"The weather’s pretty cool today," Qiu Mengze said.

"Yeah." Xue Rui nodded, his gaze sweeping over the students around them.

A crowd of students and parents had gathered outside the exam center, all with varying expressions.

Some students looked haggard, as if they hadn’t slept well.

"Goodness, I told you to get to bed early last night. How are you still so out of it?" a man sighed, handing the student an energy drink.

"Dad, I couldn’t help it," the male student said, crestfallen. "I can never sleep when I know something important is happening the next day." He then chugged a bottle of Red Bull.

"You forgot your pill last night. Here, take one now." A woman pushed a pill from a blister pack into her daughter’s hand.

The girl’s face was numb as she stared at the pill with a strange look in her eyes—a mix of disgust and what seemed like a hint of resignation.

Still, she obediently swallowed the pill.

Xue Rui raised an eyebrow. ’Such a small pill, and just one?’

’The girl looked perfectly healthy...’

He guessed it was a birth control pill, used to delay her period so it wouldn’t overlap with the Gaokao.

For many, the Gaokao is the fairest exam they will ever take, so they place immense importance on it.

’But in the grand scheme of a whole lifetime, it’s really not that big of a deal...’

Especially for someone like Xue Rui, who had been through life and death, eating and drinking well, and staying healthy... now *that* was what was most damn important.

"Here’s your stationery." Lin Ruoxi walked up to Xue Rui and handed him a transparent pencil case. "Do well."

Xue Rui nodded and took it.

’If I remember correctly, Lin Ruoxi’s period should be starting around now.’

’Although the girl hid it well, since they lived in the same apartment, he couldn’t help but notice some tell-tale signs in the bathroom.’

’But the girl never looked unwell or exhausted. Her constitution was amazing.’

’Besides, it didn’t matter if she choked. As long as her score was higher than mine, that was all that mattered.’

Gu Muxue smiled and nodded at Lin Ruoxi.

’She used to be a little envious of this girl, who could get great grades without even trying.’

’But then she found out the girl’s family situation was tragic—she was an orphan...’

’Thankfully, Xue Rui was a kind person and had helped the girl a lot.’

"Sigh..." Xue Rui let out a breath, his eyes on the crowd across the road.

Many parents’ eyes were filled with a mixture of worry and hope; they looked even more nervous than the students actually taking the exam.

His own old man, in contrast, stood out from the crowd of parents. A cigarette dangled from his lips as he chatted with an acquaintance, letting out a hearty laugh from time to time. He looked as if he couldn’t care less what score his kid got.

’Come to think of it,’ Xue Rui thought, ’my family’s pretty great. They’ve never put any pressure on me.’

’Well... except for the marriage nagging.’

’But given the current situation...’

’Mom probably won’t be nagging me anymore...’

"Yi Bing? Didn’t I tell you to go save us seats at the internet cafe?" Qiu Mengze said, stunned.

Xue Rui pinched the bridge of his nose. ’Qiu Mengze’s internet addiction is out of control. We haven’t even gone into the exam hall, and he’s already thinking about saving seats at the cafe?’

"My dad made me come," Yi Bing said, crestfallen. "He said he already paid the registration fee, so I might as well take the test."

"Just have fun in there," a portly middle-aged man shouted.

"That’s your dad?" Xue Rui asked with a laugh.

’This family is hilarious. Other parents say, "Do your best," but Yi Bing’s dad yells, "Have fun."’

"My dad told me to focus on building good relationships with my classmates and gave me a bunch of spending money," Yi Bing whispered. "I’ll treat you guys to a meal and some gaming after the exam."

BRRRING~

As the bell rang, teachers from various schools began herding students into the exam center. The atmosphere instantly tensed.

Police tape was stretched along the roadside as officers began directing the parents further away.

"We’ll talk after the exam." With that, Xue Rui walked into the exam center.

’I’ve been through the whole Gaokao ordeal once before. There wasn’t really anything to watch out for. All I had to do was put my head down and answer the questions.’

’The first subject, Language Arts, was especially packed with questions. There’d be no time to think about anything else.’

When he got the test paper, Xue Rui subconsciously flipped to the essay question at the end.

’Sure enough, it was just as I remembered. The one about goats crossing a single-plank bridge. The theme was cooperation and winning together.’

’It was the only topic I could recall, and I’d already written an essay on it before the exam. Now I just had to write it out from memory. No need to waste time brainstorming, which saved me a ton of time.’

So he decided to work backward and write the essay first.

As a proctor walked past, they shot him a silent glare. Starting with the essay in the Gaokao was a huge no-no. It drained your energy, which could cause you to lose easy points on the front sections, and made it difficult to manage your time properly.

Xue Rui felt the stare and knew the teacher meant well, but he stuck to his own pace.

’I’ve actually taken this test once before. Now, in this specific environment with these exact questions, I feel like I’m in the zone. Even if I don’t remember the questions themselves, the feeling is right.’

As a result, Xue Rui worked through the questions much faster than usual.

By the time the thirty-minute warning was announced, Xue Rui had already finished. He was now carefully checking his test paper for any missed spots.

Meanwhile, Lin Ruoxi had already left the exam hall.

The campus grounds were deserted. Lin Ruoxi was the only one to emerge, and she was immediately directed to a waiting area by the exam staff.

"Turning in the Language Arts exam early? What a hopeless student," a teacher remarked, looking utterly exasperated.

Students are allowed to turn in their Gaokao exams up to thirty minutes early. Some underachievers who can’t answer the questions will take this option.

But this almost never happens with a subject like Language Arts. It has so many questions that even if you don’t know the answers, you can at least try to bullshit your way through them...

’A student who couldn’t even be bothered to bullshit?’ The teacher found herself at a loss for words.

"Isn’t that the top student in our city...?"

