The bell rang for the end of class, and class monitor Wang Yang collected the test papers and handed them to Xu Cong.
The next class was still Advanced Mathematics, so Xu Cong didn’t bother returning to the office.
Mainly because he was getting older, and going up and down the stairs was exhausting.
The old professor, wearing glasses, sat seriously at the podium grading the papers, surrounded by students who watched intently, afraid he might make a mistake due to dizziness or poor eyesight.
For these top students, this was a silent battlefield.
As for Zhou Yi... he was sprawled across his desk, fast asleep.
The subject of everyone’s gossip slept soundly, completely unaware that he had become the center of attention in the class.
"Hey, Ningning, what’s really going on with Zhou Yi? I feel like he’s a completely different person from before."
"Who knows? Whatever he does has nothing to do with me."
Just as Su Ning and her deskmate Zhang Lili were discussing Zhou Yi, the girl sitting in front of Su Ning suddenly turned around and whispered mysteriously, "I heard Zhou Yi used to be an orphan and only just found his parents a few days ago. Could that be why?"
Su Ning finally looked up and murmured, "An orphan? Where did you hear that?"
The girl in front lowered her voice. "He told the counselor himself today. I accidentally overheard. He missed the class meeting because he was moving."
Zhang Lili gasped in surprise, covering her mouth. "Seriously!? But even if he was an orphan, that doesn’t explain such a sudden change, does it?"
Suddenly, Zhang Lili’s imagination ran wild. She clapped her hands together. "Unless... he was hiding his true abilities all along?"
The more she thought about it, the more convinced she became.
"Think about it—he’s so good-looking, so why did he hide his face behind that ugly fringe before? Girls are drawn to looks. If he’d shown his face earlier, would Ningning have disliked him so much?"
Su Ning raised an eyebrow. "Do you really think I’m that shallow? Don’t project your own standards onto me."
Zhang Lili giggled. "Oh, come on, I’m just making a point. But if he’d lived like this from the start, his life would’ve been way better, right? And don’t you think his whole vibe is different now too?"
Su Ning nodded. "Yeah, that’s true."
Zhang Lili continued excitedly, "So, there must’ve been a reason he acted like that before. And didn’t Old Xu say Zhou Yi’s skills were too good for his bottom-of-the-class grades? I bet he was hiding his true potential!"
The girl in front widened her eyes in realization. "So his change is because... his parents found him?"
A thoughtful glint flashed in Su Ning’s beautiful eyes. After a moment of silence, she said, "Actually, there’s another possibility, one that’s pretty common in wealthy families."
Zhang Lili and the girl in front turned to her expectantly.
"Either he’s an illegitimate child who couldn’t risk being discovered, or he had to downplay his abilities to avoid drawing attention from the family."
"Or his parents had some special status, and to protect him, they had to keep him hidden and living a low-profile life. Now that the danger’s passed, they’ve reclaimed him, which explains his sudden transformation."
Su Ning wasn’t just speculating blindly. Growing up in the Su family, a prominent wealthy household, she’d seen her fair share of drama—far more exaggerated than anything in novels.
Illegitimate children raised in secret until they turned eighteen, then brought forward to replace the heir after the original was eliminated.
Families living under false names for over a decade, even sending their children to be raised by others, only reclaiming them after exacting revenge.
Cases like these were everywhere. So while Zhang Lili’s theory might’ve sounded wild, Su Ning found it plausible.
Zhang Lili nodded thoughtfully. "No wonder Zhou Yi said there were reasons he couldn’t explain before."
Suddenly, the girl in front grinned mischievously. "So, do you think his feelings for Ningning were real or fake?"
Su Ning’s heart skipped a beat. She blinked rapidly and turned her head toward the window. "Who cares if they were real or fake? It’s not like I’d ever like him anyway."
Truthfully, Su Ning’s dislike for Zhou Yi had already faded.
If everything he’d done before was just an act for survival, she had no reason to resent him anymore.
Plus, the fact that he’d been an orphan made her feel a little guilty about how she’d treated him.
Zhang Lili clasped her hands together, her eyes sparkling.
"If it was fake, then you two are like the leads in a romance novel! Zhou Yi reveals his true, domineering self, returns to his wealthy family to take over the business—total male protagonist material. And with your family background and his looks, you’re practically a match made in heaven!"
"If it was real, then it’s even more touching. A man who suffered in silence for years, pouring his love for you into his diary, living such a hard life... and you were his only salvation—"
Su Ning shuddered at Zhang Lili’s dramatic words. With a rare, faint smile, she nudged her friend.
"Alright, alright, I told you to cut back on those romance novels. What nonsense are you even thinking? If you ever go broke, just become a novelist—don’t waste that overactive imagination of yours."
"Hey! Ningning, that’s actually not a bad idea!"
......
While sleeping, Zhou Yi vaguely heard System 077 say something.
He woke up groggily and asked, "System, what did you just say?"
077: "Congratulations, Host. Su Ning’s regret value increased by 10."
Zhou Yi paused. "Why? Just because of that exam? She realized I’m not a loser and now regrets how she treated me?"
077: "You’ll have to figure that out yourself."
Zhou Yi could only assume it was because he’d shown a bit of his ability, impressing the success-driven Su Ning.
In reality, it was just the girls’ wild imaginations at work.
Still, their speculations aligned pretty well with Zhou Yi’s goals.
How else could he explain his sudden transformation?
If he suddenly became rich, what would be the reason?
He needed a backstory.
The best solution was his identity.
If his biological parents were wealthy, his sudden fortune would make sense.
His drastic change could be explained as him dropping a long-held act—pretending to be an unremarkable underachiever out of necessity.
As for why? He’d let others fill in the blanks themselves. The more room for imagination, the more mysterious and believable it became.
He didn’t need to script every detail—his audience’s creativity would surpass anything he could come up with.
The bell for the next class rang. Zhou Yi stretched lazily.
Time for another performance.
As a playboy who thrived on showing off and charming girls, he always looked forward to moments like these.
Showmanship and face-slapping were the defining themes of Zhou Yi’s life.