Chapter 122: Ye Luo is my bottom line.

Gong Lu was currently in Country M. Having settled his affairs there and secured a private jet, he was scheduled to depart for home in just five minutes.

When Principal Chen called to report that Gong Ran had accused Ye Luo of cheating, Gong Lu merely let out a low chuckle. "She only got first place in the grade?"

"Only..."

Principal Chen immediately understood how he was expected to handle the situation.

"By the way," Gong Lu added with a carefree smile, "tell the others as well: from now on, Ye Luo is my bottom line."

Principal Chen’s eyes widened in shock. He had never expected such a statement from Gong Lu, but he immediately acknowledged the order with a bow. "Understood, sir!"

As soon as he hung up, Gong Lu hesitated for a moment before deciding to call Ye Luo. However, she did not pick up, just as she had ignored all his calls for the past few days. With a faint laugh, he opted to send her a text message instead.

Ye Luo was sitting alone in the classroom, quietly browsing the internet on her phone. When the call came through, she rejected it without a second thought. Moments later, a text from Gong Lu appeared: "Don't worry about anything; I will always be on your side."

Although the words sounded insincere, Ye Luo felt a strange sense of truth in them. She frowned, but without any further reaction, she closed the message interface and returned to her browsing.

At that moment, Ye Wuqi, Yan Baba, and Lei Xingxing walked in. The three of them shared a dormitory and were usually inseparable. Seeing them laughing and joking while eating breakfast, Ye Luo was certain they had not yet heard about her ranking.

Upon seeing her, they greeted her cheerfully. "Morning, Sister Luo."

Unable to match their enthusiasm, Ye Luo replied politely, "Morning."

Ye Wuqi took a large bite of a steamed bun and mumbled, "Baba, you lazy bum, I told you to go check the bulletin board, but you wouldn't go!"

Yan Baba, busy devouring a wrap, retorted irritably, "What for? Our class never makes the list anyway! As for our grades, we’ll find out as soon as Old Jiang gets here."

Ye Wuqi laughed and teased Ye Luo, "Besides, Sister Luo wanted to get first in the grade, didn't she? Even if she didn't make it, she should go see that top student Shen at the top again, just so she can finally give up on that dream."

Lei Xingxing, who had been focused on his breakfast, looked up and asked with a guileless smile, "Sister Luo, you must have passed by the bulletin board—did you see the results? By how many points did Shen beat Gong Ran this time?"

Before Ye Luo could speak, Yan Baba burst into laughter. "Gorilla, you're going to be the death of me! The board only lists the top hundred; how could a slacker like Sister Luo have the nerve to look? She definitely doesn't know!"

"That's true," Lei Xingxing nodded, then solemnly apologized to her, "Sorry, Sister Luo. I didn't mean to hurt your fragile self-esteem."

Ye Luo: "..."

"Why are you telling such brutal truths!" Ye Wuqi nearly choked on his laughter.

"Help! Someone save me—" Suddenly, Qin Zhaoyu’s frantic screams echoed through the hallway.

"Damn it, Zhaoyu's in trouble! Let's go!" Thinking Qin Zhaoyu was being bullied, the trio stopped joking, dropped their breakfast, and bolted toward the door.

Before they could even exit the classroom, Qin Zhaoyu came charging in.

"Q-Qi, Brother Qi," Qin Zhaoyu gasped, leaning over with his hands on his knees, panting heavily. "You... you can start crying now!"

Ye Wuqi: "..."