Grace Miller asked, "Classmate?"

"Mm."

The way the two of them talked was always like this. In the past, Ethan Young never felt anything was off—he was always quiet, and would rather do something than talk if he had free time. But ever since they had that open conversation last time, he started paying more attention to what Ms. Miller really meant in her words.

After a while, Ethan Young finally spoke: "Our class study rep teaches people how to solve problems in the class group. A few days ago—"

Ethan Young wasn't good at talking about these things. He made what should have been an exciting game sound especially bland in just a few words, but Ms. Miller still listened happily, and in the end even curiously asked, "So he doesn't do anything else usually?"

Ethan Young said, "His life is all about studying."

There was a bit of a traffic jam on the way, so by the time Ethan Young got to school, the bell was about to ring. The classroom of Class 3 was eerily quiet—usually, you could hear the noise of everyone arguing from far away.

As soon as Ethan Young walked to the back door, he saw four big characters written on the back blackboard at some unknown time. In red, bold, straight to the soul: 逆天改命！

""

Henry Howard was also late. When he entered the classroom, he happened to bump into Ethan Young. He held onto the door frame, barely stopping, then reached out and put his hand on Ethan Young's shoulder, bending down slightly and said, "What are you standing here for, not going in?"

After saying that, Henry Howard glanced into the classroom and also saw the four characters "逆天改命": "What's this, the theme of this issue's bulletin board?"

Ethan Young shot back, "Do you think the school would give a theme like that?"

The study atmosphere in Class 3 was especially intense today. Everyone had their heads buried in their books. Wanda had just finished his duty and came in from outside. Henry Howard hooked his finger at him.

Wanda put down the rag, and in his other hand was actually a small vocabulary book: "Morning, Bro Henry."

Henry Howard: "Morning. Buddy, care to explain?"

"Ah, this was written by Ratty," Wanda said. "He said he wanted to encourage everyone, not to give up hope. For our class, this midterm is a do-or-die battle."

No one in Class 3 really expected these two to get good scores. At most, they hoped they could guess a few more right answers like last time, and the rest of the average score would have to be pulled up by everyone else.

They had already gathered for an emergency class meeting in the morning, imagining the worst-case scenario. Although it was tough, it wasn't completely impossible.

At the time, Luke Carter was holding a piece of paper, circling things on it with a pen in his other hand: "Let's suppose, if Bro Henry only gets ten points this time—no, let's be more conservative, let's just assume zero! That way, each of us only needs to score a few more—"

Wanda was about to go back to studying when Henry Howard suddenly said, "What do you mean do-or-die? It's no problem for me and Old Young to get a few perfect scores."

It would have been fine if only Henry Howard said that, but even Ethan Young, who was usually quiet, actually chimed in with an "Mm."

Wanda almost slipped, his heart a mess, completely unable to figure out where the two of them got this mysterious confidence: "Are you guys crazy! What are you dreaming about! Can you wake up already!"

Ethan Young: ""

Henry Howard: ""

------------

98. Chapter Ninety-Eight

Wanda didn't give them a chance to speak, repeating "Please wake up" all the way as he ran back to his seat.

Ethan Young stood at the door, feeling a bit complicated: "We're very awake."

Henry Howard was still in the same position, arm around Ethan Young's neck, stunned by Wanda's reaction: "Really very awake."

After saying that, Henry Howard raised his voice at Wanda's back: "Don't doubt it, it's just a perfect score."

As soon as he said this, it wasn't just Wanda who broke down—Luke Carter almost wanted to throw his English vocabulary handbook at their faces: "Believe what? There's no trust between us! If you get a perfect score, I'll eat the midterm exam paper!"

""

The morning self-study bell rang, and the noise in each class gradually died down.

The English teacher came out of the office with her textbook and saw two people standing at the door of Class 3 from halfway down the corridor: "What are you two doing standing at the door? Hurry up and get to your seats, class is starting, don't you know?"

Ethan Young quietly let out a breath, stopped arguing, and went to the back row to pull out his chair.

