You always say I'm not serious, but even when I am serious, you never treat me as a serious person.

There’s another new main quest…

Defeat ten intermediate-level monsters, huh? Damn system, you better not mean only the official monthly exams count as intermediate-level monsters.

Ten months from now, I’ll already be graduated—where am I supposed to grind monthly exams then? Clearly, this means I have to complete ten sets of monthly exam papers…

The [Intermediate Adventurer] title not only adds one point to Charm but also two points to Stamina.

That’s actually somewhat useful, way better than the [Rookie Adventurer] title.

Class ended, and Chen Dong turned around, pointing dramatically like a martial arts master. “Bro, are you trying to ascend to the heavens? How did you climb into the top ten?”

“All that effort actually paid off, huh? Others struggle for a year without even gaining fifty points, and you speedrun eighty points in a month?

With skills like that, were you just playing dumb in your first two years? Nice, nice, nice.”

“Just happened to work out. Next time, I’ll be sitting on your head.”

Chen Dong used to doubt it, but now he was starting to panic.

Maybe… this guy really could pull it off.

If he could maintain a score of 620, top-tier 985 and 211 universities would be a sure thing. Damn, Shen Nian, you’re the dark horse of the year.

Ma Mingfan, eavesdropping nearby, was also shaken. They were all scoring around 550—how did you jump to 620 after one break?

This is so unfair.

Popular with girls, academically gifted, and hardworking? What kind of perfect-life protagonist is this? Someone like this would succeed at anything.

“Don’t worry, Head-Pat Bro. You might not be much, but you’re a beast at Naruto. It’ll work out. Keep at it—as long as you keep grinding Naruto, you’ll eventually find your Hinata.

“Back in my hometown, there was this guy who only played Naruto. His family kept urging him to go out and find a girlfriend, but he only cared about Naruto. Then, at sixty, he met a billionaire female CEO from Shanghai who also loved Naruto. He married into wealth, living a life of luxury and happiness.”

Ma Mingfan: “…”

He finally saw it—Shen Nian was petty as hell. So what if I patted your head for half an hour? Holding a grudge like this…

Fine, I’ll just delete Naruto when I get home, kick the head-pat habit, and download Sylphy instead. That way, if I ever feel the urge to pat something, I’ll have an outlet.

Not that I actually want to play it, of course. It’s like how people quitting smoking keep candy around—you need a substitute to break the habit.

The moon was bright, the stars sparse, and the aroma of barbecue wafted from a roadside stall.

Shen Nian nudged Xia Yanchun with his elbow. Xia Yanchun, frail and unsteady, wobbled slightly and glared. “What?”

“You’ve gotten so weak. Where’s the big sister who used to blow up cow dung?”

But a delicate Xia Yanchun was cute too.

At the word “sister,” Xia Yanchun’s ears instantly turned red, as if triggered by some programmed response.

The night was too dark to see clearly, but the harder she tried to hide it, the more obvious it became. Eventually, she gave up. If Shen Nian could still spot her blushing in this darkness, she’d just accept defeat!

“That was back then. It’s different now.”

“Heh heh heh, did you see my score?”

“Yeah,” Xia Yanchun huffed. “Pretty mid.”

“Next time, I’ll be sitting on your head. Believe it—I’m definitely surpassing you.”

“Sexual harassment again. I’ll tell your dad and have him whip you with the belt.”

Shen Nian choked. “How is that harassment? I’m talking purely about grades here. Dead serious…”

If he really wanted to harass her, he wouldn’t have included the word “surpass.”

“You’re always calling me a pervert, but even when I’m being serious, you don’t take me seriously. Exposed, Chun-bao! You’re the dirty-minded one!”

“Y-You’re the dirty one!”

Xia Yanchun pouted. It wasn’t her fault—Shen Nian had always been such a troublemaker. This was just the consequence of his bad reputation. He gave off major delinquent vibes.

Girlboss mode: activated.

Shen Yue was asleep as usual. After showering, Shen Nian sat in his room and worked on some practice papers.

The quest required defeating ten intermediate-level monsters, and since monthly exams counted as intermediate-level monsters, that meant completing ten sets of monthly exam papers.

Workbooks usually compile final exams from different regions, and the “Five-Three” series is a mix of mock college entrance exams and past exam questions. With so many questions, none of them formed a complete monthly exam paper.

Finishing ten sets is easy—finding ten sets is the hard part…

Time to consult the magical internet!

Free downloads? Perfect!

Wait, what do you mean I need to pay for a ¥198/month website membership to “freely” download the papers?

