Outside the classroom, a man in his early thirties strode up, business suit immaculate, every step from his polished leather shoes ringing sharply against the tile—like he wanted the whole hallway to know he’d arrived.
He walked in like he owned the place, every step radiating authority, his face locked in a look of hard-edged seriousness.
Stopping at the classroom door, he swept his gaze across the room and barked coldly, "Everyone, back to your seats!"
"The exam is about to start and you’re still making a racket. Is this what passes for 'quality' at Capitalview First High?"
His voice practically dripped with arrogance, chin held high as if he owned the place.
The moment he spoke, the whole class felt a wave of discomfort—but not one dared mouth off back.
"This round is Chinese. Twenty minutes till the bell. Five minutes for the bathroom—use it or lose it. In fifteen, I’ll hand out the papers. Once they’re on your desk, I don’t want to see a single thing not related to the exam!"
"Phones, textbooks—stash them now. Don’t think I can’t spot your little tricks! Under my watch, nobody cheats!"
He glared at the Capitalview First High students, voice like a whip—strict and merciless.
He came from Oceanport Pearl Academy—a snobbish, aristocratic school whose teachers dealt with the kids of CEOs and trust fund heirs. No wonder he thought every other place was beneath him.
Capitalview First High School had solid facilities, but compared to Oceanport Pearl Academy, it was strictly second-tier.
Evan Lin lounged at his desk, giving the proctor a look as cool and distant as moonlight—completely unbothered.
The proctor caught Evan’s gaze and for some reason, a chill crawled up his spine—like he’d just locked eyes with something he couldn’t understand.
"What are you looking at? Eyes on your own desk—get ready for your exam!"
Unable to hold back, the man shot Evan Lin a nasty glare.
He just couldn’t stand the way this kid looked at him—like he was nothing.
"Just watching a dog bark."
Evan’s voice was calm and flat, gaze unwavering—deep as still water, impossible to read.
He spoke slow and clear, each word landing like a slap—no faking, no hesitation, just pure confidence.
"Holy crap, what a legend!"
"Straight savage!"
"That guy’s got a stick up his ass. Who let him in here? He barks at us like a dog!"
Whispers rippled through the room, the whole class suddenly united in silent rebellion.
"What the hell did you just say?!"
The proctor’s face twisted, eyes blazing—he looked ready to explode.
Nobody had ever dared talk to him like that—especially not some random kid from Capitalview First High School.
And this kid was just a student from Capitalview First High!
"I said you're a dog."
Evan said it flatly, not the least bit humble or arrogant—just stating it as fact.
"You—!"
The proctor’s face was beet red, fists clenched so hard his knuckles popped as he stormed up to Evan, papers nearly crumpling in his grip.
"Gonna throw hands?"
Evan met his eyes, utterly fearless—cool as ice, not backing down an inch.
"Cursing out the proctor in front of everyone—this is the 'quality' of Capitalview First High students?"
He glared furiously, fists tightening and loosening, but in the end, he didn't dare actually swing at Evan in the exam hall.
"Just laying out the facts and reasoning it through."
Evan just shook his head, looking at the guy like he wasn’t worth his time.
If he hadn't barged in all aggressive, Evan wouldn't even have bothered to look at him.
"Once this exam is over, I'm going straight to your school's Academic Affairs Director to report you! When that happens, I hope you can keep up this attitude!"
The man shot Evan Lin a hateful glare, snorted coldly, and after barely keeping his cool, turned back to the podium to start handing out the test papers.
The proctor thought dropping Director Ben Lu’s name would scare Evan into submission, but as he started passing out the papers, he realized every student in the room was staring at him like he was a clown.
For most, Director Ben Lu was a big deal. But when it came to Evan Lin, everyone knew the real power dynamic: these days, Ben Lu was the one who didn’t dare mess with Evan.
Evan took the test paper and glanced over the questions.
"Poetry fill-ins are easy points, and the multiple-choice questions up front aren't hard. The real headache is the reading comprehension—answers are way too subjective."
Evan sized up the whole test, mentally gauging the difficulty.
When the exam started, Evan picked up his pen and got to work.
He breezed through the front questions, paused a bit at the reading section, but kept up a solid pace.
The essay was an argumentative piece on 'What kind of life counts as a successful life?' Evan wrote a full eight hundred words and finished everything in about two hours.
"Chinese is always a pain to write—math, physics, chemistry, and bio are way easier. At least those have definite answers."
Evan sighed.
The new proctor spent the whole exam glued to Evan, desperate to catch him cheating, but came up empty-handed.
After double-checking his answers, Evan set his paper on the desk, grabbed his bag, and handed it in before walking out.
"Only two hours? Bet he just rushed the essay! What a joke!"
Seeing Evan hand in his paper and leave, the man looked on with open disdain.
The Chinese test wasn't super tough, so there wouldn't be much difference in scores, but with only two and a half hours and an eight-hundred-word essay to write, time was tight.
Glancing at Evan’s essay, the proctor had to admit—grudgingly—the kid’s handwriting was next-level: elegant, free, with a kind of effortless swagger.
"Nice penmanship, but still just a troublemaker! Dares to mouth off to a teacher! I swear, all his book learning’s gone straight to the dogs!"
Muttering under his breath, he flipped through Evan's answer sheet, checking the name and class on the right side.
"Senior Year Class 32, Evan Lin!"
He etched Evan’s name into his memory—Senior Year Class 32, Evan Lin—already plotting to go straight to Director Ben Lu after collecting the papers.
After all, he was a teacher from Oceanport Pearl Academy!
Coming to Capitalview First High to proctor was supposed to be a favor to the school, and now a student had publicly called him a dog. No way he was letting that slide.
Seeing Evan hand in his paper, the other students got anxious, scribbling away even faster.
Half an hour later, the proctor announced, "Pens down! Papers in!"
After collecting the papers, he stormed out of the classroom, face dark as thunder, heading straight for the Academic Affairs Office at Capitalview First High.