Chapter 119

The classroom was quiet, with twenty-five students each seated at their own desks, allotted 90 minutes for the exam.

Mo Yin kept his head down, answering the questions without lifting it once.

Unlike comprehensive exams, his performance in physics competitions was always inconsistent; he had never scored full marks, and there were several students in school who excelled more than him in this subject.

The difficulty of this paper exceeded that of the monthly exams. Sweat beaded on his palms, making his pen slippery. Mo Yin glanced up.

Li Xiu sat in front of him, his school uniform draped over the backrest, arms spread wide across the desk, pen moving swiftly.

Mo Yin’s breathing became uneven as he continued to focus on his paper, head still lowered.

“Alright, students, time’s up. Put down your pens and check if you’ve written your names,” the teacher smiled. “I trust none of you would make such a basic mistake.”

The students chuckled.

The teacher descended from the platform to collect the papers, starting from the front. When Mo Yin handed his in, he glanced at the papers the teacher had already collected, noticing they were filled out neatly. His heart raced momentarily.

The papers were soon collected, and the teacher left with a parting remark, “You can all head back to your classrooms now.”

The atmosphere in the room quickly became lively.

“That paper was tough. The first question on resistors in the fill-in-the-blank section was a headache.”

“Did you finish? I didn’t.”

Conversations and discussions filled the air.

Mo Yin quietly gathered his rough drafts and pens. Someone approached him, resting their arm on the shoulder in front of him. “Li Xiu, what’s the longitude difference at point BA that you calculated?”

“73°.”

“Uh-oh, I got 87!”

“So what? I might not be right either.”

“Don’t give me that. Let me ask you again, what’s the maximum h?”

“Figure it out yourself.”

Li Xiu handed over his rough draft and glanced backward.

Their eyes met briefly before darting away. Someone who had been eavesdropping on their answers picked up their paper and pen bag and hurried out.

“I think I messed up again…” a classmate muttered.

Li Xiu watched the figure hastily leave through the door, almost running away.

Night classes ended, and the quiet school came alive in late at night.

Throughout the study session, Mo Yin reviewed his rough drafts again, calculating, estimating, and guessing if he could make the cut.

He probably could; he had also calculated a longitude difference of 73° for point BA.

With his backpack slung over his shoulder, he joined the crowd heading downstairs. Walking along the stairwell wall, his mind still pondered whether the distance behind the last atomic strike hitting the receiving screen had a factor of 1/2.

He never shared answers with anyone.

He didn’t like making friends, nor did he have the time or energy for it.

Everyone was his competitor, crossing swords on a narrow bridge. If they all fell off, leaving him alone to enjoy the wide road ahead and all its scenery, that would be fine.

There weren’t many people waiting at the bus stop.

Most of the attached high school students lived on campus, with a small number residing in nearby apartments. Students like him, traveling from one suburb to another, were few.

If all went well, he could apply for on-campus housing next month, likely free of charge.

Putting on his headphones, Mo Yin sat on the bus and practiced listening skills on his phone.

Since the day he took Zhou Ren home, Zhou Ren had never come to see him again.

People who sought pleasure didn’t need to take such big risks; he wasn’t a fairy, and it wasn’t necessary.

The idea of continuing to make money from Zhou Ren flashed through his mind, and somehow he started to feel a sense of rejection.

Where was the line between selling one’s body and selling one’s soul? What difference did it make? In the future, things might get easier, and he wouldn’t need to force himself to do things he didn’t want to do.

The bus swayed gently, his forehead resting against the window glass, the streetlights casting a serene light on his calm face.

There were few passengers boarding today, and he bought his ticket.

The teacher’s grading efficiency was high, and Mo Yin arrived at school early the next day. The papers were already distributed, and the mistakes were mostly as he had anticipated, though he wondered about everyone else’s situation.

“Would the high school experiment class (1) Li Xiu, Zhang Qiyuan, Song Ziyi, high school experiment class (2) Mo Yin……”

Mo Yin didn’t listen any more after the broadcast, and his mouth twitched slightly unnaturally as he stood up and walked away. Someone called him from behind, “Mo Yin——”

Mo Yin turned around, a pretty strange classmate

“Going together?” Zhong Jiaming walked forward, but Mo Yin had already turned his face and headed towards the classroom door.

Liang Jianhao smirked from behind, “Physics Little Prince, feeling embarrassed now that you’re being left out in the cold?”

Zhong Jiaming glared back at him. “Stop being bitter.”

“Oh come on, I’m not bitter at all. Hurry up,” Liang Jianhao kicked his chair. “Study well and don’t embarrass your dad.”

“Get lost—”

Zhong Jiaming walked out of the classroom and caught sight of the figure ahead. He hurried forward in three quick steps.

Mo Yin didn’t speak. Neither did he. The three students ahead were chatting and laughing as they walked together. Li Xiu stood nearby, tall enough to almost touch the door, his eyes squinting with a smile. It seemed he noticed Zhong Jiaming’s gaze and nodded slightly, and Zhong Jiaming smiled back, raising his hand in greeting.

Those who excelled academically in the entire school knew each other. Many had been classmates since middle school. Zhong Jiaming and Li Xiu were in the same middle school but in different classes, and their dads were colleagues.

Zhong Jiaming sighed. Other people’s children were one of his sources of pressure.

Glancing at Mo Yin beside him, who was also excellent, Zhong Jiaming didn’t feel pressured by him. Instead, he felt motivated, especially since Mo Yin joined the experimental class—he had wanted to be friends with him for a long time.

Perhaps due to family circumstances, Mo Yin had a rather gloomy personality, which elicited some sympathy from Zhong Jiaming. He was eager to become friends with Mo Yin as soon as possible.

Seven students arrived at the physics office.

The physics teacher first congratulated them on securing the school’s recommendation quota for the competition. He glanced specifically at Mo Yin, who nervously nodded.

“The school wants you to participate in the competition without neglecting your regular studies. Starting next week, you’ll sacrifice your lunch breaks, elective classes, and evening self-study sessions. You’ll also have training during holidays. Can you all accept this?”

“We can.”

“Good. Here are the practice books, one for each of you.”

The physics teacher pointed to a stack of notebooks on his desk.

Zhong Jiaming took two books and handed one to Mo Yin, who hesitated before accepting it silently.

After leaving the office, except for Mo Yin and Zhong Jiaming, the others were chatting and laughing.

Mo Yin focused intently as he flipped through the practice book. Zhong Jiaming couldn’t help but smile as he watched him.

Back in the classroom, Mo Yin wrote his name on the practice book and eagerly started looking at the questions.

“What did you get? Let me see.” Liang Jianhao pulled Zhong Jiaming’s uniform.

Zhong Jiaming shrugged him off. “You wouldn’t understand anyway,” he stood up, gathered his courage, and walked over to Mo Yin. “Mo Yin.”

Mo Yin looked up from his book.

“Yesterday’s test, the teacher didn’t give out the answers. Did you get the last question right?”

Mo Yin covered the book with his palm, his eyelashes drooping. “No.”

His response was curt, clearly indicating he didn’t want to continue the conversation with Zhong Jiaming.

Undeterred, Zhong Jiaming persisted, “Shall we go ask the teacher together?”

“No.”

Zhong Jiaming lowered his head awkwardly. “Then let me explain it to you.”

Mo Yin completely ignored him, turned his face to the book, and held up his hand towards Zhong Jiaming, blocking his view quite obviously.

Liang Jianhao laughed uncontrollably from behind. When Zhong Jiaming returned frustrated, he patted Zhong Jiaming’s shoulder while laughing, “How was that? I told you so, didn’t I?”

Zhong Jiaming didn’t say a word.

“Mo Yufan has been in the same class with him since freshman year, so aloof. Do you think poor students need warmth and encouragement? No, he looks down on everyone and doesn’t give anyone the time of day, just like now. Did you see how he covered the book with his hand? I bet he wrote ‘Mo, get lost’ on his face.”