"Oh. Then just pretend I was talking out of my ass. If it’s Lin Ruoxi, then she must have her reasons for turning it in early."

...

Lin Ruoxi sat dazedly on the stool. ’I wanted to go home early and cook for Xue Rui...’

’I realized Xue Rui had actually predicted the essay topic. So all I had to do was write out the essay from memory while memorizing the rest of the test. I had to wait in the exam hall forever until they finally gave the signal for early submission.’

’But the teachers here wouldn’t let me leave. They wouldn’t even let me use my phone.’

It wasn’t until the official end of the exam that the staff finally let Lin Ruoxi go.

"How do you feel?" Xue Xiaying asked with concern.

She had been staying at Lin Ruoxi’s place for the last few days, so she knew the girl had her period and worried it might affect her performance.

"Um, I memorized it all," Lin Ruoxi said softly.

Xue Xiaying frowned deeply, her face a mask of confusion.

"You memorized the test?" Xue Xiaying asked, her face a picture of disbelief.

"Yeah. Xue Rui told me to," Lin Ruoxi replied dutifully.

Xue Xiaying’s mind went blank. ’How could this girl be so naive? Who memorizes a Gaokao test?’

’But to memorize the test *and* turn it in early?’

She couldn’t put her shock into words. ’Is something like this even humanly possible?’

She couldn’t help but think of the reality show, *Super Brain*...

After a short wait, students began pouring out of the exam center.

Colorful stalls had popped up in front of the exam center. Most were run by local vendors or distributors for major bottled water brands, there to hand out freebies to the Gaokao students—stationery, fans, water, and the like.

The main goal, of course, was to get some advertising in.

As Xue Rui walked out, volunteers in little red caps were handing out water to the students.

"Thanks," Xue Rui said politely.

He twisted open the cap and took a sip. Before he could even swallow, the girl handing out water in front of him looked up.

Beneath the brim of a baseball cap was a delicate, adorable face, its sweet smile reflected in Xue Rui’s eyes.

It was Chen Tingting.

"COUGH! COUGH! What are you doing here?" Xue Rui thumped his chest.

"Can’t I help out? It’s not like we have school these two days," Chen Tingting said, then went right back to her post handing out water to the passing students.

Xue Rui glanced at the sign on the canopy. It was a stall set up by his family’s restaurant, providing free drinking water for the students.

Xue Rui was left speechless. Chen Tingting really was working hard, providing a service for the students.

He really couldn’t find any fault with it.

"What do you want to eat for lunch?" Lin Ruoxi walked up and asked.

Xue Rui glanced around nervously. His old man had intercepted Gu Muxue.

"Hello, Uncle Xue," Gu Muxue greeted sweetly.

"Let’s go. I already spoke to your dad. Lunch is on Uncle Xue today," Xue Jianfeng said with a laugh.

Then, he shot a look at Xue Rui. "Xiaorui, you get over here for lunch, too."

A nearby teacher laughed. "Xiaying, it looks like we’re all benefiting thanks to you this time."

Xue Xiaying looked sheepish. "My brother’s just like that."

Just a moment ago, Xue Jianfeng had come over and enthusiastically invited all the teachers from her school to lunch.

The crucial part was that Xue Jianfeng had already worked things out with the school’s bus driver and Director Wang...

So now, all the teachers had to go along.

’I knew my brother was doing it for my own good, but I couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed by the favor...’

’I’m a grown woman, yet he’s still treating me like a child.’

Xue Rui’s eye twitched. ’My old man is really something else, roping in all the teachers in one go.’

’I understood the look my dad gave me just now, too. He was telling me to bring my close friends along.’

’But now that everyone’s going to my family’s restaurant for lunch, should I bring the girl along, too?’

’We’re all classmates, so we’d definitely have to sit at the same table, and that little minx Gu Muxue would be there too...’

Beads of sweat formed on his forehead at the thought.

’Sending either of them away would be a bad move...’

’One on each side of me?’

’Do I have a death wish?’

Director Wang’s brilliantly shiny bald head gleamed in the crowd like a second sun, catching Xue Rui’s eye.

Xue Rui couldn’t make out Director Wang’s expression, but he instinctively assumed the director’s gaze was on Lin Ruoxi. He gestured toward Lin Ruoxi, catching the director’s eye.

’It’d be better to send the girl away. I’m about to have lunch with my classmates, and one look at her eyes would give everything away...’

Director Wang’s eyes narrowed, and he shot Xue Rui a cold, piercing glare.

’This kid must have been womanizing again, and now he’s in over his head.’

’But this is a critical moment, and for some inexplicable reason, my interests are now tied to Xue Rui’s...’

’If Lin Ruoxi gets upset and bombs the exam, what then?’

Director Wang stepped forward and said amicably, "Lin Ruoxi, why don’t you take the school bus back?"

Xue Rui added in a soft voice, "You can have lunch with the teachers. Isn’t that what you usually do at school?"

Lin Ruoxi paused. ’That’s true.’

’The school gave me a staff meal card, and I usually eat at the teachers’ table.’

"But..." Lin Ruoxi said meekly.

Before she could finish, Xue Rui was already walking away with Qiu Mengze and his friends.

Lin Ruoxi stared blankly after them, a little knot of disappointment forming in her heart.

’I know it’s just lunch, but I really wanted to eat with Xue Rui.’

"Don’t mind that bastard." Director Wang’s brow twitched as he watched. This girl was too clingy.

"Teacher, Xue Rui is a very good person," Lin Ruoxi retorted with a frown, her expression unhappy.

She didn’t like it when people bad-mouthed Xue Rui.

It was the first time Director Wang had ever seen such a serious expression on Lin Ruoxi’s face. He quickly backpedaled, "I was just kidding..."