What if I get accepted?

Wang Ge's plan was perfect, but he overlooked one thing: his plan would only be effective on those who wanted to improve themselves.

He could build a path out of darkness, but what if the people in the darkness didn't want to walk it?

"I don't want to memorize it."

Gu Panyan glanced at him, yawned, and let her head droop listlessly.

Wang Ge was stunned and asked, confused, "Why? Do you want to copy it ten times?"

"Copying it ten times is just to scare them. If they say copy it ten times now, in two days they'll forget about it."

Gu Panyan said lazily. She had plenty of experience in this regard.

"What if they don't forget?"

"They'll pretend to forget even if they don't." Gu Panyan pouted. "So what if they know I didn't write it? I have connections, and they can't do anything to me. At most, they'll make me stand for a class. Such an easy punishment won't help their authority as a teacher at all, so pretending to forget is the best way to handle it."

These words plunged Wang Ge into silence.

It was clear that Gu Panyan was not someone who possessed brute force without brains. In fact, it might be the opposite. From her words, one could see she was extremely intelligent. The fact that she had survived healthily in such an environment until today was definitely not just because her parents protected her.

This is really tricky. As expected, none of the girls chosen by the System are easy to deal with... Stupid System, couldn't you have chosen someone easy to fool, a naive sweet girl? Wang Ge sighed inwardly, his mind racing to find another way.

He was not someone who gave up at the first sign of difficulty. On the contrary, he preferred to face challenges head-on. The more difficult the goal, the more it ignited his fighting spirit.

"Gu Panyan has a rather strong personality. I need to appear weaker. A head-on confrontation won't work at this stage... She's a smart girl, my true intentions can't be hidden, so I won't hide them. I just need to hide my motives... Hmm, I can use this to my advantage and deepen my persona."

His thoughts raced. He then put on a dejected expression, lowering his head to look at the books on the table.

Gu Panyan glanced at him but said nothing.

After a moment, Wang Ge looked at Gu Panyan with a hint of unwillingness and said, "Why not give it a try? What if it's really easy to memorize?"

"Why try? What's the point of memorizing it, and what's the point of not?" Gu Panyan retorted. "Whether I memorize it or not, I won't be punished by copying it ten times. The outcome is the same, isn't it?"

Wang Ge opened his mouth but couldn't speak.

Gu Panyan scoffed disdainfully and also remained silent.

After two seconds, she heard Wang Ge say in a low voice, "At least you'll remember a few words and sentences, and you can score a few more points on the exam."

Gu Panyan frowned slightly and turned her head to stare into his eyes.

"Wh-what?" After only two seconds, Wang Ge shifted his gaze uncomfortably, as if embarrassed, vividly portraying the role of a 'pure-hearted high school boy.'

Although establishing this persona wasn't his original intention, since it had been established and yielded good results, he had to maintain it and not let it collapse.

"Hey, you don't actually like me, do you?" Gu Panyan suddenly asked, her tone a little strange, and perhaps even contemptuous.

Wang Ge appropriately displayed an embarrassed and shy expression. "A, a little."

"Oh."

Gu Panyan let out a mocking nasal sound and leaned in slightly, narrowing her eyes. "So, you want to change me?"

Wang Ge was silent for two seconds and then replied, "Mm."

As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Panyan remained silent for a while, and an awkward silence fell between them.

Since it was morning reading, their conversation was drowned out by the noisy recitation, and because they had deliberately lowered their voices, no one heard them.

"Heh, actually, I don't have a bad impression of you. You're much better than those flies from before."

Gu Panyan broke the silence first, her tone still contemptuous. "If you want to play the game of love, I don't mind playing along."

"However, I need to remind you of one thing beforehand."

Wang Ge said nothing. Gu Panyan stared into Wang Ge's eyes and said earnestly:

"Listen, Wang Ge, I'm quite satisfied with my current situation. I'm too lazy to change, I don't want to change, and I don't need your help."

"Take care of yourself. I'm already a rotten person, so don't have any expectations for a rotten person, understand?"

During her darkest moments, no one had helped her, no one had extended a hand to her. Since then, she no longer needed anyone's help.

After she finished speaking, a long silence fell between them.

Seeing that Wang Ge didn't speak, Gu Panyan breathed a sigh of relief.

Given her personality, she should have said something mocking at this point, like 'Put away your pity,' 'Stop being so self-righteous,' or 'What right do you have?' But after hesitating for two seconds, perhaps because she thought Wang Ge was still a 'good kid,' she changed her wording.

She felt she had made herself clear enough and that Wang Ge should give up on his naive and unrealistic ideas.

Gu Panyan was about to look away, planning to space out until class ended, when she suddenly felt her hand being held by a large one.

The sensation was quite familiar; it was the warmth she had experienced just last night.

She froze for a moment, and Wang Ge's low voice came to her ear, "I don't understand."

"You..."

Just as she was about to speak, Wang Ge didn't give her a chance and continued on his own, "I don't know what you're thinking. I do like you a little, but this little bit of liking isn't enough to be the motive for me wanting to help you and change you."

"Actually, I can't explain why I want to help you. Maybe it's admiration, or maybe it's pity... Whether you think I'm satisfying my own vanity with pity, or if I have ulterior motives, it doesn't matter. I'll say it again: A gentleman judges actions, not intentions."

"What matters is that you shouldn't be like this. You're a great girl, and you deserve a better future."

Wang Ge's expression was serious and sincere, but after two seconds of silence, Gu Panyan suddenly let out a cold laugh and pulled her hand away. "You say all the right things. If you used this line to trick other girls, you would have gotten them long ago."

"Even if you want to help me, what good would that do? There are only three months left until the college entrance exam. Do you know what my current score is?"

"I know, I've seen your grades. Around 280 points, and last year's undergraduate cutoff was 450 points."

Wang Ge looked into her eyes and said earnestly, "100 days to improve by nearly 200 points. It's certainly difficult, but it's only difficult, not impossible. I'll help you. We'll work hard together. What if you actually get in?"

Gu Panyan paused for a moment, her expression growing more complex in her peach blossom eyes. However, she retorted sarcastically, "100 days to improve by 200 points. Are all you top students this arrogant?"

No matter how sincere Wang Ge appeared, she seemed to have no other attitude than cold mockery.

"I understand you don't believe me. How about we try it first?" Wang Ge picked up the English essay on the table and said, "Let's use this English essay as an experiment. If I can't help you memorize this essay before English class this afternoon, then I'll give up this idea and never try again.

If I succeed, it means I have the ability to help you, and you also have the potential to get into university.

At that time, you can decide whether you want to try believing me and work hard for yourself in these last 100 days. How about it?"

After saying this, he paused and gently took Gu Panyan's hand again, softly playing the emotional card. "I don't want anything in return, and it won't hurt you. Just let me give you a hand, okay?"

This move was a combination of rationality and emotion, a blend of soft and hard tactics.

But if Gu Panyan refused again, Wang Ge intended to give up.

He had said so much. If Gu Panyan still refused, it would mean she truly didn't want to make any effort and just wanted to lie down and give up.

Wang Ge just wanted to try to persuade her; he didn't want to go against her will.

Besides, there was no rule stating that a future after getting into university was necessarily better than a future without it.

PS: This chapter felt a bit stiff and I'm not entirely satisfied, but updates must be made. I'll see if I can revise it later if the opportunity arises.

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