Although life is tough these days, Shilan School is, after all, a prestigious institution.
Nearly half of the students here come from wealthy families, and for them, there’s no need to push themselves to the limit in academics or engage in cutthroat competition. After graduation, they can take the TOEFL, go abroad to prestigious universities for a shiny degree, and then return to inherit their family businesses.
However, even a prestigious school needs to produce results, so there’s also a portion of students from modest backgrounds who are there to excel academically, like Qin Qiaoqiao and Yu Wan'er.
This creates a stark divide: some students are always playing, while others are always grinding.
But someone like Ye Mengyao, who comes from a wealthy family yet excels academically, is a rare gem.
Of course... Jiang Che is an exception.
After all, Jiang Che has a system that instantly boosts his abilities, transforming him from a struggling student into an academic prodigy in the blink of an eye.
Take this mock exam, for example. Jiang Che stunned everyone by scoring 600 points, skyrocketing from the bottom of the class to the top ten.
He quietly amazed everyone.
“Bro Jiang, we were supposed to fail together, but you secretly soared ahead!” Wang Zheng looked at his 21-point English test paper and then at Jiang Che’s 140+ score, feeling dizzy.
As Jiang Che’s loyal sidekick, he knew Jiang Che’s academic performance all too well. Their combined scores used to be lower than a single subject’s score for others, but now Jiang Che had quietly taken off.
“Yeah, Bro Jiang, your score is way too high. It makes us look like failures,” Liu Tie complained, feeling down. He used to feel proud of scoring a few dozen points higher than Jiang Che.
“High? Not at all. My scores have always been like this. Maybe you should reflect on yourselves—have you been studying hard? Have you been paying attention in class?”
Jiang Che’s words only made them feel worse.
...
“Jiang Che, congratulations on such a remarkable improvement!”
Ye Mengyao was also shocked that Jiang Che had scored over 600 points. After all, he used to only score around 100 points, and this transformation had happened in just over a month.
Even a rocket couldn’t rise this fast!
As for whether Jiang Che had cheated?
She didn’t even consider the possibility, as she was now completely devoted to him, inside and out.
Even if Jiang Che had scored 750 points, she wouldn’t have doubted him.
“Hmph, what does my improvement have to do with you?”
Jiang Che remained aloof, preferring this kind of interaction with Ye Mengyao.
Ye Mengyao had already grown accustomed to Jiang Che’s cold demeanor and even smiled as she leaned in closer.
“Jiang Che, I always knew you were smart.”
[It must be my tutoring that made the difference!]
[I wonder... could knowledge be transferred through some shortcut?]
Jiang Che: “......”
He was almost speechless at Ye Mengyao’s bizarre thoughts.
What on earth was going on in her head?
“My improvement has nothing to do with you. Don’t get involved.”
“It’s Yu Wan'er who’s been tutoring me every week, which is why my grades have improved so much.”
Yu Wan'er, who had been resting her head on the desk, felt a sense of pride when she saw Jiang Che’s rapid progress.
After all, she was the one who had tutored him, and she deserved the credit!
But now, Yu Wan'er felt a chill run down her spine.
Ye Mengyao’s expression darkened as she glanced at Yu Wan'er beside her, her eyes flickering with emotion.
“Sister Mengyao, Jiang Che is actually quite smart. He just didn’t study before. This guy must have been secretly studying all along. I only tutored him for two hours a week... even a top-tier teacher couldn’t have achieved such results so quickly.”
Yu Wan'er was clever. She didn’t outright deny her relationship with Jiang Che. If she had said, “Sister Mengyao, Jiang Che and I have nothing to do with each other,” it would have been like admitting guilt.
So she steered the conversation in a different direction.
Seeing this, Ye Mengyao didn’t press further.
“Jiang Che, how about this? I’m also good at academics. From now on, I’ll come to your house every week to tutor you. What do you think?”
Ye Mengyao’s words sounded innocent enough, but Jiang Che knew exactly what she was implying.
Yu Wan'er felt conflicted. On one hand, she was afraid of tutoring Jiang Che, but on the other, she didn’t want Ye Mengyao to take over her role as his tutor.
It was a dilemma!
The three of them seemed to have formed a subtle love triangle.
But soon, this tense situation was interrupted.
“Ding ling ling~~~”
The class bell rang.
A middle-aged woman walked in, wearing an old pair of glasses and carrying a stack of test papers. It was none other than Wang Lili.
Wang Lili’s expression was clearly displeased.
“I assume everyone has seen the results of this mock exam? Many students in the class have made progress, but the student with the most improvement... has increased by 119 points. This is nothing short of a miracle.”
Wang Lili’s tone was laced with sarcasm. It was obvious that she believed Jiang Che’s improvement was 100% due to cheating.
Come on, a 119-point improvement on a 150-point test?
“The creator of this miracle is none other than our very own Jiang Che! If I recall correctly, Jiang, you scored 26 points on the last English exam, didn’t you?”
“Would you care to share your secret to success?”
Wang Lili held a grudge. The last time Jiang Che had confronted her in the office, she had been humiliated, and she hadn’t forgotten it.
In her eyes, Jiang Che was just a failing student who wouldn’t get into a decent university, destined to become a useless rich kid living off his family’s wealth—the kind of person she despised the most.
As Wang Lili spoke, the classroom fell silent.
Everyone could tell she was being sarcastic, and they began whispering among themselves.
Jiang Che, however, remained calm. Wang Lili was just going through menopause. With a single word, he could make her lose her job.
If Wang Lili found out about his relationship with Qin Qiaoqiao, what kind of expression would she have?
He was almost looking forward to it!
“Jiang Che, did you hear me? Would you like to share your study tips?” Wang Lili asked again.
Before Jiang Che could respond, someone else couldn’t hold back.
“Bang!” The sound of a hand slamming on a desk echoed through the room.
Ye Mengyao stood up, her eyes blazing as she stared at Wang Lili.
“Ms. Wang, I don’t understand why you’re targeting Jiang Che like this. From what I’m hearing, you’re implying that he cheated to get his score, aren’t you?”
Wang Lili was stunned, looking at Ye Mengyao.
This was her English class representative!
“I didn’t say that. I’m just curious... how could someone’s grades improve so quickly? In my over twenty years of teaching, I’ve never seen anything like it!”
Ye Mengyao sneered, “Ms. Wang, aren’t you still suggesting that Jiang Che cheated?”
“If I remember correctly, you were the one who wrote this test, right? Where would he even get the answers? Not to mention, this test was extremely difficult... even I only scored 138. There can’t be many people in the entire school who scored higher than Jiang Che.”
Ye Mengyao, now fully transformed into a protective partner, was a far cry from her former obedient self.
She left Wang Lili speechless.