ABFMV Chapter 22 Part 1

“Xu Linlang, genetic grade: C.”

Xu Linlang took the genetic test report without the slightest surprise. She had already braced herself for this result.

But the other students in the hall immediately began whispering among themselves.

Su Yilu couldn’t hide her laughter. “If I were her, I wouldn’t even have the face to stay here. The Marshal’s daughter, and only a C-grade? What a disgrace.”

Hao Xinyi glanced at the report in Yao Mo’s hand. The bold letters across the top read S.

“We’re all A-grades, but Yao Mo’s the only S-grade. She must be the sole S-grade freshman this year. No wonder she got accepted into the Mecha Academy as the top scorer. Incredible.”

Yao Mo gave a gentle smile. “I’m just glad we all ended up in the piloting program together.”

Su Yilu grabbed her hand. “See? You always think of others instead of yourself. Honestly, it makes me angry for you. You’re so talented, yet all the perks go to that useless C-grade. It’s pathetic.”

Her face grew darker with indignation. “She doesn’t deserve to be the Marshal’s daughter at all!”

The words had barely left her mouth when Su Yilu suddenly noticed the space around her widening, as if the other students were stepping back to clear a path.

Xu Linlang stopped right in front of her. “Then who do you think deserves it?”

Su Yilu flinched. She darted a glance at Yao Mo before stiffening her neck and forcing the words out. “Anyone but you.”

Xu Linlang pulled up her personal terminal and opened a comm link with Marshal Xu. “Since you’re so sure I don’t deserve it, why don’t you explain it directly to my father over video call? Tell him exactly why I’m unworthy. Hm?”

Xu Linlang grabbed her arm, making Su Yilu stumble backward in panic.

She’d have to be insane to actually talk to the Marshal about this!

Because of how violently she struggled, the moment Xu Linlang let go, Su Yilu toppled to the floor in a clumsy, humiliating heap.

Students crowded around to watch the drama unfold, but not a single one dared help her up.

Xu Linlang bent down slightly. “Weren’t you just so bold? Why choke now when I give you a chance?”

“You’re abusing your power!” Su Yilu shouted.

Xu Linlang chuckled. “So you do know I have power. I thought maybe you hadn’t noticed. The Emperor is my uncle. My mother is the Crown Princess. Royal blood runs in my veins. So tell me—if I don’t deserve it, who does? Or do you plan to swap my father’s wife and daughter for someone else?”

She leaned in close, whispering deliberately into her ear. “Slandering the royal family is a crime, you know.”

Su Yilu froze, her entire body stiff with fear. She had no comeback.

All this time, she had treated Xu Linlang as nothing more than the Marshal’s useless daughter. She had completely ignored the other side of her identity—

Xu Linlang was royal.

To insult the royal bloodline was treason. The Empire had no tolerance for that.

Even though many nobles quietly looked down on Xu Linlang, not one of them ever dared slight her openly. But Su Yilu was a commoner, and the words she’d just spoken were already dangerously disrespectful.

Her stomach dropped. She had worked so hard to get into Lilan Military Academy, her future bright and promising—yet now she might have just ruined everything with one careless outburst.

As Su Yilu floundered, Yao Mo stepped forward.

“Linlang, Su only spoke out of turn. We’re all classmates—there’s no need to take it so far.”

Xu Linlang’s smile widened. “Yao, have you ever heard the saying? ‘Urging someone else to forgive will get you struck by lightning.’ If I said you don’t deserve to be ranked first in this academy, would you be fine with that? Also—don’t call me Linlang. We’re not close. Only my mom uses that name in public.”

A flicker of surprise crossed Yao Mo’s eyes. Xu Linlang was saying she didn’t deserve the top rank? Was she just throwing words around, or did she know something?

Within seconds, Yao Mo’s eyes grew red, her head slowly lowering.

“Sorry, Xu. I only wanted to keep the peace among classmates since we’ll be together for years. As for the ranking… I indeed entered as number one. That’s a fact.”

Her voice trembled with tears, and many students instinctively took her side, murmuring:

“Is Xu Linlang deliberately targeting Yao Mo?”
“Just because Lu Xiao turned her down and said Yao Mo’s his type?”

One boy even stepped forward like a knight in shining armor. “Miss Xu, by your logic, if Yao Mo doesn’t deserve to be first, then who does? Care to give us an example?”

Everyone was waiting for Xu Linlang to make a fool of herself. After all, Yao Mo really had entered first in the rankings. Who could be more deserving?

Xu Linlang pointed straight at the student still undergoing genetic testing—Qi Ye.

Right on cue, the instructor announced, “Qi Ye, genetic grade: S.”

Students blinked in confusion at the black-haired, cold-eyed boy. He was strikingly handsome, the kind of face one could never forget. Yet none of them remembered seeing him at the welcome party.

His name, though—it felt oddly familiar.

Yao Mo’s face drained of color.

And Xu Linlang’s next words made it even worse.

“Qi Ye’s entrance score was the real number one. When you got your acceptance letter, it clearly said you were ranked second. So why did the public announcement make you first?”

“Because right before the rankings were posted, you reported Qi Ye to the school, didn’t you? You told them he was a Zerg fugitive wanted by the military, so they revoked his admission on the spot.”

“And once he was out of the running, you conveniently became number one. But you and I both know—you weren’t.”

The boy who had just defended Yao Mo now looked at her with doubt creeping into his eyes.

From beginning to end, Yao Mo had always claimed her score was number one. She had never once mentioned Qi Ye to any of the other students.

Yao Mo bit down hard on her lip. “Reporting him was the right thing to do. How could a Zerg possibly be allowed into Lilan Military Academy?”

“Relax,” Xu Linlang said lightly. “I never said the report itself was wrong. But after you reported him, why hide the fact that Qi Ye was the real top scorer? Why parade around claiming your score was number one? That little detail wasn’t something you could have shared, was it?”

Yao Mo glared at her, anger flashing in her eyes. “Since his results were voided, that makes me the rightful number one. I didn’t say anything wrong.”