After Becoming Roommates with an Obnoxious Wealthy Heiress - Chapter 46

Like a child who had done something wrong, she lowered her head in dazed helplessness.

“Just what kind of benefits did Zhu Lingyi give you all? Every single one of you is rushing to fawn over her like a dog.”

Qin Shuyue snatched her phone back and threw it at Liang Qi.

“Whether I am worthy or not what right do you have to judge? Besides, have I ever said a single word about being interested in Zhu Lingyi?”

Song Jiajia, stung by her retort, pulled a cold face and grabbed Qin Shuyue’s wrist. “You’re just a poverty-stricken student who washes our dishes and sweeps our floors. Is this the attitude you use to ‘thank’ the patrons who give you money?”

“Let go…” Qin Shuyue’s brow furrowed in pain. She struggled and twisted, but Song Jiajia violently yanked her closer.

In the midst of Song Jiajia’s contemptuous gaze, Qin Shuyue’s fear, self-loathing, and shame were laid bare for all to see.

“Tch.” A mocking smile curled at the corner of Song Jiajia’s mouth as she abruptly let go. “I thought you were actually capable of something, but you’re nothing more than an empty, pretty pillow who only knows how to talk big.”

“Qin Shuyue, I didn’t come here to cause trouble for you today. I just wanted to tell you…” Song Jiajia paused. “Drop out. Or how about transferring? I’ll have my parents pick a good school for you. Qin Shuyue, you don’t belong here. Transferring is your best way out.”

Qin Shuyue had heard Song Jiajia say this more than once. She truly could not understand why Song Jiajia loved meddling in other people’s business so much, interfering with her destiny.

For a long time, Song Jiajia’s inexplicable malice had left Qin Shuyue utterly bewildered.

“What does where I go have to do with you?” Qin Shuyue asked.

Song Jiajia was covered in designer brands from head to toe. Liang Qi and the group following them were the same. Designer bags, high-end cosmetics, and expensive luxury clothing. Compared to them, Qin Shuyue in her shabby shirt and jeans simply did not belong to the same social class.

Yet, two people from such different classes sat in the same classroom. As long as Qin Shuyue remained, Song Jiajia had to share a classroom with her. In Song Jiajia’s eyes, this didn’t just lower their status; it was a total drop in “level.”

From the moment they were born, Song Jiajia and Liang Qi had attended private elementary schools, middle schools, and international high schools with annual tuitions in the millions. To Song Jiajia, this current university was the worst school she had ever attended. Originally, she had looked down on it. It wasn’t very famous, and the faculty wasn’t particularly good. Going abroad would have been better than staying here.

However, a year before her college entrance exams, her parents heard that Zhu Lingyi had enrolled in this school. After a family discussion, they followed suit and enrolled as well.

With the massive annual investments from Zhu Lingyi, this “shabby school” that Song Jiajia originally despised slowly began to develop. Top-tier professors from home and abroad were brought in for specialized courses, and management regulations were established by Zhu Lingyi and the school’s high-level executives. Consequently, the school’s reputation exploded overnight.

For a school with such top-tier resources, the annual tuition was naturally exorbitant.

Qin Shuyue, however, had been specially recruited because of her outstanding exam scores; her annual tuition was a symbolic 800 yuan. In that intake, Qin Shuyue was the only student specially recruited, and she received various subsidy funds. The school even organized a class meeting specifically to warn the students to show more kindness to those from ordinary backgrounds.

Song Jiajia felt the school was giving these people far too much “face.” At the same time, she was extremely indignant. Why should they pay hundreds of thousands in tuition while Qin Shuyue paid only 800 yuan to sit in the same classroom? It was a direct insult to her.

But Qin Shuyue did not understand their logic. She had entered this school entirely on her own merit. She received subsidies and excellence funds because of her hard work and ability. She didn’t understand why Song Jiajia and the others harbored such immense malice toward her.

Back in her freshman year, the moment Qin Shuyue entered the dormitory, before she could even say hello, a wind of malice and contempt blew her way, leaving her dizzy and disoriented. She didn’t know what she had done wrong, but she assumed she might have caused a misunderstanding. She saved money for several months to buy them gifts: a facial cleanser that had very good reviews online. She had picked it out carefully and prepared it for a long time before ordering.

But the five girls in the dorm didn’t appreciate it. They threw the freshly wrapped cleanser into the trash right in front of her face while mocking her.

“This fake it wouldn’t happen to be some ‘dupe’ for a big brand you found, would it? A hundred yuan? Two hundred?” Song Jiajia pulled out her own cleanser and sneered. “Sorry, mine costs ten times more than yours.”

Qin Shuyue hadn’t known how to describe her feelings then. But after that incident, Song Jiajia and the others began to officially “look after” her. Under the guise of the school’s concern for impoverished students, they began to ruthlessly torment her both physically and mentally.

Song Jiajia gave a light scoff. “How can someone like you sit in the same classroom as us and enjoy such great resources?”

