The Little Wretch Differentiated into an Alpha - Chapter 1

System: The candidate has stopped answering. Would you like to submit your exam now?

The moment the fountain pen was laid flat on the desk, a blue holographic display flickered to life over the paper. Two options appeared: Yes and No.

Sunlight filtered through the swaying sycamore trees, dancing across the screen and illuminating a page of elegant, clean handwriting.

The youth reached out with a slender, pale finger and tapped the display. Instantly, the floating light particles rearranged themselves into a new notification:

Submission confirmed. Grading in progress. Your results for this session will be generated in 3–5 minutes.

When the final bell rang, a crowd of students had already gathered in the plaza in front of the Great Hall.

It was a long-standing tradition at Caina First Experimental High School. Every year at the start of the semester, a unified entrance exam was held, and the results were posted here for all to see. The student who ranked first would serve as the representative and deliver the keynote speech at the opening ceremony.

A three-story-tall transparent photonic screen glowed in front of the white Roman pillars of the hall. Utilizing the latest holographic imaging technology, the display used the air itself as a medium, allowing people to walk right through the “screen” without obstructing the view.

“Why aren’t the scores out yet?” one student asked impatiently, pacing back and forth beneath the display.

Someone laughed at him. The exam ended less than five minutes ago. What’s the rush? You planning on taking the top spot?

The student didn’t hesitate: “With God Gu around? Not a chance!”

The sentiment was echoed by those nearby.

“Exactly. First place is definitely him again this year.” “I bet he’ll be the student representative again.” “Giving the opening speech three years in a row. That’s a first in school history. Absolute legend.”

Amidst the chatter, a disdainful snort cut through the air. “Maybe not this time.”

The plaza went silent for a second.

Seeing that he had everyone’s attention, the speaker continued smugly, “With all the drama going on in his family lately, I doubt he had the heart to study.”

The first student frowned, pushing back. “God Gu spent the entire break doing research at Lush Group. He might not even know about that stuff. How can you be so sure?”

The heckler laughed as if he’d just heard a joke. “Are you seriously telling me his dad brought a stray back from the Lower District and he wouldn’t know about it?”

At the mention of the “Lower District,” the student’s expression soured, and he fell silent. Everyone present knew exactly what that term implied.

As a hyper-tier metropolis on the Asian continent, G City was split into two worlds by the confluence of two massive rivers.

East of the Triumph Port lay the foothills of the Saint-Toscaina Mountains a place of tranquility, luxury, and wealth. Though it accounted for only a tenth of the city’s land, it was home to nearly the entire continental elite.

To the west of the port lay the twelve districts designated by Roman numerals. This was where 99.8% of the population lived. These twelve districts were collectively known as the “Outer Port,” though the arrogant upper class preferred to call it the “Lower District.”

It was a place for “low-borns,” a place most of the elite would never set foot in during their entire lives.

Environmental collapse had plagued the planet for nearly a century. While advanced technology provided the essentials for survival, very few places remained truly habitable outside of “pure lands” like Saint-Toscaina.

Rumor had it that the soil in the Outer Port couldn’t grow a single blade of grass. The skyline was a cluster of skyscraper “pigeon cages,” drowned in the noise and pollution of heavy industry. Streets were murky and mud-slicked, and violence was so common that the police were perpetually spread too thin.

How vicious and desperate would someone coming from a place like that have to be?

Seeing the uneasy looks on his classmates’ faces, the heckler grew even bolder. He crossed his arms and sneered, “Why do you think he isn’t here to check the rankings? He’s probably hiding! His father actually thinks he can get into the Council now? What a joke.”

Someone couldn’t help but snap back, “Even if God Gu doesn’t get first, it won’t be your turn.”

The heckler straightened his back. “Why not? Last time I was only 57 points behind him.”

A bystander muttered dryly, “Then God Gu would have to skip an entire subject for you to have a chance.”

As laughter erupted from the crowd, the heckler’s face turned bright red. Just as he was about to retort, the massive light screen behind him flickered.

Blue Star Calendar 2325: Caina First Experimental High School Opening Exam Results

Everyone looked up simultaneously, their eyes darting to the very top.

Above the dense rows of names and scores, a large holographic portrait occupied the place of honor.

The portrait featured a young man with a distant, aloof gaze and refined, handsome features. His long lashes brushed over light brown “peach blossom” eyes that looked forward with a calm, detached air like a deity who looked upon the world without being a part of it.

Below the photo were his name and class:

Grade 12, Class A  Gu Yanxiu

Sunlight streamed through a bright glass curtain wall, illuminating a room full of lush greenery.

Unlike the noisy plaza, the biological cultivation room was a sanctuary of silence. Rare plants from all over the planet were gathered here in a glass sunroom, each with its own screen tracking complex growth data.

The very same Gu Yanxiu who was currently the talk of the school was standing alone among the foliage, focused on watering a Cornus officinalis dogwood. seedling.

