One Hundred Days Sprint to the High School Entrance Examination

In March, Jiangcheng had just passed its late spring cold spell, but the sunlight still lacked much warmth.

The playground was packed with a dense crowd. All the ninth-grade students, wearing their school uniforms, stood crookedly on the field.

On the rostrum, the forehead of the Balding Principal shone brightly under the direct midday sun.

The voice coming from the loudspeaker carried a static hum, passionately and rhythmically reciting the same rally speech that hadn't changed in three years.

"Students! The high school entrance exam is like thousands of soldiers and horses crossing a single-log bridge! There are only one hundred days left! We must show the courage to burn our boats..."

Chen Zhi stood at the very end of Class Three's line, shifting his weight from his left foot to his right.

Time really flew by; in the blink of an eye, the calendar had flipped to 2018.

Chen Zhi turned his head slightly, looking toward the front row.

The girl with the high ponytail, secretly using her uniform sleeve to block the sun, was Lin Wanwan.

This girl had grown up beautifully over the past three years, completely shedding her childishness. Her face was exquisite and moving, already showing the makings of a future superstar.

As a childhood friend he had known since they were in diapers, Chen Zhi had always given her the utmost favoritism, tolerating all her unreasonableness and caprice. After all, she was the "pig" he raised himself; even if he had to kneel, he would spoil her to the end.

Looking further left, Li Zhiyi had her head down, holding a palm-sized vocabulary book in her hands.

This girl had been consistently quiet for three years, very easy to bully... no, wait, easy to get along with.

Chen Zhi often teased her when he had nothing to do, discussing profound philosophical questions like "the end of studying is the grave." Watching her get red in the face, wanting to retort but unable to out-argue him, was one of the few guilty pleasures in Chen Zhi's boring academic life.

As for the one next to him.

Chen Zhi glanced at Pei Ningxue standing beside him.

The eldest Miss Pei was resting with her eyes closed. Her long eyelashes cast a small shadow under her eyelids. She stood perfectly straight, her small face exuding an aloofness that screamed "strangers keep away."

Who would have thought that beneath this exterior hid an internet-addicted girl who yelled "Rush A" every night?

Their current relationship was incredibly pure: they were good bros who teamed up to game every night, and he could even look at her legs.

Thinking of this, Chen Zhi involuntarily took out his phone, skillfully entered the password, swiped his finger across the screen, and opened the encrypted album named "Study Materials."

The screen lit up.

A photo came into view.

The background of the photo was the school computer lab. In the dim light, there was a pair of well-proportioned, dazzlingly white, long legs.

Chen Zhi took a sharp breath.

"Slurp—"

Over the past three years, his relationship with Pei Ningxue had long been elevated through countless rounds of CS.

She was a bro he could trust his back to, a comrade-in-arms with whom he could swap gear.

What's wrong with looking at a bro's legs?

As for people gossiping behind his back, saying Chen Zhi was two-timing—or rather, three-timing—and was an absolute scumbag?

Heh.

Who is it?

Step forward and show yourself.

As the class monitor holding the power of life and death over the class, second only to one person and above fifty others, Chen Zhi expressed that he was broad-minded.

As long as the brave soul spreading rumors dared to step forward, the class cleaning and toilet duties for the next hundred days would be handed over to them to experience.

"Dismissed!"

The heavenly two words finally came from the stage.

Chen Zhi put away his phone, and Lin Wanwan turned around, her almond eyes wide open.

"Chen Zhi, why didn't you invite me to play games again yesterday?"

"I just logged on to open a crate yesterday."

"Do you think I'm a noob?"

Chen Zhi's expression remained unchanged. He casually slipped his phone back into his pocket and grabbed a handful of Lin Wanwan's ponytail in passing. "No way, no way. Let's go, back to the classroom. I'm exhausted."

...

Back in the classroom, the atmosphere was visibly restless.

Having just finished the rally, these pumped-up students were in a bizarre state of intertwined excitement and anxiety.

The homeroom teacher, Wang Qian, had barely stepped into the classroom when she was called away by the grade head for an emergency meeting.

Before leaving, her sharp eyes swept across the class and finally rested on Chen Zhi.

"Chen Zhi, maintain discipline. Self-study."

