Chapter 133: Chapter 133: Slapping the Fake Heiress 34
Zhao Mingzhu saw Zhao Mingrui coming to find her, initially delighted, then she suddenly had an ominous premonition.
She made a swift decision and immediately walked to the school entrance with a smile, reaching out to hold Zhao Mingrui’s arm: "Bro, you came to see me."
Zhao Mingrui’s complexion was a bit off.
He stretched out his hand to pull away Zhao Mingzhu’s hand, his face cold as he spoke: "Although you and I grew up together since childhood, we don’t have a blood relationship, so you should still be mindful of the impact."
Zhao Mingzhu’s face instantly turned pale, she looked at Zhao Mingrui in disbelief: "Bro, how could you say such a thing? We..."
Zhao Mingrui didn’t care about what Zhao Mingzhu thought or said.
He was always somewhat indiscriminate, and his relationship with Zhao Mingzhu wasn’t particularly close from childhood; he wouldn’t feel sorry for Zhao Mingzhu now.
He ignored Zhao Mingzhu and walked straight to the lectern, coughing and saying: "Everyone quiet down, I am Zhao Mingrui, formerly known as the brother of Zhao Mingzhu. Some of you might know me."
Several girls clamored that they recognized him.
After all, Zhao Mingrui was indeed good-looking, and many girls had a secret crush on him.
Zhao Mingrui smiled a little and gestured modestly: "I am here today to clarify something."
"Bro..."
Zhao Mingzhu called out, tears filling her eyes as she looked at Zhao Mingrui with extreme grievance.
It was as if she was pleading with Zhao Mingrui not to speak, to leave her a way out and not to reveal her origins.
But Zhao Mingrui didn’t pay her any heed.
Zhao Mingrui said solemnly: "Zhao Mingzhu is not my blood-related sister; she was switched at the hospital. Now, my true sister has been found, and that is Zhao Anning. She is my real sister, not some poor relative orphaned by deceased parents. I believe this needs to be explained clearly to everyone, and I hope that everyone can form their own opinions in the future and be able to discern right from wrong, instead of blindly following others."
Zhao Mingrui’s words made many classmates who had previously badmouthed Anning in secret ashamed, lowering their heads.
Those words were really piercing, accusing them of not distinguishing right from wrong.
Some people also looked at Zhao Mingzhu.
They remembered what Zhao Mingzhu had previously said – that Anning was an orphan, who didn’t want to stay in the small county, and wanted to live a better life, thus clinging to the Zhao Family and refusing to leave.
Her words from the past were still ringing in their ears, but now Zhao Mingrui had come to clarify.
This heavy slap was directly on Zhao Mingzhu’s face.
Everyone couldn’t help but think, it must be that Zhao Mingzhu had gone too far. Otherwise, why would Zhao Mingrui, a brother who had lived with her for fifteen years, stand up for Zhao Anning, who had only returned for a few days?
Zhao Mingzhu’s face looked even worse.
She bit her lip, tears streaming down uncontrollably.
She felt humiliated and embarrassed, and a hint of resentment towards Zhao Mingrui also rose in her heart.
Zhao Mingrui didn’t stay long in the classroom after finishing what he came for, even leaving without glancing at Zhao Mingzhu.
Zhao Mingzhu’s resentment towards Zhao Mingrui deepened even more.
She started to hate the entire Zhao Family.
Hated the Zhao Family for their heartlessness, hated the Zhao Family’s people for making her lose face.
She clenched her fists and swore in the dark that one day, she would certainly take her revenge, from Zhao Han to Zhao Anning, she wouldn’t let anyone from the Zhao Family go.
Zhao Mingzhu was truly selfish and heartless to the core.
No matter how nice others were to her, she wouldn’t take it to heart, but at the slightest grievance, she would harbor resentment.
Over the years, the Zhao Family had not treated Zhao Mingzhu poorly in the slightest; they had spoiled and raised her for fifteen years, and even upon finding out she wasn’t their biological daughter, Zhao Han had prepared some funds for her and had even planned to share some of the family property with her. It could be said that the Zhao Family truly had done right by her.
If it weren’t for Zhao Mingzhu targeting Anning.
Zhao Mingrui wouldn’t have come to class to clarify things.
But Zhao Mingzhu couldn’t see any wrong she had done, focusing only on the minuscule grievances she held against the Zhao Family.
Zhao Mingzhu returned to her seat, surrounded by the whispering of her classmates, and suddenly burst into tears.
While crying, Zhao Mingzhu whispered, "Brother has never protected me like this before; indeed, being born to a family really is different. The first day I returned, I was driven out by Zhao Anning, and I was so angry that I said a few sarcastic remarks. But still, they didn’t let me off."
At this moment, Zhao Mingzhu could only make herself seem like the victim to avoid being condemned by others.
That was all she could do.
"Zhao Anning is targeting me. Previously, I called my mom and asked her to come to Class 1 so I could take care of her. But she insisted on going to Class 12, wanting to be with those people. I saw how close she was getting to Xiao Yuan, so I reminded her, and she started to hate me for that."
Zhao Mingzhu sobbed to the chubby classmate for a while and then laid on the desk, weeping sorrowfully.
Some classmates, upon hearing her, started to feel sorry for her.
After all, Zhao Mingzhu used to be well-liked in the class. Her image had always been good, and it wasn’t something that could be completely ruined by a few words from Zhao Mingrui.
The chubby classmate was a bit worried about Zhao Mingzhu, and hurriedly comforted her: "Don’t cry, what does Zhao Anning amount to compared to you? She’s just a poor student, and you’re the top scholar of our class."
"That’s right."
Several girls also came over to comfort Zhao Mingzhu: "Zhao Anning is just so-so. Maybe she’ll be at the bottom in this exam. Why bother with her at all? It’s not worth crying over someone like that."
"Just study hard in the future, and let the Zhao Family see who is more outstanding between you and Zhao Anning, and that’ll be enough."
"Right, if nothing else works, we’ll simply crush her academically."
Everyone’s comforting words made Zhao Mingzhu feel slightly better.
Just then, the bell rang for class to start.
The first lesson was the Chinese class taught by the class teacher.
The class teacher came in with a dark face, threw the exam papers down on the lectern with a thud, and after a stern look around, he said loudly, "You all were making such a fuss just now, why so quiet all of a sudden?"
The students were startled, sitting up straight and proper, not daring to make a sound.
The teacher shook the papers: "You all think you’re so capable now, huh? Think you’re something special, do you? You don’t pay attention to your studies, and our class’s overall scores have dropped a lot this time, with many students regressing."
He looked at Zhao Mingzhu: "Zhao Mingzhu, I don’t know what’s going on with you, but you have regressed quite a bit in this exam. Ask your parents to come in tomorrow."
Zhao Mingzhu, called out by the teacher, blushed with shame.
She didn’t dare to look up at the teacher, feeling a burning embarrassment on her face.
The class teacher glanced around again: "You’ve always been proud of being in Class 1, but where has your pride gone now? I’ve always said, ’Learning is like rowing upstream, not advancing means going backward,’ but what about you all... None of you are studying seriously, what are you thinking about all day? This time, your grades are even worse than those of Class 12. Students from Class 1, not a single one of you scored higher than those from Class 12. It’s disgraceful."