Blame the Constellations!

Chen Jin was a veteran invigilator, and it wasn't uncommon for students to arrive late for exams. Most of those students came from wealthy families with deep connections, but they were untalented and the type to just coast through life.

They would enter the examination hall after their families pleaded or forced them, then pick up a test paper and endure until the end of each exam.

For those students, the exam was torture, and for Chen Jin, watching those students take the exam was also torture.

He just couldn't understand why they would come and waste their time if they couldn't answer the questions.

Were they still fantasizing that their intelligence would suddenly open up, or that the question setter's brain would malfunction and produce simple, childish questions that even their IQ could easily answer?

In Chen Jin's eyes, Li Mu Yang was one of those students who had given up on themselves but still had to show up.

As expected, after he took the test paper and walked to his seat, he started to space out.

"Hmm, he's starting to play with his brush and ink—just like those students before—"

"Spinning the brush—heh heh, I hope you don't have any cheat sheets hidden inside the brush handle, or I won't be polite—"

"Yo, he's starting to answer the questions—"

Soon, the mocking smile on Chen Jin's face slowly disappeared.

Because he discovered something strange: ever since Li Mu Yang sat down to answer the questions, his arm hadn't stopped moving.

He wasn't looking around like the other candidates, nor was he pretending to answer the questions while his pen tip moved in vain, his eyes constantly scanning for opportunities to copy.

When he occasionally looked up, it was to stretch his muscles.

Even when his pen paused, he looked like he was deep in thought.

He was indeed answering the questions, and answering them fluently.

Chen Jin was full of curiosity about this student. Had he misunderstood him?

He decided to investigate personally to see if he had any prior misconceptions about him.

To avoid making his purpose too obvious, Chen Jin first began his rounds from the right side of the classroom. Seeing the invigilator approach, all the students buried their heads even lower, trying harder to appear righteous and innocent, as if to say, "I'm not cheating."

Chen Jin circled from the right to the left, then paused behind Li Mu Yang.

"Hmm, the handwriting is good, and he's already answered quite a few questions—"

This was Li Mu Yang's first reaction to Chen Jin.

Soon, he discovered something strange.

Li Mu Yang made no mistakes; every question he answered was correct.

At least, after he carefully checked, he couldn't find any errors. Every question was answered perfectly.

It wasn't the perfection of memorizing standard answers, but a genuine understanding, followed by organized and summarized solutions.

Chen Jin was greatly surprised. To be able to do this, to tackle each question like a master butcher dissecting an ox, was something only the most outstanding students in the school could achieve.

"Why would he be late?" Chen Jin's impression of Li Mu Yang improved greatly. He thought to himself, somewhat puzzled, "How can a good student be late? I hope there's still enough time."

"Hmm—what's going on?" Chen Jin saw Li Mu Yang stop writing.

He followed the stroke of his pen. The question wasn't difficult, just a bit obscure and designed to be confusing.

"How can he not answer such a question?" Chen Jin felt a bit regretful. "Think hard, think hard, he should be able to find a pattern—"

"Huh, this kid actually gave up—he just skipped to the next question. What an impatient fellow, but his approach is correct. After all, he arrived so late, and compared to the other students, he's already wasted too much time—"

Chen Jin sighed softly and then walked towards the podium.

After a few steps, he couldn't help but walk back.

Chen Jin stood beside Li Mu Yang, pointed at the question he had skipped with a finger, and coughed lightly.

Li Mu Yang looked up. Chen Jin looked at him expressionlessly.

Li Mu Yang thought for a moment, then instantly understood. He looked at the question again, and with a face full of surprise, he wrote down the answer.

Chen Jin walked away, mentally cursing his own transgression: "Damn Virgo."

Fortunately, Li Mu Yang didn't encounter too many difficulties.

When he finished answering the last major question, the bell for the end of the exam rang.

He had no time to check his work.

However, Cui Xiaoxin had told him that as long as he could answer a question, it was almost certainly the standard answer—because he had little study time, so either he didn't know the answer, or the answer he knew was correct. Tricky questions didn't stump him.

Li Mu Yang checked his name and other identification information again, then sat in his seat and waited for the invigilator to collect the papers.

When Chen Jin walked up to Li Mu Yang, he glanced at him thoughtfully, collected the test paper, and moved on to the next student.

As Li Mu Yang walked out of the classroom, students from all the examination rooms were gathered in the large courtyard of the examination institute.

