CH 21

After the weekend filled with the aroma of bread ended, the atmosphere of the entire 2nd High School suddenly became tense.

The first monthly exam of the senior year of high school would be held this week.

Autumn at the end of September was becoming stronger. The students were trapped in small classrooms and they didn’t dare to stop as they continued studying. They occasionally looked out the window and complained with worried faces while resting.

“The teachers really know how to pick the time. How can we spend this holiday well when we have to wait for the grades in fear?”

“If my mother doesn’t see my report card then she definitely won’t agree to let me go out to play. I can only do questions at home. It is too ruthless!”

There was a seven day holiday in early October, so the teachers deliberately chose to set the exam before the holiday. They would wait until the holiday was over and students returned to school before giving the results. Their original intention was to hope that the senior high school students could realize their shortcomings after the exam and take the initiative to check and fill in the gaps during the holiday. If they failed the exam, they wouldn’t let this rare holiday go to waste and they could be scolded by their parents later.

Yet for most students whose grades weren’t top-notch. The monthly exam results hanging over their heads was simply too torturous. The thought of being unlucky after their holiday meant they suddenly felt that the holiday wasn’t good.

Among the students with different expressions in the third class, two people looked the calmest.

They were Pei Qingyuan, sitting in the last row, and Lin Zihai, sitting in the first row.

Lin Zihai had been studying at night in the dormitory every day and was very confident in the monthly exam. Needless to say, he must be first in the class. This time, he wanted to fight for the top five in the year and win glory for Teacher Zhou.

The third class wasn’t a top class. The best students were in the first class and the highest score that past students from the third class had achieved was 10th in the year.

Lin Zihai had huge dark circles under his eyes and quickly finished another set of papers. He sighed with relief and involuntarily glanced back.

Pei Qingyuan was looking down at his book and didn’t have the anxiety that permeated the class. It was as if he was reading a book in the library.

There was also a smiling classmate next to him who was talking to him.

This was the fourth one today. Lin Zihai hatefully recorded it down in his heart.

Wasn’t it just a croissant? Why act like this?

All of them were so childish!

…The croissant was a bit delicious but what did it have to do with Pei Qingyuan? He didn’t make it!

Pei Qingyuan worked part-time at the Xingyue Bakery, which had recently become popular in the 2nd High School. It was said that the pair of beautiful hands in the photos that customers imitated belonged to him.

Pei Qingyuan immediately became famous throughout the whole school. Unlike the previous ugly nicknames and rumors, the students only remembered good things.

The boys found that the school’s little tyrant, Fu Chengze, led a group of big and tall people from the basketball team. They were addicted to croissants every day. People immediately followed the trend, as if this would put them on par with the average height of the basketball team.

The girls quietly took the photo. Some were greedy for the cute child and some for the good-looking hands. For this reason, some girls from the school next door specially ran over and shyly gave him love letters.

Foodies who weren’t interested in height or a handsome boy wanted to take advantage of their classmate to try the exploding custard croissants that were out of stock.

All in all, Pei Qingyuan had become the most watched student in school. When walking through the school, people kept getting close to him. The attitude of the students of the third class toward him had always changed significantly.

Lin Zihai witnessed all of this happening and felt like he was sitting on pins and needles.

He could only comfort himself. So what if Pei Qingyuan was handsome and popular?

For students, grades were the most important thing.

The monthly exam was just around the corner. Once the results came out, let’s see if anyone would still blindly pursue the flashy Pei Qingyuan.

Lin Zihai thought this way. Then he cleared his mind and devoted himself to the tense class. Even so, there was still a trace of uneasy worry in his heart.

Why did Teacher Zhou like this class monitor with poor grades so much…?

As his mood fluctuated, the monthly exam came quickly.

After the first math exam, Lin Zihai completely put aside his doubts. He was in high spirits.

Fortunately, Pei Qingyuan didn’t disappoint him.

The math paper this time was difficult, but Pei Qingyuan actually handed in the paper in the middle of the two hour exam time which wasn’t enough time for most people.

Lin Zihai had been writing hard at the time and watched Pei Qingyuan’s back as he left the classroom. Lin Zihai was shocked for a long time and was unable to figure out what this operation was.

Once the bell rang, Lin Zihai managed to finish answering the last big question. He put down his pen and rubbed his sore fingers.

He heard a student by the window say that Pei Qingyuan seemed to have gone to the snack store to buy something to eat.

His attitude toward the exam was really frivolous.

Lin Zihai couldn’t help rolling his eyes.

A student sitting near Pei Qingyuan came over curiously and asked him, “Lin Zihai, how many steps did you write in the last question?”

“I wrote half of it. The question is difficult and I’m not too certain.” Lin Zihai said modestly. “Did you do it?”

“Of course not. I didn’t even finish the first part, so I didn’t have time to read the last question.” The student shook his head repeatedly. “Didn’t the class monitor hand in the paper in advance? I accidentally glanced at his test paper when he stood up. He wrote very little in the last question. There were only a few lines so I thought it was very simple.”

