Chapter 346: Can't Keep the Corners of My Mouth Down

Fifteen minutes left?

Jiang Nian panicked—on someone else's behalf.

He had already finished the test paper. Biology flowed like silk, like a butcher carving an ox. Chemistry and physics only had a few small questions left on the big problems.

In terms of exam state, Jiang Nian was nearly maxed out.

Since starting Gao San, he had never fought such an affluent battle. The time spent on biology had been compressed to the absolute minimum.

Which in turn freed up a great deal of thinking time for chemistry and physics.

"Those who believe in miracles are themselves as remarkable as miracles."

For some reason, that line suddenly surfaced in Jiang Nian's mind. Star Travel died, but damn it, the Star Travel quotes kept coming.

He was clumsy; he could only change quality through the accumulation of quantity. Getting this far had relied entirely on his step-by-step buildup.

But then again, a man's road to growth occasionally needs a little tech assist.

【Verify】activate!

Zhou Yi used it once, and again in the early hours of Wednesday. Both times to verify Song Xiyun's condition, ruling out heredity and organ failure.

He had originally planned to wait for the Saturday refresh, then use it once during the afternoon math exam.

Who would have thought, Jiang Nian worked through the problems, and—

byd, he laughed at himself in exasperation.

Verify could only be used once. There were three multiple-choice questions he wasn't sure about. On the last big problem, three options were uncertain.

What was there even to verify? Might as well hold it in reserve.

All he could say was, thank goodness Verify wasn't wasted on the math exam. For now, he could verify one physics single-choice answer.

And that single-choice question was linked to a multiple-choice question.

Once he verified the single-choice answer, the multiple-choice answer could be reasoned out by analogy—six plus six, twelve points in total.

If his luck was good, he might even be able to guess the answer to the third sub-question of the last physics big problem.

One scheme harms three sages!

No—one move, three gains!

After 【Verify】, Jiang Nian picked out the correct answer with ease. The skill was on cooldown, showing three more days before it could be used again.

Whatever. Reverse-engineer it!

With ten minutes left before the exam ended, Jiang Nian picked up his pen and wrote out the third sub-question of the second-to-last physics big problem.

The next second, the solution process somehow fell into place by happy accident.

With a gulp, Jiang Nian clenched his fist tight.

Exams are sometimes like this—the way you solve a big problem resembles the way you solve a certain multiple-choice question. Same type of problem.

Generally speaking, major exams carefully avoid this kind of situation when setting papers, because it would make the question-setter look amateurish.

"Teacher, are you handing out points on purpose?"

One sentence, enough to make the question-setter's face flush red on the spot.

Who's handing out points?!

So the questions on joint exams are carefully deliberated. The above situation won't occur—unless it's the second paper.

It's not the college entrance exam anyway, and the second paper usually isn't used either, so they might as well make it harder.

If the question-setting isn't careful, or they don't really care, similar situations can indeed appear on the second paper. Whether you run into one depends on luck.

Jiang Nian could only say, the math paper was damn shady.

The science-comprehensive physics paper's questions were awesome—three problems with varying degrees of linkage, adding up to nearly twenty points.

And Jiang Nian got them all. Physics this time had truly won big.

As for biology, a guaranteed win!

In the final seven minutes, Jiang Nian flipped through the answer sheet. On an indecisive chemistry big problem, he filled in an answer as if testing his luck.

In the last five minutes he wrote one chemistry sub-question, and in the final two minutes he checked his name and exam number.

He let out a long breath and smiled.

Wind and snow pressed me for two or three years—five years in total.

Ding ling ling!!!

The shrill bell exploded through the exam hall, instantly startling a flurry of panicked students.

"Alright, exam's over!" The proctor stood on the podium, his voice like a great bell. "Everyone! Stop writing immediately!"

"From now on, if I see anyone still writing, it will be treated as cheating. All examinees in the classroom, please step outside first."

Jiang Nian was the third to walk out of the exam hall, standing in the bustling corridor. Gazing at the winter sun, he couldn't help squinting.

His heart suddenly felt light, and even the sunlight falling on him seemed a few degrees warmer.

Too bad Ma Guojun wasn't beside him.

