Round 2

After experiencing the baptism of failure, Song Hao decided to reflect deeply and start by… customizing his character’s face! Since he was mocked by his mother for having an average appearance right at the start, he was determined to create a stunningly handsome character!

So, for the next two hours, the number of viewers in the live stream fluctuated and gradually decreased.

[What kind of live stream am I watching, a face customization master?]

[Didn’t you say looks don’t matter?]

[When’s the next round starting?]

[* Stop tweaking your eyebrows already]

[Dude, the emperor’s almost becoming a pretty boy]

When the number of viewers dropped to 37, Song Hao finally finished adjusting. Saving 12 bucks, he started the game!

The hard work paid off, and the results were immediate. First, his mother became much more loving and started praising him right away,

“Mother is getting old, but you are handsome and charming, and you study diligently. As long as you don’t slack off, you will definitely pass the academy exam in seven days and become a scholar, which is my greatest wish.”

Then, Xing Er’s affection and gifts also increased, “…If you need anything, you can come find me on the mountain.”

※ Xing Er’s affection +4, Tong Grass x2

“So affection and gifts double, huh? This world really judges by appearance!” Song Hao grumbled as he accepted the gifts and then proposed a plan, “If I increase Xing Er’s affection enough, can she find the Golden Teng Flower? Let’s test it this round.”

So, Song Hao went to the back mountain twice a day to increase affection, collected a bunch of Tong Grass, and just rested at night to reduce fatigue, not reading a single book for the whole day.

By the sixth day, after two rounds of increasing affection, Xing Er’s affection reached 40. When affection reached 20, it triggered the “Flower Crown” event; at 40, it triggered the “Mountain Song” event. In short, no Golden Teng Flower yet, seems like it requires future events to obtain.

On the seventh day, Song Hao went to the exam venue with 12 literary talent and 0 fatigue. The journey added 5 fatigue points, which he got rid of with a good sleep, so he was full of energy.

On the day of the results announcement.

Top scholar: Wen Qing

Liang Xuan, Zou Hui, Gao Changguang, An Kenti…

As expected, he didn’t make it.

“This Wen Qing is first again, isn’t the list random? Or is he an NPC for later?”

[There are usually a few helpers among classmates, Wen Qing is likely a strategist]

[Normally there’s a one-literary-one-martial setup]

[Martial generals are usually at the bottom]

[Don’t tell him! Let him figure it out!]

[The top five are possible, be careful, there might be traitors]

Song Hao seriously read the comments, thinking you guys are voluntarily telling me, I didn’t check any guides. Unexpectedly, the character stayed in front of the list for a long time, triggering a conversation event.

A roughly modeled passerby face asked, “Dare I ask, brother, what rank did you achieve?”

The only option was “Didn’t make it,” very straightforward, leaving no face.

[Official disdain]

[Hahahahahahahahahahaha]

[Definitely intentional]

[Mocking you for being a noob, daring to take the exam with just 12 literary talent]

[Bro really didn’t read a single book]

“Hahaha,” Song Hao felt the official was mocking him, “It’s fine, this round was just an experimental one, let’s see if the affection I gained can lead to marriage.”

〖Literary Talent: 12, did not pass the academy exam.

Achievement unlocked: Not yet out of the woods.

Xing Er’s Affection: 40, does not meet marriage conditions.

Ending: Old Man in the Countryside (Ten years of hard study all in vain, might as well go home early to sleep. Mother! I’ll start farming tomorrow~)〗

[Even the ending poem turned into a version for illiterates]

[Such a harsh official, love it~]

[Didn’t leave the newbie village, not worthy of a wife]

[Affection needs to be 100 to marry, I believe you didn’t check any guides]

[Next round, let’s go!]

Round 3

This time, Song Hao focused solely on studying, saving every time he increased his literary talent, and if it wasn’t above 5, he kept trying. Only when fatigue exceeded 20 did he rest, working day and night, racing against time, not visiting Xing Er even once.

Finally, he arrived at the exam venue with 77 literary talent.

At this point, the system prompted that his literary talent was sufficient to enter the question-answering stage, where accuracy affected the exam ranking.

Song Hao paused for a second, “Oh, there’s a quiz too.”

[…]

[Third round, you finally reached this step]

[Go home, go home, kid]

[Turns out people really laugh when they’re angry]

[Hurry up, it’s 2 AM already]

“Alright… I’ll save first.”

Being a coward is nothing to be ashamed of, saving is smart.

After saving, Song Hao took out his phone, activated voice mode + smart search, ensuring nothing could go wrong.

〖First question: What is the next line after ‘The wind sneaks in at night’?〗

“C! Moistens things silently.”

〖Correct〗

〖Second question: In which dynasty was the imperial examination system born?〗

“Tang? Sui Tang, Sui!”

〖Correct〗

〖Third question: What is the first line of ‘Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng’?〗

“Spring of the fourth year of Qingli!”

〖Wrong〗

“Why!? Spring of the fourth year of Qingli, Teng Zijing was demoted to guard Baling County… and rebuilt Yueyang Tower… Alright, reload and redo.”