Wow. So generous.

Final day of the sports meet—time to slack off.

The morning event was the senior-year relay race, with every class participating. Some girls had organized a cheer squad to rally for their classmates, and even Xia Yanchun and Li Shiyan joined in for fun.

Shen Nian, however, was different. He and Ma Mingfan sneaked off to the teaching building.

Originally, they planned to pack up the books they’d need for the National Day break, but when they returned to the classroom, they found Chen Qiuyu writing on the blackboard with chalk.

Chinese National Day homework: Five argumentative essays.

Math National Day homework: Two Beijing exam papers.

English National Day homework: Memorize all vocabulary from the first-year units—dictation test after the break.

This can’t be right. Since when did the blackboard grow National Day homework? And so much of it?

“Stop! Ya… yamero! Didn’t I tell you not to write? Are you deaf or something?” Ma Mingfan’s voice arrived before he did, carrying three parts despair, three parts wailing, and three parts fury as he pointed accusingly at Chen Qiuyu.

Funny? All I see is a broken high school student.

Chen Qiuyu jumped, thinking a groundhog had learned to speak. “The teacher told me to write this…”

“Please, just stop!”

What is the most despair-inducing text in the world?

Answer: Holiday homework assignments.

Shen Nian counted—six subjects, twenty-one exam papers. The chemistry teacher went all out, assigning five chemistry papers alone.

Classical poetry and English vocabulary weren’t spared either.

Shen Nian smiled warmly.

Bro, I didn’t even do my summer homework. You think I’ll do National Day homework?

He was betting that the teachers wouldn’t check and would just go over the answers in class. Win the bet, and he’d enjoy seven days of freedom. Lose, and he’d face certain doom. But true adventurers live on the edge.

“No worries. If I don’t like the homework, I just won’t do it.”

Ma Mingfan paused, then nodded. “Respect. Count me in.”

Chen Qiuyu blinked. Why did that sound kinda sus?

“Hey, are the teachers in the office?”

“Yeah, a bunch of them are. They have to be at the closing ceremony soon.”

“Aight.”

Shen Nian flashed a thumbs-up and slipped off to the “Genius Retirement Home” (teacher’s office). Peeking through the window, he saw nearly all the teachers inside.

Ugh, even “Dream Tears” (the history teacher) is here. Don’t wanna go in now…

But he had business to attend to, so he knocked on the door half-heartedly.

“Come in.” Su Kexi glanced at Shen Nian, but remembering his recent astronomical improvement, her tone softened.

Fine, you’re forgiven.

What teacher wouldn’t adore a student who turned things around like this?

“What is it, Shen Nian?”

“Nothing much. I’m here for Teacher Yan.”

Su Kexi: “…!!”

Sniff… Getting the cold shoulder from a student. I wanna die. Only two hotpot trips during the break can fix this.

Shen Nian sidled up to Yan Yuzhu and grinned. “Teacher, I’ve got a tiny favor to ask…”

"Hmm?" Yan Yuzhu arched her eyebrows with a soft chuckle. "What's the matter?"

"Teacher, could you help me find past monthly exam papers? Even test papers from other schools would work."

"Hmm?"

A student coming to the classroom to ask a teacher for exam papers—what a rare, diligent pupil.

Another English teacher glanced over curiously, only to relax upon recognizing Shen Nian.

This was the same person who had once asked her for weekly English test answers. At this point, nothing he did was surprising.

Yan Yuzhu tilted her head slightly. "I can, but why do you need them?"

"To practice. Teacher, you’ve heard of the 'question bombardment' tactic, right?" Shen Nian answered plainly. He wasn’t just planning to practice—he intended to tackle ten full sets. Even Ip Man would shake his head at that.

"Those websites online are such scams. They won’t let you download complete papers without a membership, and subscriptions are monthly—198 yuan a pop. Students can’t afford that. But teachers probably have tons of exam documents lying around, right? That’s why I thought of asking for help..."

"Oh, I see. Alright, I’ll sort some out for you later."

"Thanks, Teacher! Oh, and I only need monthly exams—ten sets, please."

"Pfft—"

Ten sets?

That’s sixty subjects’ worth of papers. Sixty exams!

Were the National Day homework assignments too light this year? Here was a student complaining they weren’t enough and asking for ten extra sets!

Maybe next time, they should increase the workload without extending the holiday.

Yanxi reminds you: Due to Tomato’s daily server overload from over three million requests, we now recommend switching to other big shots’ sources: