Zhuming Girls’ High School’s monthly exam lasted for two days.
According to the current 3+1+2 academic system, Zhuming Girls’ High School hadn’t adjusted the subjects for first-year students.
The so-called monthly exam was actually a baseline assessment to gauge students’ scores across various subjects.
Lin Yi had already decided to use the Clear Mind Black Tea to boost her exam scores, but she hadn’t yet figured out whether it took effect after just one sip or only after drinking the whole thing.
Woken up by Yan Jianxing in the morning, still bleary-eyed, she put on her sports uniform and followed behind Yan Jianxing for a slow jog.
It was roughly to the extent that by the time Yan Jianxing had run two and a half laps, Lin Yi had barely finished one.
Just that much already had Lin Yi’s legs trembling.
But compared to before, this was considered significant progress, according to Yan Jianxing.
“You know, two weeks ago, I couldn’t even catch a glimpse of you.”
Yan Jianxing held a fried dough stick in her hand, walking side-by-side with Lin Yi as she spoke.
“Right after we were assigned as roommates, you were always so mysterious, never coming back to the dorm until midnight.”
Lin Yi peeled a boiled egg while walking.
“I didn’t disturb you, did I?”
“No, I’m a deep sleeper. Even thunder and wind wouldn’t wake me up.”
Yan Jianxing was quite confident about this.
“Oh? I’ll test that tonight then.”
Yan Jianxing narrowed her eyes, a slight smile curling at the corner of her mouth.
“Heh, go ahead and try.”
As she spoke, she broke off half of her fried dough stick and handed it to Lin Yi.
“Here, this is your reward for keeping me company on the run this morning. Remember to come again tomorrow.”
“Mmm, thank you, Sports Committee Member~”
Lin Yi specifically checked that the dough stick was a new piece, not bitten.
When they reached the classroom, Lin Yi took out her drink and poured it into her thermos.
Monthly exams weren’t as strict as midterms or finals; you could bring your own water bottle to drink from.
The homeroom teacher walked in carrying a bag of test papers, cleared his throat, and the noisy class gradually quieted down.
“Take your seats according to your Opening Exam scores. Put your backpacks and any items that shouldn’t be here out in the hallway. Prepare for the Chinese exam.”
Everyone bustled about getting ready.
As Lin Yi carried her backpack to the hallway, she saw Su Kui.
On a golden September morning, the sunlight was never stingy with its affection for the young girl.
Su Kui’s waist-length hair was illuminated, appearing somewhat translucent, with a soft, fuzzy halo of light floating around its edges.
Dressed in the school’s blazer uniform, she gave Lin Yi a gentle smile, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
“Good morning, Lin Yi. You look much better than yesterday.”
After downing two bottles of system potion, if her complexion still looked bad, she might as well go cosplay a zombie.
Lin Yi nodded.
“Thank you for the cake yesterday. I’ll treat you to a meal another day.”
This girl, completely unaware that she currently lacked the financial capability to treat anyone to a meal.
Su Kui, however, took it seriously, clasping her hands together.
“Then I’ll look forward to it.”
Returning to her seat, Lin Yi sat in the second-to-last position.
After all, she had spent the last two weeks mostly working part-time jobs, hardly reviewing at all.
If there was a “Sleeping Dragon,” then who was the “Fledgling Phoenix”?
The last-place student arrived fashionably late, entering through the back door.
An alarm immediately went off in Lin Yi’s head.
Feng Chuyue.
The deity of Class 1-1, and that was no joke.
Bathed in a warm, high-saturation yellow hue, the girl named Feng Chuyue was gently pressing a hand to her chest, adjusting her breathing.
Her caramel-colored eyes, framed by long, slender lashes, a delicate nose bridge, and full, rosy lips formed her adorable face.
Her light, shoulder-length bob was slightly fluffy.
The black bow on the hairpin at the side of her ear was particularly eye-catching, and her bangs seemed to intentionally obscure part of her profile.
The navy blue blazer and black-red plaid pleated skirt of Zhuming Girls’ High School, worn on her, made her appear delicate and slender.
Due to her excellent looks, prominent family background, coupled with her own extreme shyness yet kind-hearted nature—having generously covered the class fees for the entire Class 1-1 for the academic year—she was revered by everyone as the “Moon Goddess.”
Under Lin Yi’s gaze, Feng Chuyue immediately trembled twice like a little hamster, then hunched her shoulders together, her eyes darting away.
Having such a beautiful girl sitting behind her, Lin Yi felt filled with motivation.
This kid was just too kind-hearted.
For the sake of her classmate’s pride, she had willingly taken on the title of the class’s worst student.
Truly tear-jerking.
This kindness, Lin Yi would absolutely not forget.
She must immediately achieve good grades and escape this misery.
Gulping down a cup of Clear Mind Black Tea, Lin Yi uncapped her special exam-use, Temple-of-Confucius-blessed black gel pen.
Her concentration instantly maxed out, and a flood of memories surged into her mind.
I’m going to soar to the heavens!
The Chinese exam began, leaving only the sound of rustling papers and writing throughout the hall.
Lin Yi’s pen moved as if divinely inspired.
The key texts she had merely glanced over last night continuously reappeared in her mind.
As the saying goes, the human brain is a super hard drive; what’s lacking is merely the efficiency of data retrieval.
As long as concentration is boosted, eliminating various distractions, those images in memory naturally become available for her to access.
Just as Lin Yi was about to stretch her neck and tackle the essay question, the system spoke up.
[Detected a limited-time mission opportunity: Having been single your whole life, don’t you have any desire to interact with a beautiful girl? Don’t rush to deny it; you definitely do!]
[Now, a perfect opportunity lies before you. A socially anxious beauty is currently scared. The best action for a light novel protagonist is to encourage her!]
[Mission: Convey kindness to the girl behind you using text]
[Mission Time Limit: Within 30 minutes (Difficult), within 10 minutes (Very Difficult), within 3 minutes (Extremely Difficult)]
—Kami!
Now?
Here?!
Lin Yi fell into deep thought, her CPU starting to run at full load.
The longest time limit was 30 minutes, but there was still 1 hour left until the exam ended.
Unless she abandoned this mission, she had to complete it right here in the exam hall.
Next was the communication; it had to be done via text.
Passing a written message during an exam… wasn’t that just cheating?!
Damn system, do you really want me dead that badly?
If this mission had been during a break between classes, she would have had the confidence to flood Feng Chuyue’s desk with little notes.
But now…
Lin Yi glanced at the homeroom teacher vigilantly watching everyone from the podium.
At this point, she had to take a gamble!
…
Feng Chuyue’s hands were tightly gripping her pen.
Since childhood, she had suffered from stage fright during exams, and she still hadn’t been able to correct it.
Knowledge she had reviewed perfectly well usually couldn’t be written out completely during exams, resulting in her test scores always being unsatisfactory.
This time was the same.
Suddenly, she felt her desk move slightly.
Feng Chuyue slowly looked up and saw her deskmate in front, a female classmate named Lin Yi, who seemed to be slowly stretching.
Immediately after, Lin Yi’s arms, in a very awkward posture, reached behind her back…
What was she doing?
Lin Yi’s hands slowly opened.
When Feng Chuyue saw the palms of Lin Yi’s hands, her eyes widened, her pupils contracting slightly.
On the left hand was the character for “Add,” and on the right hand was the character for “Oil.”
Together, they formed a word.
“Jia You.”
(Add oil / You can do it.)
It was a word only visible from Feng Chuyue’s angle.
After confirming that Feng Chuyue had seen the two characters, Lin Yi immediately withdrew her hands.
Lin Yi felt like she was about to turn into a Joestar.
That pose just now felt way too much like a JoJo pose, twisting her bones until they nearly broke.
The homeroom teacher on the podium coughed and said, “Focus on the exam! No fidgeting!”
Lin Yi immediately lowered her head and began answering questions.
[Mission completion detected. Although the girl behind you was shocked by why you suddenly started performing interpretive dance, your kindness was sufficiently conveyed overall.]
[Base Reward: Unlocked Skill Writing Lv.1; Additional Reward: Writing Skill upgraded to Lv.2; Bonus Reward: Mood Emoji (Effect: Can observe the current mood of a specified target by consuming stamina)]