Full Marks Are Easy

Nearly an hour later, the bus arrived smoothly at their destination, and the two got off to head toward the beach.

They arrived at the changing rooms to put on the swimsuits they had brought.

Lin Zichen wore only a pair of swimming trunks, revealing his chiseled, muscular upper body.

Shen Qinghan, as always, was dressed modestly, showing only a sliver of her thighs; she felt too shy to reveal much in a public place.

"There are fewer people over there, let's go that way."

"Okay."

Shen Qinghan nodded and obediently followed Lin Zichen as he walked ahead.

Soon, the two stepped into the shallow water.

Lin Zichen first had Shen Qinghan test how long she could hold her breath underwater to see if she could still manage over 10 minutes like last time.

As it turned out, Shen Qinghan's performance shocked him; she held her breath underwater for a full 20 minutes.

"Xiao Chen, how long?"

"20 minutes and 38 seconds."

"Ah, that long?"

Shen Qinghan subconsciously opened her small mouth, stunned by her own performance.

Lin Zichen said to her, "Hanhan, your aquatic ability is so good, it might be related to your inability to hold your bladder since you were a child. We need to study this properly and try to figure out the reason as soon as possible."

"Mm, I also think it's related to that," Shen Qinghan said, her cheeks flushing a faint crimson.

Lin Zichen was far too blunt, bringing up her bedwetting issues with such a casual air that it made her feel incredibly embarrassed.

Even though they had grown up together and were usually intimate, there was still a difference between men and women, and some overly private topics were bound to be awkward.

In the time that followed, Lin Zichen tested all of Shen Qinghan's various underwater capabilities one after another.

Throughout the testing process, he kept observing the changes in her body.

Regrettably, her body remained normal, with no special changes appearing.

The only difference was that all of Shen Qinghan's underwater abilities were even more outstanding than last time.

This was very strange; she hadn't done any underwater training during the interim, so how had her underwater abilities improved?

This defied all common sense and required careful observation and study...

With that thought, Lin Zichen looked at Shen Qinghan and said:

"Hanhan, let's go, let's dive and explore the underwater world."

"Okay."

Shen Qinghan nodded.

Not long after the words left their lips, the two dove into the water together, strolling along the seabed nearly ten meters deep.

During this time, Lin Zichen kept observing Shen Qinghan's physical state, finding that she was a bit uncomfortable when she first went under, but she quickly adapted and moved freely in the underwater world at a depth of nearly ten meters.

This aquatic ability was too heaven-defying—so much so that she didn't seem like a land creature, but rather an aquatic one.

It was as if what Xu Meng said was true: Shen Qinghan was made of water...

Just as Lin Zichen was thinking these things.

Shen Qinghan, who had been looking relaxed and content just a moment ago, suddenly had her expression change drastically. She shook his arm forcefully in a panic, signaling her need to surface.

He did not hesitate, immediately surfacing with Shen Qinghan before swimming quickly to the shore.

"Did you hear that sound from last time again?"

Once they were on the shore, Lin Zichen looked at Shen Qinghan and asked immediately.

Shen Qinghan's face was a little pale as she said, "I heard that strange sound again. This time it was clearer and louder, as if a woman was whispering right against my ear. It sounded terrifying."

"Could you hear what it was saying this time?" Lin Zichen asked.

Shen Qinghan shook her head: "I couldn't tell. It didn't feel like any common language in this world; it sounded like someone chanting a spell, filled with an ancient and weathered aura."

"A spell?" Lin Zichen frowned slightly, then asked again: "Can you replicate that sound for me to hear?"

"No, I feel like human vocal cords can't produce that kind of sound." Shen Qinghan shook her head, and after speaking, she added, "Xiao Chen, let's go back. I don't want to stay here anymore; I don't feel safe."

"Mm, let's go back."

Seeing that she was in a bad state, Lin Zichen quickly took her away from the beach.

In the car.

Recalling the sound she had just heard in the sea, Shen Qinghan couldn't help but feel a lingering fear.

She looked at Lin Zichen with lingering trepidation, her tone filled with pleading: "Xiao Chen, can I not come to the beach in the future? I don't want to train my aquatic abilities anymore..."

"Okay, we won't come again," Lin Zichen agreed without a second thought.

Shen Qinghan had heard that strange sound both times she had gone into the sea, which made him feel a trace of unease as well.

