Among the four students called to the podium, three were praised, while the English class representative—the one who most deserved praise—was criticized instead.
He hadn’t cared about it at first.
As the English class representative, someone who could score above 140 in the subject, being praised was the norm for him.
But this time, Shen Nian had unexpectedly gotten every answer right and was even praised by Yan Yuzhu.
A slacker getting praised for acing a single dictation felt like a bad person being commended for doing one good deed—as if to say, "See? They’re not so bad after all..."
He despised that kind of behavior.
Plus, the fact that Shen Nian had written all thirty-seven words correctly made him suspicious.
The weekly test had been easy, yet Shen Nian had only scored in the 60s or 70s. The idea that he’d suddenly buckled down and improved over summer break was hard to believe.
It was far more likely that Shen Nian was bluffing. If he’d gotten every word right, Lan Fukai leaned toward the possibility of cheating.
Cheating your way to a perfect score wasn’t impossible—copying half from yourself and half from Li Shiyan, avoiding the wrong answers, and somehow pulling it off. If he managed that, well, credit where credit was due.
But words alone weren’t proof. For now, it was just suspicion. The truth would come out in the exams.
Once his mental tirade was over, Lan Fukai finally returned to his seat, though the low-pressure aura around him was palpable.
Who had pissed him off this time?
Meanwhile, Shen Nian was still on the podium. "Seriously, who said I stole the test? Step forward!"
"Who said they were gonna ‘Aluba’ me? Step forward!"
"Who said I was still playing Naruto at 3 a.m.? Step forward!"
The mood grew livelier by the second. Though Yan Yuzhu found it amusing, as the teacher, she still had a lesson to conduct. She motioned for Shen Nian and the others to return to their seats.
She wasn’t new to teaching. The petty dramas of high school boys weren’t exactly hard to decipher.
Shen Nian just wanted to show off—she could tell. There was nothing wrong with livening up the class occasionally, so she played along, praising him to satisfy his little ego trip.
The energy in the room shot up immediately, which was great for morale.
Now that his moment was over, it was time to focus on the lesson.
Back in his seat, Shen Nian was still riding the high.
He hadn’t even gotten to brag about pulling an all-nighter to study English.
Not that it was entirely a lie—he had actually pulled an all-nighter for English once.
As for "stealing the test"? That was nonsense. He studied openly—at home, in class, everywhere.
I just put in a little effort, and now they’re all scared.
Einstein chose to die fifty years before I was born. Guess even he knew better than to compete with me.
Am I really just that amazing?
The thought made Shen Nian hum to himself smugly.
Lunch break arrived, but the teacher had dragged the lesson overtime. By the time they were dismissed, the cafeteria was already packed. Shen Nian didn’t rush with Chen Dong.
Only a few girls remained in the classroom. Shen Nian lingered, listening to their chatter and occasionally chiming in.
At 12:30, he headed to the cafeteria with Xia Yanchun and a couple of other girls.
He had no issue eating with girls.
While other boys his age still acted like hanging out with girls was embarrassing, Shen Nian had long since integrated himself into their circles.
Other guys: "Hanging out with girls? What, are you a sissy?"
Shen Nian: "Nah, they’re the ones who wanna hang with me. This is just my life."
He’d once seen a classmate turn beet red just because a girl asked him for help with homework.
To him, there was nothing weird about it. It wasn’t like they were crossing any lines—he couldn’t understand why some guys acted so flustered around girls.
After lunch, he dragged Xia Yanchun to the school store and bought two peanut-flavored ice cream bars.
He used to eat these all the time as a kid, but ever since discovering Chocliz, he’d forgotten about them.
Ah, the fickleness of love.
Back in the classroom, they were the only ones left. Someone had left the multimedia system on, so Shen Nian took the opportunity to play some music.
"What do you wanna hear?"
"Anything. Just instrumental."
"Got it."
"You did really well in English today. Keep it up."
"Ugh, why does everyone sound like a teacher now?" Shen Nian groaned. He queued up a soft instrumental track, then plopped down in Li Shiyan’s seat, grinning. "Since I’m so amazing, don’t I deserve a reward?"
