Chapter 56: Chapter 56: Can’t Solve the Major Math Problems Because They’re R-18?

"You noob! I can’t fucking stand you! I was drawing their fire, and I told you to throw a smoke, but you threw a frag!"

"Well, I was out of smokes, wasn’t I?"

"Then you should’ve said so! Why the hell did you throw a grenade?!" Yang Ze glared resentfully at Zhou Shaojie.

"To be honest, Ah Jie, that play was about as good as your English grade."

Playing together was like that. Even though you knew your teammates played like idiots and you’d all flame each other after every match, you’d still invite them for the next game.

After all, the best setup for any game is your friends.

No way, no way. Don’t tell me there are really people who don’t even have anyone to play *It Takes Two* with, right?

Before the evening self-study session started.

Shen Yuan gazed comfortably at the quest panel, where the mission timer was already approaching 20 hours.

’Feeling pretty pleased with myself.’

They had the afternoon off on Sunday, so Ah Jie had them meet up at an internet cafe. The four of them sat together and played, only to get utterly destroyed.

Shen Yuan didn’t care about winning or losing. All he wanted was the mission time.

As soon as he returned to his seat and sat down, Shen Yuan saw a slender finger tapping rhythmically on his desk.

Li Zhi was resting her chin on one hand, a grin on her face. "The Huanggang Paper logistics show it’s been shipped. I suggest you get on your knees and beg to change the delivery address right now."

Shen Yuan laughed. "Young Master Li, why bother paying for your own dowry? On the day I top the honor roll, we’ll use this box of test papers as our token of love. We can be buried together... oh, wait, no. We can co-author *The True Story of Childhood Sweethearts*. How about that?"

"Why not co-author *Defend and Steal*? Maybe I should just buy it? It would save a certain someone the trouble of scrolling through the confession wall at three in the morning until his screen sparks."

Hearing this, Shen Yuan shuddered. "Are you fucking spying on me? No, wait!"

At the same time, He Zhiyu, who was sitting in the front row, felt a pang of panic.

’If Li Zhi finds out that I’m the one who wrote *Defend and Steal*, my best friend will probably give me the death glare to end all death glares.’

’You can guard against fire and theft, but you can never guard against your best friend.’

"Slander! I was researching the anti-addiction system for minors!" Shen Yuan argued. "But since Young Master Li is so enthusiastic, could it be that you want to be the artist for a *Defend and Steal* doujinshi?"

With that, Shen Yuan suddenly lowered his voice and leaned in closer. "Let’s get this straight first. We split the profits from the book fifty-fifty."

"Who wants to split the loot with you!" Li Zhi snatched up a math paper and slapped it across his face. "Why don’t we use your monthly exam paper as a storyboard? The blank pages for solid geometry can be the pure romance special, and we’ll label the long answer questions as 18+."

Shen Yuan waved his hands repeatedly. "We can’t talk about that. It would never pass the censors."

Li Zhi slapped his hands away and continued her assault. "So that’s why you can’t do the long answer math questions? Because they’re marked 18+?"

’Her attack power is too strong.’

He Zhiyu, who was still eavesdropping from the side, felt like a greenhorn recruit in front of Li Zhi.

Compared to the verbal sparring between these two, the banter between the male and female leads in her Sugar Text seemed like mere flirting.

’Well, it was flirting to begin with.’

"Hmph!"

Shen Yuan flicked his sleeves. "Five Years of Gaokao, Three Years of Mock Exams! When I return to my peak, I shall let you all know what the return of the Dragon King truly means!"

Li Zhi scoffed. "The live-in son-in-law gets his marriage annulled at the start of the story. If your score on the first monthly exam drops by 30 points, it’ll be a pretty faithful adaptation of the source material."

"Can you really call it failing when it comes to grades? For a scholar, it’s called a ’strategic adjustment’!"

"Oh, right, right, right. One ’adjustment’ like that, and you’ll be set back for life."

"Uhh... um, could you two pause for a second?"

Yao Yao, from the back row, forced a smile. "Caught in the crossfire again."

