The exam rankings

The commotion dragged on for an hour before someone finally came to put a stop to it.

With the spectacle over, Yan Wen and Tang Yun headed to the supermarket to buy some supplies.

Looking at the dazzling array of products, Yan Wen frowned in dismay. "Over a thousand for one bottle of shampoo! Is there gold in it?"

Tang Yun laughed for a good while before he stopped. "This brand is flown in from overseas, and the manufacturer is overseas too, so it costs a bit more."

Yan Wen asked curiously, "Tang Yun, where's your family from? What kind of business do they run?"

"My family lives in Yan Jing. We run a small company."

"Yan Jing? Sounds like a wealthy place."

Tang Yun draped an arm over Yan Wen's shoulder. "When summer vacation starts, I'll take you home for a visit."

The Mu Family residence

Xie Yunshu admired her freshly manicured nails, then let out a long sigh. "With Xiao Wen away from home, life is so dull."

Mu Xu Xi paused in the middle of eating her snacks, then comforted her. "Mom, school lets out at the end of the month. Xiao Wen will be back then. Just wait a little longer."

"Your second brother has gone back to the company too, and your dad is busy with his company. Now it's just you and me at home. There's no one to keep me entertained."

"Mom, I don't like the sound of that. Am I not a person? I can keep you company if you're bored."

Xie Yunshu glanced at her helplessly. "What could you do to keep me entertained? It's no fun at all. If only Xiao Wen were here, I'd have gossip to listen to."

Mu Xu Xi's lips twitched. So her mother was complaining that she had no fresh gossip.

Mu Xu Xi's eyes lit up. "Mom, we can go find some gossip!"

Xie Yunshu looked half-comprehending. "You mean..."

"We can go out and look for it! Xiao Wen manages to pinpoint it every time. I refuse to believe we can't find any. Weicheng is so big. Surely there's some excitement for us to watch."

"You're right! I'll go change, and then we'll head out."

"I'll change too!"

A week later, the exam rankings were released. As soon as class ended, all the freshmen crowded around the noticeboard.

"Holy crap! I outdid myself! I actually got into Class Five!"

"Me too! We can stick together from now on."

"Where am I?"

"What's your name? I'll help you look."

Tang Yun and Yan Wen finally managed to squeeze their way to the front. The rankings, scores, and photographs of the top three students were prominently displayed in the center.

Tang Yun let out a startled curse. "Holy shit! A Yan, you're first! You came in first!"

Yan Wen was visibly delighted too. "That's great! All my hard work lately paid off."

"Holy shit! I'm tenth! I came in tenth! We can be in the same class."

"That's wonderful. We'll be classmates from now on."

Only after the two of them had left the crowd did Mu Huai'an come over to check his results. He carefully searched through the fifteen hundred names one by one until he finally found his own.

Three hundred and twenty-seventh.

Unwilling to accept it, Mu Huai'an looked up and happened to see Yan Wen's portrait against its red background. It felt as though the Yan Wen in the photograph was mocking him.

Mu Huai'an angrily punched the glass, then shoved his way through the crowd and left, ignoring the strange looks people gave him.

"What's wrong with him? Why did he suddenly lose it?"

"Maybe he did so badly that he couldn't take it."

"I got assigned to Class Thirteen. Did he do even worse than me? He looks like a good student. You really can't judge a book by its cover."

Tang Yun rubbed his hands eagerly as he looked at the fragrant food in front of him. "To celebrate how well we did, today's meal is on me. Don't hold back."

Looking at the steak, lamb, and little cakes on the table, Yan Wen couldn't help twitching the corners of his mouth. "But did you have to order this much? Won't it be a waste if we can't finish it?"

"This much? I've got a huge appetite. Nothing will go to waste. You know, this beef is really tender. Come on, eat before it gets cold."

Yan Wen's phone rang. It was Su Huilan calling. "Xiao Wen, I saw Shengyuan's exam rankings. Congratulations!"

Yan Lin's voice came from beside her. "Our Xiao Wen is amazing! First place! That's my boy!"

Yan Lin burst into hearty laughter.

Hearing the two of them made Yan Wen even happier. He even swayed his head a little as he ate.

Su Huilan chatted with Yan Wen a while longer, reminded him to take care of himself, then reluctantly hung up.

The moment that call ended, another came in.

Mu Xu Xi said with a laugh, "I saw the rankings. Not bad at all—first place!"

Yan Wen chuckled. "You all hear the news pretty quickly."

"Of course. Mom's been glued to her phone these past couple of days, just so she could see the school's results the moment they came out."

There seemed to be a scramble for the phone on the other end. Xie Yunshu's voice brimmed with joy. "Xiao Wen, I saw the results. You both did wonderfully! That's my boys! When you and An come home, I'll make you a feast! Our whole family will celebrate together. Oh, and invite your Dad Yan and Mom Yan over too!"

A happy smile spread across Yan Wen's face. "Sure. I'll talk to them about it."

Yan Wen glanced at Tang Yun's envious expression, covered the receiver, and asked, "Do you want to come home with me? We can celebrate together."

Tang Yun nodded vigorously. Yan Wen asked Xie Yunshu, "Mom, I'd like to bring a classmate home with me. His family lives far away, so he can't go home at the end of the month."

"Of course! Bring your classmate along. The more, the merrier."

"Thanks, Mom!"

Tang Yun let out a wistful exclamation. "Your family cares about you so much! I wish my parents could be like that. But they're so busy with work that they don't even have time to chat with me on the phone."

Tang Yun lowered his head dejectedly. Xiao Qi spoke up. Host, Tang Yun's parents recently went overseas on business and won't be back for six months. His youngest maternal uncle raised him, and he's spent more time apart from his parents than with them. But they both adore their only son. After learning their precious boy's results, they spent ages making plans to surprise him.

Yan Wen placed a piece of lamb in Tang Yun's bowl. "Don't be upset. Your parents are just busy with work. Who knows? Once they hear about your results, they might prepare a surprise for you."

"All right. I'll let myself look forward to it a little."

Yan Wen happened to spot Mu Huai'an. Tang Yun followed his gaze and caught sight of an expression even uglier than if Mu Huai'an had eaten shit.

Tang Yun asked, "Why does he look like that?"

Yan Wen shook his head. "I don't know either. Maybe he did too badly on the exam and can't accept it?"

"Huh? How badly would he have to do to look that awful?"

Xiao Qi held back a laugh. Host, Mu Huai'an is upset that you did better than him and stole his thunder. He ranked three hundred and twenty-seventh, while you came in first, putting you more than three hundred places ahead of him. He originally wanted to use these results to mock you mercilessly, but he never expected you to do better than him, much less come in first. Naturally, he's feeling very bitter.

Yan Wen sighed inwardly. Comparing everything will only hurt him in the end.

By the way, Host, Xiao Qi just found out that your eldest brother, Mu Xu Ye, will be coming home soon. It'll be during the same two days you're home at the end of the month.

What a coincidence. He won't come looking for trouble on Mu Huai'an's behalf like my second brother and third sister did at first, will he?

Probably not. Mu Xu Ye has a cold personality, and he's been neither warm nor cold toward Mu Huai'an all these years.

That's good. But if he really does come looking for trouble, my fists won't stand for it. Those eight years of martial arts training weren't for nothing.