Chapter 11

Lily might have a natural talent for learning, but this was her first time playing. There was no way she could beat Nathan, an experienced player in Punch King. Nathan was a bit of a jerk too. He didn't hold back or show any mercy despite Lily being a total beginner. After losing ten rounds in a row, Lily finally cracked. She pouted her lips, and her big, bright eyes welled up with unshed tears. The budding dream of becoming a professional gamer had been ruthlessly crushed by Nathan. Only then did he realize he might have gone too far. "Are you mad?" "No!" "I should've let you win a couple of rounds." "I don't need you to let me win!" Lily turned her head away, her expression full of stubborn determination. Nathan scratched the back of his head. Whether in his previous life or this one, he had no experience with comforting girls. "Well... Shall we head back?" "Yeah." They left the arcade, one after the other. Nathan hailed a cab and gave the driver Lily's address. Neither of them spoke on the way. When they arrived, they both got out. "Alright, head inside," Nathan said, waving goodbye. But Lily didn't move. She stood there, looking delicate and beautiful. "What's wrong?" "Nathan, I was a bit mad earlier, but… I'm not anymore." As she spoke, she chuckled softly. The mood lightened instantly, like snow melting into spring, leaving nothing but warmth. "I had fun today. Thank you for taking me out." Nathan smiled. "No worries. Now, get home." By now, dusk had fallen. The midsummer evening was like the delicate emotions of youth—subtle yet intense, lingering like a breeze. … When Nathan got home, he found Viola and Nicholas sitting on the couch waiting for him. The dinner table was set with food. It was clear that they hadn't started eating yet. They were waiting for Nathan to come home so that they could have dinner together. "Dad, Mom," Nathan greeted them. Viola waved him over. "Where have you been all day? You disappeared without a word. Go wash up and eat." "Yes, ma'am." Nathan playfully saluted and quickly went to wash his hands before sitting down at the table. By the time he returned, Viola had already served him a plate of salad. She handed him the cutlery as well. Ever since he started his senior year, Nathan's position in the family had noticeably improved. The three of them ate together, chatting in a warm and familiar atmosphere. As with most families with a senior in high school, the conversation inevitably turned to his grades, especially with the recent round of exams. As she put more food on his plate, Viola casually asked how Nathan felt about the exams. Nicholas, however, wasn't pleased and gave her a sidelong glance. "What's the point of asking now? The exams are over. Besides, you know what your son's capable of. If he can pass the top-tier university admission cutoff, that's a blessing. You're not seriously hoping he'll get into Northpeak or Clearwater University, are you?" Viola shot Nicholas a sharp look but didn't press Nathan any further. Nathan thought for a moment before deciding to play it safe. "Mom, I think I did okay. Probably a little better than last semester's exams." Both Viola and Nicholas sighed in relief. A little better than the last exams meant he was likely to hit the top-tier university admission cutoff. Nathan stayed quiet, amused at the thought of how his parents would react when they saw his actual results tomorrow night. It was a simple but effective trick. He lowered their expectations before delivering a pleasant surprise. That way, the happiness would feel even more intense. … Monday came right after the weekend, as usual. Nathan and Oscar strolled into the classroom just as the morning bell rang. They exchanged a smug glance, both feeling a little triumphant. It was the simple joys of high school life. During morning study, Nathan noticed the tension in the air. Today was the day the results of their semester exams were going to be announced. But Nathan wasn't nervous. In fact, he was feeling pretty good. He had a hunch that this time, he might even break into the top ten of the whole grade. It would be a huge leap from his usual ranking. It was like leveling up from a rookie to a master in a game. The first period was Hanvian. Sure enough, Layla entered the classroom with a thick stack of papers and a serious expression on her face. The click of her high heels echoed sharply against the tiled floor, drawing the class into silence. It was finally time. With a stern expression, Layla said nothing as her eyes swept across the room. Her expression was so dark and stormy that the entire class felt their hearts tighten with anxiety. Nathan couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Wow, here comes Dragon Lady with her intimidating presence." Was Layla's