Silence fell inside and outside the arena.
Most people had failed to catch what happened at the end and looked blankly toward the cluster of teachers.
Clap, clap, clap...
Zhao Zhe was the first to rise, applauding the final victor.
Cheers crashed against their ears like ocean waves, drowning out questions that had yet to be answered. Enthusiastic applause stirred up blazing emotions, offering all of them to the three people in the arena.
Or perhaps they generously offered them to their own hardworking selves, leaving a vivid stroke across their youth that even they had never noticed.
Sitting on the ground, Lou Guanshan conceded wholeheartedly. "I thought we could win, but we still fell just short."
Wan Lan brushed the dirt off herself. "A tiny difference can put you miles apart. I accept the loss."
Mu Bingge reached out and pulled them both up. "You really are strong. If I hadn't learned Flower in the Mirror, Moon on the Water, I probably wouldn't have been a match for you."
Wan Lan slowly took out a piece of candy and popped it into her mouth, mumbling, "I'm not giving up. You'd better watch out. One of these days, I might just overtake you."
Lou Guanshan nodded. "What a great rivalry. This makes us sworn rivals, right?"
What the hell did he mean, sworn rivals? Wan Lan's expression darkened.
"Watch less anime. You're getting a little too deep into your edgy fantasy phase."
Lou Guanshan didn't take that in at all. "But isn't it cool?"
Sometimes she really wanted to kick him, but it never quite reached that point. After all, he was just a little melodramatic, and that wasn't exactly a flaw worth criticizing.
What was youth without a little cringe? Forget it.
Wan Lan turned her face away and said weakly, "Cool as hell. Keep it up."
Zhao Zhe hadn't forgotten his role as host. His clear voice reached everyone's ears.
"Quiet, please. During this Points Competition, we all witnessed your hard work and perseverance. The competition is now over, and I'm sure what you're most concerned about is your score."
With a sweep of Zhao Zhe's hand, a projected screen appeared in midair. Names sprang onto the board, crammed together so densely that the sight alone could trigger a fear of clustered patterns.
Ye Buyu rubbed her eyes. "This is one hell of an eyesight test."
Shi Can laughed. "With an Awakened's eyesight, reading this shouldn't be difficult, should it?"
"I'm used to the big fonts on PowerPoint slides. Suddenly seeing such a crowded screen takes some getting used to."
Ye Buyu still remembered her teacher repeatedly impressing upon her that the font had to be large and neatly arranged, not piled together like a swarm of ants.
Looking at the densely packed text on the screen, Shi Can said softly,
"But these are proof of their hard work. It isn't only first place that deserves to stand center stage. Every candidate standing here today is the one and only protagonist of their own story. Naturally, they should all be displayed together."
A warm current flowed through Ye Buyu's heart as she looked at Shi Can's gentle gaze. So the teachers standing here were watching over everyone.
Noticing Ye Buyu's gaze, Shi Can reminded her with a smile, "Oh, right. This list is in random order. If you want to know your score, you'd better start looking."
"Huh?"
Ye Buyu looked up. Sure enough, the first name wasn't Mu Bingge, but someone she didn't recognize.
"Holy shit, how am I supposed to find it in all that?"
The teachers laughed merrily. "This is a kind of training too, students."
Her touched heart shattered with a crack. The warmth vanished halfway through, and suddenly every teacher's smile looked sinister.
Ye Buyu searched for her name through gritted teeth. Give me back that warm, fuzzy feeling!
Groans rose from the spectator stands as well, and everything descended into chaos.
"Seriously? You're messing with us like this? How are we supposed to find anything when you've scrambled the rankings?"
The first student to be eliminated shouted, "Unbelievable! I know you mean well and want to spare me the embarrassment of being dead last, but you really don't have to!"
The student beside him shook his head solemnly. "No, no, no. I don't think you're at the bottom. Being eliminated first doesn't mean you have the fewest points. Keep looking, bro."
"With teachers who swing between nice and nasty like this, I honestly don't know whether we're lucky or unlucky!"
The teachers thoroughly enjoyed the students' complaints.
Some even burst into gleeful laughter at their misery.
"I got caught in the rain back in my day, so now I'm tearing up your umbrellas! Hahahahaha! None of you are getting away!"
Ye Buyu really wanted to take a picture of that teacher's vile expression, but she simply didn't have the time.
After searching for nearly fifteen minutes, she finally found her name and saw her points.
The string of digits after her name immediately stunned her into a daze.
"That many?!"
It was far more than she had imagined!
"Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands... a hundred thousand?! One hundred sixteen thousand five hundred seventy-two. Why is it so oddly specific?"
Shi Can was surprised too. "That many? I thought fifty or sixty thousand would be the limit. At this rate, we'll be seeing each other in the very first month. Looking forward to it, Ye Buyu?"
After what had happened during the Points Competition, looking at Shi Can's baby face again sent a chill through Ye Buyu.
Suddenly, she wasn't so eager to see this teacher again so soon.
"Can I not look forward to it?"
"Hmm, an unexpected answer, but I like it." Shi Can gazed toward the board, excitement bubbling up in her eyes.
"I love troublemakers most."
Those casually spoken words reached Ye Buyu's ears and raised goosebumps all over her.
"No, no, no, I'm very well behaved." Ye Buyu backed down immediately, blinking her red eyes as she looked pitifully at Shi Can.
She tried to act cute to escape her fate.
Shi Can gently reached out and rested a hand on Ye Buyu's shoulder. "Acting cute won't help either. Prepare yourself."
Ye Buyu slowly fell apart. She tilted her head toward the less-than-clear sky, unable to understand why a healer like her had to suffer this calamity.
"Did I blow up the universe in my previous life?"
Ye Buyu's soul-deep question sent Little Whale into peals of laughter.
The harder Little Whale laughed, the more thoroughly Ye Buyu lost it.
Oh, heavens above, earth below! Bad luck out here was bad enough, but there was even a damned whale in her head waiting every day to laugh at her.
Life was impossible!
After waiting for almost half an hour, Zhao Zhe coughed a few times and glanced at the teachers behind him.
The teachers all revealed knowing smiles.
Seeing this, Ye Buyu opened her mouth. How should she put it? She wore that same smile whenever she was about to do something bad.
As the atmosphere gradually quieted, Zhao Zhe swept his gaze over the young faces, an unconscious hint of gentleness entering his voice. "Thank you all for your hard work."
Ye Buyu clenched her hands. Here it comes. The carrot before the mischief. Next comes the merciless stick!
A second later, Zhao Zhe broke into a huge grin.
"I forgot to tell you. Your scores have already been sent to your communicators. Remember to check them."
The students frantically searching for their names: ...
Their fists clenched. Tight.
Before you continue