Feng Rui and Qi Yuan stood at the door, thinking that they had heard Mu Feichi's instructions wrong. They turned to look at the patriarch of the Si family, then at Young Marshal Mu, who had given the order. They didn't know what to do so they didn't do anything for the moment.
She was the daughter of the Si family, and this was their home. And Young Marshal Mu wanted them to throw her...out?
This was really characteristic of Young Marshal Mu's way of doing things. He could act so domineering even when it wasn't his territory. He didn't even consider the patriarch of the Si family.
"What are you guys doing? Didn't you hear me?"
"Yes." Feng Rui and Qi Yuan glanced at each other, stepped forward, and grabbed onto Si Wenxuan's arms.
As soon as they touched her, Si Wenxuan frantically pushed their hands away. "What are you doing? How dare little secretaries like you lay hands on me? If you aren't careful, I will make you suffer."
Conflicted, the two of them looked at the silent patriarch of the Si Family, then at Young Marshal Mu, who looked displeased This had become really difficult.
They were now under tremendous pressure from both sides and felt as if they were sandwiched in the middle of all these forces.
Yun Xi glanced at Mu Feichi. He'd really had the audacity to give such an order, but not everyone was as powerful and fearless as he was.
Seeing that no one had dared to do anything to her, Si Wenxuan immediately recovered her superior attitude as the daughter of the Si family. She snorted coldly, then glared at Feng Rui and Qi Yuan with disdain.
"Why are you all still standing there in a daze? Get out of here. Don't disturb my mother's rest."
"The one who should get out is you." Mu Feichi turned around, grabbed Si Wenxuan by the back of her neck, and pushed her out of the ward.
At the door of the ward, Mu Feichi coldly looked at the girl who didn't know right from wrong. She was so brazen and arrogant that it seemed as if the head of the Si family really hadn't disciplined her very well.
"They might not have the right, but don't I have the right?" Mu Feichi forcefully pushed her farther along the hallway, then turned around and reentered the room, slamming the door behind him.
Entering, he lazily leaned against the wall by the door. He crossed his arms and looked at the bewildered crowd standing around the hospital bed and said impassively, "You can continue with all the arrangements."
Outside the door of the room, Si Wenxuan, who had been pushed to the ground, got up sheepishly and tried to unlock the door, but Mu Feichi had already locked it from the inside.
Unwilling to give up, she pounded on the door and yelled at the people inside, "Brother Chi, you open the door for me. Have you also been bewitched by that little fox? She has ulterior motives toward my mother. My mother dotes on you so much, how could you be so treacherous? Are you trying to get her killed?"
Mu Feichi's mother had died early. For Xiao Weijun, who watched Mu Feichi grow up and didn't have a son of her own, she'd truly loved the child and treated him as her son.
Therefore, since childhood, Si Wenxuan and Xiao Weijun were the women who had seen Mu Feichi most often.
It was a pity that after Mu Feichi had inherited the Mu Family Corporation, he'd spent most of his time at the company. Si Wenxuan couldn't see him even if she'd wanted to.
Later, he was given the title of Young Marshal Mu and granted Tianyu Mountain as a place to build his own residence, the Mu Mansion, and Si Wenxuan was forbidden to go up the mountain. Even when he came to the Si family mansion, Mu Feichi had only come when she was attending class.
"Dad! You can't put my mother's life in the hands of a girl of unknown origin. Aren't you afraid that something might happen..."
Xiao Weijun sighed slightly, then smiled at Yun Xi kindly.
"Yun Xi, Wenxuan is spoiled, so don't listen to her. This matter is adults' business, so we are in charge."
Yun Xi glanced at the embarrassed madame of the Si family and shrugged indifferently. "Since the patient's family disagrees, this operation can't be performed. Please think carefully."
She didn't want to make herself a scapegoat, lest something went amiss during the surgery. Si Wenxuan could get her arrested and accuse her of murder. Then she would suffer greatly.
Si Jingting and Xiao Weijun looked at each other and said frankly, "Her opinions aren't important. We'll simply follow the arrangements made by you and Professor Joseph. The surgery will be performed this Sunday."
"If that's the case, then all right." Since the patriarch of the Si family had said so, with so many people present at the scene to testify in her defense, she was no longer afraid even if Si Wenxuan tried to make her into a scapegoat.