little compliance test today going a bit overboard, or did the class just perform badly in the exams? That didn't make sense, though. Nathan was sure his own performance had been excellent this time. Shouldn't she be in a good mood, seeing as one of her students had made it into the top ten? Nathan felt the weight of the tension, and Oscar was even more restless. He squirmed in his chair, his face visibly paling. He was anxious about his own performance and dreaded being called out by Layla later. The silence stretched for about ten seconds before Layla finally spoke. "Let's start by discussing the overall performance. Our class did slightly better than last semester. Some students even exceeded expectations—so much so, I almost couldn't believe their scores. But there are a few of you who performed terribly, worse than I ever imagined. "I won't name names, but you'll know who you are when you see your scores. Now that the semester exams are over, we're entering the final stretch. The last stretch is always the hardest. Don't slack off during this crucial period. "Achieving good results in the college entrance exams is not just for your parents but for yourselves as well." As usual, after a round of stressful pep talk, Layla began distributing the test papers. Since she taught Hanvian, she handed out the Hanvian papers in order from highest to lowest scores. Students were called up one by one to collect their papers. It was a time-honored ritual where the top scorers got their moment of glory while the rest felt the sting of failure. "Justin, 131; Claire, 125; Wendy, 121; Cheryl, 118; Oscar, 114; Nathan, 101..." Layla's tone was flat and completely emotionless as if she were a machine simply reading off numbers. The top scorer in the class for the Hanvian exam was Justin, who broke past 130 points. It was a truly impressive level. From the way Justin spoke and acted, one could tell that he came from a family of civil servants. His family was pretty much the small-town version of an intellectual family. With that kind of background, Justin had read plenty of books. By the time he was a teenager, he was already diving into The Fall of Empires, the kind of dense read that even seasoned scholars might struggle with. Whether he was doing it to show off or not didn't matter—he was actually reading it. Nathan had to admit he respected Justin for that. Most high schoolers trying to look impressive would stick to popular reads like The Reader's Companion or The Storyteller's Journal. But Justin went straight for the hardcore history books. That was next-level pretense. When Justin learned he had the top score in class, he puffed out his chest, practically beaming with pride. He even shot Nathan a sidelong, provocative glance. Justin had been watching Nathan's intense studying recently. At first, he was worried that Nathan might overtake him with his sudden academic surge. If that happened, it would be a huge hit to his pride as the class president. But now, seeing that Nathan's Hanvian score hadn't improved much, Justin's nerves settled. If Nathan was still struggling in Hanvian, he probably hadn't done that well in the other subjects. "Hey, Nate, you're not doing so well either…" Oscar rolled his eyes. Just a couple of days ago, he had thought Nathan had finally made a breakthrough in his studies. But this was it? Nathan caught the disdain in Justin's eyes and the sarcastic eye roll from Oscar, but he just chuckled to himself. This was shaping up to be a classic "underdog comeback" moment. He was almost tempted to smirk and say something dramatic like, "The time has come. It is time to reclaim my throne." Hanvian was always a subject with less room for surprise. The scores were predictable. It didn't cause much of a stir in the class when the results were announced. Justin felt a little let down. He had topped the class for Hanvian, but where was the praise and applause? Even Layla didn't give him any special recognition. After the Hanvian papers were handed out, it was time for the math results. As usual, the scores were announced from highest to lowest. The class tensed up. Among all the subjects, math was the most unpredictable. A single challenging question could be worth over ten points. Whether a student could solve it often hinged on a moment of inspiration, making it a true test of nerve and composure. "Nathan, 150; Claire, 131; Oscar, 123; Cheryl, 114; Wendy, 109; Justin, 104…" The exams for this semester were generally easier than usual, but math was still quite challenging. "Even Claire only scored 131 points. This math exam must have been tough," a student whispered nearby. "Nathan… 150." When Layla announced Nathan's name, she looked up and gave him a glance. The whole class gasped. Nathan had scored a perfect 150 points!