Chapter 268: Baby, this is the last row—no way they

Not just Old Liu, Jiang Nian and the others were stunned.

As members of the sixth group, they knew better than anyone whether Ceng You had played with his phone.

But Ceng You's move was just too slick—what's this "Class Three Zhuge Liang"?

Knowing you intended this scheme, I've been waiting for you all along.

Old Liu's face turned dark, but he didn't search them. He merely nodded, taking the three phones and the captured Yang Qiming out of the classroom.

The risk was gone; everyone in the sixth group turned to look at Ceng You.

Jiang Nian said, "You're done. Old Liu's got his eyes on you."

"Cheer up—it's just daily high-intensity patrols," Li Hua gloated. "Constantly on edge, never a moment's peace."

Wu Jungu in the front row was moved and turned to advise Ceng You.

"No matter what, you've escaped this time. Don't play around these next few days—avoid the headteacher's wrath."

"Hey, how can you say that?" Jiang Nian lit up, sensing a good joke. "Avoid Old Liu's wrath? You're disrespecting my bro Ceng."

"Yeah, that's not right," Li Hua, the master of stoking flames, added. "We're all veterans of Class Three. Old Liu's got nothing new—don't be scared."

Zhang Ningzhi looked at Jiang Nian and the others, silently making a "huh?" expression on her face.

These people are too evil.

Huang Fang couldn't take it anymore and spoke up.

"You guys should shut up a bit."

Zhang Ningzhi nodded deeply in agreement and casually poked Jiang Nian's arm.

"Exactly, exactly."

Ceng You, at the center of it all, looked utterly unfazed and waved his hand.

"Let him come. I've got plenty of tricks."

After speaking, Ceng You laughed to himself.

"Even teachers get tired. Playing with them is way more fun than playing with your phone."

Remember this, Old Liu—this is the lesson I'm teaching you in your life. Once you climb this mountain, trust crumbles quietly, and we can never go back.

"Hahaha, damn!" Jiang Nian laughed himself silly, giving a thumbs-up.

Li Hua laughed until he cried, wiped his eyes, and looked up in awe.

"Sigh, if only when my dad checked my phone back then, I could've pulled out a flashlight too."

Soon after, the three captured students returned, their hands empty of phones.

As soon as Yang Qiming sat down, Huang Cailang hurried over.

"Bro, what did the headteacher say?"

"What could he say? Wait for the end-of-month six-city joint exam results," Yang Qiming sighed. "He set us three targets—if we hit them, we get our phones back."

"Huh? So Yang Bro, you're stuck without a phone?" Huang Cailang gasped, remembering Yang Bro's loyalty and gritting his teeth.

"Yang Bro, if you don't mind, use my phone!"

Hearing this, Zhou Yuting couldn't help but roll her eyes.

She thought Yang Qiming deserved it—he'd been scrolling through beast-ear girls right before his phone got confiscated, utterly ridiculous.

But Tao Ran probably just had ordinary hobbies.

"Haha, you're too naive, Cailang."

Yang Qiming shook his head and grinned. "Old Liu threw my phone into the collection bag—and inside was my backup."

"When phones are returned on Sunday, I just take back my confiscated one and hand in a dummy model instead."

"Understood? Applause!"

Huang Cailang was utterly amazed, praising endlessly.

"Bro, you're so smart."

Zhou Yuting was sick of these two and simply put on foam earplugs, burying herself in her problems.

Soon after, the two subject representatives and Minister of Rites Tao Ran walked in carrying the Chinese weekly test papers and announced the weekly test.

"Clear your desks. Sit by student ID."

Honestly, Jiang Nian had grown to love sitting in the back row. Holy crap, no one cares what you whisper back here.

Is there any law left?

The crime city is in Class Three—this vacuum zone at the back of the classroom is pure bliss.

Since it's a meaningless weekly test, they'd definitely have to switch seats.

Thinking he'd get to sit next to the monitor again, Jiang Nian couldn't help but hum softly.

This week has been unbelievably great.

"Unbelievably great, Dong Ge," Sun Zhicheng muttered to himself from his seat.

He half-heartedly worked on the Chinese weekly test, unable to stop recalling the afternoon scene—Lin Dong had shown him, hand over hand, how to flirt and charm.

Now his mind was full of techniques; he worshipped Lin Dong utterly.

Completely rui si rui.

Master, master, I want to learn this!

He instantly remembered the hours lost to mysterious websites—two hours of total amnesia. But compared to Lin Dong's move, it was child's play.

Dong Ge was literally a superhero—the true emperor of online chatting.

At the bubble tea shop, Sun Zhicheng watched Lin Dong break the ice with a newly added girl while chatting colorfully with a girl he'd already built rapport with.

That scene struck a massive blow to young Cheng's worldview.

It was pure ambition—pre-emptively cashing in his progress bar.

Sun Zhicheng secretly vowed back then that he would one day become Dong Ge and surpass Dong Ge.

His goal was to become the Emperor of Online Chatting, charging toward the Supreme Throne.

With this thought in mind, he excitedly sent a message to the new girl he'd added.

【Are you there?】

And then nothing happened, because the other person didn't reply; Sun Zhicheng agonized from afternoon till night, his thousand-li journey collapsing at his feet.

