Chapter 120
Recess in elementary school was short, only ten minutes.
The children, restless, would jump up in the middle of class and run to the back of the classroom, yelling, “Teacher, I’m so anxious!”
The teacher would patiently guide them back to their seats.
“You’re elementary school students now. You can’t just play all day like you did in kindergarten.”
Kindergarten had been filled with fun activities, art classes, games, and only one or two academic lessons a day.
The children, now facing the stricter rules of elementary school, had cried and protested before finally adjusting.
But Xing Nuo liked elementary school.
Unlike kindergarten, it made him feel like a grown-up.
After a long day of classes, his hands, which had been neatly placed on his desk, could finally relax.
He carefully packed his books into his larger, sunflower-print backpack and skipped out of the classroom.
Shen Wen, waiting at the school gate, his fair skin almost glowing in the warm autumn sun, stood out among the other parents.
“I wish I had that much hair,” a parent muttered enviously.
“His son is in my child’s class. He also has that light golden hair.”
Shen Wen, his eyes lowered, his expression aloof, as if in his own world, ignored them.
“Daddy!” Xing Nuo ran out of the school, his heavy backpack bouncing against his back.
Shen Wen took the backpack, his brow furrowing at its weight.
“So heavy?”
Even Shen Baizhou’s high school backpack didn’t seem this heavy.
Xing Nuo rubbed his sore shoulder and patted his backpack.
“I learn many things! Chinese, math, science…”
Shen Wen, holding Xing Nuo’s hand, listening to him list his classes, sighed softly.
“Being human is so tiring.”
So many textbooks, and he was just in elementary school.
Xing Nuo looked up at his dad and tugged on his hand.
“I like elementary school. I big boy now…go to elementary school!”
Shen Wen smiled and ruffled his hair, leading him home.
For the first time, Xing Nuo finished school later than Shen Baizhou, who was already carrying a bowl of soup from the kitchen when they arrived.
“Xing Nuo, back from school?”
Xing Nuo hummed excitedly, showing his brother his backpack.
“I have many books! Like Big Brother! And workbooks too!”
Shen Baizhou, thinking of his own workbook, filled with mistakes, felt a pang of guilt.
Thanks to his consistently abysmal grades, he had been held back a year, repeating his final year of high school.
Seeing Xing Nuo, ignoring his lunch, eager to start working on his homework at his little desk, Shen Baizhou, his arms crossed, said, puzzled:
“Do all human children love studying this much?”
He had assumed most people were like him, unable to learn no matter how hard they tried.
Carrying a fruit platter, he walked over to Xing Nuo, watching him sit up straight, diligently working on his math problems, and felt a grudging respect.
He patted Xing Nuo’s back, thinking of his own slouching posture while doing homework, and asked:
“Don’t you get tired sitting like that?”
Xing Nuo shook his head, his expression serious, his posture perfect.
“Not tired, Big Brother. I no eat apple. Study now.”
Shen Baizhou felt a sudden surge of panic.
Shen Yan, bringing them some water, pulled Shen Baizhou aside and said mockingly:
“With your intelligence, you probably won’t even graduate by the time Xing Nuo reaches high school.”
Shen Baizhou froze, his mind reeling, imagining Xing Nuo, a teenager, attending the same high school as him, and shuddered.
“No!”
He couldn’t let that happen!
He dragged Shen Yan to the balcony, pacing back and forth anxiously.
Shen Yan, leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed, chuckled coldly.
“What’s with the pacing?”
Shen Baizhou suddenly looked up and said:
“Bro.”
Shen Yan cursed inwardly and reached out to touch Shen Baizhou’s forehead.
“Are you sick?”
He had actually called him “Bro”?!
Shen Baizhou just shook his head, his usual lazy demeanor replaced by a serious expression.
“Bro, can you donate a building for me?”
Shen Yan: “Get lost.”
Shen Baizhou, clutching his shirt, preventing him from leaving, continued:
“That’s what rich people do on TV. If their useless kids can’t get into university, they just donate a building.”
Shen Yan, his face expressionless, took out a prop and splashed Shen Baizhou with water.
Shen Baizhou, his face dripping, blinked, stunned.
“What are you doing?”
Shen Yan asked, “Are you awake now?”
Shen Baizhou gritted his teeth, then sighed.
“Fine. Guess you’re not rich enough to donate a building.”
Shen Yan, grabbing his collar as he was about to leave, grinned sinisterly.
“Not rich enough? Are you underestimating me?”
His company had been expanding rapidly in the past two years and was now one of the leading companies in Rongcheng.
He was planning to expand nationwide and wouldn’t tolerate such insults.
He glared at Shen Baizhou and snorted.
“Just you wait.”
Shen Baizhou would graduate, whether he liked it or not!
