The Marquis Mansion's Elite Class-Chapter 282

Qin Ye disliked repeating himself. After politely bidding farewell to the headmaster, he returned home to focus on his studies, leaving behind a stunned Qingbo Academy and a bewildered headmaster standing in the wind.

"He lost? Qin Ye actually lost? Is he joking with us?"

"Impossible, absolutely impossible. Qin Ye was the top scorer in the joint exams of the four academies. That Zong Jincheng didn’t even make the rankings this time—how could he possibly beat Qin Ye?"

"It’s fake. Qin Ye must be lying. I refuse to believe he lost unless they weren’t competing in academics."

"Wait, that’s a thought. I heard Zong Jincheng is a notorious troublemaker. He must’ve challenged Qin Ye to some ridiculous game, which is why Qin Ye lost to him."

"Yeah, that’s definitely it!"

"..."

Inside the room, congratulations, applause, and cheers filled the air, but Zong Jincheng remained dazed.

Xu Wan walked over and waved a hand in front of his face. "Snap out of it. What’s on your mind?"

Everyone was celebrating for him, everyone was cheering for him—yet he was the only one still in a daze.

Based on the little troublemaker’s usual demeanor, he should have been proudly shouting by now: "I’m obviously the best! Crushing Qin Ye was a piece of cake! This is the power of the next Literary Star! The top scholar title is mine... I’m simply unbeatable!"

But he didn’t.

Zong Jincheng muttered in confusion, "Mother... did I really win? But I didn’t even finish the debate, and I never gave that solution... Was he going easy on me?"

"Huh?" The other boys overheard this possibility and immediately leaned in to listen.

Xu Wan chuckled and countered, "Do you really think Qin Ye is the type to go easy on you?"

The little troublemaker: "..."

He would... not in a million years.

That cold, arrogant, and aloof guy didn’t even acknowledge anyone’s existence. There was no way he’d let Zong Jincheng win!

But it was still so strange. He had actually beaten Qin Ye.

How could he possibly beat Qin Ye?

Zong Jincheng racked his brain. Sure, he was smart, hardworking, and talented... but so was Qin Ye.

Xu Wan smiled. "A win is a win. Maybe there’s still a gap between you and Qin Ye overall, but at least in this debate, you came out on top. What’s so hard to understand? Everyone has their strengths. If you’d competed in soccer, wouldn’t you have won too?"

Zong Jincheng suddenly had an epiphany and exclaimed excitedly, "Right! And this wasn’t even soccer—if it were, I’d have shut Qin Ye out completely! Hahahaha... A soccer prodigy against a complete amateur? No contest at all! I get it now! This is just proof of my greatness! A testament to my skill!"

Xu Wan: "..."

She was already regretting her words from a minute ago. This kid really couldn’t handle even the slightest praise without getting carried away.

Once the little troublemaker snapped out of his daze, he immediately joined the other boys in their wild celebration, turning the scene into a chaotic, bird-like gathering of whoops, cheers, and random shouts.

Xu Wan could only laugh helplessly and ushered the children outside.

"They’re coming out! Quick, ask Zong Jincheng what they actually competed in!"

"It was just a small room—there’s no way Qin Ye would lose in an academic debate, and there wasn’t even space for a physical fight."

"So maybe they..."

"Maybe they..."

This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

"Played dice?"

Even the headmaster was speechless at the suggestion.

Would Qin Ye ever compete with Zong Jincheng in a dice game? Were they thinking with their feet? Was that even possible??

"Headmaster, ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‍thank you for providing the venue. The competition is over," Xu Wan said with a nod.

The headmaster quickly stepped forward with a smile. "It was no trouble at all, Madam. I heard Zong Jincheng won today. May I ask what the competition was about?"

The students held their breaths, the silence so thick you could hear a pin drop.

The boys from the advanced class answered in unison, brimming with confidence: "Policy debate."

Headmaster: "???"

Students: "???"

The crowd erupted in disbelief. "No way!"

"Qin Ye’s policy essays are so good even Hanlin North Academy praised them. How could Zong Jincheng’s possibly be better?"

"Impossible. There’s no way. If Zong Jincheng were that strong, why didn’t he make the rankings? I’d never believe Qin Ye lost a policy debate to some nobody like Zong Jincheng!"

The little troublemaker had been enjoying the shock on everyone’s faces—until that last comment. He rolled up his sleeves and roared, "Who are you calling a nobody? I’m a Childhood Scholar! One of only three at Qingbo Academy!"

The students fired back, "So what? A Childhood Scholar at the bottom of the list is nothing compared to one at the top!"

"Yeah, you didn’t even make the rankings. How could you beat Qin Ye? Only an idiot would believe that!"

Shen Yibai rolled up his sleeves and joined his friend in retorting, "A win is a win. Qin Ye admitted defeat himself—what are you all whining about?"

Wei Xinglu chimed in, "Exactly! Insulting my friend? Have you all forgotten the reputation of us four little troublemakers?"

Zong Jincheng shot him a sideways glance.

Brother, you just ruined our whole 'taking the high road' act in one second.

Sure enough, the mention of that title instantly silenced the opposition.

"Uh... let’s go, let’s go. Suddenly remembered I have an essay to finish."

"Me too. My policy draft still needs work."

"Back to studying, everyone."

"..."

The students scattered like startled birds, leaving only the headmaster standing awkwardly.

By now, the headmaster had accepted the truth. So Qin Ye lost—but at least it was to Zong Jincheng. Both were students of Qingbo Academy, so in the end, the academy still benefited.

Xu Wan said to him, "Please have the children’s exam papers copied for us to take home."

The headmaster motioned for a teacher to hand them over. "Knowing your habits, Madam, I already had them prepared."

Xu Wan took them and bid him farewell.

The group left the academy in high spirits.

The results of the joint exams had been disappointing overall. Among the five from the advanced class, four hadn’t made the rankings. Only He Zheng had not only topped Qingbo Academy but also claimed first place across all four academies, becoming Hanlin North Academy’s newest nightmare after Qin Ye.

"He Zheng, you’re killing it! At this rate, you’re a shoo-in for the top spot in the Childhood Scholar exams," Shen Yibai said, slinging an arm around his shoulders.

He Zheng grinned. "It’s all thanks to Teacher Cheng staying up late and waking up early to tutor me. Don’t worry, everyone—I’ll make our class proud."

Cheng Zhidong thought to himself: Little lord, do you think I want to lose sleep over you? It’s only because I’m afraid you’ll light candles under the blankets again and take us both out.

The little troublemaker threw an arm around He Zheng’s other shoulder. "Bro, go for it! Once you ace the Childhood Scholar exams, I’ll hire a lion dance team to parade through the streets announcing your success. We’ll make sure the whole neighborhood knows how amazing you are—and your dad will finally see how far you’ve come!"