Chapter 53

On this night, they finally got the result of what tormented everyone for a few days.

Although the Zhao family publicly refuted the rumors and pushed the nanny Zhang Yufen out, the Zhao family was still greatly injured. Even Zhao Zhanhuai’s company has lost many customers.

So while Mr Zhao and Zhao Zhanhuai were exhausted, they still had to work together to clean up the mess.

Zhao Mo wasn’t faring much better either. More and more information about his family was getting exposed. Some people began to mock him, “I didn’t expect him to look good, but treat his sister so badly”. His agent was desperately doing crisis management.

Madam Zhao stayed at home reluctantly and her mental state was visibly worse than before.

The Zhao family seemed to be able to maintain the apparent composure, but it was actually fragmented.

Meanwhile, the news spread throughout the school.

The recent rumors finally came to light. Turns out, what the original post said was true. Zhao Yuan was not the true daughter of the Zhao family and Zhao Yuan's mother was the criminal who switched the two children back then!

It was expected that once this news was confirmed, there would be much uproar within the school.

Before, everyone didn't dare to talk nonsense for fear that it was a rumor that would have a bad influence on Zhao Yuan. But now, everyone only felt confused. Zhao Yuan, who has been with their classmate for three years with the identity as a superb daughter— all the good education, branded bags and identity were all stolen? Even her life was a stolen life?!

In this case, it was difficult for everyone to look at Zhao Yuan without such a stain.

The discussion in school finally spiraled out of control.

However, after Zhao Yuan was driven out by the Zhao family, she didn’t return to school. Maybe it was out of fear or something, but she directly took half a month of sick leave with the school. Thus, these comments did not reach her ears for the time being. All of it fell into the ears of Pu Shuang and the others who were close to her in the past.

The wall fell down and everyone pushed.

Now Pu Shuang and the others who were part of Zhao Yuan's attendants were also in a difficult situation.

A few of them used to comment in class, be it intentionally or unintentionally, about Zhao Mingxi's poor grades and hinted that Zhao Mingxi might be an illegitimate daughter. Now, they had to eat their words.

Not everyone in the Evergreen Class defended Zhao Yuan before, and now even more so. In the Evergreen Class alone, some people could not understand the past behavior of Pu Shuang and the others, accusing them of ‘not knowing anything yet continuing to talk nonsense, all of them are Zhao Yuan’s accomplices.’ ‘Fortunately, Zhao Mingxi herself is upright and not affected by their malicious remarks.'

Pu Shuang's face was hot, but there was no way for her to refute it. After all, the incident whereby she blatantly threw Zhao Mingxi's school bag during the training camp had spread all over the class.

Now she was akin to a sinner.

Pu Shuang wanted Zhao Yuan to come to school early to share the pressure on her— because of this, Pu Shuang's dislike for Zhao Yuan went to a deeper level.

Zhao Yuan didn't come to school at all because she was afraid of the eyes of people from school, but did it ever cross her mind that all those eyes would fall on her?!

She deeply regretted that she had regarded Zhao Yuan as her best friend before, supporting her regardless of the consequences. She regretted that she found out too late that Zhao Yuan was not worth it at all.

When Pu Shuang heard about Zhao Mingxi’s affairs, she actually felt some guilt in her heart.

She was in agony. She could imagine how Zhao Mingxi felt when she was finally taken home after 15 years, but could only watch as there was already ‘another her’ in that family. And not only that, they and E Xiaoxia secretly speculated that she was an illegitimate daughter and mocked her.

The thought of apologizing to Zhao Mingxi actually went through Pu Shuang's heart 100 times.

She impulsively wanted to rush to the International Class several times and frankly apologize to Zhao Mingxi for what she had done before.

But while it was easy for people to make mistakes, it was not as easy to make up for it bravely. She didn’t want to just rush to the International Class and suffer the looks of others when she apologized. She didn't dare to imagine how much she would want to bury herself in a hole.

Pu Shuang didn't have the courage, so she could only continue to suffer.

At noon, she left the school alone and found the same school bag that Zhao Mingxi owned which she had thrown into the trash can before.

She bought it, but she didn't dare to let the class see it, so she wrapped it in a black plastic bag and took it back to school with a tight cover.

=========

*

As for Mingxi.

Dong Hui almost got breast hyperplasia because of this. However, the fact that Zhang Yufen was detained and awaiting interrogation was considered a good result, so Dong Hui was helpless.

Dong Hui called Mingxi over to have a meal. According to the custom of her hometown, she got Mingxi to cross a brazier, which meant ‘getting rid of the bad luck brought by that family’.

Compared with Dong Hui and many people who were filled with indignation, Mingxi wasn’t very affected by this incident— It was natural to feel lost, but she was not so angry.

Probably because if she still cared about the Zhao family, she would feel sad when she learned the truth, because she felt that a lot of things had been taken away from her.

But when she no longer cared about the Zhao family, what Zhang Yufen and Zhao Yuan snatched from her seemed to be a symbol of ‘family’, which was not that important.

Therefore, instead, it was Mingxi who went to comfort the Dong family.

Amidst the rumors, the weather was getting colder day by day.

On this day, Zhao Zhanhuai suddenly received an email from the Fu family which clearly listed the text messages sent and received on the day Zhang Yufen escaped. Only then did the Zhao family learn that it was Zhao Yuan who informed Zhang Yufen that day and let Zhang Yufen escape!