Otherwise he would definitely have dragged him into comparing answers. After this exam, he felt unusually confident—the science comprehensive was bound to be solid.

As for whether it could reach two-fifty—

Believe first, question later.

After finishing the science comprehensive, it was already 11:30 a. m. Adding in the miscellaneous business of collecting papers and leaving the exam hall, by the time he got downstairs it was already quite late.

At this hour, the classroom was destined not to have any hidden talents gathered there.

Which meant there was no way to show off.

Jiang Nian's excitement slowly faded with the passing of time, gradually turning bland. After thinking it over, he simply headed straight to the cafeteria to eat.

When he walked out of the cafeteria, on the far side of the empty basketball court he spotted two people playing badminton, and somehow they looked familiar.

Walking closer, he saw they were Chen Yunyun and Wang Yuhe. And another girl, Chai Muying, from the same dorm as them.

Yingzi was usually a bit slow, the type of honest, easygoing classmate who loved to slack off. Playful, scatterbrained, kind-hearted.

She also had every trait a human girl could have, good and bad. Her grades were middling, nothing particularly eye-catching in class.

"What are you all...?"

"We're done with exams, playing ball to relax." Chen Yunyun looked at him — she had actually spotted him from afar earlier.

She pressed her lips into a smile and explained.

"It's Sunday, and we all have to wash our hair and shower in the afternoon anyway. The sun's out and the weather's nice, so we figured we'd play a bit here before heading back to the dorm."

There was actually another English exam in the afternoon, but for most people, the joint exam was already pretty much over.

What you didn't know, you couldn't review; what you knew, you relied on your usual accumulation.

In short, there was very little room left to work on English. With that kind of time, you might as well go home to the dorm and sleep well.

Get plenty of rest — at least in the afternoon exam hall, you wouldn't doze off over the reading comprehension.

"Jiang Nian, let's have a match!" Wang Yuhe took off her jacket, wearing a yellow-white sweater, her chest rising high.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!

She swung the badminton racket, sending the air whistling. She was raring to go, wanting to beat Jiang Nian head-on.

"I don't play with newbies, it'll drag down my feel." Jiang Nian refused without hesitation. "Besides, I've already eaten — have you?"

Chai Muying shook her head, racket in hand.

"We came straight here after the exam. You can't exercise right after eating."

"That's a shame — if I hadn't eaten, I'd have treated you all." Jiang Nian grinned, deliberately provoking Wang Yuhe.

"You can still treat us now! Send a red packet!" Wang Yuhe caught the loophole in Jiang Nian's words, instantly brimming with fighting spirit.

Yet Jiang Nian only smiled even more brightly. As if it had played right into his hands, he whipped out his phone without another word.

"Come on, let's make a little group chat and send a red packet."

He casually pulled Chen Yunyun and Wang Yuhe into the group, then Chai Muying was pulled in too, and he immediately sent a fifty-yuan red packet.

"Come on, drinks are on me too."

Seeing this, the three girls exchanged glances.

"What is this—" Chen Yunyun was completely baffled.

The corner of Jiang Nian's mouth twitched, and he suddenly said:

"I basically finished all the science-comprehensive questions. Let's compare answers."

At his words, the smile vanished instantly from Chai Muying's face. She nearly stumbled backward several steps, covering her ears and shaking her head.

"No!! Please, no!"

Jiang Nian was thrilled inside — he'd finally found a victim.

Was there ever a free lunch under heaven?

Thwack!

On the court, Chai Muying played Wang Yuhe with a deathly pale face, muttering to herself.

"I'm such an idiot for accepting his red packet."

Jiang Nian, having finished showing off and idle anyway, stood off the court chatting with Chen Yunyun, pointing and commenting on Wang Yuhe running around the court.

"See, this is a textbook example of someone whose forehand and backhand are both half-baked."

Chen Yunyun shoved him and chided him.

"Don't talk about Yuhe like that — she'll definitely get mad if she hears."

Jiang Nian paid no heed, taking the chance to pinch her arm. The soft touch, and the faint fragrance right at hand's reach, put him in a great mood.

"Just don't tell her, then."

Chen Yunyun's ears instantly turned red; she felt a little dizzy from the sun. There were people all over the court — how could he just go around pinching her?