Outside the door, Si Wenxuan was still yelling, and she started slamming the door when she couldn't open it.
Just as Si Wenxuan's body slammed into the door, Mu Feichi suddenly reached out and unlocked the door. When the door opened without warning. Si Wenxuan was unable to catch her balance, and she fell sprawling to the ground.
In the presence of so many people, Si Wenxuan had been forced to suffer such extreme humiliation and embarrassment.
Leaning against the wall casually watching her make a fool of herself, Mu Feichi had acted as if everything was normal.
Upon seeing how immaturely mischievous he was, Yun Xi had to work hard to suppress her laughter.
Even in the presence of the Si family patriarch, he'd really had the guts to do what he'd done to Si Wenxuan.
Now, looking sheepish after falling on her face, Si Wenxuan turned in annoyance and was about to vent her fury once again, when she realized that it had been Mu Feichi who'd opened the door. She suppressed her rage.
Biting her lips with an aggrieved expression on her face, she said meekly, "Brother Chi, why didn't you say anything when you opened the door? My foot hurts! It hurts...give me a hand."
Mu Feichi glanced at her as if she was invisible and stood up straight, addressing the patriarch.
"Now that the time has been settled on, we'll be leaving. Madame, please ask Dr. Carl to keep an eye on you. All the arrangements for the operation will be taken care of in advance. If there is nothing else, we'll see you soon."
With that, he walked over and grabbed Yun Xi by the hand, and they left.
Si Wenxuan, who'd stretched out her hand in anticipation of Mu Feichi pulling her up, still sat on the ground awkwardly and watched the person she liked leave with another girl.
After all these grievances and blows, Si Wenxuan was no longer able to keep up her airs. She could no longer resist the urge to scream at Mu Feichi.
"Mu Feichi, stop right there!"
Mu Feichi stopped. He turned his head and looked coldly at Si Wenxuan, who still sat on the ground. His arrogant eyes looked at her with condescension and disdain.
"What's happened to you? You haven't progressed at all since you were a teenager."
"How haven't I progressed? I got first place in every class I took and learned everything there was to learn. How could I not be as good as that wretched girl?"
"Just from the way you're talking to me now, it's obvious that your etiquette teacher should have been fired."
With a light snort, Mu Feichi raised his eyes to look at the patriarch of the Si family. There was an imperceptible hint of authority in his cold voice.
"If the patriarch of the Si family has any free time, he should make an effort to discipline his daughter. It seems to me that the etiquette and manners she's learned during the past few years are nearly nonexistent. The tri-annual debutante ball will be held next year, and you can't possibly allow her to embarrass herself and you in front of all the heiresses and socialites, now can you?"
"That seems an unnecessary thing to say."
After being reprimanded by the junior he regarded most highly, the expression on Si Jingting's face immediately became ugly.
But Mu Feichi's arrogance was well known in Jingdu, so even though he was the head of the Si family, he dared not reprimand him.
With his power, ability, and family background, his elder was biased toward him and treated him as his own son, so he could only accept the disciplinary rebuke.
Si Wenxuan didn't snap back to reality until the door had slammed shut behind Mu Feichi. Annoyed and unwilling to give up, she got up to chase after him.
"Si Wenxuan, stop right there immediately!" Si Jingting commanded her in a low voice.
Si Wenxuan trembled and stopped.
"Dad, how can Brother Chi say those things to me? I have worked very hard, so why doesn't he praise me?"
She had worked so hard, and everything she had done was to be able to match Mu Feichi's level, but from beginning to end he couldn't see any of her positive aspects.
She was unwilling to give up.
That wretched girl was a lowly girl. Even the daughters of the four prominent families couldn't compare with Si Wenxuan, yet Brother Chi was so protective of a lowly girl like her. How outrageous!
"Look at how you act. You don't even have the most basic etiquette that a sophisticated heiress should have. Even I feel infuriated by your behavior, so how could he praise you?"
Si Jingting looked at his spoiled daughter with a disappointed expression, then pressed the alarm bell in the room. Soon a group of guards rushed in.
"Take this young lady back to her school. I don't want to see her until New Year's Day. Tell the teacher that if she doesn't learn her etiquette well, she won't be able to come and see me."
"Dad!" Si Wenxuan looked incredulous and turned her head in tears to ask Xiao Weijun, who had always been soft-hearted, to intervene.
