Chapter Two of "The Exchange Student Chasing Dreams"

　　The girl picked up her dusty face and looked up at the foreign boy before her. "Watch your step!" the boy snapped in fluent French. "Sorry!" the girl replied in broken English.
　　Hmm, life is full of disappointments, so what's a little trouble! The girl got up, wiped the dust off her face, and stood tall, ready to be an elegant young woman again!
　　"Hi everyone! My name is Xia Meng, and I come from faraway China." That's right, starting today, Xia Meng will be spending the entire semester as an exchange student at this prestigious Parisian university.
　　On the podium, Xia Meng began introducing herself using the French she had spent countless hours learning over the summer. She was incredibly excited because everyone in the audience was listening attentively, each with a friendly smile.
　　Her eyes swept over them, taking in their distinct foreign features—fair skin, deep-set eyes, high noses—each one could be the male or female protagonist of her manga.
　　After hearing the enthusiastic applause and welcome, Xia Meng finally felt relieved, confident that she could adapt to life here and even become lifelong friends with some of them.
　　Xia Meng's seat was assigned to the second-to-last row by the window, overlooking the beautiful campus scenery. To her surprise, the boy who had bumped into her that morning was sitting to her right.
　　He had handsome, delicate features, a high nose bridge, and slightly upturned thin lips. His deep blue eyes held a hint of cunning, making him not only charming but also incredibly cool!
　　Xia Meng smiled at him with a sense of goodwill, but when she accidentally sat down and fell to the ground, seeing the handsome boy laughing heartily and smugly, she could only sigh inwardly that appearances can be deceiving!
　　The morning was almost over, and the teachers had given them half the time to chat freely. Since it was the beginning of the semester, the teachers believed that harmonious relationships between students were more important than academics.
　　The cool boy was named Matt, and he seemed to have a great interest in Xia Meng, often trying to chat with her.
　　"Hey, you must be really good to be an exchange student, right? The school's No. 1? Have you won any international awards? Hmm...nothing? Your family must be super rich! Ha? No! Do you have any special talents? Astronomy? History? Geography? I've been to China and I really love the ancient architecture there—can you tell me about the Three Kingdoms period in your country, and the special weapons of that era?"
　　After just a few minutes, Matt was utterly disappointed.
　　"Oh my god! You don't know anything! What makes you think you're an exchange student?"
　　Matt deliberately questioned loudly, and the other students around him began to murmur.
　　This was a very bad sign; they were looking at the new student with suspicion and scrutiny.
　　Facing the sudden pressure from all sides, Xia Meng suppressed all her negative emotions, thinking that this was her first step into the new school, and she absolutely couldn't give up!
　　Xia Meng suddenly stood up and raised her fist.
　　"I...I will try my best!"
　　Some cheered, while others scoffed. Most, however, were just watching the show, showing no interest in investigating, and ignored Xia Meng, turning back to their interrupted conversation. Only Matt squinted at Xia Meng, his eyes revealing a hint of disdain and a strange, unspoken hatred.
　　In the days that followed, Xia Meng focused on her studies. Whether after school or on weekends, she would study late into the night, diligently solving problems amidst the surrounding laughter and chatter.
　　She often boldly asked teachers and classmates for help, and even at home, she would pester the housekeeper, putting in a lot of hard work behind the scenes. She became unusually active, actively answering questions in class, and her French became increasingly fluent.
　　Of course, she would also try to provoke Matt, attempting to answer all his questions, only to be hurt to discover that he actually knew more than she did.
　　A week ago, Xia Meng's self-esteem was deeply hurt after being hurt by Matt. A week later, the situation hadn't improved: in a quiz, despite putting in countless efforts, Xia Meng's grades remained at the bottom; her answers to the questions were rigid and superficial.
　　Matt, who had been observing quietly, seized the opportunity to reveal his true colors, cruelly erasing all of Xia Meng's efforts with a single sentence.
　　"See, no matter how hard you try, it's useless!"
　　When Xia Meng's confident painting class couldn't even reach the average level of the class, Matt was even more merciless.
　　"You really are useless, you have no talent or ability! I've seen it all, in the end you're just a lucky slacker!"
　　You're just a slacker, a slacker... These words, like a curse, continued to
　　affect Xia Meng in the days that followed.
　　That night, at the dinner table.
　　"Everyone, let's toast Xiao Meng with water instead of wine!"
　　That once incredibly glorious voice struck Xia Meng's heart.
　　"Xiao Meng, you must update your status often. Let us experience the charm of Paris!"
　　"Xiao Meng, let me cling to your coattails now, so you can be a 'returned overseas student' when you come back, and you'll be so proud!"
　　"Haha, Xiao Meng, the hope of Yilin is on you! You must bring glory to the nation!"
　　"Xiao Meng, hold my hand tightly, can you feel my palm? Please wear it and touch the Porte de la Citadel, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral for me..."
　　"Xiao Meng, and also..."
　　The blessings and envy from her friends in her memory were once the driving force of her teenage life, driving her crazy.
　　What glory, what good fortune!
　　Xia Meng cut the steak on her plate into eight pieces, then stuffed it into her mouth in one gulp, swallowing it down along with the tears in her eyes. The
　　empty mansion, the dining table with only her, the butler left after arranging dinner.
　　Whenever she asked the butler when Mr. Thomson would return, she was always told that the return date was uncertain, and that he was very tight-lipped and never revealed anything about Mr. Thomson.
　　Despite being well taken care of by the housekeeper, Xia Meng couldn't shake off the loneliness of being in a foreign country. Without her close friends from Yilin to cheer her on, the days were truly unbearable.
　　"Hang in there! Keep going! Tomorrow's a new day!" At
　　the start of a new week, Xia Meng stepped into Blue Maple Noble Academy with enthusiasm and energy. Her high ponytail and adorable face made this petite Eastern girl a unique sight.
　　The vibrant young woman garnered many kind greetings with her smile. Although she still frequently caused a stir in class, the teachers gave her more praise and encouragement, and some classmates, attracted by her indomitable spirit, began inviting her to meals and showing her around the campus.
　　Aside from Matt, he couldn't bear to see Xia Meng having an easy time. Of course, he didn't need to intervene; he only needed to instruct his brothers to provide him with a "pleasing" scene.
　　Folding Xia Meng's books into paper airplanes and stuffing them into her drawer, then seeing her the next day holding a book sewn together with needle and thread, blushing and admitting her mistake when she couldn't answer the teacher's questions;
　　smearing her seat with tomato sauce in the dining hall a second before she sat down, causing her to blush even more than before;
　　and the tried-and-true trick of making Xia Meng, who always eagerly spoke up, fall to the ground in an embarrassing way whenever she sat down, a practice that had become Matt's daily routine on campus.
　　Xia Meng endured it, because she couldn't grasp any real clues about the "murderer." When she couldn't bear it any longer, she didn't need any evidence.
　　That day, after a day of anxiety, Xia Meng realized nothing bad had happened. Just as she was about to lower her guard and open her locker, a toad jumped onto her head, instantly scaring her so much that she became famous for her scream.
　　She grabbed Matt at the school gate like a whirlwind, furious, and pointed at his nose, demanding an apology.
　　This commotion attracted a crowd of classmates, many of whom were waiting to see Xia Meng make a fool of herself.
　　"That's really difficult. Of course, I don't deny that I instructed them, but I have no idea what they did. What can I do? I can't find a reason to apologize to this lucky slacker!"
　　Receiving such a shameless answer from the boy, Xia Meng grabbed his collar and raised her fist to strike.
　　Matt coldly reminded her, "You'd better think carefully about the consequences!"