Besides, he had not taken the City Exam, so he would have to draw a Red-Black Lottery, and there was no way for him to retake it.
To prevent people from exploiting loopholes, the Old Federation had extremely strict retake regulations. Anyone who wanted to retake the exam had to have scored highly on the City Exam but been dissatisfied with their current school before they could apply. Those who had missed the exam were not covered by the retake regulations.
No matter how capable Zhang Tai's family was, they could not make up for this.
"Don't worry, son. I know what to do!"
Su Yuan replied with absolute confidence.
"Okay!"
Su Ming did not say anything more.
The two of them walked toward Wang Qiang. As Wang Qiang watched Su Ming approach, he felt increasingly uneasy and instinctively feared him.
At that moment, Su Ming was no longer a harmless-looking fatty in his eyes, but a meticulous and ruthless character.
"Have you decided? Will you die, or will he?"
Su Ming crouched down, reached into Wang Qiang's pocket, took out his phone, and handed it to him.
Grinding his teeth, Wang Qiang took the phone and called Zhang Tai.
The call connected quickly.
"How did it go?"
A cocky voice came from the phone.
"I gave him a thorough beating."
Wang Qiang replied to Zhang Tai.
"Good. Go hide for a few days."
Zhang Tai hung up after saying that.
Wang Qiang stared at the disconnected call, his entire body seeming to have been drained of strength as he slumped to the ground.
"Hu Jia, take them all away!"
Su Yuan waved his hand grandly and ordered his subordinates.
"Yes!"
Hu Jia and the others stepped forward, roughly hauling Wang Qiang and the others to their feet before taking them away.
Su Yuan then turned to Su Ming with a grin.
"Son, let's go home."
"Okay."
Su Ming followed Su Yuan toward the street.
On the way, Su Yuan looked at Su Ming hesitantly, as if he wanted to say something.
Su Ming glanced at his expression and spoke first.
"Father, is something bothering you?"
"Well, son, how did you suddenly become so smart?"
Su Yuan asked hesitantly. In his memory, his son had never been particularly intelligent. But now, Su Ming was not only diligent and eager to learn—he had also become very clever. Although Su Yuan knew that this was probably because of the stimulation from what had happened with Lin Chuyu, and that Su Ming might not have given up and wanted to work hard to improve himself, so he had changed greatly, Su Yuan still felt this was not a good thing. If he became too obsessed and failed to achieve his wish in the future, he might end up going to another extreme.
Hearing that, Su Ming replied naturally.
"That's because Teacher Jiang Yu taught me well."
"Uh, Jiang Yu! Son, you have to learn from him properly! Teacher Jiang Yu is a good man. Your father simply wasn't interested in studying back then, so I didn't achieve much."
Su Yuan spoke to Su Ming with a grin.
"Give me a break. You didn't study properly back then, and you didn't even want to learn. You dozed off every day. Once, to skip class, you even hid in Grandpa's study. You were so clumsy that you smashed Grandpa's favorite vase. In the end, Grandpa hung you up and beat you half to death."
Su Ming sighed as he replied.
"Ah, how do you know about that?"
Su Yuan looked at Su Ming in disbelief.
"On Grandpa's birthday, he specifically called me aside and lectured me about it, telling me not to imitate you. Father, look at what you did. Even I got dragged into it."
Su Ming looked at Su Yuan with disdain.
"Uh, son, let's not mention that anymore. Especially not in front of your mother. I'll buy you a model later."
"We'll see."
"How about two?"
"I'll think about it."
"Three. No more than that."
Under the setting sun, the two figures gradually disappeared into the afterglow.
--
Old Era 4618, June 5.
The day before the City Exam · Outside Mient Junior Academy, Thirteenth District, Old Federation.
Su Ming carried a lightweight backpack over one shoulder as he walked toward the school gate. Students returning to school filled the road, making the place extremely lively.
"Su Ming!"
Just then, Su Ming heard a familiar voice calling from behind.
He stopped and turned around, only to see Minke waving and running toward him.
Once Minke reached him, panting for breath, Su Ming greeted him.
"Class Monitor, good morning. Why are you so late today? That's not like you."
Given Minke's habits, he should have arrived long ago.
Minke smiled bitterly at Su Ming.
"I reviewed until three in the morning yesterday, so I couldn't get up this morning."
"How's your preparation?"
"To be honest, not good. I have no confidence at all."
"It's fine. Don't overthink things at a time like this. Relax."
Su Ming and Minke chatted as they walked into the school.
When they reached the school gate, they saw many students gathered there. Beside the gate stood a series of honor display boards.
The boards displayed the names and photographs of all the teachers, security guards, and students who had fought bravely during the Chilami invasion.
Of course, the most eye-catching display was Lin Chuyu and an enlarged photograph.
The photograph was none other than the one showing Principal Roken posing with the three of them.
Many students returning to school looked at the photograph and began discussing it.
"Isn't that Minke, the Class Monitor of Mecha Class 3, and Chen Tong?"
"It is them. They made it onto the honor roll."
"Who's the person in the middle with only his forehead showing? You can't see him at all."
"Who knows? Some poor unlucky guy."
Not far away, Principal Roken was admiring his photograph from a distance. The more he looked at it, the more satisfied he became.
"Sir Roken, how is the enlargement?"
Photographer Xiao Gao asked obsequiously.
"It's just right. And you took this photograph very well. It captured my majestic physique perfectly."
Principal Roken genuinely loved the photograph.
"Sir Roken, it isn't that I took it well. You're naturally tall and impressive!"
Xiao Gao was very good at flattering people.
"Well said. Here's your bonus!"
Principal Roken took out a very thick envelope and handed it to Xiao Gao.
"Thank you, Sir Roken!"
Xiao Gao's face crinkled with laughter as he hurriedly accepted it with both hands.
Elsewhere, Su Ming and Minke glanced at the enlarged photograph. When they saw Principal Roken occupying more than half of it, they instantly lost interest in joining the excitement.
They then headed toward their classroom.
Not long afterward, Su Ming and Minke arrived at the classroom.
As soon as they stepped inside, the yellow-haired students and the others excitedly surrounded them, cheering.
"Oh, look! Our heroes are here!"
"Stop making a fuss."
Minke coughed and spoke.
"Class Monitor, we're not talking about you. We're talking about Su Ming."
The yellow-haired students and the others replied with laughter.
"Me? Wasn't my face completely blocked so you couldn't see it?"
Su Ming replied in confusion.
"Heh, what does that matter? It's all just image-building. We're telling you, your spring has arrived."
The yellow-haired students exchanged suggestive looks.
"Sorry, I don't understand what you're talking about."
Su Ming was completely baffled. But seeing the lewd grins on their faces, he could tell that something was definitely going on.
Before you continue