Chapter 18

Shen Yuze was hospitalized due to an unexpected incident and conveniently took sick leave for the following few days. Given his special status, the homeroom teacher instructed him to rest well and readily approved his leave.

This way, Shen Yuze “missed” the whole-grade monthly exam on Wednesday and Thursday.

Lu Ping: “…I suspect he wanted to skip the monthly exam, and I have preliminary evidence.”

But who would believe Lu Ping? Everyone firmly believed that Shen Yuze must have been seriously ill, unable to come to school, and thus regretfully missed the exam!

The monthly exam didn’t disrupt the class seating arrangements; it only pulled desks apart to prevent cheating from left or right.

During the exam, Lu Ping couldn’t help but notice the empty seat beside him… What was Shen Yuze, who didn’t need to take the exam, doing right now? He should have been discharged from the hospital and gone home by now. Would he still argue with his mother?

The monthly exam consisted of six subjects over two consecutive days, with English as the final one. Right after Friday’s exam, the parent-teacher conference began. Parents not only received their child’s scores for each subject but also saw the rankings for individual subjects, class, and grade… And these rankings were posted on the bulletin board downstairs! Doing well brought great pride to parents; doing poorly was public execution…

Under such pressure, which student didn’t bring out all their skills, cramming desperately?

Among the six subjects, Lu Ping performed well in the others, ensuring an above-average grade ranking, but English was his weakness. He always hovered around the passing line, dragging his total score down to mid-tier.

Even during Thursday lunch, Lu Ping clutched his grammar book, cramming in a last-minute effort, hoping heaven would bless him with a few extra points in English.

When he returned to the classroom, he unexpectedly spotted a figure who shouldn’t have been there—Shen Yuze had come!

Lu Ping: “???”

Shen Yuze’s seat was surrounded by classmates. Everyone was concerned about his health and chattered away, asking how he was recovering.

Lu Ping wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but after a few days apart, Shen Yuze seemed a bit thinner. With the weight loss, his features became more defined, his contours sharper, exuding a striking handsomeness.

Was there any fairness in this world? How could someone get even more handsome after falling ill?

Lu Ping squeezed in and happened to overhear Shen Yuze’s conversation with the others.

A classmate: “Shen Yuze, you’re not well—why insist on coming to school? There’s no class today, just the exam.”

“I came specifically for the exam.” Shen Yuze’s tone was flat and emotionless. “Exams test daily learning. Although I missed the earlier subjects due to illness, I wanted to give my best for this last one.”

In that moment, his aura shone too brightly. His classmates were moved by his determination and vowed to learn from him, striving for their personal best!

Lu Ping: “…”

Damn, so the movie star was right beside him.

The English exam officially began at two in the afternoon.

The listening section was always Lu Ping’s greatest challenge. He often couldn’t understand or, even if he did, couldn’t find the answers. Compared to his bewildered expression, Shen Yuze beside him was utterly relaxed. Having grown up in a fully English-taught environment, high school-level listening was as simple as elementary school chatter for him.

After finishing listening, Shen Yuze flipped to the written section and wrote swiftly. Neither reading comprehension nor cloze passages posed any difficulty.

He finished too quickly. While others wrestled with the first reading passage, he had already completed all three.

Unaware, Shen Yuze’s rapid page-turning produced a swishing sound that tormented everyone else’s souls.

Lu Ping, sitting next to him, nearly cried. He had known Shen Yuze was good at English, but couldn’t he leave some dignity for a poor student?!

Lu Ping sneaked a glance at Shen Yuze’s progress and discovered his desk mate was already writing the final English essay!

“…” Exhausted. Might as well let the world end.

Just then, the proctoring teacher on the podium tapped the desk: “Students, be self-disciplined. No looking around or peeking at others’ papers during the exam.”

Hearing the reminder, Shen Yuze turned to Lu Ping, raised an eyebrow slightly, then lifted his arm to shield his answers.

Lu Ping: “…”

Don’t think this little mouse has no temper!

A mouse’s punch hurts too!

…

The exams were graded quickly. Although results weren’t posted until Friday morning, scores for all subjects were out by Thursday evening, along with grade rankings.

The class monitor shared them in the class group chat the moment he got them.

This group was privately created by the class monitor, including nearly the entire class—except for the odd one out, Shen Yuze, who claimed he had no social apps and wasn’t in it.

Class Monitor: @everyone, scores and grade rankings for all subjects are out!

Class Monitor: Students whose scores dropped, prepare yourselves mentally in advance.

Class Monitor: Not for yourselves—for your parents.

Class Monitor: Don’t give your parents heart attacks at tomorrow’s parent-teacher conference.

Seeing these messages, Lu Ping, who had just gotten into bed, snapped awake. He sat up abruptly, took a deep breath, and tremblingly opened the score sheet.

With 150 students across the three liberal arts classes, Lu Ping usually ranked around 50th—middling.

This time, he started from 50th and quickly found himself—53rd. Other subjects were solid, but English dragged him down at only 82, a severe weak point.

However, this English paper was notoriously difficult. Word had it the English teaching group’s head teacher made it harder on purpose. The previous exam had been too easy, inflating scores and making students complacent, so this one was designed to humble them.

