Although she had gone to bed late last night, she was up early today.
A day alone with the Taoist was a rare treat, and Wen Zhixia had no intention of wasting it. She climbed out of bed at eight on Sunday and dragged Chen Shi'an out with her for a steaming hot breakfast in the little county town.
There were no classes at neighboring Shangping Middle School that day, so they stopped by and strolled leisurely around the campus.
"Did you go to middle school here, Little Cicada?"
"Yep! I was in Class Two... Taoist, look! My photo's still on the bulletin board!"
"It really is..."
Chen Shi'an and Fat Cat beside him both looked over with interest.
Posted on the bulletin board were the top scorers in the high school entrance exam from each graduating class at Shangping Middle School over nearly twenty years.
Beneath her portrait, a clear line of text stood out:
[2022 / Grade Nine, Class Two / Wen Zhixia / Total score: 783 / First in the city]
"You were amazing, Little Cicada."
"Hee..."
Even though he had long known her entrance exam score and ranking, Chen Shi'an couldn't help praising her when he saw it with his own eyes.
After all, this was a county-level key school, with educational resources far inferior to those of schools in the city. In previous years, even the school's top scorer had only ranked somewhere in the top few dozen citywide.
Looking down the list, Wen Zhixia's year was the only one in which she had not merely come first in the school, but had topped the entrance exam for all of Cloud Roost City.
Wen Zhixia raised her little chin proudly. Didn't that prove she was better than Ice Block Spirit? Although they had