How come you're also my ex-girlfriend?

Lin Jia pursed her lips and smiled slightly as she answered.

Yang Hao looked at the girl with a complicated expression. "Then maybe you really will be moving up a grade this time..."

Lin Jia shook her head modestly, "It's hard to say... I think many students took the exam quite seriously this time, it might not be me."

Lin Jia estimated her score for this exam to be about right. If nothing unexpected happened with the Chinese composition and she didn't miss any steps in the math section, she should be able to get over 600 points.

Six hundred points is the minimum score to enter the experimental class. If you can't reach that score, there's nothing to talk about. She felt that it shouldn't be a problem.

Seeing Yang Hao's complicated expression, Xiao Yujie, although Lin Jia's best friend, had actually received many subtle hints from Yang Hao. He always asked her to act as a go-between for Lin Jia, and in return, she received some "benefits" from him.

She naturally understood what Yang Hao was worried about. After hesitating for a moment, she finally spoke, "Actually... going to the experimental class might not be so good. After all, I've heard that the students in those classes are under a lot of pressure, and they do so many more tests than we do. And if you go there... we'll have far fewer opportunities to play together."

Yang Hao quickly chimed in, "Yeah, actually, as long as you steadily improve your grades, it doesn't matter which class you're in. You don't necessarily have to suffer in the experimental class; it'll be much easier there..."

Listening to the two of them singing in unison, Lin Jia could only laugh to herself.

Are they the same? Are you kidding me?

The experimental classes are full of promising students aiming for top universities, even Tsinghua and Peking University. How can they be the same as regular classes? Saying that it's the same everywhere is self-deception. The difference in learning atmosphere and the different teaching styles of teachers will all translate into cold, hard scores on the college entrance exam. Those differences will then evolve into huge chasms, separating their lives.

Although she did feel that she got along well with Xiao Yujie and that it was a friendship worth remembering... it was nothing compared to the weight of her future life.

As for Yang Hao... she could certainly sense his feelings. And to be honest, if she had to start a relationship in high school, Yang Hao would be a good candidate. His family was wealthy, and he wasn't bad-looking, though he couldn't compare to Xu Yan.

However, his grades were really not good, and he lacked substance and an interesting soul; he was more like a rich kid.

By improving his grades and achieving a good score on the college entrance exam, he could enter a better university and more likely meet even more outstanding men. At that point, who could Yang Hao compare to? He'd just be waiting to be dumped.

Therefore, Lin Jia did not intend for such a dramatic turn of events to occur. Besides, she had long understood that improving her own value was the only way to meet a better man.

"Oh, these things aren't urgent. The results haven't come out yet, and I don't even know if I can move up a grade... And don't worry, even if I do move up, we can still hang out together. There'll always be time, right?"

Lin Jia smiled and looked away, only to see a tall, slender figure calmly and naturally enter through the front door of the classroom. It was Xu Yan.

The sunlight draped over his shoulders was a bit too bright, but his gaze didn't even fall on me; he walked naturally and casually to his seat.

He doesn't care... and neither will I.

Soon we'll be on different paths. After the results are released today, I'll be going to a higher-level experimental class.

As for Xu Yan... I can only wish you all the best in the regular class.

Of course, you can have it all go smoothly. But don't make it too easy, and definitely don't let it happen in front of me.

Soon, as the bell rang for morning self-study, the homeroom teacher walked into the classroom with somewhat hurried steps, without any test papers or well-organized report cards in her hand.

Yet it still made people nervous and uneasy, especially Lin Jia.

She waited nervously for the homeroom teacher to come to the podium, read out her name, and announce to the whole class that she was about to be promoted to the experimental class.

In that case, I might still have the chance to stand on the podium, share my learning experience with the whole class, and then give a touching farewell speech.

Xiao Yujie and Yang Hao's reluctance to part, the other classmates' envy, and that boy...

What kind of expression would Xu Yan have? She suddenly felt a little expectant.

Even if he deleted you as a friend first and cut off all contact with you, even if he acted nonchalant and didn't seem hurt at all... he must have felt very lost at that moment, right? There must have been more than just a sense of loss on his face, right?

After all, we'll soon no longer be people from the same world...

When Teacher Li walked onto the podium, the class fell completely silent. Everyone was looking at him, waiting for him to announce some important news.

He cleared his throat, his gaze sweeping across the classroom before settling on one person.

Then he opened his mouth.

"Xu Yan, come out with me for a moment. The class monitor will lead the others in their regular morning self-study."

"..."

The classroom fell into an eerie silence, and then almost everyone's eyes turned to one direction.

The tall, handsome young man in that spot had already stood up and was walking toward the classroom door, drawing everyone's attention.

After he and Teacher Li left, the atmosphere in the classroom was like a small explosion; it wasn't filled with the sounds of reading aloud during morning self-study, but rather with many questions and doubts.

"What's he doing out there? Shouldn't he be announcing the results?"

"Could it be that he did something wrong and is going to be expelled? Hahaha."

There's no sign of that either.

"You couldn't possibly have told him in advance that he was going to be promoted, could you? Hahaha."

"..."

