The dial tone sounded from the terminal—the call went through! Against all odds, it connected!
If it had been Bai Yushan herself, she probably would have died before imagining this scenario. All her so-called close friends had blocked her, yet her sworn rival hadn't. Not only that, but the rival had actually answered her call.
Of course, Su Qing might never have expected Bai Yushan to contact her either.
But her mindset was—She called me? Perfect! Finally, I have the chance to humiliate her thoroughly!
"Well, well, who do we have here? If it isn't the great Miss Bai Yushan! Tell me, did you dial the wrong number?" Su Qing looked at Xiao Qicai's projection, taking in the shabby little room and the cheap clothes she was wearing, her face splitting into a gleeful grin.
She continued with mocking sarcasm, "Oh dear, I heard the mighty Bai family has fallen, and our little princess has been exiled to some backwater. My, how the mighty have fallen!"
"It's true, things are pretty rough. I'm stuck on a D-grade planet now, so I thought I'd give you a little show." Xiao Qicai sighed, none of Bai Yushan's usual arrogance in sight. She even picked up the low-grade, barely edible nutrient solution the government had provided as aid. "This is all I have to survive on now. Can't even afford proper food—might starve to death soon."
Su Qing: "..." Despite her delight, she felt oddly conflicted.
But Xiao Qicai kept piling on the misery:
"My engagement with the Luo family was called off. My parents and younger sister are probably in prison by now. And I've been downgraded to an F-class citizen."
Su Qing: "..."
Stop! Let me speak! If you keep listing your misfortunes like this, how am I supposed to mock you properly?
"Look at my face—covered in acne. The air on this low-grade planet is toxic. It won't heal as long as I keep breathing it. I'll probably be stuck with this face for life..." Xiao Qicai pressed on, even bringing up the one thing Su Qing cared about most—her appearance.
"Shut up! I didn't answer to listen to your sob story!" Su Qing finally snapped, unable to take it anymore.
"What do you want, calling me? Don't think just because you're pitiful now that I won't laugh at you! You deserve every bit of this, you wretched creature!"
"Absolutely, I deserve it all. That's why I'm asking for your help—to get my teacher to notarize my middle school graduation certificate," Xiao Qicai cut straight to the point.
"Graduation certificate? Don't tell me you're planning to go to university? And why come to me? Why not ask all those 'good friends' of yours?" Su Qing was baffled by Xiao Qicai's logic.
Xiao Qicai offered a pitiful, bitter smile. "They were all just hangers-on, sucking up to me. You're the only one who's ever been on equal footing with me, right? I made sure to tell you all my misfortunes to give you a good laugh. You've always been generous and kind-hearted, not petty and vindictive like me. Unless... you're afraid I might make a comeback? It's true—university could change my fate entirely..."
"Who's afraid? With your citizen status light-years behind mine, you'll probably never set foot on a B-grade planet in your lifetime! Fine, it's just a graduation certificate. Hmph, since you went out of your way to tell me how miserable you are, I'll help you out. Just wait."
Su Qing found herself tangled in Xiao Qicai's mix of provocation and flattery. Before she knew it, she'd agreed to help her sworn enemy.
Perhaps it was a sense of pity for the fallen—helping her felt like an instinctive act. And hearing how miserable her life had been, Xiao Qicai considered it her daily good deed.
Sure enough, not long after, the school’s virtual verification message came through. Xiao Qicai quickly passed the iris scan and had her citizen card updated, officially certifying her as a graduate of a secondary institution, successfully resolving the diploma issue.
System 002 was utterly amazed.
Who in their right mind would think to ask their sworn enemy for help after being blocked by friends?
Luckily, the enemy was young and easy to fool—but then again, Xiao Qicai kept defying all the data it had on the original protagonist.
——
There was still no word from Xi Yuanche’s side, but Xiao Qicai wasn’t in a hurry anymore. She had to prepare for the entrance exam in just over ten days.
Bai Yushan had been a thoroughly mediocre student, with next to no knowledge in her head.
But Xiao Qicai’s memory was now exceptional—almost photographic. So without hesitation, she chose the field she had always been drawn to: law.
The law program’s assessment focused on memorizing and interpreting legal clauses, as well as logical reasoning. With her current memory, she could likely finish reading most legal texts within those ten days. As for the latter, decades of life experience meant she might not be the best at sophistry, but few could out-argue her verbally.
Given the time constraints, she opted for the first round of exams—reportedly the hardest, with later rounds easing up as fewer students applied.
But she had no choice.
To her surprise, the exam was far simpler than expected. Everything was conducted virtually—no need to visit the school—though under strict surveillance. Any data anomalies would be flagged, making cheating nearly impossible.
