“I fucking— I really fucking did!”

During the break, Li Shuangjiang leaned against Jiang Qihuai’s desk in the aisle, face full of shock that hadn’t faded even after a whole period.

“Do you know how much Li Sijia got on the monthly English exam? Boss? A hundred and forty-three, boss!”

Li Shuangjiang pointed at Fu Xiling.

“Fu Xiling’s English is amazing—you’ve experienced that firsthand, right? Last time she only got one hundred and forty!”

Fu Xiling, standing nearby, looked a little aggrieved and said softly, “What do you mean only a hundred and forty? That’s still pretty good, okay…”

Tao Zhi was slumped over Jiang Qihuai’s desk, listless as she looked at him.

“Don’t get so worked up yet.”

“Not worked up? I fucking— one hundred and forty-three! She only lost six points total for both compositions, and missed just one question in listening!”

Li Shuangjiang pointed at Jiang Qihuai, who sat behind Tao Zhi, and continued, “And this guy behind you—top of the grade, all-around champion of six subjects, Mr. Perfect himself—he got one hundred and forty-two! One point less than her! And you actually went and made that bet with her?!”

“Isn’t she supposed to be the best in English?” Tao Zhi said slowly.

“Of course, winning in her strongest field would make it feel more fulfilling.”

Fu Xiling nodded in agreement beside her. “Exactly, exactly.”

Li Shuangjiang’s vision went black for a moment, nearly fainting from anger.

“The problem is—”

“The problem is that once you’re already in the high score range, it’s hard to raise your marks. Jumping from one hundred and eighteen to over one hundred and forty in a month is almost impossible,” Fu Xiling finished for him.

Li Shuangjiang snapped his fingers in agreement.

“But,” Fu Xiling thought for a moment and continued, “I don’t think the bet is that bad. If Zhizhi scores higher than her, that’s great. Even if she doesn’t, getting over a hundred would still be enough to prove she really didn’t cheat this time. Zhizhi won’t lose anything.”

Hearing this, Li Shuangjiang immediately lifted his head.

His eyes lit up, as if he had been brought back to life.

“So that’s what it means!”

“That’s not what it means,” Tao Zhi lifted her head and said.

Li Shuangjiang and Fu Xiling both turned to look at her questioningly.

“This one cares a lot about face,” Ji Fan, who had just woken up from a nap and missed the earlier drama, yawned as he explained on her behalf after hearing the whole story from Zhao Mingqi.

“Since she already said she’d beat that Li girl, she won’t consider any sneaky backup plan.”

Tao Zhi glanced at Li Shuangjiang and mimicked his earlier gesture, snapping her fingers in agreement.

Li Shuangjiang stared at her in confusion. “So…”

“So,” Jiang Qihuai said, finishing the last problem on his math paper.

He folded the sheet, tossed it aside, set down his pen, and leaned back in his chair.

“You’d better take a look at your own messed-up test paper and think about how you’re going to raise those twenty-something points in a month.”

Tao Zhi: “…”

She slumped back down, boneless, melting onto Jiang Qihuai’s desk again, returning to her earlier dead-fish expression.

She hadn’t studied English seriously in years, and now being told to score that high all of a sudden made her uneasy.

“Your Highness, did I overdo the act this time?”

Jiang Qihuai chuckled softly. “You looked pretty satisfied when you said it.”

Tao Zhi thought about it, then nodded.

“It was pretty satisfying. If I could do it again, I think I’d still choose to finish acting cool first.”

“Then that’s settled,” Jiang Qihuai leaned back in his chair and said calmly, as if it were nothing, “Just take the exam.”

His tone was so natural, like he was saying: It’s just Tsinghua¹Tsinghua (清华, Qīnghuá) refers to Tsinghua University, one of the most prestigious and elite universities in China — often compared to Harvard, MIT, or Oxford in global reputation. It’s located in Beijing, and getting admitted is extraordinarily difficult. Students usually need top national exam scores (from the gaokao, China’s college entrance exam) to enter., go ahead and get in.

Li Shuangjiang: “……”

Li Shuangjiang didn’t know whether he had gone crazy or the whole world had.

Schools were never places where secrets could stay hidden.

Two classes later, the entire Class One of Grade Eleven—students and teachers alike—knew that the class’s second-to-last place student had made a bet with the top English scorer in the entire grade, claiming she’d get 140 on the next monthly exam.

Most people were waiting for the show.

