Falling Dreams, Rising Hopes: Saving Mr. Boyfriend

"What was your question again Qing Qing?", the conversation had continued from the teatime. They had ordered dinner now. Suspicious of the waitress's motive, the girls would just stare at each other when they brought in food.

"I'll ask you sometime else. I feel like there are too many ears and eyes here.", she said pointing to the trolley beside them which was left by the waitress there while she went to fetch something for them. Fan Ruyi understood her meaning and giggled lightly. The waitress in the back clenched her teeth in anger. They knew!

The girls ate their rest of the dinner in silence. They did not have anything else to talk about. Although Mei Qingyang's question was urgent, she decided it was not the right time to ask. The waitress reported that the girls mostly fought with each other. Although Fan Ruyi was calling Mei Qingyang with her nick name, there was still tension in the air. It was also proven by the fact that they did not even engage in any small talk.

In a blink of an eye, the week got over. It was Friday and a lot of people in first year engineering department were anticipating the results, not only theirs but Mei Qingyang's. They wanted to see the downfall of the girl who was way overconfident with her skills. When the results were posted on website, everyone was disappointed because Mei Qingyang had indeed aced the exams.

A few people noticed her entering the building. Right now, everyone had crowded the notice board, including seniors. They did get their results at their school's web portal but the whole list was always put up on public notice board for everyone to see. The seniors had also heard from their juniors what was going on.

Mei Qingyang had earned a different kind of reputation after the hospital incident. People had spread the word far and wide, so much, that almost whole school knew about her now. Even the store owners in the school market knew who she was.

Mei Qingyang coldly glanced at the notice board and then left. The people surrounding the area noticed her strong aura and made a path for her but she did not even bother to check the board. Now it was the time for the guys to swoon over this cool girl. This irritated the girls in the class further. How dare she show off?

"Hey… Mei Qingyang, congratulations on getting first. Could… could you please share some tips with me on how to ace exams? I failed in two out of eight subjects. And… and I am so scared of our TAs. Can you pleas help me out?", a brave girl approached Mei Qingyang after seeing the results. She was visibly nervous but dared in the end.

Mei Qingyang looked at her from top to bottom. This was one invisible girl in the class. She did not know her name or background but knew that she had not participated on the bullying incidents earlier. She did not have much impression of most of her class anyway. But realizing, that this weak anxious girl had enough guts to defy the herd and not participate in their shenanigans, she could be worth a try.

Everyone was watching carefully, they were sure of this girl's demise. This girl was another loner of the class, but when it came to it, she had an aura of a tigress. A few girls had tried bullying her initially, in the school days but one glare from this girl had driven them all off. No one bothered her after that. First, no one knew she could be so sweet and shy. Second, everyone was very sure that Mei Qingyang, at this point, would chew her raw.

Mei Qingyang smiled politely, "How may this humble one help you?" She was a bit sarcastic and bit genuine to see the girl's reaction. She immediately relaxed on hearing congenial words from the topper girl and held her hands.

"Thank you so much. I was so afraid to ask you for help. I want to be friends with you, please accept my request.", the girl shook her hands while lowering her head in delight.

"Hmph! You both are such lowly people. One cheats and another wants to be friends with her.", another lackey of Gu Layue tried to take a jab. The two girls glared fiercely at her and she whimpered like a puppy. "What are you looking at? Did I not say the truth? Mei Qingyang got in total 784 marks out of 800. It's an average of 98 in each subject. Doesn't that mean she surpassed even senior Yu's record last year? Is that even possible by fair means?", she lamented.

That's right, Mei Qingyang had broken all the records and earned the title of highest scorer ever in their first year mid semester exams. Well, obviously the guys were too busy to care about the exams, so they put minimal effort. Unknowingly, the geniuses did get highest marks in the history of the school. But that record was broken a year later by this girl with no background. She was either a genius herself or she got the papers from somewhere, probability of latter being the highest.

"Oh? How do you think I cheated? Care to explain?" Here it was. Mei Qingyang was just waiting for this. Gu Layue had, for the most part, become quiet after the hospital incident. Either she was scolded very badly by Yu Rong or she was planning something more sinister. So, her brainless lackeys had started brewing trouble for her these days.

"Of course, you must have got the papers from somewhere and memorized the answers. Or you must have got cheat sheets in the exam.", the lackey said very confidently. She was standing near the third last seat, crossing her arms like she had definite information on what had happened.

"So, what you are saying is…", Mei Qingyang stood up from her seat, brushed the other girl who had come for help aside, and took slow steps towards the lackey, "… that there was a flaw in our TAs supervision on exam papers or the class? Are you questioning them?", she smiled intimidatingly.

The lackey found herself dumbfounded by the accusation. Why did she not think about this? She did not mean it but whatever she had said, definitely implied that she was saying their TAs were incompetent. It was a taboo to question the three Gods of the school. She almost lost her footing from the pressure Mei Qingyang was emanating from her whole person.

Finding herself cornered and being subjected to eyes from everywhere, she backed off. Mumbling in a low voice, she tried saying "I didn't mean it like that". But before she could complete her sentence, she received a kick from Gu Layue in the back portion of her knee.

"Can't you shut up? Embarrassing yourself is fine, don't drag me into your useless tricks. Everyone knows its impossible to surpass our three seniors. There is no way she won these marks fair and square. She might as well have seduced the professor for the exam papers. She comes from a lowly house anyway.", as soon as Gu Layue finished, a portion of the class started believing her words. Of course, that was the most plausible explanation. Their professor might go corrupt, but their Gods could not do anything wrong.

And it was a definite possibility that the professors themselves could have indulged the information. But all eight of them? And what about female professors?

"I wish you had better idea when to admit defeat Gu Layue.", Yu Tian and Su Lang entered the class with their exam sheets.

"I thought you were smart enough, you are becoming blander by the day, you don't even have good comebacks anymore.", Su Lang snickered at her. The class laughed with him. Gu Layue flushed red on the insult.

She was the campus belle. Even in middle school, she was asked out by so many of her seniors. The guys she liked, she made sure she got that by hook or crook. She had made so many girls cry after snatching their men, just because she could not bear not having their attention.

Since Yu Tian was her childhood friend, she had always thought he was hers. Then that Fan Ruyi came and took away all her attention. She was even inducted in their group, the group she had failed to make space for herself in. Now this b*tch. These guys would advocate this much for her? Why would a peasant like her get that much attention? She needed to beg Yu Rong to once again take her under her wing, otherwise this girl would not be solved.