Yao didn't know this person very well, but based on caution, she should have refused him outright. However, she had noticed that he seemed like a formidable businessman—someone who could bring blue pills into the education center to sell to middle school students and not get caught. That was impressive; he had guts.
Given the nature of the things she was involved in right now, Yao had some needs in this area, so she didn't completely shut him down, but she was still cautious: "Don't tell me it's that blue pill again. I'm not some kind of frivolous person, you know."
That blue pill, she could tell, was definitely a product for adult entertainment. She had no need for it.
"No, no, I swear, if it's that, may lightning strike me down!"
The man, Shorty, said this with confidence, and Yao believed him. She grabbed her backpack and waited as the beef noodles arrived.
She was starving.
Suddenly, a group of top students from the first high school entered. Usually, these students had the school's protection, as they were the school's pride. Even the children of wealthy families or chaebols wouldn't dare offend them, since the school had certain collaborations with these elites. As long as they didn't cause trouble, the school was happy to accept their less capable children in exchange for their donations.
Schools that allowed wealthy kids to harass good students were bound to fall out of the rankings. It was a self-destructive cycle.
So, Mo Ruijing, He Duan, and the others weren't afraid of anyone. After all, this was the education center. What could happen here?
They swaggered in. Midway, a few keen-eyed students saw Lin Hangjing and her brother, who had just left to eat, and they loudly called them over to join them. The two seemed to refuse, but the students from the first high school were particularly enthusiastic. One of the boys, grinning, shouted, "What are you afraid of? You don't have to pay, I'll pay!"
Yao heard this and glanced over, catching sight of the tall, slim boy's face turning slightly pale. He must have seen Lin Hangjing, and likely didn't want her to be ridiculed. He muttered, "No need, I'll pay. Ah Jing, come on in and eat. We should eat well during the exam period."
His concern for his sister was sincere, but Lin Hangjing felt it was unnecessary to spend the money. However, many around them were quietly laughing.
"Ugh, when did a bowl of noodles become 'eating well'? Is this how poor the top students from the first high school are?"
A girl from another school, with a mocking tone, said this to her classmate, who was from the second high school.
"What did you say?"
"I said what I said. Got a problem?"
The two sides were about to clash, but Yao, while twirling some noodles, caught a glimpse of the drama unfolding and couldn't help but feel speechless.
Were middle school students always like this?
But… that brother and sister were no simple characters. This group would regret this in the future.
When she looked over again, the tall boy seemed to notice her gaze and quickly turned to look back at her.
But he saw the young man, who was about to eat, had already begun.
Shorty immediately began to flatter, "Bro, when I first saw you, I knew you were extraordinary. You'll definitely achieve great things in the future."
Yao couldn't help but feel awkward, but for the sake of her cover and gathering intel on him, she muttered, "Alright, alright. You too."
"Bro, we're all going to succeed, just like this exam. I have a premonition we're going to do great. We'll meet at the top!"
Wait, did he have to say this out loud?
The 'summit,' whose summit was he talking about?
While the top students from the first high school were already quarreling, Shorty took it upon himself to draw all their attention.
With the group of academic elites watching him awkwardly, Yao gritted her teeth and reluctantly replied, "Mmm… let's work hard."
Shorty seemed almost intoxicated by his own confidence, his voice brimming with grandiosity, "Let's climb to the top, suppress all others, cheers!"
Not this again. Suppress who?
Yao clinked glasses with him, feeling deeply embarrassed, while many of the students around them looked confused.
They were too confident, way too confident.
"Are these two impressive?"
"I don't know, they're from my exam zone. I glanced at them earlier, and they seem pretty capable. While we're sweating over the problems, they're just writing away like they're already sure of themselves."
That had to mean they were amazing.
He Duan and the others, still students at heart, couldn't help but think they'd misjudged the situation. But Yao didn't eat much more, her expression turning faint as she saw some people leaving the education center.
Even if they had faced some setbacks in the exam, these people still had confidence, unlike the rest. Now, they were just frustrated and looking for a place to eat. By coincidence, Blue Morninglight, one of the students, spotted Yao.
Once someone has bullied another successfully, it's hard to stop. The darker side of human nature comes to the surface. This is why bullying exists.
In Blue Morninglight and his group's eyes, Yao, sitting there and eating her unassuming beef noodles, was the perfect target for fun.
As they walked toward the restaurant, the standoff between the first and second high schools grew a little tense.
The atmosphere became strange.
Yao stirred her noodles, but took another bite, afraid she'd lose her chance at eating if she didn't.
"Old Four, look!"
"Is he offending someone again?"
"Family says no internal fights, but they didn't say we couldn't watch."
The Xie family brothers didn't want to eat the education center's awful food, so they headed out for something better. As they arrived, they exchanged glances and moved toward the scene.
By the time they walked in, Blue Morninglight had already approached Yao. With one hand in his pocket and the other slamming down on her table, he leaned in and said, "Ah, Xie Er-ge is eating noodles. Why don't you add some more meat, huh? Let me treat you to something better."
In a flash, his fingers moved like lightning, and with a snap—Smack!—Yao's noodles and soup flew off the table and splashed onto the floor.
The noodles landed on Lin Hangjing's brother's shoes.
Lin Hangjing's expression tightened, but she didn't say anything. She knew very well that the distinction between aristocrats and commoners wasn't absolute. Some aristocrats were just as poor as regular folks in front of others. She didn't feel gleeful but merely stepped aside, gently pulling her brother out of the mess to avoid trouble.
But at that moment...
"Hey, Blue Morninglight, is it? Didn't your older brother warn you that attending Beruk University, an elite military university, requires both political and moral qualifications?"
Yao hadn't expected Blue Morninglight to stir up so much trouble. She thought she'd been through worse before, but now he was getting even more arrogant.
After everything that happened in the temple, maybe he was finally feeling high and mighty, unable to tone it down.
This man's nature was vile. His family's bad karma must have rubbed off on him.
As Yao looked at her noodles being swept away, she casually grabbed a tissue to wipe her mouth and continued, "By the way, did I forget to mention something? The news coming out of Beruk City is that your brothers murdered an innocent civilian driver? Funny thing is, your second brother's bird is pretty famous… If you can read, you should check out the comments. You'll find that both the Xijin and Beruk universities, as well as the schools that were supposed to accept your brother, have all been bombed by enraged citizens."
She didn't even smile, but her words and eyes made Blue Morninglight's heart race with fear, and everyone else around them couldn't help but shudder.
She was terrifying. She was like a monster.
"It's impossible!"
Blue Morninglight couldn't help but shout, his face turning pale. "My second brother had already prepared for this. We activated the signal blocker. There's no way they recorded anything!"
Lin Hangjing and the others were slightly surprised.
They hadn't known what had happened earlier, but now it seemed that something big had gone down this morning.
They'd been dealt a serious blow.
But they were starting to realize something else…
Yao was too calculating.