The following day, Xin Qing was in the middle of submitting her request for a new swimsuit—Ying Qingcang had torn her old one to pieces the day before—when the teacher in the office of academic affairs smiled cheerfully at her and told her that she was exempted from swimming classes.

Of course, Xin Qing knew immediately that this was Ying Qingcang's doing. And when she came home in the evening, she noticed that Uncle Fu had a crew over to clean the swimming pool. That weekend, ...