Chapter 15

Chapter 16: You Won't Get In

Xue Yiyang and Liu Rui exchanged looks. Since when had Su Can become so sharp? Yet that last remark of his had left the whole arcade feeling vindicated.

Wang Weiwei's group stood frozen in silence, their minds still filled with the techniques and play they had just witnessed in the soccer game, almost unheard of and never before seen. They had undoubtedly opened an entirely new era for competitive play in this game.

Perhaps they were too absorbed in thinking over what they had seen, because Su Can's word "trash" actually didn't sound grating. They even vaguely felt that the insult was fair. Compared with Su Can standing before them, they really were a little... well.

"A master!" Xiao Wu, the slightly chubby boy in hip-hop clothes, gave him a thumbs-up.

Wang Weiwei stood up, faced Su Can, and held out his hand. "Wang Weiwei."

Su Can stepped forward and shook it. "Su Can."

"Those were incredible skills. I accept my loss wholeheartedly. You're an order of magnitude above me." Wang Weiwei turned to face the crowd. "Of course, I keep my word. Everyone's expenses today are on me!"

Another cheer went up from the crowd.

Su Can found himself beginning to like Wang Weiwei, and even his whole group. They were gracious even in defeat, and he could see genuine acceptance in their eyes. It made him think that although these rich kids were a little overbearing, their character and upbringing were still good.

As he shook Wang Weiwei's hand, Su Can's gaze unconsciously passed over his shoulder and landed on the girl behind him.

The girl was studying him curiously too. Those bright, large eyes met his once more, but this time, rather than another heavenly-sounding insult, she actually looked away, directing her gaze elsewhere with a hint of awkwardness.

Wang Weiwei's voice rang out. "I'll remember the name Su Can. We'll be staying here for a while longer. You'll come again, right? When you do, please give us some pointers."

"Hey! You should've asked that girl's name!" On the way home, Liu Rui and Xue Yiyang were so excited they were practically dancing. After today's battle, the three of them had an almost unshakable standing in this circle, and they had stolen the show.

"Luo Ran... I really wonder what her full name is. There's no girl like that at our school." Xue Yiyang pondered it. If this girl had landed in City First Middle School, she would have been nothing short of a blockbuster bombshell. There was no way he wouldn't have known about her.

"Besides, you really showed some skills today, you rascal! I only played against you a little while ago. You sure know how to hide your strength. So you weren't even going all out when you played us!" Liu Rui and Xue Yiyang returned to the subject of technique.

Didn't I only just travel back in time? Su Can thought, but aloud he said, "I was afraid using all my moves at once would make you two lose too much face, so I hid my strength for the time being and let you strut around a little longer!"

Both gave him scornful looks, but neither was angry, and their words were full of pride in him. Before this, Su Can had been the youngest and had not yet had his growth spurt, standing only 1.68 meters tall, a fair bit shorter than the other two at 1.73 and 1.75 meters. His words had therefore carried very little weight with them. Now, however, his two best friends clearly saw him in a new light, and even spoke to him with a little more respect. After all, the way Su Can had held his head high before Wang Weiwei's group today had already left a deep impression.

In the history Su Can remembered, today's scene had never happened. His rebirth had, in effect, invisibly altered fate. He wanted to change the fact that he had failed the high school entrance exams, and at the same time, change the equally troubled fates of his two best friends. His expression grew serious. "The entrance exams are the day after tomorrow. How's your revision going?"

Liu Rui laughed first. "What's there to revise for the entrance exams? I just skimmed my books. What can you possibly manage in these last two days? If you can't do it, you can't do it! Anyway, I think Wang Weiwei's crowd is pretty decent. Once the exams are over, let's go play him again. That guy's got good skills. He'd give us a match."

"You? Beat that Xiao Wu guy first, then talk. Apart from Su Can, the two of us are just easy pickings to them."

Su Can was almost impressed by these two. They could turn any subject back to games. He couldn't help saying seriously, "I'm talking about something important. I've been revising like mad for the entrance exams these past few days. Our teacher handed out a set of internal practice questions for every subject. Working through them would make for a really good systematic review. Take a look tomorrow. You can play anytime, but tomorrow is the last day before the exams. If you don't revise now, it'll be too late!"

The two stared at Su Can with their mouths open, looking rather as if they had encountered something supernatural, or another kind of human being.

Only after a long while, when they realized Su Can didn't seem to be joking, did their expressions and thoughts return to normal.

"Ugh, I only thought of coming out to play this afternoon because I couldn't focus on studying. What am I supposed to do? You think I don't want to study? It's three years' worth of material. There's too much to tackle all at once. I know where I stand." Xue Yiyang frowned.

Liu Rui also said, "I did some revision beforehand. Anyway, as long as I get into No. 2 High School, that's enough. My dad's expectations aren't high!"

"Whichever subjects you're struggling with, I can give you systematic practice questions. The entrance exams last two and a half days. We can strategically use that time to revise subjects that aren't tested early on. Prioritizing things will help a lot. We can celebrate once the exams are over!"

Xue Yiyang frowned and thought for a moment. "English, chemistry, and math. I'm a bit weaker in those three. The other subjects that need memorization aren't going to improve in such a short time, so we can leave those alone for now."

"For me, it's biology, physics, English, and chemistry. Oh, I might need a copy for math too. I'm pretty weak in all of those."

Su Can nodded. "I'll photocopy the relevant questions for you first thing tomorrow. Chinese and math are on the first day, so those two take priority. I'll come find you tomorrow morning!"

His seriousness stunned them, and both nodded. In fact, Su Can's outstanding performance that day had involuntarily made them give much more weight to what he said. So now, when he brought up the entrance exams, for once neither responded with a dismissive laugh. In the past, all three had tried to avoid the subject of exam results. Their grades were at the bottom of their respective classes and schools, and they had no interest in what they were learning. Studying was merely a means of getting through exams. Now that Su Can had brought it up again so seriously, the other two realized this was the greatest problem and hurdle facing them at present, and they grew serious too.

Before they parted at the work-unit residential compound, Xue Yiyang started to speak several times, then stopped. At last, he could no longer hold back. "Are you really planning to try for First Middle School?"

"What!" Liu Rui, who, like the others, had picked up a lamb skewer on the way back and was still chewing away, nearly let a mouthful of grease spill out. "First Middle School?!"

Looking at Xue Yiyang, who was chewing his lamb skewer and staring at him dubiously, Su Can nodded.

After hesitating for a long while, Xue Yiyang finally murmured.

"You won't get in!"

Liu Rui recovered from his shock. "Su Can, you're not running a fever, are you?"

Su Can was so angry he wanted to turn around, rush over, throw the two of them over his shoulder, pin them to the ground, and stomp on them a hundred times.

Looking at Xue Yiyang, whose eyes were filled with doubt, uncertainty, hesitation, and even a trace of unease, Su Can merely turned toward home, leaving the two looking at the back of his head, and said calmly, "Our bet still stands."

Behind him, he could still hear Liu Rui asking Xue Yiyang in utter confusion, "What did you two bet on?"