"Capitalists own the majority of production materials, monopolize markets, and force the people to labor…" Bai Zilu, ears still stinging from being scolded by Ji Tang, was now sulking and biting at a small blanket while reciting from her book. She occasionally cast resentful glances at Ji Tang, mentally pairing Ji Tang's image with that of the wicked capitalist.
"You have been reciting this same section of politics for half an hour, haven't you? Finals are coming, and you are about to start senior year. Can you have some sense of urgency?" Ji Tang glanced at her with amusement. All she did was warn Bai Zilu to focus, yet Bai Zilu acted like she had been bullied. Did she not realize that if anyone dared bully her, Ji Tang would be the first to feel distressed?
… Distressed? Ji Tang froze for a moment. She looked at Bai Zilu's face, full of defiance yet helplessness, and suddenly felt a swirl of complicated emotions. What exactly was her view of Bai Zilu…
A dangerous thought flickered through Ji Tang's mind, and she immediately pulled herself back from the edge. Ever since Gu Qianran and Bai Ziyuan got together, Ji Tang had been feeling… off.
She shook her head in frustration and forced herself to focus on reviewing.
At the other end of the dorm, Bai Ziyuan sat obediently on Gu Qianran's lap, going through chemistry homework. Why was it called "homework" though? Because Bai Ziyuan, influenced by Gu Qianran, had also learned to slack off in her elective classes, and without any cheats, she ended up failing.
"Little cutie, even if we are basically learning this all over again, you cannot be writing the wrong element symbols. I remember you were pretty good at this in middle school, right?" Gu Qianran sighed as she looked at Bai Ziyuan's worksheet, where she had used □□ to reduce iron oxide.
So her girlfriend was apparently not the brightest…
Bai Ziyuan pouted. "Why did they invent chemistry anyway? It is not meant for humans to study." Why couldn't □□ reduce iron oxide? She was furious and cold.
"Exactly!" Bai Zilu, the history-politics-geography student, popped her head out in solidarity. Heaven knew how much she had suffered to pass the entrance exams.
Ji Tang turned her head back into place. "Focus on your studies, future senior."
Bai Zilu winked at her playfully. "So I can take that as a roundabout way of saying you care about me?"
What was meant as teasing actually made Ji Tang pause. The thought she had tried to bury earlier now stirred again. Her mind was running circles, but her face stayed calm. "Why would I need to be roundabout to care about you? Have you seen fathers being awkward with their sons?"
Bai Zilu's lips twitched. Ever since Ji Tang discovered internet slang, her sharp tongue had leveled up again. She had dug a pit for herself.
Gu Qianran's lips also twitched. She was starting to doubt the original female lead's characterization. Being poetic and artistic did not mean being a complete science dunce. Sulfuric acid producing oxygen, hydrogen displacing copper nitrate—was this reasonable?
In the original novel, the heroine's weakness in science had been exaggerated to absurdity. To justify endless tutoring scenes with the male lead, the author had written Bai Ziyuan's science grades as abysmally terrible. But they never stopped to think—how did someone with grades that bad even get into a top high school?
Later, the plot inconsistencies patched themselves, stating that Bai Ziyuan's science grades in middle school were normal, but she somehow regressed in high school overnight.
Regardless, the original scenes of male and female lead tutoring were sweet and warm. But when that role was swapped with her, Gu Qianran only felt her brain throb in pain.
"Little cutie… You… You do know the reactivity series of metals, right?" Gu Qianran had resigned herself to this absurd character setup. But give in to the story? No. She would fight back against stupid tropes.
"Yes!" Bai Ziyuan's eyes lit up. "Marry a beauty, slim and light, one hundred pounds! Potassium, calcium, sodium, magnesium, aluminum, zinc, iron, tin, lead, hydrogen, copper, mercury, silver, platinum, gold!"
Gu Qianran: … Outrageous.
She raised an eyebrow. "How come you remember this so well?"
Bai Ziyuan smiled sweetly. "Because Ranran is the beauty, of course. I connected it to real life, so I memorized it easily." Her voice carried a proud lilt, as if she was fishing for praise.
Gu Qianran stroked her head gently and encouraged her. Bai Ziyuan grinned so wide her teeth disappeared, throwing herself into her studies with renewed vigor.
And the more she studied, the more wrong her answers became.
Gu Qianran sighed helplessly and unleashed her "ultimate move."
Under Gu Qianran's relentless effort, Bai Ziyuan finally scored a passing grade on a quiz. The little one came running, bouncing with pride, showing off her paper.
Gu Qianran beamed. "Little cutie, you get to keep your milk tea privileges."
For two weeks, Bai Ziyuan had been barred from her beloved drink. She had wanted to stand up in class and shout three cheers. Ranran was so mean, depriving her of her lifeline! She had been counting the days to reunite with milk tea.
Yes, Gu Qianran's strategy was simple—no milk tea until she passed. And the poor girl had studied like crazy for her favorite drink, finally achieving success.
Gu Qianran: Confirmed. Milk tea beats the protagonist's halo.
The pink bubbles between them were suffocating. Ji Tang inwardly howled like a single dog and turned to discuss questions with Xu Wei.
Xu Wei watched Ji Tang study so seriously and thought, Ace the exams, lose at life.
Ji Tang herself shook her head. She planned to visit her company soon. The business she had registered had been growing rapidly, thriving in the gaming industry. As the boss, she needed to make an appearance now and then.
Perhaps she would take Bai Zilu along for a tour. Ji Tang ignored the subconscious reason for thinking of her and rationalized that Bai Zilu had contributed to the company's revenue. It was only fair to show her around.
This weekend then, she decided quietly.
Meanwhile, at the Li household, Li Junsheng studied the investment reports presented by finance and nodded at Liu Cuimei. Recently, these reports showed Li Junyao's numbers far surpassing Gu Qianran's. He had even begun to suspect Gu Qianran had lost her edge.
But Gu Qianran's investments had not lost money even once. Her style was steady, but her moves carried subtlety. Li Junsheng wanted to keep her at the Li Corporation, yet he believed deep down that a male heir was the better choice. Li Junyao was easier to control, too. He could enjoy life as a retired emperor while his son ran the company.
Liu Cuimei was ecstatic. Was this a sign the old man was ready to pass Li Corporation to her son? She would finally chase those two foxes out of the house!
She rushed upstairs in high spirits, while Li Junsheng sighed behind her. At this point, he had already decided to tear off the pretense. For the company's future, he would have to sacrifice her.
"You are the clown. The clown is you. On and off stage, you are equally laughable. — Joker."
In class, Gu Qianran shut her Kindle with a yawn. Her brow twitched; something ominous was coming.
She walked Bai Ziyuan home, buying her a cup of hot milk tea along the way. As she stepped into the dim glow of sunset at the Li family's front gate, she spotted someone crouched there.
"Gu Lian?" Gu Qianran frowned. Gu Lian looked up, a long bloody scratch beneath her eye. She looked exhausted. "We… We… We got thrown out. Junsheng does not want me anymore…"
Gu Qianran handed her the milk tea with an icy face. "Drink it while it's hot." Gu Lian blinked in surprise.
Gu Qianran stood at the door, radiating cold energy. "Stop looking at me. We are still allies for now, aren't we. Listen, Gu Lian. This house belongs to the Lis, not the Lius. Not a single person will be thrown out because of one poisonous woman."
She took a deep breath, pounded on the door, and shouted, "Open the door, Liu Cuimei! You have the guts to steal a man, now have the guts to open this door!"