Chapter 228 : So Embarrassing—You Should Just Leave the Group!
“Oh wow! Ling Ning made the cover of Goddess magazine—how impressive!”
“Wait a minute, isn’t this magazine only for major celebrities and top models? Does that mean Ling Ning’s officially a famous model now?”
“I don’t know what you’re all talking about, but Ling Ning looks gorgeous!”
“Ugh, so embarrassing! Are you even in our class?”
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Early that morning, Ling Ning arrived at school and overheard conversations like these. She squinted, thinking it over. It had been a few days since she’d done the photoshoot for the cover, so the latest issue of the magazine must be out now. Her classmates were probably reacting to that.
As soon as Ling Ning sat down, Xu Qing came over, practically vibrating with excitement as she held the magazine in her hands. Judging by her expression, Ling Ning knew exactly what she was about to say.
“It’s just a magazine cover—no need to make a big deal out of it,” Ling Ning said.
“Oh, come on! Don’t you realize what it means to make the cover of Goddess? Only big-time celebrities and models get featured. Do you know what this says about you?” Xu Qing exclaimed.
Ling Ning blinked in surprise. She hadn’t really paid much attention to Goddess magazine’s reputation. Although she’d received complimentary copies of each issue, she hadn’t looked through them, mostly because her college entrance exams were approaching. Even if she wasn’t studying, she’d rather be writing or working part-time at the café to earn a bit of pocket money.
Still, she had to admit that the pay for the cover shoot was pretty good. If given the chance, she wouldn’t mind doing it again.
“Don’t get carried away. They only chose me for this cover because of a special situation. Otherwise, there’s no way they would’ve picked me,” Ling Ning explained.
“Oh? What was so special about it? Spill!” Xu Qing asked, giving Ling Ning an adorable pleading look. But Ling Ning was already immune to her cutesy routine, which she’d used countless times before.
Seeing that her usual tactics weren’t working, Xu Qing sighed, then patted her wallet as if preparing to make a sacrifice.
“How about we go to that steak place for lunch today? My treat!” Xu Qing offered with a grin.
Ling Ning, who’d looked bored just a moment ago, perked up at the mention of free lunch. Glancing around to make sure no one else was listening, she leaned over and whispered, “This isn’t exactly a secret, but keep it to yourself, okay?”
“Oh, you know I’m the model of discretion!” Xu Qing promised, patting her chest, though her modest figure gave no dramatic effect.
“Well, here’s what happened…”
Ling Ning briefly recounted the events of the photoshoot, keeping things vague and omitting any names. But from Ling Ning’s hints and her own knowledge of school gossip, Xu Qing quickly pieced together who had been involved.
Just as Xu Qing was about to ask more, the school bell rang. She felt like banging her fist on the desk. Why did the bell always ring the moment she was about to learn something juicy? It was as if she was cursed to be interrupted whenever things got interesting.
Though internally fuming, Xu Qing kept quiet as class began.
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Ye Xuan scanned her students. With only a little over twenty days left until the college entrance exams, her class had made remarkable progress thanks to her “motivational incentives.” Now, their scores were on par with Class Five’s, and sometimes even a little higher.
However, they still had a considerable gap to close if they wanted to catch up with Class One, the honors class. Given the limited time, overtaking Class One was unlikely.
But Ye Xuan wasn’t too concerned. Her students’ enthusiasm for learning had become self-sustaining, with her rewards merely sparking their interest. With genuine interest, their study efficiency had improved significantly. Of course, there were still a few students who struggled no matter how much they studied.
At this rate, Ye Xuan hoped her students would surprise her on exam day.
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Shen Shi was doing his best to follow the lesson. Although he only half-understood most of it, that was still a big improvement compared to before, when he’d understood nothing.
His progress was largely thanks to Bai Xuejia, who’d been coming over to help him study almost every day. If not for him, Shen Shi figured the textbooks might as well have been blank pages.
Though Bai Xuejia was part of the “Perverted Trio,” unlike Shen Shi and Mo Fashi, his academic record wasn’t as poor. In middle school, he’d consistently ranked among the top ten in the school, and even after slacking off in high school, he still managed to stay in the upper-middle range.
With some recent hard work, tutoring Shen Shi wasn’t too difficult for him.
And Bai Xuejia’s naturally good looks, along with his aloof personality, attracted quite a few admirers. Despite occasionally making lewd jokes, several girls were interested in him. A few had even confessed, though he’d turned them down, having his eyes set on someone else…
As for Mo Fashi, he’d pretty much given up. No matter how much he studied, he just couldn’t retain the material. Fortunately, his family was well-off, and he’d already decided to work in the family business after high school, training in the “Sutra of All Beings…”
Feeling himself making gradual progress, Shen Shi thought that if he kept it up, he might be able to get into a lower-ranked university. With just over twenty days left before exams, a bit more effort might actually pay off.
Thinking this, Shen Shi glanced at Ling Ning, who sat a few seats ahead of him. If only he could go to the same university as his goddess… but that was just a pipe dream. He was struggling just to get into any college, let alone S University, one of the top schools.
Sitting beside Shen Shi, Bai Xuejia noticed him gazing longingly at Ling Ning yet again. It was always the same—whenever there was a quiet moment, Shen Shi would stare at her back with a dazed look.
Why, why wouldn’t she just turn around and look at him? Even once would be enough.
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Author’s Note:
Not much else to say—just the usual salted fish life~