Volume One, Chapter Ninety-Eight: A Great Uproar

On Saturday, November 4, the students of Tianshui High School, who should have been resting at home, were instead seated in their classrooms, savoring the brief respite after morning study hall.

Ji Keqing in the front row did not turn around today to chat with Su Ziwen. Like her desk mate Wu Fan, she had her head down on the desk, fast asleep. Mo De also noticed that the girl had changed her hairstyle, abandoning her former ornate twin braids for a neat ponytail. Could it be that she was planning to try a different style?

He did not ask. Ji Keqing looked utterly exhausted, nodding off even before morning reading had ended, her head bobbing like a chick pecking at grain.

As for Wu Fan in front of Mo De, that fellow had not been awake for the entire morning session.

The notes had already been returned to Su Ziwen. Mo De had stayed up until nearly midnight the previous day just to finish making up for the classes he had missed.

Last night, after finally finishing his assignments, Mo De stepped out of his room intending to get a bottle of ice water from the refrigerator, only to find Mu Qing asleep on the sofa under a blanket, while the television played a silent horror film.

At least he had the sense to mute the sound. His conscience was improving, it seemed.

After carrying Mu Qing back to the bedroom and taking the giant bear pillow from the washing machine to dry on the balcony, Mo De took a quick shower, brought an end to his weary day, and prepared to rest so he could meet an even more exhausting tomorrow.

As Mo De had expected, the moment morning reading ended, wave after wave of academic assault followed in relentless succession. Aside from the occasional necessity of going to the restroom, everyone else was pinned in the classroom and made to study furiously. The teachers took turns at the front, giving everything they had, determined to make up the missing lessons from the early holiday within these brief two weeks.

Such nonstop scheduling was itself a challenge for the teachers, but fortunately the instructors at Tianshui High School were generally strong individuals who had already reached at least the Second Awakening, so their stamina could barely sustain such consumption.

By noon, the student meal specially ordered by the principal was delivered to the doors of each class. In addition to the nutritionally balanced and generous boxed lunch, every student also received fruit and a dessert of nuts and mousse, all in an effort to relieve, as much as possible, the fatigue from overused brains.

With such abundant free lunches available without limit, everyone’s resentment faded a little. At this point, they only hoped the next two weeks would pass more quickly so that the long vacation could arrive at last.

During the lunch break, a piece of gossip exploded across Tianshui High School. Every dozing student who heard it was so shocked that any hint of sleep vanished instantly.

The results of the grand assessment had been announced, and Su Ziwen, who had already reached the midstage of the Body-Receiving Realm, had only placed third overall within the school.

Second place went to senior Yu Jiuchuan from the third year. Her combined performance in the three combat categories edged out Su Ziwen by a narrow margin.

But the first-place winner of this grand assessment was someone most Tianshui students had never even heard of.

That person was in the same class as Su Ziwen, and his name was Mo De.

Aside from the interview portion, every one of his combat tests had received a perfect score, leaving the second-place Yu Jiuchuan far behind.

“Who on earth is this Mo De? Why have we never heard of him before?” The first-year students held their lunch boxes and gathered together to discuss this latest sensation at Tianshui High School.

“I heard a second-year senior mention him before. This Senior Mo seems to take leave all year round. Maybe his health isn’t very good?” One boy appeared to have some connections, and had picked up a few scattered remarks about Mo De from an older student.

“That’s nonsense. If his health were really bad, how could he get full marks in every combat test?” someone immediately retorted, clearly unconvinced.

“But he really does keep taking sick leave. I heard he’s even the record holder for absences in the second year...”

The freshmen clustered together, whispering about this newly rising figure within the school. Ivannoti, meanwhile, ate small bites of a nut mousse cake while pricking up her ears to listen to her classmates.

She was also curious: how had that fellow named Mo De managed to suppress all the talents of Tianshui High School and stand at the very top of the grand assessment?

“Didn’t you hear? Senior Mo didn’t take the grand assessment with the rest of us. He had a separate, secret test!” someone said in a lowered voice, dropping a bombshell that instantly drew the attention of the whole class.

“You mean... his assessment was different from ours? Did he cheat?” The conspiracy theorists immediately seized on the point and grew excited.

“My sister said Senior Mo missed the grand assessment because he had asked for leave,” Fu Sisi said at that moment, trying to defend Mo De a little. After all, that senior was a classmate of her own older sister.

Fu Sisi’s sister, Fu Qingyu, was a member of Class 20 in the second year.

“Oh, come on, Sisi, your sister is in Class 20, right? Any exclusive inside news? Tell us quickly!” Everyone’s attention shifted at once to Fu Sisi. Even her desk mate, Ivannoti, finished her cake in a few bites, picked up a book in a perfunctory manner, and in truth focused all her attention on Fu Sisi.

“My sister didn’t really say much. She just happened to mention it at home yesterday...” Fu Sisi was clearly flustered, never expecting that her one sentence would draw all the fire toward her.

The heated discussion in First-Year Class 17 was only a small reflection of the whole of Tianshui High School. In every classroom, the hottest topic was this newly risen dark horse from the grand assessment.

“Jiuchuan, there’s someone even fiercer than you. Come take a look!” Chu Feng said as he browsed the school forum and called to Yu Jiuchuan, who was still bent over her practice problems beside him. “In this assessment ranking, the third-place girl was only a hair behind you.”

“Oh.” After giving a brief reply, Yu Jiuchuan went right back to the quiz in her hands. As a third-year student nearing the college entrance examination, she had little interest in the brilliant junior who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

After all, he was not in her grade. They were not rivals, so there was nothing worth paying attention to.

Chu Feng had long since grown used to Yu Jiuchuan’s attitude. Suddenly, he pricked up his ears and listened carefully for a moment, then immediately put away his phone and coughed lightly.

The entire Class 1 of the third year seemed to hear a wartime alarm. They all put away their snacks, phones, comic books, and novels, woke the few who had been dozing, and once again pulled out their homework and exercise books. Pens in hand, they lowered their heads and pretended to work on problems.

Not long after, a series of crisp footsteps sounded from the far end of the corridor, and the homeroom teacher of Third-Year Class 1, Ji Hongmei, walked into the classroom on high heels.

After a quick inspection and seeing that everyone had already ended their scattered lunch break, Ji Hongmei nodded in satisfaction. She adjusted the red frame of her glasses, turned, and left, the clear sound of her footsteps gradually fading away.

Everyone let out a breath of relief. Quite a few boys turned and gave Chu Feng a thumbs-up. Chu Feng bared his teeth in a grin, then collected himself and plunged back into the boundless sea of practice questions.

Unlike the utterly focused Yu Jiuchuan, most third-year students still snatched time to slack off and rest. And during that brief period of relaxation, Chu Feng, who possessed sound-type abilities, naturally became the scout. The moment their homeroom teacher approached, he would warn everyone to start studying at once.

As for Yu Jiuchuan beside him, she remained exactly as she had been since lunch, turning page after page through that Five-Three workbook.