But Shen Baizhou, doubtful, said:
“Just forget it. Don’t try to show off.”
Shen Yan wasn’t like those rich CEOs on TV, throwing buildings around like it was nothing.
Shen Baizhou left, wiping his face, leaving Shen Yan fuming, his anger simmering.
Did Shen Wen forget to add any common sense or emotional intelligence when he created this idiot?
Shen Baizhou returned to the study, brought another chair, and sat beside Xing Nuo, who was diligently studying.
Relying on others is useless. I have to do this myself!
One year left. I can at least get a three-digit score, right?
Xing Nuo, seeing his brother’s sudden dedication to studying, moved his books to make space for him.
After finishing his homework, he went to have dinner.
Shen Baizhou continued to study.
Xing Nuo, finishing school later than usual now that he was in elementary school, returned home after six o’clock.
He was sipping his water when Shen Baizhou rushed in from outside.
Shen Baizhou quickly ruffled Xing Nuo’s hair and tossed him his favorite knitted ball, which landed on the sofa.
Xing Nuo, putting his water down, happily ran to get the ball.
Having completed his daily “play with Xing Nuo” task, Shen Baizhou hurried back to the study.
“I’m going to study now.”
Xing Nuo, clutching the ball, turned around and saw that the living room was empty.
His curls drooped, and he tossed the ball back into the toy bin, dejected.
Shen Wen, seeing Shen Baizhou studying so diligently, holding a flower he had just cut from the balcony, clicked his tongue.
“Has he finally seen the light? Studying so hard.”
Xing Nuo usually enjoyed playing with his brother.
Shen Baizhou, his childish and playful nature, was always on the same wavelength as Xing Nuo.
They used to have so much fun together.
But now, Big Brother had to study and couldn’t play with him anymore.
Xing Nuo sighed softly and, after dinner, went for a walk with his dad.
When they returned, the study door was still closed.
Xing Nuo, carrying his water bottle, quietly opened the door a crack and peeked inside.
And his eyes widened in shock.
The study had become a classroom.
Dozens of desks were neatly arranged, the students, their heads wrapped in red bandanas, diligently working on test papers.
Shen Baizhou sat in the front row, his brow furrowed in concentration.
Xing Nuo instinctively took a step back, wanting to call out to his brother, but then he saw the words written on the blackboard:
Exam in progress. Please be quiet!
He didn’t dare speak.
He didn’t want to disturb Shen Baizhou and cause him trouble during this strange exam.
He was about to leave when he accidentally made eye contact with the teacher at the front.
The teacher, recognizing Xing Nuo from the school dungeon, suppressing his hunger for human flesh, gave the Big Boss’s little brother a wide, friendly smile.
Xing Nuo, startled by the creepy grin, his heart pounding, clutched his water bottle and quickly backed away.
Fortunately, he hadn’t closed the study door completely.
He stepped back into the familiar living room, his face filled with confusion, his water bottle clutched tightly in his hand. He looked back at the slightly open study door.
The sound of an exam bell seemed to echo from inside.
Shen Baizhou, exhausted from the test, dark circles under his eyes, his usually pale skin even paler, emerged from the study.
Seeing Xing Nuo, he pulled him into a hug, nuzzling his soft cheek.
“Studying so hard!”
Xing Nuo patted his brother’s head, not mentioning his glimpse of the strange classroom, and offered him his water bottle.
“Big Brother tired from studying. Dwink sweet honey water.”
Shen Baizhou, having just used a dungeon rule to enter and take a test with the other players, didn’t realize he had been exposed.
He took the water, the sweetness soothing his parched throat, and felt a surge of renewed energy.
“Good! I go study more!”
This time, realizing his mistake, afraid of Xing Nuo seeing something he shouldn’t, he locked the study door.
Back in the exam room, he sat with the other students, their faces blank and exhausted, waiting for the test papers to be distributed.
This dungeon, a sub-dungeon within the school dungeon, was called “One Hundred Exams.”
Players had to take one hundred tests to escape.
The difficulty wasn’t high, and there were no monster teachers or principals to attack them.
But the mental torture was excruciating!
It was a B-rank dungeon, but the players had rated it A!
Such a torturous dungeon couldn’t possibly be just B-rank!
Shen Baizhou, not giving himself any special treatment, diligently took all one hundred tests with the other players.
The players emerging from the dungeon looked like they had seen a ghost.
Other players waiting in Central City, seeing them, hurried over and asked:
“What’s wrong? Was the test difficult?”
The players shook their heads, their faces pale, their eyes filled with despair.
“No, but I’m never going back to that dungeon again!”
Another player mumbled:
“There was a guy with dyed white hair in there. He’s insane! He stayed the whole time, even signed up for the next round!”
The other players gasped.
“Who’s that crazy?!”