Li Zhi gave Yao Yao a cool glance, then turned back to Shen Yuan.

"Just focus on your studies."

"Got it. I’ll work hard on the practice questions tonight, Young Master Li."

With that, Shen Yuan took out his math test paper.

"See? I have been taking it pretty seriously."

Li Zhi glanced at the completely filled-out paper and didn’t doubt the truth in his words.

In truth, Li Zhi did think Shen Yuan was improving. After all, he could now consistently score a 90.

Besides, Li Zhi knew that the math paper for this week’s test was harder than usual.

Since Shen Yuan managed to pass, it meant his math had improved.

But this was Young Master Li, after all. She couldn’t possibly greet Shen Yuan’s improvement with a smile.

So, when faced with the evidence of Shen Yuan’s hard work, Young Master Li simply nodded.

"Keep it up. Don’t get complacent over a little bit of progress."

Hearing Young Master Li’s voice, Shen Yuan chuckled. "Don’t you worry."

Li Zhi gave a dry laugh and ignored Shen Yuan after that.

During the evening self-study session, Old Zhou came by for a stroll and, while he was at it, delivered some bad news.

"The monthly exam is scheduled for Friday and Saturday. You’ll get a day off after it’s over, so prepare well."

For Shen Yuan, this meant he had only four days left to grind out the final 50-plus hours of his mission time.

Even if he spread it out evenly, Shen Yuan would need to grind for at least 13 hours a day.

If he wanted to save an extra day to acclimatize, the daily time commitment would be even longer.

’Looks like I’ll really have to stick to Ah Jie and be a Nantong now.’

’Oh well. In ancient times, there was Tong Churou who wore black stockings for her grades. Today, there is Shen Yuan who becomes a Nantong for his.’

Shen Yuan’s muttering quickly caught Li Zhi’s attention.

"Nantong? You want to be a Nantong?"

Shen Yuan shot back in a sexy, breathy voice, "How could I, baby? The one I love will always be you."

"If you’re sick in the head, I suggest doing a couple of Huanggang Papers to clear your mind."

"That sounds kinda painful, y’know."

"Not painful at all. It’s not like you can do them anyway."

...

The three periods of evening self-study passed quickly.

The moment the dismissal bell rang, Ah Jie shot to his feet.

"Yuan! Your dearest comrade-in-arms is about to return!!"

Shen Yuan roared, "This is the Holy Grail War! You heretic who chose coffee!"

Ah Jie’s mighty form trembled. "Let’s form an alliance! Coffee and milk tea! Let us become the tyrants who command caffeine!"

"You think coffee wakes you up because of the caffeine? No, it’s because it’s bitter."

Ah Jie laughed. "And that’s why you’re sweet!"

Shen Yuan’s mighty form trembled.

"Fuck, he found out I’m a sweetie-pie."

Li Zhi, who was standing to the side, clutched her chest. She felt like she was going to throw up again.

"Nantong! This is what Nantong is!!"

Ah Ze had just let out a sharp critique when Ah Jie grabbed him.

"Brother Jie, no, Brother Jie!"

Looking at this scene, so full of vigorous life and boundless competition, Shen Yuan couldn’t help but sigh. Class 15 sure has a lot of Nantong.

’High school life is so repressive. You need some Nantong to lighten the mood.’

"Ze! Let’s show them our blood-pumping combo move!"

"Charge!!"

Ah Jie and Ah Ze pushed with all their might, and their desks scraped loudly across the floor.

A classmate shouted, "You’re speeding! Desk movement speed cannot exceed 5 centimeters per second!"

On the other side, Ji Ningning couldn’t wait to drag her own desk away.

’Finally free!’

’A whole week! Do you have any idea how I survived this past week?’

’That Shen Yuan is such a try-hard!’

’Then again, I did end up memorizing a lot of English vocabulary.’

After the seating change, Shen Yuan’s desk was back in its original position.

Ah Jie on his left, Young Master Li on his right. The two great math generals of Class 15 were by his side!

For a moment, Shen Yuan felt like he had returned to the throne of mathematics.

To polish Young Master Li’s chair, of course.