Dawn broke.
Shen Ye yawned and began washing up.
Last night, he had planned to open the Gate after midnight and venture into Elf Territory to earn himself a trait.
But his stamina simply hadn't allowed it.
-He had used his newly awakened ability several times in quick succession, and had even performed Deer Walk Beneath the Moon once.
He had actually been utterly exhausted.
As though he hadn't slept in days, he had barely managed to muster the energy to hide the mask and medal before collapsing onto his bed and falling asleep.
He had slept straight through until the next morning.
He would have to wait until he got to school today and see if he could find a deserted spot to earn an evaluation trait first.
Yes.
Today, he had to go to school for group revision and tell his teacher that he would continue taking the high school entrance exams.
In short, he had a lot to do.
"Ye, hurry up and eat breakfast-you're almost late!"
"Coming, coming!"
Shen Ye put his packed schoolbag in the living room, then immediately sat down at the dining table.
"Here, have some eggs."
Zhao Xiaoshang placed two boiled eggs in front of Shen Ye.
Shen Ye picked up an egg and looked over the table as he cracked its shell.
Today's breakfast was rice porridge, steamed buns, and pickled vegetables.
Shen Shi'an sat at the table, picking up a few strips of pickled vegetables, taking a bite of steamed bun, then slurping some porridge, eating with relish.
Their breakfasts had never been lavish, but it had never gotten to the point where he was the only one who got eggs.
It seemed that Marrow-Replenishing Pill really had dealt a blow to the family's finances.
Zhao Xiaoshang watched him until he finished the eggs. Only then did she look away, sit down beside the two of them, and begin eating.
"Did you take the Marrow-Replenishing Pill last night?" Shen Shi'an asked.
"I did-look how full of life I am." Shen Ye showed off the nonexistent muscles on his arms.
"Good. Does anything still feel wrong?" Zhao Xiaoshang asked as well.
"Nope. Just waiting for the exams now," Shen Ye said.
Seeing how confident he looked, his parents exchanged a glance and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Just focus on your revision and do your best in the exams," his father said.
"It's fine if you don't do well. Your dad and I can feed you without any trouble. We can take our time finding you a job," Zhao Xiaoshang added.
Warmth welled up in Shen Ye's heart.
He had been an orphan in his previous life, weathering the world's storms alone, with no one to share its warmth or cold. No one had ever cared about him like this.
He put down his chopsticks and widened his eyes.
"What are you talking about? Have a little faith in me, will you? Even if I can't get into a top school, getting into an ordinary high school won't be a problem."
-In truth, with one exam score missing, his chances of getting into high school were already precarious.
He would have to score highly in all three remaining subjects to have any chance of reaching the cutoff.
But neither Shen Shi'an nor Zhao Xiaoshang said so.
"Hurry up and eat. I'll take you to school afterward," Shen Shi'an said with a smile.
"I can go by myself," Shen Ye said.
"You've only just recovered. I'll take you," Shen Shi'an said in a tone that brooked no refusal.
Twenty minutes later.
Qingzhou No. 2 Middle School.
The teachers' office.
"It's truly a shame, Shen Ye. But with your grades, you still have a chance of getting into an ordinary high school."
His homeroom teacher, Jiang Hantao, spoke with regret in his eyes.
"That's why I've come back to revise and prepare for the second exam the day after tomorrow," Shen Ye said.
"If you can get into high school, then with your original talent and grades, perhaps you might still qualify for a better profession someday-I'll let the principal and the Exam Supervision Group know. Head back to class first," Jiang Hantao said.
"Thank you, Mr. Jiang," Shen Ye said gratefully.
"Focus on preparing for the exams. Don't worry about anything else." Jiang Hantao patted his shoulder, stood up, and left the office.
Shen Ye headed toward his classroom as well.
Class Five, Year Nine.
It was the first classroom to the left of the stairs on the fourth floor.
He pushed open the classroom door.
Someone whispered, "Shen Ye's here," and the various noises inside immediately died away.
His classmates looked at him with complicated expressions.
Shen Ye returned to his seat at an unhurried pace, opened his bag, took out volume three of Body Form and its exercises, and lowered his head to read.
"Ye, I'm sorry."
A voice came from behind him.
Shen Ye turned to see a tall boy looking at him, his face full of guilt.
He remembered now.
This boy was Chen Haoyu, a close friend of his.
A few days ago, Chen Haoyu had been hospitalized with a fever, and Shen Ye had encountered that incident while visiting him.
But now he understood that none of it had been a coincidence.
Someone wanted to kill him.
"It's fine. It wasn't your fault. I was just unlucky," Shen Ye said with a smile.
Moved, Chen Haoyu said, "Ye, I'll treat you to some stir-fried dishes at lunch."
"Sure," Shen Ye replied.
He flipped through Body Form, then looked through the exercise book before setting them aside.
At the middle school level, the movement techniques taught in textbooks were all for building a foundation.
They would only learn martial techniques in high school.
Now that he had absorbed the Elven knowledge of movement techniques and learned Deer Walk Beneath the Moon, which was good enough for deadly combat on a battlefield, this material seemed like child's play.
What he really needed to take seriously were the next two subjects.
-Psychic Power Primer and Language and Science Knowledge.
Mental power was relatively straightforward.
After all, he had one attribute point. Adding it to mental power would bring it to 1.7.
That figure already far exceeded the exam requirements.
He only needed to familiarize himself with the exam procedures and give it his all to have a very good chance of getting the score he wanted.
The truly difficult subject was Language and Science Knowledge.
This subject combined middle school language, mathematics, foreign languages, history, physics, and chemistry into a single course.
There was a vast amount of material.
The exam also lasted a full four hours.
Damn it!
Even after being reborn in another world, he still couldn't escape studying this stuff, and the exam requirements were even higher.
Shen Ye opened Language and Science Knowledge and began reading silently.
He had never seen any of the texts in the language section, and the history was completely different too.
Fortunately, the material in the other disciplines overlapped with his previous life's.
He had done reasonably well in his studies in his previous life, and in this life, Shen Ye's grades had already been among the very best in his year.
-I'll work through a few more practice papers and get a feel for it.
Shen Ye took out his exercise book, lowered his head, and got to work.
Inside the classroom.
Everyone began burying themselves in revision.
After all, the exams that would determine their fates were the day after tomorrow.
Morning study ended.
His classmates left their seats and gathered in groups of three or five in the corridor to take a break.
Shen Ye remained bent over his exercises.
A sudden sound reached his ears. Looking up, he saw several girls tapping on the window.
His train of thought interrupted, Shen Ye reluctantly put down his pen.
"What is it?"
"Zhao Yibing wants to see you. She's in the stairwell," one of the girls said.
Zhao Yibing?
Shen Ye searched his memories for a moment and finally recalled a pretty girl.
Zhao Yibing from Class Two, Year Nine, also had excellent grades. She had always been friends with Shen Ye and often came to discuss their studies with him.
There seemed to be something vaguely romantic between them too.
-What does she want with me?
Oh, right. I'm Shen Ye.
Shen Ye really didn't want to waste time he could spend doing exercises, but recalling his predecessor's relationship with Zhao Yibing, he felt it might seem a little odd not to go.
I'd better go.
He reluctantly stood, left the classroom, and followed the girls to the stairwell.
Zhao Yibing stood prettily in the stairwell.
She wore her hair in a ponytail and had a slender figure and finely drawn features. Though dressed in an ordinary school uniform, there was charm in every glance, making it hard not to look a little longer.
Even Shen Ye couldn't help reflecting-
Youth really is the best beauty treatment. You look beautiful without dressing up much at all.
"You wanted to see me?"
Shen Ye asked directly.
The break between classes was only ten minutes.
If he could finish up here quickly, he would still have time to tackle a long-form problem.
"Shen Ye," Zhao Yibing said with a sympathetic expression, "I heard you're still preparing for the exams?"
"What did you need?" Shen Ye asked.