Using the rewind method and relying on real-time search, Song Hao finally got all five questions correct, achieving the top score in the academy exam.

Feeling triumphant, the NPCs’ flattery was especially pleasing.

As expected, after staying in front of the list for a long time, he encountered that passerby face asking about his rank again. This time, Song Hao proudly pressed “First,” avenging his previous shame.

Being first comes with first-class treatment, NPCs crowded around to flatter him.

One praised his knowledge, another asked if he was married.

Until an excellently modeled NPC squeezed in front of him, triggering a new event.

〖”I am Wen Qing, may I know your name, brother?” A young man in fine clothes looked at you intently.

“I am Yuan Hao, from Hezhou County.”

“So it’s Scholar Yuan in person, I must congratulate Brother Yuan on winning the top scholar. Tomorrow, we are hosting a banquet at my house, with some modest wine, would you honor us with your presence?”

At this point, you will: Agree/Refuse〗

Song Hao leaned closer to the screen, “So you’re Wen Qing? Such a snob, didn’t see you the last two times, but you don’t know me either. What, want to see the style of the first place? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha”

[He’s so full of himself]

[A little man who got his way]

[Who was it that was struggling with saving and reloading?]

[A poor student bullying the top of the class through cheating]

[Anyway, congratulations [Heart x1]]

A heart is worth ten cents, and after the split, Song Hao could get five cents. After streaming for so long today, he finally got some reward.

“Thanks to ‘Don’t Eat Lemons’ boss for the heart~ Of course, I’ll choose to agree, I’ve figured out the pattern of this face-judging game, his model looks so good, he’s definitely an important NPC.”

〖Yuan Hao replied, “Honored by your invitation, I will certainly attend.”〗

“Look at my little words, just shows I have culture.”

After agreeing immediately, Song Hao regretted a bit, wanting to see what would happen if he refused. Opening the save files, he found one was during studying to increase literary talent by 5, and the other was before the quiz started. Not wanting to redo the quiz, he gave up on rewinding.

〖The next day, the Wen family indeed set up a banquet along the entire street, with congratulations coming and going. Madam Wen was busy directing servants and maids to entertain guests, her face full of joy. Upon hearing you arrived, she quickly sent someone to call Wen Qing to greet you.

Soon, Wen Qing arrived at the door, warmly but appropriately inviting you in. Then he intentionally paused, carefully observing Madam Wen for a while, and seriously said, “Mother, you’ve worked too hard, take a rest.”

Madam Wen didn’t want to say much in front of outsiders, vaguely replied, “It’s nothing, today is a good day, I’m happy, everyone is here to congratulate you, don’t keep a straight face, quickly invite Scholar Yuan in to taste the new tea.”

Wen Qing hesitated for a moment, nodded in agreement.

He looked at you, somewhat apologetic, perked up to talk to you, chatted for a while, and then casually asked, “Brother Yuan, such talent, is this your first time taking the academy exam?”

Your answer is: First time/Third time/Tenth time〗

[Three]

[Third time]

[Streamer, be honest]

[33333333333333333333]

[What if you choose the tenth time? [Little Yellow Duck x1]]

The Little Yellow Duck is a 1 yuan gift, and you can get fifty cents from it, so of course, it’s arranged immediately.

Song Hao smiled brightly, “Thanks, boss~ but I’ll still save, curious to see what different options lead to.”

[Save, save, I’m curious too [Laugh Cry]]

The boss didn’t mind, so Song Hao saved with peace of mind and chose “Tenth time.”

〖Wen Qing paused, looking at you in shock, stammered for a while, and awkwardly said, “Brother Yuan… Slow and steady wins the race.”

※ Intelligence -3〗

[Hahahahahahahaha, making it abstract]

[Equivalent to repeating elementary school for ten years]

[Making already low intelligence even worse]

[Probably doesn’t want to invite you to dinner anymore]

[Intelligence is hard to increase, better reload]

Song Hao, of course, listened to the advice and reloaded, this time choosing “Third time.”

〖Wen Qing nodded, cupped his hands, and said, “I am still shallow in my studies, since Brother Yuan and I are classmates, I hope to learn from you in the future, and I hope you won’t mind.”

※ Wen Qing’s affection +2〗

“Is he thinking I’ve studied a lot and wants to cling to me?” Song Hao didn’t mind, having a good relationship with NPCs is definitely beneficial. He reloaded again and chose “First time.”

〖Wen Qing’s eyes widened, quite surprised, hesitated and said, “I am still shallow in my studies, since Brother Yuan and I are classmates, I hope to learn from you in the future, and I hope you won’t mind.”

※ Wen Qing’s affection +1〗

“Eh? Why did the affection drop?” Song Hao looked closely, and it was indeed less than choosing the third time, “Is it jealousy? I’m so awesome it gives him a sense of crisis, but there’s no helping it, we protagonists are like this, you’ll get used to it.”

[So annoying…]

[Why can’t I reach into the screen]

[Bro, just fool yourself]

[Who was it struggling with ‘Yueyang Tower’]

[Fan affection -1]