“They’re worlds apart.”
The older brother ranked in the top 50 of the grade, while the younger sister was third from the bottom.
“Who would’ve thought? Yu Kaixin looks so sweet and innocent, but turns out she’s just a total airhead. And some people even dared to compare her to Sister Yue? Please, spare me! Even Jiang Han scored better than her.”
Jiang Han: “?” Do I not deserve basic respect?
“I thought she seemed pretty serious about studying. How did she score so badly?”
“Well, studying isn’t just about effort. Some people just don’t have the right instincts—no matter how hard they try, it just won’t click.”
“True. Effort and results aren’t always directly related. I’ve walked past Class 3’s back door so many times and seen Sister Yue sleeping on her desk. But come exam time? Full marks. Oh, and she even hands in her papers early.”
Once again, everyone looked toward the name at the top of the list with admiration and awe.
They couldn’t even be jealous.
She was just too far ahead.
When someone is only fifty meters ahead of you, you might grit your teeth and chase after them with all your might. But when they’re a full kilometer ahead, all you can do is watch and admire their distant figure.
People tend to compare themselves with those at a similar level, but when faced with someone completely beyond their reach, they can only look up in quiet awe.
….
Most of the students in Class 7 had gone to check the rankings, leaving the classroom feeling empty.
As soon as the bell rang, Zhong Ziang collapsed onto his desk, instantly falling asleep.
He had played games too late the night before—he was exhausted.
At a diagonal from him, Yici was in the same state. Two sleeping kings, competing across the classroom. Who was sleepier? No one knew.
“Brother Ci! Brother Ci! Come look at the rankings—”
A lackey burst in excitedly, completely ignoring the consequences of waking the great demon king. He shook Yici with enthusiasm.
Yici barely lifted his head, his eyes still shut. “?”
Are you f*cking kidding me?*
The lackey flinched but insisted, “Seriously, just come take a look! You’re in for a big surprise! A huge one!”
“Hmm?” Yici was slightly more awake now. “What did Jiang Fuyue place?”
“Huh?” Do you even need to ask?
“Huh what? Answer me.”
“Oh, right! Sister Yue is still ranked first in the grade… uh… full marks again.”
Yici nodded. “Yeah, that’s a surprise, alright.”
“No! That’s not the surprise I meant,” the lackey quickly clarified.
Yici, now uninterested, lazily flopped back onto his desk. “Then what is it?”
“Just come see for yourself!”
“Tch, now you’re being all mysterious? Fine, fine, I’ll take a look.” Finally wide awake, Yici got up.
Just then—
“Are you all insane? Shouting like this—can’t a guy sleep?!” Zhong Ziang was rudely awakened, his bloodshot eyes blazing with fury.
Yici crossed his arms and sneered. “Oh? And is this your classroom? What’s wrong with a little noise?”
Zhong Ziang slammed his desk with a loud BANG, shaking the entire room. “Yici, if you wanna fight, just say it!”
“Fight? Sure! Who’s afraid of who?”
Seeing the two about to throw down, the lackey tensed up and hurriedly intervened. “Brother Ci, chill! Brother Ziang, calm down! The surprise is actually for both of you. How about you check it out together?”
Yici: “?” Wasn’t this supposed to be about me? Why’s he included now?
Zhong Ziang: “?” What does this have to do with me?
The air fell eerily silent for two seconds. Then—
“Fine! Let’s go check it out now!”
Zhong Ziang scoffed. “Whoever backs out is a coward.”
And so, the two stormed off toward the rankings board, ready to uncover this so-called surprise.
“…Where’s the surprise?”
Under the intense stares of the two troublemakers, the lackey’s hand trembled as he pointed at the rankings. “R-Right there.”
Yici and Zhong Ziang followed his finger, scanning the list.
All they saw were rows upon rows of names and scores. Nothing special.
Though, they did both glance at Jiang Fuyue – 750 for a few extra seconds.
Seeing that they still hadn’t noticed, the lackey was practically dying of anxiety. He shoved his way to the very front and pointed directly at the middle of the board. “Here! Look here!”
And then—
Yici saw his name.
Ranking: 326.
Zhong Ziang saw his own name right below.
Ranking: 326.
Both of them turned their heads and locked eyes. Hmph!
Yici: “You got the same score as me?!”
Zhong Ziang: “And you got the same ranking as me!”
The level of disdain in their voices made them sound like sworn enemies.
The lackey: Aren’t you two usually ranked at the bottom? Shouldn’t you be overjoyed to be in the 300s?
Trying to understand a big shot’s thought process was impossible. He decided to slip away before getting caught in the crossfire.
Yici: “Next time, I’m ranking ahead of you.”
Zhong Ziang: “Who’s ahead of who? We’ll see!”