He thought that it would be best to avoid the beach in the future; if he wanted to train his swimming skills, he could go to some clean private pools instead.

As for that eerie female voice Shen Qinghan had heard in the ocean, he would just have to wait until he became stronger to find an opportunity to investigate it further and see what was actually going on.

Time passed quickly.

Before he knew it, over a month had gone by.

Shanhai High School, Class 1 Grade 1.

Cai Yuanfei, the teacher for the Mechanical Modification Course, walked in carrying a stack of test papers and looked at the crowd.

"In the blink of an eye, it's already October. School has been in session for over a month now, and during this time, we have learned quite a bit. It is time to test your learning outcomes."

"I have set up rewards for this exam: 888 yuan in cash for first place, 666 yuan for second, and 333 yuan for third."

"It isn't a huge amount of money, just an incentive, but I hope everyone takes it seriously and uses this to properly evaluate what you have learned over the past month. Do not treat this lightly."

After saying this, Cai Yuanfei handed the papers to the students in the front row to pass them back.

"So generous? There's a cash prize for just a small in-class quiz?"

He Yu, sitting in the audience, was quite shocked by this.

Li Chuxin asked in confusion upon hearing this, "Don't the high schools in Nanguan have this?"

He Yu shook his head. "I've never heard of such a thing."

Li Chuxin explained, "In schools like Shanhai High, the school allocates a certain amount of funding to teachers every month to use as incentives for students during regular assessments."

"Damn, that's awesome?" He Yu was surprised at first, then couldn't help but complain, "Nanguan City claims to be a powerhouse of education, yet the benefits for students aren't even as good as Shanhai City's. That's so pathetic!"

Lin Zichen, sitting to the side, felt a bit surprised as well.

There was actually a cash prize?

And the first-place prize was 888 yuan?

This reward was truly generous; it was almost enough to buy half a catty of Violent Roc meat.

"Everyone quiet down. Stop talking and start working once you have your papers."

Seeing the students discussing the prize money and making the classroom noisy, Cai Yuanfei immediately spoke up to regain control.

Soon, the classroom fell silent, and everyone began burying their heads in their papers.

The test was somewhat difficult, with many of the questions testing obscure knowledge points.

Most of the students were frowning as they worked.

Lin Zichen tried a few questions and felt it was fine—quite simple, actually. He could basically see the answer at a glance and didn't even need to use his brain throughout the process.

The only part worth thinking about was the final sub-question of the last problem.

But even that only took an extra half-minute.

Getting a perfect score of 100 was child's play.

The 888 yuan for first place could be considered already in his pocket.

Over an hour later.

The exam ended.

Cai Yuanfei came over to collect the papers to take back to the office for grading, aiming to finish before the lunch break.

The moment he left, a chorus of wails erupted throughout the classroom.

"Damn, why was it so hard? It even asked for the energy wavelength of a Laser Cannon. How am I supposed to memorize that? And what's the point of memorizing it anyway?"

"Exactly, the questions were too difficult and obscure."

"That last problem was the most ridiculous. It asked for the relationship between the Anti-Reaction Airflow Device and atmospheric pressure, and even made us calculate the specific values. With all these decimal points, who the hell can calculate that!"

"Sigh, I was hoping to get a 90, but now I'll be lucky if I can even scrape a 60 to pass."

"..."

While the others were complaining about the difficulty of the paper, Wang Shujie stood up and walked over to Lu Gang, asking with a smile, "That paper was indeed a bit difficult. How did you do?"

"I think I can get a 95. I only missed the last sub-question of the final problem." After saying this, Lu Gang asked Wang Shujie, "What about you?"

Wang Shujie smiled. "Same here. I missed that last sub-question too. I estimate I'll get a 95 as well."

Hearing that both of them estimated a 95, many students around them cursed them under their breath for being show-offs.

The test was so hard, yet they still scored so high—did they even want others to survive?

On the other side, Shen Qinghan complained to Lin Zichen, "Xiao Chen, this was too hard. I might fail."

"It's fine. It's hard for everyone, not just you. As long as you're above the average, it'll be fine," Lin Zichen comforted her gently.

Shen Qinghan thought about it and agreed. The worry on her face faded, replaced by a sweet smile.

"That's true. My written exam scores have always been pretty good since I was a kid. I'll definitely be able to beat the average."

PS: Setting out my bowl, asking for monthly tickets and recommendation votes!