Volume One, Chapter 17: Favoritism Is an Exception Reserved Solely for You

Huo Siyue led Jiang Yu away, while Jiang Zhenguo helped Jiang Yuehua, who was trembling with anger, to her feet, his face dark as iron.

The murmurs and pointed fingers from the surrounding candidates and parents abruptly ceased.

“Brother, let’s head straight to the Education Bureau!” Jiang Yuehua whispered, wiping away tears from the corner of her eyes.

She refused to believe that the Huo family could monopolize everything with impunity.

Jiang Zhenguo nodded heavily, a vengeful satisfaction flickering across his face.

Indeed, they couldn’t match Huo Siyue, that little tyrant, but they could appeal to the higher authorities!

They would make sure Huo Chenyuan and Jiang Yu’s reputations were utterly ruined.

The two exchanged a glance and, under the complex gazes of the crowd, were about to turn away.

“What are you doing?”

Suddenly, they both turned back sharply, only to find Huo Chenyuan standing there, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.

He still wore that impeccably tailored military uniform, the “Chief Examiner” badge on his chest shimmering in the sunlight.

Though he merely stood there calmly, his aura of unyielding authority made them feel as if they were guilty of some grave wrongdoing.

The crowd, who had been dispersing, immediately halted and gathered once more, their eyes filled with excitement and anticipation.

Jiang Yuehua’s eyes instantly reddened; like a child wronged by the world finally finding a trusted elder to confide in, she rushed forward. Her voice quivered with tears, yet she tried hard to appear mature and considerate:

“Huo brother! Please intervene with sister! We only worry because she’s young and might lose her way. We meant well by advising her, but she... she teamed up with fourth brother and the others to humiliate us in front of so many people!”

As she pleaded, she cast quick, sideways glances at Huo Chenyuan.

Whenever she showed this expression, her brothers in the Jiang family felt a deep pang of sympathy.

They would give her anything she wished for.

But Huo Chenyuan did not respond. She pressed on, embellishing her words:

“I know sister wants to succeed, but this isn’t the way! Huo brother, you have a brilliant future and are a pride of the military district. How could you let her drag you down and tarnish your reputation with accusations of favoritism?!”

After speaking, Jiang Yuehua was certain this time would be different.

Huo Chenyuan would surely abandon this stepsister with no blood relation.

After all, who would sacrifice their future for an outsider?

However, Huo Chenyuan’s gaze seemed to pierce through the noisy crowd, bypassing the tear-streaked Jiang Yuehua, and landed on a slender figure nearby.

The young girl stood with her spine straight, clutching the notebook he had prepared for her in the library.

The late spring breeze stirred her hair and the edges of her clothes, outlining a solitary yet fiercely resilient spirit.

Amidst the sea of criticism and accusations, her face remained calm beyond her years, as if she had heard such harsh words a thousand times before.

Huo Chenyuan’s eyes darkened as a sudden memory flickered in his mind—the last time in a narrow alley, when she calmly reset her dislocated arm without a hint of distress, her pale, bloodless face etched deeply in his thoughts.

He withdrew his gaze, his deep eyes unreadable.

He looked at Jiang Yuehua and asked slowly and deliberately, “So, are you questioning my professional integrity as the chief examiner?”

---

“What?”

She hadn’t expected Huo Chenyuan to ask that.

His eyes were so cold, so oppressive, as if they could see through all her feeble pretenses.

How could this be?

Recalling everything from her past life, Jiang Yuehua frowned deeply.

In the previous life, she had wanted to completely integrate into the Huo family, perhaps drawn by Huo Chenyuan’s upright, officer-like demeanor.

When she heard Huo family’s father say that Huo Chenyuan had no plans to marry despite his age, she made up her mind.

Studying, factory work—it was nothing. Across the entire military district, who had as much power and influence as the Huo family?

Who was more upright than Huo Chenyuan?

Who wouldn’t want a handsome and powerful man?

After weighing her options, she resorted to drugging Huo Chenyuan.