Mr Zhao was so angry that he cursed at home again. A white-eyed wolf, simply a white-eyed wolf.

So far, the Zhao family was extremely disappointed with Zhao Yuan.

This matter will not be mentioned for the time being.

For Mingxi, this incident was over. She resumed her intense and orderly study.

The list of finalists would usually come out soon after the training camp. This year, because the number of participants in the competition was unprecedented, the time for the announcement of the list was postponed by one day.

But starting from 9am, everyone could check the list of finalists.

There were more than 300 colleges and universities in the province, of which only the top 100 schools sent people to participate.

The total number of participants was about 2,000, all of whom were among the elites in the province.

It could be said that in such a Tournament, the ranking obtained by the participants in the tests represented the ranking of the participants in the province!

So even though it was the preliminary round, it was already very important to the participants.

After all, only the top 20% of the players in the province could enter the finals. Most of the participants were just running alongside them, but it was still very exciting to know their position through a preliminary match.

Therefore, before the results came out, the amount of discussion topics around Zhao Yuan and Zhao Mingxi in the three classes immediately became less obvious. They all turned their attention to the list of finalists.

Mingxi finished breakfast early and came to the classroom to wait. She opened the mobile web page, entered the query account, and waited for the query port to open at 9am so that she could quickly seize the network to see if she was shortlisted.

Aside from her, there were also two other participants from the International Class. In the past, no one in the International Class cared about these tournaments.

But this year, because of Zhao Mingxi, the entire International Class was inexplicably enthusiastic. Everyone stared at the wall clock, counting down on her behalf. Everyone waited for the arrival of 9am.

Fu Yangxi didn't sleep anymore, his eyes fixed on Mingxi's phone screen.

Ke Chengwen sat behind the two of them. When he saw how nervous Fu Yangxi was, he inexplicably thought of the husband who was waiting anxiously when his wife entered the delivery room. Of course, he didn't dare to say this because he would definitely be beaten if he said it.

Amidst everyone’s expectations, the exciting moment of 9am finally arrived!

Mingxi concentrated, her hands shaky as she clicked in sharply.

In the end—

Error 403.

The web page suddenly became blank.

“Let me try.” Fu Yangxi tried it with his mobile phone.

Still the same result. The webpage was completely down.

“...”

Fu Yangxi was about to stand up furiously. “Which server does this website use? It crashed after a short login. How can I check the results?!”

“Xi ge, I think Mr Lu is coming," a follower yelled.

Fu Yangxi looked outside and saw Lu Zhangwei rushing towards this side in a stride. His face was flushed and the way he looked at Zhao Mingxi was as if he was looking at his own daughter.

Wait, why is this scene so familiar?

Fu Yangxi's eyelids twitched suddenly.

He watched as Lu Zhangwei rushed into the classroom. Then, his expression changed and he urged Zhao Mingxi who was next to him, “Hurry up, Little Mask, let’s switch seats. You sit inside and lean against the wall.”

"What's the matter?" Mingxi was confused.

"Quick! Sit on my side!" Fu Yangxi said anxiously.

He had a bad premonition that Lu Wangwei was going to hug Zhao Mingxi again!

However, at this moment, Mingxi lowered her head and glanced at her mobile phone.

She managed to get on the website.

After holding her breath to zoom in to the list clearly with two fingers, she suddenly jumped up and said excitedly, “I've logged in. I'm shortlisted!”

Did she read it right? 3rd in the school and 35th in the province?!

There was no sort number on the list, so Zhao Mingxi didn’t know if it was from top to bottom.

But she confirmed it again and again, her name was indeed right on it!

The admission ticket number was also hers, it won't be the same name and surname!

Aaaaah I got in?!

This was completely impossible when she was pressured by the heroine in the past, but now it has been realized?

Mingxi's heart beat like a drum. She glanced at her potted plants excitedly— 390 buds!

Fu Yangxi asked, “Huh? Are you shortlisted?”

"Yes, I’m shortlisted!"

Fu Yangxi hadn't reacted yet, but just seeing how happy Zhao Mingxi who was beside him was, the corners of his mouth raised subconsciously.

Unexpectedly, in the next second, Zhao Mingxi plunged into his arms and embraced him excitedly.

…

???

!!!

Fu Yangxi was still holding a mobile phone in one hand, and in the other hand he was still trying to pull Zhao Mingxi up and change seats with him. Thus, he was caught off guard by Zhao Mingxi.

And they were in front of the whole class.

With a "click", Fu Yangxi dropped the phone in his hand.

Fu Yangxi's eyes widened, his face flushed a little bit.

The girl's hair was fragrant and she fit perfectly in his arms.

I know that she is excited, but she can't just hug the people around her, right?! What if the person beside her isn’t him? If it's someone else, wouldn't she be taken advantage of?!

Fu Yangxi's heart almost jumped out of his chest.

Lu Zhangwei had rushed over from the entrance of the classroom.

Fu Yangxi's expression changed. He quickly hugged Zhao Mingxi and turned her around.

He put Zhao Mingxi down in the seat and quickly stretched out a hand that showed extreme disgust and refusal to Lu Zhangwei. “Go and hug Ke Chengwen, don't hug me.”

Teacher Lu Wangwei who was full of excitement: "..."

ray's note: apologies for the late update everyone, here it is! thank you so, so much for all your support so far. hope you all have a nice week ahead :>