“Qin Shuyue, you don’t deserve it.”

Song Jiajia gave a meaningful look to the girl standing behind Qin Shuyue. The girl understood, walked over, and held a document out to her. Qin Shuyue didn’t even need to look to know what it contained.

“You are really boring,” Qin Shuyue sighed helplessly.

She came to this school initially because she heard the faculty was good, and secondly, to get into a good university to find a high-paying job later one that paid a million a year. That way, she would never have to worry about her mother’s hospital bills again, and she might even be able to provide her mother with better medical resources.

But why did people always inexplicably block her path? It was exhausting. Qin Shuyue was truly at her breaking point. She had finally made it through high school, only to find that university was another dragon’s den.

Qin Shuyue took the document from the girl’s hand. Before she could even pull a pen from her pocket, she tore the paper into pieces, shredding it completely.

“Instead of worrying about others, you should spend some time on yourselves. Aren’t you tired of stalking people all day long?”

Qin Shuyue shouldered her way past Song Jiajia, forcing a path for herself. The canvas bag on her shoulder slipped down to her arm, but she didn’t care; she quickened her pace, wanting only to leave that place as fast as possible.

Time flew by. Qin Shuyue had left the counselor’s office at six, and before she knew it, over three hours had passed. She checked the time, confirmed the classroom, and wove through the crowd like the wind to reach the room.

As usual, Qin Shuyue sat in the front row. It was better this way. She couldn’t see the people in the back, and what the eye doesn’t see, the heart doesn’t grieve over.

Professor Han’s classroom was always full. It wasn’t just because the lectures were good; there was also the factor of his appearance. He had a gentle voice and refined manners, embodying the air of a traditional scholar. Every gesture possessed a certain literary grace that appealed to everyone.

Qin Shuyue didn’t listen intently because of his looks. She listened seriously to every class, but more so here because she had always seen Professor Han as a role model. Furthermore, Professor Han had helped her many times, both overtly and subtly. If Professor Han hadn’t applied pressure, those people might have kept her pinned down even longer.

Today, she was the first to arrive. When she entered, Professor Han was at the podium organizing his teaching books and notes and adjusting the microphone.

“Good morning, Professor Han.” Qin Shuyue greeted him politely.

Han Junli looked up from his busy work and glanced at her. “Oh, it’s student Shuyue. You’ve arrived very early.”

It wasn’t strange for Han Junli to ask; Qin Shuyue usually arrived exactly on time. Today was an exception.

Qin Shuyue lowered her head and forced a slight smile. “Yes.”

She then began to take out her books. Professor Han didn’t initiate further conversation, and both of them tacitly went about organizing their things. With a little time left before class, Qin Shuyue pulled out a workbook to practice. Her black pen moved rapidly, circling and marking the problems.

“Are you working on Comprehensive Quality?” A gentle, composed voice sounded from above her head.

Qin Shuyue was startled, and her hand holding the black pen jerked. Han Junli clearly noticed; he quietly took a few steps back to give her some space. Sure enough, Qin Shuyue’s tense body relaxed significantly.

She nodded, but her pen didn’t stop. She finished the last multiple-choice question before looking up. “Yes.”

However, Han Junli hadn’t just noticed her nervousness. His gaze shifted, sweeping over the workbook under her hand, and his eyes froze. Thinking he had misread it, he looked again. After confirming it several times, his voice carried a hint of disbelief.

“This just how many times have you done this book?”

Qin Shuyue paused. She hurriedly spread her fingers and leaned forward, trying to hide the workbook that had been squeezed into something resembling a thin pancake in her arms.

She lowered her head even further. Her voice became much smaller. “Only once.”

This did not look like a workbook that had been done only once. Almost every sentence of every problem had been circled in red, blue, and black ink. In Qin Shuyue’s hands, it had gained two more layers of markings. Messy notes covered every page. The handwriting of the book’s previous owner was faintly visible underneath; Qin Shuyue had used correction tape and adhesive tape to cover most of it, leaving only the notes she deemed important. Then, she had layered her own notes on top. It was hard to imagine the book could even withstand such a load.

Han Junli was incredulous. Seeing the book left him dazed, as if his worldview were being reshaped.

Qin Shuyue had already hurriedly put the workbook away. Students began to filter into the room from outside. The words caught in Han Junli’s throat; his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed them down. He stared at her for another moment before slowly withdrawing his gaze and turning back toward the podium as the students entered.

His back seemed somewhat stiff.

Qin Shuyue’s face was flushed a deep red, more vivid than the poisoned apple the witch gave to Snow White. Her heart beat rapidly and loudly, the sound echoing in her ears as if her eardrums might burst.

She was like a child who had done something wrong dazed and helpless, she kept her head down, her hands clutching the black pen so tightly that her fingertips turned white.

Support After Becoming Roommates with an Obnoxious Wealthy Heiress