Chapter 4 Part 1

The monthly exam results came out quickly. Chi Nuan took first place in her class and ranked twenty-first in her grade.

He Liwen sternly criticized a certain classmate in the class for sleeping during the exam and openly handing in a blank paper. Although she didn’t name anyone directly, everyone in the class knew exactly who she meant, and they all turned to look at Zhou Damao in unison.

He Liwen raised her eyebrows. “Even if you just randomly guessed on a few multiple-choice questions, you wouldn’t score zero, would you!?”

Zhou Damao proudly puffed out his chest. Catching sight of Gu Ningzi’s paper out of the corner of his eye, he gave her a thumbs-up. “Impressive, New Student.”

For a Zero-Score Specialist like him, there was no classmate he couldn’t befriend.

Gu Ningzi hugged her arms and ignored him disdainfully.

In the following classes, every teacher analyzed the monthly exam papers. Gu Ningzi deeply felt the differences in teaching between the north and south; in short, she couldn’t understand any of it. Since she couldn’t understand, she simply stopped listening altogether. Like Zhou Damao, she buried her head and went to sleep.

The math teacher for Class 6 was surnamed Mo, known as Old Mo. Approaching fifty, he was short in stature but had a massive temper. When he lost it, he didn’t just curse at students—he even went after Director Guo Dezhi.

Old Mo held the exam paper in his left hand and tucked his exclusive Bamboo Teaching Whip under his right armpit as he explained while pacing around the classroom.

Then he stopped at the last desk in group four.

After the weekend break, the class had rearranged seats, with the original group three moved to group four.

Zhou Damao and Gu Ningzi were sleeping soundly, dead to the world.

Old Mo cleared his throat loudly on purpose, lingering by their desks as he read the exam question with exaggerated intonation.

…

Gu Ningzi didn’t so much as twitch. Zhou Damao seemed somewhat disturbed, mumbling something under his breath before turning his head and continuing to sprawl asleep.

…

The classroom fell deathly silent.

Old Mo’s face turned ashen. He raised the teaching whip high and slammed it down hard!

The bamboo whip cracked against the desk with a crisp, resounding snap. Zhou Damao jolted awake in fright, his body springing upright.

Old Mo kept banging the desk—”Bang bang bang!” “Where are your papers? You two, hand over your math exam papers right now!”

Gu Ningzi slowly lifted her head, taking a moment to react. She rubbed her eyes and rummaged in her desk drawer.

The two papers were laid out on the desk at the same time. The moment Old Mo saw the bright red scores on them, he sucked in a cold breath through his teeth as if his molars ached. He jabbed the whip at them. “Look at this! Just look! …Go stand at the back of the classroom and listen!”

Zhou Damao stood up with practiced ease, while Gu Ningzi leaned against the wall, bored out of her mind as she pulled her phone from her pocket.

The moment Zhou Damao saw her open a game interface, he eagerly leaned over to peek. Old Mo walked back to the podium and, turning around, spotted the two of them. He exploded in rage and jumped up on the spot.

“Get out! Get out! Go stand outside the classroom as punishment!”

…

Chi Nuan turned her head. Zhou Damao and Gu Ningzi walked out of the classroom, but they hadn’t stood there for two seconds before they vanished.

After math class came music class, held in Music Room 1 in Chenglan Building. The classmates grabbed their books and headed there, and Chi Nuan was about to leave too when the class’s most studious Study Committee Member blocked her path.

“Class Monitor, I didn’t quite get that question Old Mo just explained. Could you go over it with me again?”

“Sure.” Chi Nuan took his pen and scratch paper.

Chi Nuan explained it in detail. The Study Committee Member stared bitterly at the auxiliary lines, lost in thought for a long while before speaking. “Thank you so much! Let’s head to music class first, and you can explain this one to me after.”

Chi Nuan: “…”

Study Committee Member: “Hurry, there are only two minutes left before class starts!”

With that, he dashed out like a gust of wind.

Chi Nuan pulled out her Music Textbook. It was too late to run there now without being tardy. Music class was mostly music appreciation anyway, so she figured she’d sneak in through the back door later.

Chi Nuan entered Chenglan Building and nearly bumped into a clean-cut, handsome boy coming the other way.

As they brushed past each other, the boy let out a “Huh?” and grabbed Chi Nuan’s ponytail, wrapping it around his hand once.

“Pretty smooth, huh.” The voice was sleazy and raspy, completely at odds with his refined looks.

Chi Nuan was badly startled by the sudden grab. She clutched her hair and stumbled back several steps.

The boy stepped closer. “Yo, weren’t you pretty bold last time, playing hero to save the beauty from A-Hui? How come you’re acting like a scared little bunny now? Afraid of me?”

Chi Nuan remembered—this was Zhou Yue, the guy who hung around with Cao Pinhui.

She involuntarily backed up two more steps. “I-I have to go to class.”

Zhou Yue burst out laughing at that. “Pfft!” Chi Nuan turned and bolted.

Fortunately, Zhou Yue didn’t give chase.

Chi Nuan panted for breath. The yank had loosened her hair during the run, and she couldn’t find her hair tie as she touched it. Looking back, she saw the hair tie had fallen at the corner.

Chi Nuan went back to pick it up. The girls’ restroom was just ahead, so she bit down on the corner of her book to redo her ponytail, thinking she’d freshen up while she was at it.

A choking wave of cigarette smoke hit her face.

“Don’t you know the rules!? At No. 1 Middle School, who you can mess with and who you can’t—don’t you have any idea?”

“Zhu Zhu, cut the crap. Didn’t Zhou Yue say it? This girl’s just arrogant. If you don’t give her a taste of her own medicine, she’ll think you’re being nice out of pity!”