Chapter 79

QQ groups are a strange thing.

Whenever something highly viral appears online, it triggers a chain reaction within QQ groups.

One tells ten, ten tell a hundred.

In the past few days, the story that "a certain online novel author wrote an original song for a cultural fiction novel" was turned into a Duan Zi and spread rapidly through online novel-related QQ groups.

At first, it was only in author groups and reader groups, but gradually it spread to some gaming groups and anime groups, and more and more viewers came specifically to listen to "Nianlun."

The number of collections for "I Am Really Not a Star," which had originally been only 20,000, rose to 30,000 within just a few days.

Unfortunately, even more interested people, even if they knew the title "I Am Really Not a Star," would at most search for pirated copies.

Many online novel readers might not even know what the "Qidian Chinese Website" was, and had no concept of piracy versus official releases.

Nevertheless, for Li Luo, this wave of traffic brought a significant surge in reader collections, which had its benefits.

At least his average subscription count rose quickly.

If this trend continued, he had a good chance of breaking 3,000 average subscriptions this month and earning the digital badge symbolizing "Premium."

Once he entered this stage, it would signify that his online novel quality had truly entered the ranks of excellence, and he could begin considering the feasibility of going full-time.

But for a Gao Zhongsheng, Li Luo didn't need to think that far ahead yet.

As for the song "Nianlun," under this surge of traffic, it had only spread within a limited circle.

If you said it wasn't popular, a little-known nobody wrote a new song, and within just a few days, its play count on a single platform exceeded hundreds of thousands.

But if you said it was popular, it still had a substantial gap compared to truly viral songs.

It was nowhere near the popularity of the original "Nianlun" from his past life.

This confirmed one thing for Li Luo.

A song's quality is a prerequisite, but how popular it ultimately becomes depends entirely on how much traffic and attention it attracts.

A song with a billion plays is the same song as one with hundreds of thousands of plays—sometimes it's truly hard to understand the logic behind why a song goes viral.

But Li Luo didn't know that his song had not only been uploaded to all major music platforms, but also been recommended to Huayue Film and Television's upcoming TV drama as a candidate for the theme song, and was now entering the screening phase.

When Saturday arrived, Li Luo went to school as usual.

But on Saturday, there were no classes, no morning self-study; students could arrive half an hour late and then attend four consecutive self-study periods.

In short, the school had scheduled this as weekend homework time.

If the homeroom teacher had anything to handle, they would do so during these periods.

Many students, when going home for the weekend, might not have the mindset to seriously do homework.

So the academic affairs office of Fuyi High School had a simple idea.

Friday evening self-study, plus four Saturday self-study periods, plus Sunday evening self-study—surely this would get the students to finish their homework.

The remaining time: Saturday afternoon was for club activities, the kids went home to reunite with their parents in the evening, rested and entertained the next day, then returned to school in the evening.

This arrangement was perfect.

But this morning, as soon as Li Luo walked into the classroom, he noticed many students gathered in front of the podium.

In the center stood Kong Jun, holding a list.

Li Luo walked to his seat, put down his backpack, and asked Yan Zhusheng, who had arrived early, and learned that the results of the entrance exam had been released.

Curious, Li Luo approached the podium and glanced at the list in Kong Jun's hand.

After scanning it, he nodded and walked away, having a clear understanding of his own results.

Chinese: 107, Math: 99, English: 110, total score: 316, ranked 14th in class, 328th in the entire school.

On one hand, 160 top students from the elite classes had joined the competition.

On the other hand, Li Luo had no prior knowledge of the exam questions; relying solely on his Memory Palace, he lost many points in Math.

Chinese and English, though not as high as his middle school exam scores, were roughly comparable, with minimal impact.

If you excluded the 160 elite class students, his school ranking would be 168th—still a drop of over eighty places from his district rank of 86th in the middle school exam, but within an acceptable range.

But if he wanted to pass the Gaokao and enter Qianjiang University, this ranking was far from sufficient.

He needed to break into the top 100 of the entire school, and enter the rankings dominated by the elite classes, to have even a slim chance.

Fortunately, there was still plenty of time to improve gradually.

"Didn't you go take a look?" Li Luo asked Yan Zhusheng after returning to his seat.

"The teacher will announce it soon; I'm not in a hurry," Yan Zhusheng shook his head, then added, "Besides, aren't you good at remembering things? One glance and you memorize it?"

