Chapter 23

For the entire morning, Fan Zhi solved three Level B questions, each of which was 20 points. Fan Zhi who had 60 points with him asked inaudibly when he saw that everyone had returned, “How’s it going on your side? I don’t know what happened to my wife and I, but our faces are swollen. Can we redeem some anti-inflammatory medicine?”

Jin Hang did not look so good. “We’ve only prepared half of the materials to build the house. We’ll probably only be able to finish by tomorrow. We have 15 points in total. What about you?”

“I’ve solved three Level B questions,” Fan Zhi said, “One of them was directly redeemed with the production team and the other two are a little far away.”

“That’s great! You’re no doubt a top student from the Huazhong University of Science and Technology!” Jin Hang praised.

The two of them walked toward the supply station. Jin Ran stood in front of the board and looked at the card in her hand with full concentration.

Jin Hang glanced at her. “What are you doing here?”

Jin Ran took a step back in fear. “Bai Lin-jie asked me to stay here and solve the questions.”

Jin Hang sneered, “What can you solve? Bai Lin’s leaving you here because she doesn’t want you to cause troubles. Do you really think she’s being nice to you?”

Jin Ran fiddled with her fingers and looked at the mud at her feet.

Bai Lin-jie was not that kind of person at all.

She only dared to think about it and not say it out loud. If she did, she would be beaten and scolded.

Her father did not like her because when her mother was pregnant with her, a fortune-teller told them that it was a boy in her stomach. Her parents had been looking forward to their son happily only to have given birth to a girl.

Jin Hang asked the fortune-teller for an explanation but the latter said that she was a monster who had swallowed her brother and taken over his body in the stomach. They had even spent a lot of money to remove the “monster aura” on her.

Fan Zhi approached her with a smile. “Xiao Ran, what question did you solve? Did you get the answer?”

“Five Level A ones and 12 Level B ones,” Jin Ran said softly, “But I don’t think they’re quite right.”

Jin Ran’s parents were not ugly and she had taken the best of their features. Her small face was not inferior to Bai Xi’s. However, she did not have any grace. She was always hunching her back and ducking her head. She also wore a pair of large-rimmed gla.s.ses and was quiet and low-key, making it easy for people to ignore her.

However, it was this unremarkable little girl who had solved a question that even Fan Zhi could not solve.

Fan Zhi was jealous, and he was starting to have stronger ulterior motives. He took a step forward and coaxed, “Which are they? Let’s compare our answers. I can help you see if they’re right or wrong.”

[This is bullying a little girl, right? This man looks so wretched.]

[That’s a little too much. All of you didn’t believe Jin Ran’s answer yesterday. When Bai Lin wanted her, you didn’t reject it and were even quite happy about it. Now that you see that she’s of use to you, you come back looking for her. All the good things should be kept for yourselves, eh?]

[Jin Ran is really pitiful. Her father doesn’t dote on her and her mother doesn’t love her. She even has to be bullied by the strange uncle.]

[Where’s Bai Lin? Isn’t Bai Lin their team leader? Why is she nowhere to be seen now? If Xixi were here, she’d definitely help Jin Ran seek justice.]

[Bai Xi’s fans are so annoying. Why are you everywhere?]

Jin Hang glanced at Fan Zhi and immediately understood what he meant.

Although he did not believe that Jin Ran could answer the questions correctly and thought that she had only gotten it right by luck yesterday, he felt that it was worth a try.

“That’s right,” he said with a frown, “Your Uncle Fan graduated from the Huazhong University of Science and Technology. Hurry up and thank him!”

Jin Ran was timid, but she was not stupid. Their plan was too obvious. She stammered, “But…”

“But what? Hurry up and tell us!” Lu Zhi ma.s.saged her shoulders as she walked over and reprimanded, “Uncle Fan’s doing you a favor by asking you questions. Why are you hemming and hawing? I know you’re usually a good-for-nothing, but you can’t drop the ball at a time like this, understand?”

“Understand what?”

A clear voice interrupted. Like a big hand that suddenly lifted the huge stone on Jin Ran’s body, Jin Ran quietly heaved a sigh of relief and looked at Bai Lin with bright eyes.

Lu Zhi frowned and looked over. “I’m lecturing my child. Why are you interrupting?”

Bai Lin held Jin Ran’s hand and stood in front of her. Facing Lu Zhi’s mean gaze, she said calmly, “She’s a member of our group right now, so I’m in charge.”