Chapter 11: Eighteenth Place
Lin Yuejiu’s mind exploded with a loud boom. She lowered her eyes to look at the bracelet.
It was the gift he had given her on her sixteenth birthday, something he had personally woven. Lin Yuejiu could still remember what he said back then, “This is from an older brother to his younger sister, meaning that no matter when, you will always be my sister.”
And now, he was saying he wanted to take it off?
Lin Yuejiu’s eyelashes trembled lightly. “Do you really want to take it off?”
“What else?” he retorted. “I gave this to my sister. You are not my sister. This bracelet should be taken off—it belongs to the Lin family.”
Her gaze lingered on the bracelet for a long time.
“What? Can’t bear to part with it? Don’t tell me you suddenly want it now because you realize it’s valuable?” He frowned.
Lin Yuejiu reached up, took off the bracelet, and handed it to him.
Lin Yimo, however, didn’t take it. His heart was filled with an indescribable feeling. He hadn’t even meant to speak to her just now—it was a subconscious reaction he couldn’t suppress. At first, he had wanted to show concern, but then he remembered the things she had tacitly agreed to before, and anger welled up again. Without realizing it, those words came out. Originally, he just wanted to see her reaction—if she refused to take it off, he would have let her keep it. But he hadn’t expected her to actually remove it so easily.
He remembered this bracelet very clearly. He had woven it himself as her sixteenth birthday gift, treating her as his forever little sister. She had once said she would never take it off for her whole life. And yet, now she had removed it without hesitation. That fact filled him with irritation.
Lin Yimo snatched it from her hand, glanced at a trash can not far away, and, as if possessed by a devil, threw the bracelet in without hesitation.
Lin Yuejiu watched helplessly as the bracelet was thrown away, a stabbing pain spreading through her heart.
After tossing the bracelet, Lin Yimo didn’t even look at it again, as though it was nothing worth remembering, and drove away.
Lin Yuejiu slowly walked toward the trash can, looking at the beautiful bracelet lying there all alone.
Just like her—discarded, unwanted by anyone.
She stood quietly by the trash can for a while, then turned and left.
When she returned to the dormitory, Chen Qianxi, worried about her, asked, “Jiujiu, where have you been? Why are you back so late?”
It was only when she came closer that Chen Qianxi noticed how pale Lin Yuejiu’s face was. She was startled. “Jiujiu, what’s wrong? Why do you look so pale? Are you sick?”
She reached out to touch Lin Yuejiu’s forehead—it was icy cold.
Lin Yuejiu took her hand away. “I’m fine. Maybe I was just out in the cold wind, and it made my face pale.”
“You—”
“I’m tired. I’m going to sleep.”
Before Chen Qianxi could say anything else, she quickly finished speaking and headed toward her bed.
Chen Qianxi opened her mouth. “Alright… good night.”
She turned off the lights, and the room fell into darkness.
Lin Yuejiu curled herself up into a ball, hugging herself tightly. After a while, her fingers rubbed at her eyes and came away damp.
—
The next day, the school began exams.
Perhaps because of yesterday’s events, Lin Yuejiu was not in a good state. She kept getting distracted during the tests and couldn’t finish the papers before time ran out.
The exams only lasted two days, and when they ended, everyone cheered.
Xu Nianshen looked at her. “You don’t look too well. Are you sick?”
Lin Yuejiu shook her head. “I’m fine. I just need to rest a bit. Don’t worry.”
“If you feel unwell, you must go to the infirmary right away.”
“Alright,” she agreed.
There were fewer second-year students than third-years, so the grades came out faster.
“I heard the results are out.”
“Seriously? This fast?”
“I just went to the office to turn in homework, and I heard our Chinese teacher say it herself. How could that be fake?”
“Oh no, oh no, I’m starting to get nervous already.”
“What are you nervous about? It’s not like you’re going to fail.”
“Hey, who do you think will take the top spot in the year this time?”
“Don’t you know who always takes the top spot in the year? Isn’t it always those two? They’ve been glued to the top of the rankings and never come down, haven’t they?”
“True. How about we guess which one of those two got first place this time?”
“No guess, boring. They’ll just tie for first again.”
“Not necessarily this time.”
“Why?”
“Have you forgotten about the recent incident? The fake daughter thing.”
“Oh, right! That caused such a huge stir—it’s bound to have affected her, right?”
“Now that you mention it, I’m actually starting to look forward to the results.”
The class bell rang, and the homeroom teacher walked into the room. The students instinctively quieted down.
Lin Yuejiu didn’t know if it was just her imagination, but she felt like after the teacher entered, he would glance at her from time to time, his expression carrying a complicated mix of emotions—almost like disappointment, yet also like pity.
“Quiet, everyone. I have an announcement. Chen Qianxi from Class 2, because of her outstanding performance in this exam, and her own application, will be transferring to Class 1. Let’s all welcome her.”
Everyone clapped. Lin Yuejiu was slightly surprised, but also joined in the applause.
Soon, Chen Qianxi came in, stood on the podium, and bowed to everyone. “Hello, everyone, I’m Chen Qianxi. I’m very happy to be in Class 1 with so many top students. I hope I can quickly become friends with you all, and I ask for your guidance!”
The students of Class 1 were very welcoming, applauding warmly.
“You’re a top student too. We’re all top students here—no need to be so polite!”
Everyone laughed.
“Alright, Chen Qianxi, go take a seat at an empty desk for now. Later, when I read out all the scores, we’ll arrange the seats.”
“Okay, teacher.”
As she stepped down from the podium, Chen Qianxi winked at Lin Yuejiu.
Lin Yuejiu couldn’t help but smile.
“Alright, everyone sit down and quiet down. I’m going to announce the results now. First place—Xu Nianshen, 712 points.”
Thunderous applause.
Everyone assumed second place would be Lin Yuejiu’s name, but unexpectedly, it was someone else. That student was obviously stunned—“Second place? Me? I’m not the eternal number three anymore?”
The homeroom teacher repeated his name, and only then did he believe he was really second.
Everyone turned their gaze toward Lin Yuejiu. She kept her eyes lowered, deep in thought.
Third place, fourth place, fifth place… none of them were her.
Finally—
“Eighteenth place,” the teacher paused, “Lin Yuejiu.”
The class erupted in shock.
“Did I hear that right? Did the teacher say Lin Yuejiu is eighteenth?”
“I wish I heard wrong, but no—she’s really eighteenth.”
“Oh my god! She dropped from second to eighteenth?! Sure, eighteenth isn’t bad, but for someone like Lin Yuejiu, who’s always held second or tied for first, this is way too shocking!!!”
“Whoa! What happened during the test? Did she fall asleep or something?”
“See? I told you. The fake daughter thing really hit her hard.”
The homeroom teacher tapped the podium. “Quiet! Gossiping about someone’s personal matters behind their back is not proper behavior.”
The whole room fell silent.
From her empty seat, Chen Qianxi looked worriedly at Lin Yuejiu in front of her, but could only see the back of her head and nothing else.
She couldn’t see, but Xu Nianshen, sitting beside Lin Yuejiu, could see everything clearly. She still had her head lowered, but under the desk, her interlaced fingers twisted together uneasily.
Something flickered in his eyes.
The homeroom teacher gradually finished reading out all the names and scores.
“Alright, that’s all for the results. Let’s arrange the seating now—same as always, in order of ranking, two per desk, no separation by gender.”