"I did well in the first exam, and I'm confident about the rest. I should be able to get into a top provincial school," Zhao Yibing said.
"Congratulations," Shen Ye said.
"What I'm trying to say is... don't come looking for me anymore," Zhao Yibing said.
After speaking, she took a step back, as though afraid Shen Ye might react drastically.
The other girls looked at Shen Ye.
The students passing by pricked up their ears too.
For the first time, Shen Ye began taking this matter seriously.
He carefully sorted through his memories and began to look squarely at Shen Ye's relationship with this girl.
Zhao Yibing explained further:
"Shen Ye, what I mean is-we'll each have our own path to follow, so we shouldn't take this any further. But we can still be friends."
"Although..."
"Sooner or later, our different social classes will leave us with nothing in common to talk about."
Shen Ye listened silently.
Yes.
This world really was that pragmatic.
Starting in high school, countless people got stuck in a particular year, unable to break through, and had no choice but to find work.
With every year they advanced, they grew stronger, qualified for a wider range of professions, and gained higher status.
But-
This is only middle school.
Shen Ye has already missed one exam, and you still have to kick him while he's down. Isn't that going a little too far?
Zhao Yibing said quietly:
"Don't come looking for me anymore. I've deleted your contact details too. I hope you can live your own life well from now on."
She watched Shen Ye's expression, glancing at the other students out of the corner of her eye.
But Shen Ye merely picked at his ear and said casually:
"As I recall, you've always been the one coming to our class to find me all these years. I don't think I've ever gone looking for you."
Zhao Yibing froze, her face suddenly flushing bright red.
She noticed that the students around them were giving her rather strange looks too.
Yes, Shen Ye ranked first in their year, and it had always been Zhao Yibing who kept seeking him out.
Now Shen Ye had missed one exam.
And you, Zhao Yibing, immediately had to draw a line between you in public.
Wasn't that a bit... much?
"Zhao Yibing, I never wanted to be friends with you in the first place."
Shen Ye continued, "Exams are coming up soon. I hope you'll keep your word and stop pestering me and getting in the way of my revision."
Clean and decisive-finish the kill and leave.
Shen Ye turned to make his exit.
Zhao Yibing stood where she was, anxious but helpless.
She had meant to announce to everyone that she was officially rid of him-
How had it turned into her pestering him?
She wanted to tell Shen Ye not to leave.
But if she asked him to stay now, wouldn't that prove she was still pestering him?
"Wait, don't be in such a hurry to run away!" one girl said.
"Bingbing gave you plenty of gifts, didn't she? And this is how you talk to her?" another girl said.
"Shen Ye, you're such a disappointment," a third girl said.
They blocked Shen Ye's path.
Shen Ye looked at the girls, then at the students watching, before finally turning his gaze to Zhao Yibing.
Damn it.
What exactly do you want?
Didn't I say I needed to revise?
Zhao Yibing said tearfully, "Shen Ye, I thought we were friends."
Playing the victim... refusing to let me leave...
Looks like she won't be satisfied until she's put me down a few times.
But-
That's a little too amateurish.
Shen Ye said expressionlessly:
"Zhao Yibing, I did accept your gifts, but accepting gifts doesn't mean accepting you."
The watching students froze.
Shen Ye folded his arms and said coldly, "You gave me those gifts of your own free will. I never forced you. If you can't be my friend, that's your own failing."
The girls were stunned.
"If you truly wanted what's best for me, you wouldn't use gifts to tie me down. Surely I have the right to pursue someone better."
When he finished, he stared steadily at Zhao Yibing, as though waiting for an answer.
But Zhao Yibing had absolutely no idea whether to respond, how to respond, or what to say.
It's over.
He's on another level-so high it's simply beyond reach.
"I have nothing more to say to you. If you want your gifts back, I'll pay you back for them, but don't dream of being my friend."
With that, Shen Ye turned and left.
"Scumbag!"
"Shen Ye, you're a scumbag!"
"Jerk!"
The girls spoke indignantly.
Even a few boys joined in the cursing.
Shen Ye gave a snort, held his head high, and swaggered upstairs.