Chapter 9: The Class of Dumb Rich Kids
She lowered her head to examine the questions, one hand supporting her forehead, her eyes fixed so intently she could have memorized a problem. Her other hand was half-raised, a pencil spinning like a flower at her fingertips.
The more she looked, the less she understood.
Zhou Wanfeng leaned back in her chair, the softness on her face freezing in her eyes. She couldn’t help but smile. The very act of her sitting at a desk doing a test felt dreamlike and unreal.
In her past life, she had neither the inclination nor the opportunity to study properly. The writing desk at home was missing a leg.
At her level, she couldn’t tell if this test was a genuine placement exam or if Yang Yijun had someone create an overly difficult one to belittle her.
But either way, she couldn’t do it.
After looking through both sets of papers, she picked them up and went downstairs.
Zhou Wanfeng had the mentality of an adult. She was not afraid of ridicule or embarrassment. Before she dropped out of school in her past life, she had to rummage through trash cans every day to collect water bottles. Her male deskmate had asked the teacher to change his seat in front of the whole class, because she smelled of trash cans.
She did smell. She had moved her desk to the back and sat by herself.
She really couldn’t understand the test questions, so she would just have to learn.
Everyone was in the living room on the first floor. They were a little surprised to see her come down with the papers, mainly because it had been such a short time.
“You finished the test so quickly?” Lin Jiawen had already heard some things about this child from her aunt.
Zhou Wanfeng scanned the room and sighed. “I’m sorry, I can’t do it. There are some questions I don’t understand.”
Her expression was frank and serious, not feigned. But she spoke with neither humility nor arrogance, showing no sign of embarrassment, which left everyone momentarily speechless.
Yang Yijun raised her teacup to hide the smile at the corners of her lips. Seeing her come down so quickly, she had actually thought she was smart and capable.
Lin Jiawen saw her aunt drinking tea and not speaking, so she cleared her throat to smooth things over. “It’s alright, maybe the test was a bit difficult. But you didn’t do a single problem?”
Zhou Wanfeng nodded honestly. “There are many questions I don’t understand, and I don’t know how to solve them.” After speaking truthfully, she looked at Lin Jiawen with a worried expression. “Cousin-Aunt, can I still enroll like this?”
Hearing Zhou Wanfeng call Jiawen “Cousin-Aunt,” Yang Yijun felt a momentary discomfort and glanced over at them.
Lin Jiawen thought for a moment. “I’ll go back and ask the school. I remember the director of admissions said they weren’t full. But… your foundation seems a bit weak.” She looked at Yun Lan and her aunt.
Yang Yijun just closed her eyes and drank her tea, unconcerned with anything else. Hearing that her foundation was weak put her in a surprisingly good mood.
Yun Lan blinked her eyes, not realizing the crux of the problem at all.
Zhou Wanfeng took two steps forward and called out, “Auntie Yun, Cousin-Aunt said my foundation is weak. I want to find a tutoring class to catch up before school starts.”
“Ah, oh, a tutoring class. Alright, alright, I’ll help you find one.” Yun Lan said sheepishly. After verbally agreeing, she remembered what Zhou Zhiru had told her that morning. “Um, Wanfeng, you can stay with Jingya for now. The study and reading room are on the third floor, so it’s convenient. I’ll have Chengbin’s playroom converted into your room. He’s older now and doesn’t need it.”
Zhou Wanfeng looked at Yun Jingya, who was smiling and nodding. “Okay, we can sleep together. I can help you with your studies too.”
Yun Jingya stood up and pulled Zhou Wanfeng upstairs.
As the two of them went upstairs, Yang Yijun suddenly looked at Lin Jiawen and said, “Do you think she’s faking it?”
Lin Jiawen frowned. “Faking not understanding the questions?” She couldn’t help but laugh. “Auntie, you’re overthinking it. That child’s eyes are clear. She’s not the type you’re thinking of. I see all kinds of students at school every day, and this is the first time I’ve seen someone so calmly admit they don’t know something. And she seems eager to learn. I just don’t know why her foundation is so poor.”
“In any case, she’s staying in Yunhai City. You’ll have to put more effort into her schooling,” Yang Yijun said, getting up to go to the Go room.
But Lin Jiawen was a little hesitant and said in a low voice, “Auntie, I have some friends who work in public schools. Why don’t you reconsider? I can see in that child’s eyes that she wants to learn. Our Shuangshu is a private school. It’s advertised as a private aristocratic school, but in reality, the students we enroll are the ones who have been screened out by other schools. The quality of the students and the learning atmosphere really can’t compare to public schools.”
Because they were relatives, Lin Jiawen was trying to persuade her to reconsider.
But Yang Yijun turned and waved her hand, smiling. “No need. Shuangshu is fine. We don’t mind paying a little extra. Also, Jiawen, if she enrolls, don’t treat her as a relative. Just place her according to her test score of zero.”
Lin Jiawen was stunned for a moment. She glanced at Yun Lan and whispered, “Auntie.”
Yun Lan lowered her head, pretending not to have heard anything.
“Jiawen, our family’s connections are not to be used for unrelated people,” Yang Yijun said coldly, leaving only that one sentence behind.
Zhou Wanfeng followed Yun Jingya upstairs, one behind the other.
What was a rich girl’s bedroom like? It was the first time Zhou Wanfeng had seen one. The entire room was carpeted. It was soft and plush underfoot, as comfortable as walking on clouds.
The room was pink and tender, with stuffed animals, exquisite dolls, and some rare trinkets. It smelled fragrant, which inexplicably relaxed one’s mind.
After looking around, Zhou Wanfeng pointed to a spot on the carpet in front of the bed. “Bring my quilt over later. I’ll sleep here. You can continue to sleep on the bed.”
