouyang Qianxue glared at Bai Yuxuan angrily.

“Haha, just kidding. You’re done being a maid for today. Go change your clothes—it’s getting late. You can head home now.”

“And also, you don’t need to come back tomorrow.”

“What do you mean? Weren’t you just saying that having me be your maid for only two days wasn’t enough?”

“That’s because my victory over you wasn’t due to my actual strength. I only won because you fainted. Enjoying the spoils of such a victory just feels tasteless to me. What? Don’t tell me—you actually haven’t had enough of being a maid?”

“As if! Every extra second I spend as your maid is suffocating. Just wait—when we have our next match and I win, I’ll definitely make you pay!”

“Is that so? Since you brought up the next match, let me tell you in advance—how about we compete in academics next time? The midterm exam is in three weeks.”

“Fine! Just you wait! This time, I’m definitely going to defeat you and return all the humiliation I suffered—double!”

With that, Ouyang Qianxue went into the room next door to change back into his school uniform, preparing to leave.

“Wait!” Bai Yuxuan called out and tossed a stack of slips toward him.

“This is…?” Ouyang Qianxue looked at the slips in his hand.

“These are meal coupons for our school cafeteria. I made a suggestion to the school board to improve the cafeteria’s facilities and environment, and the cafeteria manager gave these to me as thanks. I can’t use them all myself, so I’m giving you some. After all, beating an opponent who can’t even afford to eat doesn’t bring me any joy.”

“How did you know…?”

“I was the first one to arrive at the infirmary that day. The doctor told me about your condition. Also, I told you before—I investigated the girl you met at the café. I found out that the black-haired girl’s mother had surgery not long after. Given their financial situation, I don’t think they could’ve afforded it. So I guessed that you saved your own living expenses to help her.”

“So giving me these meal coupons—is that your way of giving me charity? I don’t accept that!”

“This isn’t charity—it’s payment for your work as a maid. Even if it was based on a bet, you did spend a full day doing maid duties. This is your rightful wage. If you think it’s too little, I can even add some money.”

“No need. These coupons are enough.”

With that, Ouyang Qianxue stormed out.

After seeing Ouyang Qianxue off, Bai Yuxuan returned to her room and lay on the bed, idly scrolling through her phone. She accidentally came across a photo of Ouyang Qianxue hugging her little sister.

“What a happy expression…” Bai Yuxuan murmured, looking at the black-haired girl in the photo embracing Ouyang Qianxue.

“So that’s what it means to be family—to willingly sacrifice for each other, even going hungry yourself. When will I ever have that kind of familial bond?”

“No, someone like me can never have that kind of bond. Ouyang Qianxue and I are just fundamentally different. The girls in class only like me for my appearance. If they ever found out how cold and emotionless I really am inside, they’d definitely keep their distance. But Ouyang Qianxue—she’s different. She’s the kind of person whose presence alone can warm the hearts of those around her. That’s why her little sister can smile so happily beside her.”

“In the end, I was just jealous of her. That’s why I bullied her, and made such excessive demands of her. Thinking about it now, I’m truly a horrible person. Someone like me really isn’t worthy of that kind of happiness…”

After saying this, Bai Yuxuan put down her phone and quietly gazed out at the dark night sky.

Meanwhile, Ouyang Qianxue had returned to his dorm.

“Where have you been today?” Wang Qian questioned him as soon as he walked in.

“I… I was feeling a bit stifled being at school all the time, so I went out for some air.”

“I see. That’s understandable. It’s not easy having to keep pretending at school all the time. If you ever have any problems, talk to me. My aunt and I will help you out.”

“Mm, thank you.”

“Come on, don’t be so formal. We’re living under the same roof, after all.”

“Please stop saying things that are so misleading. We’re just regular roommates, that’s all. Anyway, I have something I want to ask you.”

“What is it?”

“Can you tell me about the midterm exams?”

“Midterms, huh? Why are you asking? Given your grades, I thought you wouldn’t care about them at all.”

“But I am still a student. What student doesn’t care about their grades?”

“Well, that’s true. At Sakura High, the midterms are pretty hellish. Aside from a few basic questions, the rest are mostly tough problems taken from real or mock college entrance exams that align with first-year content. There are even a lot of competition-level problems mixed in. It’s harder than the monthly exams.”

“Really? That’s hard for me to gauge. How about… how about you compare it with someone who has similar grades to me—like Bai Yuxuan. What did he score in last semester’s midterms?”

“Bai Yuxuan? I think he got an 870.”

“Even with such difficult questions, he still averaged over 96 per subject? That’s terrifying.”

“That guy’s a monster. You’d best not use him as a benchmark. Rumor has it he finished self-studying the entire high school curriculum before even enrolling. Your scores were close to his during the last monthly exam only because those exams are relatively easier, so the difficulty gap hadn’t widened yet. During the first monthly exam after you transferred in, Bai Yuxuan was 60 points ahead of second place. But by the midterms, that lead grew to nearly 100 points. So no matter how hard the test is, his score barely fluctuates. There’s really no point using him as a comparison.”

“So he’s that strong… Looks like I’ll really need to work hard,” Ouyang Qianxue mumbled to himself.

“But speaking of midterms, could you maybe…” Wang Qian began to stammer.

“If you’ve got something to say, just say it.”

“Could you teach me how to study?”

“Oh, that reminds me—I never asked about your score on the last monthly exam.”

“Well…”

Wang Qian slowly pulled out a few test papers from her drawer. When Ouyang Qianxue saw them, he was stunned—the scores were barely above passing, and none of them even broke 30. Her math score was even in single digits.

“These scores are way too extreme! They hit me harder than Bai Yuxuan’s scores did!”

“Don’t say it out loud! It’s already super embarrassing for me. And if I score like this again in the midterms, I’ll be called in for a parent meeting. My allowance will be cut drastically. So please!”

She clung desperately to Ouyang Qianxue’s arm and shook it.

“Fine, I really can’t say no to you…” Ouyang Qianxue sighed, holding his forehead.