Hearing this, Lin Zihai retorted without hesitation. “It is impossible to write so few steps. He must’ve done something wrong.”

At the same time, he was convinced that Pei Qingyuan really had bad grades. Thus, Pei Qingyuan simply gave up, wrote nonsense on the paper and handed it in.

Lin Zihai thought of this and tried his best to suppress the smile that was about to emerge. He said disapprovingly, “The class monitor handed in the papers so quickly. I guess he didn’t answer a lot of questions well. This type of attitude is too negative and will have a bad influence on everyone.”

The other students who heard this exchanged looks.

They knew that Lin Zihai had always disliked Pei Qingyuan, but they had been affected by the recent croissant storm. This meant their perception of Pei Qingyuan was very subtle.

However, Lin Zihai’s words weren’t wrong. He really shouldn’t be like this as the class monitor.

The grapevine meant it spread quickly among the students that the class monitor’s grades weren’t good.

It wasn’t known if Pei Qingyuan learned of everyone’s private discussions, but in the next few exams, he didn’t leave the venue in advance.

However, he basically used only half the time to write the papers. The rest of the time, he sat quietly and was seemingly in a daze.

In his mind, Ji Tong flicked out cards like a rainbow. “Three Js and two Qs.”

Pei Qingyuan calmly followed with his cars. “Three Ks and two 10s.”

He was suppressed again.

Ji Tong shouted in frustration and watched the host calmly finish playing his cards.

The host’s memory was too good.

The consciousness space wasn’t open to Pei Qingyuan, so the two people couldn’t play cards face to face.

Ji Tong sat only on the grass and dealt three sets of cards. Then he reported one set of cards to the host in random order. He obediently cleared his memory of this set and picked up another set of cards. Then he played voice poker with the host to pass the rest of the exam time.

He thought that Pei Qingyuan wouldn’t be able to remember so many cards and would definitely beat the opponent. Unexpectedly, the host not only remembered it clearly, but also defeated him.

The originally relaxing entertainment poker was actually filled with the horror of an intellectual game.

Ji Tong couldn’t help thinking of yesterday’s fear of being dominated by the math paper.

The host’s math problems were done quickly and well. Some problems were solved beyond the framework of high school knowledge, directly leading Ji Tong to recall the high level math problems that had tortured him.

At the time, he was hungry as soon as he opened the high level math textbook. Perhaps it was because his mind was empty and his stomach was empty, so his entire body exuded an empty aura from the inside out.

After hearing the growling of his stomach, Pei Qingyuan directly handed in the paper and went to the snack store.

Later, Ji Tong never felt hungry again but played poker with the host on the grounds of helping the host exercise his memory.

Now it seemed clear that the host was helping him exercise his psychological endurance.

The little robot didn’t want to think about it and silently turned the cars into a pile of stones.

The bell rang for the end of the last exam. The students who had been nervous for a week collapsed in their seats one by one, letting out a long sigh of relief.

It was finally time for the holiday.

No matter what type of iron fist they would suffer from after the holiday ended, they could at least sleep in for a while every day.

Of course, sleeping in didn’t exist for Pei Qingyuan.

He left earlier and returned later than before. He stayed in the bakery all day to help and had almost zero contact with this so-called home.

That day, he and Luo Xiuyun separated unhappily. Luo Xiuyun was still brooding but couldn’t find a chance to talk to her son.

Pei Qingyuan’s back seemed to have eyes and he could always accurately avoid her.

Luo Xiuyun learned about the end of the third year’s high school exams from the parents group. Previously, Pei Yan’s grades were very good. Every time after the exam, the other parents would come to chat with her to inquire about cram classes or study methods.

This time, it was different. Some people actually asked her in concern if she was being a bit neglectful of the discipline of her child.

It was only then that Luo Xiuyun knew that Pei Qingyuan behaved very casually in this monthly examination. The papers were all written casually before being handed in.

She was taken aback and suddenly became nervous. She thought of her child’s increasingly depraved future but couldn’t talk to Pei Qingyuan at all.

Luo Xiuyun didn’t know what to do, so she went to Pei Yan, the most obedient top student in the past. Pei Yan patiently comforted her and asked her to come out to meet him.

This was the first meeting between the two of them after they separated. Luo Xiuyun was very happy and chose clothes that looked the most full of vitality.

Yet when she came to the place she agreed to meet Pei Yan, she saw the cafe with a quiet atmosphere and melodious music in front of her and suddenly felt restrained.

She had never been to such a place with Pei Yan before.

The elegant waiter led her to the reserved seat. Pei Yan had arrived early. He was sitting by the window and wearing a well-cut shirt and British-style sweater vest. He was illuminated by the warm autumn sun and looked like a distant pictorial.

In the midst of the coffee aroma that Luo Xiuyun was unfamiliar with, this child she was once familiar with slowly shifted his gaze. He looked docile as he showed her a well-proportioned smile.

“Auntie, you are here.”