After reprimanding Huang Chen, Yan Yuzhu began her regular class.
Honestly, ever since Shen Nian started taking English seriously, he no longer felt drowsy during English lessons—mainly because he could actually understand what the teacher was saying.
For those who get sleepy just looking at math problems, 99% of them aren’t exactly math whizzes.
Shen Nian, on the other hand, only grew more energized the more math problems he solved. To him, variables like X were like zongzi—he just wanted to dissect them ruthlessly, filling them with formulas and calculations.
English was similar. Even the letter S started looking elegant to him.
Those alluring curves… Sorry, he was getting a bit too carried away with the letter S.
Anyone who could resist such thoughts was practically a saint.
Shen Nian paid decent attention in class, though sometimes his "auto-targeting" feature malfunctioned, locking onto Yan Yuzhu’s legs.
A glance was respect; staring was continuous respect.
Of course, Shen Nian wasn’t that far gone. After a moment of "respect," his gaze shifted to Chen Dong.
Watching Chen Dong stare unblinkingly at the blackboard, Shen Nian felt a surge of pride. Sure, this kid pretended to hate his grind, but secretly, he was the real tryhard—top five in the class wasn’t achievable without effort. Look at him now, studying so diligently.
"Wait, where were we again?" Chen Dong, noticing Yan Yuzhu glancing his way, immediately snapped back to his performative focus.
Shen Nian: "…"
Oh. So you were just spacing out.
Locked onto the English teacher’s legs, huh? Figures.
When the final English class ended, half the class had already left.
Yan Yuzhu packed her things and stopped by Shen Nian’s desk before leaving. She clenched her fist and said warmly, "Shen Nian, I checked your dictation—you got every single word right! Keep it up!"
Her voice was sweet, her smile radiant. This was Yan Yuzhu, the English teacher of Class 11, Grade 12.
Shen Nian melted into a puddle, scratching his head with a goofy grin.
"Got it, teach."
"You didn’t cheat, right?"
"Teacher Yan, how could you accuse me?!" Shen Nian blurted, even slipping into archaic phrasing in his panic.
Getting caught cheating would’ve made him cry.
Wait—no, today’s dictation was 100% legit! Since when was cheating involved?
Back in his second year, Shen Nian relied on cheat sheets for English dictations. Yan Yuzhu’s question triggered his old reflexes, but then he remembered: he’d upgraded from "English disaster" to "English semi-disaster." His confidence surged.
Would a teacher really falsely accuse a student? That’d ruin her reputation, wouldn’t it?
Teacher, you wouldn’t want anyone finding out you slandered a student, would you…?
Luckily, Yan Yuzhu just chuckled. "I believe you didn’t cheat this time. I was watching you from the podium—every move you make is clear to me. I’d know if you cheated."
She then pulled a bottle of Wangzai milk from her bag and placed it on Shen Nian’s desk. "A reward for your hard work. Keep it up!"
“Woohoo! Thanks, Teacher Yan!” Shen Nian’s favorability skyrocketed.
You know what? I’ve always respected Teacher Yan. Never once badmouthed her behind her back.
"Shen Nian, you’ve been very diligent this week…"
"Yeah? What’s up, teach?" Sensing she had more to say, Shen Nian perked up.
"I’d like to create a customized English study plan for you—to help you improve faster. How does that sound?"
"Seriously? That’s amazing!" Free tutoring? Who’d say no?
"Great! I’ll prepare the plan, and you’ll follow it. No pressure if you miss a day, but completing it comes with rewards. Do your best!"
Yan Yuzhu’s tone was gentle as she left the classroom.
Shen Nian froze.
Rewards for completing tasks? This feels familiar…
What kind of plot is this? Feels like I’ve stumbled into some… questionable movie.
Not that I’d complain…
Is this the "high schooler targeted by hot neighbor sis" trope?
Or "junior employee stuck on a business trip with lonely beautiful boss"?
Time-stop scenario? Sure.
Wait—what’s this "sleeping husband" tag?
NTR?!
Back in the office, Yan Yuzhu couldn’t resist venting to Su Kexi about Shen Nian’s recent progress.
A student who’d given up on English suddenly putting in effort? Any teacher would be thrilled.
