Chapter 106: I

Mid-October, the mid-term exam at Fu No. 1 High School arrived as scheduled.

Li Luo directed his classmates to arrange the desks and chairs into six separate columns as the exam venue.

During the entrance exam, Li Luo ranked 328th in the entire school and was assigned to Class Nine based on his ranking.

Students like Lu Jiahao, however, had cracked the top hundred nationwide and were eligible to take the exam in Class Two.

Any student from a regular class who managed to enter a key class room for the exam was regarded by ordinary students as a god-slayer.

Those key class students pushed out by regular class students were considered the most embarrassing kind.

After all, they had already finished all of Grade 10 content during the summer prep class, yet still couldn't outperform others on junior high material—it was hard to justify.

There were many reasons for this, including students who, after gaining admission through independent enrollment, became complacent and stagnated.

Once they dropped out of the key class ranking and studied under the high-pressure environment surrounded by top students, their grades often plummeted and rarely recovered.

Conversely, some students in regular classes, having long remained at the top of their class, had built up confidence and frequently ranked in the top hundred nationwide, even thriving more than those in key classes.

As the saying goes: better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix—sometimes that's exactly the truth.

Since Grade 10 had only nine subjects, the exam spanned from Wednesday to Friday, with one main subject and two minor subjects each day.

Most students weren't particularly nervous, since it was only a mid-term exam, and rankings revealed little.

But there were people like Shao Heqi, who had fully committed himself this time, determined to surpass Li Luo in overall score.

Especially in Shao Heqi's view, since the start of school, this guy had joined the basketball club, then the literature club, and just a few days ago, some rock band club.

None of them were competition clubs.

This clearly meant he had no intention of studying seriously.

Shao Heqi, however, had chosen the physics club, attending daily after school and on Saturday afternoons for in-depth study.

Coupled with his diligent studying and exam preparation since the start of school, Shao Heqi vowed to make a stunning breakthrough in the mid-term exam.

His strength was science; for humanities subjects like history, geography, and politics, thorough memorization would hardly cause a significant score gap.

With this, he had full confidence he would defeat Li Luo!

At this moment, Li Luo remained completely unaware of Shao Heqi's ambition.

He simply used the last moments of morning self-study to close his eyes, pretending to nap, while actually checking for gaps and filling in missing knowledge in his memory palace, confirming all exam-relevant points were prepared.

Every textbook concept, teacher's board notes, and all viewpoints and conclusions from PPTs had been meticulously recorded.

Organized and categorized according to each subject.

All he needed to do during the exam was think slightly, and the required information would automatically surface in his mind.

When the exam preparation bell rang, all three teaching buildings of Fu No. 1 High School erupted in a sudden roar.

Everyone gathered their exam supplies, left their classrooms, and headed to their assigned exam rooms.

Before leaving, Li Luo extended a fist toward Yan Zhusheng in the seat behind him: "Good luck on the exam."

"Good luck," Yan Zhusheng extended her fist and lightly tapped his.

Her entrance exam score was slightly better than Li Luo's; her exam room was in Class Eight, and even better, it was her own seat—no need to move at all, extremely convenient.

Li Luo picked up his pencil case and went downstairs to Class Nine.

For three consecutive days.

Fu No. 1 High School was immersed in an unusually serious atmosphere.

All club activities were suspended.

Aside from one main subject in the morning and two minor subjects in the afternoon, all other time became self-study sessions.

Teachers from each subject took turns on duty in the classrooms, standing at the podium to answer and handle students' questions.

When the final politics exam ended on Friday, everyone finally exhaled; the taut string that had been pulled tight for days snapped completely.

"There's no Saturday self-study this week," Kong Jun came into the classroom and reminded the students, "School ends at five p. m. today; be careful on your way home."

"Woo-hoo!" Though they'd known beforehand, finally getting to leave school on Friday afternoon, Zhu Yufei and Zhang Guohuang in the back row cheered loudly.

Other boys joined in, and the classroom erupted in celebration.

But the next second, Kong Jun smiled and pulled out a stack of notices, handing them to Hua Xiuxiu in the front row: "Pass these out to everyone."

"These are notices for the parent-teacher meeting; remember to show them to your parents when you get home."

"The parent-teacher meeting is scheduled for next Saturday morning. If both parents are unavailable, they must call me personally to explain the situation."

"Oh, by the way, although the exams should be graded by this weekend, the exact scores will be announced on parent-teacher meeting day."

Saying this, Kong Jun smiled even wider: "I hope you all can make your parents proud."

At these words, a wave of groans swept through the room.

Although before coming to Fu No. 1 High School, everyone had been top students in junior high.

After arriving at Fu No. 1, most felt they had become just another face in the crowd.

In junior high, their parents had always been able to sit proudly in the classroom during parent-teacher meetings.

No one knew whether their own fathers and mothers could accept this drop in status at Fu No. 1.

But Li Luo thought of another question.

"Will your mom come?" Li Luo whispered to Yan Zhusheng.

Taking the notice from the student in front, Yan Zhusheng pursed her lips: "My mom… her new album is about to be released, and she'll have many promotional events."

"Just one morning shouldn't be a problem, right?" Li Luo frowned.

Yan Zhusheng shook her head: "It's fine. She's already struggled so much returning after so many years; this is just a parent-teacher meeting—it's not that important."

"Still, you should ask first," Li Luo said. "Maybe she'll be free that day."

"Mm," Yan Zhusheng nodded, then turned to look at Li Luo curiously: "What about you? Which of your parents will come?"