Lu Ping scanned the list: Grade-wide, English scores over 120 were rare; most hovered just over 100, under 110. Even their class’s English rep only got 118.

After checking his score, he should have closed the app. But he paused, his hand moving as if with a mind of its own, dragging the scrollbar down slightly. Though in his bedroom, he looked guilty as if sneaking around.

…He wasn’t concerned… Really not concerned… Just casually looking…

The grade ranking table scrolled to the bottom effortlessly, and Lu Ping easily spotted the name in the very last row.

—Shen Yuze, grade ranking 150.

Inevitably so—he missed five out of six exams, landing dead last.

But amid the string of 00000s, English scored a perfect 150!!

Though Lu Ping had expected it, seeing the number still drowned him in sour lemon juice.

He closed the table and returned to the group chat, which had already exploded.

Classmate A: Holy crap, am I seeing this right? Shen Yuze got a perfect English score????

Classmate B: Insane! Zeros in everything else, 150 in English!!!

Classmate C: Checked the science classes—they got wrecked too. Highest was Class 3’s, still under 130.

Classmate D: Is Shen Yuze a monster??? Perfect on that brutal paper????

Classmate E: WTF, this is straight out of a power fantasy novel. Last in grade but first in subject??? Beating second place by over 20 points??

Classmate F: If he hadn’t been sick, how could the others be zero?

Classmate G: If he’d taken all exams, first in grade would’ve been his!

Classmate H: The gap between people is bigger than between people and dogs. [Useless Dog][Useless Dog][Useless Dog]

A chain of [Useless Dog] emojis followed.

Lu Ping: “…”

If he weren’t Shen Yuze’s desk mate and hadn’t seen him skip notes in class, he’d probably be blinded by the top-student halo too.

Amid the heated discussion, the English class rep chimed in and shared a photo.

English Class Rep: This is Shen Yuze’s English essay from this exam. The teacher just sent it to me.

English Class Rep: His essay was excellent. After review by all English teachers, they gave him full marks.

English Class Rep: The teacher had me photocopy his paper to use this essay as a model for everyone to study. [Shared Photo]

The photo, taken by the teacher, showed a beige exam paper with printed lines filled by neat, elegant black ink handwriting. Shen Yuze’s script matched his persona—tall, upright, with an indescribable poise. His English penmanship was clearly practiced, every stroke graceful.

Lu Ping thought of his own English writing… Not ugly, but like a kid’s pinyin—round here, round there.

He scrutinized Shen Yuze’s essay, but it read like a comprehension passage: several unfamiliar words, complex grammar far beyond typical high school level.

Damn, does this guy die without showing off?

Fuming, Lu Ping quit the group, opened messages, and texted Shen Yuze.

Lu Ping: Still awake?

Shen Yuze: Tell me what it is first, then I’ll say if I’m awake.

Lu Ping: …Monthly exam results are out. You got perfect English.

Shen Yuze: Oh.

Lu Ping: Just ‘oh’?

Shen Yuze: The exam wasn’t that hard.

Lu Ping: Hey!!! You’re way too Versailles!!!!!

Shen Yuze: What’s Versailles?

Lu Ping: …It’s a compliment. Means you’re rich, living in a palace like Versailles.

Shen Yuze: Oh, then yeah, I’m very Versailles.

Lu Ping: “…”

He meant to mock him, but ended up hurting himself.

…

Friday arrived in the blink of an eye. Jiaojiang No. 1 Middle School was strict on education: Thursday exams ended, Friday morning teachers reviewed papers, and afternoon brought the parent-teacher conference.

Parent-teacher conferences were naturally a mix of joy and sorrow.

Chen Miaomiao’s mom twisted her ear, roaring like a shrew: “Chen Miaomiao!! I spent so much on your tutoring, and you’re still at the bottom!!!”

Chen Miaomiao whimpered: “I improved by one spot this time… Not last anymore…”

Chen Mama: “That’s because Shen Yuze took last!!!”

The total score rankings were posted on the bulletin board outside the Teaching Building, visible to all passing parents and students. Top scorers’ photos also went on the honor roll, basking in parental admiration.

This time, Shen Yuze’s name became a legend among parents.

Despite zeros in all other subjects, he clinched first in English—beating second place by a whopping 22 points!!

On the honor roll, the photos of the other subject toppers were neat and standard, taken uniformly by the academic affairs office. They had white backgrounds and wore dark sports school uniforms—girls with ponytails, boys with student haircuts, glasses perched on their noses. They perfectly matched everyone’s image of a “top student.”

Shen Yuze hadn’t had time for a photo shoot yet, so the one posted was a casual snapshot.

The background looked like it was in some art museum. Shen Yuze wore a suit and stood in front of a painting, gazing indifferently at the camera with a calm and proud demeanor.

As soon as the photo went up, it drew a crowd of girls. If the bulletin board hadn’t been locked behind glass, the photo might have ended up in someone’s pocket.

Shen Yuze’s name had become the hottest topic among parents. Everyone had something to say about him.