"Heh." Li Luo smiled, propped his chin on his hand, and said, "You scored 318, two points higher than me, 11th in class, 304th in school."

Yan Zhusheng's Chinese was 106 and Math was 97, slightly lower than Li Luo's, but his English was 115—very high, unsurprising given his time living abroad.

As for Li Luo's old classmates, Jin Yuting's class ranking was decent, around 30th overall.

Since she didn't have Science dragging her down, her foundation in the three main subjects wasn't bad at all.

Xu Yinghuan scored 25th—neither high nor low, a steady performance.

As for Shao Heqi… with Science, the main subject that dragged scores down, removed from the exam, his total score was 315—one point lower than Li Luo's, ranking 15th in class.

He occasionally glanced at Li Luo with a slightly gloomy expression; clearly, his mental image of a glorious comeback had failed to materialize.

But Shao Heqi was currently full of confidence, ambitious, and eager for the mid-term exam to arrive so he could make a dramatic reversal!

After all, in Shao Heqi's view, Li Luo's performance in the three main subjects had clearly declined compared to his middle school exam level.

Especially in Math—it was obvious he hadn't reviewed or maintained his level over the summer, and his true ability had immediately shown.

Shao Heqi knew very well: Li Luo had scored only 142 in Science during the middle school exam, while he himself had scored a full 162!

If you added Science, he had clearly surpassed Li Luo.

So although he remained silent now, Shao Heqi's mind was already fantasizing about a bright future.

Li Luo didn't care what Shao Heqi was thinking; he simply checked the scores of other classmates.

For example, Zhu Yufei and Zhang Guohuang—despite being clowns who constantly amused the class, their grades were actually very good.

After all, he had once taken the independent admission exam for Fuyi High School; though he failed, he still maintained a top-five ranking in his parallel class.

The top student in this class was Lu Jiahao, who loved small animals, and who had also been the math representative previously recommended by Li Luo.

The second-place student was Shi Yanran, who had once run for class monitor.

These are all real top students… Li Luo looked at these kids who scored over 330 out of 360, and couldn't help but murmur in admiration.

If he didn't study seriously, even with his Memory Palace, he couldn't have scored this high—he had no idea how these people studied.

Thinking of this, Li Luo's gaze turned to the chubby Shi Yanran in the front row, and he silently cheered her on.

Shi Yanran! I'm counting on you—when we vote for class officers, don't forget to get up on stage!

And Hua Xiuxiu!

Li Luo looked over to the other side.

Even though you only ranked 22nd this time, everyone has seen your abilities—don't back down when you run for class monitor!

As he thought this, the bell for the first self-study period rang.

Kong Junxiang called for everyone to sit down, posted the report cards on the wall, and said, "Your entrance exam scores are just for reference."

"After entering high school, each subject will present new knowledge systems for you to learn and absorb."

"Your scores will change significantly."

"So whether you did well or poorly, don't overthink it—maintain the right mindset and prepare for the coming academic life is what matters most."

Kong Junxiang said little more about the entrance exam results; after a brief remark, he changed the subject: "Next, let's handle the matter we didn't finish at the start of the term."

"Previously, our class elected a class monitor, vice monitor, and two sports officers."

"This time, we will not only elect the remaining class officers, but also recontest the four positions above."

"Same as before: any student who wishes to run may volunteer to come up on stage—I'll write all the positions on the board."

As he spoke, Kong Junxiang began writing on the blackboard, listing all positions: class monitor, Youth League secretary, study officer, labor officer, and more.

"OK." Kong Junxiang tossed the chalk into the box on the podium, then clapped his hands and said, "Now, the podium is yours."

…

More than half an hour later, the first self-study period neared its end.

Li Luo sat in his seat in the back row, falling into silence.

"So, those are the results of this election," Kong Junxiang said cheerfully, writing each position's elected student's name on the board. "Since no one ran for class monitor, Li Luo will continue as class monitor."

"Li Luo, it seems everyone is still satisfied with you as class monitor."

"In the time ahead, you must lead Class Eight well and fulfill your service duties."

Hearing this, Li Luo pulled at his mouth, forcing a smile: "Understood, Teacher Kong."

Then his gaze fell on Hua Xiuxiu in the front row, filled with frustration.

You little brat!

Where's that drive and stubbornness you had at the start of the term?

You've got zero competitive spirit!

You've gotten so used to being vice monitor, have you?

The class monitor is deeply disappointed in you.