Chapter 97: Chapter 97: If You Don’t Sell Me, I Won’t Leave

"Muxue, something came up. I have to go."

Xue Rui was fired up. He handed the phone back to Gu Muxue and hurried off to find Lin Ruoxi.

Maybe they could start working on it tonight.

Who knew which major company had already started a similar project?

Right now, it was a race against time.

Back in Class Two’s room, many students were still gathered around, analyzing Lin Ruoxi’s test paper.

"Where’s Lin Ruoxi?" Xue Rui asked.

"Oh, Sister Xi went home," Yi Bing said casually.

He’d always felt there was something unusual about Xue Rui and Lin Ruoxi’s relationship.

Xue Rui and Lin Ruoxi didn’t talk much in the classroom, but every evening during self-study, both of them would disappear.

Neither of them were art students, which led his imagination to run wild.

"Are you two together during evening self-study?" Yi Bing asked, waggling his eyebrows at Xue Rui.

"Don’t make wild guesses," Xue Rui said, glaring at him threateningly.

’Because Yi Bing’s guess was too damn accurate.’

"She went home?" Xue Rui looked puzzled.

Usually, Lin Ruoxi would stay in the classroom and read, waiting for him so they could go back together.

Why did she leave early? Was it because these students were too annoying?

’That’s probably it,’ Xue Rui muttered to himself.

Lin Ruoxi had some social anxiety; she couldn’t handle large crowds. She had most likely fled the scene.

As he went down the stairs, Xue Rui saw students gathered in twos and threes at the bend in the staircase.

The rankings for this month’s exam had been posted.

He already knew the results from when he was in Class One’s room.

But since he was passing by, Xue Rui took a glance anyway, wanting to find his own name.

On the first page: Lin Ruoxi, first; Gu Muxue, second; Hong Zihan, third...

Xue Rui decided to look for his name starting from the last page, but a male student was standing in front of the list, blocking his view.

"Excuse me," Xue Rui said, squeezing his way forward.

The student jumped in fright and quickly took a step back, as if Xue Rui were going to eat him.

"Hong Zihan?" Xue Rui recognized him.

The guy who was third in their year. The one who, a month ago, had sworn to get his name right next to Gu Muxue’s on the ranking list.

Xue Rui smiled and patted Hong Zihan’s shoulder.

"Congrats. You achieved your goal—your name is right next to Gu Muxue’s."

Hong Zihan’s expression was grim. He had spent two months of summer vacation secretly taking extra classes, thinking he could surpass Lin Ruoxi and get closer to Gu Muxue.

But now, while the result was achieved, it had nothing to do with him. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Lin Ruoxi had pushed Gu Muxue down a spot.

He couldn’t accept this outcome. Gu Muxue wouldn’t see his efforts at all.

And that Lin Ruoxi... she was just too good. So good it felt suffocating...

Xue Rui paid Hong Zihan no mind and went back to searching for his own name.

"Rank 300." Xue Rui nodded. He had barely managed to crawl into the middle tier.

Compared to his previous rank of over 600, it was a huge improvement.

But it would be hard to say what would happen from now on.

His great improvement this time was entirely because he had already learned the material in his past life and had spent some time reviewing it. He was relying on his foundation.

Xue Rui expertly slipped through the hole in the fence and headed straight for Lin Ruoxi’s house.

The key was still under the flowerpot by the door. Xue Rui skillfully unlocked the door.

The old woman was watching TV on the sofa. Seeing Xue Rui return alone, she asked, "Where’s Xixi?"

"She’s not back?" Xue Rui glanced down. Lin Ruoxi’s slippers were right there by his feet.

"I’ll go look for her." Xue Rui hurriedly closed the door.

Xue Rui’s mind was in turmoil. He didn’t believe in fatalism.

He had completely disrupted Lin Ruoxi’s life trajectory; suicide and the like were simply impossible now.

But the Mid-Autumn Festival was only a few days away. As long as they got through it, the heavy stone hanging in his heart could finally be put down.

Yet, at this critical moment, Lin Ruoxi hadn’t come home.

’Where could she have gone?’

Lin Ruoxi didn’t know anyone and had no social circle. Besides home, there was only school.

’Or maybe she went grocery shopping?’

Xue Rui walked into the grocery store they frequented and looked around, but there was no sign of Lin Ruoxi.

"How come your little girlfriend isn’t with you?"

The owner, a woman, teased him. She had a strong impression of this boy, who often came to buy groceries with a pretty girl.

Xue Rui sighed and walked out quickly.

"I should have bought her a phone," Xue Rui sighed.

If she had a phone, it wouldn’t be this much trouble.

Xue Rui checked all the places Lin Ruoxi usually went, but he still couldn’t find her.

Finally, he decided to go back to school to ask the security guard if he had seen Lin Ruoxi and to check the surveillance footage from the school gate.

If all else failed, he would have to call the police.

He ran all the way to the school. Panting heavily, Xue Rui said, "Sir, have you seen Lin Ruoxi...?"

His words died in his throat. Xue Rui saw Lin Ruoxi sitting in a corner of the security office, reading a book.

The heart that had been hanging in his throat finally settled. Somewhat annoyed, he scolded, "I’ve been looking everywhere for you! What are you doing here?"

She wasn’t at home, she wasn’t in the classroom, and she’d made him run around outside for over half an hour.

When Lin Ruoxi saw Xue Rui approach, a light flashed in her eyes. She took out a pack of tissues, wanting to wipe the sweat from his brow.

But when she heard his scolding, her shoulders trembled instantly.

Xue Rui pinched Lin Ruoxi’s cheek, this time putting some real force into it.

