On the third floor of the cafeteria, the students of Class A were all nervously staring at Yuan Luoyi.
A pauper had trespassed into the merchants' territory, like a fierce wolf charging into a flock of sheep. They knew their good days were over, and Yuan Luoyi would undoubtedly win.
Scanning the room, Yuan Luoyi noticed the production crew had redecorated the place, making it look lavish and extravagant.
Underfoot was a thick Persian handmade carpet, with Italian imported black and gold marble tables, and even the water glasses were inlaid with gold and jade.
Director Zhang must have cried poverty to the sponsors every day, so all these items were definitely rented.
She would have to be careful during the competition, for if she accidentally broke anything, Director Zhang might suffer a heart attack on the spot.
On the wall hung an enormous screen, broadcasting the reality show live, with Yuan Luoyi herself on display and countless comments flying by.
"Ahhh! After waiting for so long, I finally get to see Yuan Luoyi!"
"The Creator has sculpted her to such perfection, her eyes roam the heavens yet remain undefiled! Ah, today is another day healed by Luoyi!"
"Did anyone notice? It seems like she grew a little taller! Is this the joy of a growth story?"
The scene suddenly switched, with the camera focusing on Su Xun. She smiled and tossed the dice, the ten-sided die tumbling to reveal the number "7".
Soaring background music began playing, and everyone's attention was fixed on Su Xun.
The host Na Lan excitedly said, "Su Xun has also discovered the secret of the dice!"
"What a smart girl! Every step is meticulously calculated, and she has found the only path for a commoner to defeat a merchant!"
"That is, to force the merchants to work hard and earn money, while she will make currency worthless!"
"Congratulations to contestant Su Xun for rolling a 7, advancing seven steps on the map. A global financial tsunami strikes, devaluing all currencies by 10,000%!"
"Gold, as the oldest store of value, shines once again, appreciating by 10,000%!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, the merchants on the third floor jumped up in panic, their wealth rankings plummeting while Su Xun's name skyrocketed.
In the end, only Yuan Luoyi and Su Xun remained on the leaderboard, their wealth values were identical, undoubtedly an intentional one-on-one showdown arranged by the production crew.
The commoners on the second floor were also shocked, a mix of anger and envy.
"No wonder Su Xun only wanted gold and not currency!"
"Oh no! I sold her all my gold! She said gold would definitely depreciate in the future, why did I believe her? I'm ruined!"
"Ahhh, I missed the chance to get rich!"
Su Xun headed for the elevator to the third floor, giving the crowd a false smile. "Farewell, you leeks. Thanks to your pristine ignorance, this harvest was quite enjoyable for me."
Her words successfully enraged everyone. Some angrily slammed their fists on the tables, while others glared furiously, knocking over and shattering a few teacups.
As first-year students, this reality show had deeply impressed upon them the saying, "Ruining one's wealth is akin to harming their life."
Director Zhang stared at the shattered teacups, gasping and heartbroken, for they were rented and would have to be paid for.
On the large screen, comments continued to pour in.
"Wow, this Su Xun seems different from before! So arrogant, but a bit cool!"
"Last time in the knowledge contest, she performed well, but there were suspicions of cheating. Surely she's not cheating this time?"
"Ahaha, great, it's Yuan Luoyi versus Su Xun again, the Xun-Luoyi shippers are ecstatic!"
The reunion of the two most popular contestants caused the live viewership to soar, alleviating Director Zhang's distress.
Su Xun's original fans had also come to cheer her on, but she paid them no heed, focused solely on one thing: how to win?
Last time, she had completely lost her composure, missing her chance at victory.
This time, she would redeem herself!
"Ding!"
"Third floor!"
The elevator doors slowly opened, and Su Xun stepped out, directly facing Yuan Luoyi.
Su Xun carefully observed Yuan Luoyi's face. In just one day, this "fake villainess" had changed again.
As the saying goes, your enemy knows you best.
So Su Xun constantly observed Yuan Luoyi, aware that she must have experienced many dark moments recently and successfully survived them.
Such rapid growth made Su Xun admire Yuan Luoyi, yet also feel envious.
Possessing great intelligence and diligence, Su Xun had achieved many accomplishments and felt at ease around others.
But when facing Yuan Luoyi, she became unusually sensitive, unable to resist showing off and afraid of being looked down upon. Later, Su Xun realized this state was called insecurity...
Just like their first encounter.
On a sweltering summer day, a group of new first-year students, the raucous chirping of cicadas, a bright classroom, and an 11-year-old girl who stood out from the crowd: Yuan Luoyi.
Gazing at her from afar, Su Xun couldn't help but think, "Ah, she's so cute."
Immediately, a strong sense of insecurity washed over her. Su Xun knew she could never pull off that kind of cuteness; she was a "fake lady" beaten into shape by her mother's cane.
Her mother's angry scolding echoed through Su Xun's entire childhood.
"Why can't you endure even this little hardship?"
"Can you defeat the Yuan family's spawn like this? Are you going to disgrace the Su family again?"
"My parents were killed by the Yuan family, when I was just 18! I had to drop out and sing at night clubs to pay off debts, while also supporting my sister's education!"
"After having you, I worked three jobs a day, just to enroll you in a ballet class!"
"Why are you crying? Do you have the right to cry? I'm the one who should be crying!"
"Are you being fair to me?"
So whenever her drunken mother lost control and grabbed an empty beer bottle to smash at Su Xun, she wouldn't dodge. The bottle would shatter against her head, blood trickling down her forehead, but she wouldn't cry.
She would wash her face, clean up the blood, put on a bandage, tidy up the mess in the room, cover her sleeping mother with a blanket, then emotionlessly put on her backpack and go to her extracurricular math class.
When meeting her teacher and classmates, Su Xun would put on a standard lady-like fake smile, just as her mother demanded.
Her mother said, "Men don't like strong women, you must be gentle and graceful, like a lady at all times."
"This is for your own good. One day, you'll become a renowned celebrity and marry a top aristocrat!"
"I've paved the path for you. Your aunt is now an English teacher at Star Han Middle School and the homeroom teacher of Class A. She'll help you connect with more powerful families."
"All the resources have been invested in you, don't let me down."
"Once you succeed, the Su family will have the power to take revenge on the Yuan family!"
In such a family environment, Su Xun should have hated Yuan Luoyi, but she didn't.
Whenever the pressure became too much and Su Xun found herself vomiting over the toilet, she would hear faint sobbing from the neighboring stall - Yuan Luoyi's crying.
Carefully approaching the partition and pressing her ear against it, Su Xun could hear her crying in such heartbreak and regret.
Unbelievably, Su Xun felt a sense of relief.
So she's putting on an act too...
Perhaps they could become friends.
