Chen Dong arrived a step behind the others, walking into the classroom right on the dot with his backpack still on.
"A loud crack in the sky, and here I am, making my dazzling debut!"
Shen Nian and Ma Mingfan: "..."
Which mental asylum let him out? So irresponsible.
Discipline is always poor on the first day of school. The classroom was noisy. Fearing an inspection by the school leaders, Xia Yanchun had to raise her voice to keep order, lest certain people get their names written down.
"Quiet down, the bell rang!"
As soon as she spoke, Shen Nian's side quieted down.
Just kidding. They were actually still talking nonsense, only the volume had dropped from a public broadcast to a private three-person chat.
Fathers and sons separated for over twenty days, what's wrong with catching up a bit?
Although the people nearby were still whispering, Xia Yanchun couldn't hear them, so she couldn't be bothered to intervene.
As long as they didn't affect others, she just pretended they were discussing their studies.
"No moles here, let's talk some trash."
Ma Mingfan covered his mouth, his eyes locked onto the classroom door, terrified of a sneak attack from the teacher.
Any guy who could dive straight into studying on the first day of school and resist talking nonsense could instantly be promoted to a god.
"Fun fact: Eating a doctor a day keeps the doctor away much better than eating an apple a day," Chen Dong whispered.
"Damn, why didn't you tell me earlier?"
Shen Nian facepalmed. These two were really something.
Since they were already talking so much trash, it wouldn't make sense for Shen Nian not to join in.
So he also covered his mouth. "I have a stash of a video where someone makes peace signs while going 'ohohohoho.' You guys want it?"
"??" Chen Dong was instantly thrilled. "Damn bro, why didn't you say you had this earlier? Send it over!"
"You don't want it?" Shen Nian looked at Ma Mingfan.
Ma Mingfan gave a sigma male headshake and said flatly, "That kind of stuff will affect my willpower. I am a brand new me now."
"What about the old you? By the way, Zhuanzhuan is a professional second-hand..."
"I've become the new me," Ma Mingfan interrupted Shen Nian's sneaky product placement.
"Oh."
Shen Nian ignored Ma Mingfan, just assuming he had lost his mojo.
Better to just share the good stuff with Chen Dong.
He really did have a video of someone making peace signs while going 'ohohoho.' They were bros, so what else was there to say? He sent it straight to Chen Dong.
"Go search for 'Ultraman' and watch the second episode. That Alien Baltan does exactly that. As soon as it appears, it makes peace signs and goes 'ohohoho'."
"?"
Chen Dong thought for a moment. Chen Dong fell into deep thought. Chen Dong became confused.
Is-is-is this right?
Is-is-is this wrong?
Seriously, bro?!
The boy's flushed red face was louder than any curse word. Thinking of how eagerly he had anticipated it just moments ago, Chen Dong wanted to jump off a building. His nose felt itchy, like a red clown nose was about to grow on it.
The teacher walked in through the back door. Chen Dong originally wanted to curse a few times, but now he had to hold it in.
"Shen Nian, come out here for a second," Su Kexi called from the doorway.
Shen Nian was a bit puzzled but hurriedly followed her.
It didn't seem to be anything major. They didn't even walk to the teachers' office; Su Kexi stopped right in the hallway.
"The 100-day pledge ceremony is in two days. We need a student representative to go up and give a speech. The school leaders specifically requested Shen Nian from Class 11 of the senior year to take the stage as the student representative."
"Me?"
"Yes."
Su Kexi nodded, looking at Shen Nian with increasing approval.
The student representative had always been Xia Yanchun. But now, in terms of progress and grades, Shen Nian was absolutely the well-deserved choice for the 100-day pledge.
"If you can, write a draft yourself. Talk about your studies, experiences, mindset, and so on. Then let me review it. If you don't want to write it, I can write it for you," Su Kexi added. "There might be people from the TV station coming to record it. It's going to be broadcast live on the local TV station, so definitely don't get stage fright."
Having such a heavy burden suddenly dropped on him, Shen Nian didn't know what to say.
Was he already awesome enough to be personally requested by the school leaders and show his face on TV?
It was somewhat unexpected.
Shen Nian stroked his chin and decided to leave the speechwriting to Su Kexi. "I'll let you write the speech for me, teacher. If I talk about my actual experiences, no one would believe them."
"..."
Su Kexi nodded, already complaining internally. This brat actually had the nerve to act cool in front of his homeroom teacher.
Writing a draft was easy, but Shen Nian didn't really have anything relatable to share. In the end, it would rely on making things up and copying from the internet. Having Su Kexi help would be easier.
Was he supposed to tell others to copy him, sleeping at 2 AM and waking up at 5 AM, getting only three hours of sleep a day?
He might as well tell everyone to go download the game Legends of the Three Kingdoms.
Although it was his daily routine, if they couldn't manage sleeping only three hours, couldn't they at least manage playing Three Kingdoms? Maybe they could even get free eggs out of it.
AAA Shu Kingdom Egg Wholesale.
With nothing else to discuss, they chatted for another moment before Su Kexi sent Shen Nian back to the classroom.
Becoming the student representative was a good thing. Although his score still wasn't as high as Xia Yanchun's, snatching the representative role from her was his first step in pulling ahead of her.
Morning study hall ended. Coming back from the meeting, the classroom was filled with rustling sounds as a large group of students immediately slumped over their desks to sleep, Ma Mingfan and Chen Dong included.
Coming back from a break always required two days to recover.
"What did the teacher want with you just now?" Xia Yanchun asked, resting her head on two books and turning to look at Shen Nian.
Shen Nian was just itching to show off to her. "Nothing much, just that I'm going to be on TV."
"What do you mean?"
"For the 100-day pledge ceremony, I'm the student representative. I have to read a speech, and there will be TV station people there to broadcast it live."
As one of the only two top-tier high schools in the entire province, it was actually quite common for TV crews to come and record major events. He had heard that during the sports meet, a professional photography team even applied to shoot a youth documentary.
Xia Yanchun wasn't surprised about the TV part; she was surprised that Shen Nian was the student representative.
She felt a little disappointed. She had always thought it would be her again. If possible, she also wanted to be on live TV and tell her family to tune in on time. Just thinking about it felt awesome.
"That's really impressive," Xia Yanchun praised Shen Nian.
"Absolutely, absolutely. Gotta be impressive."
Shen Nian inexplicably felt like an older sister was praising her little brother. This Haji Chun really was something; at the drop of a hat, she would assume the role of an older sister and start taking advantage of him.
Delusional girl.
"I'll definitely score higher than you in the second mock exam."
"You've been saying that since the midterms," Xia Yanchun scoffed.
"Gah! Just you wait!"
Shen Nian was furious. Every day he didn't surpass Xia Yanchun, he felt physically uncomfortable.
He had been talking about surpassing her since the midterms, yet here he was, still trailing behind. What happened to "do not bully the young and poor," "do not bully the middle-aged and poor," "do not bully the old and poor"?
The only thing left was "respect for the dead," referring to the college entrance exam.
Provoked by this, Shen Nian studied even harder. He fully utilized his entire morning, filling in the gaps in his knowledge points, all to make up for that one-point difference.
He really wanted to see Haji Chun's deflated expression when she failed to outscore him.
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young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."

with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!

't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.

rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!