"Treat the monthly exam as if it were the college entrance exam!"
The homeroom teacher stood at the front, stern-faced, distributing test papers while issuing a serious warning to every student.
"Do your best. The results will be out tomorrow, and you'll need to take them home for a parent's signature."
"Cheating will result in disciplinary action. Everyone, behave!"
Under the teacher's repeated warnings, the previously relaxed classroom atmosphere quickly tensed up. The whispering stopped, glances ceased, and the room became so quiet that one could almost hear the breathing of those nearby.
Chen Cheng stared blankly at her test paper, wide-eyed and clueless. She mechanically wrote her name on it, then looked down at the questions in a daze.
To be honest, at first glance, she couldn't even understand about a third of them.
They looked familiar, but she just couldn't recall how to solve them.
Before she had transmigrated, she had been twenty-seven. High school knowledge had long been returned to the teachers. Even though she had tried studying in the past two days, her brain, unused for seven or eight years, was rusty. There was no way she could recover all that knowledge so quickly.
The monthly exam was somewhat important—it would at least indicate whether she had been studying seriously over the past month. If her grades plummeted too much, she might even get called in for a parent-teacher meeting.
"Crap..."
She muttered under her breath and sneakily glanced over at Pan Jie.
If she remembered correctly, Pan Jie's grades weren't that great either—one of the few in class who hadn't even made it into a regular university.
But… he should still be better than her right now, right?
Noticing Chen Cheng's gaze, Pan Jie nervously glanced at the homeroom teacher, who was pacing the room, before discreetly sliding his test paper slightly to the left so she could see.
"Thanks~"
A simple word of gratitude made Pan Jie so happy that he nearly pushed half his test paper right under her nose.
That's way too obvious!
"No need, be careful."
"Oh, okay."
Chen Cheng had no intention of getting caught cheating by the teacher, so she quickly declined Pan Jie's goodwill.
She had no choice but to answer on her own…
Some things you either know or you don't. She hadn't come back with a cheat skill like photographic memory, so all she could do was anxiously fill in the questions she knew before resting her chin on one hand and staring daggers at the unfamiliar yet vaguely recognizable problems, as if she could scare the answers out of them.
"I think this is how it's done..."
She murmured to herself, her mind drifting back to the scene at the infirmary earlier. She lifted her head slightly, letting her gaze sweep past a few classmates hunched over their test papers before landing on Hu Wei.
Does An Yuan like Hu Wei?
He was acting way too eager to help earlier.
But didn't he always say that petite, flat-chested girls were just a virgin's niche preference?
Besides, Hu Wei was so short. Wouldn't that lower An Yuan's future kids' height?
Nope, not a good match. Not at all… If An Yuan did have thoughts about her, she'd have to find a way to talk him out of it.
Knock knock
Chen Cheng jolted out of her thoughts, turning her head to find the homeroom teacher standing at her desk with a dark expression.
Normally, the teacher was warm and friendly, like a kind aunt from next door. But at this moment, there was nothing left but cold, terrifying authority.
"Daydreaming during the exam? How much have you written?"
"I was… just thinking about the problem..."
Chen Cheng shrank her neck like a quail, pretending to move her pen across the test paper as if she were really solving the problems.
The homeroom teacher glanced at her answer sheet, furrowing her brows before shaking her head heavily.
She had just checked on An Yuan as well. He had once been one of the top students in class, but now his performance had dropped significantly.
. . . . .
"Ah~ finally over! My butt is so sore from sitting!"
During regular classes, she could at least chat with Pan Jie to pass the time, but exams were different. Holding back for so long made her feel suffocated.
She stretched, taking a deep breath of the cool evening air, which helped clear her foggy mind.
It was already late October. The daytime temperature still hovered above 30°C, but at night, it dropped to just over 20°C. The air was pleasantly cool—autumn would arrive soon.
Ahead, a few goofy classmates were holding hands and hopping around like little kids—she could hardly bear to watch.
"Ah Yuan, how did your test go?"
Chen Cheng turned her head and curiously asked An Yuan.
"Not great… I forgot a lot of stuff."
She nodded in deep understanding. "Same! I forgot everything! If I hadn't copied some homework these past two days, I probably wouldn't have been able to answer a single question!"
"I even thought about copying from Pan Jie, but that guy just put half his paper on my desk—scared me too much to cheat."
But instead of laughing, An Yuan looked serious. His usual smile was gone.
"You seem awfully happy about this."
"Well, I managed to bluff my way through the monthly exam, didn't I?"
"It won't be so easy when the results come out."
Chen Cheng's expression stiffened, and she mumbled guiltily, "It should be fine, right? Just a bad test day..."
"I'm more worried about how the homeroom teacher sees it." An Yuan rubbed his nose in frustration. "She already warned me during morning reading not to get into a relationship. If she tells our parents and they misunderstand..."
Their grades had dropped, and they were always hanging out together. To outsiders, it wouldn't seem like anything but early romance.
Chen Cheng started to panic. "It should be fine... right?"
Her mother had been lenient while raising a son, but as a daughter, she was now under strict supervision. Even coming home half an hour late would get her a phone call. If a rumor about dating reached her mother, she might actually get spanked with a feather duster.
And worst of all—there'd be no way to explain it clearly.
Seeing the fear on Chen Cheng's face, An Yuan actually smiled and reassured her. "Don't worry. I already talked to the homeroom teacher. She's giving us a chance—I even wrote a guarantee letter."
"Huh? When did that happen?"
"During break, while you were zoning out." He smirked before adding, "Next month's test scores can't be bad. Actually, we need to improve. If we do, she'll pretend nothing happened."
"Really?"
"Why would I lie?"
"Phew~ That's a relief~" Chen Cheng patted her full chest and sighed.
Looks like she'd have to actually start studying seriously instead of just coasting along...
Curious, she asked, "What exactly did you write in that guarantee letter?"
"Basically, I promised to improve my test scores, and in return, the homeroom teacher won't pry into this dating rumor."
"But we're NOT dating! You didn't even clear that up?!"
An Yuan shrugged. "Who would believe me? Besides, I do plan to seriously date in high school—preferably someone with similar grades, so we can go to the same university."
Chen Cheng suddenly went quiet.
That familiar sour feeling surged up again, so strong it felt like it was burning her insides.
"B-but… what if you don't get into the same university?" she reasoned. "Then you'd end up in a long-distance relationship."
"I've done that before," An Yuan replied casually.
"But, isn't having a long-distance relationship exhausting? You spend a three to five-hour train ride to visit her once a month and only stay for just a few days before leaving again."
"And since it's a long-distance relationship, if the other person cheats, you wouldn't even know, right?"
An Yuan turned to look at her, his gaze filled with curiosity and scrutiny.
Why did it feel like, even though Chen Cheng kept saying she wanted him to find a girlfriend to clear up the rumors, she actually didn't want him to date anyone at all?
At first, she had been against him being played by Li Wanyi, the "bad woman." Then she insisted that he couldn't be a heartless playboy and had to be serious about relationships. Now, she was saying long-distance dating was a bad idea.
And somehow… all her arguments made sense?
<+>
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