Chapter 380: Chapter 380: Face-to-Face with Jiang Ruyan
When Gu Jiaojiao saw how furious Xu Bo was, she assumed it was his fault the other students were attacking her.
"Shut up. This is a public space, and today is the day of the student assessment. If you don’t want to take it, then scram."
As Gu Jiaojiao spoke, her beautiful eyes were devoid of warmth, and an intimidating, icy aura seemed to settle around her.
The students who had just been jeering uncontrollably were stunned silent by her powerful presence and immediately shut up.
The more timid ones even clamped their hands over their mouths, staring at Gu Jiaojiao in terror, afraid she would march over and rip them to shreds.
Wang Ling clenched her fists so tightly her veins bulged. She wished she could march right up and strangle Gu Jiaojiao.
It was true she was a college student from the countryside, but she hadn’t gotten in on her own merit. Rather, her cousin, Wang Yuting, had pulled some strings for her.
Because her cousin was so beautiful, she had been taken to the Imperial City as a child to be another family’s adopted daughter.
She had arrived in the Imperial City over ten days ago and was staying at her cousin’s home. Her cousin’s adoptive father was the first "golden phoenix" to emerge from their Wang Family Village.
He was a role model for everyone in Wang Family Village and the ultimate goal for all its young men and women.
To say their home was palatial would be no exaggeration. She had always thought being an adopted daughter was like being a servant girl in ancient times.
Only after arriving at her cousin’s home did she realize that an adopted daughter wasn’t a servant girl, but a princess. Her adoptive parents doted on her.
Her adoptive mother, in particular, was utterly devoted to her cousin, catering to her every whim. But behind her back, her cousin looked down on her adoptive mother, finding her foolish.
’Wang Ling’s heart filled with resentment. She wished she could take her cousin’s place. If it were her, she would have definitely been a dutiful daughter to her adoptive mother.’
’Unfortunately, it wasn’t her fate. So, Wang Ling diligently did chores around the Wang residence, hoping to attract the attention of her cousin’s adoptive parents.’
’However, they only had eyes for her ungrateful wolf of a cousin. The handsome sons of the Wang family, in particular, wouldn’t even give her the time of day.’
When Wang Ling arrived at the university, she immediately set her sights on Li Yanping. The girl came from a good family, and better yet, she was ugly.
By sticking close to Li Yanping, she could get free snacks and feel superior by comparison.
’If she had seen Gu Jiaojiao on the first day, she would have definitely latched onto her instead. It wasn’t for any other reason than the fact that all the professors adored her.’
On the first official day of classes, Wang Ling had genuinely wanted to ditch Li Yanping and follow Gu Jiaojiao instead.
But Gu Jiaojiao had publicly said that Wang Ling was just trying to attract animosity for her. The public humiliation was unbearable, and from that day forward, she had hated Gu Jiaojiao.
The students gathered around Gu Jiaojiao were no longer at each other’s throats. They turned to watch the presentation on stage seriously.
Only Wang Ling was left, fuming helplessly. All she could do was stomp her foot and run off in tears.
The speaker on stage was now a female upperclassman. Although it was supposedly an assessment for everyone, in reality, only a handful of the most outstanding students ever took the stage.
The students with no hope of winning knew their own limits; most didn’t dare go up and make a fool of themselves.
Xu Bo, his face still beet red, stood beside Gu Jiaojiao, not daring to ask another question.
Gu Jiaojiao suddenly seemed to recall something. "Um, say," she asked, "aren’t you going to go up and give a presentation?"
"I... I probably shouldn’t."
"You’re the class president. Shouldn’t you lead by example? Besides, your medical knowledge isn’t half bad. Chinese and Western medicine aren’t mutually exclusive. For instance, traditional Chinese silver needles can be used to seal acupoints during surgery."
Gu Jiaojiao was merely giving him a nudge. She had no intention of going on stage, which meant that in their Class 33, the president had a real shot.
"You... you’re not going on stage?"
"I don’t need to be assessed on stage. I’m using the back door," Gu Jiaojiao leaned in and whispered to Xu Bo.
