CHAPTER 267: CHAPTER 264: CINDERELLA’S COMEBACK 9

Anning dragged Wu Lina to sit down.

"Keep your voice down."

"It’s not that."

No matter what, Wu Lina couldn’t keep her voice down: "You’ve changed so much overnight. How did you become so pretty in just one day?"

Anning had no choice but to explain quietly to Wu Lina: "I used to cover half of my face with bangs, and I wore big black-framed glasses, even though I’m not short-sighted. I just went yesterday to get a haircut and took off my glasses..."

Wu Lina sighed: "As for the difference between a plain Jane and a heavenly beauty, it’s all in the hairstyle and glasses."

She examined Anning closely: "You have the beauty of an immortal; why did you hide it before?"

Anning nervously looked around and then whispered: "I was afraid I’d cause trouble at the Saintly Wisdom Conference. When I was in junior high, my deskmate kept telling me stories about bullies and Cinderellas, which scared me. I wanted to focus on my studies and not get noticed by the bullies."

Wu Lina couldn’t help but laugh: "Ningning, you’re really funny."

Even the teacher spent a long time looking at Anning during class, thinking she was a student who had walked into the wrong classroom. When they found out she was Gu Anning, they were particularly surprised.

First Middle School’s Class One truly deserves to be a class of top students, where the students are most focused on learning. After the initial curiosity about Anning’s appearance, no one paid attention anymore, as everyone was busy seizing every minute to study.

Anning felt that such an atmosphere was great and made her feel comfortable.

After school, Anning asked Wu Lina: "What are you doing this Saturday?"

Wu Lina replied while walking out: "What else can I do? Read books, study, otherwise I’ll get left behind by other students."

"Do you have time? Could you accompany me to buy a computer?" Anning asked.

"Yes, of course."

Wu Lina quickly nodded: "What kind of computer do you want to buy? I know this very well. Near my home, there’s an electronics mall with lots of computers..."

Anning asked for Wu Lina’s address and made plans to go shopping together on Saturday.

Today, Mr. Gu came to pick up Anning after school, just like the other days. Anning didn’t ask him not to come anymore.

For several days, Anning led a peaceful and comfortable life at First Middle School.

But at Shengzhe Middle School, some people were not so at peace.

Qin Minghao had been very irritable these past few days.

Sometimes, even Zhong Boyang couldn’t stand him.

Ren Jiayao tried every day to coax him and make him a little happier.

But for some reason, Qin Minghao always felt very bothered.

He had been inquiring about Anning lately and knew how she had been treated at school recently, how she had been bullied by her classmates.

The more he knew, the more he wanted to hit someone.

He often recalled the moment when Anning bumped into him, her glasses fell off, revealing a pair of bright eyes like the stars, brimming with a watery light.

Those eyes were truly beautiful, like they held the stars, irresistibly mesmerizing.

Even now, he remembered those eyes, and he wanted to find time to see them again.

But Anning has transferred schools, and now, she must be trying to avoid him at all costs.

After class, Qin Minghao walked out. While descending the stairs, someone not paying attention almost bumped into him. Qin Minghao, with a dark expression, violently pushed the person away.

Zhong Boyang quickly caught up: "Hey, what’s got you in such a bad mood now?"

Qin Minghao sat on the steps, fingers threading through his hair, murmuring in discomfort: "Do you think, if I go apologize to Gu Anning now, would she forgive me?"

Zhong Boyang shook his head: "I doubt it. If I were bullied for so long by someone, I definitely wouldn’t forgive them."

Qin Minghao angrily pounded the ground: "It wasn’t me who bullied her, I didn’t let others bully her, damn it, what the hell is going on?"

Zhong Boyang patted Qin Minghao’s shoulder: "Stop thinking about it. She’s transferred schools and we’re not crossing paths again. No point in overthinking."

Around the corner of the stairs, a shadow flashed by.

Neither Qin Minghao nor Zhong Boyang saw it.

Ren Jiayao returned to the classroom, her heart still pounding fiercely as she sat down.

