Chapter 223

Whoosh—the white test papers were passed from front to back.

The windows still carried a faint wisp of mist; the air was chilly, and golden sunlight spilled everywhere inside and outside the classroom.

Everyone sat according to their student ID numbers; Jiang Nian naturally still sat beside the class monitor.

If nothing unexpected happened, this seating order would remain unchanged until the Gaokao.

Yay, locked in with the class monitor.

The only way this seating order would break is if someone ahead of Jiang Nian dropped out—then all IDs would shift forward.

People who drop out usually keep studying but never improve their grades, and their morale never rises either.

The students in Olympiad Class Three rank first in academic performance, and the overall atmosphere is relaxed and abstract. So Yuyu's chance of dropping out is slim; if she really does, just guide her a bit.

Stare——

Li Qingrong was turning her test paper sideways to write her name and student ID, and felt uneasy under his gaze.

She couldn't take it anymore and turned to look at him.

"What's wrong?"

Jiang Nian fidgeted, hesitated, then held back his words.

Li Qingrong had sat behind him long enough to understand him somewhat; seeing this, she knew he was about to be a nuisance again.

Sure enough, Jiang Nian said shyly:

"Class monitor, lend me some luck."

"How do you borrow it?"

"Lend me a pen, then blow on it," Jiang Nian wriggled like an eel, being as annoying as possible, "I want to score 145 on this English test."

Li Qingrong lowered her eyes; the quick-dry pen she was using was the one Jiang Nian had given her.

So she pulled out a light blue quick-dry pen from her pencil case, hesitated for a moment, then gently blew on it and handed it to Jiang Nian.

Jiang Nian beamed, took the pen, and began writing his name.

This time blowing on the quick-dry pen—roughly speaking, next time she'll have to kiss me!

Behind him, Yang Qiming stared in shock.

Ugh, Jiang Laogou is truly shameless—he's flirting with the class monitor.

And blowing on it? Do you think this is a variety show?

But stepping back a hundred thousand steps, he himself felt a flicker of interest—not in Jiang Nian, but in the scheme.

Hehehe, stole it, stole it good.

After the exam, I'll message An'an—I need to borrow some luck too.

The listening broadcast ended.

Yu Tongjie exhaled in relief, guessing he'd only gotten one or two wrong. He couldn't help feeling pleased—his score was getting closer to six hundred.

He looked up and saw Jiang Nian and Li Qingrong taking the test side by side; his breath caught instantly.

Haven't gotten used to it yet?

He chose to endure it, thinking that once Hu Nianzhong asked the homeroom teacher to switch groups, it would be over.

Jiang Nian's just lucky—close to the water, first to get the moon.

Honestly, Jiang Nian's only advantages are his looks and decent grades. But once you enter society, what use are grades and looks?

In the real world, it's strength and background that matter.

Truly excellent people are humble and composed; I'll stand beside Li Qingrong, crushing everyone with my refined speech—that's something they'll never reach.

Once I successfully switch groups, Jiang Nian will be nothing but a firefly beside me. Later, when I raise my grades, I'll become a child of heaven.

How can a firefly compete with the bright moon?

Thinking of this, Yu Tongjie felt he'd won again. He silently resolved that after the exam, during the big break, he must push Hu Nianzhong hard.

What a shy, introverted guy—he's more tedious than a bride on her bridal sedan.

He's such a damn procrastinator!

The first class ended; half the English exam time remained.

On the podium, Qian Bao stood up, secretly playing with her phone, and spoke:

"Anyone who needs to use the restroom can go one by one."

Weekly tests aren't real exams—even cheating is fine as long as it's not obvious, and no one cares if you go to the bathroom.

Of course, this also has to do with Qian Bao being easygoing.

Whoosh—Luo Yong stood up and walked out of the classroom.

Qian Bao casually walked around the classroom and noticed most students' progress bars were stuck at Reading Comprehension C; the faster ones had reached D.

Li Hua had already started writing the essay.

Ah, poor kid.

Done for.

Is this even possible? Since you can't do it anyway, just write backwards from the end, right?

The English weaklings were in full chaos.

Why are they called weaklings? Because Olympiad classes have no bad students—nearly everyone scores above five hundred. Li Hua's mockery was: "Where did this five-hundred-point stray dog come from?"

Qian Bao knew these students' mindless tactics too well: randomly filling blanks, guessing words by "feel," skipping comprehension in reading and just picking answers at random.

Pick whatever looks familiar, and leave the rest to fate.

She walked to the desks of the top English students—they'd nearly finished the end of section C. She guessed that when the bell rang, they'd move on to section D.

She walked up to Jiang Nian—he'd already finished section D and was working on something else. Just as she was about to leave, she felt someone tug at her sleeve.

She looked down and saw Jiang Nian pointing at a cloze test multiple-choice question, asking for clarification.

Qian Bao was speechless and decided not to respond to him.

Just as he was about to leave, his clothes were pulled again. This time, two words appeared on his test paper: "Jelly." Jiang Nian narrowed his eyes, as if saying—

Qian Bao gave up, glanced at the multiple-choice section, then tapped his desk twice and said irritably—

"No whispering during the exam."