The third period that afternoon was English.

Their English teacher, Jiang Qianyi, paid special attention to Tao Zhi, calling on her several times during the lesson to read aloud.

Having taught English for ten years, Jiang Qianyi was a very experienced senior teacher.

Usually, just by hearing a student speak a few sentences, she could roughly tell their level.

She hadn’t paid much attention to Tao Zhi before, only chatting about her briefly when talking with Teacher Wang from another class.

But once Tao Zhi stood up and read, Jiang Qianyi was a little surprised.

Although she still stumbled over a few words, her crisp British pronunciation was unexpectedly precise and fluent.

The school textbooks taught American English, and most high school students were more exposed to American pronunciation.

It was rare to hear a student favor British English.

But thinking of Tao Zhi’s last English exam paper, Jiang Qianyi shook her head.

The gap between her and Li Sijia was still not small.

As soon as English class ended, Song Jiang rushed straight to Class One.

He came storming through the back door and landed right in front of Tao Zhi.

Tao Zhi hadn’t even closed her English book yet when Song Jiang slapped his hand down on her desk.

“I heard you made a bet with your class’s top English student—if you lose, you’re gonna kneel in front of the broadcasting room and slap yourself ten times?”

Tao Zhi: “……”

She had no idea how her “apologize at the broadcasting room” had somehow turned into “slap herself at the broadcasting room door.”

Expressionless, she corrected him: “Not class top, grade top.”

“Fuck,” Song Jiang swore, “Then do you even have any confidence?”

“No.” Tao Zhi answered honestly.

“Fuck—hahahahahahahahaha!” Song Jiang burst into a fit of inhuman laughter.

“You’re fucking awesome, bro.”

He and Tao Zhi were childhood friends—probably the only one in school besides Ji Fan who knew she used to be a top student in primary school.

Without the slightest bit of sympathy, he said, “No big deal, it’s just English. Back when your junior high English essays were always photocopied for the whole school as model answers, this grade-topper was probably still playing in the mud somewhere. What the fuck are you scared of? Just go crush her.”

After a pause, Song Jiang added, “Though right now, you can only get fifty.”

“……”

Tao Zhi rolled her eyes and pointed at him.

“Timely Rain, before my patience runs out, I suggest you disappear on your own. Otherwise, I’ll stuff your head under the desk myself.”

Song Jiang saluted her and quickly rolled away.

Tao Zhi pushed her books and notebooks aside, stretched her arms forward, and slumped over her desk with a long sigh.

That impulsive bet of hers now seemed set in stone.

After the thrill of showing off had passed, Tao Zhi finally started to feel the weight of regret.

She was starting to regret it a little.

English really had been her best subject once.

It was the one that had always brought her the most beautiful, flawless scores—on every test, every exam, every competition she’d taken part in, whether at school or city level.

But that was all in the past.

Tao Zhi understood very clearly that time never gave anyone special treatment. It only gave you as much as the effort you put in.

And in the three years she had wasted, time wouldn’t return to her the rewards she had once thrown away.

Tao Zhi entered a brand-new state—something close to madness.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

Early in the morning, Ji Fan had finished washing up, humming a tune as he brushed his teeth. He went downstairs, ready to grab breakfast before school.

The moment he opened his bedroom door, he heard English listening practice being played aloud on the first floor.

A pleasant, formulaic female voice rang out precisely from the dining room speakers:

“Please listen to the dialogue and the question, and choose the most appropriate answer… listen to the dialogue…”

Ji Fan: “……”

Running a hand through his hair, Ji Fan went downstairs and saw Tao Zhi sitting at the dining table with a test paper spread open in front of her.

She was biting into a slice of bread while holding a pen, selecting answers on the page.

Aunt Zhang stood nearby and, upon seeing him come down, made a gesture at him.

Ji Fan walked closer.

Aunt Zhang leaned in and whispered, “You’re up? Want milk or porridge today? I made both.”

Ji Fan also lowered his voice. “Century egg and lean pork porridge?”

“Mm.” Aunt Zhang moved even closer to his ear. “Want some pickles with it?”

Footnotes

• 1
  Tsinghua (清华, Qīnghuá) refers to Tsinghua University, one of the most prestigious and elite universities in China — often compared to Harvard, MIT, or Oxford in global reputation. It’s located in Beijing, and getting admitted is extraordinarily difficult. Students usually need top national exam scores (from the gaokao, China’s college entrance exam) to enter.