I gave her a cool glance, picked up my chalk, and waited.
I was doing it on purpose. If I didn't teach this woman, Li Qiu, a lesson, she'd really think I was an easy target. Talking trash about me so loudly in class just now, did she think I was deaf?
Wu Min began to call out the words. The two of us took turns writing them one by one. Each word was different, so Li Qiu couldn't copy me even if she wanted to. I effortlessly wrote down the words the teacher said without the slightest hesitation.
When it was Li Qiu's turn, it was a disaster. She'd long forgotten whatever little she learned in elementary school. She spent the whole class focused on chatting, so now she couldn't think of a single word. She was so nervous her palms started sweating. Wu Min saw that she couldn't write a thing. She sighed, shook her head, and had no choice but to pick the easiest one to read out for her.
Fifteen minutes went by. I had neatly written over a dozen words on my paper, perfectly neat, without a single mistake. Li Qiu's paper, on the other hand, was a mess. She only managed to scrape up two words, and even one of those was wrong.
The class was filled with the sound of mocking laughter. Li Qiu's face turned bright red.
Wu Min praised me a few times, then gave Li Qiu some token words of encouragement, and with that, the class was finally over.
The moment the teacher left, Li Qiu stormed over to me. She asked through gritted teeth, "You did that on purpose to make me look bad, didn't you?"
"That's right. I did it on purpose," I admitted calmly.
Li Qiu glared at me. I met her gaze without flinching, waiting for her to say something else. But Li Qiu just stammered, "You—" and couldn't manage to get another word out.
Her husband Li Lianjun's warning was still ringing in her ears. "Commander Lu is several ranks higher than me. He could get rid of me as easily as crushing an ant. If you want to keep living in this compound, then don't you dare mess with that Lin Yao."
Just then, I warned her coldly. "From now on, you'd better just behave in class and stay out of my way. If I ever hear you badmouthing me again, I have plenty of ways to deal with you."
After I finished, I gave her a chilling little smile. I usually come across as sweet and gentle, but hearing those words come out of my mouth, paired with that smile, for some reason, Li Qiu suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. She even broke out in a cold sweat.
The second class was math, taught by an elderly man. I don't know if my warning had any effect, but the entire class was peaceful with no trouble at all.
Just like that, two classes were over and the morning was gone.
Before heading home, I found Su Jiayi to turn in my registration form. Su Jiayi praised me. "Wow, Lin Yao. I heard from Teacher Wu that your vocabulary is already at a high school level. Didn't you say you only finished elementary school?"
I thought for a moment and replied, "My older sister went to high school, so I used her old textbooks to teach myself at home."
"Oh, I see." As she spoke, Su Jiayi pulled a few thick books from a cabinet and handed them to me. "Here, take these novels. Your vocabulary is good enough that you should be able to read them at home."
"Thank you, Jiayi." I tucked the books into my bag.
Su Jiayi then enthusiastically grabbed my arm. "Come on, it's lunchtime. Let's go eat at the cafeteria together. There's a cafeteria in the compound, so you can eat there whenever you don't feel like cooking."
Lu Jiao had given me a meal card, and I'd already told him yesterday that he didn't need to bring me lunch today, so I agreed to go with her.
The two of us left the office and started walking toward the main gate. Su Jiayi was excitedly asking me for interesting stories from class, so I smiled and started telling her how I dealt with Li Qiu. From a distance, we must have looked like a pair of sisters.
"And then I told Li Qiu, if you dare badmouth me again, I'll—"
Just as I was getting to the good part, I noticed that Su Jiayi had suddenly stopped smiling. I followed her gaze to see what she was looking at, and there was Lu Jiao standing ramrod straight at the main gate. Our eyes met. I figured he was probably there to pick me up.
Su Jiayi gave me a little wink. "Looks like you've got company for lunch," she teased. "I'll get going then."
"Hey, why don't we all eat together?" I said, feeling a little embarrassed. I felt bad about ditching Su Jiayi as soon as he showed up.
But when she heard me, her eyes went wide. She frantically waved her hands and said, "No, no, absolutely not. If I ate at the same table as Commander Lu, I'd definitely get indigestion."
After saying that, she ran off faster than a rabbit. I watched her go, a confused look on my face.
Lu Jiao slowly walked over to me. I smiled and asked him, "Are you here to pick me up from school?"
"Mm." He hummed in response. Then he naturally reached out and took my school bag.
We walked side by side toward the cafeteria. I was in an especially good mood, chattering away to him about what happened in class today. When I got to the funny parts, I laughed so hard my shoulders shook, making me seem especially lively and cute.
People coming and going from their classes saw us, and every single one of them was envious. "We're all married and attending classes, so how come Lin Yao's husband is so thoughtful? He even knows to pick her up after school. I've got nothing."
This was especially true for Li Qiu. She watched from a distance as Lu Jiao and I walked away. She was so angry she gritted her teeth. Not only did she have no one to pick her up, she also had to go to the elementary school next door to get her son and then go home and cook for the child.
Just that morning, she had been spreading rumors in class that we weren't getting along. By noon, the rumor had completely fallen apart on its own. Li Qiu was fuming with anger. With a dark expression on her face, she went to pick up her son.