Monday.

The morning class was pharmacology, the bane of every medical student’s existence.

The class was a nightmare—endless drug names, complex mechanisms, and not only did you have to memorize receptors, you had to remember all the adverse reactions too.

On the lecture stage, the gray-haired old pharmacology professor spoke with a thick Xiang River dialect:

"...Atropine. As an M-cholinergic receptor antagonist, you all must remember its mechanism of action clearly. What’s the mnemonic? One blocks, two excites, three relaxes, four inhibits..."

Jiang He kept his head down, pretending to listen to the lecture while actually studying a scatter plot on the correlation between lymph node dissection range and postoperative survival rates.

After class.

The professor didn’t drag the lesson on and was the first one out the door.

The class president, Zhou Yang, and the party branch secretary, Lin Yue, called everyone to stay behind.

Zhou Yang said, "Alright, let’s talk business. It’s about class fees. The secretary and I just discussed it. We need everyone to chip in another twenty yuan this semester. Get it to Lin Yue before the National Day holiday."

"Huh? Again?" someone complained. "Didn’t we just pay? There should still be money left over from the costume fees for the last welcome party, right?"

Zhou Yang said, "Nope. The money left over from last time has already been spent."

Beside him, Lin Yue nodded. "Indeed."

Someone else grumbled, "Can we make it less, Class President? How about ten? I’m a little tight on cash lately."

Zhou Yang: "No can do. Jiang He signed up for the Clinical Thinking Competition. If he passes the preliminary round, shouldn’t we celebrate?"

Lin Yue: "Indeed."

As soon as he said that, the few who were just complaining fell silent.

At that moment, a girl in the front said, "Class President, I’m on board with that reason. Supporting Jiang He is a no-brainer. And a class dinner would be good for morale, too."

Her words gave the class president plenty of face and also expressed support.

Logically, Zhou Yang should have just taken the easy way out and agreed.

But Zhou Yang still retorted, "Nope."

The girl: "?"

Zhou Yang explained, "Boosting morale is secondary. Everyone’s been studying for pathology and pharmacology exams lately, and you’re all wound up too tight. We’re just using Jiang He as an excuse to have a nice meal and unwind."

Beside him, a smiling Lin Yue nodded. "Indeed."

The girl was so taken aback she rolled her eyes and didn’t want to talk anymore.

A guy in the back row chuckled and chimed in, "Alright, alright, you’re right, Class President. We’ll pay the fee. It’s mainly to relax and, while we’re at it, celebrate for Old Jiang. That should be right, shouldn’t it?"

Zhou Yang: "Nope."

The guy: "?"

Zhou Yang: "What do you mean, ’while we’re at it’? Whether our Clinical Class 2 can crush those bastards from Class 1 this time all comes down to this! This is important!"

Beside him, Lin Yue continued to nod. "Indeed."

Jiang He, sitting below, watched this unfold. He couldn’t help but lower his head and rub the bridge of his nose to hide the smile playing on his lips.

Zhou Yang had a contradictory personality.

Even if you agreed with him, he’d find an angle to argue back. He was the type who got antsy if he didn’t get to contradict someone.

Lin Yue had an agreeable personality.

No matter what Zhou Yang said, she would immediately follow up with an "Indeed."

In his past life, it wasn’t until a work reunion that Jiang He found out these two had actually gotten married after graduation.

Their married life was said to be exceptionally harmonious.

Husband says: "This dish is too salty today."

Wife says: "Indeed."

Husband says: "Nope, it’s too sweet."

Wife says: "Indeed."

Husband says: "No, it is salty. But it’s pretty good."

Wife says: "Indeed."

The fact that they were so perfectly matched was actually quite sweet.

Thinking of this, Jiang He found himself missing his wife.

He was going to see her soon during the National Day holiday, and he was actually a little nervous.

In his past life, Jiang He had asked Shen Yu what he should do to win her back if he were ever reborn.

Shen Yu’s answer was: "You don’t have to pursue me. No matter how many times we Encounter each other again, I’ll fall head over heels in love with you every single time~"

’Wifey, is that for real real or for fake real?’

He couldn’t verify it back then, but now, the time for verification had arrived...

