Rebirth: Controlled Nuclear Fusion

Part 15：Something Big Happened

Chu Ruoxi felt a surge of displeasure as she heard the mockery aimed at Jiang Fan from several of her classmates. Turning to Liu Zhi, who had once served as the class monitor, she spoke sharply:

"Liu Zhi, you consistently scored over 600 in your mock exams, so how did you end up with only 498 in the college entrance exam?"

Liu Zhi, who had been laughing heartily a moment ago, immediately turned pale at her words. His score of 498 was a result of severe anxiety during the exam, and he had cried for days afterward. Now, being reminded of it by Chu Ruoxi, the old wound reopened, and he felt a fresh wave of sadness. Yet, not wanting to lose face in front of the beautiful school belle, he stammered an explanation.

"I... I just didn't perform well."

One of his friends quickly interjected to defend him, "That's right, Liu Zhi didn't do his best this time, but he still scored nearly 500, which is 200 points higher than Jiang Fan!"

Liu Zhi felt slightly better after hearing his friend's words. "Well, no matter what, it's definitely better than Jiang Fan!"

Chu Ruoxi, now more irritated by their comparison of Jiang Fan to himself, sneered. "When you entered senior year, you were the top student in our class, and now, after a whole year, you've scored 498 while I scored 708. Let me do the math—we're 210 points apart. That's a huge gap! It must be the difference of at least several hundred thousand students! How did you go from being the top to nearly the bottom? Oh, it's such a pity..."

Her biting words left Liu Zhi's face flushed with embarrassment, his expression twisted in shame, wishing he could disappear into the ground. Chu Ruoxi, seeing his pained expression, couldn't help but feel a wicked satisfaction, silently thinking to herself, Hmph, dare to provoke Jiang Fan again, and I'll have you questioning your life choices!

Jiang Fan, observing this exchange, noted with amusement how different Chu Ruoxi seemed when she was speaking with such sharpness. He knew she was defending him, and seeing Liu Zhi's somewhat reclusive expression, he couldn't help but chuckle. Though he usually didn't care for these trivial matters, he found it rather entertaining to watch Chu Ruoxi so mercilessly put others in their place.

Afraid Liu Zhi might suffer undue distress, Teacher Wang quickly intervened, attempting to ease the tension. "Liu Zhi plans to retake the exam next year. I believe if he relaxes and stays focused, he'll easily score over 700!"

Liu Zhi's spirits lifted at Teacher Wang's words. "Don't worry, Teacher, next year, I'll be number one in the whole school!"

"Good, I believe in you," Teacher Wang said, giving Liu Zhi a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"I'm going to take a walk around the school with Jiang Fan now, so I'll excuse myself," Chu Ruoxi said, not wanting to spend another moment with the group. She swiftly took Jiang Fan's hand and led him away, much to the surprise of Teacher Wang and the other classmates, who exchanged puzzled glances.

"What's going on here?" one of them asked, confused.

Chu Ruoxi took Jiang Fan's hand?

They all shared the same thought at once: Could Chu Ruoxi be starting a relationship with Jiang Fan?

But then, upon further reflection, it didn't seem possible. After all, Chu Ruoxi had been accepted by Huqing University, while Jiang Fan could only attend a technical school. Their futures were as different as night and day.

However, the way she had defended him so fiercely made it seem likely. After all, the gentle and graceful school belle wouldn't have made such biting comments unless there was more to it.

In terms of appearance, they did make a good match—handsome boy and beautiful girl—but when it came to academics, the gap was insurmountable.

The students exchanged glances before looking at Teacher Wang, unsure of what to make of the situation.

"Teacher Wang, do you think they're in a relationship?" one of them asked.

"That can't be! Chu Ruoxi is our school's top student, and Jiang Fan is just a hopeless case," another classmate immediately countered.

"You're right," a third chimed in. "Chu Ruoxi is kind-hearted; she probably just feels sorry for Jiang Fan. She's simply trying to help him."

"Yeah, that makes sense," the first student agreed.

Teacher Wang, listening to their discussion, cast a lingering glance at Chu Ruoxi and Jiang Fan, who were walking away. In theory, as a teacher, he had no right to interfere in their personal lives anymore. However, as the most outstanding student he had ever taught, he didn't want Chu Ruoxi to be led astray by someone like Jiang Fan. Whether or not they were romantically involved, he decided he would speak with Chu Ruoxi's parents about the situation.

At the same time, the Happy Community was placed under lockdown. Only residents were allowed to enter, and no one was permitted to leave. The usual elderly doorman had been replaced by heavily armed special forces officers.

Anyone trying to enter was subjected to strict identity verification to ensure they were legitimate residents, and no one was allowed to exit.

The residents, who had never seen such a commotion in their lives, began to gossip among themselves.

"What's going on? Is there a terrorist threat in our community?"

"Don't be ridiculous. If there were terrorists, they wouldn't let us back in. They'd have evacuated us by now. From what I've seen, it's probably because one of those important people has been exposed."

"Now that you mention it, it does seem likely. There's always been talk of a big shot in our building. I wonder who it is? If we knew, maybe we could strike up a good relationship with them!"

The residents of Happy Community knew that the mysterious figure lived in Building 3, though the details were unclear. Special forces surrounded the building, and the residents of Building 3 were confined to their apartments, unable to leave.

From Building 5, many residents curiously peered out their windows to watch the situation and update their neighbors in the community's WeChat group, which quickly became active with thousands of messages.

After a long day of shopping, Jiang Jingguo was exhausted and irritated by the constant barrage of messages on his phone. He finally turned it to silent, trying to escape the nuisance.

Li Guiqin, on the other hand, had enjoyed a fruitful shopping spree, buying more than ten pieces of clothing. When they reached the entrance of their community, they were taken aback by the heavy security. Armed special forces lined the entrance, preventing anyone from entering.

Li Guiqin hesitated, suddenly nervous.

At that moment, Old Zhang from the community's property management recognized them and eagerly said to a nearby officer, "It's them! They're Jiang Fan's parents!"

The officer signaled to his team, and several special forces officers quickly surrounded the couple.

A chill ran down Jiang Jingguo and Li Guiqin's spines as they exchanged a worried glance. A single thought crossed their minds: Our son is in serious trouble.