Zhang Jinye is the Genius of Taipei. People have been saying this for years; that she’s a child prodigy, that she’s a once-in-a-lifetime wonder, that she’s the smartest child they've ever seen, and Zhang Jinye has rolled her eyes and looked to less fawning adults for company and still grown up knowing that no other student near her year can compete with her (Xian-xiong sometimes excepted). That was true before she learned her talent - for information - before she learned a spell that practically let her inhale truth, before she used it to master thirteen languages (what are the odds that any student in the Scholomance can match that, she wonders, then corrects herself: actually quite high. She knows she’s one in a million, what are the odds she’s one in a planet?)

Zhang Jinye is also going to die in her first year in the Scholomance, and knows that, too. In theory, A-lin will arrive next year to rescue her. In practice, he’ll be a year behind her and if Zongzhu wants to stop him from coming, Zongzhu will stop him from coming, especially if she’s not there; there’s a slim chance she could outmaneuver him if she’s present; she’s young but she’s defending the right and even in Taipei that means something. But Zongzhu wants to live forever, and that means that he cannot have a successor, and so any student more brilliant than he is will not escape the Scholomance. She doesn’t know if it’s one of her classmates who will kill her; it’s more likely that one or two of the more promising seniors had been quietly let know that it would go well for them if she and Xian didn’t graduate. Either way. She’d probably die even if she didn’t have a target on her back; she’s got no capacity and she’s too slow at drawing mana through the sharer and she knows every practically useful spell in the enclave in-affinity and none of them can stop a mal, but why leave it to chance? 

So she’s going to die. And then she’ll never fix Taipei, never turn it into what it was meant to be, never build the new Scholomance with Li Shan Feng, never mend Taipei’s reputation - get it a name as anything other than the place - and build a real meritocracy, and, finally, mend the oh-so-broken world.

But just because she’s going to die doesn’t mean she’s going to give up. She is Zhang Jinye, after all, the Genius of Taipei. All it means is that she needs to be a little more clever than usual.

She hopes.

Zhang Jinye is the Genius of Taipei. People have been saying this for years; that she’s a child prodigy, that she’s a once-in-a-lifetime wonder, that she’s the smartest child they've ever seen, and Zhang Jinye has rolled her eyes and looked to less fawning adults for company and still grown up knowing that no other student near her year can compete with her (Xian sometimes excepted). That was true before she learned her talent - for information - before she learned a spell that practically let her inhale truth, before she used it to master thirteen languages (what are the odds that any student in the Scholomance can match that, she wonders, then corrects herself: actually quite high. She knows she’s one in a million, what are the odds she’s one in a planet?)

Zhang Jinye is also going to die in her first year in the Scholomance, and knows that, too. In theory, A-lin will arrive next year to rescue her. In practice, he’ll be a year behind her and if Zongzhu wants to stop him from coming, Zongzhu will stop him from coming, especially if she’s not there; there’s a slim chance she could outmaneuver him if she’s present; she’s young but she’s defending the right and even in Taipei that means something. But Zongzhu wants to live forever, and that means that he cannot have a successor, and so any student more brilliant than he is will not escape the Scholomance. She doesn’t know if it’s one of her classmates who will kill her; it’s more likely that one or two of the more promising seniors had been quietly let know that it would go well for them if she and Xian didn’t graduate. Either way. She’d probably die even if she didn’t have a target on her back; she’s got no capacity and she’s too slow at drawing mana through the sharer and she knows every practically useful spell in the enclave in-affinity and none of them can stop a mal, but why leave it to chance? 

So she’s going to die. And then she’ll never fix Taipei, never turn it into what it was meant to be, never build the new Scholomance with Li Shan Feng, never mend Taipei’s reputation - get it a name as anything other than the place - and build a real meritocracy, and, finally, mend the oh-so-broken world.

But just because she’s going to die doesn’t mean she’s going to give up. She is Zhang Jinye, after all, the Genius of Taipei. All it means is that she needs to be a little more clever than usual.

She hopes.