Most of it was just memorizing statutes, which was child’s play for her. Even the debate segment was a breeze.
Results came out the same day. She scored above 90 in both sections, and with her newly certified secondary diploma, she was swiftly admitted.
The electronic acceptance letter arrived on her personal terminal immediately after.
Once she had it, she contacted the community staff to register as a student.
The same two from last time showed up—Li Qing and the unnamed, resentful guy.
But what shocked her was Li Qing’s reaction. Instead of congratulations or even a smile, his face twisted in horror at the sight of her acceptance letter from the prestigious No. 46 University.
“God, why did you apply here?”
“What’s wrong with it? As far as I know, it’s the only public university on Planet 4628 run by the United Government. Top-tier faculty, beautiful campus, best student benefits on the planet.”
“Xiao Shan, you don’t understand. You should’ve asked me before applying. If I’d known, I never would’ve told you that university enrollment could extend your residency. I’ve accidentally ruined your life!” Guilt flickered across Li Qing’s face.
Xiao Qi finally sensed something amiss and frowned. "Qing-jie, this definitely isn't your fault. I already had plans to pursue further education at university—even without the housing extension, I would've continued my studies. When you say that, does this university have some issues?"
Li Qing sighed. "The issue isn't exactly with the university itself. It's just that this institution wasn't built for ordinary citizens—or rather, not for F-class citizens! It's the only government-run school on Planet 4628, so most of its students are children of high-ranking officials or wealthy merchants. And they're all E-class citizens. Even if they weren't originally, those with power and influence would've long upgraded their status through various means."
"So you could say over 99% of the students there are E-class citizens. What's more, its graduation requirements are extremely strict—not only do you need excellent grades, but you must also reach E-class citizenship to graduate. Do you have any idea how difficult it is for ordinary people to upgrade their citizenship? If you can't level up, you'll never graduate—just wasting your time until you either drop out or get expelled!"
E-class citizenship required for graduation? Xiao Qi found this strange.
"But the school's admission brochure never mentioned they only accept E-class students."
"Because it's an unspoken rule. Every year, a few unlucky souls enroll without knowing, but they all end up dropping out eventually. The fact that you're considering this school means you must have some capability—what a shame!" Li Qing said regretfully.
"It's alright, I'll figure something out. Thank you for telling me this. Please help me with the registration for now."
"Fine. If you end up dropping out and need work certification, come find me again. I take full responsibility for this mess—I'll expedite your student housing extension certification to reserve this apartment for you."
"Thank you!"
No matter what, Xiao Qi knew Li Qing meant no harm—she was genuinely grateful. Meanwhile, the resentful man beside them was gloating over her misfortune.
Without hesitation, Xiao Qi gave Li Qing several more sweet fruits, infuriating the man who cursed that she'd waste her studies and inevitably drop out.
——
After Li Qing left, Xiao Qi logged into the internal student forum of 46 Advanced Academy using the student ID number on her admission letter. She finally confirmed that Li Qing hadn't been wrong.
There was indeed a hardcore graduation requirement: citizenship must be at E-class.
The conditions for upgrading citizenship, aside from being born into it, revolved around contribution points.
Contribution points were earned through societal or governmental contributions. Major inventions, patents, or outstanding service to national security and public welfare could also earn contribution points after review.
The simplest way to obtain contribution points was to buy them—but the price was terrifying.
The exchange rate was 1 contribution point for 10 million star coins. 10 million just for a single point.
Forget about restoring her previous B-class citizenship—just calculating the points needed from F-class to E-class was staggering: 50 contribution points, meaning 5 billion star coins.
So within just four years, she either had to earn 500 million to upgrade her citizen rank, produce 50 outstanding patents or certified inventions, or occasionally perform a major act of life-saving charity recognized as accidental—slowly accumulating 0.1 contribution points at a time to level up.
Every single one of these options was nearly impossible for an ordinary young student.
No wonder the forum was flooded with angry red-tagged posts from F-rank misfortunates cursing the school's policy year after year.
Mixed in were countless sarcastic remarks from E-rank students, mocking these low-tier citizens for overestimating themselves by attending a school established by the government for high-ranking citizens of Planet 4628, only to suffer for it.
After scrolling through endless arguments, Xiao Qicai found it tiresome and closed the page.
Though she remained silent and composed, Unit 002 keenly sensed her low spirits and cautiously suggested, "Master, maybe we should give up on the school arc?"
"No!" Xiao Qicai shook her head. "The harder it is, the more I want to see it through! Graduating from a prestigious institution at least gives me a diploma, making job hunting easier, right? Education is the key to opportunity."
"But didn’t you say working for others was out of the question?"
002’s quick-witted rebuttal, freshly learned from her, successfully earned another "Shut up" from Xiao Qicai.
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