A god-level beauty system? But I'm already a god-level beauty!

Q: What character was still smiling before they died?

A: Mu Jingyan.

The bell for the end of evening self-study has already rung.

The classroom lights shone brightly, illuminating the books and stationery scattered on the desks.

People walked out one after another, and the sound of chair legs scraping the ground rose and fell.

Shen Ye slung his backpack over his shoulder and stood up, but didn't move.

He stood next to his seat and glanced down at Mu Jingyan, who was bending over to tidy up the table.

Her fingers moved quickly, stacking several books together and stuffing them into her schoolbag. She stopped halfway through zipping it up when she noticed the shadow falling over her head.

"What's wrong?"

Mu Jingyan looked at him with a questioning gaze.

"Um..." Shen Ye scratched his face, his eyes downcast, "I'm sorry."

Mu Jingyan found it even stranger.

"Why are you apologizing to me? Are you so happy to have gotten first place that you've gone crazy?"

"Or perhaps..." the girl narrowed her eyes, her tone dangerous, "you've secretly done something bad?"

Shen Ye quickly waved his hand: "No."

"That's fine then." Mu Jingyan zipped up her backpack and stood up.

She gave Shen Ye a slight smile: "Could you please let me pass?"

Shen Ye turned to the side.

Mu Jingyan walked past him, then stood quietly in place waiting for Mu Jinghuan, who was in the middle of the class, to organize her belongings.

"I know what you're thinking, don't feel guilty," Mu Jingyan suddenly said.

She has moved past her initial anxieties.

Since there's no way to avoid it anyway, you might as well face it head-on.

She was a little regretful that she had asked Brother Shen those questions in the morning on a whim, which made him realize something was amiss.

"Not surpassing you is my own fault for not being skilled enough, it has nothing to do with you."

All Shen Ye saw in her eyes was calm.

"Hmm." He nodded, acknowledging the other person's idea and also easing his own subtle emotions.

Mu Jinghuan quickly put it away and stood nervously next to her sister, observing her expression.

She was happy to do well on the test, but the thought of her sister being scolded by her mother made her feel down again.

"Have you got everything?"

"Here you go."

"Let's go then."

Mu Jingyan walked out first.

"Goodbye, brother." Mu Jinghuan waved and turned to follow her sister.

Shen Ye symbolically raised his hand in response.

There were only a few people left in the classroom. He sighed and went to pick up Lin Chunuan.

Shen Ye seemed preoccupied the whole way, ignoring several classmates who greeted him.

At the entrance of Class 21, the two classic gatekeepers—Lin Chunuan and Chu Cihan—stood on either side of the back door, neither looking at the other.

Lin Chunuan saw Shen Ye first.

She sprang up almost the instant her brother appeared, and rushed over in two steps.

"elder brother!"

The girl threw herself into his arms, wrapped her arms around his arm, and buryed her face in her school uniform sleeve, rubbing it against him twice: "I got ninety-first in the grade!"

She tilted her head back, her eyes sparkling, her whole face screaming "Praise me!"

Shen Ye was so overwhelmed by her excitement that he took a small step back before regaining his balance. He looked down at her and said, "Nuan Nuan is amazing."

He raised his hand and gently rubbed her hair twice with his palm.

Lin Chunuan immediately squinted her eyes in enjoyment and tilted her head into his palm.

This makes the Chu Ci (Songs of Chu) sound incredibly shabby.

But she was too embarrassed to ask for praise.

The girl walked over somewhat awkwardly, making a "tsk" sound.

"You dare to brag about being 91st? I was 28th, more than 60 places higher than you, and I didn't say anything."

Chu Cihan started by putting down Shen Ye, then crossed her arms and looked at him: "Shen Ye, I said before that I would be in the top 30 of the grade. How about that? I didn't lie to you."

She held her head high with pride, like a victorious rooster.

"Great, great!"

Shen Ye naturally knew what she meant, and with his other hand, he patted Chu Cihan's head.

Chu Cihan's ear tips visibly turned slightly red, but he still added, "Hmph, do you even need to tell me that?"

They were both happy.

"By the way, brother, how did your exam go?" Lin Chunu hugged Shen Ye's arm tightly, blinking her big eyes.

"First in the grade." Shen Ye rubbed his nose.

"Sure enough! When our teacher said this morning that the first place was in Class 7, I immediately thought it was my brother!" Lin Chunuan said with admiration.

Even Chu Cihan, for the first time ever, praised, "As expected of my slave, you've really made me proud."

Shen Ye didn't speak.

The two beautiful girls in front of him were very eye-catching, but his mind was completely on another one.

"Hey brother! You got first place in the grade, shouldn't we celebrate?" Lin Chunuan tugged at his sleeve.

"Does this even need to be celebrated?" Shen Ye snapped out of his daze and looked down at her.

"Of course! Life needs a sense of ritual." Lin Chunuan nodded seriously. "I've decided, we're going out for barbecue tonight to celebrate! What do you think?"

"I think you just want to eat it yourself."

Lin Chunuan chuckled, not refuting him, and pulled him towards the stairwell: "Come on, come on, I know a new barbecue restaurant opened on the back street of the school, and everyone says it's delicious!"

In the end, Shen Ye couldn't go against his sister's wishes.

The three of them walked along the sidewalk for seven or eight minutes after leaving the school gate, and then turned into a small street lit with warm yellow lights.

The barbecue restaurant's signboard hangs under the eaves on the second floor, with a bold font that has a distinctive design. There's a "Grand Opening Special" sign on the door, and you can smell the aroma of charcoal and grease seeping out from under the door.

"My brother and I are celebrating, what are you doing here?" Lin Chunuan asked in an unfriendly tone.

Chu Cihan, that annoying girl, is like glue; wherever her brother goes, she goes too.

"Can't I come and celebrate with Shen Ye too?" Chu Cihan smiled provocatively.

"Could it be that Nuannuan doesn't even have this much tolerance?"

"Hmph, then you pay for it yourself." Lin Chunuan was in a hurry to enjoy the food and didn't have time to argue with her.

The three entered the store, which was quite crowded, mostly with parents and children.

The moment the three entered, they immediately attracted everyone's attention.

There's no way around it; a combination of handsome men and beautiful women is eye-catching no matter where you put them.

They were seated in a booth by the window. Shen Ye sat by the window, Lin Chunuan sat next to him, and Chu Cihan sat opposite him.

A baking tray was set in the middle of the round table. Before the charcoal fire could be lit, the waiter brought out a pot of barley tea.

Today was the day Lin Chunuan received her allowance, and she was exceptionally generous, flipping through three or four pages of the menu and pointing to each line with her finger.

We ordered a whole table full of beef tongue, pork belly, and chicken thigh meat, and then added two servings of cold noodles and a drink.

Judging from how quickly she ordered, Shen Ye estimated that her allowance for the month would be significantly reduced after this meal.

When the baking pan started heating up, there were already more than a dozen plates of meat and vegetables on the table.

Shen Ye picked up a slice of pork belly and placed it on the hot plate. The moment the fat touched the hot plate, it sizzled, and white smoke rose up before being sucked away by the exhaust vent above.

As wisps of smoke came into view, Shen Ye's thoughts began to wander again.

By now, Mu Jingyan should be home.