"Mom, Dad is being too harsh."
"Xuan Xuan, you were too rude this time, and Mother is also very disappointed in you. As the heiress of the Si family, your manners and etiquette must always be put before your temper. You represent the head of the Si family and his wife. Do you understand?"
"..." Si Wenxuan clenched her fists and bit her lips, but didn't dare make any reply.
After getting in the car, Yun Xi glanced at the gloomy man sitting beside her.
After disciplining Si Wenxuan, his mood hadn't changed yet. He appeared more sullen than usual, but also more like a mature man.
It was the first time she'd ever seen someone dare to rebuke anyone of the stature of the patriarch of the Si family. Mu Feichi was truly brazen and cocky.
As the saying goes, the favored are fearless.
Since he didn't say anything, Yun Xi poked him and asked curiously, "Young Marshal Mu, why do you hate Si Wenxuan so much? She is the heiress of the Si family, and anyone with a discerning eye can see that she likes you."
Mu Feichi turned his head and glanced at her with disdain on his handsome face. "Anyone with a discerning eye can also see that I don't like her."
"Don't get riled up. I didn't mean anything by it."
Yun Xi was just being nosy. She had to admit that Si Wenxuan was really unlikable.
However, because of her status, a lot of men kissed up to her and treated her like she was a princess. Mu Feichi, however, didn't give her the time of day.
He didn't have to kiss up to her and flatter her, since his status was nobler than hers anyway.
But even though this remark of his might have been just an offhand comment, it piqued her interest.
Mu Feichi turned his head in amusement and eyed her nonchalantly. There was a faint gleam in his eyes.
"Babe, are you interrogating me because you're curious, or are you simply being jealous?"
Yun Xi was taken aback. She quickly realized what he was insinuating and her ears reddened.
"I meant nothing by it. Don't let your imagination run wild."
"Really?" He leaned over her. "How come I smell vinegar?"
"..." She felt a heavy weight on her shoulders as he rested his chin there.
Then his scorching breath hit her neck, and she trembled.
"Vinegar is good for you, so please, babe, eat it often."
His deep voice lingered in her ears. It sounded both coaxing and coquettish.
"..." With a helpless expression on her face, Yun Xi raised her hand and pushed his face away.
Would he ever become more mature?
...
The biology competition was on Friday, so Yun Xi went over the procedures and the plan of the surgery while reviewing her biology lessons.
Since Zhou Chengzhe had decided to challenge her, she was going to let him find out the consequences of his mistake.
Jing High School had selected ten students to participate in the competition. Zhao Yumo wasn't interested in it, but with her grades, she couldn't refuse to participate.
This preliminary contest had a wide range of examinations, including cellular biology, biochemistry, plant and animal anatomy, organ structure, animal behavior, genetics, and evolution, all of which were subjects very familiar to Yun Xi.
Although she had graduated from school many years ago in her last life, she hadn't forgotten any basic knowledge, but she still had to go back to review everything just in case.
On the day of the preliminary competition, Yun Xi arrived at the venue early in the morning. This year's competition had more than one process for answering questions.
After the computer test, the top 50 contestants would all enter the competition, and ten winners would be selected from those 50, who would then compete in groups of five.
In the quick-answer session, most of the questions would come from things they'd learned in class, though there would also be some esoteric biology knowledge.
It was exceedingly difficult for people who didn't have an especially high interest in biology to pass this level.
Yun Xi felt a little apprehensive about this test. After all, the knowledge she had studied recently wasn't very comprehensive, so she realized she would have to rely on her memory.
As she entered the examination room, Yun Xi glanced at Zhou Chengzhe, who'd been assigned to the same examination room. She couldn't help but size him up.
He seemed so self-assured and smug, and it appeared that he was confident of his victory.
In school, she only knew that he was very unapproachable and didn't talk to his classmates that much.
Perhaps in his eyes, they were all mentally retarded and therefore not qualified to talk to a genius like him.
She couldn't help but sneer. "Classmate Zhou, I look forward to learning from you. I look forward to your performance."
Zhou Chengzhe glanced at her with disdain and sat down with a cold snort. "You yourself seem to have started talking big too early, so don't be a sore loser."
"The winner and loser haven't been determined yet, so all this is still speculation. We'll wait and see."
