When Jiang Xiaoli returned to the classroom, Xie Yitao came up to her and asked, "Hey, did you move?"

Jiang Xiaoli raised an eyebrow. "How did you know?"

Xie Yitao chuckled, "I didn't know at first, but last week Xu Xing came to ask me and Chen Jing. He said he called you, but the person who answered said you had moved. He came to ask us for your new phone number, and in the end, Chen Jing asked Xiao Muyu to find out your new number. But Xu Xing probably didn't call you because he heard you went out of town."

Jiang Xiaoli fell silent. Why was Xu Xing so concerned about her? She scratched her head in frustration. Was the way a top student thought differently from others?

Forget it, never mind. We'll deal with whatever comes our way. I'll talk to Xu Xing, that arrogant jerk, once his anger has subsided.

For the next week, Jiang Xiaoli devoted all her energy to studying.

On Friday and Saturday, Chen arranged tests for him and Xu Xing that not only covered the knowledge from the three years of high school, but also included two sets of competition questions in mathematics and physics.

In the high school exams, both Jiang Xiaoli and Xu Xing scored very well, mostly full marks. However, in the physics and math competition papers, Jiang Xiaoli scored two points lower than Xu Xing.

Teacher Liu tapped the test paper on the table. "Jiang Xiaoli, although you still managed to get such a good score after taking such a long leave of absence, you are much more careless compared to Xu Xing. After not putting your energy into studying for a while, have you fallen behind in your problem-solving skills?"

Jiang Xiaoli lowered her head and promised, "Teacher Liu has been away on business recently, so he has had much less time to read. I will try my best to catch up with him for the rest of this semester."

Teacher Liu nodded, "You need to catch up, but don't put too much pressure on yourselves. You are both very excellent."

Jiang Xiaoli smiled and patted her chest, "Teacher Liu, don't worry, I have the mental fortitude to handle this."

The two left the office. "This is the first time Xu Xing has spoken to her this week. He was just one or two points short. You should practice these question types more."

Seeing that he was finally no longer aloof, Jiang Xiaoli replied with a smile, "Okay, no problem. I'll definitely catch up with you by the end of the semester."

Xu Xing then smiled, "Spend more time studying, don't waste your talent."

She was very curious. "Xu Xing, why are you so concerned about my grades?"

Xu Xing rested his hands on the railing of the corridor, looking towards the playground. "It's rare to have a comrade who is evenly matched with me. I don't want to lose him so soon."

Jiang Xiaoli smiled and nodded, promising, "Don't worry, I will be your biggest rival in your academic career. Once I surpass you, you can't secretly curse me at home!"

Hearing her nonsensical words again, Xu Xing smiled wryly and said, "I would never do something so childish."

Jiang Xiaoli smiled and said, "Hehe, that's good! I also wish you good grades and won't grumble about you getting second place behind your back."

Xu Xing seemed to suddenly remember something, and he turned his head to ask, "Have you done this before?"

Jiang Xiaoli quickly shook her head and waved her hands, "No, no, no, am I that kind of person?"

Xu Xing suddenly had a sense of humor, "Well, people say that only those who do things themselves can ask others not to do them. I thought you had experience with this."

Jiang Xiaoli patted his shoulder like a good brother, "No, no, if my grades surpass yours, it must be because my clever little brain absorbed signals from the universe, it's definitely not some kind of metaphysics, don't worry!"

Xu Xing smiled and nodded, "Okay, then I'll trust you this once."

On the way home, Xiao Muyu asked curiously, "How did you do on your exam today?"

"It's alright," she replied casually.

In December, it's freezing cold, and riding a bicycle, you really don't want to talk. If you open your mouth, you'll just get a bellyful of cold wind.

But Xiao Muyu was very curious, "Did you do better on the exam, or did Xu Xing do better?"

Jiang Xiaoli's answer was still very brief: "Xu Xing scored two points higher than me."

Xiao Muyu suddenly stopped her bike, and Jiang Xiaoli, who had ridden a few meters forward, also stopped. She turned around and asked, "What's wrong?"

Xiao Muyu pushed her bike to her side and hesitated before speaking, "It's just... it's just that you were away on a business trip for two weeks, right? Xu Xing contacted you several times, and I heard that someone was secretly spreading gossip about the two of you."

Jiang Xiaoli's eyes suddenly widened like saucers. "Gossiping about the two of us? What's the topic?"

Xiao Muyu was speechless. "What other theme could it be? I heard someone say that Xu Xing likes you!"

Jiang Xiaoli burst out laughing, "I didn't expect our classmates to be so gossipy."

Just as she was about to continue riding her bike, Xiao Muyu grabbed her seat. "Don't you have any thoughts after hearing that?"

Jiang Xiaoli turned around and smiled at her, "Xu Xing is worried that I won't study and that he'll lose a rival. Nobody ever has such petty thoughts, and neither do I, so there's no need to care about these rumors."

Xiao Muyu nodded. "Of course I know you two didn't mean it that way, but this news is getting worse. Don't you want to think of a way to calm it down?"

Jiang Xiaoli shook her head. "Rumors stop with the wise. There's no need to put yourself in a self-proving trap."

Xiao Muyu murmured repeatedly, "Don't let yourself fall into the trap of self-justification..."

Her eyes suddenly lit up. "Little Pear, what you said makes so much sense!"

Jiang Xiaoli simply pushed her bike and walked alongside her, saying, "Of course! When have I ever said anything unreasonable?"

Xiao Muyu ignored her narcissism this time and began to tell a story.

"Last year, at my junior high school, there was a senior in the senior year who had excellent grades and was very beautiful, but her family situation was not good. Her parents passed away early, and she grew up in her uncle's house."

Last year, a man from outside the university wanted to date this senior, but she was focused on studying hard to get into a good university and change her destiny, so she firmly rejected his advances.

But this guy was disgusting. He loudly spread rumors at the school gate, saying that the senior had been with him.

When the senior student's uncle and aunt heard about this, they felt ashamed. They accepted the man's betrothal money and forced them to get married.

The senior student explained to the school, family, classmates, and friends many, many times, but no one believed her.

Finally, in despair, the senior student attempted suicide by jumping from the roof of her uncle's house. She failed, but was left with a limp.

A girl who originally had excellent grades had her entire life changed.

After telling this story, Xiao Muyu sighed deeply.

Jiang Xiaoli, however, had a different opinion: "She had the courage to commit suicide, but not the courage to resist. What kind of logic is that?"

Xiao Muyu blinked, confused. "Xiao Li, what do you mean?"