Come, Let Me Take You Home 10

No. 10 A Melody for the Fallen Princess

If the heart has no resting place, it wanders everywhere.

Similarly, if a person has no good intentions, they create chaos wherever they go.

School has always been a microcosm of society, ever since its inception.

Long ago, in my past life, when I was still a “model student” in this very class, I had no idea how toxic the environment was. I didn’t know that Lan Zhuoyue, the boy who often skipped class, got into fights, and talked back to teachers, was such a loyal friend. And I certainly didn’t know that Tan Lijiang, the boy who always approached me with a smile and asked questions, would say such hurtful things to his classmates.

“By the way, when you copy my homework, remember to change a few answers. Don’t copy everything.”

I finished organizing my desk just as the morning reading bell rang. I pulled out my English textbook and spoke casually.

“I know, it’s not my first time copying.”

Lan Zhuoyue scribbled away furiously. “But seriously, deskmate, were you being serious earlier? Do you actually have the answers to this English test?”

“No.”

“Then why did you make that bet with Tan Lijiang?”

“Because I won’t lose.”

“What?”

He stopped writing and stared at me. “Are you telling me you’ve been faking your bad grades all these years, just to surprise everyone in ninth grade?”

I glanced at him. “Is that a problem?”

“Hey, I’m not saying it’s a problem. I’m just saying, if that’s true, you’ll be our protector from now on.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll protect you. Happy now?”

I rolled my eyes and swatted his head with my textbook. Only after the book landed on the desk with a loud “thwack” did I realize this was one of Yi Yao’s habits as a girl.

Lan Zhuoyue, seemingly accustomed to my “princess” behavior, just laughed. “Yi Yao Xiong, you seem different today.”

“More adorable?”

“Adorable my ass. More like… more mature. Or to put it bluntly…”

I rolled up my textbook into a makeshift baton. “Bluntly what?”

“Don’t play dumb. I’m not saying another word.”

He gave me a playful shove and gestured towards the podium. “Teacher’s coming.”

“Everyone, put away your textbooks. Time for the test.”

Our English teacher was a young woman in her early twenties, fresh out of university. She lacked experience and was often bullied by the students.

Her surname was Pang, and some students had nicknamed her “Crab” behind her back. Sometimes, they even called her that to her face.

“Seriously, Crab Jie? It’s still morning reading time!”

“Less talking, more working. You have two hours to finish over a hundred multiple-choice questions. Put away your books.”

It seemed Ms. Pang wasn’t in a good mood today. She glared at the student who had spoken out of turn and handed out the test papers to the first desk of each group. “Four test papers, one answer sheet. No listening, no essay. Whoever finishes first gets graded first.”

“Hey, Yi Yao, need any help?”

Two boys sitting in front of me turned around as they passed me the test papers.

“Yeah, I can’t stand that Tan Lijiang. What you said earlier was awesome. Don’t lose.”

They were members of the “Li” faction and naturally wanted to see Tan Lijiang humiliated.

I simply shook my head. “I’m good.”

My indifference made them turn back awkwardly.

“I feel like Yi Yao’s aura is different today.”

“Me too. She seems to have changed a lot in just two days. She used to be so timid.”

Well, think what you want.

“So, what’s your plan? Google the answers?”

Lan Zhuoyue finished writing his name and student ID on the test paper and looked at me curiously.

For us ninth graders, exams were a regular occurrence: monthly exams, weekly exams, class mock exams, grade-level mock exams. We were all numb to them, let alone a small unit test like this.

I picked up my pen and replied without hesitation, “I’m going to solve them. What else?”

He pointed towards Tan Lijiang. “They’re provoking you.”

I followed his gaze. Sure enough, Tan Lijiang and a few other boys from the “Tan” faction were smirking and making faces at us.

“You can play on your phone or take a nap. I’ll wake you up when I’m done.”

I turned my attention back to the test paper.

“Damn, you’re so cool, “bro”. This is the first time I’ve seen you this confident.”

And I intend to stay this way.

I didn’t reply and started working on the test.

I remembered scoring 146 out of 150 on this test in my past life. Since it was all multiple-choice, there was no essay to drag down the average score. Tan Lijiang had come in second with 142.

Which meant…

I flipped through the pages, quickly locating the two questions I had gotten wrong and writing down the correct answers.

A perfect score shouldn’t be a problem.

Time ticked by.

Trusting me completely, Lan Zhuoyue pulled out his phone and started reading a novel, hidden behind a stack of books.

Ms. Pang noticed him several times but didn’t bother to reprimand him. Perhaps, in her mind, Lan Zhuoyue was a lost cause.

Even if he cheated, he probably wouldn’t pass anyway.

I finished the test in thirty minutes. To be safe, I double-checked my answers. Once I was certain it was a perfect paper, I transferred the answers to the answer sheet.

Just as I put down my pen, the bell rang, signaling the end of the first period.

“Those who need to use the restroom may do so. The rest of you, continue working on your test.”

Ms. Pang didn’t even look up.

“Here.” I handed my answer sheet to Lan Zhuoyue. “Change a few answers when you copy. Don’t make it too obvious.”

“I know, I know. You’ve said it like three times already.”

He glanced at Ms. Pang, who was busy grading papers, and snatched the answer sheet.

“No, what I mean is,” I took a sip of my salted water, “this is a perfect paper. You need to change more answers. Otherwise, the teacher will notice.”

“Holy shit, are you serious?”

Lan Zhuoyue looked at me as if I had grown a second head. “I’ve never seen a perfect paper in this class.”

I rolled my eyes. “Are we bros or not?”

“We are.”

“Then why don’t you believe me?”

“No, no, I believe you, I believe you.”

He gave me a sheepish smile and grabbed his pen. “I’ll change a third of the answers. I’ll hand it in first and test the waters.”