Jiang Nian didn't answer, thinking: two taps mean B—just tick the answer.

He wasn't unable to solve it, just a bit unsure. He'd just borrowed "luck" from the class monitor—if he didn't hit 145, it'd be useless.

King You of Zhou made a beauty laugh by lighting beacon fires to trick the lords.

I, Jiang Nian, cheat a little to hit 145—it's perfectly reasonable.

He turned to glance at the class monitor's profile; the late-autumn sun slanted across her face. He could see the golden-edged high ponytail swaying slightly as she read the questions. Most students were tense, their minds sharply focused.

Those who glanced at others' papers were either unable to solve the problems or had already finished.

Lin Dong was one of them. He loved lilacs because Yang Qiming's name meant lilac—a most helpful flower, about to pass him the answers.

He was pretending to write his test when Qian Bao arrived.

She glanced and frowned.

"Why are you still writing Section A?"

Qian Bao flipped his paper—damn, he hadn't even done the listening section! He'd left everything blank except the essay! Her gaze was razor-sharp; she spotted the problem instantly.

"You're not planning to cheat, are you?"

Thud. Lin Dong broke into a cold sweat.

"I—"

Lin Dong struggled for a long time, unable to utter a single word.

Nearby, Yang Qiming worried for his brother. Brothers united, their strength could sever gold; survival depended on five principles—betrayal was wrong.

Since righteousness filled the heavens, and Brother Dong was in peril, it was time for him to act.

In desperation, ingenuity emerges.

Yang Qiming spoke up: "Teacher, do you believe in geniuses?"

Qian Bao didn't believe in geniuses, but she knew what cheating was.

After a moment of silence, she dragged Lin Dong out of the exam room for reprimand. He hadn't even finished the weekly test—this was outrageous. Next time, would he cheat on the major exams too?

The bell rang for the second class; the English exam entered its second half.

Ceng You's seat was by the window, where golden sunlight spilled onto the sports field. He hated writing in foreign languages, finished hastily, and pretended to nap at his desk.

Last night, he'd stayed up all night.

He could fall asleep even during a Chinese exam.

Though his English score was low, his spiritual world was rich—he closed his eyes and began aimless daydreaming: Rebirth. When would be the right time to be reborn?

Or maybe just wait for the apocalypse—fuck it, he'd be the first to die.

Suddenly, a buzzing sound interrupted his thoughts.

He opened his eyes—a yellow bee flew in through the window.

Ceng You snapped to attention. It was autumn—almost winter—how was there still a bee? He instinctively shrank his neck; a sting wasn't a joke.

Physical pain he could endure, but the mental torment—he'd be mocked by the whole class.

"Ahh!! There's a bee!"

"I don't scream—I have a name! I'm Chu Yuxun!"

"Shit, there really is a bee, and you're still joking?"

Li Hua let out an out-of-place snort and was immediately stared at by several classmates.

"Fucking hell, are you jerking off during the exam?"

"Get lost! I was just nervous!"

"Oh, I get it—nervous enough to jerk off."

The exam room erupted in chaos. Since it was an in-class weekly test, students had little reverence for it and all looked up to track the bee's location.

"I can locate it by sound," Wang Yuhe said.

"So cool!" Zhang Ningzhi, sitting beside her, eyes sparkling, "Really? Where's the bee?"

Wang Yuhe was lying, but she wouldn't lose face. She tightened her small face into an air of mystical detachment and pointed toward Jiang Nian's desk.

"There!"

The bee had been flying toward Qian Bao at the podium—damn woman, slathering on so much cream.

The bee thought: What kind of honey is this? Let me touch it first.

But Qian Bao panicked and slapped the bee away with her test paper—it flew off.

But the more you swat at bees, the more they cling to you—they think you're hiding something tasty.

Seeing the bee circle back, Qian Bao stood up from her seat.

She didn't run out of the classroom.

Probably didn't want to abandon her students and earn the nickname "Qian the Fleeing." She dashed to the front, hurried a few steps, and stood beside Jiang Nian's desk.

Jiang Nian was stunned, looking up at Qian Bao.

"Teacher, what did I do to you? We're teacher and student—why must you be so cruel?"

Qian Bao ignored him. As the bee flew toward her, she gasped.

She tugged at her top disciple's coat, stammering in panic—

"Catch it with your hands!"

"Holy shit, is that even human speech?"

Jiang Nian still stood up from his seat and grabbed two gel pens.

Watching the bee fly in with no predictable path, under the gaze of half the class, the two gel pens in his hand were like a pair of chopsticks.

He pinched with effortless ease, the move utterly casual.

In an instant, the bee vanished.

【Precise】.

The crowd froze for a beat, hearing no buzzing, and instinctively looked at the two gel pens Jiang Nian held suspended in midair.

A squirming little black dot appeared right between the gel pens.

Yang Qiming, watching clearly from the back row, was utterly dumbfounded.

"Bro, that actually worked?"

(End of chapter)