His back was straight, the silhouette of his shoulders visible beneath his school uniform, echoing the elegant posture of the beech tree behind him. His lowered lashes cast soft shadows on his pale cheeks, and two drops of dew on his brow caught the light as he breathed.

BAM!

The door to the cultivation room was thrown open with excessive force.

Gu Yanxiu looked up to see a medium-height boy with curly brown hair. The boy rushed in frantically, eyes darting around until they locked onto Gu Yanxiu.

“I knew you’d be here!”

This was Brandon Heath, Gu Yanxiu’s childhood friend. His family was of Roman descent and had moved to the Asian continent over twenty years ago.

Seeing Brandon charging at him like an overexcited golden retriever, Gu Yanxiu calmly stepped aside to avoid the collision, adding a quiet reminder: “Careful with the flowers.”

“The class rep and the principal are looking for you everywhere, and you’re worrying about a weed! If I” Brandon glanced at the dogwood seedling and his eyes went wide. “A District III soil experiment specimen?! Wait, isn’t this an S-grade academic sample?!”

As if he’d just seen a ghost, Brandon scrambled back three or four steps, clutching his chest. “Crap, thank god I didn’t touch it. The board of directors would have eaten me alive!”

Gu Yanxiu set the watering can down steadily and picked up his tablet to log the seedling’s vitals. “They wouldn’t. Why is the principal looking for me?”

“What else? To prepare your speech! It’s the same every year.”

Gu Yanxiu’s pen paused. He looked up, his clear eyes filled with genuine confusion. “It’s still me this year?”

“Who else? Who else could take first place? The guy who came in second last year was over fifty points behind you!”

Gu Yanxiu was silent for a moment, then rubbed his temple. “I intentionally left three major questions blank.”

Brandon’s mouth formed a perfect ‘O’. It took him several seconds to find his voice. “You… you purposely skipped three big questions just because you didn’t want to give a speech?”

Gu Yanxiu nodded, his tone earnest. “It’s a bit of a hassle.”

“And you still got first?”

Gu Yanxiu: “I didn’t expect that.”

He disliked noisy environments, especially the opening ceremonies. He had been the student representative for two years, and each time it had resulted in annoying complications. He had hoped that by turning in his paper fifteen minutes early and leaving the entire last page of the Bionics exam blank, he would finally be off the hook.

Could he really still be first?

While Gu Yanxiu was questioning his life choices, Brandon was practically falling over laughing.

“Hahahaha! Man, Qu Shang’s face is going to be so swollen from this slap! He’s been bitter about being second since last year. He was just out there at the hall talking big, saying that after what happened to your family, you’d definitely”

Brandon cut himself off, realizing he’d let something slip. He slapped a hand over his mouth, his eyes wide and “guiltily innocent.”

His big mouth! Why did he have to bring that up to Yanxiu?

While Brandon looked like a panicked quail, Gu Yanxiu didn’t seem to mind. He finished recording the data and carefully adjusted the roots of the seedling. “What did he think would happen to me?”

He didn’t remember who Qu Shang was, but logically, if someone was only 50 points behind, skipping 65 points worth of questions should have dropped him to second.

Regarding “that matter,” Brandon’s gaze flickered with genuine worry.

“Well.  people were saying you’d be affected by it,” Brandon muttered, shuffling closer to Gu Yanxiu. “I was worried too. Honestly, I’m worried about you.”

Gu Yanxiu blinked. “Worried about me?”

Brandon nodded frantically. “Yeah! That kid! He’s trouble clearly ill-intentioned. Have you thought about how you’re going to deal with him?”

Gu Yanxiu paused. “Deal with whom?”

He began to suspect he and Brandon were talking about two completely different things. He clarified: “The ‘ill-intentioned’ person. You mean the child Aunt Zhu is bringing home?”

Brandon slammed his hand on a table, indignant. “What ‘Aunt Zhu’! I’ve told you that stepmother of yours is no good! Now she’s bringing some random stray into the house to establish a foothold. The whole thing stinks!”

Gu Yanxiu couldn’t help but chuckle, a faint dimple appearing on his left cheek. “He is her child from her previous marriage. His father passed away, so she has custody now. That’s just Federal Law.”

“That is NOT just a child!” Brandon wailed.

Gu Yanxiu: “Then what is he?”

“A bargaining chip!” Brandon said passionately. “A chip to steal the Lush Group from you! Xiu, Lush is one of the biggest conglomerates on the continent. You can’t let that kind of empire fall into the hands of an outsider!”

He grabbed Gu Yanxiu by the shoulders, his expression grave. “You have to be ready. If that kid turns out to be an illegitimate son, things are going to get ugly!”

Brandon’s voice echoed through the sunroom, vibrating the leaves overhead.

Gu Yanxiu sighed and gently pried Brandon’s hands off his shoulders. “Did you stay up all night reading web novels again?”

Brandon froze, a blush creeping up his neck. “How did you know?”

“You should really stop reading those ‘Melodramatic Wealthy Family Revenge’ stories,” Gu Yanxiu said seriously.

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