Su Lian's test scores spread like wildfire within minutes.
Getting a perfect score in English wasn't uncommon, but achieving a full 300 points in the comprehensive science exam was unheard of in the entire Third High School.
Whether he ranked first overall wasn't important anymore, since he had stumbled in Chinese.
The key point was that someone who had been dead last at Eighth High School had now leaped into the top ten of his grade at Third High School.
It wasn't that no one harbored dark suspicions of cheating, but with such an astronomical score, who could he have copied from?
A complex mix of emotions permeated the entire high school - shock, admiration, inferiority, doubt, a whirlwind of feelings.
Was this reasonable?
Was this scientific?
Was this even human?
The school bully was no longer a bully, but had transformed into a rising academic star, like the morning sun.
Of course, most hadn't forgotten about that supposedly unlosable bet, and now with this complete turnaround, the result was obvious and quite thrilling.
Su Lian stared at the dazed Ai Xuexi and declared decisively, "You lost. Where's the broadcast room? You should know better than me, a transfer student."
"I don't need you to remind me," Ai Xuexi was still immersed in the massive shock, his fingers pale and face ashen.
"Ai Xuexi, admit it when you lose, don't be a sore loser."
"A real man keeps his word, don't be a dog."
"The broadcast room is on the third floor of the comprehensive building, you're welcome."
People always crave more excitement, and bystanders began to chime in one after another, fanning the flames.
Ai Xuexi clenched his fists, not even daring to look Su Lian in the eye, wanting to slap himself for his recent boastful behavior.
His usually arrogant spirit seemed to have been drained away. He lowered his head and mumbled, "I'll go at noon."
"Good that you remember." Su Lian wasn't petty enough to kick him while he was down. This result was within expectations.
His collar had been half pulled open by Chi Wang, and he felt the air conditioning blowing coolly on his neck.
So he angrily elbowed the guy in retaliation, hearing a muffled groan before finally escaping his clutches and sitting back down.
Chi Wang quickly followed, leaning over the desk to ask, "What's going on with you?"
"I won the bet, didn't I?" Su Lian replied with double meaning, reminding the soon-to-be star of the schoolyard exercise routine.
Chi Wang bent his neck even lower, staring at him intently with sharp eyes. "I'm asking about your grades."
"I earned them myself." Su Lian raised his hand slightly, flexing his wrist, feeling it was indeed a bit sore from all the writing these past couple days.
His tone was indifferent, his expression showing no surprise. Clearly, that bet had been premeditated all along.
Chi Wang felt dizzy with anger but had to keep his patience: "I'm asking, what place did you rank at the end of freshman year?"
"Improved by two places, third from last." Su Lian thought for a moment before answering honestly.
"Then how did you make such a leap in just two short months?"
"I guess I had a breakthrough over summer vacation and became enlightened."
Chi Wang: "..."
He was leaning in close with his head slightly lowered, easily catching the change in Su Lian's otherwise impassive expression. The corners of his mouth curved into a tiny arc before quickly returning to neutral, quite sly.
This guy was secretly gloating, Chi Wang felt he had been tricked, but had no proof.
He had agreed to the bet himself, and his personal motto was that Wang always keeps his word.
Since he had said it, he wouldn't go back on it.
But what was it Su Lian had said when they first met?
The "lian" in his name meant to restrain - he was probably his nemesis after all.
After enduring a morning of classes, the lunch bell finally rang. Su Lian gathered up his physics test paper, watching Ai Xuexi walk out of the classroom in a daze, but didn't follow.
He had only made the bet because he couldn't stand how arrogant Ai Xuexi was. As for the terms, if Ai Xuexi didn't follow through, the rumors would end up embarrassing him more.
Classmates packed up and stood to leave, gradually filing out of the room towards the cafeteria.
Amidst the commotion, the broadcast suddenly emitted some static noise from above the classroom. Hurried footsteps abruptly halted as everyone looked up towards the source of the sound in unison.
Almost simultaneously, as if divinely inspired, gleeful expressions appeared on every face, ready for the show.
"I'm Ai Xuexi, I'm a loser I'm a loser I'm a loser I'm a loser I'm a loser, five times, that's it."
The voice coming through the broadcast was slightly shaky, blurting out the words in one breath, with gritted teeth and extremely reluctant compliance. The entire tone was devoid of emotion, like an old malfunctioning machine.
