Chapter 039: Not Acting? Actually Genuine?
The school buzzed with activity.
The atmosphere nearing the end of the term was always so tense.
A taut string stretched across everyone's mind, as if two invisible hands were constantly tugging at it, pulling it ever tighter.
Snap—
Perhaps one day it would snap.
In the classroom of the elite junior class at our school, the only sounds were the rustling of pages and the forceful scratching of pens on paper. Ye Fuli sat in the back row, chin resting on her hand, staring blankly out the window.
She hadn't noticed before that from this angle, she could see the location of Class F perfectly.
Strangely, after watching all day, she hadn't seen Ye Zhen anywhere.
Ye Fuli's brow gradually furrowed.
The bell rang.
She closed the novel in her hands.
While her classmates remained seated, she had lost all interest in lingering. She stood up and left.
Unfortunately, she bumped into her homeroom teacher right at the door.
The teacher pushed up her glasses and forced a smile. "Ye Fuli, where are you headed?"
"Class is over. I can do whatever I want."
Ye Fuli gave her no friendly look, her tone calm but infuriatingly dismissive.
Watching her retreating figure, the homeroom teacher clenched her jaw.
Anger grew within her like weeds.
Early that morning, the class monitor had rushed into her office, tearfully complaining about Ye Fuli disrupting class unity and her messy relationship with the troublemakers from Class F.
"You work dawn to dusk for us, tirelessly worrying more than our own parents. Your hair has turned white. Don't we owe you our deepest gratitude? We're celebrating your birthday—if you'd come, it would be our chance to repay you!"
"But Ye Fuli actually said we were wasting money, that what we were doing was meaningless! She refuses to show gratitude herself, yet she stops others from feeling grateful?"
"Tell us, what kind of heart does she have?"
The homeroom teacher couldn't possibly agree with the class monitor's words.
There were so many other teachers watching!
Still, the class monitor's tearful plea struck a chord within her.
Last year's birthday banquet had made her the envy of all the teachers, drawing a wave of admiration mixed with jealousy and resentment—she couldn't have been happier.
This year, she'd splurged on a new dress, determined to dazzle everyone once more. Yet because of Ye Fuli's meddling, it all vanished into thin air.
How could she not be furious?
Yet she had nowhere to vent this fury.
She could only pretend it didn't matter, smiling as she comforted the sensible child: "It's not necessary to celebrate birthdays. I've already received your kind thoughts."
Time shifted back to the present, to the scene before her eyes.
Watching Ye Fuli's figure, the homeroom teacher couldn't help but snort coldly.
"Coming from the slums, she's just rude and ungrateful. All these years I've looked out for her, notifying her of every competition so she could earn all that prize money! That ungrateful little brat."
Clearly, she didn't believe Ye Fuli had earned those prizes through her own merit.
She privately believed that without her guidance as homeroom teacher, Ye Fuli would never have earned so much!
…
At the end of the corridor.
Inside the restroom.
Ye Fuli was surrounded by the class monitor and several other girls at the sink.
She lifted her eyes slightly, meeting the gaze of the cocky little girl.
"What do you mean?"
The girl laughed exaggeratedly. "What do you mean? Ye Fuli, what could we possibly mean? We just wanted to come over and make friends with you."
Ye Fuli smiled back.
The class monitor waved her hand, signaling the girls to step back for now.
She walked up to Ye Fuli with a smug look on her face.
Then, in a voice only the two of them could hear, she whispered, "Want to hear what happened after you turned down our birthday invite that day after school?"
"Oh? What happened?"
The class monitor chuckled. "Ye Zhen came to our classroom and said you're smarter than us, not wanting to be a big loser like us. She said you're loaded—eating all you want at a table costing ten thousand yuan!"
Her words were somewhat embellished.
It had become her usual way of speaking.
Ye Fuli's expression remained calm, as if she hadn't heard anything unusual.
"So, when did you get so rich? Aren't you always juggling multiple jobs to save for college and support your 'exceptional' parents? You must have done something low and despicable to curry favor with Miss Ye, that's how you suddenly got rich!"
At this point, the class monitor covered her mouth and chuckled, her gaze turning intensely contemptuous.
She deliberately emphasized the word "excellent" with a heavy emphasis before letting it slip out.
The surrounding girls burst into a chorus of mocking laughter.
Who didn't know Ye Fuli had scum parents who lurked in the shadows like rats in a sewer?
Despite being mocked like this, Ye Fuli remained calm, her expression steady as she looked at her.
She had heard these exact words before in her past life, though not at this moment—rather, during a school reunion after she had started working.
Back then, it had truly dealt Ye Fuli a heavy blow.
But now, hearing them again, she felt no anger at all. Instead, she found it inexplicably amusing.
Look at them, jealous beyond recognition, jumping up and down like fools!
Like a bunch of clowns before their makeup, or a troop of monkeys in the jungle.
Had she really once gotten angry over these clowns' antics?
Having spent so long in the ruthless world of the wealthy elite, she'd forgotten she'd once been so naive.
"What good is being smart? With your background, you'll probably end up as a teacher or an office clerk!"
The class monitor shrugged, glancing back at her companions.
Receiving their nods of agreement, she continued, "So I advise you—don’t get too cocky. What good does it do to hook up with that underdeveloped Miss Ye Zhen from the Ye family? Your glory is only temporary. Graduation exams are coming soon, and we’ll all go our separate ways! Three or five years from now, do you really think she’ll remember you?"
Before she finished, Ye Fuli waved her hand dismissively.
Her clear, cool eyes showed no flicker of emotion.
"Are you done?"
The class monitor received only this insipid retort in response.
The class monitor's barrage of insults had all landed on cotton!
Her eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Ye Fuli.
Ye Fuli chuckled softly, her gaze tinged with pity. Taking advantage of her height, she patted the class monitor on the shoulder. "I understand your jealousy and anxiety, Class Monitor. From looks to talent, you have nothing to boast about. It really is pitiful."
With that, she brushed past the class monitor and walked out of the bathroom.
The bathroom was now deathly silent.
"She… she's pitying me?!"
The class monitor's chest heaved violently with rage, nearly causing her to faint on the spot.
"Does she have no self-respect? How dare she pity me from such a lofty position!"
She'd lost. She'd lost completely.
Even if she refused to admit it, the expressions on the faces of her followers spoke volumes.
"Why are you looking at me like that? Do you agree with her too?!"
They didn't speak, only shaking their heads hesitantly.
The class monitor was so furious tears welled up in her eyes. She clenched her fists and slammed them hard against the wall.
Damn you, Ye Fuli! What gives you the right to be so arrogant?!
Who do you think you are, looking down on people?!
……
…
As Ye Fuli wandered aimlessly through the campus, the class monitor's words echoed relentlessly in her mind.
After school, Ye Zhen had come looking for her?
And Ye Zhen had even spoken up for her?
Why would she do that?
If it was an act, then at that time, she wasn't even at school—Ye Zhen had absolutely no reason to do it!
Therefore, Ye Zhen was sincere—truly speaking up for her.
Recalling Ye Zhen's every word and action toward her over the past period, Ye Fuli felt her heartbeat quicken inexplicably.
Once she shifted her perspective and concluded that Ye Zhen's previous words and actions had all stemmed from kindness and sincerity, it became terrifying.
Why was Ye Zhen being so kind to her?
After all the bullying and enslavement she'd subjected her to, not only did Ye Zhen not get angry, but she actually developed feelings for her!
"Looks like I have no choice but to find her and talk things out face-to-face."