Chapter 170

Chapter 170 – Division Of Classes (1)

The carriage stopped just outside the large gate of the Academy for Women. Lu Lingzhi found it inconvenient to take Ye Zhen inside as he was already running late. Therefore, he said goodbye to her at the gates.

“You do not have a maid to take care of you. If you ever have difficulty living inside the academy, let someone tell us.” He told her.

Ye Zhen smiled and nodded. “I know, Eldest Brother, do not worry about me.” She must be able to take care of herself.

Lu Lingzhi looked at Ye Zhen with a smile, and then got on his carriage again and left.

Unlike other girls here, Ye Zhen came in without any luggage because Pei Shi had people send her daily necessities to the School of Medicine yesterday.

“Yaoyao!”

She had just entered the college when she heard someone call her name behind her. She immediately looked back and saw a soft yellow figure approaching her. The girl had a buxom figure, and her smile was bright and sweet. She waved enthusiastically at Ye Zhen.

Upon squinting her eyes for a fraction, Ye Zhen realized that it was Sun Wen whom she met in the last exam! She stopped right where she stood and watched Sun Wen come closer with her unwavering smile.

“Yaoyao, I did not expect to meet you on the first day of school!” Was Sun Wen’s happy remark upon reaching Ye Zhen, who was also secretly glad that she met an acquaintance.

Just before Ye Zhen could utter a word, the latter talked again, unable to overcome her excitement on seeing a familiar face. “This is really a fortunate incidence! How lucky I am that I met you; otherwise, I would not know what to do! I just arrived in the capital not long ago and do not know anyone. I could not find someone to talk to…”

Words were a natural thing for Sun Wen. Ye Zhen listened to her incessant prattle, and when she was through, she finally got an opportunity to speak. “I just arrived, too, and met you here unexpectedly.”

Since the day of their exam, Sun Wen made no secret of her fondness towards Ye Zhen, but this lively girl has quite an eccentricity. When she made friends, she liked to look at their faces intently, and if she found someone good-looking, that person would then be her favorite.

“Yaoyao, I think we will be in the same class!”

“I will like that.”

In her past life, Ye Zhen did not have any close female friends as she was always isolated. Facing such a passionate Sun Wen, she was a little unprepared and did not know how she should react.

Despite Ye Zhen’s imminent chagrin, Sun Wen remained passive of her companion’s discomfort as she proceeded to take her hand, leading her towards the medical school.

The School of Medicine was vast—the widest in the academy. Although it was no longer as grand as when it was first built, there were still many girls who chose to study medicine here.

There were 40 students in the beginner classes, divided into two groups. Ye Zhen and Sun Wen went to find out which class they were in first.

“Yaoyao, we are both in Class B…” Sun Wen said dejectedly.

Of the two classes, A and B, the better one was naturally Class A. Their test results were obviously not bad. Why were they in Class B?

Noticing Sun Wen’s disappointment, Ye Zhen consoled her. “It’s all right. Both classes are the same anyway; both teach medicine.”

“You’re right.” Sun Wen nodded and had a cheerful look once again.

In the next moment, a scornful laugh and a disdainful remark reached their ears. “Hmph! Indeed, they are both country bumpkins but have the nerve to attend the School of Medicine!”

That voice… 

Sun Wen was the first one to find the source of the taunt, her mouth curling in dissatisfaction as she saw who it was. Ye Zhen, on the other hand, also felt that the voice was familiar, so she also looked back.

A girl in pink with a haughty face looked at both of them with disgust.

Instantly, the two remembered who this person was — it was Gao Xueping, the same person who taunted Sun Wen on the exam day.

Seeing this girl’s arrogance and hearing her surname, Ye Zhen knew right away that she was the miss of the Gao Family in Longshan.

Although the Gao Family was not a century-old family, it still belonged to the nobility. Therefore, it was not entirely surprising that Gao Xueping attended the School of Medicine.

“What’s wrong with being from the countryside?” Sun Wen glared at the aggravating girl.

Gao Xueping was relatively tall and looked at Sun Wen from a rather high position. “I do not talk to ugly people. Get out of my way.”

Of all things, Sun Wen hated people saying she was ugly the most. “You… Do not go too far or else you might regret it.”

