"About what, exactly?"
Mia Chen blurted out without thinking.
"My score will probably fluctuate around seven hundred."
Evan Lin thought for a moment, then gave a rough estimate.
For subjects like math, physics, and chemistry where there’s only one right answer, Evan hardly ever loses points—he’s very confident about those.
But for subjects like English and Chinese, where grammar and subjective questions come into play, he’s bound to lose more points. Essays in particular—both English and Chinese—are guaranteed to lose marks, since it’s impossible to predict what the grading teacher will like.
So when Evan said his score would fluctuate around seven hundred, it was just a ballpark figure.
"Fluctuate around seven hundred!"
Victor Zhou was visibly startled when he heard Evan’s words. But after sizing Evan up, he gave a mocking little smile. "Five hundred-something is still technically below seven hundred, right?"
"This test really was pretty tough."
Back when Mia Chen was Evan’s class monitor, she was one of the few girls in class who didn’t judge him just because he came from Whitewood County.
Even though Mia later got frustrated with a lot of things Evan did—and didn’t hesitate to tell him that if he kept this up, he’d never amount to anything—deep down, he never saw her as a bad person.
“I wasn’t staring at you,” Mia said, looking a little annoyed. She lowered her voice. “Evan, don’t go bragging in front of Mr. Liu. He really can’t stand show-offs!”
"Did you skip the test again? That exam was way harder than you think! It’s not as simple as you imagine!"
Mia sounded genuinely disappointed. “I thought maybe after you transferred to Jinnan, you’d finally chill out a bit.”
She looked completely let down.
Now, sure, Evan was a lot more impressive—and he’d even become a bit of a legend among the younger guys at Brightsea No. 2 High—but honestly, Mia missed the old Evan.
Even if the old Evan was timid, powerless, and had terrible grades, he always felt steady and honest. Especially when he smiled—there was something genuine about it you didn’t see every day.
Mia really liked that kind of smile.
But now, looking at Evan, she just felt a kind of frustration she couldn’t put into words. She didn’t understand why he’d changed so much.
“Alright, Mia, let him say whatever he wants about his score. It’s his business. Don’t overthink it—let’s get back to these problems. Only three left, and once we’re done, I’ll treat you to barbecue.”
Victor grinned from ear to ear.
Mia nodded, deciding not to waste any more time on Evan. She picked up her pen and buried herself in the questions again.
All these problems were written by Old Man Liu himself. The way he set them up was just like the college entrance exam—perfect practice for seniors like them.
There were ten questions in total, and they got harder with each one.
Mia and Victor had been here since three in the afternoon, working for over four hours. Now, only three questions were left.
When Victor saw Mia quietly focusing on her work, he shot Evan a smug, victorious smile, like he was declaring his territory.
His name was Victor Zhou, Mia’s neighbor and childhood friend. He was from Brightsea No. 1 High, a solid student ranked in the school’s top thirty.
Victor had a thing for Mia for a while. Back when high school started, he’d often swing by Brightsea No. 2 High just to have lunch with her—they were pretty close.
But then Tyson Liu from No. 2 High took an interest in Mia. Tyson brought his crew, beat Victor up, and warned him to stay away from her.
Victor was so scared after getting beat up, he literally wet his pants. Ever since, he’d avoid Mia like the plague, terrified of getting hit again.
But now, for some reason, Tyson Liu and his family had disappeared from No. 2 High, and Victor finally got another chance to get close to Mia.
“Hey, dude, don’t just stand there staring. Go do your own thing. If you keep gawking, I might have to get rough.” Victor leaned in and threatened Evan in a low voice.
He even made a show of cracking his knuckles at Evan, acting all tough.
Evan glanced at him. “Are you threatening me?”
“Just giving you some advice. You’re not good enough for Mia, so you should probably give up now.” Victor snorted. “Don’t think I don’t know why you showed up at Mr. Liu’s place tonight.”
“You’re really here just to see the teacher? Save that excuse for the little kids.”
Victor didn’t buy it for a second. No way would a high schooler come all the way out this late just to visit Old Man Liu.
“What are you two whispering about? Focus on your problems and quit arguing,” Mia said with a frown.
“Hey, it’s this guy who keeps trying to chat with me. I’m done, I’m done—back to the grind! Let’s finish these questions!” Victor laughed, tossing all the blame onto Evan.
Soon, Old Man Liu walked out of the kitchen with fresh tea. He set a cup in front of Evan, then gave him a long, thoughtful look. “Honestly, when you transferred schools, I was pretty sad to see you go.”
“Back in your first two years, you were seriously slacking off—you let me down, kid. But now? You’ve really turned things around. I’m impressed!”
“And Old Gu—he told me just recently, if you can score six-fifty this time, he’ll get you straight into the math department at Huaqing!”
He tried to look tough, cracking his knuckles at Evan.
Evan glanced at him. “You threatening me?”
“Just some friendly advice. You’re not good enough for Mia, so you might as well give up.” Victor snorted. “Don’t think I don’t know why you came to Mr. Liu’s place tonight.”
“Seriously here just for the teacher? Save that excuse for little kids.”
Victor didn’t buy it at all. No way a high schooler would come out this late just to see Old Man Liu.
“What are you two mumbling about? Get back to your problems, and stop arguing,” Mia said, frowning.
“Hey, it’s this guy who keeps trying to chat with me. Fine, I’m done talking—back to work! Let’s knock out these problems!” Victor joked, putting all the blame on Evan.
Soon, Old Man Liu came out with tea, set a cup in front of Evan, and gave him a long, thoughtful look. “Honestly, when you transferred, I really didn’t want to see you go, kid.”
“Back in your first two years, you were slacking off and let me down, but now you’ve really turned things around. I’m impressed!”
“And Old Gu—he told me recently, as long as you score six-fifty this time, he’ll get you straight into Huaqing’s math department!”