Chapter 46

Chapter 46 Hurry Up and Leave

While Chen Ciyi was still staring at the pile of words, unsure how to respond, Xu Yannuo grabbed another practice test and started scribbling away. Then, she passed the newly filled-out test slip to him.

Chen Ciyi took it and looked at the neat, delicate handwriting: [“Has your No. 2 High School divided into arts and sciences tracks yet? No. 8 High School had poor initial enrollment scores, so to get ahead early, they divided into arts and sciences just two months into freshman year. Classes one to three are arts, and from class four onward are sciences. Even though freshmen take exams for both tracks now, our class only ranks by total science scores. Hey, desk mate, what track were you in before? Did you transfer to the right one?”]

Chen Ciyi looked at Xu Yannuo’s note and suddenly his expression turned blank, with an inner exclamation of “Fuck me.” That night, he had picked up Xu Yannuo’s school badge, which had her class and name engraved on the back. Actually, during the first semester of their senior year, the principal of No. 8 High School had contacted him to ask if he was interested in transferring there. The offer was extremely generous—no hassle with transfer procedures, as the school would handle everything, along with waived tuition and a full scholarship. There was even a bonus for performing well in the college entrance exams. But at the time, he hadn’t given it any thought, too busy with competitions to bother making the move. However, the day after picking up Xu Yannuo’s badge, the principal of No. 8 High School happened to reach out to him again. Staring at the small badge in his hand, for some inexplicable reason, he found himself agreeing on the spot. Without even discussing which track—humanities or sciences—he’d be placed in, he directly chose to transfer into Class 8.

At Xu Yannuo’s question, I realized that in my sophomore year of high school, the division between arts and sciences happened at the beginning of the second semester. I had indeed been studying arts before. I wrote back to Xu Yannuo on a note: “Such a big deal, why didn’t you tell me earlier, desk mate?”

Xu Yannuo took the note, her face a picture of disbelief that could only be summed up as “OMG.” She glanced at Chen Ciyi, then quickly lowered her head and started scribbling furiously. The speed of her writing was enough to show just how anxious and speechless she was at that moment: “Are you freaking stupid? When you transferred, didn’t you think to ask about the arts and sciences track? Whatever, never mind, you’re not stupid—the principal is… Wait, no, what was No. 8 High’s principal thinking? After poaching you, didn’t he bother to ask what you study? Just threw you straight into a class like that? Ugh, I’m done. The exam is tomorrow, so what do we do now?”

Xu Yannuo quickly handed the completed test paper back to Chen Ciyi after writing his answer. Chen Ciyi glanced at it and chuckled. The principal really was an idiot—no wonder he spawned that dumbass Dark Eyeliner. Chen Ciyi scribbled a few words and passed it back to Xu Yannuo: “Probably just overwhelmed with joy from finally digging up this grandpa of yours, so he lost his damn mind!”

Xu Yannuo looked at his wildly scrawled handwriting, lowered her head speechlessly, and massaged her forehead.

Later, Chen Ciyi wrote a few more words on the back of the first test paper she handed to him and passed it back to Xu Yannuo: [Don’t worry, I’m good at science too.]

The top student wasn’t weak in any subject.

Staring at those hastily scribbled words, that blind confidence, and recalling his usual study and class behavior—now even realizing he’d transferred to the wrong class—Xu Yannuo unconsciously lowered her head even further.

Deskmate, let’s stop bragging! You’ve blown the cow so high up in the sky that there won’t be any left on the ground. You’d better think about how to face your doom after the exam!

After math class ended, Sister Hua came in to organize the students to move the desks. Once the desks were arranged, the class monitor, along with other class leaders, put up the exam labels. Sister Hua then explained the precautions for tomorrow’s exam, and the last self-study period ended early.

After school, Xu Yannuo didn’t grab her backpack and leave immediately as usual. Instead, she went downstairs with Chen Ciyi and stopped at the convenience store near the school gate. She asked Chen Ciyi to wait for her outside, then dashed into the store. When she came out, she was holding oden, a coffee, and a can of Red Bull. She stuffed everything into Chen Ciyi’s hands and looked at him solemnly. “Deskmate, this is as far as I can help you,” she said. From here on out, you’re on your own.

Seeing Chen Ciyi’s expression as though nothing was wrong, even with the corners of his lips slightly raised while looking at her, really drove Xu Yannuo crazy. “What are you standing there dumbfounded for? Hurry home and review!” A last-minute effort is better than none. Though she had no idea how solid his foundation really was or whether this one night would make any difference.

This time, Chen Ciyi couldn’t help but burst out laughing. He raised the item in his hand and said, “Alright, then I’ll thank my deskmate for the kind gesture.”

Xu Yannuo nodded. “Mm, hurry up and go.”

Early the next morning, Xu Yannuo went directly to her exam hall according to her candidate number. Her grades were above average in both her class and grade level, placing her in the sixth exam hall. Students like Chen Ciyi, who had just transferred and had no previous exam records, were uniformly assigned to the last exam hall. After dropping off her things in her own exam hall, Xu Yannuo saw that there was still some time before the exam, so she quietly made her way to the last exam hall to check on the situation.

She stood at the entrance of Examination Hall 17 and glanced inside. Chen Ciyi had already arrived, propping his chin with one hand as he faced the window. It was unclear whether he was absentmindedly gazing at the sky or had fallen asleep. From her position at the back door of the hall, all she could see was the striking back of his head—his buzz cut accentuating a head shape so bold and handsome. Compared to the other examinees in the hall, he looked utterly relaxed.

The last examination hall was mostly filled with underachievers. Seizing the moment before the invigilator arrived, everyone was hunched over their desks, scribbling frantically. Some were double-checking their cheat sheets, which were hidden in the most bizarre places—miniaturized print on transparent pen refills, scribbles on arms, palms, even thighs… A boy seated by the back door of the hall complained to the guy in front of him while peeking at the notes on his leg, “Damn it, why wasn’t I born a girl? I could’ve worn a long skirt and covered my entire legs with notes. And no invigilator would dare ask me to lift my skirt!” His seatmate promptly retorted, “You can still wear one if you want. I won’t judge!”

Pfft…

If it weren’t for worrying about Chen Ciyi, she would have loved to laugh for a while. Xu Yannuo glanced at the back of Chen Ciyi’s head again. By comparison, Chen Ciyi really wasn’t putting in enough effort. Xu Yannuo was about to call out to Chen Ciyi, hoping he would at least “put in some effort” at this point, but the exam was about to start. The grade director had already begun patrolling the hallways. Before she could call out to him, the grade director walked over, silently gestured for her to hurry back to her exam room, and then quietly slipped into Exam Room 17. Seeing many students still engrossed in writing at their desks, the director’s first words were, “Students from our class, come on, tear off the exam number from the corner of your desk and hold onto it. We’re switching groups.”

Instantly, Xu Yannuo heard a chorus of mournful “Ahs.”

Judging by the situation, Xu Yannuo had no chance to remind Chen Ciyi. This time, there was really no way out. She looked at the back of Chen Ciyi’s head, sighed in frustration, and then returned to her own examination hall.