“Three…three.” Meng Zhili was taken aback and stammered as he replied.
The words had barely left his mouth when the bus stopped to pick up a new batch of passengers. The bus, which had been quiet for a few seconds, became lively again with the arrival of the new passengers.
"Did I hear that right? That girl called Meng Zhili 'brother'?"
"His own brother? Isn't his sister Meng Zhiyi?"
"Ah, I remember now. Xiuxiu said that Meng Zhiyi was taken back by her family. I heard that her biological parents are very wealthy. She won't be at our school next semester; she'll be going to the prestigious academy across the street."
"What! Princess Little Sister has come to life? What incredible luck does she have? She must be a novel heroine, right? Having three handsome older brothers is already enviable enough. I was thinking that she would be miserable this semester after her family went bankrupt, but I didn't expect her to become a rich heiress again?"
"Comparing yourself to others will only make you miserable."
"But... does that mean that young lady is the so-called fake heiress?"
"Oh my god, what explosive news! Suddenly, school doesn't seem so hard to go to today."
"But didn't their family go bankrupt? How do they still have the money to send her to a prestigious school?"
"You don't understand, do you? The young lady doesn't want to transfer to an ordinary elementary school like ours. She's too proud to admit her mistake and suffer for it."
Meng Zhili couldn't take it anymore and was about to retort when Meng Wan held his hand down. Meng Zhili's eyes were full of anger, but he still patiently looked at Meng Wan.
"That's the dark side of people. If you try to argue with them, you'll only get stuck in a quagmire of self-justification. Whether you win or lose the argument, they don't care about the truth. That's why it only takes one mouth to spread rumors, but it takes a lot of running around to refute them."
Meng Wan's composure was so profound that it made Meng Zhili feel a pang of sympathy. It was as if she had seen through all the rumors and gossip, no longer rushing to prove anything, but calmly observing others' fabrications about her, even managing to laugh it off when the matter was brought up—a detached indifference that was heartbreaking.
If Meng... Tang Zhiyi were here, she would definitely drag him into making a scene with others in the carriage.
It wasn't that she thought it was bad, but in that instant, Meng Zhili clearly understood the saying, "Those who are favored are always fearless." No matter how much Tang Zhiyi caused trouble, they would ultimately stand with her and support her.
Meng Zhili pursed her lips, and neither of them spoke again until they arrived at their stop.
The two schools face each other at their main gates, yet present completely different scenes. On one side, students from No. 1 Middle School, dressed in school uniforms and carrying ordinary schoolbags, walk into the school, some carrying seaweed rice rolls and sandwiches they just bought at the food street behind the school.
Across the street, luxury cars were parked in front of the European-style school gate. Butlers in black tailcoats opened the car doors and watched their young masters and ladies enter the school. The young masters and ladies carried backpacks worth tens of thousands of yuan and wore very unique clothes as they stepped into the school gate.
Students from No. 1 High School occasionally cast glances their way, some with curiosity, some with disdain, and some with envy. The students from the private academy, however, had no interest in discussing anything else; they were preoccupied with talking to their friends about who would win the championship that day.
Of course, there will also be people who want to stir up conflict.
"It's true that different people have different fates." The words contained both envy and lament.
The person next to him snorted disdainfully.
"They don't act like students at all, doing all this fancy stuff. No wonder they can't beat us in every test."
"Hey hey hey, isn't this the student from No. 1 Middle School who only cares about grades?" A boy appeared from around the corner. He was dressed in clothes that gave off a somewhat chuunibyou vibe, with a cross earring in one ear, his hair dyed red, and a seaweed rice roll in his hand.
"Peng Zhe, it's you again!"
"Always third place, I heard you're still third in the city rankings this time?" Peng Zhe's words were blatant sarcasm.
Hong Yingqi clenched his fists, his eyes filled with resentment. His friend cautiously tugged at his sleeve, but Hong Yingqi shoved him away.
"Besides family background, what else can you compare to me? All you can do is mock me for being a perennial third-place finisher, what a disgrace."
Hong Yingqi's words were extremely harsh, but Peng Zhe didn't seem angry at all. He stretched out his index finger and waved it a few times at Hong Yingqi, his expression extremely irritating.
"No, no, no, you're wrong. Besides having a family background that surpasses yours by several levels, my looks are also way better than yours." Peng Zhe stroked his chin narcissistically.
Although he was a bit cheeky, what Peng Zhe said wasn't wrong. Compared to Hong Yingqi's face, which was full of youthful marks, Peng Zhe could even pull off his flamboyant red hair very well.
Although he is a bit carefree in his daily life, he has quite a few fans. Almost every month, a few people confess their love to him on the confession wall. Some of them are even students from No. 1 High School. Because it is too sentimental, his best friend even mocked him, saying that he must have hired trolls.
Hong Yingqi once again failed to gain the upper hand verbally, clenching his teeth and glaring angrily at Peng Zhe.
"Never mind, Yingqi, let's go," his companion said cautiously as more and more people gathered around.
Hong Yingqi snorted and turned to leave. Peng Zhe chuckled, waving at his retreating figure, "By the way, the perennial third place."
He shouted, and everyone around him immediately focused their attention on him, but he showed no signs of social anxiety and his tone was even more cheerful.
"I remember you scored about ten points lower than me in English this time. Good luck next time!"
"Nine points! What do you mean ten points or so!" Peng Yingqi retorted without even thinking.
The laughter that rose and fell around him only fueled Hong Yingqi's anger. He could no longer contain himself and walked toward Peng Zhe. The crowd quickly made way for him, their faces showing anticipation for the spectacle. Students from the college across the street also crossed the road to surround him.
But before they arrived, a woman's voice rang out.
"Peng Zhe." The voice was light and clear, but devoid of any emotion.
Peng Zhe's eyes lit up, and he looked back. The people surrounding him tactfully made way for him. After they stepped aside, Meng Zhili and Meng Wan, who were on the outermost layer, appeared in front of them.
"Sister Wan!" Although he called her that, Peng Zhe was actually a year older than Meng Wan. Ignoring Hong Yingqi, Peng Zhe went straight to Meng Wan.
"Wow, this outfit is really cool! Look at mine, what do you think? I've named it Dark Boy." Peng Zhe grabbed his collar, giving him a 'praise me' look.
Meng Wan felt an eye-strain at the sight of Peng Zhe's black stick figure, the several holes in his clothes, and his unique chain ornaments.
What are you doing standing in front of someone else's school?
"I didn't do anything, I didn't do anything." Peng Zhe smiled ingratiatingly at Meng Wan, a smile completely different from his demeanor in front of Hong Yingqi.
Meng Wan, of course, didn't believe it and glanced back suspiciously, just in time to meet Hong Yingqi's gaze. Peng Zhe sensed something was wrong, blocked Meng Wan's view, focused his attention on Meng Zhili, and immediately changed the subject.
"Isn't this Meng Zhili, the perennial runner-up? Sister Wan, what are you doing with him?"
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