She said it so brazenly. The old Xu Bo would have been hopping mad.
But now, he was left speechless. "If you want me to go, I’ll go."
Gu Jiaojiao: ... ’What’s up with this kid? Has he been possessed or something?!’
"You’ve got real potential. I have high hopes for you. Go for it, kiddo."
Upon receiving encouragement from his "Grandma," Xu Bo was instantly fired up. He immediately straightened his sleeves.
He carefully smoothed his hair, then strode toward the stage with his head held high.
Xu Bo’s two lackeys: ... ’What happened to watching the show with us?!’
They shot a suspicious glance back at Gu Jiaojiao, then squared their shoulders and strode after Xu Bo.
Even if they weren’t going to give a presentation, they had to stay close to their boss to cheer him on.
Watching this bizarre scene from a distance, Wang Ling’s face turned pale. She turned to Li Yanping. "Yanzi, aren’t you going to go up and give it a shot?"
Li Yanping pointed to herself. "Me? With my half-baked skills, what right do I have? Xu Bo comes from a bona fide medical family."
The other students nearby overheard this, and their brows furrowed. "I had no idea our class president came from a medical family."
"Then were my eyes playing tricks on me? I could’ve sworn he only went up there after getting a look from Gu Jiaojiao."
"You must have seen it wrong. Why would he take his cues from Gu Jiaojiao? Haven’t you noticed he usually can’t stand her?"
’You didn’t see wrong,’ Wang Ling thought viciously. ’He went up there precisely because of a look from Gu Jiaojiao.’
But she wouldn’t say it out loud. She couldn’t let the other students start worshiping that vixen, Gu Jiaojiao.
Gu Jiajiao remained standing there, perfectly composed. She had, in fact, heard every word the surrounding students were saying.
The assessment didn’t conclude until one in the afternoon, at which point Professor Xia personally selected sixteen students.
The sixth-year senior whom Gu Jiaojiao had criticized wasn’t selected. Professor Xia’s reasoning was that the student specialized in pediatrics.
He said that for any future pediatric surgeries, this student would be the go-to person. This reasoning left the senior ecstatic and with no complaints.
From Class 33, class president Xu Bo and academic representative Fang Wanwan were chosen. Fang Wanwan also happened to be the only girl in their class who truly admired Gu Jiaojiao.
So, as soon as she found out she’d been chosen, she ran right up to Gu Jiaojiao. "Gu Jiaojiao, if you had participated in the assessment, I’m sure I wouldn’t have stood a chance."
"Tch. Who does she think she is, to have Wanwan flatter her like that?" Jiang Ruyan sneered, extending a finger to point directly at Gu Jiaojiao.
She and the Fang Family were neighbors. Having not been selected herself, she had come over planning to cozy up to Fang Wanwan.
Who would have thought she’d hear Fang Wanwan heaping praise on a girl even prettier than she was? There was no way Jiang Ruyan could stand for that.
Jiang Ruyan had never met Gu Jiaojiao before, nor did she know that Gu Jiaojiao was Su Shuochi’s wife.
Her sneer was purely because she couldn’t stand seeing another girl who was prettier than her. To put it bluntly, she was just jealous.
Jiang Ruyan didn’t recognize Gu Jiaojiao, but Gu Jiaojiao recognized her. She’d despised the woman back on the battlefield.
When she later learned that Jiang Ruyan had designs on her man, Gu Jiaojiao’s hatred for her had reached its absolute limit.
She glanced up at Jiang Ruyan, who was wearing a white dress paired with the trendiest fashion of the time: silk stockings with sandals.
’In a later era, that combination would have been a laughingstock, but in these times, it was considered the height of fashion.’
CRACK. Gu Jiaojiao stepped forward and dislocated the finger Jiang Ruyan was pointing with. She had shown mercy by not snapping it clean off.
"Where did this mad dog come from, barking all over the place? I hate it when people point at me. Do it again, and I’ll break your finger for good."
All the students: ...