"If Yuhe asks, I won't cover for you."

"Doesn't matter — what I said was the truth anyway." Ever since Jiang Nian had come out of the exam hall, the smile hadn't left his face.

A breeze blew past.

Jiang Nian and Chen Yunyun sat together on a cold concrete ping-pong table.

The boy, full of vigor, gazed at the crowds walking in the distance. His eyes were like a wolf's, like a tiger's, brimming with ambition and a fire in his chest.

The girl, meanwhile, had gentle brows and eyes; she gazed at the nearby badminton court with a soft smile, like a lazy, mellow silver-shaded British shorthair.

In the afternoon, Jiang Nian woke up in the classroom.

His hand was a bit numb from being pressed, but his taut nerves had been satisfied.

Although he could activate Healing in the afternoon, granting immunity to one instance of negative fatigue, Healing couldn't give the satisfying feeling of waking up after a full sleep.

It's like — no matter the gun, you can't stay hard, but you've lost the pleasure.

Jiang Nian wanted both — the afternoon nap, and the removal of negative fatigue. But there was no exam yet, so there was no need to activate it early.

The class monitor had gone home at noon and wasn't in the classroom.

After all, the afternoon exam was English, and Jiang Nian's English average was above 140. No comfort needed — the strong are terrifyingly so.

At 2:20, there were still barely any people in the classroom.

The afternoon pre-exam window was short, and there was no need to return to the classroom. Better to rest a bit longer at home, then head straight to the exam hall.

This also meant Jiang Nian couldn't show off in front of Li Hua, losing a great source of joy.

Whatever — exam first.

The English exam hall, three o'clock start.

After Jiang Nian got the paper, he blitzed through the listening questions and answers. He even had the余裕 to read through one passage A of the reading comprehension.

He basically understood every word — even if there were a few obscure ones, most of them were ones he'd accumulated through his usual reading.

Heh heh, still no problem.

As for words you really don't recognize, you can still figure out the meaning by feel. Those are also points where you lose marks, but it's not a big problem.

Five o'clock, hand in the papers on time.

Jiang Nian stood outside the corridor, a smile unconsciously tugging at the corner of his mouth.

He wanted to whoop.

Yesterday dejected, today elated.

It was truly "where hills bend and streams wind and the way seems lost, suddenly a village appears amid shady willows and bright flowers."

After packing up and going downstairs, Jiang Nian didn't go to the cafeteria to eat like yesterday. Instead, he first went back to the classroom and silently restored the desks.

Along the way, he moved Zhibao's things back to the classroom as well.

As for the things in her drawer, she had locked them in the cabinet. That part was left to her; Jiang Nian didn't get involved.

Li Hua hadn't moved his desk; a large group of people had gathered around him comparing answers for the morning's science comprehensive exam.

【122】 Arguments and laments came one after another without end.

Voices of argument and regret came one after another.

Li Hua estimated his total score, figured he should still be around six hundred twenty or thirty, and immediately lost interest. Striking an extremely pretentious pose, he said:

"Sigh, still can't break through."

"Holy crap, are you a beast? A test this hard and you still want to break through?"

"Exactly. If I could just get last time's score I'd burn incense in thanks. This time I don't know if I'll even hit five-fifty, probably iffy."

Hearing this, Li Hua was secretly pleased with himself.

In his excitement, he glanced at Jiang Nian, who was organizing test papers at a nearby seat. His interest suddenly piqued, and he casually asked:

"Nian, how'd you do on the exam?"

Jiang Nian immediately rubbed his nose, pressed down the upturned corner of his mouth, and put on a fake bitter smile.

"Math bombed, probably not many points, sigh."

Li Hua grew even more excited hearing this and patted his shoulder.

"No worries, this test was harder."

Jiang Nian pressed down the corner of his mouth, mumbled a few vague replies, and thought to himself, "byd, see you at evening self-study."

The sky gradually darkened; the joint exam was over.

They didn't even get a one-hour break before seamlessly starting a new week.

"When do we get a holiday?"

"Will they make it up?"

"They will."

Lin Dong walked into the classroom with the math answers. "Heard from the teachers in the office—take out your test papers now and check the math answers."