With the written examination in the morning and the quick-answer process in the afternoon, the schedule was fully packed.
Yun Xi and Zhao Yumo were discussing the group situation that was coming up in the afternoon as they ate their lunch, when, from a distance, they saw Li Sinuo and Zhou Chengzhe walking side by side.
Although they all came from the same school, ever since Li Sinuo had admitted that she'd framed Yun Xi, other students had been reluctant to approach her for fear of gossip.
Zhou Chengzhe didn't seem to mind. Instead, he seemed to regard her as an ally fighting against their two mutual enemies, Yun Xi and Zhao Yumo.
Seeing that the two of them seemed to be in unanimous agreement, Yun Xi felt the urge to laugh.
If Zhou Chengzhe ever found out that the rumors in school about him had been spread by Li Sinuo, would he feign ignorance to protect his pride or would he slap her?
Hee, hee... She was starting to look forward to the competition.
She hoped that Zhou Chengzhe would stay in the competition until the end. How could they compete if he didn't have real skills?
After a two-hour break, the subregional competition began, and within an hour, ten spots emerged.
During the final contest, Yun Xi glanced at the noisy crowd around her. After finding Zhao Yumo, she also saw Zhou Chengzhe and Li Sinuo, as expected.
She didn't see any other Jing High School students.
Yun Xi knew the ulterior motive behind Li Sinuo's desperation to win the Biology and English competition. She wanted the unconditional admission to study abroad.
She was a smart person, and she knew that the man she'd been seeing wouldn't just let her go. Her only choice was to run.
Only when she escaped abroad would she be able to be rid of the trauma of those photos.
But what she didn't know was that this man she'd been with wasn't an ordinary person.
Whether the man would let her go or not, as long as Yun Xi was there, she wouldn't have a chance to study abroad.
The list of groups appeared on the big screen. Yun Xi glanced at the list and narrowed her eyes.
Very well. She was playing against Zhou Chengzhe, and even though she and Li Sinuo were in the same group, she was confident that she would be the one who would stay until the end.
This contest was very unconventional. It started with the score of 50 to 10.
When there were 50 people, everyone's scores were the same, and the ten who remained were the ten with the best scores.
The judges wrote the scores of the ten contestants on the big screen. Yun Xi and Zhao Yumo had already decided beforehand that they would hide their true strength during the first round.
Therefore, when the 50 contestants were cut down to ten contestants, she and Zhao Yumo had answered the questions with the idea of keeping a low profile in mind.
When Yun Xi and Zhao Yumo scored the ninth and tenth places respectively, their biology teachers and homeroom teachers grew anxious.
Upon seeing their scores, everyone thought they were underperforming because they were nervous.
Yun Xi and Zhao Yumo glanced at each other and smiled mischievously without explaining anything. They decided they might as well let everyone misunderstand them.
But Zhou Chengzhe was very happy, because he had scored first place, which made his homeroom teacher feel proud.
When the groups began, the first place was grouped with the tenth place, the second was grouped with the ninth place, and so on, in a grouping method based on balancing strength.
Yun Xi had ranked ninth place and Li Sinuo had ranked sixth place, so both of them were placed in the group that played against Zhou Chengzhe.
The groups were then designated the red and blue groups. At the start of the competition, the red and blue groups would start competing. Questions would appear on the big screen, and both sides would press their buttons on the stage to answer.
Ten points were given for correct answers, and ten points were taken off the score for incorrect answers.
If someone on the team didn't want to take the risk and refused to answer the question, then they would lose ten points and their question would be given to the whole team to answer.
Therefore, whether one answered or not, the score determined the win or loss of the entire team, so nobody could shirk responsibility.
At the beginning of the contest, Yun Xi was very calm, and since she was ranked behind, she wasn't in a hurry to answer.
However, Li Sinuo was full of confidence and rushed to answer several questions in a row. Although she answered three questions correctly, the more impatient she became, the more she underestimated the enemy.
She was repeatedly deducted points, soon numbering 50, and only 30 points were left of her original 80 points.
Zhou Chengzhe was confident in his victory, and he answered very quickly. Every time he answered correctly, he would look at Yun Xi smugly.
He had already answered six questions, and a 90-point base score plus 60 points equaled 150 points.
Yet Yun Xi was still in place with an untouched score of 60 points.