“Look at Shen Yuze. Even though he was sick and missed several exams, he still pushed himself to take the last one—and got a perfect score! When are you going to get first place and make your parents proud?”

“I’m going to the parent-teacher meeting soon. I need to pick the brains of Shen Yuze’s parents and find out how they raised such a kid.”

“I heard Shen Yuze transferred here from the Capital. Wonder if his parents have any of those famous tutor worksheets from there. It’d be great if we could borrow and photocopy them…”

Everyone wanted to chat with Shen Yuze’s parents during the parent-teacher meeting. The students were curious too—what kind of family did Shen Yuze grow up in? What were his parents like?

Amid the anticipation, Shen Yuze’s “mother” arrived.

She had a square face, plain features, and a stern expression. The deep furrows between her brows looked like they were branded there. If she hadn’t written Shen Yuze’s name on the sign-in sheet, no one would have guessed she was his mom.

The class group chat buzzed with speculation. The students whispered that Shen Yuze’s mother didn’t look anything like him. He was so handsome—his mom should be a great beauty too.

Only Lu Ping knew the truth. He recognized the woman who had come for Shen Yuze’s parent-teacher meeting. He’d seen her at the hospital before. She wasn’t Shen Yuze’s mother—she was his housekeeper.

So… for Shen Yuze’s first parent-teacher meeting after transferring, no family members showed up? Just his housekeeper, signing in and picking up the report card for him.

Remembering that day when Shen Yuze argued with his mother on the phone, Lu Ping felt a ripple of emotion in his heart.

Lu Ping often thought he was the most contradictory person in the world. He envied Shen Yuze—his smarts, his popularity, his wealth. But sometimes, he genuinely felt sorry for him.

Before Lu Ping could sort out his complicated feelings, his phone rang.

He answered, and Lu Mom’s voice came through the receiver.

“Pingping, I’m at your school. Which floor is your class on?”

“Third floor!” Lu Ping said quickly. “Mom, wait for me at the entrance. I’ll come down to get you!”

He hung up and rushed downstairs.

Lu Mom was a strong-willed woman. For her son’s parent-teacher meeting, she’d closed up her stall that morning, taken a bath, put on her cleanest and neatest clothes, and taken the bus to the South Shore. Lu Dad had wanted to come too, but his Mandarin wasn’t as good as his wife’s, and he worried about embarrassing their son, so he left the job to her.

Lu Ping took the stairs two at a time, afraid his mom would have to wait. After rushing out of the teaching building, he quickly spotted her at the bulletin board by the entrance.

Lu Mom was short, just over five feet tall. She craned her neck to scan the grade rankings posted on the board, earnestly searching for her son’s name. Every now and then, she’d turn to the school-uniformed boy beside her and ask something.

The boy next to her had handsome features and a tall, slender build. To talk to her more easily, he bent down, closing the distance; he’d shed his usual aloofness for a rare warmth and friendliness.

Seeing those two figures—one tall, one short—Lu Ping froze. He rubbed his eyes, then rubbed them again, and again, finally confirming it wasn’t a hallucination.

“Mom…? Shen Yuze…?” Lu Ping murmured their names.

Both figures turned toward him—it was indeed his desk mate, Shen Yuze, standing beside Lu Mom!

“Pingping,” Lu Mom said, her smile widening at the sight of her son. “Perfect timing. I was just chatting with Little Shen about you!”

“‘Little Shen’?” Lu Ping wondered if he was dreaming. Since when was his mom on such familiar terms with Shen Yuze?

Lu Mom: “Yeah, Little Shen got first in English this term. I ran into him while looking at the bulletin board. He said you’re desk mates and get along great.”

Shen Yuze chimed in smoothly: “Yeah, Lu Ping’s helped me out a lot lately.” His tone was gentle, unlike anything Lu Ping had ever heard. “He even brought me some glutinous cake before. He said it was your special recipe—tasted great.”

Lu Ping shivered: Hey, is this really the Shen Yuze I know?

The disconnect felt like watching a snow leopard from the mountains pretend to be a docile house cat.

But how was Lu Mom to know Shen Yuze’s true colors? Hearing that he liked the glutinous cake, her smile deepened the wrinkles at her eyes. “Oh, good, as long as you liked it. Pingping said he wanted to share some with his desk mate, but his dad and I were worried you might not be used to it. Jiao River has so much good food—chui yuan, crispy shrimp balls, mai gutou, black rice rice cakes… Next time, have Pingping take you to try them!”

“That sounds perfect,” said Shen·Picky Eater King·Yuze. He glanced leisurely at Lu Ping. “Just hope it won’t be too much trouble for Lu Ping.”

Under his mother’s watchful eye, Lu Ping didn’t dare say it was trouble. He nodded stiffly. “No trouble at all. Whatever you want to eat, Shen Yuze, I’ll take you.”

He’d only said it politely, but Shen Yuze followed up right away: “Oh? When?”

Lu Ping: “…” After you fix your picky eating habits.

Before Lu Ping could figure out how to dodge, Lu Mom said enthusiastically: “Since your monthly exams are over, why not relax? Pingping, invite Little Shen to the North Shore this weekend, okay?”