"Pfft. What’s your success got to do with me? And a reward? I score high all the time—where’s my reward?"
"Fine, I’ll give you one. I’ll smack you in the face with money. Hard."
"Really? Please, do it. Smack me with money. Right now." Xia Yanchun’s eyes lit up.
Shen Nian gave her a weird look. "You into that?"
"If getting smacked with money counts, then sure, I guess I am."
"Well, if you insist..." Shen Nian sighed dramatically. "Not the most dignified kink, but as your childhood friend, I’ll indulge you this once."
He stood, walked back to his desk, and rummaged through his bag before pulling out a few coins—
All fifty-cent pieces.
Some were silver, others gold.
Stores sometimes gave these as change, either for candy or just loose coins. These were leftovers from Shen Nian’s shopping trips.
"Didn’t know you were into this, Xia Yanchun. I’m disappointed. I’m telling your mom you’re a masochist."
"Shut up!"
Who knew he meant coins?!
Getting hit with those would leave bruises!
Xia Yanchun’s face flushed, and suddenly, her ice cream didn’t taste as good.
"You asked me to smack you with money."
"I didn’t mean coins!"
"Coins aren’t money? What, are you a walking scammer?"
"Idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot!"
Xia Yanchun huffed, her chest rising and falling angrily, face burning.
Don’t get mad, don’t get mad. Anger shortens your lifespan. Gotta live long enough to dance on Shen Nian’s grave.
The angrier the enemy, the more it proved he was winning. Shen Nian activated his "The More You Hate Me, The Happier I Am" system. Getting scolded by Xia Yanchun felt better than winning the lottery.
"Bro, you curse like you’re flirting."
"I’ll bite you."
"Ooh, feisty. Go ahead."
He offered his arm generously.
"Ew, your skin’s all sticky like crispy duck skin. Disgusting."
"Then why’d you ask?"
Shen Nian loved this dynamic—the pure, adversarial energy between him and Xia Yanchun, like sworn enemies.
He sat back in Li Shiyan’s seat, picking up Xia Yanchun’s notebook to fan himself.
The breeze tousled the girl’s hair. She shot him a sidelong glance. "You’ve changed a lot lately."
"How so?"
"You’ve gotten way more motivated. And you talk more."
Shen Nian tilted his head. "Find it charming?"
"I guess... A guy who works hard is kinda attractive." She didn’t deny it, though her tone carried a hint of thoughtfulness.
"Then it’s settled. ‘Cause I’m too charming, baby~ baby, just too damn charming~ ♫"
Xia Yanchun: "..."
This guy’s unbearable.
Afternoon sunlight blazed outside.
Shen Nian hadn’t napped much, opting instead to sit beside Xia Yanchun and quietly review other subjects.
After too much time spent memorizing English, it's good to review other subjects occasionally.
With the multimedia system turned off, the hum of the ceiling fan filled the entire classroom, and Shen Nian could even hear the soft, rhythmic breathing of the girl beside him.
The girl rested her head on a small pillow, her plump cheeks slightly squished together—adorably pinchable.
Studying next to Xia Yanchun had its own unique charm.
Yanxi reminds you: Due to Tomato's request for 3 million+ daily visits overwhelming the server, we now recommend switching to other top-tier sources.
pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
iemie, male, Race: Moon. Hobby: Collecting anomalies. At first, he thought he possessed two systems: the Crimson Rainbow Moon and the Clear Cold Frost Moon. One day, he discovered that he himself could also become a system for others, holding the chessboard of fate. The Eighth Epoch, also known as the Eternal Moon Epoch. Humans, witches, elves, bloodline descendants, specters, demons, and spirits together compose a new history. Walking the path on behalf of the moon, before he knew it, Chen Miemie's footsteps were followed by all manner of strange and wondrous anomalies. As time passed, many titles circulated about him—The King in Yellow, Lord of Anomalies, Heart of the Eternal Moon, and more. "Me? I'm just a traveler who enjoys collecting interesting creatures," Chen Miemie said.
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