Occasionally, Yun Xi would create the illusion that she was trying hard to answer but, just as she was about to answer, someone else was one step ahead.
Zhou Chengzhe kept staring at Yun Xi's score, but he forgot to stare at the scores of the other contestants.
On Yun Xi's team, Li Sinuo became the first person to get kicked out of the contest because of a wrong answer.
Yun Xi hadn't answered a single question. If she got zero points, then Li Sinuo would be able to get points from Yun Xi.
It was precisely because of this rule that Li Sinuo could answer confidently without being afraid of getting zero points. Being able to deduct points from Yun Xi felt gratifying.
But then, unexpectedly, just as she thought she was going to be able to deduct from Yun Xi's score, Yun Xi started a counterattack.
She counterattacked with one question after another, without mercy. Every time she rushed to answer, she would get the question one step faster than anyone else.
She answered six questions in a row, and, once she rushed to answer, the person with the lowest score on the team became Li Sinuo. If she answered one wrong question, she would be out.
Knowing that she was impatient, Yun Xi glanced at her and deliberately slacked off on a problem that was seemingly simple but easy to get wrong. Yun Xi knew Li Sinuo would rush to answer the problem without thinking.
Sure enough, Li Sinuo didn't let her down and got the wrong answer.
The question looked simple, but it was actually full of traps. These kind of questions were the most misleading.
The judge's voice came over the microphone from the judges' stage: "Li Sinuo, 0 points, out!"
Li Sinuo turned her head in annoyance and shot daggers from her eyes at Yun Xi.
Seeing that Yun Xi then answered quickly and correctly, Li Sinuo was sure that she had slacked off on purpose.
She'd deliberately gotten her kicked out of the game first, but her target wasn't Li Sinuo, but rather Zhou Chengzhe.
At first, Li Sinuo had thought that Yun Xi had been underperforming today, but she hadn't expected her speed to catch up so quickly.
It wasn't only that she had been underperforming, but that she had hidden her strength starting when the number of contestants went from 50 to ten.
Originally, she'd been planning to use the rumors to make Zhou Chengzhe deal with Yun Xi. Zhou Chengzhe had lived up to expectations and really wanted to provoke her.
Yun Xi had succeeded in making the other two top students become enemies. Li Sinuo couldn't beat Yun Xi by herself, but Zhou Chengzhe could.
She had originally thought that as long as he defeated Yun Xi, she would have a chance to take a step forward, but she didn't expect...that she would fall into a trap dug by that little b*tch, Yun Xi.
Li Sinuo trembled with hatred when she thought of how she had missed out on the opportunity for admission to a prestigious university abroad.
The rush to answer questions continued, and the battle between the two sides continued. Zhao Yumo was unwilling to play against Yun Xi, so she deliberately got kicked out of the game with a wrong answer.
In the end, only Yun Xi and Zhou Chengzhe were left on the stage in a face-off as the ultimate battle was finalized.
The judges and the organizer didn't seem to have expected that they would encounter two such very impressive students this year, and they ran out of the hundreds of questions they had prepared.
The scene became a little awkward. Yun Xi glanced at Zhou Chengzhe, who was sitting across from her, and she raised her hand to the judge.
"What do you want to say?"
"Judge, since the questions have all been used up, and the winner hasn't yet been determined, how about if we give each other questions, based on botany, zoology, and biology. There are many teachers and experts present to judge whether our answers are correct or not. What do you think about that?"
She simply wanted to set up Zhou Chengzhe today just to defeat him.
She was taking advantage of her rebirth, but Zhou Chengzhe was a current student, so he should be more familiar with basic knowledge than she was.
The teachers and the judges had a round of discussions. The competition was still in full swing, and everyone wanted to see who could answer the other's questions. It was decided to go with this format.
With half an hour of extra time, Zhou Chengzhe first gave Yun Xi a question, and the first question was very difficult.
Yun Xi answered it within a few moments, and the green light from the judges lit up on the big screen to indicate approval.
It was Yun Xi's turn to ask a question. Her question wasn't difficult, but it was very tricky. It seemed like the answer was A, but you would feel that answer B was correct, but the correct answer was actually C.
On the right side of the venue, three figures stood there silently watching. With a small doting smile on his lips, Mu Feichi raised his eyes to look at the little girl who was setting up her opponent on the stage.
He knew that this girl was about to unseat her rival.