Exams and Cheating!

"This guy's an idiot."

Everyone thought so.

Li Mu Yang's academic performance had already given the cruelest answer countless times, in major exams and minor tests alike.

He was first in the class and first in the grade. Of course, they were all counted from the bottom.

He hadn't passed a single subject. He hadn't even passed the simplest Xifeng Sayings. Clearly, even the God of Fate was unwilling to stand on his side, probably for fear of catching the bad luck clinging to him.

Yet this guy had actually thrown a textbook at someone and said, "Test me. Come on, test me," so if that wasn't idiotic, what was?

Otherwise, what normal person would do something like that?

Zhang Chen thought so too. First, he widened his eyes and stared at Li Mu Yang, astonished that he would do something so foolish. Then he burst out laughing, rocking back and forth.

The friends beside Zhang Chen laughed along, and soon the entire class was laughing.

Cui Xiaoxin was laughing too, though her smile was shallower and carried more meaning.

Pointing at Li Mu Yang, Zhang Chen said, "Li Mu Yang, I heard you've been sick these past few days. Did your brain get burned out? If it didn't, how could you do something this crazy? Have me test you? What should I test you on? What do you know? Why on earth would you do something so humiliating to yourself?"

"Brother Chen, since Li Mu Yang asked you to test him, then give him a proper test. You're classmates, after all. Don't be so heartless—"

"Exactly. Classmates should help and learn from each other so everyone can improve together. Brother Chen, give Li Mu Yang a few simple questions. Maybe he really will guess a few correctly?"

--

Zhang Chen's little companions all joined in the jeering.

Li Mu Yang sneered inwardly, thinking, In a moment, I'll blind your dog eyes with my profound knowledge and brilliant answers.

Zhang Chen picked up the textbook and looked at Li Mu Yang suspiciously. "You really want me to test you?"

"Go ahead." Li Mu Yang spoke with an earnest expression, looking carefree and composed, as though he were sitting calmly on a fisherman's platform waiting for the fish to bite.

Although it looked as if Li Mu Yang had casually thrown over a book, it was the one he felt he understood best: History of the Xifeng Empire. During the past few days in the hospital, Cui Xiaoxin had explained the entire book to him from beginning to end, repeatedly clarifying and confirming many important points.

Li Mu Yang felt that he wasn't stupid anymore!

Zhang Chen opened the book and flipped through it for a while before asking, "In which chapter and on what page does the name of the empire's first emperor appear?"

Li Mu Yang's expression stiffened slightly. "Does that even count as a question?"

"Of course it does. Didn't you say I could ask anything?" Zhang Chen grinned lecherously before continuing, "In what year, month, and day was Song Annan, known as the 'Holy Light Saint,' born? And in what year, month, and day did he die?"

"—A question like that would never appear on an exam, all right?"

"Who knows? What if this year's examiner puts it on the test? You're not the examiner, so how do you know it won't be asked?" Zhang Chen said with disdain. "How many people did Imperial Soaring Great General Bai Youwei slaughter when he took part in the 'Battle of Qinghe'? And what were the names of all those people?"

Li Mu Yang was so furious that his dark face twitched and his entire body trembled. Pointing at Zhang Chen, he cursed, "You're deliberately making things difficult for me. You don't have the slightest attitude of a scholar—what kind of shameless, lecherous person behaves like this among classmates? I'm ashamed for you."

Zhang Chen strutted around, looking left and right, then laughed loudly. "Everyone, take a look. Just look! He was the one who forced me to test him. But once I actually gave him questions, he couldn't answer even one—"

Everyone laughed even more gleefully.

Zhang Chen tossed the textbook onto the desk and looked at Li Mu Yang. "Li Mu Yang, the important thing in life is to be happy. Everyone should do what they're good at. Since you like sleeping and are good at sleeping, then just sleep properly. The Literary Examination is only a few days away, yet you suddenly jumped up and put on this 'I love studying' act. Everyone's having a hard time getting used to it. Aren't they?"

"You—" Li Mu Yang's dark face turned purple, and his purple face turned red. "You're bullying me too much."

The smile on Zhang Chen's face froze. He leaned forward, glaring fiercely at Li Mu Yang. "Li Mu Yang, so what if I'm bullying you? Do you think there's still any hope of saving you? There's one month left. In one month, everyone will go to their ideal academies. And you? You can only go home and knead dough for your mother, right? But that would be pretty good too—the young owner of a pastry shop. That kind of life should be peaceful and comfortable, shouldn't it?"

"Zhang Chen, I'll definitely score higher than you—"

"Delusional." Zhang Chen cut him off without the slightest courtesy. "Enjoy it while you can. This is the last stretch of time you'll be classmates with us. In one month, you'll be nothing—"

Zhao Mingzhu came in carrying a stack of exam papers. Seeing Li Mu Yang and Zhang Chen arguing in the classroom, she called out, "What's going on? What happened this time? Zhang Chen, Li Mu Yang, what are you two doing?"

Zhang Chen turned toward Zhao Mingzhu and explained with a beaming smile, "Teacher Zhao, Li Mu Yang told me to set questions and test him. After I finished, he couldn't answer even one question, and now he's lashing out at me out of embarrassment."

