Chapter 9
One day in the normal world was equivalent to five days in the space within the jade bottle. Jing Yunzhao could feel her understanding of medicine becoming much better as she absorbed the Naling Jade slips, and her medical knowledge had improved so tremendously that she could already identify some of the basic herbs.
On Monday, all the students had returned to the school from their respective hometowns.
The school that Jing Yunzhao and the Qiao siblings attended was one of the most prestigious high schools in Huaning County. Only a few children from Jing Yunzhao’s village got into the school by virtue of their own abilities. Jing Yunzhao, however, was offered a place in the school because of her outstanding results. Because of her good results, not only were all her tuition and incidental fees waived, she also received generous scholarships from the school and became well-known because of it.
It was an hour’s drive from the village to the city. Jing Yunzhao wore a face mask, her hair slightly messy. Not that bothered about her appearance, she was wearing clothes that Qiao Hongye had disposed of.
The students began to point at Jing Yunzhao and whisper to each other as soon as she arrived at school.
Jing Yunzhao knew for a fact that they weren’t looking at her like that because of her attire, but because of those gangsters that she had been seen with after school two days ago.
“The teacher asked you to see her in her office, Jing Yunzhao,” said someone scornfully as soon as she stepped into the classroom.
Jing Yunzhao had expected this. Because of her stomach upset followed by Ye Qin’s death, she did not get to explain herself in her previous life and had to bear the shame for the rest of her life. And while her teacher actually cared about her and refused to believe the rumours, she was eventually convinced when she visited Jing Yunzhao in the village after her father forced her to quit school and heard the gossip that was spreading in the village.
Jing Yunzhao turned to leave the classroom and went in the direction of the teacher’s office. The class became noisy as soon as she left.
“How pretentious! You should see how close she was with those gangsters last Friday. I heard that she had been asking them to bully her sister!”
“How can that be? Aren’t they sisters?”
“What do you know? Jing Yunzhao was a child from a previous marriage and they have different fathers. Does she seem like an older sister to you? Look at how she enjoys embarrassing her sister by surpassing her in every exam! How shameless…”
Those were comments Jing Yunzhao heard all the time, and she couldn’t be bothered anymore as she was used to it.
Because of the monthly test today, the teachers’ office was full of students’ textbooks and it was quiet in the office.
Jing Yunzhao caught everyone’s attention the moment she entered the office.
She was in Class 1 and her class teacher was a woman called Kim. Ms. Kim was in her late twenties, with short hair and glasses.
Ms. Kim looked concerned when she saw Jing Yunzhao. She adjusted her glasses and beckoned Jing Yunzhao over.
“Ms. Kim,” Jing Yunzhao greeted politely.
“Do you know why I called you here, Jing Yunzhao?” Ms. Kim sighed.
“I can guess, but Ms. Kim, I came to see you for another reason,” said Jing Yunzhao while removing her face mask.
Under the mask was a face that had swelled up from being hit.
“What happened to your face?” Ms. Kim asked, shocked.
Did someone hit her student? Who did it and why?