Despite the imminent warning in Sun Wen’s voice, Gao Xueping ignored her and raised her eyebrows to Ye Zhen instead. “Are you Lu Yaoyao?”

Instead of answering, Ye Zhen took Sun Wen’s hand. “Let’s go. I never talk to anyone who thinks she is beautiful, even though she is not.”

“…”

Sun Wen looked at Ye Zhen with awe as they headed towards their classes, leaving the humiliated Gao Xueping to her misery.

Gao Xueping had no choice but to watch their retreating backs. In her mind, she had already marked them as her rivals.

Ye Zhen did not like to make enemies, but she also disliked others humiliating her friends.

“Yaoyao, you shunned Gao Xueping!” Sun Wen felt proud and adored Ye Zhen all the more.

“Sun Wen, she is a narrow-minded person. You must not provoke her in the future.” Ye Zhen reminded, not because she was afraid of Gao Xueping, but she remembered that the Gao Family had some solid relations with Princess Royal. Although Sun Wen was an official’s daughter, she could never defeat someone from the imperial family.

Sun Wen felt rebellious in her heart. “She has provoked me first. We were only defending ourselves…”

“Just avoid her. Come on, we are going to be late.”

With Ye Zhen’s excellent results in the exam, she should have been assigned to Class A. However, the two college teachers Liu Hua ordered to invalidate her performance during the examination, were expelled and this added fire to her dispute with the princess.

Her being thrown into Class B was only a warning.

Upon arriving, they saw the two classes adjacent to each other. In such an arrangement, the disparity between the classes was easy to distinguish. Most of the girls in Class A were natives of the capital and had good backgrounds while in Class B, the girls were from the provinces. Such division showed that there was no equality inside the academy, utterly different from what they upheld.

If it were not for her desire to become an imperial physician, Ye Zhen would not want to attend the academy at all.

“Yaoyao, let’s sit over there.” Sun Wen pointed to the front seats and took Ye Zhen’s hand.

The academy was indeed spacious, everyone had a table, and the floor covered in soft cushions. There were already many people inside, and when Ye Zhen and Sun Wen came in, all eyes fell on them.

In response, Ye Zhen nodded to them respectfully while Sun Wen dragged her to their places.

“Are you Lu Yaoyao?” a girl in green robes sitting behind Ye Zhen asked curiously. She was about fifteen years old, adorable, and lovely. Two deep dimples appeared when she laughed.

Looking around her surroundings, Ye Zhen could not help but notice that she was different from the rest who were already in vigor company with each other. She sat alone as it seemed like nobody around wanted to talk to her.

“Yes.” Ye Zhen nodded, her eyebrows slightly puckered. She was suddenly so famous, and everyone seemed to know her!

The girl continued. “My name is Chen Jinru. I met you on the day of the exam. You were really good!” Ye Zhen only gave her a small smile back.

“My name is Sun Wen. I saw you last time. You play the guqin very well.”

Chen Jinru did not expect that she would have people to talk to and felt ecstatic. Sun Wen’s lively personality sparked a conversation between them and Chen JInru did not feel that lonely anymore.

However, people around them found their group odd; Ye Zhen could just feel curious stares digging holes on her back. It also did not help that the other girls heard that she was the famous Lu Yaoyao. Upon seeing her beauty, they were even more displeased.

“So, you are Lu Yaoyao!” Out of the blue, a miss with an annoying sharp voice demanded attention.

Ye Zhen was absorbed into the conversation with Sun Wen and Chen Jinru when she heard someone mention her name. She looked over doubtfully.

Sitting in another corner, two or three women gathered and looked at her contemptuously. The youngest one stood up and pointed at Ye Zhen and said, “You are the shameless Lu Yaoyao, who coaxed all men to spend their money to bet on you, thus humiliating Princess Liu Hua!”

Instantly, Ye Zhen’s face sank. She looked at the girl with hostility. “What did you say?”

The little girl thought Ye Zhen would not dare quarrel with her at all. She walked up to her with more arrogance and pointed her at her nose.

“Am I wrong? You are shameless. If you had not tricked the little prince and Marquis Tang, how could you have entered the academy?”