7 That Hellish Place

"No! Zhiyu will go to Qing High School. It has a far better reputation than that rubbish school." Grandpa Wang's loud, booming voice echoed throughout the hall.

"What do you mean rubbish school? Qing High School has a better reputation? Every single alumnus from An Jing School for Girls has gone to do great things upon graduating! Remember Chen Lili, she's now a movie queen and let's not forget Jiang Yuexi, she's a singing sensation!" Grandpa Ning instantly rebutted with an equally loud voice.

"So what? All those girls just use their faces to make a living. The esteemed granddaughter of Wang Jingwen will not enter the entertainment industry!"

"Hmph, Zhiyu is the one that wants to become a model and An Jing School will be a better starting place."

"Are you sure you even know your granddaughter? Zhiyu hasn't wanted to be a model for a while now. At least in Qing High School, she'll have a better foundation and can go on to do greater things than those brats in the entertainment industry!" The sound of a fist landing on a table could be heard.

"Of course I know my granddaughter! You only want her to enrol in Qing High School because you're a major shareholder there." The dull thud of a chair falling echoed through the hall.

"Hah! As if you don't have connections in An Jing School yourself!"

The volume of their argument rose, almost to the point where it was possible to hear them across the entirety of the large mansion. Butler Yun stood outside the dining hall holding a tea set. He didn't seem very willing to go in. Seeing this, Wang Zhiyu said, "I'll take that in. It looks like it's going to get physical in a bit."

Butler Yun looked at her gratefully and handed her the tea set. Walking in, she placed down the tea set and softly said, "Grandpas, please tell me you have not spent the last two hours arguing over a school."

The two elders looked at each other and compromised. They knew Zhiyu hated it when they argued for long periods of time and neither wanted to be shunned by their precious granddaughter. "O-of course not, both old Ning and I are adults. We were playing checkers before you came in." Elder Wang pointed at an upturned checkerboard lying on the floor, checkers scattered everywhere. Immediately, they could see that this was not a good move. Grandpa Ning hastily called a servant to clear it from the floor and both the elders looked at her, as docile as sheep.

Wang Zhiyu sighed inwardly. It was harder to deal with her two grandfathers than it was to deal with a bunch of primary school children. They both constantly wanted attention and would argue over the smallest things. Even schoolchildren knew how to keep peace and resolve arguments.

Seeing their apologetic looks, she decided to ignore the upturned checkerboard. Instead, she announced, "I want to enrol at the People's High School."

Both elders were shocked. Wasn't this the school Wang Zhiling was currently attending? Wouldn't Zhiyu be bullied if she went to that school? They immediately voiced their opposition. The People's High School was the best school in the city, and arguably the best in the country, producing many of China's top students yearly. In fact, the current prime minister of the country was an alumnus of the People's High School. However, it was run by the Knight corporation and neither of the elders had a hand in the school's affairs. Moreover, Zhiyu had been out of school for over 2 years. As a prestigious school, they may not even accept her, even if they pulled their connections and bribed as many people as they could.

Ignoring them, Wang Zhiyu pulled out a chair and poured herself a cup of tea. "I want to go to university and join King corporation once I graduate. Shouldn't I make the most of my youth and go to a school that will give me the best chances of getting into university?" Although Zhiyu actually had no idea what she wanted to do, she decided it would be best if she set herself a goal and worked towards it, it would be more efficient than doing a bit of everything in the hopes that something would spark her interest.

"But Zhiyu! Your grades! You have been out of school for so long that I don't think you would be able to survive in that hellish place!" Elder Wang lost all decorum, even comparing the People's High School to hell. It was the best school but a significant proportion of their students chose to end their lives than to endure the pressure from the teachers until the end of the year. For grandpa Wang, he could not bear to see Zhiyu be put under than that pressure.

"Grandpa, you hired all the tutors that I have now. Which of them do not give you a weekly report of my studies? You know that I've been studying beyond the high school curriculum. I'm just going to enter the last year of high school. The content won't be harder than what I'm doing now. If anything, it'll be easy. What are you so worried about?" Wang Zhiyu calmly argued her point and her demeanour seemed to calm the elder down.

She was right. What *was* he worried about? He knew that she had worked hard this last year and knew that if she was to sit the university entrance test now, she would not do too badly. Seeing her speak calmly to him, he felt a little ashamed that he did not believe in her much. Perhaps it was because he was too used to worrying about her. Now that she was taking charge of her life and being responsible, he wasn't used to it. Part of him was sad that she was finally growing up, but he was also proud that she was no longer the spoilt brat from her childhood.

Grandpa Wang sighed. "Zhiyu, grandpa is just worried about you. But I also want the best for you. If you want to go to the People's High School, I will do my best to let you go to that school." Grandpa Wang relented, deciding it would be for the best. In the end, she would work at King Corporation. Maybe she would be able to take over instead of his two stupid sons... Just the thought of it had the elder grinning.

However, elder Ning wasn't so convinced. Just because her studies were good didn't mean that she wouldn't face trials there. That sl*t's daughter was there. What if she bullied Zhiyu? "No, I still don't think you should go. That sl- Ahem, Wang Zhiling is still a student there. How will I cope if Zhiyu is hurt because of her?"

Grandpa Wang had a resolute expression on his face. "Let's see if she dares. If even a hair on Zhiyu's head is hurt, I will do everything in my power to expel her and her mother from our Wang family. She can also say goodbye to her future. Hmph! I, Wang Jingwen, may be old, but I'm not yet senile. I can still see who has bad intentions towards my baby girl."

With this, grandpa Ning was appeased, giving his consent to allowing Wang Zhiyu to attend the People's High School.