Chapter 42: Midterms in Progress

After finishing lunch, Lu You returned to his seat. His pencil case and test papers were tossed carelessly on the desk, and an expression of profound exhaustion was written all over his face.

Even attending an academic paper press conference in his past life hadn't been as tiring as having lunch with the head of discipline. He had to sit straight as a ramrod, eat with utmost caution, and answer every single question he was asked with thoroughness and care.

By the end of the meal, he had no idea what he had even eaten. Lu You was never afraid of rude and shameless relatives; he would simply fight back directly, and his parents would always take his side.

However, he couldn't treat acquaintances like this—people who had close ties with his parents or even his own family—with casual indifference. Furthermore, this particular head of discipline had genuinely nurtured a large number of outstanding students.

"Impressive, Brother Lu! Having lunch with the head of discipline gives you a rather distinct status, doesn't it?" Meng Yi said, pulling up the chair in front of him and teasing.

Lu You glanced at him and said listlessly, "If you want, I can have an extra seat added for you tonight."

"Are you having dinner with the head of discipline tonight too? Is he some kind of relative of yours?"

"The head of discipline is an old friend of my dad's. He said his wife is boiling soup tonight and told me to drop by for a couple of bowls."

"Then I won't go meddling in that. Hope you enjoy your soup," Meng Yi said with gloating amusement. Then, he picked up the test paper Lu You had tossed onto the desk. "Can I take a look at your Chinese multiple-choice answers?"

"Help yourself."

As Meng Yi flipped through the test paper, he asked, "How did you find this Chinese exam?"

"Just so-so. Except for the reading comprehension, nothing else was difficult," Lu You replied casually, leaning back in his chair.

Spotting a multiple-choice question with an answer different from his own, Meng Yi frowned and asked, "Hey, Lu You, your answer for this question seems wrong, doesn't it?"

"Oh, then that means you got it wrong," Lu You said calmly.

"How is that possible?" Meng Yi pointed at the question and argued, "Look at it yourself. The answer here is clearly B. *Bu ren zu du* obviously means you can't bear to keep reading because the book is unreadable. Isn't that correct right here?"

"Is there any possibility that not being able to read something depends on the context?" Lu You reminded him.

"Really?" Meng Yi began to harbor a shred of self-doubt.

Lu You continued to explain, "*Bu ren zu du* means a piece of writing is overwhelmingly sorrowful, so much so that one cannot bear to continue reading it. But here in the question, it's used to describe a piece of writing as being so terribly written that one cannot bear to read it. That's clearly just interpreting the literal meaning of the words at face value."

"Holy crap! It really is like that, isn't it? Then what about this? What about this question here? The sentence correction one."

"Isn't this question as easy as pie? You don't even have to think about it. The moment you see 'the reason *zhi suo yi*... is because *yin wei*,' you just pick that option right away."

"It's over. I'm completely done for," Meng Yi muttered with a vacant, glazed expression. "I've already lost six points. I have no idea if I can even break a hundred on this Chinese test."

"Don't worry," Lu You consoled him. "There are still eight subjects left. No need to dwell too much on Chinese. What's done is done, and overthinking it won't help. Nailing the upcoming math exam is the right path forward."

"True." Meng Yi slowly readjusted his mindset. Suddenly, remembering something else, he asked, "Wait a minute! Didn't you say your level was just around seven hundred points? Your Chinese multiple-choice questions must be all correct, right?"

"Even a perfect score in Chinese is only 150. There are still eight subjects left to drop points in. What's the rush?"

Meng Yi narrowed his eyes and said, "I remember you can even read advanced mathematics papers in English, right? And during the usual math and science quizzes, you always get full marks, don't you?"

"Believe it or not, suit yourself," Lu You didn't feel like explaining further. "If I score eight hundred—forget it, let's say seven fifty. If I get seven fifty, I'll gift you the Hellfire skin."

"For real?"

"I never lie."

"You better not intentionally throw the exam," Meng Yi verified repeatedly.

"I guarantee I'll give it my all."

Afterward, Meng Yi offered his own stake in the bet. "Alright then! If you don't hit seven fifty, I'm sending you a basket of eggs—the kind laid by home-raised hens, purely organic and pollution-free."