"Alright," Zhou Yang said. "Since no one has any objections, it’s settled. Line up here with Lin Yue."

Lin Yue: "Indeed."

After Chen Hao paid the fee for Jiang He.

Zhou Yang called out to him, "Old Jiang, don’t feel any pressure about this competition."

Jiang He nodded. "Okay, no pressure."

"Nope!" Zhou Yang’s tone suddenly shifted. "You can’t have zero pressure either! Did you know that Li Wei from Class 1 next door also signed up?"

Jiang He thought for a moment. The name didn’t ring a bell, so he shook his head.

"I knew you wouldn’t know," Zhou Yang sighed, then said indignantly, "That Li Wei is so arrogant! I ran into him at the water dispenser yesterday, and he was showing off, saying he was confident he’d pass the preliminary round. Then he deliberately asked if anyone from our class signed up. Isn’t that infuriating?"

At Nanshan Medical University’s clinical department, the rivalry between Class 1 and Class 2 was a long-standing one.

From whose platoon marched more neatly during the first-year military training, to who got the fatter rabbits in the second-year functional experiment lab, and even to whose advisor was more protective of their students—they competed over everything.

Ultimately, it was a problem of resource allocation.

Because Class 1’s entrance scores were slightly higher, they were assigned the more complete cadavers for anatomy lab each year.

Meanwhile, Class 2 often had to make do with old specimens.

Class 2 had been holding back their resentment for a long time.

"Jiang He," Zhou Yang said earnestly, "we’re not expecting you to win an award, really. We know our own limits."

A few other students who had paid but hadn’t left yet also gathered around, chiming in to agree.

"Yeah, Old Jiang, that competition is brutal. I heard the semi-finals even test clinical skills."

"That’s right. In short, just beat Li Wei. That’s all that matters."

One guy grasped Jiang He’s hand. "Old Jiang, I’m not asking for much. I’ll just pray you guess all the multiple-choice questions right! As long as you can beat Li Wei, it’ll be worth it!"

"That’s right!" another girl cheered him on. "Luck is a part of skill too! What if the questions this time are super obscure, and they happen to be about stuff you just looked at?"

Although everyone was encouraging him, no one actually thought Jiang He could fight his way through the competition on pure skill.

In their minds, a third-year student entering this kind of competition was just cannon fodder.

Their so-called "hope of the village" was really more of a wishful thinking, fueled by a competitive desire to unite against their common enemy, Class 1.

"Don’t worry," Jiang He said with a smile. "I’ll do my best."

"Nope, doing your best isn’t enough, you have to risk your life!" Zhou Yang first retorted, then immediately contradicted himself. "Nope, risking your life is bad too, it’ll hurt your body. Just do your best..."

Beside them, Lin Yue nodded while counting money. "Indeed."

"Let’s go."

Jiang He slung his backpack on and walked out of the classroom with Chen Hao.

In the hallway, Chen Hao said as he tried to recall something:

"Old Jiang, I remember that Li Wei guy the class president was talking about now. That dude is a total poser. Last semester, for the histology and embryology exam, he deliberately told me he didn’t do well, but then his score came out as a ninety-five... If you can really take him down, I’ll wash your socks for a month."

Jiang He shook his head. "No need."

"Damn! You looking down on me?" Chen Hao slung an arm around his neck. "But for real, you’ve been studying like a madman these past two days. Are you actually confident? Give me the inside scoop."

Jiang He stopped walking.

"Chen Hao."

"What’s up?"

"If I told you my goal isn’t just to pass the prelims, or to beat that Li Wei guy, but to take first place, would you believe me?"

Chen Hao froze for a second.

Come to think of it...

On the day Jiang He had run out of the classroom crying, he’d heard him say he wanted to get into a research lab.

If he wanted to join a team, he really did need to place in the top three in the competition.

It sounded like a complete fantasy.

But for some reason, Chen Hao had a strange feeling... that he would succeed?

Chen Hao muttered to himself, "If you really did take first place, what would happen?"

Jiang He: "I’d send you to have a word with the class president."

Chen Hao asked, puzzled, "About what?"

Jiang He: "About the class dinner. We’ll need to collect more money."