Shen Nian’s scores hovered near the first-tier university cutoff. Boosting his English could easily push him into top-tier range.
No teacher would refuse to help a willing student.
"Shen Nian has been working hard lately," Su Kexi agreed. At least his motivation was up—that alone was progress.
"I’m drafting a study plan for him." Yan Yuzhu was brimming with energy.
She genuinely wanted her students to succeed. Every teacher did. She’d gladly pull up the class’s English stragglers, but most had outright given up on the subject.
Shen Nian used to be one of them—until his sudden enlightenment gave her hope. If he was willing to learn, she’d pour everything into helping him.
That’s what teaching’s about.
So she got to work:
—Daily vocabulary dictations in her office…
—Custom grammar charts tailored to his level…
—Extra practice tests from other provinces each week…
At lunch, Shen Nian couldn’t shake a looming sense of doom.
The rain hadn’t let up by noon.
Still slightly damp (he’d forgotten his umbrella), Shen Nian had squeezed under Chen Dong’s tiny umbrella on the way to the cafeteria. Getting back? Another soaking.
Two 6-foot dudes crammed under one umbrella?
Girls sharing an umbrella? Cute.
Guy and girl sharing? Romantic.
Two guys? Disastrous.
It wouldn’t have been a big deal—until Xia Yanchun trailed behind them and deadpanned, "Wow, Sichuan opera in the wild."
Chen Dong’s soul left his body.
Why the hell am I getting wet when I brought my own umbrella?!
Why couldn’t Shen Nian be a sweet, soft vanilla cake instead?!
If he were a sweet, soft cake though…
Chen Dong spent the walk back to the dorm cursing under his breath.
In the classroom, Shen Nian borrowed tissues from Xia Yanchun to dry his hair. "How long’s this rain gonna last?"
"All day. Don’t get your hopes up," she said flatly, flipping open her physics workbook before break time ended.
This one? The grindiest of grinders. The MVP of tryhards.
"Physics, huh? Ask me if you’re stuck. I’ve got you."
"Are you even older than me? Call me jie."
"Snow leopard, shut up."
"…" Xia Yanchun pouted and deliberately stacked her books to the left—piling them high enough to block Shen Nian from view.
Looking at him makes me want to slap him—doing so would only fuel violent tendencies. Avoiding Shen Nian is for his own good.
"Here, for you." Shen Nian placed the bottle of Wangzai Milk on top of Xia Yanchun's stack of books.
No hidden meaning—just because he’s kind.
"Hmph, finally learning to be filial to me?" Xia Yanchun accepted it without a second thought, sipping slowly through the straw. When she pulled away, a thin, glistening strand of milk still clung to her lips.
Noticing a damp patch on Shen Nian’s clothes, Xia Yanchun tossed him a small pack of tissues. "Dry your clothes a bit, or you’ll catch a cold."
"If I do, you’ll be the first one I infect."
Shen Nian’s motto? Repay kindness with mischief.
Yanxi Reminder: Due to Tomato’s request for 3 million+ daily updates, server pressure has skyrocketed. We now recommend switching to other top-tier sources.
agon king storylines. At the start, I obtained the "Ultimate Lackey System" - the more I act as a lackey, the stronger I become. What else could I do? I chose to become the personal henchman of the ultimate villain, Su Muwan. I provoke all sorts of chosen ones, snatch away their opportunities, and commit every evil deed imaginable. You ask who's behind me? Hmph! You're not worthy of knowing my lady's name! ...... ....... I am Su Muwan, the eldest daughter of the Su family. Since childhood, I've possessed extraordinary talent in martial arts, which led to my arrogant and domineering personality in my past life. I was even foolish enough to repeatedly challenge those favored by heaven, ultimately resulting in a tragic death. In this life, I must behave and absolutely cannot walk the same path again!! However... SLAP!! "So you're the Dragon King, huh?!" When I saw my little lackey swagger over and viciously slap the Dragon King who was hiding his identity, I felt my heart sink. Su Muwan's suspended heart finally died as she watched Qin Luo, her utterly loyal lackey, standing before her. She fainted on the spot from shock. Heaven is determined to destroy me!! (Pure love 1v1, light-hearted, no angst, single female lead, villain, reincarnation, lackey)
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
