After Gong Ruini returned to Beijing, the house quickly became bustling.

Because the much-anticipated college entrance exam results were out, Gong Ruini, who had many people pinning their hopes on her as well as many who cursed she would fail, actually became the top scorer in Beijing’s college entrance exams.

As for the nationwide top scorer that Gong Ruini had hoped for, it was again taken by a student from Su Province.

Of course, Gong Ruini’s results were not bad, as she ranked third nationwide.

Hearing this result, Gong Ruini said it was false not to feel disappointed. She really thought becoming the nationwide top scorer shouldn’t be that hard.

During the exam, Gong Ruini felt her performance was quite good in various aspects.

"I didn’t expect there would still be someone who performed better than me." Gong Ruini couldn’t help but feel sad.

Gong Ruini actually didn’t care too much about who snatched the top scorer title, but she was worried about the ones ahead of her.

Were they bookworms who studied all the time, doing nothing but solving problems, or were they really smart enough to be comparable to Zhao Xuran?

Gong Ruini was more worried about whether they were in the same situation as her. If that’s the case, would she be in danger?

Gong Ruini couldn’t figure out if this year’s top scorer had transmigrated or was reborn.

If it was transmigration, that’s okay, they might not know much. But if the other person was reborn, what should she do? Gong Ruini admitted she sometimes tended to overthink.

"What’s wrong?" Zhao Xuran asked, worried about Gong Ruini after knowing the ranking.

This girl used to study like crazy until late at night, just to strive for the national top scorer position.

Even though he felt the so-called top scorer might not mean much, since Ni Zi liked it, he couldn’t say anything discouraging.

"I’m fine. At least I’m ranked third nationwide. In the past, that would make me like the third-place winner." Gong Ruini didn’t want her family to worry too much.

"I scored as the top scorer in Beijing’s exams and ranked third nationally. If I still felt bad, I might get scolded by many people."

"Besides, being third nationwide, at least the tutoring school’s reputation is set, next year we’ll see how Chu Ling does." Gong Ruini didn’t know how her sister-in-law’s grades were.

Getting a good score is not a problem, but to become the top scorer, that level of difficulty is unusually high.

After working around all day, Gong Ruwen returned home, and the first thing he asked about was the exam scores.

Upon hearing she was ranked third nationwide, he felt a knot in his heart. As his sister was such a strong-willed person, he wondered how hurt she’d be.

Even though he knew Zhao Xuran would certainly comfort his sister well, Gong Ruwen wasn’t at ease. Family should care for family.

He didn’t expect his sister to involve his girlfriend too, and Gong Ruwen really didn’t want Ni Zi to have too high expectations for Chu Ling.

It wasn’t that Chu Ling couldn’t handle such pressure, but, "Don’t say anything in front of Chu Ling, or she’ll feel stressed."

"Brother?" See, his big brother had already started defending Chu Ling even before they vowed lifelong commitment.

Clearly, she was supposed to be the one providing comfort, but Gong Ruini didn’t catch the slight bitterness in her words.

"I mean, even if Chu Ling has the ability, she wouldn’t compete. But since you mentioned it, how would she act?" Gong Ruwen understood Chu Ling’s struggles.

Because he knew, he didn’t want to wrong her or make her do what she didn’t want to do.

Ah, with the ability, but unwilling to compete? Gong Ruini didn’t understand. This is a proper exam; there’s no chance of exam papers leaking, so why be so cautious?

Gong Ruini knew the Chu Family likely believed in staying low-key, but being low-key shouldn’t prevent Chu Ling from achieving a good score, right?

"Chu Ling’s grades are too good, there’s unrest internally." Gong Ruwen really couldn’t understand why.

Shouldn’t one showcase more ability when capable? After witnessing the rise and fall of the Wang Family, he could only remain quietly on the sidelines, without getting involved.

Internal unrest? Gong Ruini understood a bit, "Worried Old Sir Chu would groom Chu Ling?"

Compared to other daughters and granddaughters of the Chu Family, who married old comrades or family friends, essentially people with some status, Chu Ling found Gong Ruwen, someone without a backing. Integrating into the Chu Family circle seemed only normal.

Gong Ruini and her family never had any such thoughts; they purely valued Chu Ling as a person.

But to the Chu Family, such thoughts were laughable. There was no way they would take it seriously, only seeing it as a slow erosion of their status.

"But even if Chu Ling doesn’t become the top scorer, they still won’t be at ease." Once they have such thoughts, whatever Chu Ling and Gong Ruwen do would be wrong in their eyes, considered ambitious acts.

"Whether they are at ease or not is their business, it’s not like they could say anything openly."

"As for the future, they will understand that we don’t care." Even if the Chu Family made no demands, Gong Ruwen would naturally keep a certain distance from them.

Not being in the same circle, one shouldn’t think about socializing, or it will only lead to a worse situation.

Imposing, that’s his big brother, as Gong Ruini gave Gong Ruwen a thumbs-up.

"We are also your backing." Zhao Xuran certainly wished to support Gong Ruwen as well, but due to Zhao Guangran, he couldn’t straightforwardly express it before.

This was the first time Zhao Xuran presented it so directly. Even in the past, he’d only given oblique hints about offering help.

Gong Ruini couldn’t help but thank the Cao Family for their short-sightedness, thinking they could completely hitch Zhao Family onto their wagon, giving them errands to run, otherwise Cao Na’s future wouldn’t look dim.

Perhaps Old Master Cao might now be livid, regretting having such an incompetent son.

Old Master Cao was indeed angry but couldn’t afford to let himself get too worked up; if he went down, the Cao Family would go the same way.

He could ignore affairs after death, but he couldn’t ignore Cao Na; the girl had suffered more than most.

"Who stays in my house is my business. If you have objections, you can move out."

"Doesn’t Cao Li have a courtyard under her name? Why not live there, and don’t tell me you already sold it." Even before Cao Li could speak, Old Master Cao cut off her escape route, "Think carefully about what you say. Although I’ve retired, it’s an easy task to look into a property’s status."

Wasn’t it said to have been sold? Back then, why did Cao Na think about purchasing a house in Yangcheng for her nephew, wasn’t it because Cao Li kept saying she was broke and had sold her property in Beijing?

Back then Cao Na regretted so much for her big sister, as selling such a good house brought real heartache, never guessing it was merely a falsehood.

Cao Li slightly turned her face away from the look Cao Na gave her.

She was foolish, "It’s enough that big sis has a place to live." See, even this was kept from her, and she didn’t even know how many properties her sister owned in Yangcheng.

Maybe her big sister thought of her as some idiot deep down, and Cao Na decided she’d just play dumb in the future.

After all, all the Cao Family’s resources went to her big sister, so it’s only right to spend some money.