In the hallway outside Senior Year, Class 9, a tall, handsome boy was completely absorbed in his book.
That boy was none other than Ian Song, who had recently been kicked out of the classroom by William Yan.
Once Photographic Memory was activated, it was impossible to stop. Ian didn’t want to waste this precious time—he’d memorize as much as possible before it ran out.
Inside the classroom, William Yan glanced at Ian Song in the hallway. Seeing him like that, he couldn’t help but sneer inwardly: "Putting on an act."
As the class was about to end, Ian Song closed his book.
The time for Photographic Memory had expired. With a thought, he pulled up his system interface again.
Everything else was the same, but the Fame Points section had changed—from 30 to 35.
It seemed his courage in betting against William Yan had earned him the respect of five classmates.
"Heh, one step closer to fifty Fame Points!" Ian couldn’t help but grin.
Days went by, and before he knew it, the weekend arrived. During this time, news of his bet with William Yan gradually spread through the senior year.
Of course, most students who heard about this thought Ian Song was overestimating himself, especially since his past exam scores were also spreading.
His best score in Chinese was 83, a full 37 points short of 120.
If the gap was only a dozen points, maybe there’d be some suspense in this bet.
But 37 points? That was just too much—no one believed Ian Song could pull off a comeback.
After the news spread at school, Ian noticed a lot of students looking at him like he was a joke.
Ian didn’t get angry about it. In fact, the gossip brought him some benefits: while most mocked him for being reckless, a few admired his courage and started to respect him. So, after a week, his Fame Points had climbed to 48—just 2 short of the 50 needed for a lottery draw.
Besides the Fame Points, he’d used Photographic Memory to memorize a ton of Chinese material. He even read writing technique books and world literature to boost his composition skills.
As he got more skilled with Photographic Memory, his efficiency soared—he could now memorize a 200,000-character book in just half an hour.
In other words, a single activation let him memorize a million characters.
Seeing his Fame Points at 48, Ian decided to push it to 50 today. He already knew exactly where he’d farm the last two points.
But before farming Fame Points, Ian had to go to his uncle’s house for dinner.
To Ian’s surprise, his uncle still wasn’t home for dinner. Without him there, Ian’s aunt never treated him kindly.
Especially at the dinner table, his aunt scolded him again, which really got him down. But from her hints, Ian gathered that his uncle was busy networking because the city Education Bureau’s director was about to retire, and his uncle had a good chance at a promotion.
Ian was genuinely happy for his uncle’s possible promotion.
After scolding Ian, his aunt’s face softened as she turned to Shelly Song. “Shelly, how’s your piano practice going?”
Shelly Song frowned slightly, sounding impatient. “It’s fine, I guess.”
“Are you confident you’ll win a prize?” her aunt pressed.
Shelly smirked. “It’s just an amateur competition. If I couldn’t win something after ten years of piano, all that practice would’ve been for nothing.”
“Of course! Our Shelly is the best,” her aunt praised, then immediately changed tone: “Unlike some people—bad grades are one thing, but now he’s even learned to fight. Our Song family is supposed to be scholarly. How did we end up with such a disgrace? What bad luck!”
Hearing his aunt’s indirect sarcasm, Ian silently steeled himself. He swore that one day, she’d see him in a new light.
Ian quickly shoveled the rice into his mouth, put down his bowl and chopsticks, and said, “Auntie, Shelly, I’m full. I’ll be going now!”
Smack!
His aunt slammed her chopsticks onto the table and glared at him. “What, you can’t stand a few words of criticism?”
Ian took a deep breath, swallowed his anger, and said, “I’m leaving.”
With that, Ian strode out the door. He’d always endured his aunt’s insults—not because he was timid, but because she’d helped him, and he didn’t want to make things harder for his uncle.
“Ungrateful wolf… Shelly, look at him—he eats and lives here for free, we even pay for his schooling, and this is how he treats his elders. Don’t ever learn from him!”
Hearing her mockery behind him, Ian paused for a moment, but said nothing and walked out the door.
Leaving his uncle’s house, Ian felt a weight lift off his shoulders. The atmosphere there was just too suffocating.
He started thinking about working after the college entrance exam so he wouldn’t have to rely on his uncle’s family for university expenses. He was afraid one day he’d snap under his aunt’s ridicule.
Taking a couple of deep breaths, Ian pushed aside all his worries. Earning Fame Points was what mattered now.
Zhao Family Boxing Gym.
As soon as Ian arrived, he saw Zoe Zhao on the ring, taking on two trainees at once. It was less a fight and more Zoe using them as human punching bags.
“Ian Song!”
Spotting Ian, Zoe immediately lost interest in her current opponents. She whipped out two kicks, sending both male trainees stumbling off the ring.
There were mats around the ring, so no one got hurt falling off.
“Ian, get up here and fight me!” Zoe beckoned him over. Losing to Ian last time had left her frustrated, and she’d been itching for a rematch. She hadn’t seen him at the gym all week, so today was her chance.
Ian had come to the gym specifically to farm Fame Points. Even if Zoe hadn’t challenged him, he would’ve found a way to spar with her.
“Sure, wait for me—I’ll go change!” Ian grinned at Zoe and headed for the locker room.
Watching Ian’s back, Zoe clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. “Last time you made me call you Big Brother—this time, I’ll make you pay.”
Ian soon changed into a T-shirt and shorts and took his place on the ring opposite Zoe. The ring was already surrounded by dozens of trainees—since it was the weekend, the gym was packed, with at least fifty-six people present.
Seeing the crowd around the ring, Ian was delighted—they were guaranteed to boost his Fame Points.
“Ian, if you can withstand ten of my moves, you win. But I have a condition,” Zoe said slyly, holding up a finger.
“I don’t agree!” Ian shook his head.
“Coward!” Zoe snapped, eager to win back her pride.
“Haha, don’t get me wrong—I’m not refusing the challenge, I just don’t need a ten-move limit. If you can beat me, I’ll accept your condition!” Ian said with a laugh.
Zoe was taken aback, then smirked. “Don’t get too cocky, Ian!”
Ian’s expression turned serious. “A man’s word is his bond! But just so you know, if you lose, you’ll have to accept a condition from me too!”