They glared at each other, then turned away at the same time, walking off in opposite directions.
However—
The moment they turned their backs—
Yici smirked. Holy sh*t! 300s! I’m a d*mn genius!*
Zhong Ziang grinned to himself. D*mn! This is my moment of glory—I finally escaped the bottom rankings!
Hidden in the crowd, the lackey: “?”
In the afternoon, along with the evening self-study session, all classes turned into special review sessions for exam papers.
Jiang Fuyue had no interest in listening and simply requested leave.
Xu Jing waved his hand grandly, “Go, go.”
What’s the point of a perfect scorer attending a review session? It’s already generous of her not to be the one teaching it.
So, while everyone else obediently stayed in the classroom for the lesson, Jiang Fuyue, who was packing up her bag to leave, had the misfortune of running straight into the director, Zhao Tiejun.
“The one up front, carrying a backpack and wearing black sneakers! Yes, you! Stop right there!”
Jiang Fuyue: “?”
Zhao Tiejun quickly caught up, stepped ahead of her, and blocked her path. “Which class are you from—” Uh!
“Jiang Fuyue?! Why is it you?”
Jiang Fuyue nodded. “It’s me.”
“It’s class time. Where are you going?” Zhao Tiejun glanced at the bag in her hand.
“I requested leave to go home.”
“Is something wrong?”
“No.” She shook her head. “Reviewing exam papers is too boring. I can’t sit through it.”
“…Huh? Oh.”
The “Huh” expressed his shock at hearing such an outright statement for the first time in all his years as a discipline director.
The “Oh” came after he recognized who she was and felt like, yeah, that actually made sense.
Jiang Fuyue looked at him and asked, “Anything else?”
Zhao Tiejun opened his mouth, struggled for a moment, and finally managed to say, “…Be careful on the way home.”
“Okay.” Jiang Fuyue cheerfully walked away.
—
Evening, Yutian Huafu.
As soon as Zhong Ziang got home, he dropped his backpack and started looking around. “Aunt Liu, where’s my uncle?”
“Huh?” Aunt Liu ran out from the kitchen, thinking something urgent had happened. “Sir isn’t back yet. Do you want me to call him?”
“Oh, I see…” Zhong Ziang looked a little disappointed, but quickly perked up again. “When will he be back?”
“How would I know? Is it something urgent?”
Zhong Ziang waved his hand. “No, no.”
Then he flopped onto the sofa, grabbed the remote, and turned on the TV.
Aunt Liu noticed that the young master seemed to be in a great mood today—even without playing games, he still had a silly grin on his face.
“What’s the good news?” she asked.
“Heh heh…” Zhong Ziang chuckled foolishly. “I’m hungry. When’s dinner?”
“Almost ready!”
After a hearty meal, Zhong Ziang left the dining room. For once, instead of heading straight to his room on the second floor, he stayed in the living room watching TV.
He kept changing channels, clearly uninterested in any program, yet he stubbornly refused to leave.
Aunt Liu was amazed.
Normally, at this hour, the young master would be locked in his room playing games.
As night fell, Xie Dingyuan still hadn’t returned, and Aunt Liu was already dozing off.
Zhong Ziang said, “You can go rest.”
“Alright, I’ll take a nap first. The food is on the stove—when sir comes back, I’ll get up to warm it.”
The clock struck nine.
Zhong Ziang’s patience was wearing thin.
He decided to wait ten more minutes. If his uncle didn’t come back, whatever—he’d stop waiting.
Ten minutes later—
Alright, just ten more minutes. Last time!
Another ten minutes later—
Forget it. I’ve waited this long. Might as well keep waiting.
Finally, sometime past ten, close to eleven, the sound of a key turning in the lock echoed through the living room.
Zhong Ziang shot up from the sofa.
Xie Dingyuan paused when he saw him. His gaze swept over the still-on TV, the indentation on the couch, and the pile of empty drink bottles on the coffee table. “Were you waiting for me?”
“Who—who was waiting for you?!” Zhong Ziang swallowed hard. “I was watching TV!”
Xie Dingyuan: “Are the commercials interesting?”
Zhong Ziang: “…They were playing a drama earlier, not commercials.”
Hearing the commotion, Aunt Liu had already gotten up and was busy in the kitchen.
Soon, she called out, “Sir, your food is ready.”
“Mm.” Xie Dingyuan ignored Zhong Ziang and walked into the dining room.
Zhong Ziang: “?” That’s it?
Fuming, he stomped in after him, pulled out a chair, and sat down across from Xie Dingyuan.
“Uncle, I need to talk to you.” He looked serious.
Xie Dingyuan: “Not watching commercials anymore?”
He wasn’t smiling, but Zhong Ziang could still hear the teasing tone.
“…” D*mn it!
