Chapter 29: Li Tie: This Time, I

The first day of official classes.

A surprise exam begins.

Chinese in the morning, math in the afternoon.

English tomorrow morning, science comprehensive in the afternoon.

He Chen wrote with great seriousness.

Since his senses had grown sharper, he naturally seized the chance to boost his scores—only by making every teacher see his steady improvement could he better challenge teachers like Li Tie.

After all, in student life, grades are everything!

Why does Qian Sanyi have so many privileges and no one complains?

The biggest reason is he came to Chunfeng High School with the top score in the high school entrance exam; over two years of high school, he consistently ranked first in every exam, even turning down early admission to the gifted class at Kejian University—his raw ability leaves no room for criticism.

If He Chen challenges Li Tie while raising his grades, isn’t that just slapping Li Tie’s face?

If his grades rise to the top thirty in the grade and he enters Li Tie’s sprint class but refuses to join, how delighted his homeroom teacher will be—and how dark Li Tie’s face will turn.

The goal is to keep one’s word!

I’ll make you pay back tenfold or a hundredfold—without any hesitation!

With enough effort, even an iron rod can be ground into a needle.

In the rhythm of the exam, the morning flew by; when returning for lunch, Ruan Liuzheng looked utterly overwhelmed.

There was no help for it!

Compared to true top students like Qian Sanyi, Qiao Yingzi, Huang Zhitao, and Xia Xue, her grades were unstable—if students from other classes performed well, they might easily push her out of the top thirty.

After all, she was the absolute bottom of the top thirty.

He Chen said nothing more.

In his view, since she wanted to become a doctor and would one day face life and death daily, this kind of pressure was nothing!

Of course, if he discovered she thought facing others’ deaths without stress somehow made dating easier, he’d definitely impose even heavier pressure on her.

After lunch, He Chen practiced his Turtle Breathing Art as usual, then picked up Ruan Liuzheng—who had napped—and took her back to school.

The afternoon exam continued.

When the exam ended, someone couldn’t resist checking answers; Fang Yifan guessed the hardest multiple-choice question right and danced around, calling his cousin to go home.

Then Li Tie walked in and called out: “Everyone, sit down. I have something to say—just ten minutes!”

I know you’ve all been exhausted from a full day of exams, but to keep your momentum going, I announce that starting today, the school supports evening self-study!

This is a special benefit the school has arranged for our senior class!”

“What kind of benefit is this?!” Beneath Fang Yifan’s laughter, a chorus of groans rose up.

This immediately upset Li Tie; her face hardened as she slammed the desk and shouted: “Why all the sighing? I know many of you don’t want evening self-study, so it’s voluntary—no one is forced!”

The students exchanged helpless glances—they all knew what “voluntary” meant: it was mandatory.

Otherwise, what kind of fruit would they get?

Sure enough, after setting up the pretense of “voluntary,” Li Tie’s voice rose sharply: “To create a better learning environment, the school has assigned teachers to stay on duty—offering subject-specific Q&A. Since we just had Chinese and math, teachers will arrive shortly—ask any questions you don’t understand!”

“Teacher, I have a question!” Fang Yifan raised his hand. After Li Tie nodded, he grinned: “You said this follows the college entrance exam format, but there’s no evening self-study on the first night of the Gaokao, right?”

Everyone burst into laughter, agreeing.

Li Tie snapped: “If we followed the Gaokao exactly, half of you wouldn’t even pass the first-tier university line. I said it’s voluntary—so who among you wants to leave?”

Then she directly named and threatened: “Fang Yifan, are you planning to leave?”

“I’m definitely not leaving,” Fang Yifan instantly caved.

Seeing the troublemaker subdued and everyone now “voluntarily” attending evening self-study, Li Tie was satisfied. She ordered them to retrieve their bags and books from the lockers outside and immediately began evening self-study.

Suddenly, everyone froze.

Li Tie frowned, about to urge them on, then turned to follow their gazes—and her face darkened instantly. He Chen stood at the door, backpack in hand, looking like he was leaving after the exam.

Though not from her class, he was clearly here to pick up Ruan Liuzheng—who was in her class, and especially one of the key students destined for her sprint class.

Especially after she’d just subdued the troublemakers and secured everyone’s “voluntary” attendance—if He Chen took Ruan Liuzheng away, all her efforts would be wasted.

Others might truly leave too.

And that she could not accept!

“Ruan Liuzheng, are you going home?” Li Tie suppressed her anger, locking eyes with Ruan Liuzheng, using the same slightly threatening tone.

Though she hated admitting she couldn’t touch He Chen—and that every confrontation with him left her seething—she still instinctively avoided facing him directly.

If she couldn’t handle He Chen, could she not handle Ruan Liuzheng?

Even Fang Yifan wouldn’t dare defy her in this tone—how could a good student like Ruan Liuzheng possibly give a different answer?

Sure enough, Ruan Liuzheng shook her head, then turned to He Chen waiting at the door: “Aren’t you going to evening self-study? Go home first! I’m staying!”

But as soon as she spoke, she remembered He Chen’s strict routine: he practiced his arts and went to bed punctually every night. Evening self-study lasted until at least nine, and with washing up and travel, it would disrupt his schedule—so he definitely wouldn’t attend. She simply told him to go home and not wait.

“Evening self-study?” He Chen’s peripheral vision caught Li Tie’s smug expression: “What evening self-study?”

Ruan Liuzheng felt He Chen was pretending ignorance, but she quickly explained again, urging him to leave—she truly feared he’d provoke Li Tie again.

“This is nonsense!” He Chen scolded.

“What do you mean?” Though He Chen spoke to Ruan Liuzheng, everyone—including Li Tie—knew he was insulting her. Li Tie could no longer hold back.

“Evening self-study is a benefit the school provides senior students—a sacrifice our teachers make after hours for your futures.

Didn’t your homeroom teacher explain this to you?

And you call it nonsense?

If you want to leave, go yourself—don’t disrupt my students!

If anyone volunteers to leave with you, I won’t stop them!”

“Do you think you’re right? That you’re selflessly sacrificing your free time and somehow extraordinary?” He Chen sneered at her.

“Whether I’m extraordinary or not, parents will judge for themselves—I just ask you: where am I wrong?” Li Tie couldn’t hold back and faced He Chen head-on.

These students were experts at reading the room—if her authority as homeroom teacher wasn’t strong and intimidating, she’d never control this bunch of little monkeys.

Once morale broke, the group fell apart.

So even though she knew she couldn’t win, she still had to confront He Chen publicly.

She simply refused to believe she’d lose this time!