Lin Jia felt a momentary pang of shock, her heart racing uncontrollably. She couldn't understand why Xu Yan had been called out. Although he seemed to be diligently attending classes and reading these past few days, wasn't that just a pretense?

Xiao Yujie noticed her friend's state. "Um... Jiajia, don't overthink it. Something probably just happened. Maybe it's something important? You know what his grades are like. Pretending these past few days won't help. He didn't sign up for any tutoring classes during the summer vacation."

"...I'm not worried about that, I'm just curious what suddenly happened to him."

That's right, there's absolutely nothing to worry about. Perhaps the results haven't come out yet, and they just happened to have something to deal with... but what could it be that warranted calling Xu Yan out alone?

Xiao Yujie lowered her voice and said, "Maybe I did particularly badly on the test this time...and Teacher Li will warn me."

That's right! That's the most likely possibility.

It seemed like he deleted himself first, but he was the one whose mind was in complete turmoil. Pretending to study was useless, and the final result was a terrible exam score, even to the point that the homeroom teacher had to issue a warning.

It's so common, how could I have overlooked this reason?

She let out a long sigh of relief.

How many points does it have to be to be this bad? She couldn't help but smile.

Do you know why I called you here?

Old Li led Xu Yan into the office, picked up a thermos, blew on the tea leaves, sat down, and looked at the young man next to him, asking a question.

Xu Yan thought for a moment, "Teacher, I gave you a calendar for Chinese New Year."

"The teacher doesn't remember... no, what nonsense are you talking about, kid!" Old Li glared at Xu Yan, annoyed.

The boy grinned and said, "Just kidding, don't be nervous."

"Nonsense! How can you joke about something like this?" Old Li sighed helplessly, then found the results of the diagnostic test on the table, placed them in front of Xu Yan and said, "Chinese 115, Math 118, English 140, Science 246, Total: 619."

Xu Yan remained silent, his expression calm and composed, but in his heart there were only two words: Success!

Old Li nodded in satisfaction, not noticing that Xu Yan showed any sign of guilt.

Actually, he also proctored one of Xu Yan's exams, which happened to be English, Xu Yan's highest score this time. He also paid a little attention to the state of his classmates.

Therefore, we can basically rule out any possibility of cheating.

He said, "You did very well on this test, ranking first in the class, and you've improved by almost forty points compared to last time. Most of it was in English... How did you do that?"

Xu Yan calmly replied, "A classmate in the experimental class gave me a vocabulary book, and I've been memorizing it almost all this time. It just so happens that the word was on the exam. If you don't believe me, I can show it to you."

"There's no need for that. I trust you wouldn't cheat. Let's talk about something more important. Several teachers have decided in a meeting that you'll be the one to move up to the next grade. Do you want to go?"

Old Li's words were concise and to the point.

Xu Yan didn't hesitate at all, "Of course I'll go."

Old Li nodded, "Alright, you can go back to the classroom to pack your things and go directly to Experimental Class 5."

"Is that all?" Xu Yan blinked and asked.

"What else? What else do you want to do?" Old Li asked in surprise.

Xu Yan said, "Teacher Li, it shouldn't be like this."

"Then which one should it be?"

“Teacher, that’s not how you do it. You shouldn’t have called me to your office beforehand and told me my test score. You should have suddenly come to the classroom with the score and announced the spots for the experimental class. Then announce the rankings from lowest to highest, and then stop abruptly before announcing the first place, so that no one could guess who the highest scorer was, and finally announce my name in front of everyone.”

"Then suddenly a classmate stood up and loudly questioned my grades, suspecting me of cheating. In the end, you decided to hold another exam for me to prove my innocence, and I successfully proved myself by getting an amazing high score."

"All the wish-fulfillment novels I've read are like this!"

Old Li: ...

He sighed softly and looked at Xu Yan, "I think we should send you to a mental hospital for research."

"What are you researching?"

"I'll study you!" Old Li shook his head helplessly and handed the report card to Xu Yan. "By the way, when you go there, put the report card in the classroom and let them see it themselves. Now that you're in the experimental class, you'd better read less online novels!"

……

Chapter 19 Something Hollower Than the Wind

Xu Yan strode into the classroom with an air of indifference, one hand in his pocket.

When he walked in, the sound of reading in the entire classroom stopped immediately.

Xu Yan ignored the complicated gazes, slammed the report card on the podium, and then walked to his desk.

It seemed that few people cared what Xu Yan had placed on the podium, and some even followed him like a spotlight to their seats.

But no one spoke up directly; they all seemed to be curiously waiting for something.

Even Lin Jia, who tried to suppress her gaze, could hardly contain her excitement.

Zhou Wentao couldn't hold back any longer and asked in a low voice, though he managed to restrain himself somewhat.

"What did you do? Why did Old Li call you to his office?"

"I'm leaving now. Goodbye, my friend. Until we meet again."

"Going? Where are you going? Aren't you going to study anymore?"

Zhou Wentao opened his eyes wide.

Xu Yan cleared his throat, then casually raised his voice, just loud enough for everyone around to hear, but not too jarring.

"I've gone to the experimental class, Goodbye, my friend."

"Huh?" Zhou Wentao almost stood up. "Are you kidding me? You got promoted?!"