Chapter 11: New School Uniform

On the morning of the exam day, Qi went to the first floor of the canteen to buy breakfast as usual.

Now that she had plenty of funds, her meals had also been upgraded; breakfast was no longer just two steamed buns, as it now included a cup of soy milk.

Bringing her breakfast to the classroom, Qi sensed something was wrong the moment she pushed the door open.

The students in the classroom were different than usual.

They had all put on their academy uniforms, making the black-haired girl, who was still in her ordinary clothes, appear even more out of place.

Qi was slightly stunned but didn’t show much expression, silently returning to her seat.

“Qiqi, your academy uniform is with the homeroom teacher. She wants you to go pick it up,” an indifferent voice sounded above her head.

The black-haired girl looked up and saw the person in front of her.

Zhang Zhiyun was their class monitor and one of the three people who had pulled her into their small group with chocolate.

Her attitude couldn’t be described as cold; it was just that her facial expressions rarely changed.

When the other two had pulled Qi into the group, she had also maintained that same indifferent look.

“Okay, thank you, Class Monitor.”

After offering her thanks, the black-haired girl stood up and walked toward the homeroom teacher’s office.

Arriving at the office door, she knocked first.

After receiving permission, Qi opened the door and stepped inside.

“I heard you’ve been busy lately, so I didn’t call for you.”

The homeroom teacher looked up at her, her tone kind.

“It’s fine to wear your own clothes on ordinary days, but on exam days and during some campus events, you still have to wear the academy uniform.”

The homeroom teacher was a woman in her forties.

One could see the majesty she usually maintained from the lines of her face, but upon seeing the black-haired girl now, she smiled and beckoned her over.

“I understand. Thank you, Teacher,” Qi said politely as she took the bag from the woman’s hands.

However, the teacher seemed to have more to say, so Qi didn’t rush to leave and waited patiently.

Seeing the black-haired girl look so well-behaved, the homeroom teacher, Li Xin, couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.

“Little Qi, if your life is truly difficult, you can apply for the Special Recruit Scholarship. There’s no need to go out and look for a job right now.”

Hearing the homeroom teacher’s words, Qi blinked, realizing that she had been under the teacher’s observation.

“It’s not that difficult… the scholarship can be left for those who need it more.”

She currently had over 30,000 in savings, after all.

“Although the learning atmosphere in our school is relaxed, if you’re willing to learn, the teaching resources are very abundant.”

“I know, Teacher.”

Li Xin hesitated, but finally just shook her head helplessly.

“Well then, there’s a restroom in my office. Just change into your academy uniform here,” the homeroom teacher said with a light smile, saying no more.

Qi took the academy uniform into the restroom.

She silently gazed at herself in the mirror.

She understood the meaning behind the homeroom teacher’s words perfectly, but she resisted thinking about the issue.

At her previous school, her teachers always said to her, “Think more about your future.”

But in Qi’s eyes, her future had always been blurred and unclear.

Now that a certain guy claiming to be a God had intervened, it was even more chaotic.

‘Perhaps I’m just short-sighted, neither smart nor possessed of any dreams,’ Qi thought with a self-mocking smile.

No longer thinking about it, she placed the bag on the sink and took out the academy uniform.

Although she had prepared herself mentally, she still couldn’t help but curl her lip the moment she saw the skirt.

Well, the girls’ academy uniforms were all skirt styles; how could she be an exception?

Qi put on the academy uniform.

This clothing was designed strictly according to her body measurements, and the materials were worthy of the name of a noble academy, feeling beautiful, comfortable, and well-fitted on her body.

The uniform featured a pleated skirt.

It was neither too long nor too short, neither long enough to completely cover her legs nor short enough to make her afraid to wear it outside.

Besides the main outfit, the other accessories were also complete.

From the hat and bowtie to the hard-soled leather shoes, there were even four styles of socks: black, white, long, and short.

Since there was a hat, Qi definitely wanted to wear it.

As for the socks, wearing short socks would do.

After dressing neatly, Qi came out of the restroom, bid farewell to the homeroom teacher, and returned to the classroom.

