C5 A Charming and Infectious Smile

Liu Dong reached out and pretended to dab at imaginary beads of sweat on Muye’s forehead. “That’s good, that’s good! I’m sure you can do it. Just try your best at Xiandai. Let’s show that Bald Wang. He’s going to have a newfound respect for you in the end.”

But the boys were already aware how bad Muye’s existing scores were. Sure, he might be above the average needed to get into a third-class university, but overall, it could only get him somewhere along the second tier selection of schools. That didn’t mean that Liu Dong and Sheng Kai were insincere, they only wanted to encourage Muye to give it his all.

Muye nodded in understanding. He knew his friends had good intentions, and he also knew that they were going to be shocked when the entrance exam results came out. Heck, he’s probably going to shock everyone.

They chatted along happily, catching up with each other, when they heard light, even footsteps coming from the printing shop. Before they could even turn around, a faint, sweet smell wafted over the boys, followed by an equally pleasant voice.

“Liu Dong, Sheng Kai, can you help me with these reviewers?”

Muye turned to find Cao Ying standing behind them, her long, luscious, black hair draped over her shoulders. She looked as beautiful as he remembered.

She was smiling at the other two, but when she caught sight of Muye, her eyes widened in surprise. She quickly recovered, though, and gave him one of her sweet smiles as well. “Oh, hello, Zhang Muye!”

It moved him a little. Cao Ying wasn’t treating him any different in spite of his humiliating expulsion from their school.

“Hello,” he said weakly, his heart skipping a beat. Then he glanced at the stack of papers in her arms. “Do you think you can give me a copy of those papers?”

Cao Ying looked taken aback by his offer, and it showed on her pretty face. She didn’t see why Muye would be interested in the reviewers. He might be overly helpful to everyone, but didn’t he hate studying? Could it be that he had finally realized the importance of the upcoming exams?

“I just want to take a look at the reviewer, if that’s okay,” Muye added honestly. “The college entrance exams are fast approaching. I need to work harder.” Given the disparity of standards between the two schools, Xiandai’s test papers and reviewers were much simpler than those of City No. 1 High School. Since an opportunity had presented itself, Muye wanted to see just how much he had improved after two days of constant studying.

“Oh. Okay, that’s all right. I’ll give you one.”

Even as Cao Ying handed him a set of the papers, she mulled over how his last-minute effort wouldn’t be much help. She stifled a sigh. If only Muye had opened his eyes to this reality earlier. Three years’ worth of lessons was no small thing. Even if he toiled ten times harder than the average student in the one month that was left until the exams, he still wouldn’t make much progress.

Still, they had to commend Muye for trying, especially considering just how much of a rascal he had originally been. His hard work, while pointless, was still better than no work at all.

Cao Ying admired him for that. He had found a renewed purpose, and he wasn’t holding back in his endeavors. She could see the familiar cocky glint in his eyes, too, which told her that he wasn’t about to back down on this fight. How could she not support him? Cao Yin hoped fervently in her heart that Muye would score sufficiently in the exams, so he could get into a third-class university.

As for the other two university options, well, Cao Ying was far too rational to have any lofty expectations. Muye would never be able to accumulate everything that was taught in high school, comprehend them, and then retain them all at the same time.

“Thank you!” he now piped up, smiling warmly at her as he accepted the papers.

The poor girl froze for a moment, slightly stunned at the sight.

For some reason, it felt like Muye’s smile was more charming and infectious than usual.

Being the kind of girl that she was, Cao Ying had never believed in love at first sight. And yet, at this moment, she found herself reconsidering the concept. Perhaps it wasn’t impossible to fall for someone in such a short amount of time after all. Surely, no one would be able to resist that smile. Her heart picked up its pace, and she felt her cheeks and neck heat up.

Thankfully, Liu Dong decided to change the conversation. “Muye, let’s go home together after school from now on.”

Muye nodded, and the three boys said their goodbyes to Cao Ying before making their way home.

The first thing Muye did when he arrived at his house was to take out the papers Cao Ying had given him. When his parents saw this, his father heaved a long sigh of relief. “Finally! Muye is studying so hard. This is a very good improvement!”

Meng walked up to her brother then, carrying a bowl of pigeon soup that their mother had prepared earlier. “Do your best, Big Brother.”

“The exams are almost here,” Cui Ping remarked with some worry. “Are you sure you can handle it?”

Muye only had one month left to cram everything into his brain. Nobody else knew of his newfound skills, so they were understandably anxious about his performance in the tests.

“The results don’t matter as much as his efforts,” Aiguo said as he smoked his cigarette, his eyes looking far into the distance.

“As long as he works hard, everything will be fine. I know he will qualify for a third-class university, but if he doesn’t, then he can just retake the test next year.”

The next morning, Liu Dong and Sheng Kai showed up at their door to walk with Muye to school. It was just like the old days, as if he had never transferred or gotten expelled.

The three of separated at the gates of Xiandai Middle School, and Muye walked inside by himself. He headed straight for his classroom, and found that only a few students had shown up. Some were studying at their desks, but most of them were eating breakfast and chatting with each other. A few of them were fixed on their phones.

Muye went to his seat and cracked his books open. He delved into his notes, memorizing words and formulas. His serious concentration was definitely out of place in a room filled with rascals squabbling among themselves.

When the bell rang, Lee Yong walked into the classroom. He was their homeroom teacher, and he was carrying a thick stack of papers. As it turned out, there was to be a round of placement tests that day.

During this phase, the faculty basically stopped teaching any lesson. Instead, the dedicated the school hours giving tests to students and measure their aptitude. The tests were usually short, and this went on for three days straight, followed by one long test, and then the cycle would repeat. Supposedly, the teachers would explain the answers once the tests were corrected and returned. In a way, this was a portioned mock college entrance exams, as well as a review.

As soon as Lee Yong finished briefing them on the process, everyone dissolved into loud groans and muttered complaints. Everyone except for Zhang Muye. Unlike his classmates, his heart was thundering with excitement.

He had done his fair share of exam simulations by himself, but it wasn’t the same as taking an actual aptitude test with other students. Finally, he could get a clear gauge of his progress. Muye was determined to go all out, even if it was just a mock test.

As the exam commenced, he carefully tended to his test paper. His brows were furrowed in concentration as he went over each question carefully, making sure not to muss a single one. Time passed without him noticing, and he finished checking the last item in the test just as the bell rang. He watched in anticipation as Lee Yong collected the papers and carried them out of the classroom. He was looking forward to the results.

Lee Yong trudged to his office without a trace of urgency whatsoever.

He taught English, and in Xiandai, the standards for English proficiency weren’t that high. This was because even though students got high scores in English, their scores in other subjects still plummeted.

His most proficient student was a boy who always scored 130 or 140 points in every English exam, but his scores in Mathematics never even reached 80 points. The same comparison could be applied for Science-related courses.

‘How could these students seriously expect to get into a good university with such inconsistent grades?’ Lee Yong grumbled to himself.

At some point, he noticed that he had already graded nearly half of the total exam papers. Of that first half, he had recognized the names of those who did well in his class. That was basically all of them.

And yet, the highest score was only 120 points. And on such a mediocre test, too!

It was truly frustrating! The students were a complete mess.

Lee Yong sighed yet again and grimaced as he finished up another test set. After all, the prize money he had been eyeing was directly rated to the kids’ admission rate to the universities.