"He said it too fast, forgot to record it, what a shame."
"I've long been sick of that arrogant nose-in-the-air attitude, serves him right."
"He even thought coming to our Class 6 was beneath him, the nerve."
"Su Lian really showed him this time, well done!"
After a pause of a few seconds, Ai Xuexi's voice came through the broadcast again, this time with a hint of challenge: "Su Lian, I don't know what method you used to outperform me, but the rankings are there, I admit defeat this time. For the next monthly exam, I'll definitely beat you, we can bet again."
The tone was sarcastic, insinuating cheating without saying it outright, every word exuding an air of disdain.
"Tch, this guy just won't quit." Chi Wang frowned at the broadcast speaker.
The scattered onlookers all turned their heads to look at Su Lian, expecting a counterattack.
However, the center of attention showed no reaction, only calmly asking his deskmate: "Still going to the cafeteria to eat?"
Heavens, was this the time to discuss lunch?
The crowd grew anxious, wishing they could hand him a megaphone to confront the challenger head-on.
Chi Wang nudged his arm with his elbow: "Are you going to bet with him again?"
Su Lian raised an eyebrow, replying without a thought: "No need."
The classroom fell silent for a moment before someone suddenly had an epiphany: "That's brilliant, without a next time, Ai Xuexi will be forever nailed to this pillar of shame."
Su Lian was speechless, he simply felt it was a waste of time to bother with such a person.
He kicked back his chair and stood up, thinking that if they were any later they'd miss out on the braised pork at the cafeteria. He tugged forcefully on Chi Wang's sleeve as they walked out.
"I'm not going, no appetite." Chi Wang had enjoyed watching others' bets, but thinking of his own impending public humiliation leading exercises, he hoped tomorrow would be the end of the world.
Su Lian was in a good mood, his voice tinged with laughter: "How will you have the energy to lead exercises if you don't eat well?"
Chi Wang clicked his tongue, this guy was asking for it.
The two walked one in front of the other to the stairway, but their luck was poor as they ran into Li Guoqing carrying a thermos.
Several pairs of eyes met, and Old Li waved them over: "I was just looking for you two, come to my office for a bit."
Su Lian's face fell - great, now he'd miss out on the braised pork.
In the office, Li Guoqing first handed over two sets of school uniforms, his tone gentle: "You just transferred, so your uniforms only arrived today, a few days late."
"Thank you, teacher." Su Lian took the packaging, glanced at the time, and urged: "Anything else?"
"Su Lian, I saw your scores for each subject and wanted to have a chat with you."
Li Guoqing recalled that Chinese test paper, feeling dissatisfied: "You say you got near perfect scores in every subject, so why is there such a big gap in mine?"
When the subject breakdowns came out, there was much discussion in the office, and he felt quite overshadowed by the other subject teachers.
When chatting privately, everyone lamented that if Su Lian had scored just six more points in Chinese, his total would have exceeded 700 - what a pity.
"Didn't perform well." Su Lian couldn't be bothered to explain, deflecting with a minimal response.
When taking the Chinese exam, he had deliberately messed up a few multiple choice questions and left some fill-in-the-blanks empty, intending not to make Chi Wang lose too badly.
He hadn't expected Ai Xuexi's bet to complicate things, forcing him to show his true ability. After all the twists and turns, it now appeared to be a weak point singled out for lecturing.
"I see you left many classical poetry and literary Chinese questions blank. This isn't just underperforming, you simply didn't put effort into memorizing." Li Guoqing stubbornly believed he had a serious imbalance in his studies and advised earnestly, "Excelling in math and sciences alone isn't enough, Chinese is also very important, you need to put in more work."
"Mm, I understand." Su Lian nodded, agreeing to whatever was said.
Li Guoqing's gaze shifted, fixing on the nonchalant figure beside him: "Chi Wang, you too. You actually have a foundation in Chinese, you just refuse to memorize. If you'd just get all the recitations correct, you could pass."
Somehow the knife had turned to him, and Chi Wang tilted his head helplessly: "Teacher, I can't remember."
"How can you not remember with that brain of yours? Here's what we'll do - you two form a study pair, memorize the textbook together, and I'll check once a week."
Li Guoqing still hadn't given up on Chi Wang. He rubbed his balding forehead and carefully asked, "Su Lian, your grades in other subjects are good. Could you please tutor him in his studies?"
