Chapter 455: Failing the Professional Literacy Test

The exam submission bell rang; the first test went very smoothly. Mu Youyu packed up her things and left the exam hall, where someone at the door was checking answers.

"What did you get for the last big question?"

"I don't know; I couldn't solve it."

"I couldn't solve it either; the last question was adapted from a competition problem. I'd seen it before but was too lazy to study it, so it's beyond the syllabus anyway."

"Beyond the syllabus? That's basically a freebie."

"Not necessarily; isn't Mu Youyu in this exam hall? She definitely solved it."

"She's not competing with us; she's Nan Feng's academic genius, and she even got a recommendation."

Mu Youyu walked past them, and the murmuring gradually faded.

She paid no attention to those glances, merely lowering her head to glance at her phone; Jiang Liangjin had sent her a message a few minutes earlier asking how she did.

Behind her followed someone holding a small flag with an expression pack, as if waiting for her at the finish line.

She hadn't yet had a chance to reply when, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted an acquaintance walking out of the classroom she had just exited.

Jiang Ji stopped in front of her, his gaze lingering on her face as if hesitating whether to speak.

They stood there stiffly; Mu Youyu spoke first: "You're also in this exam hall?"

Jiang Ji: "Yeah, I noticed you just now."

Mu Youyu nodded: "How did you do?"

Jiang Ji: "I performed beyond expectations; scoring 130 is no problem."

Mu Youyu didn't respond; she just said, "With the Jiang family's genes, there won't be any idiots, right!"

The atmosphere between them turned slightly awkward as they went downstairs, one after the other.

Having reached the side of a teaching building, Mu Youyu stopped; Jiang Ji showed no intention of leaving, standing beside her as if waiting for someone.

Mu Youyu lowered her head to send a message when Jiang Ji suddenly said, "Your brother and Jiang Liangjin didn't come to pick you up?"

"On the way."

Jiang Ji let out an "oh," "I heard about what happened last time."

Mu Youyu tilted her head to look at him, face showing doubt: "What matter?"

Jiang Ji's tone remained calm: "Someone came to the school looking for trouble for you; I had people keep an eye out. Those few aren't locals, and we haven't yet identified exactly who they are, but we can be sure they weren't targeting you."

So it's related to my cousin; how did he find out about that.

Mu Youyu's expression didn't change much: "I see, thank you."

Jiang Ji waved a hand: "No need to thank me; it was just a small thing. Your brother's side probably found out too—I was just mentioning it in passing."

He seemed to catch sight of an acquaintance, the corner of his mouth lifting in a smile as he briskly walked over: "I'll head off first; see you this afternoon."

Mu Youyu didn't take it to heart; afterward the exams proceeded as usual.

After the cultural exams, Thursday to Friday is the comprehensive literacy assessment, each item worth up to ten points; it's merely a test of ability, you can choose which to take, considered a bit of relaxation.

The items are plentiful, including business basics such as economics, accounting, corporate governance, as well as financial management, language, etiquette and social skills, art appreciation, horsemanship, and so on.

Mu Youyu, Jiang Liangjin, and a few others selected several similar items; since the sessions were at different times, they accompanied Yu Ci to the equestrian field early in the morning.

When Yu Ci finished changing his gear and walked out, Mu Youyu was leaning against the fence chatting with Jiang Liangjin; out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of his outfit, and her lips involuntarily curved.

White riding pants, black tall boots, helmet worn properly, and he held a riding crop in his hand; altogether he looked indeed to have a few hints of a knight's bearing, except his facial expression gave him away.

"Hey, what are you laughing at?" Yu Ci approached, wearing a stern expression.

Mu Youyu suppressed her laughter, putting on her usual innocent look: "I wasn't laughing."

Yu Ci didn't believe her, turning to Jiang Liangjin: "You're laughing at me?"

Jiang Liangjin gave him a once‑over, tone flat: "Yes, we're mocking you."

Gu Xingnan stepped in: "No, they think you're handsome."

Mu Youyu simply thought his pretended seriousness was funny.

Yu Ci only heard the last sentence, half‑believing, half‑doubting, he withdrew his gaze, swung onto the horse; his movements looked practiced, though not extensively.

Gu Xingnan helped him line up while he adjusted his posture on the reins.

Mu Xi sat in a nearby rest area, holding a bottle of water, her gaze lazily sweeping over the field; she couldn't muster much interest in these items.

Song Lujing simply didn't come, saying the field smelled bad; the odor made him dizzy, so he stayed in the classroom to catch up on sleep.

The examiner was a middle‑aged man in his forties, stern‑faced, holding a score sheet, standing in the center of the field.

Yu Ci played with a white horse that looked wise for a dozen minutes before it was his turn.

Following the examiner's cue, he rode the horse slowly around the field once; his posture was fairly steady, his speed and rhythm well controlled, making it look the part.

Mu Youyu's initially nonchalant motion froze, and she began to mutter: "When did A Ci secretly practice?"

Jiang Liangjin chimed in: "Probably while we weren't around."

Outside the fence, many people were chatting; hearing a few compliments about his handsomeness and coolness, Yu Ci got fired up, his movements becoming quite standard.

Mu Youyu watched and watched, feeling he might actually be able to earn a high score.

The next second, the horse stopped on its own.

Yu Ci tugged at the reins, but the horse ignored him; he tried several more times, the horse flicked its tail and still refused to step forward, its two black eyes fixed blankly on the ground.

The examiner stood not far away, his pen hovering over the score sheet, his expression hard to describe.

Gu Xingnan's video‑recording motion halted.

Mu Xi raised her eyebrows, seeing that he was riding that horse, she arched a brow: "He really knows how to pick."

Mu Youyu strained not to laugh, it was painful; she reached out and pinched Jiang Liangjin's arm.

Jiang Liangjin tilted his head to look at her, using his eyes to ask what was wrong; she didn't answer, merely turning her gaze back to the field.

Yu Ci finally gave up competing with the horse, lifted his head to the examiner, and said earnestly: "Teacher, is this horse hungry?"

The examiner didn't answer right away, his hand pausing on the score sheet, then spoke expressionlessly: "Please dismount first."

Yu Ci dismounted swiftly, his movements much faster than when he mounted; he patted the horse's neck, and the horse finally lifted its head, rubbing against his palm, a complete change from before.

Gu Xingnan walked over and handed him a bottle of water; Yu Ci took it and took a big gulp, saying, "This horse has a grudge against me."

"It's just hungry." Gu Xingnan disagreed.

"If it's hungry, it should say so; just walking off without a word like that—this is failing professional standards."

The examiner nearby heard it, twitched the corner of his mouth, and still wrote a 7 on the score sheet.

Mu Youyu stepped over to take a look and comforted him: "Not bad, you passed."

Yu Ci glanced at the score, reluctantly satisfied: "It's okay, I could have gotten full marks."

Gu Xingnan didn't respond, just passed the water bottle back and asked, "When was the last time you rode a horse?"

Yu Ci was quite proud: "Last month!"

Gu Xingnan couldn't remember and asked, "What horse?"

"A carousel."

Jiang Liangjin glanced at him and snorted, "You're sick."

Mu Youyu couldn't stop laughing.