Chapter 12: The Turn of Events

Could it be that Weiwei has also been reborn?

The next day, Qiao Weiwei was taken to the dean's office by her Chinese teacher to take a live-streamed examination. Shengde High School’s administration was highly efficient; as soon as the rumors began to ferment, they contacted the senior-year teachers to draft exam papers overnight. Given the time constraints, only fifteen questions were prepared for each subject, with five major problems retained for each section of the humanities composite test, ensuring results could be produced within four hours. The entire process was monitored by seven teachers, with the surveillance feed transmitted to the cloud so that anyone with subsequent doubts could review the footage.

During the summer break, Qiao Weiwei had gone through all the available college entrance exam papers on the market, and these points of knowledge were already etched in her mind. Her pen never stopped as she tackled the Chinese, English, and humanities tests; her hand felt as if it were about to break. Meanwhile, as soon as each subject was completed, the corresponding teacher would grade it on the spot and announce the results. She lost only ten points in Chinese—exclusively in composition and reading comprehension—and the essay she wrote in twenty minutes was structurally sound, logically clear, and featured distinct arguments. She aced the English test perfectly, and her answers for the humanities section were nearly identical to the standard answer key.

The comment section of the post was incredibly lively.
"My god, this is too impressive."
"I thought the teachers' questions were tricky enough, but Qiao Weiwei’s answers were almost perfect."
"Who knows if she colluded with the teachers beforehand to get the questions?"
"Each teacher only contributed one question; how could she possibly bribe them all? Besides, the answers are so cumbersome, it would be a struggle just to memorize them."

She left mathematics for last. The teachers did not set any multiple-choice questions, leaving only fifteen complex problems. Qiao Weiwei finished the five basic questions and submitted her paper immediately. Seeing the almost blank test, the math teacher’s eyelid twitched. "Qiao Weiwei, do you have a grudge against me?" A student who had nearly aced all other subjects had performed miserably in math. As the teacher who had taught her for three years, he feared being the laughingstock of the math department. Qiao Weiwei shook her head and sighed at the paper. "Teacher, I really did my best."

Other subjects could be memorized, but mathematics was a massive undertaking. For someone who hadn't opened a textbook in seven or eight years, managing to solve five questions was already quite an accomplishment. Even so, her collective exam results were more than enough to prove her performance on the entrance exam.

Zhang Shengnian looked at the results provided by the dean’s office, his eyes filled with displeasure. *That damn girl... she’s truly capable!* Qiao Weiwei noticed his shifting expression and raised an eyebrow. She didn't need to guess to know what kind of schemes were brewing in Zhang Shengnian’s mind. She gave a sweet smile and asked deliberately, "Principal, does this prove my innocence now?"

Zhang Shengnian’s face turned livid. If not for the Gu family, Qiao Weiwei would never have dared to be so insolent in front of him. However, he did not dare to clash with her again and finally spat out a single sentence: "You may release the statement."

Once the statement was issued, the rumors of Qiao Weiwei’s plagiarism naturally dissipated. Although some still harbored doubts, they were all scolded into silence by Fang Xue. Most of her classmates were also genuinely impressed and began asking her what memory techniques she used. Qiao Weiwei didn't hold back and shared the links to the college entrance simulation exams from major publishers in the group chat.

Fang Xue was shocked by this. "Weiwei, you actually did all the college entrance exam papers on the market!" She reached out to pinch Qiao Weiwei’s cheek, frowning. "Is this really the Qiao Weiwei I know?" It wasn't that Fang Xue was biased, but previously, Qiao Weiwei had always insisted, "As long as my grades are good enough to pass, why waste time memorizing books when I could be practicing in the music room?"

However, after her rebirth, Qiao Weiwei’s life was no longer just about the violin. She needed to become stronger. Qiao Weiwei snapped back to reality, pulled Fang Xue’s hand away, and smiled. "It'll cost you if you pinch me again." She added, "The most important thing right now is the school anniversary. The sheet music must be kept confidential; don't show it to anyone, no matter who they are."

According to the trajectory of her past life, Chen Jiazhi was supposed to meet Fang Xue tomorrow. Now, Fang Xue rehearsed with her every day after school, leaving no time for contact with Chen Jiazhi. Fang Xue nodded. "Got it." Internally, however, she felt Qiao Weiwei was being overly worried. Everyone was focused on their studies, and besides, it was just a song she had written and composed herself; who would be coveting that?

"Weiwei, someone on the forum keeps posting saying that you are..." Fang Xue had been keeping an eye on the forum, and upon clicking into a post with horrific content, she couldn't help but curse. "Is this person sick? Their mouth is so foul!" Qiao Weiwei read the content and said noncommittally, "How boring." It was just the same few sentences repeated over and over, lacking any real bite. She went straight to the police; the malicious rumors and the number of views were already enough to constitute a criminal offense.

Someone from the school lived in the same residential complex as Chen Lin and, seeing police cars parked downstairs, uploaded a photo of Chen Lin being taken away to the school group. Not long after, someone posted a screenshot of an official announcement. "Huge news! Chen Lin was actually involved in that kind of illicit trade, and she had more than one client!"

Someone immediately replied, "Isn't her family quite wealthy? Why would she do that?"
"Maybe for the thrill; some people just have weird fetishes."
"But there’s word that Chen Lin isn't the biological child of the Chen family; she was specifically brought from an orphanage to help win over wealthy people."
"My god, if that’s true, the Chen family is disgusting."
"The principal is Chen Lin’s uncle, could he also be..."

Soon after, the group chat was restricted. Qiao Weiwei had long since muted the group; all of this was relayed to her by Fang Xue. After hearing it, she said expressionlessly, "Focus on practicing the song."

"Weiwei, you don't love me anymore!" Fang Xue wailed. "You're just like my agent now, urging me to practice every single day. We have classes during the day, practice after school, and then I have to do practice tests at night. Even a donkey on a production team wouldn't be treated like this! Just stab me instead!" As she said this, she pretended to hold a knife and thrust it toward her heart, collapsing into Qiao Weiwei’s arms.

Qiao Weiwei didn't soften in the slightest, remarking gloomily, "Fine. Years from now, the trending topics will feature a certain diva exposed as an uneducated airhead, her career falling into ruin, starving to death in a rental apartment."

Fang Xue suffered another blow. "You're so heartless!"
"Stop dawdling." Qiao Weiwei handed a bowl of prepared rock sugar and pear soup to Fang Xue. "Drink this and keep practicing." She then pulled three sets of test papers from her bag. "These are the college entrance exam questions and variations I compiled based on your previous mistakes. Remember to do them when you get home."

The faculty at top music conservatories was incomparable to that of ordinary schools. Although Fang Xue was taking the art entrance exam, the top national conservatories had very high requirements for general academic subjects. With Fang Xue’s current bottom-tier grades, she was still in a dangerous position.

Fang Xue touched the thick stack of papers and was on the verge of tears. However, her phone pinged with a notification, and she smiled again. Qiao Weiwei watched this familiar expression, her brow furrowing as she felt something was slightly off. She tentatively asked, "Whose message? Are you in love?"

"No..." Fang Xue’s face flushed slightly. "It’s the new transfer student, Chen Jiazhi."