All the students held their breath. Even Chen Feng was tense, his hand under the desk tightly gripping his pants.

He hadn’t been in a good state of mind lately. After all, that man had started coming and going from his house, and his mother and that man were as thick as thieves, acting like a real married couple.

What Chen Feng found even harder to accept was the fact that he was actually that man’s son.

In other words, everything Qin Jiao and Shen Yi had said before was true. He just hadn’t been willing to believe it.

But now, with the truth laid bare, Chen Feng was miserable. He started giving his mother the cold shoulder, spending most of his time at Lin Nian’s rental apartment.

After all, he was the one paying for Lin Nian’s rent.

Despite this emotional turmoil, Chen Feng thankfully hadn’t completely abandoned his studies. Most importantly, one thing constantly weighed on his mind: he wanted to snatch first place back from Qin Jiao.

He admired Qin Jiao, but at the same time, he couldn’t accept it. He refused to be outdone by a girl like her.

’And he definitely wouldn’t let that guy Shen Yi catch up to him!’

As for this final exam, Chen Feng felt he had done exceptionally well. There were practically no major problems he couldn’t solve, and after finishing, he had even checked his paper carefully several times over.

’This final exam had to be his best performance yet!’

’I’m definitely taking back first place!’

Just then, he heard Sun Guotao announce slowly, "First place in our class this time is, once again, Qin Jiao. Her overall school ranking is... fifth in the entire school!"

Chen Feng: "..."

Lin Nian: "..."

The entire class: "WOW!"

Unfazed by the result, Qin Jiao stood up, took her exam paper, and lowered her head to look over her mistakes.

’It was nothing to be surprised about. Just fifth in the school. She was a woman aiming for first in the entire school!’

So Qin Jiao didn’t feel the least bit proud. She just wanted to know where she had gone wrong. ’Looks like I still have some blind spots. I absolutely will not make the same mistake again.’

"Second place, Shen Yi. Eighth in the entire school."

Chen Feng’s face went pale.

Lin Nian’s expression darkened.

The entire class: "WHOAAA!"

Jiang Xiaoyue rubbed her face, which was practically numb with a mixture of envy and admiration. She shouted, "Mr. Sun, can I be Qin Jiao’s deskmate?"

’Those two are just incredible! Moving up side-by-side, they both broke into the school’s top ten together. They beat out so many of those stuck-up brainiacs from the honors class!’

"Teacher, I want to be Qin Jiao’s deskmate too!"

"Me too!"

Many people clamored to be Qin Jiao’s deskmate, but no one dared to ask to be Shen Yi’s. The reason was simple. Although Shen Yi wasn’t as intimidating as he was in his freshman and sophomore years—he even played basketball and discussed problems with classmates now—he was still terrifying when he wasn’t talking or smiling.

Otherwise, with his looks, plenty of girls would have crushes on him.

But ever since one girl had timidly given Shen Yi a letter, only for him to tear the love letter to shreds right then and there, she’d cried for half the class period. After that, no one dared to give him a love letter ever again.

Seeing so many people wanting to be her deskmate, Qin Jiao felt a sense of smug satisfaction. She had actually been wanting to ask Mr. Sun to switch her deskmate for the next semester.

’It’s better to... stay a little farther away from Shen Yi.’

But just then, she heard her deskmate say calmly, "No. Qin Jiao is my deskmate. If you all steal her away, what will I do if my grades drop?"

Everyone: "..."

’Is that even allowed?’