Zhang Jinye is the Genius of Taipei. People have been saying this for years; that she’s a child prodigy, that she’s a once-in-a-lifetime wonder, that she’s the smartest child they've ever seen, and Zhang Jinye has rolled her eyes and looked to less fawning adults for company and still grown up knowing that no other student near her year can compete with her (Xian sometimes excepted). That was true before she learned her talent - for information - before she learned a spell that practically let her inhale truth, before she used it to master thirteen languages (what are the odds that any student in the Scholomance can match that, she wonders, then corrects herself: actually quite high. She knows she’s one in a million, what are the odds she’s one in a planet?)

Zhang Jinye is also going to die in her first year in the Scholomance, and knows that, too. In theory, A-lin will arrive next year to rescue her. In practice, he’ll be a year behind her and if Zongzhu wants to stop him from coming, Zongzhu will stop him from coming, especially if she’s not there; there’s a slim chance she could outmaneuver him if she’s present; she’s young but she’s defending the right and even in Taipei that means something. But Zongzhu wants to live forever, and that means that he cannot have a successor, and so any student more brilliant than he is will not escape the Scholomance. She doesn’t know if it’s one of her classmates who will kill her; it’s more likely that one or two of the more promising seniors had been quietly let know that it would go well for them if she and Xian didn’t graduate. Either way. She’d probably die even if she didn’t have a target on her back; she’s got no capacity and she’s too slow at drawing mana through the sharer and she knows every practically useful spell in the enclave in-affinity and none of them can stop a mal, but why leave it to chance? 

So she’s going to die. And then she’ll never fix Taipei, never turn it into what it was meant to be, never build the new Scholomance with Li Shan Feng, never mend Taipei’s reputation - get it a name as anything other than the place - and build a real meritocracy, and, finally, mend the oh-so-broken world.

But just because she’s going to die doesn’t mean she’s going to give up. She is Zhang Jinye, after all, the Genius of Taipei. All it means is that she needs to be a little more clever than usual.

She hopes.

Zhang Jinye is the Genius of Taipei. People have been saying this for years; that she’s a child prodigy, that she’s a once-in-a-lifetime wonder, that she’s the smartest child they've ever seen, and Zhang Jinye has rolled her eyes and looked to less fawning adults for company and still grown up knowing that no other student near her year can compete with her (Xian sometimes excepted). That was true before she learned her talent - for information - before she learned a spell that practically let her inhale truth, before she used it to master fourteen languages (what are the odds that any student in the Scholomance can match that, she wonders, then corrects herself: actually quite high. She knows she’s one in a million, what are the odds she’s one in a planet?)

Zhang Jinye is also going to die in her first year in the Scholomance, and knows that, too. In theory, A-lin will arrive next year to rescue her. In practice, he’ll be a year behind her and if Zongzhu wants to stop him from coming, Zongzhu will stop him from coming, especially if she’s not there; there’s a slim chance she could outmaneuver him if she’s present; she’s young but she’s defending the right and even in Taipei that means something. But Zongzhu wants to live forever, and that means that he cannot have a successor, and so any student more brilliant than he is will not escape the Scholomance. She doesn’t know if it’s one of her classmates who will kill her; it’s more likely that one or two of the more promising seniors had been quietly let know that it would go well for them if she and Xian didn’t graduate. Either way. She’d probably die even if she didn’t have a target on her back; she’s got no capacity and she’s too slow at drawing mana through the sharer and she knows every practically useful spell in the enclave in-affinity and none of them can stop a mal, but why leave it to chance? 

So she’s going to die. And then she’ll never fix Taipei, never turn it into what it was meant to be, never build the new Scholomance with Li Shan Feng, never mend Taipei’s reputation - get it a name as anything other than the place - and build a real meritocracy, and, finally, mend the oh-so-broken world.

But just because she’s going to die doesn’t mean she’s going to give up. She is Zhang Jinye, after all, the Genius of Taipei. All it means is that she needs to be a little more clever than usual.

She hopes.