"Throw in two pounds of green vegetables grown in your garden."

"Deal."

The two boys high-fived to seal their pledge.

***

At 2:30 PM, Lu You tidied his desk, grabbed his pencil case, and set off for the examination hall.

The temperature had risen considerably by this time, meaning he at least wouldn't have to worry about his hands freezing stiff while writing. In the morning, his hands had been as rigid as blocks of iron, yet he still had to write a massive word count for the Chinese exam—truly a form of torture.

Lu You walked to the second floor, intending to continue downward, when an arm blocked his path.

"Classmate Lu, we meet again."

Why is it you again!

Lu You sighed inwardly, turned around, and looked expressionlessly at Shao Ling. "Is something the matter?"

A faint, ambiguous smile hung on the corners of Shao Ling's lips as he said, "What a coincidence. Are you also here to see Tang Wan?"

Good grief! With that tone, anyone unaware would think you were on extremely intimate terms with Tang Wan.

Lu You really didn't want to engage with this person at all, but since he brought up Tang Wan, walking away directly would probably mean leaving him to go bother her.

"My exam room is in the Science Building, and I happen to be passing through here. Is there a problem?"

"No problem, of course there's no problem," Shao Ling said in a slightly exaggerated tone. "I thought you saw me on the second floor and rushed over specially out of fear that I would look for Tang Wan."

"My classroom is in Grade 1, Class 3. Am I supposed to have X-ray vision to spot you across floors? I didn't even know you were here until you told me.

Furthermore, you were the one who actively stopped me and started talking to me. Otherwise, I wouldn't have even known anyone was standing here. Lastly, please refrain from speaking to me ever again."

With that, Lu You turned to leave. Just then, a voice deeply imprinted in his heart echoed from nearby.

"Huh? Why are you here? Haven't you gone to your exam room yet?"

Lu You shifted his gaze. Tang Wan was no longer wearing her snowman costume; instead, she wore the standard blue-and-white winter school uniform, her hair tied up in a ponytail, making her look sharp, capable, and pretty.

Tang Wan's gaze was fixed entirely on Lu You. As for Shao Ling standing beside him, he was completely ignored.

"I was just getting ready to head over."

"Oh, hurry up and go then. I heard the classrooms in the Science Building are a bit chilly, so take care of yourself." Tang Wan instructed him.

"The temperature has risen this afternoon, so it shouldn't be as cold as this morning. No need to worry too much."

"That's good. Do your best on the math exam this afternoon—don't let all the effort I spent teaching you math go to waste."

If we really went by serious standards, it was hard to say who was teaching whom math.

Lu You couldn't help but find it slightly amusing. However, showing a bit of vulnerability in front of her wasn't necessarily a bad thing either.

"If I do well on the math exam, is there a reward?"

"Do you want me to reward you with a five-finger slap to the face?" Tang Wan said with a feigned, exasperated glare.

"Wouldn't some actual rewards give me more motivation to score high?"

She pondered for a moment, deciding that Lu You's proposal wasn't entirely unreasonable. "Fine then. If you do well on the exam, I'll grant you one wish."

"Anything goes?" Lu You asked excitedly.

Realizing what she had just agreed to, Tang Wan felt a blush creep up her cheeks. She gave him a gentle shove and scolded playfully, "It has to be something I approve of first."

"Alright, I've locked in your words. Don't go back on your promise when the time comes."

"I won't renege! Hurry up and go! The exam is about to start!" Tang Wan urged him.

"Alright, I'm heading out. See you tonight."

"Mhm. See you tonight."

Afterward, Lu You turned and went downstairs toward his exam hall. Tang Wan also stepped into the Class 2 classroom; her exam room was right inside her own homeroom.

Shao Ling, who had been treated like background air by the two of them the entire time, wore a distorted expression of rage churning violently within his chest. He felt like a total clown, trying to act like he was close to Tang Wan in front of Lu You, only for the two of them to completely look right past him.

"Fine, Lu You, I'll remember this. And Tang Wan, you've successfully piqued my interest. I will make you fall in love with me."

