Meng Lanlan was Lin Nian’s deskmate. They were on pretty good terms, so when she heard what Lin Nian said, she immediately misunderstood and whispered, "Xiao Nian, you improved a lot this time."

Going from 61st to 46th in the overall school ranking was a pretty big improvement.

After all, the higher the rank, the harder it is to move up even a single spot.

Take Meng Lanlan, for example. She had ranked 35th in the last monthly exam and was 37th this time, so she’d actually dropped two places. Still, it wasn’t too bad.

But when Lin Nian heard this, her expression grew even darker.

Improving was a good thing, of course, but why did Qin Jiao have to do even better than her!

Qin Jiao gave her a cool glance and said with a faint smile, "Lin Nian, you seem shocked by my score. But that’s fine. We’ll be in the same exam hall for the next test. You’ll see my true abilities then."

Since many other students were watching, Lin Nian had no choice but to force a strained smile. "Congratulations, Qin Jiao."

"Yes, Qin Jiao has made great progress and deserves praise." Sun Guotao’s gaze swept over a few students, and he continued reading the results as if nothing had happened.

Hearing everyone around her praising Qin Jiao, Lin Nian feigned indifference, but her hands, hidden by the desk, were tightly clenching the hem of her school uniform.

Shen Yi, however, had a slight smile on his face. He drew a simple sketch of a thumbs-up on a piece of blank paper and pushed it toward Qin Jiao.

Qin Jiao saw it, and the corners of her lips turned up.

Just then, they heard Sun Guotao announce, "The tenth-place student in our class this time is Shen Yi. He’s ranked 158th in the school, making him the most improved student in our class! Everyone should learn from Shen Yi!"

After hearing this, Qin Jiao took out her pen, wrote "x 2" next to the thumbs-up sketch, and pushed the paper back.

When she looked up, she happened to see Shen Yi smiling at her.

Caught off guard, their eyes met. Qin Jiao stared into those deep eyes, which seemed to sparkle with flecks of fire. She was stunned for a moment before slowly looking away.

The light in Shen Yi’s eyes dimmed slightly.

After Sun Guotao cheerfully announced the results, he didn’t waste any more words. He knew the diligent students would continue to work hard, and saying too much would only delay them from going home.

So, for the remainder of the evening study session, he let the students have free time while he sat at the teacher’s desk, holding his large tea mug.

Qin Jiao took out her old language arts notebook, which was filled with key lines from classic poems. When her brain felt fried from doing too many practice problems, she would look at them to clear her head, silently reading and memorizing them.

Shen Yi thought for a moment, then quietly put away the paper with the thumbs-up sketch.

When school was finally dismissed, the students were all eager to get home. Jiang Xiaoyue bounced over to where Qin Jiao was packing her bag and said happily, "Qin Jiao, I moved up more than twenty spots in the school ranking on this exam!"

"That’s great. Keep up the good work next time."

"Yeah!"

Lin Nian, her schoolbag on her back, walked past them with a sour expression and muttered, "A person can’t be that lucky every single time."

Qin Jiao nodded in agreement. "You’re right, luck can’t last forever. That’s why you need real skill."

Lin Nian glared at her, then turned and walked out quickly.

Jiang Xiaoyue whispered from the side, "Why do I get the feeling that Lin Nian has it out for you? Earlier, when Mr. Sun announced your score was one rank ahead of hers, she even said it was impossible."

Several other students heard her at the time.

"Who knows?" Qin Jiao said with a faint smile, not elaborating.

’But in reality, I know exactly why. It’s because I’m the female lead of this book. As long as I’m not instantly ruined like I was in my last life, Lin Nian will always be on guard against me.’

’Especially since she’s worried I’ll steal Chen Feng from her.’