Huo Chenyuan never crossed any lines despite her actions; in the end, she sobbed uncontrollably, begging him not to blame her, saying she only did it because she liked him so much.

Ultimately, she was kicked out of the house.

That was how she returned to the Jiang family.

She had assumed Huo Chenyuan would be distant and cold to everyone alike.

He certainly wouldn’t care about a stepsister.

Yet now, he openly sheltered Jiang Yu, who had no blood relation!

Why? Why Jiang Yu?

Jiang Yuehua was consumed by jealousy to the point of madness.

She bit her lip hard, forcing more tears to make herself appear even weaker and pitiable.

“Huo brother, that’s not what I meant! I… I’m just worried you’re being deceived, tricked by her pitiful act!”

“Deceived?” Huo Chenyuan repeated the word with a faint, icy sneer curling his lips.

Finally, he took a step forward—not towards Jiang Yuehua, but directly to Jiang Yu.

Everyone held their breath.

Stopping just a step away from Jiang Yu, he looked down at her with his usual cold tone: “The notebook.”

Jiang Yu lifted her head and silently handed over the notebook in her arms.

Huo Chenyuan took it, flipped through it casually, then turned to the ashen-faced Jiang Zhenguo, showing him the pages.

“Look closely. These problems I marked for her—from function limits to calculus to nonlinear dynamic models—each one far surpasses the syllabus of this competition. I only wanted to see what her limits truly were.”

He paused, his sharp gaze sweeping over the eavesdropping crowd. His voice was soft but struck like thunder, crystal clear to every ear:

“Facts prove she is... more outstanding than I imagined.”

“As for you gossipmongers who only spread rumors behind backs, you’d better spend your time reading books.”

---

“The nation’s grain is not meant to feed idle, long-tongued fools.”

Jiang Yuehua collapsed completely to the ground.

Huo Chenyuan’s words crushed her spirit.

In her past life, Huo Chenyuan never paid her any attention—not a single explanation, not even a glance when passing by.

What had Jiang Yu done?

Or had Jiang Yu somehow climbed into Huo Chenyuan’s bed?

What trick had she used?

Jiang Yuehua lowered her head desperately, afraid anyone might see her unwillingness.

At this moment, Jiang Zhenguo couldn’t hold back anymore. No one could speak that way about his dear sister!

“Impossible! Absolutely impossible!” Jiang Zhenguo, like a cornered cat, lost control. “She’s just a country bumpkin who never properly finished middle school. How could she possibly understand these questions?!”

Huo Chenyuan finally looked him squarely in the eye, his gaze like that of a predator inspecting an insignificant insect.

“She solved the extra problems you couldn’t even understand. Is that reason enough?”

With that, he ignored the stunned Jiang siblings, closed the notebook, and handed it back to Jiang Yu. Frowning slightly, he spoke impatiently:

“Your handwriting is terrible. Go home and rewrite the wrong problems and solutions ten times.”

“...Okay.” Jiang Yu nodded.

Turning, Huo Chenyuan addressed Jiang Yu and Huo Siyue:

“Aren’t you going? Time to go home and eat. Dad will nag again.”

“Let’s go, let’s go. You did great today, little sister. Should we get a chicken on the way home to make you feel better?”

Huo Siyue linked arms with Jiang Yu, pulling her along as they walked and ran.

Meanwhile, the two Jiang siblings were left standing to one side.

Huo Chenyuan showed no favoritism; he simply acknowledged Jiang Yu’s efforts.

As a soldier, he just couldn’t tolerate the attitude of those two Jiang siblings.

That was all. Not favoritism.

He told himself this.

Jiang Yuehua could no longer bear the enormous blow and humiliation; her blood surged to her head, her vision darkened, and she collapsed backward.

Amidst gasps and chaos, she clenched her palm tightly.

Fine, Huo Chenyuan, you’re impressive, you’re aloof!

I want to see if, when the anonymous tip accusing the chief examiner of abusing power to leak exam questions to his stepsister reaches the Education Bureau, the military district’s disciplinary committee, and major newspapers, your Huo family can still protect this little vixen so flawlessly!