Yun Jingya was a little disappointed. “You can sleep on the bed with me. There’s enough room.”
“This is fine. I’m not used to sleeping with other people,” Zhou Wanfeng explained with a light laugh, looking at Yun Jingya. The young and kind female lead, from a wealthy family, intelligent and eager to learn, doted on by her family—truly a princess showered with love.
Suddenly, Zhou Wanfeng frowned. She stared at Yun Jingya’s youthful face and realized something.
Even though she hadn’t read many web novels or watched many urban dramas in her past life,
the principle was the same.
A girl with a good background, pretty looks, and a smart mind would definitely encounter setbacks in love, major setbacks.
But in the end, after some twists and turns, the ending would always be happy.
Zhou Wanfeng sneered at herself for thinking so far ahead.
Zhou Wanfeng had settled in. Unfortunately, Granny Zhang hadn’t gone home to retire. She would occasionally cast a gloomy glance at her.
The tutoring class Yun Lan found for her was near the Cultural Palace on Jianguo Road.
In a locked house in the backyard, there was a bicycle. Old Dong found it, cleaned it, not only changed the seat but also installed a basket in the front. After re-oiling the chain, Zhou Wanfeng could ride it with a whoosh.
Zhou Zhiru gave her a separate bank card and only said, “Use this card for your expenses here. You can keep the passbook from your hometown.”
Zhou Wanfeng had money. Before her grandmother passed away, the family passbook had been given to the original Zhou Wanfeng. Although Zhou Zhiru hadn’t been back for many years, he had sent a lot of money. The accumulated amount was not small.
She had classes in the morning and afternoon. She didn’t go home for lunch, just bought something to eat outside.
There were too many interest classes and tutoring classes near the Cultural Palace, especially during the summer vacation. There were small advertisements for dance, vocal, and piano lessons everywhere.
There were many students, and those who didn’t go home for lunch all crowded into a small alley. There were stalls on both sides, with carts selling food. The ones with storefronts sold stationery.
There were also places with no storefronts, but with crowds of people standing at the entrance, cigarettes dangling from their lips, wearing baggy bell-bottoms, their hair slicked to one side or the other, standing with no proper posture. These were basically arcades.
There was a hand-pulled noodle shop in the alley that tasted particularly good. Zhou Wanfeng had only passed by once and smelled a spicy and savory aroma, very similar to something she had eaten in her past life.
The owner was from out of town and spoke with a local accent. He said that the chili peppers he used were specially purchased from his hometown, where the sun was strong and the peppers were flavorful. The method of making chili sauce was also different from here.
Everyone who had eaten his hand-pulled noodles was a repeat customer.
Indeed, the small noodle shop was very simple and not very clean, but it was so popular that you had to queue. Zhou Wanfeng had taken a liking to eating here recently. Because it was crowded, she always deliberately stayed a little longer in the classroom.
Next to the small noodle shop was an arcade.
Zhou Wanfeng was eating noodles at a table by herself when three young students, about fifteen or sixteen, came out of the arcade. By the standards of the time, their clothes were quite unconventional. At least, good students wouldn’t dress like that.
The small noodle shop was crowded, with no empty tables. Even if there were seats, there wasn’t enough room for all of them. After looking around, they sat down opposite Zhou Wanfeng.
Zhou Wanfeng slurped her noodles without looking up. She heard one of them ask, “How many tokens do you guys have left?”
A fat boy on the left patted his pocket. “I have two left.”
“I’m out,” said the one on the right, slapping the table and telling the owner to hurry up.
“Damn it, a bunch of poor bastards. I’m out of money too,” the one who had spoken first cursed and kicked the fat boy next to him. “Think of a way to get some money.”
The fat boy glanced at the girl who was eating with her head down at the table.
“What are you looking at? Hurry up and say something,” a passerby said, what was there to be afraid of?
“I’m full of energy this summer vacation, but I have nowhere to use it. I’ll have to wait until school starts. The new students don’t even need much effort. Just scare them a little and they’ll hand over their money,” the fat boy said, shaking his fist.
The one on the right got up and came back with a spoonful of chili sauce. Hearing the fat boy talk about new students, he got excited. “Shuangshu has an extra class this year. The kids in that class are dumb and rich. To put it bluntly, they paid their way into the school. They’re all terrible at studying, and no other school wants them. If you find a few suckers, you won’t have to worry about money for at least three years.”
The owner brought over three bowls of noodles on a tray, and the conversation was temporarily interrupted.
The one in the middle slurped a mouthful of noodles and said while eating, “Shuangshu Model? That rich private middle school.”
The one on the right nodded. “Yeah, you can’t get in without money. The families of the students who go there are all rich. But you have to pick the right person. There are tough nuts over there too, kids who caused trouble in elementary school and couldn’t get into other junior highs, so they paid to go to a private one.”
The fat boy picked up his bowl and drank some soup, a trace of regret on his face. “Forget Shuangshu. It’s a big fish eats small fish world over there. It’s not our turn. The new students there are targeted by the second and third years as soon as they enroll. They’ve already figured out which of the new students are troublemakers. They either recruit them or teach them a lesson. The ‘protection fees’ are all handled internally.”
Zhou Wanfeng finished the noodles in her bowl, picked out the side dishes, and drank a large mouthful of the soup. She pulled out a napkin to wipe her mouth. This morning, before she left, Yang Yijun had told her with a smile that the school matter had been settled. She would be reporting to Shuangshu Model Middle School at the beginning of September.
Hearing the conversation of these three delinquents, she was probably going to be in the “class of dumb rich kids” they were talking about.