The Pride of Youth

The heavy rain had been pouring for two days, but by Saturday morning, it gradually stopped.

As the clouds parted to reveal clear skies after two gloomy days, the azure expanse finally appeared, with delicate strands of sunlight filtering through. Viewed through an appreciative lens, such a common sight could still be breathtakingly beautiful.

In the same world, ordinary people and photographers perceive things differently—photographers have an eye that more easily captures beauty.

Though Shen Nian wasn’t a photographer, he knew how to take pictures.

Pointing his phone at the sky, he snapped away. "The sun isn’t too strong, and the weather’s not hot. Hah, this kind of weather is just perfect."

"Autumn’s here," Xia Yanchun remarked casually between bites of her steamed bun.

By six in the morning, the southern sky was already bright, with clouds drifting lazily. The ground bore traces of the recent downpour—damp and slick, splashing muddy water onto the backs of legs with every step, staining pants.

Xia Yanchun always liked walking ahead when she was with Shen Nian. He never quite understood why—her short legs made it a challenge for her to keep the lead, and overtaking her would’ve taken him just a couple of strides.

But Shen Nian didn’t dwell on it. Walking behind her had its perks—inhaling the faint floral scent she left in her wake, watching the playful sway of her short ponytail. It was oddly endearing.

"Why don’t you grow your hair out?" Shen Nian quickened his pace to catch up, unable to resist teasing the tiny ponytail with his finger.

"Just don’t feel like it. What, does short hair look bad on me?" Xia Yanchun shot him a sidelong glance.

"Nah, it’s just that no hairstyle suits you anyway."

"Same goes for you."

"I’m a handsome devil, you’re just plain ugly."

"Ugh, get away from me. Don’t infect me with your nonsense, you cringey creep."

......

Back at school, the athletic field no longer bore traces of the first-year military training. In fact, the entire campus felt quieter than usual.

Thanks to the new workload reduction policy, first and second-year students now had weekends off—except for the third-years.

Such was the life of a senior. Even with the policy in place, weekend classes were still mandatory, though the half-day break had been extended to a full day.

Typically, classes ended on Saturday afternoon, and students returned on Sunday evening.

Day students enjoyed certain privileges—like skipping Sunday evening self-study sessions if they chose to, needing only a quick heads-up to the homeroom teacher via text.

Rumor had it that the previous senior class had it worse—one day off every two weeks, plus a two-day monthly break. Just thinking about it made Shen Nian break into a cold sweat. Lucky for their batch, the workload reduction policy had come just in time.

Saturdays were mostly self-study sessions, meant for students to manage their time and complete weekly tests.

There were supervising teachers, but with one overseeing multiple classes, they usually just sat in the office. With less oversight, the study atmosphere naturally felt more relaxed.

Having stayed up late memorizing vocabulary the night before, Shen Nian’s eyelids grew heavy, and he couldn’t resist resting his head on the desk for a bit.

Before he knew it, he’d slept through an entire class. Oops, my bad.

If given the choice between a seductive succubus and napping during class, Shen Nian would unhesitatingly pick the latter.

No one could resist the allure of dozing off in class—not even Shen Nian, because he was a firm believer in the supremacy of cuteness.

Sexiness paled in comparison.

After a full class of sleep, he felt somewhat refreshed—until he noticed the neighboring desk piled high with oversized test papers.

Seriously? Is senior year really this brutal?

Terrifying.

[Side Quest Triggered: The Vigor of Youth!

As you embark on your journey, you encounter a carriage under attack by ferocious monsters. These creatures are savage by nature, and only the capable can stand against them. As an adventurer, it is your duty to aid the besieged carriage and slay the monsters!

Rewards: 1,000 gold coins; Passive Skill: Vigor of Youth (continuous restoration of physical stamina, heightened combat focus).]

Huh?

A passive skill?

Shen Nian stroked his chin. If passive skills were a thing now, did that mean active skills were next?

A sword strike that splits the heavens?

Ultimate Fireball?

You have your nukes, I have my grand magic!

No beef for me, thanks.

Day 1: I belong to Earth.

Day 2: Earth belongs to me.

Day 3: Beware the superhero.

Day 4: The happy superhero.

Day 5: The unhappy superhero.

(Referring to the cartoon "Happy Heroes.")

If things really went that way, the world would probably descend into chaos. Absolute supremacy might be nice, but it’d also be ridiculously fun.

Shen Nian scrutinized the quest details—another monster-slaying task.

The "Divine System" was forcefully interpreting test papers as monsters. Not entirely unexpected.

Plus, this side quest overlapped almost perfectly with the main quest—both involved defeating monsters, meaning one action could complete two objectives.

That was pretty efficient.

Back when he played games, this kind of thing happened often—just playing normally would inadvertently complete multiple quests and achievements.

Nice.

Well, no point overthinking it. Time to study.

Weekly tests weren’t formal exams—more like open-book assessments relying on honesty. No one would stop you from cheating if you really wanted to.

Shen Nian started with the English test. In the past, he’d have waited for Chen Dong to finish and then copied his answers, tweaking a few to avoid suspicion.

The teachers could probably tell he was cheating, but they rarely bothered to intervene.

This time was different. Shen Nian filled out the test on his own, even mustering enough words for the essay.

His vocabulary wasn’t quite up to par, so his answers were rough in places, but passable.

"You want my English test?" Chen Dong, accustomed to Shen Nian copying from him, offered his paper as soon as he finished.

"No need. I’ve already completed mine," Shen Nian replied with a smug grin, startling a girl who happened to be passing by for water.

A 20-year-old college student’s smug grin might come off as cringey, but an 18-year-old high schooler’s exuded youthful confidence.

Had Shen Nian always been like this?

Over the past week, there’d been moments when he seemed oddly charismatic—though that charm vanished upon closer inspection.

"You’re done already?" Chen Dong sounded surprised. "Let me see."

"Here."

"Wow, you got quite a few right. Looks like at least sixty points."

"Well, it’s not a blank sheet. Secretly, while you were napping in the dorm, I was grinding away in the classroom."

"You absolute menace!"

"Bathroom break. Let’s go."

"Let’s go."

During break time, most students lingered in the hallway, enjoying the breeze.

Xia Yanchun glanced at Shen Nian’s desk and couldn’t resist checking his English test.

Huh. He actually got a fair number right, even jotting down translations and underlining words—definitely not just lucky guesses.

If on Monday she’d still doubted whether Shen Nian was pretending to study while actually slacking, now she was fully convinced he was genuinely putting in effort.

Faking diligence might fool yourself, but it couldn’t fool your grades.

This guy… suddenly turned serious. Did he have some kind of enlightenment?

Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, Xia Yanchun made up her mind. As a reward for his hard work, she’d treat him to an ice cream.

A peanut-flavored one, worth two-fifty.

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