Wang Qian dropped these words and ran off to her meeting.

The classroom was quiet for three seconds.

Confirming that the homeroom teacher's footsteps had vanished at the end of the corridor, Chen Zhi stood up from his seat.

Very good.

According to reliable intel, homeroom teacher Wang Qian and the other subject teachers had all been kept back for a "High School Entrance Exam Mobilization Meeting" and wouldn't be back for at least an hour.

This meant that right now, Class Three of the ninth grade belonged to Chen.

Chen Zhi strode onto the podium and slammed the blackboard eraser in his hand onto the desk.

"Smack!"

The crisp sound instantly quieted the originally noisy classroom.

Dozens of pairs of eyes looked at him in unison.

He rested his hands on the edge of the podium, looking around at the "subjects" waiting to be fed below.

"Comrades."

Chen Zhi cleared his throat. "On this exciting day, I feel we need a little spiritual nourishment to soothe our dull souls."

The dozens of pairs of eyes below instantly lit up.

"This afternoon..." Chen Zhi waved his hand grandly, "we watch a movie."

"Long live the class monitor!"

The cheers almost blew the roof off. A few boys in the back row were so excited they howled like monkeys.

This was the reason Chen Zhi had been re-elected as class monitor for three consecutive years, maintaining a poll approval rating of over 99%.

The will of the people, the expectation of the masses.

Leading the subjects of his class to occasionally balance work and play in a life filled with test papers and exercises.

If he wasn't king, who was?

Do you understand the value of being the absolute ruler of Class Three?

"Shh—"

Chen Zhi placed his index finger to his lips, making a silencing gesture.

"Keep a low profile, low profile. If we attract the dean, we're all doomed."

He bent his knuckles and knocked on the blackboard. "Old rules. Rotate by groups, everyone goes out to stand guard for five minutes. If you spot the enemy, cough immediately to warn us."

"Draw the curtains, lock the doors."

"Keep the volume at 30%."

"If there's enemy activity, everyone take out your test papers and pretend to be doing them. Your expressions must be pained and conflicted, understand?"

"Roger!"

The voices were very uniform, clearly showing they had done this plenty of times.

"Class monitor, how can we let you do this kind of menial work yourself? I'm an expert at finding movies!"

"I'll find the movie! Guaranteed high-definition uncensored... ah no, high-definition Blu-ray!"

Li Zihan pushed Chen Zhi directly out of the classroom without another word, a flattering smile on his face.

Chen Zhi stumbled from the push. Before he could react, he was already standing in the corridor.

"Click."

The classroom door was ruthlessly shut.

Chen Zhi: "..."

Damn it!

These rebellious sons!

Just to watch a movie, they don't even want their own father anymore, right?

The corridor was dead silent.

The afternoon sunlight slanted in, illuminating tiny specks of dust floating in the air.

Chen Zhi leaned against the corridor railing, staring blankly at a spider web on the ceiling.

Suddenly, the window behind him was tapped twice lightly.

"Tap, tap."

Chen Zhi turned his head slightly.

The curtain was pulled open a crack, and a delicate white hand reached out. In its palm lay an unwrapped White Rabbit creamy candy.

Immediately after, Lin Wanwan's pretty little face peeked into the gap, and she lowered her voice to say:

"Chen Zhi, open your mouth."

Chen Zhi subconsciously opened his mouth.

The milk candy, still warm from her hand, was popped into his mouth.

A rich milky sweetness instantly melted across his tongue.

Lin Wanwan smiled, her eyes curving into happy crescents. "Thanks for your hard work, Mr. Class President~ Consider this the gatekeeper's wages."

Rolling the candy around in his mouth, Chen Zhi mumbled a complaint, "You think you can bribe me with just one piece of candy?"

"Eat it or don't. If you don't want it, spit it out!"

Lin Wanwan reached out, pretending she was going to dig it right out of his mouth.

"What enters my mouth is my candy."

Chen Zhi leaned back to dodge her fair little hand, casually flicking her forehead through the curtain.

"Go back inside and watch your movie."

Clutching her forehead, Lin Wanwan made a face at him. Far from being mad, she giggled and ducked back inside.

The curtains fell shut once more.