Gripping the pen tightly in her right hand, her eyes were filled with storm.

Gu Anning, Gu Anning...

Her mind was consumed by those three words.

Gu Anning was like a curse, making her restless at every moment.

Why was Qin Minghao still thinking about Gu Anning?

He didn’t understand Gu Anning, and moreover, he had only seen her once. How could he be so obsessed?

And yet, Gu Anning had transferred schools.

The thought of Gu Anning no longer attending Shengzhe Middle School but having transferred to First Middle School, which she couldn’t reach, made Ren Jiayao feel out of control.

How could she transfer?

Wasn’t her family out of money?

Where did she get the money from?

Ren Jiayao, thinking about the face hidden behind Gu Anning’s glasses and her true appearance, felt even more uneasy.

On Saturday morning, Mr. Gu transferred some money to Anning to buy a computer.

After breakfast, Anning told Mr. and Mrs. Gu and hurriedly left.

Leaving home, she didn’t go to Wu Linna’s but wandered to the antique street instead.

There is an antique street in the old district of Qing City, where many people come to see if they can find a bargain, and tourists from out of town like to take a look around. Even if they don’t find a bargain, it’s nice to buy something as a souvenir.

Anning didn’t look at the stalls selling antiques. She walked and stopped, finally pausing in front of a small shop that didn’t have a very large facade.

The shop was already open, with several customers inside.

When Anning walked in, no one paid much attention to her because she was just a kid, not even the staff who lazily didn’t come over to greet her.

Anning glanced at the partially or fully speculative stones on display in the shop, then followed some customers into the backyard.

There were even more stones in the backyard.

After looking around for a while, Anning spotted a pile of stones carelessly placed in a corner.

She called over a waiter: "How much for these?"

The waiter smiled at Anning: "Those are scraps, US$ 200 each, pick any you like."

Anning nodded and thanked him. She went over to the pile of scraps and squatted down, picking through them very carefully.

A customer found it interesting to see Anning picking through scraps, squatted down beside her: "Little sister, these are scraps, you won’t find anything valuable. If you want to gamble on stones, pick a somewhat better one..."

Anning looked up and smiled at her: "Thank you, sister. I’m just playing around. Since it’s cheap, and I don’t have much money on me, I thought I’d buy one for fun."

That made sense; even if you lost a US$ 200 gamble, it wouldn’t hurt too much.

The customer smiled and got up to look at other stones.

After a long selection, Anning finally picked out a stone about the size of a cantaloupe. She took it to pay, and then asked the waiter: "Can you help me cut it?"

"Sure," the waiter led Anning toward the stone cutting machine: "Your stone is a scrap, you’ll need to pay extra if you want it cut."

Anning asked the price and then smiled and requested the stone cutting.

They quickly arrived at the stone cutting machine. A few customers, seeing someone was going to have a stone cut, came over to join the excitement.

Anning handed the stone to the stone-cutter master, who looked at her: "How should I cut it?"

Anning thought for a moment and gestured with her hands: "Cut one third from this side."

The stone wasn’t particularly big to begin with; cutting off one third could damage it even if there was something valuable inside.

The master smiled and still started the cutting as Anning had indicated.

Soon, the stone was cut open. Someone shone a flashlight over it and saw a bright expanse of green.

"It’s green... it’s really green..."

No one expected such a scrap to turn out green, and a commotion arose.

The master splashed water over it and, as the clear water washed the stone clean, a translucent green emerged.

"This, this is ice jade..."

The master was also taken aback, looked at Anning and then at the stone: "Young lady, shall we continue cutting?"

He laughed as he explained, fearing that Anning might not understand: "You’ve already found green. You could make some money if you sell it now. If you continue cutting and it turns out not as expected, you might not make any money."

The customer who had spoken to Anning earlier explained again: "You could make a small profit if you sell it now, but if you keep cutting, you could either make a big profit or end up with nothing."

Anning didn’t hesitate: "Keep cutting. It’s only US$ 200 anyway."