"Li Mu Yang—" Cui Xiaoxin, dressed in a white dress with a dragonfly hairpin adorning her long hair, stood charmingly behind him and asked sweetly, "How did the exam go?"

"I think it was okay. I answered all the questions," Li Mu Yang nodded at Cui Xiaoxin and said, "I was late, so I didn't have time to check. I hope I didn't make too many mistakes."

"You were late?" Cui Xiaoxin, with her sharp intellect, immediately caught the flaw in Li Mu Yang's words and asked, "Did something happen?"

"It's nothing," Li Mu Yang shook his head. He didn't want to tell Cui Xiaoxin that the assassin Crow had changed its target and come to his home for revenge, as that would only make her worry about him. Since the problem had been resolved, why add to someone else's troubles?

Cui Xiaoxin could see the worry in Li Mu Yang's eyes and knew what was troubling him. But since Li Mu Yang didn't say anything, she didn't pry too deeply. She said, "If you need any help, don't hesitate to ask me—"

"I won't hesitate," Li Mu Yang replied with a smile and a nod.

"Good. Then, please keep up the good work," Cui Xiaoxin said, raising her fist towards Li Mu Yang in a gesture of encouragement.

"You too," Li Mu Yang said with a smile. "I know you're very capable, and nothing should be too difficult for you—so, let's meet again by Weiming Lake."

"We definitely will," Cui Xiaoxin replied with conviction.

After resting for half an hour, the second round of exams began again.

Li Mu Yang and Cui Xiaoxin were not in the same examination hall. After encouraging each other, they parted ways once more, fighting for their own futures.

After finishing the two subjects, Li Mu Yang ignored everyone and rushed towards his home.

Cui Xiaoxin had submitted her paper early and had intended to have lunch with Li Mu Yang near the examination hall. Many students didn't go home for lunch and instead ate somewhere nice near the exam venue.

She was reading a novel under a smoke barrier tree in a corner of the examination compound. When she saw Li Mu Yang emerge from the hall, she was about to call out his name, but then she noticed Li Mu Yang running away without even looking her way.

Cui Xiaoxin looked confused, closed her book, and walked outside.

Ning Xin Hai appeared behind Cui Xiaoxin and said respectfully, "Miss, the carriage is ahead. Shall we head back?"

"Let's go back," Cui Xiaoxin said.

"Understood, Miss," Ning Xin Hai replied.

Long after the carriage had driven away, Cui Xiaoxin was still thinking about Li Mu Yang's worried yet hidden eyes.

"Uncle Ning—" Cui Xiaoxin suddenly said, "Let's go to Hubu Lane."

"Understood, Miss," Ning Xin Hai said expressionlessly, instructing the coachman to change direction.

Li Mu Yang pushed open the courtyard gate and ran towards the main hall. He was startled to see Yan Xiangma sitting there, pale, weak, and groaning incessantly. "Was there another assassin attack?"

If it wasn't an assassin, how could Yan Xiangma, who had been full of life when he left and could slice through a tabletop with a single flick of his fan, end up like this?

"It's much more terrifying than an assassin attack—" Yan Xiangma said weakly. "I drank a bowl of medicine."

Li Mu Yang walked directly to Li Sinian, took her pulse, and asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Much better," Li Sinian said, looking at Yan Xiangma with a grin. "This idiot drank a bowl of purgative medicine himself—"

"How many times have I explained? That wasn't purgative medicine, it was an antidote—" Yan Xiangma was about to lose his mind. He looked at Li Mu Yang and said, "You be the judge. They were poisoned by the Smoke Barrier Poison, and I kindly had a pack of medicine brewed to detoxify them. But they suspected I had ulterior motives and might have poisoned the medicine—Is that the kind of person I, Yan Xiangma, am? To prove to them that I hadn't poisoned it, I drank the bowl of medicine myself—"

After checking on his parents' condition, Li Mu Yang finally relaxed, a rare, relieved smile appearing on his face.

Even during the exams, he had been worried about his parents' and sister's safety. Now that the exams were over and his family was healthy, nothing could make him happier.

Li Mu Yang walked over to Yan Xiangma and, seeing him explaining with all his might, said, "And then you were poisoned?"

"I told you, it wasn't poison, it was purgative medicine—It's to expel toxins. Do you understand what expelling toxins means?" Yan Xiangma had thought Li Mu Yang would understand him, but instead, Li Mu Yang also suspected him of poisoning the medicine.

Yan Xiangma was on the verge of tears. If he had known this would happen, why would he have gone through all the trouble to put on such a thankless, disastrous act?