One-on-one tutoring, with the cool guy himself teaching - Chi Wang's head was about to explode at the thought.
This little deskmate had quite a temper. Who knows, if he couldn't solve a problem, he might throw a punch. If not half-crippled, Chi Wang would at least end up seriously injured.
He instinctively wanted to refuse, but then he heard Su Lian respond, "Alright."
Satisfied with the answer, Li Guoqing didn't linger. He pulled out the confiscated phone from the drawer and placed it in Su Lian's hand. "Good then. Here's your phone back. You two go have lunch now."
"Thank you, teacher." Su Lian gripped the phone tightly and turned to leave the office.
Chi Wang lazily followed behind with his hands in his pockets, wondering what kind of misplaced kindness his deskmate was showing this time. "Are you really going to tutor me one-on-one?"
He took out his phone from his pocket, ready to bring up his WeChat QR code, intending to say that since the phone was returned, they should add each other as friends first.
However, Su Lian was walking away quickly, not even looking back, striding towards the stairs in a hurry.
From a distance came his voice: "I just agreed casually. I'm afraid if we're late, there really won't be any braised pork left."
Chi Wang stared at Su Lian's back. He was walking so fast that a corner of his shirt was fluttering, revealing a glimpse of his waist - startlingly white.
He twirled his phone once before tossing it back into his pocket, his tongue pressing against the roof of his mouth.
He looks pretty cool, but he's so greedy for food. It's kind of cute.
At 10:30 that night, the door to room 403 was half-closed. Accompanied by passionate background music, an extremely bizarre conversation was taking place.
"Left hand, a bit higher, straighten it out."
"Right leg, step wider, squat down, squat down more."
"No, no, you look completely lifeless like that."
"Put some effort into it, fingers together."
Chi Wang stood in the middle of the room, staring at the iPad screen in front of him with a deadpan expression, meticulously following the energetic young man in the video as he practiced the between-class exercises.
The other four in the room were either standing or sitting, watching as if observing a monkey perform, occasionally pointing and commenting.
Su Lian took a sip of water from his thermos, saying with a hint of disdain, "How do you expect to lead exercises like that?"
"Why don't you try?" Chi Wang was furious. He had never felt so frustrated in his life.
But with the bet on the line, he had no choice but to comply.
Su Lian moved forward a couple of steps, gripping Chi Wang's wrist and lifting it up. "This is the correct position, understand?"
Chi Wang grabbed Su Lian's hand in return, suddenly pulling it above his head, shamelessly suggesting, "Why don't you practice with me?"
Su Lian's fingers were completely enveloped by the warm palm, his skin heating up from the touch. He wanted to pull away.
But this guy's grip was strong, and he couldn't break free. "What's wrong with you? It's not like I lost the bet."
"You two twirling around like that, it's like you're dancing," Gu Anjiu mumbled as he chewed on a chicken foot. "I gotta say, if you two were to lead exercises together, it'd be quite a sight."
Two tall, handsome guys standing on the stage - it would definitely attract attention.
"Stop it, not happening," Su Lian twisted his wrist. "Let go of me."
"Let's do it together. I stayed up late with you that night, now you can practice with me. We're in this together, right?" Chi Wang tilted his head slightly, his hair damp with sweat, a few strands casually brushed to the side of his forehead. With his head lowered and eyes downcast, he looked like a docile golden retriever, far from his usual terrifying demeanor.
Su Lian thought of the school uniform draped over him that night and inexplicably hesitated for a moment, caught off guard.
Chi Wang seized this momentary lapse, quickly gripping Su Lian's shoulders and positioning him next to himself. Pointing at the screen, he said, "Alright, let's start from the first set."
Su Lian looked utterly bewildered, as if wondering: Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?
"Come on, guys, let's all practice with Wang. Don't let him embarrass himself out there," Gu Anjiu wiped his hands clean with a tissue and voluntarily took up a position beside them.
"Okay, okay, Yan-ge, join us," Song Jiaci obediently stood in place, pulling Lin Yan into the lineup.
The not-so-spacious dormitory suddenly felt cramped, with arms bumping into people at every stretch, quite a predicament.
One person exercising, the whole dorm practicing along - a touching sight to behold, a tear-jerking tale to hear.