He died before even setting out, and he was deeply unwilling.

Unconsciously, he had forgotten all the frustrations of reality, devoting himself entirely to online chatting, desperate to slip out of class to continue it.

Suddenly, he remembered Chen Yunyun—he hadn't paid attention to her for a day or two.

Thinking this, Sun Zhicheng turned to look. After searching for a long time, he finally locked onto Chen Yunyun's back; he'd intended to break the filter, but nearly fell into it again.

"No no, I'm no longer the old Sun Zhicheng!"

"A man must rely on his own hands to fight."

Yao Bei Bei was already in a bad mood because her phone had been confiscated, and her seat for the weekly test was next to Sun Zhicheng's; hearing his muttering, she was utterly annoyed.

"Stop muttering."

Sun Zhicheng was still trying to convince himself; hearing this, he felt awkward, then had a sudden idea and retorted.

"Can't I recite ancient poetry?"

Yao Bei Bei sneered and glanced at Sun Zhicheng.

"What ancient poem has. those days were truly torturous, so can you tell me what makes her different?"

Sun Zhicheng deflated, but still held his ground.

"Mind your own business."

Yao Bei Bei snorted and went back to solving problems.

"Stop acting crazy."

Sun Zhicheng felt a lump stuck in his throat, unable to breathe; he thought to himself that his current self was too weak—wait until later, I will no longer be myself!

He glanced sideways and suddenly spotted Jiang Nian sitting with the monitor taking the weekly test.

He thought: people are all the same, nothing special. Maybe Jiang Nian also has someone he can't have, maybe he's even more pathetic than me.

Jiang Nian held his breath and pushed through until the reading comprehension passage; only after finishing the entire text did he complete half the exam.

After reading it, he couldn't help feeling melancholy.

Chinese exams give the feeling that. happiness is always snuffed out, while pain lasts abnormally long.

He glanced at the monitor and noticed her progress was slower than his; a sense of accomplishment rose in him, so he leaned over to peek at her answers.

Naturally, he maintained a tilted posture.

Honestly, it was kind of stupid.

The classroom lights were bright; Li Qingrong's cheek glowed with a pale, soft light, her curves elegant, and beneath her lashes, clear glimmers of her eyes could be seen.

Stare——

Li Qingrong forced calmness, but soon began to crack.

The last analytical question had only one sentence left; under his gaze, her thoughts froze and scattered, and she simply couldn't write it.

Finally, she turned to look at Jiang Nian.

"Hmm?"

Facing Li Qingrong's slightly questioning expression, Jiang Nian finally turned his head, flipped to the other side of the exam paper, and began revising his classical poetry appreciation answers.

Li Qingrong: "."

If you wanted to copy, why not just say so?

Jiang Nian continued writing; order finally returned to normal.

Yet Li Qingrong read the first reading comprehension passage twice and still couldn't recall its content; she felt something was missing.

Just now, Jiang Nian leaning over had pressed a seal upon her heart.

Gulu gulu.

A small note rolled onto Jiang Nian's exam paper; he stared at it for a moment.

Huh?

A note from the monitor? That must be something important.

Realizing this, he forgot about the exam; frankly, the Chinese weekly test was utterly insignificant.

He opened the note: Has the paperwork been sorted out?

Hmm. Jiang Nian glanced at the monitor, hesitated for a moment, fiddled with the note for half a minute, then pushed it back.

Li Qingrong took it, opened it with a calm expression.

【Done. I overslept this afternoon and forgot to tell you.】

She read it, lowering her eyes; that faint resentment vanished without a sound.

"Mm."

Half an hour before the exam ended,

Jiang Nian finished his essay and put down his pen. He was bored, glancing now at the monitor, now at Li Hua nearby.

He thought for a moment, tore off a corner of the exam paper, crumpled it into a ball, and precisely hit Li Hua on the head.

"Who!" Li Hua felt the paper, furious, turned around—but found everyone staring at him. "Who threw a paper ball at my head?"

No one admitted it.

Li Qingrong was still writing her essay, casting a faint glance at Jiang Nian.

Estimating the time was right, Tao Ran walked up to the podium, cleared his throat, and said.

"The Chinese answer sheet, pass it backward."

The exam papers spread forward like snowflakes, and the seats returned to their original positions.

Jiang Nian pulled out his phone and began practicing simulated questions for Subject One, planning to finish them in two or three days, and take the exam this week whenever he had spare time—the sooner, the better.

He had heard from his cousin that the later you delay getting your driver's license, the less motivation you'll have to study.

Since there's a VIP service, don't test human nature—don't expect that someone will still remember you as a VIP two or three years from now; get it early and rest easy.

Zhang Ningzhi, seeing him hiding behind a pile of books playing with his phone, couldn't help asking with concern.

"Aren't you afraid you'll get caught?"

Hearing this, Jiang Nian looked around, then glanced at Zhang Ningzhi.

"Baby, this is the last row."

Get caught? What a joke.

What he didn't say was, his guy has connections above.

He remembered something—the fan title for this account is "Reverse Surge in Gaokao," for good luck.

There's a new fan title every month; you can participate in the events to earn one.

Participate in events in the book review section; there's a pinned post.