Half an hour later, Feng Wu looked at Chaoge in resignation. The girl had laughed until she couldn't sit up.
"Qiuling, Qiuling, rub my belly for me. Ouch, it hurts. I think I have cramps." Chaoge turned to Qiuling for help.
Qiuling chuckled as she offered Chaoge a cup of Quling tea.
"Hey, Quling tea!"
Chaoge jumped to her feet at the smell, grabbed the cup, and poured the tea into her mouth in one go. "Ouch, that's hot." Chaoge cried out, but went on drinking.
Feng Wu looked at her in resignation. "Slow down. The tea isn't going anywhere."
Chaoge rolled her eyes at Feng Wu as she fanned her mouth with her hands. "I know that, but it's Quling tea! How can I wait when something which smells this nice is around?"
Feng Wu didn't know what to say.
"Well, since I've passed the written exam, I need to go back home and show off now." After finishing her fruit, Chaoge was ready to leave.
Feng Wu asked, "Are you sure you won't end up fighting with those people?"
Chaoge gloated. "You'll see." She then returned home.
By then, the news had gotten around and almost everyone had a copy of that list. And everyone was talking about it, from the court above to the masses below.
The Duan manor
Mrs Duan almost had a nervous breakdown when she saw the list!
"That's impossible! I don't believe it! It shouldn't have happened!" Mrs Duan crumpled the paper into a ball.
She was dumbfounded!
"Feng Wu is first? You've got to be kidding me!" Mrs Duan smirked at her husband. "Feng Wu, the useless girl! She was known as Failure Wu! And she's first? This isn't happening!
"And second is Duan Chaoge! Seriously?!" Mrs Duan rolled her eyes. "Our Chaoge? Second? Master, can you believe this?"
Duan Hongyi didn't want to! But it was written on the list and he had no other choice!
"Maybe they outdid themselves?" Duan Hongyi rubbed his chin.
"Heh!" Mrs Duan snorted. "Someone who hands in blank answer sheets got full marks. 'Outdid' is an understatement."
"What do you mean?"
"They must have cheated!" Mrs Duan snorted.
Rubbing his chin, Duan Hongyi was lost in his thoughts.
Just then, footsteps came from outside.
"Miss Chaoge is back."
Duan Chaoyin and Duan Chaoyue rose to their feet in unison and both looked alarmed!
"Well, what a coincidence. You're all here." Chaoge smirked when she saw the family of four.
Duan Chaoyin sneered. "Oh my, you're back? I thought you died out there."
Chaoge snorted. "You'd love that, wouldn't you? That's why you stopped dad from saving me."
"You..." Duan Chaoyin glared at Chaoge.
Chaoge snorted. "Am I wrong? Did you try to look for me afterward?" Chaoge sneered inwardly when she saw the astonished looks on their faces. Xiao Wu was right. She had to make them feel guilty! That way, she would have the moral high ground!
"You," Duan Chaoyin pointed at Chaoge. "How dare you come back!"
"Why can't I come back?" Chaoge gloated. "I got the second highest score, of course I'd come back home, loaded with honors. You didn't even pass the written exam. How dare you disrespect me like this, telling me what to do?"