"Class 3's study atmosphere is pretty good today," the English teacher said as soon as she entered, feeling the unusual vibe. She bent over the computer to adjust the listening file. "Studying vocabulary so seriously—are you feeling the pressure of the midterm?"

The English teacher turned up the volume and said, "You don't need to be so nervous. Just treat this midterm with a normal mindset and adjust your attitude—"

She had no idea that the people in Class 3 were just determined to outdo Class 4 next door, fighting to the death for pride.

Ethan Young did a set of listening questions.

He had gotten up before six to catch the bus, and after two questions he started to get sleepy. In the end, he lay on the desk, a few fingers hooked around his pen, and the English letters he wrote became more and more sloppy.

Henry Howard turned his head and saw the kid with his eyes half-closed, looking sleepy. Ethan Young did questions quickly—before the question was even finished, he had already accurately marked an answer.

As he marked, Ethan Young was secretly thinking: since starting school, he had always left himself some leeway, occasionally solving a tricky question halfway to give the teachers a little surprise. "Look at this question, didn't you already think of the method? That's what happens when you don't memorize formulas properly—otherwise, how could you get stuck after just writing the beginning—"

Unexpectedly, these carefully planned little surprises never left any impression on his classmates or teachers.

"Do you have another pen?" Henry Howard asked.

"Where's your pen?"

"I'm used to not bringing one."

After pretending for so long, the result of being too skilled was that Ethan Young searched his whole desk and still couldn't find a second pen—still as poor as ever.

The two of them just stared at each other in silence for a while: ""

Ethan Young looked away, poked the shoulder of the person in front with his pen, wanting to ask if there was an extra pen. But the classmate, who was usually very respectful to the two big shots in the back row, actually had a bit of an attitude today.

Even after sitting front and back for so long, the two in front still had an inexplicable sense of awe toward the back row. At first, it was because of the school bully's reputation; later, it was because they were scared of how "gay" the two seemed.

So gay, couldn't be gayer.

After Ethan Young poked him, the classmate in front didn't even turn his head and said, "Bro, don't bother me while I'm doing listening practice. This is a critical moment for our class's survival—I can't be distracted."

Ethan Young pressed his brow, completely losing hope in these people.

The English teacher, on the other hand, was especially pleased with Class 3's almost possessed state of studying. When class ended, she packed up her things and, before leaving the classroom, smiled and said, "Whether you're possessed or whatever, I hope our Class 3 can keep this up—"

During the whole break, except for some students whispering about questions, there was no other noise in Class 3.

A few people lined up in front of the class rep's desk, like patients waiting to see a doctor.

Xavier Stone calmly adjusted his glasses, helped Wanda solve a solid geometry problem, pen in hand, and said, "Next."

Quinn Shaw respectfully stepped up and placed her chemistry workbook on Xavier Stone's desk: "Teacher Xue, page 68, question 3, please give me some guidance."

Logan Wright was behind Quinn Shaw, using the waiting time to memorize a few more math formulas.

Ethan Young's thinking was simple: since no one would believe them no matter what they said, it was better to say less and let the test results speak for themselves.

Henry Howard, however, still refused to give up. He looked especially relaxed, legs crossed, looking idle, and raised his hand to call out to Logan Wright: "Sports rep."

Logan Wright looked up: "Huh?"

"Which question can't you do?" Henry Howard said. "I'll teach you."

Logan Wright thought it was something else. When he heard this, he almost choked, a suffocating feeling sweeping over him, and it took a long time for him to catch his breath.

As he was trying to recover, he heard Henry Howard add, "If you don't believe me, bring it over and I'll do it for you."

Logan Wright: ""

Ethan Young tugged on Henry Howard's sleeve, sensing what Logan Wright's reaction would be, and reminded him, "Forget it."

Henry Howard whispered, "I think I can still save this."

Ethan Young: "If you keep talking, who needs saving is still up in the air."

Logan Wright really felt like he needed an ambulance right now.

His mind was exploding, one thought after another: What the hell are you doing!

Get lost!

Ah!