Just then, Ms. Pang’s voice rang out. “To the student in the corner, don’t test my patience. I know your capabilities. You won’t find the answers to this test on Baidu. And to the female student, if you’re done guessing, you can memorize some vocabulary instead of just sitting there.”

She was reprimanding me for finishing too quickly and Lan Zhuoyue for cheating too blatantly.

Lan Zhuoyue lowered his head and silently copied my answers. I took out my notebook and started listing the vulnerabilities and solutions I had discovered while hacking into Heavenly Fire Network Technology.

Soon, the first student finished the test and handed in his paper.

“Luo Xiaoning, 129 points. Good, you’ve improved since last time. But I suggest you spend more time checking your answers.”

Ms. Pang swiped the answer sheet through the grading machine and announced the score.

“Damn, almost 130? This test was that hard?”

“You still have time to chat? Tell me, what’s the answer to question 110?”

A wave of panic spread through the classroom.

“Beep.”

“Liang Bin, 131 points. Very good.”

“Feng Rongxiao, 125 points. A bit of a shame. You could have gotten a higher score if you had checked your answers.”

More and more students finished the test and handed in their papers.

“Zhao Guoqiang, 89 points… Why didn’t you check your answers? You had so much time! Would checking kill you?”

“Wang Jie, 105 points. Same goes for you. What’s the rush?”

“…”

It was clear from her tone that Ms. Pang was disappointed in those who finished early with low scores.

With about twenty minutes left, our group leader handed in his paper.

“Liang Tong, 135 points. Excellent. The highest score so far. You have a good chance of getting into the top three.”

As he returned to his seat, Liang Tong flipped Lan Zhuoyue off.

“I swear, I’m going to beat him up after class.”

Lan Zhuoyue, having finished copying my answers, saw Liang Tong’s gesture and clenched his fists. He grabbed his paper and walked towards the podium, returning the gesture as he passed Liang Tong’s desk.

A bunch of immature kids.

“Beep.”

“Lan Zhuoyue… one hundred… one hundred points?”

Ms. Pang, who was grading papers, looked up in shock. She grabbed Lan Zhuoyue’s shoulder as he was about to leave. “Who did you copy from?”

“Can’t I do it myself?”

He gave her an annoyed look.

You didn’t stop me from cheating earlier. Now that you have no proof, you can’t do anything about it.

“You…”

Ms. Pang realized she was at a disadvantage and waved him away. “Go back, go back. Don’t let me catch you playing on your phone during class again. I’ll confiscate it.”

“Who was playing on their phone? I was just checking the time.”

Lan Zhuoyue, oblivious to the fact that there was a clock on the wall, hurried back to his seat.

“Deskmate.” He turned to me and grabbed my shoulders, taking a deep breath. “Deskmate, tell me this isn’t real.”

“It’s real. This is not a dream.”

“You really got a perfect score? And you did it all by yourself?” He picked up my answer sheet. “I remember I only changed half the answers, and I still got a hundred.”

I removed his hands from my shoulders. “I’ve told you three times already.”

“I’m done… Ugh, there are a few questions I couldn’t solve. I probably bombed it again.”

As we were talking, Tan Lijiang stood up, his voice loud enough for the entire class to hear. “I’m done. Unlike some people, I don’t need to cheat.” He grabbed his answer sheet and walked towards the podium.

“Aren’t you going to check your answers?” Ms. Pang pointed at the clock. “You still have more than ten minutes.”

“No need.” He looked at Lan Zhuoyue and me. “I think it’s good enough, especially compared to someone.”

“Alright.”

Ms. Pang took his answer sheet.

“Tan Lijiang, 140 points. Heh, not bad, not bad. If you were a bit more careful, you could have gotten a perfect score.”

140? Did I affect him somehow? He made even more mistakes than in my past life.

“Wow! 140 points!”

“That’s probably the highest score in the history of Class 11, right?”

“How is Yi Yao supposed to beat that? She wouldn’t have enough time even if she googled all the answers…”

“Tan Ge(Brother Tan) could have gotten a perfect score if he wasn’t so cocky.”

The classroom erupted in chaos once again.

“It’s fine. This is enough.”

Tan Lijiang waved at me from the podium. “Yi Yao, are you still searching for answers?”

“Hahahahaha…”

A few students laughed.

I closed my notebook, grabbed my answer sheet, and walked towards the podium.

“Yi Yao.”

As I stood beside her, Ms. Pang finally spoke. “I saw you finish the test in less than half an hour. What have you been doing for the past two periods?”

“Reading,” I replied matter-of-factly.

“Do you have any respect for your parents? You rely on guessing for every test. Do you think you can guess your way through the high school entrance exam? Even Lan Zhuoyue got a hundred this time. How many points are you aiming for?”

Tan Lijiang chuckled. “Statistically speaking, with four options for each question, if you guessed randomly for a 150-point test, your expected score would be 60. So, Yi Yao, are you confident you can even get a 60?”

Liang Tong, who was leaning against the wall sipping his drink, chimed in. “Don’t get a 59. That would be embarrassing. Not only would you become Tan Ge’s slave, even the African tribes wouldn’t want you.”

“Hahahahaha…”

Their laughter echoed through the classroom.

The room was filled with hostility.

“My business is none of your concern.”

I said calmly, handing my answer sheet to Ms. Pang. She sighed and swiped it through the grading machine.

Having witnessed the entire drama, most of the students were now watching us intently.

The classroom fell silent.

“Yi Yao…”

“Beep.”

The sound of the machine scanning my answer sheet pierced the silence.

I saw Ms. Pang’s eyes widen in shock.

“Yi Yao… 150 points.”

Her voice trembled as she dropped the bombshell.