"S-someone tried to kidnap me," Lin Ruoxi said, her eyes red as she clutched the corner of Xue Rui’s shirt.

"What?" Xue Rui didn’t understand.

In broad daylight, someone tried to kidnap Lin Ruoxi?

’Speaking of which, where’s the security guard?’

’Why is this security office empty?’

"All of you, get the hell out! Lin Ruoxi is a student at our school!"

A roar came from the entrance.

Xue Rui froze. The voice was very familiar; it sounded like Director Wang.

He and Lin Ruoxi walked out of the security office and saw Director Wang in a shouting match with several people...

"We’re here to negotiate with Lin Ruoxi, not you. Your attitude doesn’t represent hers."

The man was arguing with Director Wang when he suddenly saw Lin Ruoxi walk out. He quickly waved to her.

"Classmate Lin, can we talk?"

Seeing the man wave at her, Lin Ruoxi quickly hid behind Xue Rui.

As for the security guards from the security office? They were all at the gate, watching the spectacle.

Xue Rui had been in such a hurry when he ran into the school that he hadn’t noticed the people at the gate at all.

"Sir, what’s going on?" Xue Rui asked, offering a cigarette to a guard.

"Tsk, top students really are different. Those people are from private high schools. They want to pay to buy Lin Ruoxi away."

The guard clicked his tongue in amazement. It was the first time he’d ever seen such a scene.

No wonder people had been asking him about Lin Ruoxi all day.

When she heard the words "buy away," Lin Ruoxi instinctively grabbed Xue Rui’s arm.

"Oh? How much are they offering?" Xue Rui asked with a smile.

He pretty much understood what was going on now.

These people were all in the education and training industry.

The best students were usually snatched up by public schools, so these private schools often had to spend money to buy a few good ones.

They would even pay some students to repeat a year at their school, aiming for a high score on next year’s college entrance exam, which served as great advertising.

A single Qingbei-caliber student might not be worth investing in so early, since no one knew how well they would score two years down the line.

But Lin Ruoxi’s performance this time was too astonishing. She even had a shot at becoming the top science student in the province.

The value in that was enormous. To these people who made a living by swindling parents, Lin Ruoxi was practically a shining gold nugget.

As long as they could slap "Qingbei Admission" or "Top Science Scorer" on their advertisements, they would be raking in so much cash their hands would cramp.

Lin Ruoxi’s score this time was likely the best in the entire city.

Driven by enormous potential profits, these people had sought out Lin Ruoxi.

Xue Rui honestly hadn’t considered this possibility, because he never imagined her grades would be this phenomenal.

"The man in black, I think he offered 500,000. The woman is from another school, I think she offered 550,000?" The guard scratched his head, not remembering the details clearly.

But he figured if they let these people keep arguing, the price could easily reach 800,000.

The guard sighed. "My salary is only 1,800 a month."

Other people spend money to study, but Lin Ruoxi was actually making money from it.

The price they were offering was enough to buy two or three houses in Hedong City.

"Hiss~" Xue Rui sucked in a sharp breath. ’These people are really daring with their offers.’

’On second thought,’ he mused, ’even if it were a million, someone would probably pay it.’

With Lin Ruoxi as a golden-lettered signboard, they could raise tuition fees for the next few years and make their investment back in just one year.

"They want to buy you to study at their school. I think you could probably negotiate it up to a million. Do you want to go?"

Xue Rui asked, turning to her.

This was no small sum. With the purchasing power of 2012, it was enough to buy one or two commercial properties and live without worry for the rest of one’s life.

Lin Ruoxi stared into Xue Rui’s eyes, tears welling up. "You... you want to sell..."

Xue Rui frowned. What did she mean, he wanted to sell her? ’She makes it sound like I’m trafficking women.’

"The money is yours, not mine. All you have to do is study at their school for two years, and you’ll have more money than you can spend," Xue Rui explained.

Lin Ruoxi hugged Xue Rui’s arm tightly. "If you don’t sell me, I won’t go."

Xue Rui reached out and wiped away her tears, his heart skipping a beat.

’This silly girl... Back in the village, she used to grow vegetables and catch scorpions, earning just a few dozen yuan a day.’

Lin Ruoxi had to grow up fast; of course she knew what a million yuan meant.

Didn’t she choose Hedong Second Middle School in the first place because they offered a scholarship?

The middle school entrance exam wasn’t worth as much, so Lin Ruoxi had only "sold" her results for a few tens of thousands.

Now this was about the college entrance exam, worth a million, and Lin Ruoxi was actually asking for his opinion?

"Whatever you want to say, say it to them." Xue Rui took Lin Ruoxi’s hand and walked over to Director Wang’s side.

Feeling the strength from his hand, Lin Ruoxi gathered her courage and said, "I’m not leaving. I’m staying here to study."

Director Wang was a bit surprised. He looked at Lin Ruoxi, then at Xue Rui.

The way Lin Ruoxi looked at Xue Rui was so obvious, he understood the situation instantly.

"Did you hear that? Lin Ruoxi isn’t leaving."

"Security! Get the hell over here and throw these non-school personnel out!"

Director Wang roared.

"Coming!" Several guards approached, holding long-pronged forks.

"Director Wang, we’re all in the education sector. How can you be so crude!"

The man looked at the guards’ forks and finally retreated from the school grounds.

"Get out!"

Director Wang wiped his sweat and made a solemn promise:

"Lin Ruoxi, the school will not let you down."

Xue Rui was lost in thought. ’What could a public school possibly offer to compete with those private ones?’

"I’ll drive you home," Director Wang offered with a wave.