Chapter 83: Two Crushing Defeats for Jiang Qian |
A single remark was like a wake-up call. The three girls blinked simultaneously, staring at the departing girl’s back. Once she disappeared, they turned in unison to look at Lin Zhengran.
As expected, Han Wenwen was the first to speak, her voice gentle: “Lin Zhengran, you’re really lucky~”
The little fox’s claws were practically out, her face brimming with murderous intent.
It was only because Lin Zhengran usually dominated these three that the situation on the first day of school hadn’t been too overwhelming for a normal person.
After this brief moment of mischief, they all headed into the school to register, preparing for the first placement exam that afternoon.
Meanwhile, as the girl named Jiang Qian walked into the school, her assistant, a girl named Fang Meng, reminded her:
“Qianqian, the placement exam starts this afternoon. If you’re feeling nervous, you can take a break at noon.”
Jiang Qian kept walking, her voice cool: “There’s no need. The placement exam is just slightly harder than the high school entrance exam. It’s not worth worrying about.”
“Well, if that’s what you think. Anyway, that Lin Zhengran guy just got lucky.”
Fang Meng, who had grown up with Jiang Qian, recalled how the second miss had stayed up late cramming for this test the night before. She didn’t know how to react.
Jiang Qian clearly cared a lot about winning and losing, yet she always acted like it didn’t matter—it was absurd.
The placement exam that afternoon lasted longer than expected.
Before the test, based on the abilities of the three girls, Lin Zhengran figured they’d likely end up in the same class as him.
But none of them believed it.
Little He Qing clenched her tiny fists, full of determination: “I’ll do my best! I’ll make sure we’re in the same class!”
Jiang Xueli puffed out her chest confidently: “I was at least an above-average student in middle school. I’ll definitely make it into the top class.”
The little fox didn’t want to admit it, but she knew her own limits: “Maybe I’ll have an exceptional performance?”
Lin Zhengran decided not to dampen their spirits. “Good luck.”
As everyone sat in their assigned seats, Lin Zhengran unexpectedly found himself next to the long-haired girl from that morning.
That cold yet striking face was definitely memorable.
Jiang Qian sat in her seat, taking out a gel pen. Her curious and surprised gaze flicked toward Lin Zhengran.
So this was that Lin Zhengran guy? He looked exactly like his photo.
Most boys were intimidated by making eye contact with a beautiful girl. But Lin Zhengran, having lived two lifetimes, clearly wasn’t afraid to stare at these little girls.
Jiang Qian wasn’t afraid either.
So, the two of them just locked eyes, wordlessly staring at each other for a moment.
It was only when the exam started that they finally looked away and focused on their papers.
Jiang Qian was convinced she wouldn’t lose to anyone.
She skimmed through all the questions, the corners of her lips curving slightly. Just as expected, this test was nothing special.
Getting first place would be effortless.
But what she didn’t notice was that Lin Zhengran was so bored he was practically doodling the answers. These questions? He had them memorized since third grade. High school exams were fairly standardized, so his brain didn’t even need to work.
It was pure muscle memory.
Meanwhile, the others were struggling.
Little He Qing was biting the end of her pen, finding the questions incredibly difficult.
Jiang Xueli was sweating bullets—some of these questions were completely new to her!
Han Wenwen had already given up, resting her face on her hand as she muttered to herself: “Studying is nothing like gaming. If you don’t know something, you just don’t. No luck involved.”
After a grueling few hours, the exam was over.
Outside the exam hall, Lin Zhengran spotted the three girls coming out, looking dejected.
Curious, he asked, “How’d you do? You all look pretty disappointed.”
The three of them exchanged glances before sighing in unison.
Dreams shattered.
Sure enough, when the class assignments were posted, Jiang Xueli, Han Wenwen, and He Qing were all in the same class.
When Lin Zhengran arrived at his own class, he saw the familiar cold-faced girl along with the side-ponytailed girl who always followed her around.
The test scores were posted a few days later.
Teachers stuck the results up on the wall.
Everyone crowded around to check their scores, but Lin Zhengran just took one glance and lost interest.
As expected—first place.
Jiang Qian, however, was already standing there, staring at the results.
Her cold eyes were filled with disbelief, her red lips pressed tightly together.
Even Fang Meng, usually composed, widened her eyes in surprise. She murmured, “Second place… Jiang Qian. First place… Lin Zhengran. And not just in Chinese—his math score was higher than yours too… He got a perfect score in everything except Chinese again.”
Jiang Qian’s delicate hand slowly clenched into a fist.
Fang Meng asked hesitantly, “Qianqian, are you okay? Maybe he just got lucky again.”
Jiang Qian turned her head toward the window seat, where Lin Zhengran was lazily flipping through a book. She recalled that silent stare from the exam hall and let out a deep breath, as if trying to convince herself.
She unclenched her fist and walked back to her seat, speaking as if nothing had happened:
“Why would I be bothered? It’s just a small placement test. Maybe he really does have an absolute talent for academics.”
She rambled on, “Besides, I focus on being well-rounded. The military training starts in a few days, and I heard there’ll be a sports competition. I doubt someone who’s only good at studying will be great at sports too.”
Fang Meng nodded in agreement. “That’s true. If you study a lot, you don’t have time to exercise. But you, Qianqian, balance studying, sports, and piano. You’re not competing with people who specialize in just one thing.”
Jiang Qian sat by the window, staring outside with cold eyes. “So what if someone has better grades? It doesn’t matter.” Then, as if to reassure herself, she repeated, “I don’t care at all.”
A few days later, military training began.
The school issued training uniforms, and the first-year students started their two-week-long boot camp.
Jiang Qian’s so-called “sports competition” was scheduled for the end of the first week. To encourage teamwork and physical fitness, the school organized various athletic events.
The first race was the girls’ sprint.
Lin Zhengran stood at the sidelines, watching the female participants tie up their ponytails, preparing for the race.
Jiang Qian’s gaze was especially determined.
Her eyes radiated a do-or-die mentality—she had to win, no matter what.
And she was indeed skilled. From her starting posture alone, Lin Zhengran could tell she had received professional training.
She took the lead right from the start and secured an easy first place.
The PE teacher checked the stopwatch. “Wow! Jiang Qian ran 14.35 seconds! One second faster, and she’d qualify as a national-level athlete! Even most boys can’t run that fast.”
Jiang Qian let out a breath of relief.
Fang Meng, also timing the race, smiled at her—this time, she was certain Jiang Qian had won.
Then came the boys’ sprint.
The guys were all hyped up, eager to compete.
Lin Zhengran, on the other hand, was indifferent.
Back in town, he had tested this before—the system’s stat boosts also enhanced his leg strength. At level 40, he could run 100 meters in 3.7 seconds.
Now, at level 49, he was definitely even faster.
But he wasn’t interested in running at full speed. That would ruin his peaceful high school life.
He’d hold back—just a little.
At the teacher’s signal, Lin Zhengran shot forward.
It was obvious he was much faster than the others.
Even the PE teacher and the other boys were stunned.
When he crossed the finish line, the teacher swore in shock. “Holy s***… 11.11 seconds? You’re Lin Zhengran, right? If you train properly, you could make the national team!”
Lin Zhengran was speechless.
Even when running lazily, he was still too fast.
Jiang Qian, who had been watching, stood frozen.
Fang Meng, stopwatch in hand, could barely find the words.
She could only mumble, “This guy is seriously strong… And he’s good-looking too.”
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