Chu Ying: "..."
So, there really were people in the world who didn't appreciate beauty... No, wait, the boss herself was beautiful!
"Boss, couldn't you at least play along and pretend to be sad with us for a bit?" Chu Ying said.
"No time." Yu He put down her schoolbag and left with a small canvas bag.
Class Monitor and others: "..."
Suddenly, why did they feel like they were being shown off in a high-profile, Versailles-esque manner?
Yu He left the classroom and headed for the experimental building.
Outside the chemistry laboratory on the fourth floor.
Lu Chenyu leaned casually against the wall with his schoolbag on his back, reading a book while waiting for someone.
The chemistry laboratories on this floor were for classroom use and were not utilized often. Apart from him, the corridor was empty.
Just then, footsteps sounded from the direction of the staircase.
Lu Chenyu looked up and saw a tall figure striding over.
The girl had long black hair tied into a ponytail. Her exquisite face held a cold expression, and she exuded an aura of aloofness that kept people at a distance.
Her tall frame and long, straight legs made the gray school uniform of Kaiwei Academy look like a fashion show.
Lu Chenyu's heart skipped a beat. He immediately put away his book and stood up.
"Classmate Yu He, you're here," he said, quickly taking out a lunchbox from his schoolbag and handing it to her.
"Have you had breakfast? I brought this for you."
Yu He glanced at the lunchbox without looking at it and said, "The key."
She didn't take it, and Lu Chenyu wasn't embarrassed. He reached into his pocket but didn't immediately take out the key.
"Are you going to do an experiment?" he asked again.
Before leaving home this morning, Lu Enhua had given him a laboratory key and asked him to give it to Yu He here.
The moment he thought about seeing Yu He, he had the chef make an extra portion of breakfast.
"It's none of your business, don't ask." Yu He extended her hand, urging him to hurry.
"I just wanted to say that if you need any help, you can call me anytime," Lu Chenyu said, placing the key into her palm and looking at Yu He with hopeful eyes.
"No need." Yu He opened the laboratory door, walked in, and coldly shut Lu Chenyu out.
The Black Spirit Bead needed to be separated from the water gall. She needed a quiet, private laboratory where she wouldn't be disturbed.
She had conveyed this requirement to Lu Enhua via WeChat, and Lu Enhua had immediately made arrangements for her.
Lu Chenyu, shut out of the door, wasn't angry. Instead, he was secretly delighted.
He had seen the top student today, and she had even spoken to him. He was so happy.
He had to study even harder to catch up to the top student!
—
Meanwhile, in Class 11 of the second year.
"Alright everyone, listen up. For the new round of school beauty selections, I'm sure everyone has absolute confidence in our boss's looks and wants to nominate her. But the boss said she's not interested in being the school beauty, so please be sensible and nominate yourselves, don't nominate the boss."
Chu Ying stood on the podium, appealing to all the classmates.
"Why give up without even trying?" a woman with a seven or eight-month pregnant belly, looking about thirty years old, said from the classroom doorway.
She was the homeroom teacher of Class 11, Teacher Zhang.
She was planning to come over during the break to talk to everyone about this matter.
"This is an event organized by the academy. Everyone should participate actively. We have quite a few good-looking students in our class. You don't need to worry about speech competitions. As long as you actively sign up, I will do my best to improve your English proficiency!
"This is one of the rare opportunities for Class 11 to bring glory to the class in academy events. Everyone should dare to participate.
"Class 11 should prove with our strength that even if our academic performance is not as good as other classes, we are not useless."
Teacher Zhang delivered an impassioned and motivational speech.
Chu Ying was the first to stand up and raise her hand, refusing. "No, Teacher Zhang, we are well aware of our limitations. We won't bite off more than we can chew."
"Yes, teacher, we just want to be beautiful women who live in peace with the world."
A few female students who had been eager to participate immediately gave up the idea of participating when they heard about the supplementary tutoring.
They had all gotten in through connections and were just aiming for a graduation certificate from Kaiwei Academy. They didn't want any trouble.
"Holy cow, someone has already nominated Yu He!" someone in the class suddenly shouted.
Chu Ying immediately took out her phone and opened the forum. "Who nominated her?"
"Don't know, it was an anonymous nomination."
"Damn, didn't the anonymous function become real-name based last time? How did it become like this again?"
"I think last time someone hacked into the school system and changed it as a prank. The school's programmers have already fixed it."
"Fixed what! Real-name registration was so good, it helped identify fake saints."
The class erupted in complaints.
At the same time, in Class 1 of the second year.
"Yu He from Class 11 has actually signed up!"
"That Ye family's true daughter who returned from the countryside? She is beautiful, but can she do a full English speech?"
"Let's not vote for her, so as not to embarrass the school publicly on the school anniversary."
"Exactly. If we're going to vote, let's vote for our class monitor."
"Yes, Class 1 is the true representative of Kaiwei students."
The class monitor of Class 1, Pei Shiyi, was the top student in the second year. Her looks, on a scale of ten for male aesthetics, would score an eight.
Pei Shiyi was comparing her vote count with that of the male student representative candidates. Lu Chenyu and Gu Ze were neck and neck, leading among the boys.
Her own vote count was also leading among the girls.
She was daydreaming about participating in the school anniversary stage performance with Lu Chenyu when Yu He's appearance made her vote count level with Pei Shiyi's.
Just then, the discussion among her classmates gave her hope. She was about to stand up and say that she would not disappoint them when her deskmate, Lan Jiaojiao, interrupted her.
"Yu He is participating so actively, it shows she's making an effort to be motivated. We should support her spirit of bravely trying."
Lan Jiaojiao's words attracted strange glances from many classmates.
Her close friends knew that Lan Jiaojiao didn't like Yu He. Why was she suddenly speaking up for Yu He?
"Alas, I just know she's the Ye family's true daughter, and Ye Zisu was the one who usurped her rightful place. Yu He finally got her position back, only for the Ye family to go bankrupt. Don't you think she's very pitiable?
"At this time, she's still working so hard, which moves me. That's why I think we should support her and not pour cold water on her efforts."
After speaking, Lan Jiaojiao felt disgusted with herself.
It was impossible for her to support Yu He, but she would be very happy to see Yu He make a fool of herself on stage.
She wanted revenge for Yu He making her look foolish at the Ferris wheel last time!
"That makes a lot of sense, Jiaojiao. I didn't expect you to be so kind." A classmate chimed in.
This agreement made everyone's sympathy surge. They felt it made sense. After all, Yu He was truly beautiful and indeed quite pitiable.
Therefore, they all cast a vote for Yu He. Some not only voted themselves but also tried to pull other classmates into voting.