"Well," Li Luo rubbed his chin, "from past experience, when I do well, my mom comes; when I do poorly or get into trouble at school, my dad comes."

"So… will it be your mom this time?" Yan Zhusheng guessed.

"Looks like you have a lot of confidence in me," Li Luo said with a smile. "How do you know I'll do well on this exam?"

"Because Xi Xi and the senior have been tutoring you nonstop," Yan Zhusheng said honestly. "You must have made some progress."

"It's not just about progress—I think I can rank in the top 40 this time," Li Luo raised an eyebrow. "Wanna bet?"

"Sure," Yan Zhusheng nodded. "I bet you'll make the top 40. What's the prize if I win?"

Li Luo: "?"

"Aren't you mixing things up?"

"No, I'm not," Yan Zhusheng shook her head. "I believe in you."

Li Luo stared blankly: "... You don't have to believe in me that much. It's making me feel like I haven't earned anything."

After chatting for a while, Kong Jun glanced at the clock, then told everyone to pack up—they could leave for the day.

Before leaving, Kong Jun stood at the classroom door and said, "Li Luo, Hua Xiuxiu, come to my office."

The class president and vice president rose from their seats and followed Kong Jun up to the fifth-floor office.

Just before entering the office, Li Luo ran into Ying Chanxi, who was coming up the other staircase.

Ying Chanxi was following Teacher Sun—she must have been called for something too.

In front of many students and teachers in the hallway, Ying Chanxi called out to Li Luo: "Li Luo! Your mom said to come home for dinner tonight—my dad's back too."

While others were still puzzling over what kind of relationship these two had, Li Luo already gave Ying Chanxi an OK sign, then walked into the office with Kong Jun.

"Next Saturday is Parent-Teacher Day. I need two assistants to serve tea and hand out materials to the parents."

Kong Jun said, "Since the students will still be on campus Saturday morning, we'll also need to manage them."

"The school's plan is to open club activities Saturday morning."

"After the parent meeting ends in the classrooms, we'll arrange for the Grade One parents to tour the clubs."

"You two will be in charge of leading them, introducing the school's clubs and their unique features."

"Here are all the official club brochures. Go over them this week."

Saying this, Kong Jun handed two folders to Li Luo and Hua Xiuxiu.

Li Luo flipped through them briefly—they were all standard official descriptions.

When he saw the Rock Club listed, he raised an eyebrow: "Are there performances scheduled?"

"Oh, you mean the Rock Club?" Kong Jun chuckled. "We've arranged a performance for the Grade One parents at the sports field. I remember you're in it—perfect chance to practice before the sports meet."

Hearing this, Li Luo—who had always been calm since his rebirth—felt unusually nervous at the thought of performing in front of his parents.

"Alright, that's all I needed. Go pack up and head home."

After leaving Kong Jun's office, Li Luo saw Ying Chanxi waiting by the stairs.

"I'm going back to my classroom to get my bag. Wait for me in your class."

"Got it."

Li Luo returned to Class Eight, planning to pack up and leave, but as soon as he stepped in, he saw Yan Zhusheng still sitting in her chair.

"Why aren't you home yet?"

"Waiting for you," Yan Zhusheng said, her eyes hopeful. "I just told the cook I won't be going home for dinner today."

"Uh..." Hearing this, Li Luo scratched his head awkwardly. "I'm going home with Xi Xi tonight—my parents cooked and are waiting for me. I won't be eating here."

Before he finished speaking, Yan Zhusheng had already pressed her lips together and lowered her head slightly: "Oh... I see."

After a few seconds, she lifted her head again: "It's fine. I'll go home then."

Li Luo opened his mouth, but said nothing to stop her.

After all, Ying Zhicheng was home today—it was a family gathering between the two households. Inviting Yan Zhusheng along would be inappropriate.

So they said goodbye at the back door of the classroom. Yan Zhusheng waved to him, then slung her bag over her shoulder and walked downstairs.

Not long after, Ying Chanxi came downstairs with her bag, found Li Luo, and the two walked together toward the school gate.

"How did you do on the exam?" Ying Chanxi asked curiously.

"Feels pretty good," Li Luo rubbed his chin thoughtfully, then glanced at Ying Chanxi. "Might even beat you."

"Oh?" Ying Chanxi looked at him with a half-smile—the smug grin of the top-ranked student in the grade. "If you really beat me, I'll grant you any wish."

"Really?"

"Of course."

"So even if I ask you to bark like a dog during the flag-raising ceremony?"

"What kind of nonsense is that?!"

"Hey! Why'd you hit me?!"

"Don't run! You're talking nonsense again!"

"You said any request!"

The two chased each other, racing from the classroom building all the way to the school gate.

As they turned toward the intersection, a car horn blared from the roadside.

Ying Zhicheng rolled down his window and watched his daughter chasing Li Luo, pounding on him. He cleared his throat twice.

Li Luo reacted first, immediately spun around, and pointed at Ying Chanxi: "Uncle Ying! Ying Chanxi's bullying me!"

Seeing her father, and then looking at Li Luo's annoying grin, Ying Chanxi's face flushed red: "I'm not!"

Ying Zhicheng chuckled and waved them over: "You two are grown-ups now—how embarrassing. Get in the car."

Around the corner of the nearby intersection.

Xu Youyu patted Yan Zhusheng's shoulder, frowning as he stared at the car tail lights driving away: "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing," Yan Zhusheng shook her head.

"Then let's go," Xu Youyu took her hand, grinning. "A classmate recommended a really good restaurant—come have dinner with me."