Chapter 410: Fishing Has Begun

Li Qingrong sensed the strange glances around her and turned her head to look beside her.

She saw Jiang Nian holding a test paper and pen, beginning to solve problems as if no one else were there.

She didn't find it odd at all; in fact, she thought it was perfectly normal. After all, the competition hadn't started yet, and no one knew what they were dawdling over.

"Pfft, what are you pretending to be?"

Someone couldn't take it anymore and couldn't help speaking up.

"Working this hard—aren't you from the elite class? Even if you're in the Olympiad, it won't help. Honestly, studying just by effort alone is useless."

"Fake effort—just fooling yourself. You only practice what you already know, memorize stuff that won't be on the exam, and your scores will never rise."

"True, true, there really is such a thing as natural talent for studying."

"No way, this is just too awkward. Even if I scored six hundred, I wouldn't dare write a test paper in public."

Suddenly, a boy walked up to Jiang Nian. He glanced at Li Qingrong, then patted Jiang Nian's shoulder and said, "Bro, I used to be just like you."

Jiang Nian looked up, confused. He glanced at the class monitor and thought: There really are idiots who don't know Li Qingrong.

He reconsidered: Li Qingrong was on the fourth floor anyway. She never gave speeches under the national flag; there were probably plenty who didn't know her.

But that was fine—【Fishing】 had succeeded.

Gao San can't go a day without showing off—bro is—!! (strategic lean-back)

"Really?"

"Yeah, I used to study like that too," the boy sighed. "But I never truly understood anything; my scores didn't budge at all."

Jiang Nian scratched his cheek and asked curiously.

"Are you also stuck at 616?"

"Six hundred one..." The boy froze at the precise, round number 616. "I..."

He couldn't even finish his sentence.

He was a humanities Olympiad student; he'd only approached because Li Qingrong was too beautiful, and he couldn't stand Jiang Nian's arrogance.

In the Gaokao, if two students have the same score but one is from science and one from humanities, under extreme circumstances, one might get into a top university while the other only qualifies for a junior college.

If you score 616 in science for the Gaokao, you're guaranteed admission to a key university.

The few people nearby, seeing someone step forward, either felt awkward for Jiang Nian or grinned, ready to watch the show.

Suddenly, the expected awkward scene from Jiang Nian never happened.

Instead, the boy who approached suddenly froze in place, then his face slowly flushed red, and finally he left, utterly embarrassed.

And Jiang Nian? He kept writing his test paper.

Li Qingrong grew curious and glanced at Jiang Nian again. She couldn't understand the content, but she had a strong feeling he was doing this on purpose.

Kind of... cute.

Jiang Nian stood, head bowed, writing his test paper, face tense with a suppressed smile.

Fuck, the 【Fishing】 skill is really interesting.

Once I activate it, I always catch something weird—no matter what, I never come up empty.

Too bad 【Fishing】 isn't a strong conceptual skill. It seems to have little effect on anything besides fish; no one's bitten for ages.

Jiang Nian guessed that maybe after one "fish" got scared off, the rest of the "school" couldn't figure out his intentions.

Or perhaps they'd sensed something and chose to keep their distance.

Soon, just as Jiang Nian was about to turn off 【Fishing】 and focus on finishing this question, Team Leader Lao Liu arrived.

"Oh? Jiang Nian, working this hard? No wonder you improved two hundred points in three months—who else but you deserves the title of Motivational Star?"

Too harsh. That was an over-the-top compliment.

【Fishing】 skill is terrifying!

Hearing this, the surrounding "school of fish" instantly scattered.

"Fuck, improved two hundred points?"

"Two hundred points? Even if he started at three hundred, that's over five hundred—can anyone really score three hundred?"

"Motivational Star... Don't even dream it—there's a five-hundred-point threshold."

"Fuck, this guy's been fishing the whole time!"

The "school of fish" scattered in panic, startled by Lao Liu.

Jiang Nian sighed and turned off 【Fishing】—this thing barely affected anyone around him.

Lao Liu's a bastard—he's still hard to read.

Whatever. At least Lao Liu gave me the card.

"You... uh... just work hard," Lao Liu suddenly realized he couldn't keep up the exaggerated praise.

When he first walked in, he'd seen Jiang Nian standing next to his own Tsinghua-Peking University seed student and felt a knot in his chest—so why did he end up praising Jiang Nian the moment he got closer?

Weird.

"I'll probably win the championship," Jiang Nian said, glancing sideways and noticing no one was paying attention.

He sighed inwardly: Without 【Fishing】, this won't work.

"Winning's great—don't push yourself too hard," Lao Liu patted his shoulder. "Last time you said you wanted the card or the thermos?"

Hearing this, Jiang Nian smiled.

The competition rules stated that if a student won the championship,

the team leader would also receive a prize—not money, but things like a thermos and meal cards.

Even though Lao Liu had a hundred flaws, after all this time, he still remembered the reward he'd promised me—he's a good teacher!

Loyalty!

Old Liu never hoards benefits—he actually shares them!

"It's a meal card, Teacher." Jiang Nian's grin stretched nearly to his ears; he

had truly been poor, so he'd take any benefit offered.

"Alright, come find me when you win." Old Liu nodded.

"Don't worry." Jiang Nian instantly straightened his chest. "Throwing three arrows per second isn't my limit—I'm just afraid Teacher won't see my attitude!"

Massive loyalty! Raise high Old Liu's banner!

Li Qingrong showed no reaction throughout, occasionally casting a sharp glance at Jiang Nian.

Soon, sign-in ended.

Groups lined up by class to take turns, again proving Zhennan High's core principle: academic performance above all.

"Who goes first?"

"Seems like Class Zero starts. Let's see how those geniuses throw."

"Laughable—someone just missed entirely."

"Probably nervous. But then again, geniuses don't have time to play this—just go through the motions."

Above, dense rows of fluorescent tubes lit the activity room as bright as day.

Jiang Nian was in the men's group, holding his exam paper. He turned to look toward the girls' side, wondering how Li Qingrong was doing.

It was almost his turn, so Jiang Nian glanced down at his exam paper.

"Do I need to calculate this by hand?"

The students standing before and behind Jiang Nian fell silent.

What the hell are you pretending for?

The boy behind him could no longer bear it; his sneer had frozen stiff, and he couldn't help blurting out a reminder.

"Bro, stop staring at the paper—you're up next."

"Oh, thanks." Jiang Nian snapped out of it, looked up, and turned. "Bro, you're a real good guy."

The boy, suddenly handed an unexpected "good guy card":

"The exam paper's meant for the classroom. You can go back and finish it after your turn. Seriously, don't do it here."

»

The boy hadn't finished speaking when the referee teacher glanced at the list and looked toward Jiang Nian.

"Next, Olympiad Class Three—Jiang Nian."

"Here."

"Alright, you're Jiang Nian, right?" The teacher verified, then nodded. "Go ahead. Throw ten arrows."

The boy:

Fuck me, he's the dumbass from the Science Olympiad class.

Just because you've got good grades, you think you're special? You can't be this full of yourself. This isn't an exam hall—you're not some big shot.

Show off your mom!

Many shared his thoughts, having stared at Jiang Nian for minutes.

Now, their gazes involuntarily turned toward him.

Jiang Nian's hand flicked—and several arrows shot out like meteors, one after another, carving elegant arcs through the air.

With crisp, clear sounds—all hit!

Everyone froze, stunned. A quiet hush fell over the corner.

Jiang Nian clapped his hands, then pulled out his exam paper again from his pocket.

"How do you solve this one again?"