After muttering these words to himself, Shao Ling turned and headed upstairs.

Not long after he left, Li Yu emerged from the men's restroom. He glanced up at the upper floors from the stairwell, a cold, disdainful look in his eyes as he scoffed, "An ant daring to compare its height to the heavens—utterly delusional."

Suddenly, a slender, fair palm smacked him squarely on the back, sending him stumbling forward.

"Who's that? What are you hitting me for?" Li Yu spun around sharply, only to find Xu Nian glaring at him with a displeased expression.

"What ants? What heavens? What kind of second-year middle school syndrome are you acting out?"

"Can't I even... strike a cool pose?" Li Yu started out with plenty of bravado, but his voice trailed off weaker and weaker as he spoke.

Ever since they had grown close through playing card games together, Li Yu had frequently exchanged physical blows with her. At first, they traded blows more or less equally, but as time went on, it turned into him just receiving a one-sided beating.

Even more absurdly, the more he got beaten, the more energized he felt. Li Yu sometimes wondered if he was a weirdo who actually enjoyed getting punched.

Yet Xu Nian's strength was truly minimal, matching her petite stature. She also knew precisely where to strike so it wouldn't hurt, otherwise Li Yu would have long since thrown a fit. There was an unspoken, inexplicable rapport between the two of them.

"Still trying to look cool? The exam is about to start, hurry up and move!" Xu Nian shoved him in the back, urging him forward.

Half-resisting and half-cooperating, Li Yu walked along, muttering, "Alright, alright, I can walk by myself."

***

Inside the Science Building examination hall.

Lu You quickly skimmed through the eight pages of the math exam paper. The exam bell hadn't rung yet, so students were only permitted to read the questions, not pick up their pens.

Having glanced roughly over every single problem, he already had a firm grasp of the situation. Three words summed it up: a breeze.

The material from the first half of grade eleven roughly covered the content of the compulsory textbook, meaning some basic functions. Such problems could be set ridiculously simply, or made so complex that one couldn't even begin to think of a solution.

How difficult this test paper was for everyone else, Lu You didn't know, but for him, it was as easy as pie. Mathematics was his strongest domain; if he didn't even have this much self-confidence, he might as well just wash up and go to bed.

The exam bell rang. Lu You picked up his pen and rapidly set to work.

Before the first warning bell—signaling thirty minutes remaining—even rang, Lu You had already started packing up his desk.

Placing his test paper and answer sheet off to the side, he decided to rest his head for a while and chat with the God of Dreams.

The female student sitting behind him saw that the handsome guy in front of her had already put his hood up and buried his head to sleep, figuring he must have decided to give up on the math subject entirely. Well, fair enough; today's math test paper was punishingly difficult.

She understood the basic concepts of functions, but how all these elements were supposed to fit together remained a complete mystery to her, leaving her utterly in the dark.

She desperately wanted to emulate Lu You and just give up, but the thought of the tigress waiting at home forced her to grit her teeth and push through, hoping to scrape together a few extra points.

The proctor locked his gaze squarely on Lu You the moment he rested his head on the desk. He watched him intently for a full five minutes, during which Lu You didn't budge a single millimeter.

Unable to sit still any longer, the proctor stood up from the podium and walked over to Lu You's desk. Lu You remained face-down, completely motionless.

Taking a deep breath, the proctor picked up the answer sheet Lu You had pushed aside and flipped through it. If looking wasn't scary, actually reading it was genuinely terrifying.

This guy had actually finished every single question! There was still half an hour left before collection time; how on earth could he have written so fast?

At this point, the proctor had nothing more to say. Since the kid had finished writing his paper, what harm was there in resting his eyes? Besides, it wasn't disturbing anyone else. Thus, he had no choice but to let Lu You continue sleeping in peace.

It wasn't until the final collection bell rang that Lu You slowly raised his head. This nap had been exceptionally uncomfortable—the wooden desk was rigid, the surroundings were freezing, and he had remained suspended in a semi-conscious, hazy state the entire time.

Once the proctor collected all the test papers and verified the count, he dismissed the students.

The math examination had officially concluded.