Seeing Zhong Jiaming silent, Liang Jianhao took a pen and wrote in the air above Zhong Jiaming’s face, “Mo, piss off.”

Zhong Jiaming understood him at a glance. “Whether he covers the book or not, does it make a difference if the answers are at the back?”

“That’s the crux of the problem. Whether there are answers or not, he’ll cover them. He won’t say, even though the teacher will explain. He’s just secretive and really stingy. His mentality is so narrow, they say bad water makes for poor quality. He even skips fares on buses. Don’t you believe it? Mo Yufan wouldn’t lie about his classmates, would he? You just can’t read people.”

After being scolded by his good friend, Zhong Jiaming looked up at the person ahead of him once more, but didn’t argue further.

During the break before afternoon physical education class, Mo Yin was the first to dash out. He wanted to get permission from the PE teacher in advance so he could skip the class and stay in the classroom to review.

“Today is sports day with ball games,” Liang Jianhao said, raising his leg high and slapping his thigh. “Hurry up, or you’ll miss your spot.”

“You go ahead,” Zhong Jiaming said, kneeling on the edge of his chair and tying his shoelaces. “I need to redo my shoelaces.”

The classroom emptied out.

Zhong Jiaming walked to the front row and glanced at the stacked books and papers on the desks. There seemed to be a white paper tucked into the physics book. He gently pulled out the paper, feeling like he was doing something wrong. He kept an eye on the classroom door as he flipped through the paper, his gaze stopping at a big checkmark at the end.

The PE teacher didn’t approve Mo Yin’s request for leave.

“The school didn’t notify me, so I can’t allow you to skip. National regulations require you to have two PE classes per week to ensure balanced work and rest.”

The PE teacher stretched his arms outward. “Sitting in the classroom all day must be exhausting. Move around, balance work and leisure.”

Mo Yin had no choice but to stand aside and wait for his class to assemble.

As more people arrived, Mo Yin realized it was ball games today and he felt relieved, planning to slip away once they started playing.

“Over here—”

Liang Jianhao waved, and Zhong Jiaming jogged over, looking somewhat lost.

“What’s wrong?” Liang Jianhao asked, bouncing a basketball and gesturing with his chin towards the corner jokingly. “Trying to be a good Samaritan and invite someone over to play?”

Zhong Jiaming glanced at him, feeling resigned. “Just drop it.”

Liang Jianhao chuckled. “What’s up? Had a change of heart? Giving up on being a messenger of goodwill?”

Zhong Jiaming tapped his basketball. “Let’s play.”

Various ball games began in a lively manner. Mo Yin stood behind the crowd and quietly slipped away when the teacher wasn’t looking.

The playground was a bit far from their teaching building. Mo Yin decided to take a shortcut through the skybridge on the second floor of the experimental building. Since today’s class was a public PE class for seniors, the entire senior class was either on the playground or in the sports hall, leaving him alone to study. He didn’t want to fall behind anyone again.

The experimental building was quiet. As he climbed to the second floor, Mo Yin stopped and looked up.

Besides theoretical knowledge, the competition would also involve experimental operations.

The school had two experimental operation classes per week, each forty minutes long. The teacher would lecture for about ten minutes, and with four people in a group, each person had very little time to actually perform the experiments.

The fifth floor was dimly lit, and sunlight poured in through the windows at the end of the corridor like a giant ball of light.

Mo Yin leaned his hands on the laboratory door and looked inside.

The workbenches were wiped clean, and the equipment was neatly arranged.

Would they come here for training after this?

If they trained together, he probably wouldn’t measure up to them. They had learned more than him in middle school, a fact he had realized shortly after entering this prestigious school.

He thought of sneaking in.

His nose touched a small piece of glass on the door, and Mo Yin stared inside, seeing his own reflection in the school uniform, layers of uniforms…

Mo Yin suddenly turned around.

A boy half a head taller than him stood behind him, looking down at him. His left hand was slightly raised towards him, a bunch of keys hanging from his ring finger. “Planning to sneak in?” Li Xiu said.