The corner of Zhao Mingzhu's mouth twitched. Her expression stern, she said, "Zhang Chen, haven't you looked at how many days are left until the Literary Examination? Don't you know you should be using your time to study hard? Instead, you're wasting it on pointless nonsense. Do you still want to go to Xifeng University?"

"Teacher Zhao, I was wrong." Zhang Chen hurriedly apologized, then looked at Li Mu Yang. "I was thinking that since we're all classmates, even though Li Mu Yang's grades are poor, we can't just let him give up completely. Since he wants to work hard and make one last push, as class monitor, I naturally have to guide and look after the underachievers in our class—"

"Hmph. Some people are pigs' intestines that can't be propped up no matter what you do. Saying even one word to him is a waste of time, and looking at him once is a waste of eyesight." Zhao Mingzhu spoke without the slightest courtesy. Since Cui Xiaoxin had followed Li Mu Yang away last time and had even missed several days of class, she didn't want to clash with this favored student in the class right now. If it affected Cui Xiaoxin's mood and harmed her performance in the Literary Examination, it would affect her class's advancement rate, as well as the generous bonus she could receive.

However, although she hadn't named Li Mu Yang this time, everyone in the class knew exactly who she was attacking.

"Since someone wants to be tested, I happen to have a test paper here. I rushed it out last night—the questions are very simple, and many of them have appeared before." Zhao Mingzhu threw the papers onto the desk and stared coldly at Li Mu Yang. "This counts as the final diagnostic test of the semester. I hope certain people will show a little backbone and stop clinging to the bottom spot in the entire class and refusing to let anyone else have it—could you give someone else even the slightest chance?"

Li Mu Yang was mortified to death.

After hearing Zhao Mingzhu say that, he also felt that he had occupied that position for far too long. He had won it every time in a row; no one had even been qualified to compete with him.

The bell rang, and the test papers were handed out.

Li Mu Yang composed himself, then began answering the questions seriously.

The square characters that used to make him drowsy at a glance now felt incomparably familiar.

"Strange, I can do this question."

"Strange, this question looks familiar."

"Strange, I think I've seen this question somewhere before—"

--

The allotted time was one hour, but Li Mu Yang finished the entire paper in only half an hour.

Apart from two questions whose answers he couldn't think of no matter how hard he tried, he had filled out the rest of the paper completely.

After finishing the test, Li Mu Yang began checking it carefully.

Many of the questions seemed incredibly simple to him, as though the answers had long since been branded into his mind.

Yet some questions left him uncertain. He felt that he had seen them before, but he couldn't be one hundred percent sure that his answers were correct.

Those two completely unfamiliar questions gave him a sense of crisis. The Literary Examination was only a month away. No matter how hard he worked during that time or how powerful his learning talent became, the number of questions he could answer was ultimately limited.

What if the questions on the Literary Examination were all like these? Would he have any hope at all?

Li Mu Yang secretly made up his mind. He had to work twice as hard from now on.

Many times harder!

Zhao Mingzhu sat upright on the podium. On the surface, she was correcting the students' assignments, but in reality, her eyes swept through the classroom like radar. She had many years of teaching experience and knew every move her students made like the back of her hand. If anyone dared pull a trick during her exam, they would simply be digging their own grave.

When her gaze shifted to the student she least wanted to see, she couldn't help but pause.

That student wasn't answering questions like the others. Instead, he wore a solemn expression as he pondered something.

Putting on an act. Zhao Mingzhu thought disdainfully. Ever since their first meeting, when she had broken a ruler over this matter, the two of them had developed a deep, unresolvable grudge. She had completely given up on this student, just like the teachers of many other subjects.

Remembering how he had asked Zhang Chen to test him earlier, Zhao Mingzhu decided to give him a little "surprise."

"Li Mu Yang—" Zhao Mingzhu called out. "Have you finished your test?"

"Finished." Li Mu Yang looked up and answered.

"—"

Zhao Mingzhu was furious.

She had originally thought Li Mu Yang would panic just as he had before, then turn bright red and hand in a blank paper smeared with saliva or some other substance.

Then she could harshly criticize him and write a huge cross on his paper in front of the entire class.

She hadn't expected Li Mu Yang to refuse to play by the usual rules and actually say, completely against all precedent, that he had "finished."

"Really finished?"

"Actually, not quite." Li Mu Yang said awkwardly, "There are two questions I can't do."

Zhao Mingzhu scoffed at that explanation. I'm afraid you mean you can answer only two questions, right?

"Bring me the paper. Let me have a look," Zhao Mingzhu said.

Li Mu Yang set down his pen and handed in the test under the astonished gazes of his classmates.

Zhao Mingzhu took the test paper, and the smile on her face instantly froze.

He really had finished it. The paper was filled with writing.

Let's look at the answers first. She thought to herself.

"This one's correct. Mm, he must have guessed—"

"This one's correct too. Mm, Li Mu Yang's luck is pretty good this time—"

--

After Zhao Mingzhu finished looking through all the answers, her face had turned livid.

Smack—

She slammed her palm onto the desk and shouted, "Li Mu Yang, how dare you cheat?"