4: Growing up in a trap

And just like that, she successfully 'won' another class: getting beaten.

Her own older sister truly beat her with all her might. The doctor's examination said her physical capabilities were very strong, and the facts proved the doctor was right.

Ever since that confirmation, it truly became her days of suffering. As the saying goes, to practice martial arts, one must first endure a beating. She was immediately subjected to a relentless pounding.

Sometimes, even Xu Wen's colleagues couldn't stand it and told her to go easy. Xu Zhiyou was truly on the verge of tears, suddenly feeling that the martial arts inheritance in her mind wasn't so appealing anymore.

She was completely defenseless, truly. Not even her delicate face was spared.

"Sister, stop for a bit, it hurts too much!"

"Your resistance to blows is decent. That's enough for today. We'll continue tomorrow."

"You're abusing a child! I'm going to report you." Hearing this, she became annoyed. Surely, no one would be so desperate for a sparring partner that they'd pick on her!

"Look, the reception desk is over there. You can go directly. Of course, you'll need a guardian to accompany you. Should you call, or should I call?"

The colleagues nearby watched this pair of 'unlucky' sisters, finding it quite amusing. They were incredibly close in private, but once they were on the mat, they showed no mercy. Look at how her little face was beaten.

"Ugh! Forget it. Can we eat now?"

"Aren't you going to apply a compress?"

"What compress? Eating is more important."

Xu Wen was amused by her, feeling that having a younger sister was truly quite nice.

"Wenwen! Look at how you've beaten her. How could you lay hands on such a delicate little face?"

"My treatment back then wasn't much better than hers. I'm just replicating it. Alright, I'm her sister, would I harm her?" After saying that, she quickly followed the little foodie's footsteps.

Days passed one by one, and in the blink of an eye, it was 2012. She was 15 years old and in her third year of high school. This world was truly identical to Earth.

Even the development was the same, and the celebrities were also the same few. But thankfully, their representative works had changed. Perhaps it was a parallel world.

The teacher was lecturing on math problems at the front, while she was secretly reading a comic book at the back. The dramatic plot deeply captivated her.

"Hehe! This is good, a draw-cut... Oh my god! Is he an idiot? Doesn't know how to finish him off, serves him right for being counter-killed. He's nothing!"

She silently complained, not noticing that the teacher was already beside her. Her deskmate tried to warn her but was stopped by a glare from the teacher.

"Is it good?"

"Nonsense, if it wasn't good, would I be reading it?" Only after saying that did she realize this was a class, and that voice sounded very familiar! Could it be?

She slowly looked up and saw the teacher looking at her with a benevolent expression. Oh no!

"Hehe! Teacher, listen to my sophistry—no, my explanation..."

"Stand up~"

She immediately stood up straight, obediently lowered her head, and said nothing. This routine was all too familiar.

Not just him, but every teacher who had taught her was quite helpless with this student. She was very intelligent but just wouldn't focus on her studies.

She felt wronged! Was it that she didn't like to study? It was because she had already finished learning all those things. Besides, she was already ranked first in the entire grade, wasn't that enough?

"Xu Zhiyou, you're in your third year of high school, do you know that?"

"I was wrong, Teacher!"

"Don't give me all that nonsense. You're always like this, admitting your mistakes but never correcting them."

"Hahahahaha~~"

The students in the classroom couldn't hold back their laughter when they heard the teacher's words. It was all too familiar; this was something Xu Zhiyou often did.

"No laughing!"

Her class was an experimental class, with thirty-two students, all in the top fifty of the entire grade. They were completely focused on their studies, and only she was a breath of fresh air.

The teacher was just about to lecture her when the bell for class dismissal rang. She thought she had escaped a disaster.

"Come with me to the office."

"Huh???" She thought she had misheard.

"Huh what? Follow me!"

"Oh!"

For these four years, she had diligently practiced martial arts every day, followed by a series of skills, and finally, academic knowledge.

There was quite a lot she had to learn. She finally got to read a comic only to be caught red-handed. What a sin! Can someone please save this child?

"You tied for first place in this International Olympiad in Mathematics. What are your thoughts?"

"I will work hard!"

She said this, but internally, she was complaining endlessly. Ever since she entered high school, they made her participate in all sorts of competitions.

She never wanted to go herself. Getting a gold medal should be enough, but they kept PUA-ing her. She had already game over once, and they were still PUA-ing her.

Besides, her dream was to become a superstar. One or two of these accolades were enough. If it weren't for her mother's love for gold medals, she wouldn't even bother.

After a session of 'loving education,' she returned to the classroom, looking dejected. From the teacher's perspective, it was indeed for her own good, and she could only listen attentively.

"Sigh! When will these hard days end?"

"Zhiyou, got lectured again!" She got along well with her classmates, having learned from her previous life's experience not to be so solitary.

Her beautiful looks and excellent grades made her very famous in school, a true high school campus belle.

"Get lost! My comic book was confiscated, I'm in a bad mood, don't provoke me."

"Hahahaha~"

"Laugh again, and I'll knock your teeth out~~"

"Xu Zhiyou is hitting people...." Her classmate shouted as he ran.

Jiang Ling looked at the messages in the parent group and shook her head with a smile.

Xu Lisong saw his wife's smile and guessed pretty accurately, "Youyou was criticized again!"

"She was caught reading a comic book in class." He showed him the phone content.

After understanding the whole story, he said, "You know, teachers nowadays just make a big deal out of nothing. It's just reading a comic book, and they have to catch her for that."

"You just spoil her!"

"It's true! She's not doing badly in her studies, and she should still have time to play."

Jiang Ling felt she couldn't communicate with this old man. This was the legendary 'daughter slave.'

"Too lazy to talk to you."

Xu Zhiyou's cheerful and lively personality made her very popular with the neighbors, and she often accompanied her father fishing.

Sometimes, the two of them would fish all day, the kind you couldn't call back. He and his younger daughter were on one side, and Jiang Ling and her older daughter were on the other.

"It's true." He remembered his wife forcing him to set up his little 'cotton jacket' and felt helpless.

When Xu Wen returned in the evening and didn't see Xu Zhiyou, she was a bit puzzled.

"Where's Youyou? It's so late, why isn't she back yet?"

"She was caught reading a comic by the teacher and was taken to the competition class."

Hearing this reason again, Xu Wen's mouth twitched, "Mom, is what you're doing really appropriate?"

This was all arranged by her mother and the teachers. The school needed those gold medals to boost its reputation, and her mother wanted her daughter to have more options in the future. It just so happened to be a perfect match.

Only the naive Xu Zhiyou remained in the dark. For other straight-A students, as long as they didn't make noise in class, no one cared what they did. Only she lived like she was in a spy movie.

No matter how smart she was, it couldn't change the flaw of her lack of experience. She had been living under this deception until now.

"I also think your mom is going too far. Isn't this just playing a trick on her?"

"She's just idle anyway, so it's like taking the kid out for a walk."

The two father and daughter exchanged glances, shrugging their shoulders in helplessness, only able to offer their condolences to her. Who told Xu Zhiyou to encounter the current Old Jiang?

Not long after they finished speaking, Xu Zhiyou returned with her head drooping.

"Were you hit by frost? You look like a ghost."