There was an extra self-study period on the morning of an exam day compared to usual; therefore, she had to wake up an hour earlier.

She had to get out of bed before 7:00 AM, supposedly to clear her mind before the exam.

For Qi, there was no difference whether her mind was clear or not.

After all, no matter how clear it was, she couldn’t squeeze non-existent knowledge out of her head.

During the morning self-study time, rather than reviewing her lessons, Qi was more willing to think about how she was going to fool Luo Qing after the exam was over.

But she quickly realized something was wrong.

‘Wait, the other person isn’t actually my mother, so why do I need to fool her?’

She didn’t want to care about the woman’s thoughts.

It would be best to use this opportunity to make her understand that she was an irreredeemable idiot so she would look away from Qi as soon as possible.

‘That’s the plan.’

Qi suppressed the faint sense of unease in her heart, at least having convinced herself.

Since things had come to this, she would eat her breakfast first.

Once the morning self-study ended, Qi set off for the exam hall.

Even for a monthly exam, the school didn’t take things lightly.

Not only was there a dedicated exam hall, but even the exam numbers and seats were distributed by the class monitor during morning self-study to prevent anyone from knowing them in advance.

Qi had only experienced this kind of exam atmosphere during the big high school entrance exams.

She could understand this.

After all, the scholarship for the top ten was 10,000, and it would be too unfair to those who studied hard if someone cheated.

“Exam Hall A, number twenty-four…”

The black-haired girl said as she seriously looked for the hall.

The next second, the hat on her head was lifted by someone.

“You can’t wear a hat into the exam hall.”

Hearing the familiar voice, Qi instinctively covered the top of her head in panic, turning back to meet Jiang Wanli’s smiling eyes.

“What? Are you that afraid of me?”

“No, no, it’s just that it’s been a long time since I’ve seen Sister Wanli, so I’m a bit at a loss.”

Hurriedly hiding her exposed flaw, Qi tilted her head and gave Jiang Wanli a sweet smile.

“I’ve been busy lately. I thought I’d have to wait until after the exam to see Sister Wanli~”

Seeing that Jiang Wanli only smiled without saying a word, she guiltily changed the subject.

“By the way, Sister Wanli, why are you here? Are we in the same exam hall?”

“I’ve already finished my exam.”

“Finished?”

The black-haired girl was bewildered.

Hadn’t the monthly exam just started?

Before she could think further, Jiang Wanli stuffed a supplies bag into her arms.

“You aren’t allowed to bring anything into the exam hall. Exam materials are provided by the school. I’m mainly responsible for helping lost students find their halls and delivering these things to muddled fellows.”

Qi glanced through the supplies bag; it was indeed full of things needed for the exam, very complete.

“Thank you, Sister Wanli~ If it weren’t for your help, I really would have entered the hall empty-handed.”

Qi thanked her gratefully.

“Mm, then I’ll head off to get busy. Your exam hall is just at the end up ahead.”

“Okay~”

Watching Jiang Wanli leave, the smile on Qi’s face gradually faded.

She rubbed her forehead in distress, her mood very complicated.

Regarding Jiang Wanli, the relationship between them should have been severed long ago.

However, Qi had been procrastinating, and the problem only resurfaced when the woman appeared again.

There was at least one thing Qi hadn’t lied about: being around Jiang Wanli really did give her a strange sense of security.

It was a feeling she had never had before, and she couldn’t figure out why.

They had only known each other for a short time.

‘Why… why can’t I feel any malice from her?’

Qi instinctively clenched her fist but soon relaxed it.

She didn’t want to think about it anymore.

Whether it was true or not didn’t matter; she and Jiang Wanli were destined not to have many interactions.

Following the direction the other had pointed out, Qi quickly found her exam hall.

There were storage lockers corresponding to the seats outside the hall, and the keys had also been distributed during morning self-study.

Qi found her locker and put everything inside except for the exam supplies Jiang Wanli had just given her.

But when she was about to close the locker, she stared blankly at the space inside, feeling as if something was missing.

Not until her left hand instinctively touched her head, and her other hand touched it as if in disbelief, did she bite her lip in frustration.

‘Jiang Wanli…’

That girl had taken her hat!