Su Lian, forced to join the group, expressionlessly extending his arms: "....."
He wondered what sin he had committed in a past life. This attribute of low intelligence seemed to be contagious among humans.
Fortunately, no one witnessed this surreal scene. The next morning when he woke up, Su Lian automatically deleted this idiotic memory from his mind.
After finishing his morning routine, he performed his daily divination, tossing his toothbrush into the cup. It pointed to nearly 9 o'clock.
Third quadrant, it didn't look very auspicious.
From the moment he left the room, Su Lian felt an underlying uneasiness, sensing that today wouldn't go smoothly.
All morning he was distracted and absent-minded. When it came time for the between-class exercises, he couldn't muster much enthusiasm.
As they walked side by side towards the stairs, Chi Wang noticed his low spirits and pondered for a moment before saying, "It's not like you're the one leading the exercises. Why so gloomy?"
"Just in a bad mood," Su Lian replied, zipping up his school uniform to the highest point. The wide collar covered most of his chin, shrouding his entire person in shadow, making his expression indiscernible and appearing even colder.
"Maybe watching me lead the exercises will cheer you up," Chi Wang offered consolation, though his expression was one of resignation.
Gu Anjiu, on the other hand, was more optimistic, announcing loudly, "I've arranged everything. Wang will get the full VIP treatment."
Chi Wang couldn't be bothered to ask for details. He lowered his eyelashes and walked out of the teaching building alongside Su Lian.
A group of girls passed by, arm in arm, frequently glancing their way and whispering among themselves.
"Hey, the one on the left is Su Lian. He's got good grades and he's so handsome too."
"I prefer Chi Wang's type. The girls in Class 6 are so lucky, with all those handsome guys around them every day."
"Weren't these two said to not get along before? They seem to have a pretty good relationship now."
"Well, you know how boys are. They can become close even after a fight, let alone being deskmates."
"Ah, as expected, handsome guys always befriend other handsome guys."
Gu Anjiu happened to overhear the last comment and pointed to himself confidently, asking Lin Yan, "Were they calling me handsome too? How embarrassing."
Lin Yan pushed Song Jiaci to his right side, distancing himself from a certain chubby guy: "To be honest, when you stand with us, you stick out like a sore thumb."
"Who are you calling ugly in such a roundabout way!" Gu Anjiu was stunned for three seconds before he caught the underlying meaning, his face reddening with anger.
The playground was bustling with noise, the passionate prelude playing over and over as the scattered crowd gradually formed lines.
Su Lian and his friends stood at the back of the formation, while Chi Wang pressed his lips together and separated from the group, consciously standing at the front of Class 6's line.
Li Guoqing noticed something amiss and walked over, patting Chi Wang's shoulder and instructing, "You're so tall, go stand at the back."
"I'm leading the exercises today," Chi Wang said, pulling up his uniform sleeve to reveal his wrist for ease of movement.
"You're leading what?" Li Guoqing wondered if he was getting old and hard of hearing.
"Exercises, not a curse word," Chi Wang suppressed his irritation and made up an excuse. "After your guidance yesterday, I've decided to change both physically and mentally, starting with doing exercises."
It sounded quite positive, but Li Guoqing hesitated: "Your intention is good, but do you know how to do it?"
"Give me a chance," Chi Wang persisted, forcing himself to continue. "I've practiced, it should be fine."
The music started, and a measured female voice began to announce: "The ninth set of national radio calisthenics will now begin. First movement..."
Chi Wang followed the movements he had memorized last night, starting to stretch his arms and march in place.
The scene was so surreal that Li Guoqing was dumbfounded, his jaw dropping in utter shock.
Well, alright then, he'll give him a chance, he thought as he quietly retreated to the side, leaving the stage to this suddenly motivated young man.
The red flag on the flagpole in the playground fluttered. Class 6's position was right in the middle, and with a broad-shouldered, long-legged young man standing there, he immediately drew attention.
Chi Wang stared straight ahead, expressionless, each movement having evolved to extreme precision under everyone's corrections.
As long as I don't look at others or listen to their comments, I won't feel embarrassed, he thought.
After all, it's only eight sets, just a few minutes. It'll be over in the blink of an eye.
However, increasingly dense laughter from all directions reached his ears, accompanied by a flood of unavoidable comments:
"Hahaha, look at Class 6's exercise leader, it's actually Chi Wang."
