Class was in session—two consecutive periods of English.
Yan Yuzhu walked into the classroom cheerfully and projected everyone’s grade records onto the screen.
She had compiled all the English exam scores from the time the class was divided in their first year of high school—monthly tests, midterms, finals—all the way up to the end of their second year.
Some students maintained stable, high scores, like Xia Yanchun, Lan Fukai, and Chen Dong.
Others were just as consistent, stubbornly stuck in the 40s and 50s, like Shen Nian and Huang Chen.
Then there were those whose grades had soared steadily. Yan Yuzhu made sure to praise the students who showed significant improvement, while gently scolding those who had slipped, reminding them to work harder next time.
"This chart is mainly to remind everyone: those with good grades should maintain their momentum, those in the middle range should keep pushing, and those struggling need to put in even more effort."
"You’re all in your final year now—it’s time to take the college entrance exam seriously, blah blah..."
As she spoke, her gaze occasionally lingered on Shen Nian. In a way, those words were directed at him.
Plenty of students in the class had poor English grades, but few were willing to improve. She’d talked to some of the underperformers...
To put it bluntly, some had already given up, while others just paid lip service, promising to study hard but never even cracking open a book—pure teacher-bamboozling.
Shen Nian was different. Not only had he promised to work hard, but he also stuck to his study plans, and his weekly test scores had skyrocketed.
Yan Yuzhu was genuinely pleased. Students like him were the budding flowers of the nation’s future.
"This chart is for you to compare your own progress, identify weaknesses, and learn from those doing well."
"Take Xia Yanchun, Lan Fukai, Chen Dong, and Shen Nian, for example—you can all learn from their methods."
"Wait, Shen Nian?" A boy jeered. The class glanced at Shen Nian’s scores on the screen, from the first-year division up to the second semester of their second year:
42, 38, 50... 38, 48, 44...
How was he even in the same league as the others?
Shen Nian was baffled too. Girl, are you setting me up for a fall?
Good thing I’ve got the skills to back it up, or I’d be splattered on the pavement after this hype.
Yan Yuzhu chuckled. "Quiet, everyone. While Shen Nian’s past scores weren’t great, his recent performance has been excellent. Last week’s test? He scored a 92."
Shen Nian grinned in his seat. Teacher, stop praising me—I’m turning into an embryo from all this flattery.
The class atmosphere was lively, but not everyone was happy.
Lan Fukai’s face turned green. How the hell did I end up next to Shen Nian?
He was fuming.
......
A light drizzle fell all afternoon.
During the homeroom session, Su Kexi came in with the seating chart for the upcoming monthly exam.
Though not as major as midterms or finals, the monthly exam was more formal than weekly tests, requiring seat changes and classroom swaps—same procedure.
The difference was, some questions on the monthly exam were designed by the school or a consortium of local high schools.
Collaborative exams made it easier to compare results and foster healthy competition.
In terms of difficulty, Shen Nian felt the monthly tests were tougher than midterms but easier than finals.
After all, midterms were followed by parent-teacher meetings. The school didn’t want students scoring abysmally, so they kept the difficulty manageable—better to avoid a round of "bamboo stir-fry" at home.
Shen Nian checked his main quest:
[Unlocked Main Quest: When the Pupils No Longer Tremble.
First Hunt: Intermediate Monster. Reward: 1000 gold, Title: Flicker of Training (slight EXP gain boost)]
The title intrigued him.
In games, EXP was a given. This title was like a permanent EXP boost card, speeding up leveling.
But in reality? Most likely, it meant faster skill acquisition—learning anything a notch quicker.
Now this is a cheat worth having.
After school, classmates started packing up their books.
Exams meant switching classrooms and desks—no books allowed on the tables. Most boys stacked theirs by their feet, while girls used storage boxes or hauled them back to the dorm.
Shen Nian, however, had two desks, so he could stash most of his stuff.
As for the remaining papers and books? The genius has his ways.
"Help me store these."
"No. The box is Shi Yan’s." Xia Yanchun turned away, refusing.
Shen Nian glanced at Li Shiyan, then at the stack of papers and books nearly an inch thick.
Before he could speak, Li Shiyan caved, meekly lifting the lid of her storage box to let him dump his things inside.
"Now that’s what I call a loli with a heart of gold," Shen Nian said approvingly.
From 37-year-old glamorous loli to 37-year-old loli, and now just straight-up loli—Li Shiyan pouted, helpless. You’ve picked the wrong one to mess with—I’m as soft as cotton.
I’m almost 1.6 meters tall, not flat-chested, just a normal girl! Where’s the loli here?!
Clenching her fists, Li Shiyan stewed until class resumed. Then, in a fit of rage—she raged for exactly one second.
On her scratch paper, she drew a stick figure, labeled it Shen Nian, and connected it to a doodle of a poop-shaped superhero straight out of 4399 games.
Shen Nian, go eat sh—!
After tormenting Shen Nian on paper for the entire class, Li Shiyan finally felt better. Think you can bully me? I’ve got my ways.
"Yanchun, look—Shen Nian’s eating sh—," she whispered, sliding her masterpiece to Xia Yanchun.
"Good! He deserves it," Xia Yanchun said solemnly.
"Exactly! Shen Nian should eat sh—."
At least someone gets me. Let’s be weirdos together forever, bestie.
Shen Nian returned from the bathroom and, passing the two girls, caught a glimpse. "Oh? Drawing? And my name’s there too. Let me see what you’ve got."
Xia Yanchun remained indifferent. Li Shiyan, however, short-circuited.
"N-nothing! Just doodles!" She snapped the notebook shut, laughing nervously.
"Pretty sure I saw a turd."
"No way! You must’ve imagined it!"
Shen Nian: "..."
Even a blind man could tell you’re hiding something.
In a good mood, he let it slide and pulled out several packs of snacks from his bag, distributing them to nearby classmates.
When he got to Xia Yanchun, he tossed her an extra pack of gum. "Here. Can’t say I don’t look out for you."
"Wow, a 1.5-yuan gum. How generous," Xia Yanchun deadpanned.
"And for the loli—no need to thank me."
"Th-thank you!" Li Shiyan stared at the two mini bags of chips on her desk, cheeks pink and eyes sparkling. She suddenly regretted feeding Shen Nian imaginary excrement earlier.
Sure, he’s annoying and a total weirdo... but he’s not all bad.
Just because Shen Nian is 98% bad, does that mean we should deny the 2% good in him?
·
Taking a day off today, so only one chapter—apologies, apologies Orz.
Xia Yanchun reminds you: Due to Tomato's request for 3 million+ daily updates causing server overload, we now recommend switching to other top-tier sources.
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
'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.
