Chapter 10 The Lucky Girl Sitting in Front of the Exam

At nine o’clock, the exam officially began.

After the test papers were distributed, the girl bent over her desk and started filling in her information.

The sunlight dyed the edges of her ponytail golden, and her hair strands were slightly split at the ends. The fine downy hairs on the subtle curve of her left cheek made her appear even more serene.

Jiang Nian’s gaze withdrew from her fair neck, and his mood brightened.

It was false to say he wasn’t nervous; although he had imprinted all the examinable subject knowledge points into his mind by recalling them over time, this was still the exam that would determine his placement for the third year of high school.

But the girl in front of him was a beautiful young woman, which might be a good omen.

The two days of exams flew by.

The girl in front of him indeed brought him good luck. From Chinese language to the last subject, English, he performed normally, even somewhat exceptionally.

Through their interactions, Jiang Nian also learned the girl’s name: Zhang Ningzhi.

He had borrowed her eraser during the math exam.

Before the English exam, Jiang Nian thought about how he had benefited from her luck and would likely not see her again after the exam finished. So, after much thought, he decided to do something.

Thus, while expressing his gratitude, he gave Zhang Ningzhi a box of fruit-flavored milk.

Outside of school, no one would dare accept such a thing; after all, what girl would drink something handed to her by a stranger? But inside the school, the risk was much lower.

Zhang Ningzhi hesitated for a moment, then said “thank you” and accepted it.

He didn’t dwell on it. During the final English exam, the classroom was so quiet that only the rustling of papers could be heard.

Smelling the ink Qi from the test papers, Jiang Nian’s hands trembled slightly. Perhaps it was because this was the last exam, or maybe because his short-sleeved shirt was half-drenched.

The mountain wind outside the door blew, making his row of white teeth clatter together, feeling both sore and numb.

His heart pounded like a drum, and his head was burning hot.

“It’s fine,” he muttered softly to himself while working on the paper, “Chinese is probably at least 100, math should be 100, and comprehensive science above 210.”

“If I get 20 points for the English essay and lose 10 points on listening, English will be a solid 130.”

540 was just his estimated minimum score. For a 750-point exam, it wasn’t an exceptionally high score, but it was very high for a regular class.

If these few exams were truly the Gaokao, it would be more than enough to get into a non-211/985 first-tier university.

Jiang Nian estimated that after this mock exam, he should be able to rank first in his class. If all went well, getting into the science Olympiad class should not be a problem.

At 4:30 PM, after leaving the exam hall, everyone began packing their things, preparing to return to their classrooms to tidy their desks.

With two days of exams over the weekend, Sunday evening’s self-study session was replaced by a holiday. This meant that from the moment the exams finished, the entire evening was free.

The classroom was in an uproar. Some chose to head straight to the internet cafe, while others opted to return their seats to their original positions before leaving.

The class, the corridor, and the entire third-year building were exceptionally noisy and lively. Some discussed the test papers, others gathered around teachers chatting, occasionally clapping or remorsefully pounding their chests.

There were also many students moving between classes, bringing many new faces into the room. Some groups gathered around scratch paper to re-calculate, others laughed loudly, or made plans to go to the internet cafe together.

Jiang Nian bent down and easily lifted his heavy book basket. As he straightened up, he saw Zhou Yuting walk in, her gaze searching the classroom, likely looking for someone to help her move books.

As they passed each other, Zhou Yuting called out to him.

“Jiang Nian, could you help me move my books? They’re very heavy, and I can’t carry them.”

— —

“When an acquaintance of the opposite sex, with whom you’ve actually fallen out but nominally haven’t, asks for your help, it’s best to pretend not to hear.”

Jiang Nian ignored her, walked two steps forward, then turned back.

“Huh? Were you calling me?”

“Yes, could you help me move my books?” Zhou Yuting said. Perhaps because of the weekend exams, she was wearing a white cotton dress. “And help Yingying move hers too.”

Sun Yingying was Zhou Yuting’s ‘plastic’ best friend, and she had a crush on Liu Feipeng.

“Oh, why don’t you ask Le Zhi to help you?” Jiang Nian glanced at her, a smirk playing on his lips. “He’d surely be very happy to help you move books.”

Zhou Yuting paused at his words. She, of course, knew Le Zhi would help her. But Le Zhi was too annoying; Jiang Nian wouldn’t ramble on, and he was good-looking.

Although Zhou Yuting wouldn’t consider a poor person like Jiang Nian as a boyfriend, having an extra high-Appearance admirer could raise her own value.

“He’s too annoying. It’s better to ask you.”

Jiang Nian originally wanted to bring up her birthday party incident from last time, using it as an opportunity to mock her back. But then he thought, *I’m about to move up a class, why waste my breath?*

Making a girl cry wouldn’t make him a winner either.

“Mmm.”

He responded coolly and walked away, carrying his book basket.

Zhou Yuting stood there, initially thinking Jiang Nian would come back to help her after putting down his books. But after waiting for a long time and not seeing him, she went out to look and almost fumed with anger.

Jiang Nian had gone to the next class to help another girl move books.

She swore she would never look at Jiang Nian directly again, nor would she ever speak another word to him. Did he think this would make her feel anxious about losing him?!

“No need, I can move them myself.” Xu Qianqian looked at the surrounding gazes, feeling a bit embarrassed. “They’ll ask you to help move them later.”

“Moving them is fine, it’s just a small thing,” Jiang Nian said with an indifferent expression.

“That won’t do. Their books are too heavy.” Xu Qianqian frowned. “Just leave later, wait for me at the school gate, I’ll be there soon.”

Unbeknownst to her, Xu Qianqian had already grown accustomed to walking home with Jiang Nian.

“Alright then.”

After moving the books, Jiang Nian left the teaching building and looked back at his class. He suddenly felt a slight anticipation, looking forward to the day the results would be released.

Today was Sunday; all results should be out by tomorrow, and the class change would be next week.

Soon after, Xu Qianqian walked out with her backpack, looked around, and spotted Jiang Nian. She tightened her backpack straps and walked towards him.

Nearby classmates saw this scene and couldn’t help but stop and watch.

They originally thought they’d witness some early romance gossip, but the two just walked away calmly, and even pulled out test papers.

“Can you get 540 this time?” she asked with a frown. “I heard that normally, to transfer classes from the lower tier, you need to score at least 550 to be sufficiently stable.”

As the two walked side by side, Jiang Nian almost had a heart attack at her words.

No, buddy, I even have a cheat, you guys wouldn’t play it this way, would you? Are all you Olympiad people Ultraman Seven? Are there no people with connections?

When Xu Qianqian learned of Jiang Nian’s rather simplistic thoughts, she couldn’t help but scoff.

“It’s precisely because there are people with connections that higher scores are needed. Some people score 400 and still stay in the Olympiad class; what does changing classes have to do with them?”

It was too realistic; small-town society based on personal connections was like that.

“Alright, let’s go over the English answers together.” Jiang Nian took a deep breath. “How did you do on English this time? Still a perfect score, I assume?”

Xu Qianqian hummed, revealing three parts mockery, three parts smugness, three parts nonchalance, and one part proud little swan.

“What do you think?”

The neat power lines cut across the twilight, and night silently descended.