"Has he been kidnapped or is he being controlled? Someone ask him to blink if he needs help."
"Oh my god, is this really the same school bully who always skipped exercises?"
"I'm laughing my ass off, no joke, did he secretly practice? It looks pretty standard."
Chi Wang gritted his teeth. It's fine, they're already at the seventh set, just endure a bit longer.
For the jumping exercise, he turned backwards, rushing half a beat in his nervousness, coming face to face with a group of people desperately trying to hold back their laughter.
"....."
Excuse me, I'll take my leave. He wanted to move off the planet overnight.
But the bet was there, and running away for a day meant making it up for a day, so he had to continue.
The school bully himself felt dead inside, his expression cold, his eyes gloomy, looking like he might charge into the crowd and start a fight at any moment.
Suppressed by the powerful aura emanating from him, everyone tried hard to hold back their laughter, almost choking on their own saliva.
As the last half-beat fell, Chi Wang let out a sigh of relief, raising his hand to wipe his face.
Finally, this horrific public execution was over.
Suddenly, someone shouted "One, two, three!", and voices from all directions joined in unison.
"Chi Wang, Chi Wang, you're the best, your posture is so beautiful."
"Chi Wang, Chi Wang, you're amazing, Class 6's exercise leader is the brightest."
Accompanied by thunderous laughter, a group of boys' chants echoed across the entire playground, as orderly as a concert cheer.
Chi Wang: "......"
His expression froze. After he realized what was happening, he abruptly turned and quickly ran to the back of the line: "Fuck you, Gu Anjiu, as if I wasn't embarrassed enough!"
Grabbed by the neck, Gu Anjiu trembled like a quail: "I told the bros from each class last night, and everyone said they wanted to encourage you, so......"
"It's been a while since you've been beaten up, hasn't it? Your skin must be itching." Chi Wang spoke with a hostile tone, aware of the gazes drifting over from all directions, his whole demeanor exuding an extremely strong sense of pressure.
When this guy wasn't smiling, his features were sharp, looking quite intimidating.
Su Lian couldn't hold back his laughter anymore, unable to control the corners of his mouth from curling upwards uncontrollably.
He grabbed Chi Wang's hand that was about to hit someone, and twisted the knife: "I saw it all, it really was quite dazzling."
The embarrassing scene flashed through his mind again, and Chi Wang cursed under his breath before turning to leave.
Li Guoqing sauntered over, putting his hand on Chi Wang's shoulder, praising him: "Principal Song just came by and complimented your exercise routine, said it was really good. Starting tomorrow, you'll lead exercises for the whole school on the flag-raising platform. Chi Wang, you've really brought honor to our class."
Chi Wang: "......"
What the hell, hurry up and end this misery.
Su Lian heard the conversation and laughed again, his mood that had been gloomy all morning completely improved.
Chi Wang turned his head, his gaze meeting the instigator of all this misery, and he said through gritted teeth: "It's all thanks to classmate Su Lian's excellent teaching that I did so well."
Li Guoqing hadn't expected them to be so united and caring, not only helping each other study but also practicing exercises together. He was moved to tears.
He nodded approvingly: "Then Su Lian, you should practice more too. I'll apply to Principal Song for both of you to lead on stage together."
Su Lian: "?"
He heard something unbelievable. Have you gone mad from Chi Wang's provocation?
He struggled to organize his words: "That's not necessary, right? I'm not very good at it."
"Don't be modest, you two look good, and everyone will be happy to learn from you," Li Guoqing comforted him, thinking he was just being shy.
Su Lian's heart sank as he understood the meaning of today's divination.
This wasn't just "not very auspicious", it was a full-blown disaster.
He lowered his head slightly, his fingers moving to turn back time to the moment before Chi Wang spoke, suddenly reaching out to cover his mouth.
As long as this guy didn't speak, he wouldn't be dragged onto this sinking ship.
"What are you...mmph?" Chi Wang, still reeling from the news of leading exercises for the whole school, struggled in confusion, his words muffled.
Li Guoqing looked at Su Lian thoughtfully, then exclaimed: "Oh, so Su Lian wants to do it too. Then you should practice more as well. I'll apply to Principal Song for both of you to lead on stage together."
Su Lian: "......"
Damn it, the script didn't even change.