Daddy

A combined science score of 210 meant an average of seventy points per subject.

In the Olympiad Class, that would only have been average, but in the Parallel Class, it was practically supernatural. Based on combined science alone, it would have put him in the top ten, if not the top five.

Of their six subjects, five had now revealed their health bars.

Someone took the score sheets for those five subjects, added them up, and compiled a ranking. Among the current top five was a name that had never appeared there before.

Jiang Nian, 432 points, ranked second.

Ahead of him was Wang Jie, the king of lopsided grades: 210 in combined science, 87 in Chinese, and 140 in math, for a total of 437.

Zhou Yuting ranked third, with fairly even scores across the board. Her 200 in combined science was better than usual, her Chinese was an unremarkable 90, and her math was 110, adding up to four hundred.

That was the norm in a science-track Parallel Class: shaky foundations and wildly uneven grades.

That afternoon, Jiang Nian applied medicine for Xu Qianqian.

Song Xiyun stayed crouched beside them, watching with a giggle and a coy little smile. Whenever Jiang Nian rubbed for a while, she would go hee-hee-hee, like some sort of mouse.

"Seriously, girl, are you in heat?" He was starting to lose patience.

"Hmph! Qianqian, listen to him. He has no filter at all." Song Xiyun flung herself onto Xu Qianqian and whined, looking like a maid begging her empress to defend her.

"Isn't he always like that? Just don't provoke him."

"Oh? I get it. His exclusive plaything."

Even Xu Qianqian couldn't keep a straight face anymore. She pinched Song Xiyun and snapped,

"What are you talking about!"

"Hee-hee." Song Xiyun watched with great relish, then turned to ask Jiang Nian, "And you still say she isn't your exclusive plaything? You're already applying medicine for her. I've only seen this scene in romance dramas."

"Watch fewer dramas. You're beyond saving." Jiang Nian gave her a dead-eyed stare.

"Jiang Nian, do you like Qianqian?"

At that, Jiang Nian's hands paused. An almost imperceptible blush instantly rose to Xu Qianqian's cheeks.

"Yunyun!"

"Why would you ask that?" Jiang Nian asked.

"Because usually only couples do this. Otherwise, why would you?" Song Xiyun grinned. She only wanted to enjoy the drama, but the more she watched, the harder she shipped them.

"Oh, because she called me Daddy. If you call me Daddy and sprain your ankle, I'll massage your foot too." Jiang Nian sounded completely unconcerned.

Xu Qianqian couldn't stand these two anymore. Just as she was about to tell them to stop, she suddenly heard a clear, bright voice.

"Daddy."

The air froze. Jiang Nian and Xu Qianqian both turned to look at Song Xiyun.

Song Xiyun blinked at them, looking utterly bashful.

"I was just... lightening the mood."

Damn it! You only made it weirder!

Once he finished applying the medicine, Jiang Nian left, leaving Xu Qianqian earnestly explaining things to Song Xiyun. They weren't in any special relationship, for instance. It was just a math deal.

Song Xiyun: "(><), tell me more. I love hearing this."

Evening self-study.

The incomplete overall ranking circulated around the classroom. When everyone saw Jiang Nian in second place, they were stunned, and an unavoidable thought sprang to mind.

"He didn't cheat, did he?"

"We haven't seen him all summer. Maybe he took tutoring classes or studied at home."

"That's possible. It happened in my friend's class too. Someone who had pretty average grades last semester came back after summer break and shot straight to the top in senior year."

"That's insane!"

"I've got a little inside scoop. Apparently, something happened over summer break that really shook Jiang Nian up..."

"Now that's gossip I want to hear. Go on."

Zhou Yuting listened to the chatter around her from a distance, her brow furrowing further. She glanced toward Jiang Nian. Had she really been the one to spur him on?

The English scores weren't out yet, and the Parallel Class basically only had one spot for promotion to the higher class.

Wang Jie, currently in first place, was utter garbage at English. If he scored over sixty, it would practically be a blessing from his ancestors. Once the English scores came out, his total definitely wouldn't break five hundred.

She already had four hundred. A 130 in English would get her over the cutoff.

As for Jiang Nian, his English scores had always hovered around sixty or seventy. He would only have a chance of competing with her if he scored a hundred, and that was impossible.

Jiang Nian was a little distracted, yawning as he corrected his mistakes.

He had completed the task. There were now seven thousand yuan in his account.

What did seven thousand yuan mean to a high school student? It was like a Naruto Mobile addict waking up to find three hundred thousand gold in his inbox.

He really wanted to go back in time, pull out that money, and slap those idiots across the face with it. Then again, he was a little reluctant to part with it.

As his thoughts wandered, a ding sounded in his mind.

[At thirty-eight, you decided to change your appearance ahead of a date and committed to losing weight. Task: obtain a gym membership and purchase at least thirty training sessions.

Reward: RMB 20,000.]

Looking at the task on the panel, Jiang Nian thought, My future self is such a fucking pain. Do you really need a gym just to lose weight? Can't you find a park and go for a run?

Some people were ruthless enough to insult even themselves.

Fortunately, the task only required joining a gym and buying sessions. It didn't specify how much weight he had to lose or require him to attend. He was already at his ideal weight, so what was there to lose? Besides, he had school every day. Where would he find the time to go out?

Otherwise, Jiang Nian would probably have been put through hell.

Jiang Nian had already decided to slip out during evening self-study and ask around for a gym.

Getting permission to leave wasn't a problem. He was moving up a class anyway. He would score at least 130 in English. If 560 couldn't get him promoted, then fuck it, nobody should move up! Let it all burn!

In the office, the homeroom teacher looked Jiang Nian up and down and adjusted his glasses.

"You want sick leave?"

"Baa." Jiang Nian looked utterly drained.

The homeroom teacher's eyelid twitched. He usually turned a blind eye when students lied to get sick leave, especially good students. This time, Jiang Nian had scored...

He pulled over the score slip and checked. 432? And that didn't even include English.

The homeroom teacher tried to recall Jiang Nian's usual English scores from last semester. Uh... they were so unremarkable that he honestly couldn't remember.

"Jiang Nian, you did well this time. You must have worked hard over the summer."

"Yes, I read some books." Jiang Nian scratched his head while continuing to act feeble, trying to drop a subtle hint for the middle-aged man. "I stayed up late studying all summer. My stomach... sigh, it's left me with a lingering problem."

"Oh, then you need to take care of yourself." The homeroom teacher refused to indulge his performance and shook the sheet of paper. "How

were your English grades last semester?"

"About sixty or seventy." Jiang Nian was getting anxious.

"What about this time? How much do you expect to score?"

"Uh, over a hundred, I guess." Jiang Nian offered a conservative estimate.

"Hmm?" The homeroom teacher's hand trembled. Adding up the total, he suddenly realized something, and his voice turned desolate. "Sigh..."

"What did you say?"

"Ah, nothing. You did well." The homeroom teacher forced a smile, no longer in the mood to ask questions. "Give me your leave slip. Stay safe."

On the third floor, in one of the Olympiad Classes.

Seeing Song Xiyun return with red-rimmed eyes, Xu Qianqian looked worried.

"What's wrong?"

"My mom told me to wait for her after school. She's taking me out for a late-night meal," Song Xiyun said. "I kept asking, and she finally told me she's planning to quit her job at the gym."